Heyyyy, two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll!
Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, don't sue me.
Pulling a black hoodie over his head and flipping the hood up, Donatello snuck past the open lab door and towards the window. He refused to believe that Baxter Stockman was ashamed of his son's deformed arm, but his father would hardly ever let him outside, even if the arm was covered.
Baxter wouldn't tell Donatello anything – where he came from (Donatello clearly wasn't Baxter's biological child, as they were completely different races), why it was so important to 'fix' his deformed arm, why he was rarely allowed outside – so in return, Donatello told his father nothing. They got along well enough, but when it came down to it, good kids with overprotective parents were just the ones who were the best at lying. It was beyond Baxter's wildest dream that his dear clever son would actually have a friend. Since he was schooled at home, there were no opportunities for him to meet other people, but Donatello had somehow found himself a companion.
Her name was April O'Neil, and she was the light of Donatello's world and the apple of his eye. Naturally, she hadn't a clue how important she was to him, but that was just fine with him. When she asked him if he'd like to go to the movies with her and her friends Casey and Irma, she had no idea that he went home and daydreamed about her for hours before getting an upset stomach from nervousness.
It wasn't until he met the three outside the movie theater that he realized he was probably invited along to be with Irma, so she would have a 'date' and wouldn't feel so left out. Whether or not April wanted it, Casey always third wheeled everyone.
"Hi, Donnie!" April greeted him with a smile and a wave, and a wave of giddiness washed over him.
"H-Hello, April…" Donatello stammered. The giddiness evaporated as soon as he saw the punk loitering nearby, leaning against a trashy bike. "…And Casey…"
"Heya, Don." Casey smirked. "What's with the sweatshirt? It's like ninety degrees out here. Aren't ya hot?" Before Donatello could answer, the hockey player continued. "Never mind, you can't be as hot as me." He sent a cheeky grin in April's direction, baring his nearly toothless mouth. Many years of hockey and fist fights had rid Casey of many of his front teeth.
Irma ambled up, letting out a groan as she caught Casey's last sentence. "You're disgusting, Jones. Remind me why I'm here again?"
She met Donatello's eyes for just a moment. Although they rarely spoke, he felt a connection with her, a connection forged by mutual hatred for Casey Jones.
Oblivious to the growing tension, April headed into the movie theater. "Come on guys, it's going to start soon. Let's get our tickets."
As they headed inside, Donatello felt a weird feeling arise in his stomach, and not the usual oddness he experienced. Usually when he was sick to his stomach it was due to disgust from Casey or nervousness from being around April, but this was different. It was like someone was watching them.
He hovered outside for a long moment after the other three had gone inside, glancing around for any shady characters. No one was around except for some blond kid a little younger than Donatello skateboarding down the middle of the road. A large pink bubble rapidly inflated around his lips before popping with a loud snap.
The kid swerved onto the sidewalk and skidded to a stop in front of the movie theater, nearly running over Donatello in the process.
"Hey! Watch it!" Donatello snapped. The kid didn't even look over his shoulder, instead merely waving an apologetic hand as he flipped his skateboard up and caught it.
"Sorry!" He blew another bubble and popped it before stepping inside.
Following him into the building, Donatello blew out a long breath as the cool movie theater air washed over his heavily clothed body. Now it was just his temper heating him up. "No gum in the theater! It's not allowed!"
The skateboard kid stopped and finally glanced over his shoulder. Donatello took a step back as he was met with the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen.
"Man, you're a stickler for the rules, ain'tcha?" he laughed, spitting his gum into his palm. "If you hate it so much, you can toss it out."
Before Donatello could complain about personal space, the kid was up in his face and sticking the gum on the end of his nose.
"Thanks, trash can! See ya 'round!" And the kid had sauntered off, skateboard over his shoulder.
Donatello walked into the movie theater and sat down in between April and Irma, ticket stub crumpled in his hand and eyelid twitching. Irma and Casey were too busy arguing over the other two to notice, but April cast Donatello a concerned glance.
"What held you?" she asked quietly. He shrugged, relaxing ever so slightly.
