A/N: Here's the second chapter! The Turtles themselves make their appearance here, so I hope you guys enjoy! Please do leave me a review! It would really, really, really make my day!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Ninja Turtles (sadly. Huhuh, I wish I did!) But I do, however, own all original characters in this story.
Lindsey and I do the best possible thing that girls our age can do when faced with such hideous, scary things: we scream.
"What the hell is that?" Lindsey yells as we back up towards the street. We are facing a gigantic reptile. Standing about ten feet tall, its stink is just as powerful and intimidating. Its skin is a shade of dark green and the set of teeth that it flashes to us look sickeningly sharp. Frothy, green liquid foams at its mouth, and its silted eyes regard us with lean hunger. If we don't make a run for it now, we could possibly be this monster's dinner.
Wait, hold up. Monster? In the first place, why is there a monster roaming the alleyways of Manhattan? My heart hammers wildly against my chest, but an entirely different emotion now runs through my veins.
The creature snaps at us and Lindsey and I narrowly miss its crocodile-like jaws. "We need to get out of here! But…we can't leave Austin." Lindsey's eyes are wide, her voice shakes. I can almost see the gears turning in her head as they always do whenever she gets in a tricky situation due to her rebellious nature.
But my own mind is running on overdrive too. The monster that attacked Austin looks vaguely familiar. But obviously that creature had to come from fantasy…a book? A comic book? A TV show?
Then it suddenly hits me.
Damn. That monster was from the TMNT 2003 series. My childhood series.
"Nikki, watch out!" Lindsey screams. I look up and see the monster's heavy, reptilian arm coming at me. The monster's arm swings at my abdomen and my lungs suddenly feel empty. I feel weightless for a second before I crash down onto the gravel of the alleyway, right side first. My arms reach out to cushion my fall but I later learn that skin and hard pavement are not a good combination. My right arm burns with the friction of my landing.
"Stop hurting my friends!" Lindsey screams again. I look up at her. My best friend's hair has come undone from its ponytail. Streaks of dirt and grime are all over her face. Miraculously however, her dress still seems to be in good partying condition.
Lindsey picks up a broken bottle on the floor and holds it out in front of her like a bat. She runs in front of Austin's body and stands over it. "You'd have to go through me if you want my friends!" she taunts the creature.
"Lindsey!" I warn her as I struggle to get up.
"Seriously, punk," she continues. She stands her ground as the monster advances slowly. "I'm tougher than I look!"
If the situation wasn't as dangerous as it is now, I swear, I think I would have laughed.
"RAAWRR!" The monster charges, directly at Lindsey. She stands still, broken bottle held up in front.
"Get out of there, Lindsey!" I yell. She seems oblivious to it all, petrified by her own fear. I close my eyes and turn my head. This is the part where my best friend dies. This is it. I can't look.
"Raph! Get the blonde girl!" a familiar voice orders.
"Got her!"
"Donny, cover me up front. I'll attack from behind."
"But what about the boy?"
"I need to kill that monster first. Mickey, grab the other girl! Bring them to safety, guys!"
"Cowabunga!"
I feel a strong, muscular, and not to mention – leathery arm – grab me by the waist. The floor seems to disappear from under my feet. Wind whistles in my ears and I feel weightless. "What the…" I mutter and open my eyes. I look down. Oops, wrong move. I see that we are probably ten feet up in the air and coming back down real quick to a rooftop of a building.
"Holy shells," I gasp.
"Whoa kid, you alright?" Mickey asks. His leathery arms are still wrapped tight around my waist; cool air still whips at my undone hair.
No way. No way. No way. Okay? I am far from being okay.
I take one last deep breath to stop myself from hyperventilating. "You guys are…real!"
Mickey snorts. "Of course we're real!" I feel weightless once more as we launch up into the air again. We are probably jumping from building top to building top, my best guess. Not that I am surprised, of course. When, really, have I expected a Ninja Turtle not to jump around the skyline of Manhattan in dangerous fashion?
"This is wicked!" I yell, adrenaline at its peak.
"Nothing wickeder than thi – "
CRASH!
The rushing, whistling of the wind past my ears suddenly stop. A ringing sensation quickly replaces it. I blink and try to steady my vision. I hear Mickey groan beside me. Footsteps echo around us. With the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I find my fists automatically balling up, ready to hit anything that threatens me.
A figure shrouded in shadow kneels next to me. "You oka – "
I swing a punch at the figure, who blocks my amateur attempt with a swipe of his arm. My punch deflects right off his taut arm. "Whoa, easy there," he chuckles. I realize that I am hearing Donatello's voice.
