It had been three days since Dr. Doom tried to make me his queen. My brothers and master were currently staying at the X-Mansion to make sure that I was okay and that Doom didn't try anything again. As soon as we got back, they were invited to stay for a while by Professor Xavier. I was ecstatic, to say the least. My brothers were happy as well. They went back to the layer to get some things, and then came back. But the happy mood didn't stay long.
Things were starting to be somewhat normal. Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, allowed the five of us to use the Danger Room to train. Master Splinter would spend hours with my father. He would share stories of my childhood with him. Raphael, the middle child and my closest brother, would spend a lot of time with me. It was obvious that the experience had traumatized him greatly. Leonardo, the eldest, would keep me close and always tried to know where I was. At first it didn't bother anybody, not even me. But then Raph and Leo would get into fights because Raph thought Leo was being too overprotective. It would get so bad that one could hear them fight from the sub-basement. Donatello, the second eldest, would watch me carefully; while still giving me my space. Donni was trying to see how the experience affected me, because he knew how fragile I could be. Michelangelo, the second youngest, tried to keep everything the way it was before, and I was great full for this. Mikey would pull pranks and annoy everyone of his brothers to death.
My father, Logan, would watch me as carefully as Donni. He would also try to spend as much time with me as possible, but for different reasons than Raph. I knew he was trying to make up for the time he lost while I was growing up with my adoptive family. Master Splinter was observing quietly and giving silent support. I knew that the thought of one of his children in danger was not appealing to him. I was trying hard to please them all, but failing. My brothers and I had just finished training and I had changed back into my normal clothes when Raph came up to me.
"Hey, Crystal," he called in his gruff voice.
"Hmm," I answered.
"Leo sent me ta' see if everythin' is okay. He said ya were a little bit distracted." His voice was thick with a Brooklyn accent.
"I'm fine," I lied. In truth I was thinking about the recent fight Leo and Raph had.
"That's what I said. He still wanted me ta' see if you were alright."
I smiled and shook my head. "Do you think he'll ever get over being overprotective?"
Raph shook his head. "Probably not. I say ya' should tell him ta' back off."
I frowned. "I don't want to hurt his feelings. Besides, he needs this. If I let him be a little overprotective now, he'll back off later."
"Ya' sure about that?" he asked raising an eyebrow ridge.
I was about to answer when Donni came and interrupted. "Master Splinter wants to see us," he said in his smooth voice. He didn't have Raph's accent.
"Why?" Raph asked.
"He said something about how certain older brothers need to back off of certain younger sisters," he said. He discreetly pointed to Leo, who had perched himself by a wall. He had one green foot placed on the wall and his arms were crossed of the front of his shell. He was trying to secretly peer at me out of the side of his mask, and looked away when he caught me looking.
Raph laughed once. "See, I told ya' he was being too overprotective."
"Yes, Raph, we all know that you think he's too overprotective. I think the entire state of New York knows. Maybe even part of New Jersey," Donni said, sarcastically.
"Oh, hardy-har-har," Raph mocked. I snickered softly, but was quitted with a glance from Raph.
"We had better get going, Master Splinter isn't going to like it if we're dawdling too much," I said. I went over to Leo. "Master Splinter wants to talk to us." He nodded. I placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. He smiled back, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. I turned and followed Donni and Raph into the elevator. Leo shuffled in after me. I looked back at Leo. He was standing stiffly. I looked at Raph, who was also standing stiffly. I sighed softly.
I thought about how carefree they used to be. They didn't used to fight as much as they do now and I knew it was because of me. I looked down and suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Donni smiling at me. I smiled back, but I knew he could see right through it.
When the elevator door opened, we stepped out and walked quietly toward our master's room. Leo knocked to let him know we were there. The door opened a couple of seconds later and I looked to see Mikey standing at the door. He looked at his older brothers, then at me. I knew he could see the sadness in my eyes and he frowned. He then stepped aside to let us in. I was the last one in, and Mikey slipped his arm around me and pulled me into a side arm hug. He then let go and we quickly knelt in front of our master.
Master Splinter looked at each of us before speaking. "Crystal," he said, "Come sit next to me. This is about you. I want your brothers to see you," he said in his wise, old voice.
I got up quickly and knelt beside my master. "Now," he started, "you have all been traumatized by our encounter with Dr. Doom." When Master Splinter said "Dr. Doom," my four brothers stiffened. Donni and Mikey relaxed after a moment, but Raph and Leo remained stiff. Master Splinter continued. "It is to be expected that you all would be a bit overprotective of your younger sister, but certain things have come to my attention. You have all handled this in a different way. Raphael, you have taken to trying to bond with your sister more. Donatello, you have decided to watch her carefully. Michelangelo, you have tried to lighten her mood as much as possible. Good things to do." He nodded to the three younger boys. He then turned to Leo. "Leonardo, you have obligated yourself to being protective of your sister. While this can be a good thing, you have seemed to have forgotten that she needs some space."
"Master Splinter…" I started. He held up a paw to silence me. I looked at Leo. He had a hard look on his face and his eyes were guarded.
"When you started to get too overprotective, Raphael tried to warn you. You ignored his warning, which lead to a fight. Though you did not see it at the time, this tore at Crystal. She wanted to please you, all of you. She also wanted to please her father. By doing this, she left no time for herself." He then turned to Raph. "Raphael, after your first large fight with Leonardo, you started to become more distant toward your brothers. You decided that it would be okay to try to spend all of your time with Crystal. This made it hard for her to please the rest of her family and her father."
I looked at Raph. He had the same expression on his face, and his eyes were cold. I looked at Donni and Mikey. It was obvious that they were uncomfortable there.
"When you two started to fight more often, it caused your sister grief. The way you two become after a large fight is hard and cold. The more you fight, the more distant you become. This has also put a strain on Donatello and Michelangelo. They must now deal with your fighting and try to keep Crystal's spirits up. It is a tough task with you two fighting all the time. Now I must step in. I must insist that the two of you spend less time with Crystal and more time with each other. Let Michelangelo and Donatello handle keeping her spirits up. I shall help. But before you can help her, you must first be able to work as a team. We do not need a broken home."
The five of us got up and bowed to our master. We then left the room. Outside of the door, Leo finally spoke. Raph had left along with Donni and Mikey.
"Crystal, do you think that I am too overprotective of you?" he asked. I looked at him.
"Yes," I said truthfully. He nodded.
"What about how I act after a fight?"
"Well, actually its anytime your around Raph now," I said softly. "You get stiff and distant. I don't like it." I looked away. "It's like I lost my Big-Bro." I looked up to see Leo deep in thought. Finally, he looked at me. He pulled me into a hug.
"I'm sorry. It's just I don't want to lose any of my family. I want to make sure your safe." He choked on the last word and I felt a tear fall on my head. I nodded and pulled him into a tighter hug. He let me go. "I guess I should go find Raph and try to see if I can't get him to forgive me." He then turned and followed the path Raph had taken.