A/N: Hey everyone. This is more or less my take on what I like to think of as Nickelodeon's new and improved Master Splinter since the return of the Rat King. I had almost lost all hope in the reincarnated Splinter being of any help to his sons, until the last few episodes of season 2. My faith in his parenting skills has been somewhat restored and hopefully this chapter will reflect it.
A DISASTER TOO MANY
Chapter 4
Startled awake, the eyes belonging to a sizable grey rat snapped open, awakening from a nightmare of sorts. It hadn't been the first time he had nightmares of his sons battling for their lives, doubting his own ability to protect them from the reoccurrence of his past demons. Though those nightmares had increased since Oroku Saki became an intricate player in these battles. Then, the terrors only grew, increased to exponential rates at the idea that his daughter, his flesh and blood, was still in the midst of great danger. It was because of her, because of what could have been that Splinter grown uncertain of his parenting skills, wondering if allowing his sons to continue their battles above ground was the correct course of action. Already, his sons were struggling without his aid topside. If they continued on, what would his enemies have in store for them next.
Weeks of reflecting and these daily night-terrors had kept Splinter from allowing his sons roam the rooftops. As father, Master Splinter wanted peace within himself before he could give permission to his sons as to what was right for their family. He would not lose any more of his family to Oroku Saki's hands. It was why he had chased after April. It was why he ran to his sons' aid. It was why he now second guessed his own actions, finding it easier to let everything simmer down on the surface and keep his children alongside him. When he found himself internally calmed, he would be able to think rationally through the next phases of what would be best for his pupils.
Though, these nightmares were only making thoughts run wild, turbulent in his mind. Peace was nowhere to be found. Not any time soon, at least.
Rubbing a paw through the beads of sweat that gathered in the short tufts of hair along his brow, Master Splinter found himself trying to concentrate on the present and not the dark image that his mind had painted for him.
Taking in a short breath of sewer air, Master Splinter stared up at the ceiling, eyes focusing before cracking shut. His mind slowly cleared. The aftertaste of horror evaporating from thought, leaving a trail of peace as the void filled the spaces between what was and what could have been. Everything was fine. His sons were with him. April was with her aunt. Casey was at home. Miwa would not be harmed as long as she remained unaware of who she was.
Yet...something was off.
Trusting instinct as always, Master Splinter arose from his mat sprawled across the floor and rubbed his forehead. It was late and surely Donatello would be the only one awake at this hour. Nonetheless, he would poke his head in and give his son a soft scolding before checking to be sure that everything was as it should be. Then, he too would fall back asleep, forgetting his silly dreams yet another endless night.
Arising to make his rounds, Master Splinter found the hushed, muted glow slipping between the cracked open lab door. Though there was a budding of irritation at having to reprimand his second youngest son, Master Splinter couldn't help the fond smile from reaching his lips. Things were as they had always been.
Cracking the door open, Master Splinter noticed Donatello busily working off in the corner of the room, switching between computer screen to the make shift chemistry set the young mutant had drudged up from all those years of dumpster diving. zthe scenery's familiarity only aided in making Master Splinter feel more comfortable than he had been previously, lulling his anonymous unease away.
All he needed was to clear his throat before the purple masked turtle flew up from his seat in such a speed that his shell rapped against the table. The glassware teetered momentarily before coming to a halt. A three fingered hand quickly stopping the glass beakers and test tubes from rattling.
"Donatello," began the elder mutant, trying to hide the amusement from his voice, forcing sternness to stand in it's place. How many times did this scenario play out within the last month? Master Splinter could not count them on his fingers alone. "We have discussed this."
Donatello could help but smile meekly. "It can't be that time of night again. Sensei, I promise I'm almost through with this...I've almost figured out how to make the mutagen useless completely and that will bring me one step closer to a cure. I know that I've said this every night this week, but I'm really onto something big right now."
Master Splinter could not help but watch as his second youngest son tried to explain away his actions. Donatello was the true middle child, making as much peace as he possibly could, and trying to rectify everything from his brother's arguments to the household appliances. The situation with April's father had been the driving factor to pushing Donatello from his late nights to all nighters, fixing a situation he felt solely responsible for. But even if Donatello's kindness had burdened him with this chore, it did not mean that Master Splinter would entitle the teen sacrifice his health.