"Some stupid kid with gum and a skateboard, that's all."
Neither of them noticed, but Irma, on Donatello's other side, stiffened. He's going to get it when I get home, she promised herself.
Nothing happened on Leonardo's first night out in the city, nor did he expect anything to. Instead, he spent his time creating a mental map of the lay of the land. There were thousands of reasons he would need to know exactly where everything was – for example, if he found one of his brothers and they had to escape from the enemy.
Splinter had told him many times about what enemies he would have on the surface. The most obvious was the Shredder, Splinter's old war partner. Leonardo had memorized the story of how the Shredder burned Splinter's home and killed his wife and daughter. Shredder had hundreds of ninja called the Foot Clan under his command.
A less deadly threat was the Purple Dragons, a street gang led by a man named Hun. Splinter had expressly forbidden Leonardo from having any contact with the Purple Dragons, but they both knew that a conflict would be inevitable. Leonardo couldn't help but entertain the idea that perhaps the Purple Dragons had captured one of his brothers.
The final main threat Splinter had mentioned was the Kraang. Splinter was unable to say exactly what the Kraang were. All he knew is that they were dangerous. However, Leonardo figured that they would find him before he found them.
Excitement on the surface hit Leonardo before he was ready for it.
He was running along the rooftops, still memorizing the locations of all the shops and alleys he could find, when he heard a scream and a few gunshots. Naturally, the only thing to do was to go and investigate.
Crawling over to the edge of a building that overshadowed the ally, Leonardo carefully peered down.
A group of three men stood there, guns in hands, tensed for an attack. Leonardo spotted purple dragon tattoos on each of them and put two and two together. These must be the Purple Dragons… They look scared. I wonder why?
A whizzing sound cut through the air like a knife, and a throwing star embedded itself in the biggest Dragon's arm. Ninjas? Like me? Are the attackers in the Foot Clan? Leonardo barely had time to think as the man let out a scream of pain and ripped the weapon out. The other two panicked and ran for the street, firing blindly behind them and nearly hitting their comrade. Before they could make it to the street, two shadows stepped in between them and their destination. Leonardo couldn't make out their faces from his vantage point, but he could see the glint of the moon on a blade and a pair of sais.
The blade snapped up, pointing at the skinniest Dragon. The man's tattooed arms were wrapped tightly around a silvery suitcase.
"Drop it!" the owner of the blade commanded. "Drop it and you live."
Without a second thought, the skinny Dragon let the suitcase fall to the ground with a dull thud. In sync, the two shadowy figures stepped to the side, and moments later the three Purple Dragons had fled.
In full stealth mode, Leonardo dropped down to a fire escape and shinnied his way down so he could hear the two figures better.
The one with the sais remained in the shadows, but by their silhouette, Leonardo assumed it was a male. The figure with the blade, however, stepped boldly into the moonlight, and Leonardo's breath caught in his throat.
It was a girl, dressed from head to toe in black and silver armor. She removed a dark mask from her face, revealing smirking red lips as she crouched by the suitcase.
"I wonder what this is…" she mused, poking it with one manicured finger. Her partner dragged it into the shadows and slung it over his shoulder.
"Doesn't matter. Let's take it back home and see if Father can use it for anything, and then get back to it."
"What's it?" Leonardo muttered to himself, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of the girl's companion. Not that he was tired of looking at her! She was easy on the eyes… very easy… Leonardo's blue eyes kept drifting back to her.
"Hey, Karai?" The boy spoke again, but Leonardo didn't look at him. Karai… so that's her name… It's beautiful… just like her…
"Yeah?"
"Why don't we take care of our little spy first?"
Leonardo came to his senses right before he took a heavy kick to the chest, a kick that sent him flying through the air until he hit the gravel of the alley hard. Pain shot through him like a thousand needles, only to be intensified by a heavy foot pressing down on his chest.
The stars faded so he could see the two figures leering down at him – Karai and the redheaded boy with the sais in his belt and suitcase in his arms. The redhead dug his foot harder into Leonardo's ribcage, teeth bared in a sort of feral grin.
"Well, well… What do we have here?"