Author's Note: I do apologize for the lack of updates, I've had writer's block and classes. But anyway, now April finally meets the Turtles and we get to meet Splinter. And let me tell you, he has a surprising connection with both April and Stockgen. Next, what will the Turtles and April do to stop Baxter's plans for TCRI? When will we see more of Casey and our new friend Cheyloe? And what's with the reports of ninjas in New York? Stay tuned and find out!
Chapter 3: Meet the Mutants
April forced herself to keep from screaming as she pressed her back against the ledge of the rooftop. The MOUSERS marched closer, their footsteps noisily clanging against the asphalt-laced roof towards their panicking target, full intention of ripping her to shreds. Why did she have to be such a snoop? Why did she have the audacity to open those files and discover the dirt on Stockman? Sure, what he was planning to do with the robots was absolutely wrong, but was it really worth risking her life and getting herself killed in a few moments? She didn't want to seem like a damsel in distress, but it wouldn't hurt to be rescued by somebody, ANYBODY, right now!
Just when all hope seemed lost for April O'Neil…that's when she saw the tip of a sharp blade penetrate the head of one of the MOUSERS.
The redhead gasped silently, her eyes tracing the blade up to the hilt, the handle, and the hand holding it. The hand was green, bandaged…and had three fingers. Her eyes proceeded to lock onto the wielder of the sword…wait, giant humanoid turtles weren't supposed to exist, were they? They were just about as real as alligators in the sewers, right? She suddenly saw the sword-wielding turtle about to get overwhelmed by the other MOUSERS swarming in. That is, until another turtle jumped into the fray and whacked the robots with a long staff. Another one wielding nunchucks swooped in and bashed many of the MOUSERS in their heads.
"How many of these things are there!?" Leonardo asked, slicing through another robot.
Donatello bashed his own set of MOUSERS before deciding to answer that. "Enough for a small army! Just watch for those jaws! From the looks of the designs, they could tear your limbs off!"
"Thanks fer the info, Donnie!" Raphael growled, impaling one of the mechanical gremlins with the tip of his sai with brutal force. "Tell us somethin' we DON'T know!"
"Oh, shut up, Raph!" Donnie retorted. He saw a robot head straight for his red-banded brother's head and promptly whacked it away before it could bite into his flesh and skull. "You're welcome!"
April watched in silence as the creatures fought her employer's creations. Well, maybe now she could say ex-employer. Okay, first she discovers her boss wants to blow up a rival company, then he sends MOUSERS to come and kill her, and now she was being saved by humanoid reptiles? It was apparently enough to literally blow her mind, as she proceeded to pass out from the shock of it all. It was a shame she didn't get to see the very last machine destroyed by the orange-banded turtle.
"Hey guys!" Michelangelo addressed his brothers, pointing to the redhead's fainted form. "She passed out! What're we gonna do with her!?"
"Well, we obviously can't take her to a hospital." Donatello admitted, letting out an exasperated sigh. "If the emergency room staff saw four grown turtles bring an unconscious woman to their doors, we can certainly look forward to the government tracking us down."
Leonardo mulled over the situation, avoiding the glances of his brothers. If they left the woman here, then whoever was trying to harm her would more than likely come to finish her off. And there was no way for them to know where she lived; it would risk them being seen. There was one option left…but that would mean having to tell Sensei that they snuck out and fought; just the thought of their father being angry gave him goose bumps. But what choice did they have, really? Sheathing his swords, he looked his brothers in the eyes and decided, "We have to bring her back to the lair."
Needless to say, Raphael was the first to disagree. "Leo, are you crazy!? Yer wantin' ta bring a HUMAN to th' lair!? It ain't happenin'!"
"Raph, it's the only thing we can do!" Leo retorted. "I don't like it either, but if we don't, then whoever was trying to kill her will come to do the job themselves!"
"But-"
"Remember what Sensei told us…ALL life is precious. That includes hers." The blue-banded turtle gave his final argument before commanding, "Donnie, help me carry her."
"All right! We're takin' her home wit' us!" Mikey cheered, pumping his fists in the air.
Raph stared at his brothers, completely dumbfounded. Shock wearing off, his lips quickly curled into a sneer and his hands quickly clenched into fists. How could Leo be so stupid? How could he just flat-out decide they were bringing a human woman into their home, where she could potentially tell all her friends-if she had any-about their lair? Then it wouldn't be long until they were on the 6 o'clock news! But he would keep it in for now…and if Sensei caught them and their new 'pet', he would open his mouth and not mince words.
April groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and scowling as her consciousness came back. Was everything that happened before just some terrible nightmare? Had she still been in her apartment and asleep the entire time? But this didn't feel like her bed…and it certainly didn't smell like her bed. Trying to ignore the stale sewage smell coming from whatever she was sleeping on, she opened her eyes and saw that she was not in her apartment. The ceiling seemed of metal and concrete, and she saw pipes running through along with a few tunnels overhead. And that's when she heard voices.