"Holy shells," I mutter. Donatello offers me his leathery turtle hand and I take it, willing my fingers not to tremble. My head throbs and my arm still stings.
"You look pretty shaken up," he notes. I open my mouth to reply, but no words come out.
Mickey groans again and stirs. "Crazy, random, concrete wall," he mumbles, rubbing his shoulder.
"I told you to bring her to safety, Mickey. Not to ram yourselves into a wall." Leonardo comes into view. His voice rolls with the night air; cool and quiet, yet cold and mysterious.
"Well, what would you expect? It's Mickey," Raphael says, grinning wickedly at his brother.
"I kept her safe, alright," Mickey argues. "I think ramming into a wall is way better than getting eaten by pet iguana mutants." He flexes his left shoulder and winces. "I think I need pizza," he moans.
"Pizza sounds great," I quip. It is the first thing I say out loud and all four turtles spin on me, including Lindsey. Her eyes are the size of dinner plates, her mouth shut in a thin line. Austin is still lying unconscious next to her. "Pizza sounds great," I repeat, looking from turtle to turtle. They stare back at me, and I shake my head. My stupid big mouth.
"Guys, we should sneak out while she isn't looking. 1..2.." Michelangelo whispers, but Raphael smacks his head.
"Hey!" Mickey yells. "What was that for?"
"You're too obvious Mickey," Raphael scolds.
"Look kid," Donatello sighs as he grips his staff. "I think you and your friends should try to forget what happened tonight. We're sorry we weren't able to kill that monster off before it attacked you guys, and I hope you guys don't have nightmares tonight. We also try our best not to let mortals know of our existence, besides our friends April and Casey. So now that you know…" he clears his throat and looks at his brothers.
"We're the Teenage – "
"I know who you guys are," I interrupt Leo. "You guys are the freaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Mickey's eyes are wide and white. "Did she just call us the freaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
"Yeah she did," Lindsey speaks up. She still looks pretty dazed, but she stands up and walks up to me. "My best friend Nikki, is probably your biggest fan. She's been watching the TMNT series since she was eight or something."
"It's a long story," I desperately try to explain. Here I am in front of my childhood idols, and yet I am tongue-tied, at a loss for words. I have a bad feeling that I am ruining a once in a lifetime chance. Heat rises up to my cheeks.
I see Leo glance at the floor, then back up to his brothers. "A long story that we would love to hear over pizza and soft drinks," Leo concludes. His brothers nod in unison, except for Mickey, who is still gawking at me.
"We're inviting them to the sewer?" he asks. "But… but… but…"
Donny laughs. "No buts, Mickey. Don't you want to hear a story about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
"Does it feel better?"
"Yeah," I reply, testing out my bandaged arm. As soon as we reached the Turtles' lair, Donny fixed up my wounded arm and gave me ice for my bonked up head. Mickey helped Lindsey, whose hands were bleeding from holding the broken glass bottle. Master Splinter, who was surprised at our appearance at first, later on warmed up and offered water to the now-conscious Austin.
"Thanks, Donny," I say just as the purple-loving turtle stands up.
"No problem," he says, smiling. "You know, if you ran from the monster right away, you wouldn't have sustained these injuries." Donatello's tone is unreadable, calm and collected. I can't tell right away if he is scolding me for holding my ground, or praising me for my bravery.
"We couldn't leave Austin," I say and watch Donatello's expression. A small smile crawls onto his leathery turtle face.
"Sounds very much like our code of brotherhood here at the Sewer. We never leave a friend behind, we never leave each other. It doesn't matter if we all know how to fight, if we all know how to kick-butt. If a friend is in need, we're not leaving them."
Then I know that he isn't scolding me. He approves of Lindsey and my bravery. We didn't leave Austin behind. "I've always wanted to learn some Ninjitsu moves," I blurt out. Oops, my big mouth again.
Donatello laughs as he helps me up. "I think you'd make a great martial artist. Come on; let's head over to the living room."
I follow him in a daze, my fingers absently tugging at the cloth that wraps my wound up. My stupid mouth, always blurting out what my brain thinks. I sigh and walk on, forcing my mind to think of other things.
Am I really in the Turtles' sewer? I take a sniff…okay, yes, I am. The foul stench of Manhattan underground is enough to prove that I am awake and not dreaming.
Since when has reality been better than a dream? Since now, I guess. I don't think there is anything better than being in my most dreamed of place.