"Dude, I think she's waking up." One voice whispered.
"What exactly are we going to do with her?" Another murmured.
"Once she comes to, we can talk that out with her, now let her have some air." A third commanded.
"Talk with 'er, yeah, after we make sure she keeps 'er mouth shut." The final voice growled.
The redhead sat up from her resting place, an old sofa, and focused her vision. And there they were…the four humanoid turtles that saved her from the MOUSERS. All of the stared at her as though she were a circus freak show exhibit; why they weren't in one was a mystery to her. She took a moment to look at them before she took in a deep breath and let out a scream. Once she screamed, the ones in orange and purple screamed along with her. The one in red smacked them on the back of their heads before walking up to her and glowering down, causing her to become silent.
"W…W-What's going on…?" April stuttered, still fearful. "W-W-Where am I?"
"Ma'am…calm down, please." Leonardo requested, putting his hands up. "We don't want to wake our father. We rescued you from the robots trying to harm you."
"Robots…" April repeated, clearly confused. "Wait, you…you mean the MOUSERS." She suddenly forgot about the MOUSERS and focused her attention back on them. "Just…what are you? What happened to Stockman?"
"Stockman?" Donatello repeated, his face immediately lighting up. "Do you mean Dr. Baxter Stockman? Weren't those his creations? What would cause the robots he created to attack you? Nothing about this makes-"
"What is going on in here!?"
Everyone in the room immediately snapped their mouths shut, Donatello being the first, at the sound of the booming voice. April noticed the turtles starting to tremble in fear or anticipation, but who was the source of the voice and why were they afraid? She got her answer when she saw a figure emerge from one of the pipes laying overhead. The figure jumped down and landed in front of them, causing the turtles to flinch. First humanoid turtles…now a humanoid RAT? She laid her eyes upon said-humanoid rat, who stood several inches taller than her and had a long, braided beard and whiskers forming together into a mustache. The creature wore a long, faded robe and walked with a cane, and it was walking dangerously towards the turtles.
"S-Sensei, we can explain!" Donnie spoke, holding his hands in front of his face.
Mikey nodded feverishly. "Yeah Dad! We had no choice but to bring her here! She was-"
Before he could say more, the rat-man, their Sensei, took his cane and swiftly whacked all of them on their calves and ankles, making them all cry out in pain and bounce on their feet, Donnie and Raph falling down. April jumped back at the hits, and she felt sorry for them. It was then the rat-man turned his attention to her. At the sight of her, his eyes softened ever so slightly. His eyes then went back to the turtles. "What have I told you about going to the surface!? You know it is a dangerous place, and now you've brought a human here!"
"Sensei, we had no choice!" Leonardo dared to object, causing his Sensei's head to whip towards him. "If we didn't save her, she would've died! She was attacked by those robots made by Baxter Stockman!"
At that name, the rat-man froze, and he took another look at April. His brown eyes studied her much more carefully, and he reached a clawed hand to the redhead, making her flinch. His claws gently brushed the skin around her eyes, eyes that brought nostalgia. "You…you look so much like Dr. O'Neil…"
April gasped. "How…how do you know my dad?"
The rat-man leaned on his cane, not paying attention to the turtles getting to their feet. "Now I remember…I haven't seen you since you were a small child. All of the animals liked you just about as much as they liked me."
The redhead sat back as memories from her childhood came flooding back. She remembered coming to Stockgen a few times while her father still worked there, and she met Baxter along with Harold Lilija. There was also another man she met there…the one who cared for the test-subject animals. He was a man of Japanese descent, and seemed cheerful. He even let her feed some of the rats used for testing. It was then his voice was familiar to her…but what happened to him. "…Mr. Yoshi?"
Mikey stared at his Sensei as though he grew another head. "Dad, she knows you?"
The rat slowly nodded his head. "That is correct…but I go by the name Splinter now. I suppose you're wondering why I look like this. Well…it is a long story." He turned to the turtles and spoke softly, "My sons…you may want to sit down. It is time you heard the entire story as well."
The turtles nodded and went to sit around the sofa, though Raphael was the last to do so. Splinter got into a kneeling position on a nearby cushion and put his cane to the side. He stroked at his beard and whiskers before taking a deep breath and collecting his memories. "As you know, I came from an area in Yakushima, Japan. However…Ms. O'Neil does not know that I am part of a clan that is more than likely long-gone now…the Hamato Clan. My family comes from a long line of the practitioners ofNinjitsu…and with every clan, there are feuds. One clan in particular…we were embroiled in a long blood-feud…the Foot Clan. However, not all in the Foot were enemies…one member in particular, we developed a secret friendship I thought would break the chains of the past. His name…was Oroku Saki."
"Are you two…still friends?" April asked quietly.
"It would have been that way…but everything changed when we met a girl by the name of Tang Shen." Splinter sighed. "Shen was raised by a Japanese family, but it was obvious that she was of Chinese descent. Saki did not care for anyone of Chinese descent…but it didn't matter to me where she hailed from. You couldn't have met a more beautiful and compassionate woman. She was the one who gave me the nickname Splinter…after she saw me splitting boards to impress her."
Mikey snickered at that, but stopped when their Sensei continued. "After marrying Shen…my friendship with Saki grew strained. At the same time…he found secrets within his diminished clan…and became enveloped in a darkness that had to have come from the Devil himself. I came home from teaching pupils one day…and I found Shen cold and dead on the floor. Saki was there waiting…and we fought bitterly until my home was set ablaze by followers he recruited from the outside. He believed I perished…but I escaped and came to America…to New York. To this day…I have never figured out why he would kill her, other than for his dislike of her Chinese blood."
April brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She noticed the turtles bowing their heads in sadness, having to hear the tale of their Sensei's heartbreak. Despite the tears prickling his eyes, Splinter continued with his story.
"Work was hard to find, but I managed to earn a job as a caretaker for the animals at Stockgen. It was there I met Dr. Baxter Stockman…and your father, Dr. Kirby O'Neil. Kirby was a kind and morally-rigid man…Baxter Stockman is a man I never cared for due to his indifference towards people and animals. It was over seventeen years ago that I cared for a newly-hatched clutch of turtles…four in all that made it. I also developed a bond with the rats. It was during that time I witnessed Stockman's cruelty towards the animals…some he even willingly tortured. I can honestly say your father was in the dark about the abuse. I could not stand by and watch his harsh treatment towards the turtles. I grabbed the rats and let them loose before gathering the turtles and attempting to take them home with me."
"…What happened?" The redhead questioned, having an idea where the story was going.
Splinter closed his eyes before opening them to look at her. "Stockman got wind of me taking the animals…and he threw a canister of an odd substance he experimented with at me as I reached the back door. The canister shattered and covered myself and the turtles with a glowing green ooze. When we finally escaped…I watched in horror as I slowly lost my human form…and took on the characteristics of a rat. At that same moment…I had dropped the turtles…and they began to take on the characteristics of a human. They grew to the size of human infants…they cried out, confused about what was happening. I had no choice but to gather them and flee where no one would look for us…the sewers."
April stood frozen before looking at the turtles surrounding her. Those turtles Yoshi rescued from Stockgen…they were the same turtles who saved her from the MOUSERS…saved her from Stockman. She wanted to say something but let the rat continue. "The turtles began to show they could talk, and later walk. As they grew, I knew they needed to find a way to protect themselves, should something happen that they venture to the surface. If they went up without being prepared, they would be ridiculed…attacked…taken to places like Stockgen and experimented on. So…I decided to pass my heritage of Ninjitsu onto them. They excelled quickly…but they don't know all of my skills just yet. Before making the sewers our home, I collected some things from my home…one of them being a book Shen cherished…a book on Renaissance art. It was there that I found names for the turtles…my sons."
The four turtles suddenly stood up and stared back and forth at April and Splinter. The latter took the moment to introduce them to the redhead, starting with the blue-banded one. "Leonardo, my eldest son and the master of the katana." He moved to the purple-banded one. "Donatello…a boy of great intellect, and master of Bojutsu." Then it was the red-banded one's turn. "Raphael, a fighter of passionate fury and master of the sai." Finally, he got to the orange-banded one. "Michelangelo…my youngest son and master of the nunchaku."
The turtles proceeded to bow in front of her, but not before Mikey could sneak a wink at her. That earned him an elbow to the side from Raph. April bowed her head slightly out of respect, still stunned by the tale she heard. So the one thing they had in common was Baxter Stockman…wait…she now remembered Baxter's plans concerning TCRI…was he still going to carry it out? He didn't know whether or not she was still alive, so maybe she could find a way to stop him before it was too late. "Stockman…he's planning on using the MOUSERS to attack TCRI."
"You can't be serious!" Donatello shouted. "Why would Stockman want to go after TCRI!? Corporate espionage or something!?"
"More like corporate destruction." The redhead muttered. "He's planning on using the MOUSERS to blow up TCRI…and they're programmed to explode and leave no trace. I need to find a way to get back there and reprogram them…then Stockman can't use them…but I need to get in there unnoticed. Question is…how?"
The turtles looked around silently before three pairs of eyes landed on Donnie. Donnie blinked in surprise before he let out a chuckle. "Well, who else would it be? Leave that to me, Ms. O'Neil."
"Please…call me April." She replied, wearing a small smile.