"…and I swear I was so scare – oh hey! Nikki's here!" Lindsey waves at me from the couch. Austin sits beside her, a bandage wrapped around his forehead and another one on his arm. Leo and Raph are standing behind the couch, listening passively. On the couch across them are Casey and April, looking amused as Lindsey relates the events of that night. Typical Lindsey. She has always been pretty sociable and friendly, easily winning the attention of people. She enjoyed the attention, the spotlight. I, however, am the complete opposite. I almost feel nauseated as the small audience turns towards me. "Hi," I manage.
April waves me over to sit beside her, and I walk over. "Lindsey was just telling me about tonight. You guys were attacked by a mutant?"
"Yep. One of those monsters that mutated from Dr. Stockman's formula," Raph spoke up. "The same kind of mutant that…um…" he paused awkwardly and looked at Donny.
"Yeah, that same mutagen infected me a few months back," Donatello says. He forces a smile, though I can see the uneasiness in his eyes.
"I watched that episode," I murmur. April turns towards me. "What was that?" she asks. Though her tone is kind, I hesitate.
"I -I watched that episode," I say, and glance at Donatello. He regards me with a sad smile. "That episode when Donny double-mutated. Donny, did you really double-mutate? Or was that just all fiction…"
"It was real, alright," Leonardo says solemnly.
"I'm glad it's over," April says, the smile on her face wavering.
Donny runs a hand over his face. "I'm sorry guys, I really am."
"Don't apologize bro," Raph says, patting Donatello's shell. "We're through with that conversation. We're just happy we're all back here in the sewer, safe and sound."
April holds her hands up. "Wait just one sec guys," she says. She looks to Austin. "Did the mutant give you a cut? Because if any part of your body was deeply wounded by the mutant…"
Austin shakes his head. "It just kinda suffocated me, but the scrapes I got were from me getting dragged across the pavement."
Donatello nods.
"I don't get it," Austin speaks up. "I mean, you guys are obviously real. I can see you and all, but do those comic books and TV cartoons really follow your lives?"
The three turtles look at each other. "Well, we have heard of those stuff from Casey and April," Leonardo says. "We don't really know how our stories get out to the world because to be honest, we've never actually interacted with any other human being besides April and Casey and of course Dr. Stockman and a few of the other 'villains'."
"It's crazy if you think about it," he goes on. "We're supposed to be Shadow Warriors, no one knowing about us, but here you three are."
I can't exactly read Leo's tone, but I find myself putting my head down guiltily. "Hey, you're making them feel bad," Casey exclaims. "They're supposedly your biggest fans, guys. They appreciate what you guys do."
Donatello plays with his staff nervously as the conversation begins to heat up.
"They appreciate what we do on TV," Raph snorts. Anger builds inside me. Why are the Turtles acting like this? Shouldn't they be a lot nicer? My chest feels heavy. All those years of slaving over the TMNT fandom, and at this moment that I actually get to meet them, they act as if they don't want me and my friends here.
"I appreciate what you guys do," I say. I try to control my voice. "You guys saved us tonight. And even if I learned about you guys through the TV, through the comics that I've read, I've had a feeling that you save us every night too. You guys protect the city of Manhattan, the place that I live in. I'm more than thankful."
I see Donatello smile from the corner of my eye. "Leo, Raph, stop being so harsh. Nikki has every right to appreciate what we do." He shares a small smile with me.
"PIZZA'S HERE!" Michelangelo comes in carrying two ginormous boxes of pizza. He pops down on the floor and opens a box. "Dig in everyone!"
April hands me a slice and I take it with a thank you. I find myself sighing as I look around the sewer. I am eating pizza, here in the Turtle's Sewer, with the actual Turtles!
"What about the Halloween Party?" Lindsey suddenly asks.
"What party?" Mickey asks, suddenly interested.
Lindsey opens her mouth tentatively before finally saying, "My friends and I were originally headed to a high school Halloween party before we got ambushed by that monster."
"Oooh, sounds like fun!" April says. Lindsey nods at her. "You could come if you want to! And…oh…" she stops mid-sentence, probably realizing that the Turtles were also staring at her eagerly.
Austin pumps his fistful of pizza in the air. "Got it! The Turtles could come. It's a costume party anyway. No one would notice that you guys are…actual turtles!"
"Sounds like fun!" Mickey says and looks to his brothers for approval. "Whatcha guys think?"
"We don't get a chance like this every night. I say we go for it," Leo shrugs.
"Wow, my first high school party, and I'm bringing a lot of friends," Lindsey giggles excitedly. "I think this night is gonna rock!"
Leo nods in my direction, an apologetic smile on his turtle face. I smile back. Lindsey seems to be right. With my friends and the Turtles by my side for my first high school party, I also had a feeling that this night would most definitely rock.
A/N: So, whatcha guys think of it? Tell me by leaving me a review! Thanks guys! :D