"You can start up again in the morning."
A most dejected look crossed Don's face as he humbly bowed his head more from disappointment. "Yeah...I guess."
"Donatello," Master Splinter called, gaining the other's attention. When those tired brown eyes peered upwards, Splinter continued. "I am certain that you will be able to come up with a solution for Mr. O'Neil in time, but understand you must learn to understand, this was not your doing. April knows this as well."
The faintest of smiles crossed Donatello's face as he glanced back at the mess of paperwork and chemicals. Master Splinter could almost hear the cranking in Don's head as he processed and computed the evidence leading to Master Splinter's words. Interrupting such a process would not prove beneficial. It was better to allow Donatello's mind to run it's course, allowing him to go to sleep with uplifting thought than remind him of the time once again and have his mind shut off the kind words in favor of obedience. Either way, Donatello would soon do as he was told.
After watching his son for a few moments longer and shaking his head, it was time for Master Splinter to pull himself from the lab's doorway and continue on.
He hadn't gone very far when he heard fabric shifting in the living room, forcing Splinter's attention.
"Master Splinter?" came a groggy voice from the couch.
Splinter's ears flickered in that direction catching words now.
The logical conclusion was that Michelangelo had passed out in one of his infamous movie marathons. However, the television was not a blur of static nor did the voice didn't fit Michelangelo's higher pitch.
"Leonardo?" Splinter questioned, stepping around the couch to find that his eldest son was now sitting up as hurriedly as possible. The quick movements to wipe the sleep from his eyes alerted Splinter that Leonardo was determined to appear as if he had been up this entire time. Though that would not stop the mystery as to why Leonardo hadn't found rest in his own bed.
The unease began to stir inside once again.
Leo blinked around him before hopping off the sofa, becoming quite aware of his surroundings. There was almost a sheepishness to his voice that might have matched Don's a moment ago as Master Splinter watched his eldest's mind whirl to provide an explanation without incriminating himself. The hesitation spoke volumes to Master Splinter. It was quite obvious that Leonardo was attempting to come up with a way to hide his true intent without making falsities in the process. "I was just…um…uh..."
The stirring became more upsetting now, seeing Leo struggle with what to say and what not to say.
Master Splinter laid a four fingered hand on his son's shoulder, silencing his eldest. He hoped that it would also stop Leonardo from covering up whatever it was he was trying to hide. "You were waiting for something?"
An almost pained look crossed Leo's face, but it was quickly smothered with an apologetic one. His shoulder's remained tense even as he said, "I guess I just fell asleep on the couch. Sorry Sensei."
Master Splinter's attempt to encourage the full truth had not worked.
Worry tended to boil down into two categories for Leonardo. He was either too focused on his skill or lack of as leader and thoroughly convinced himself that he had failed or his family was in some sort of situation that Leonardo did not feel comfortable with.
The first category of worry could easily be dealt with. Leonardo would need a bit more encouragement, a few more words of wisdom and a bit more practice, whether it be meditative or physical. The second, however, was the more troubling one. It was the one that Master Splinter was also fearful of.
Master Splinter's ears flattened at the thought that Leonardo have found himself in a situation that was beyond his capability. Obviously, Leo had thought it best he handle things himself, most assuredly warning Splinter that it had something more to do with family.
Reeling into the conversation earlier today, Master Splinter could make out Raphael's and Leonardo's words just barely. It was not uncommon for the two to be fighting over most things now that they had entered their teenage years. But their arguments had shifted as of late from the role of leadership to something a bit more problematic...when to go topside.
Master Splinter straightened his head, ears flickering upwards as he glanced around. The sensitivity of his ears was able to catch the tinkling of glass being put away in Don's lab and the slightest of murmuring of Mikey's sleep talking from the other room, but he could not, for the life of him, make out Raphael's snoring.
A knot formed in Master Splinter's stomach as he tried to calmly question,"Where are your brothers?"
Leo fidgeted a little. He hesitated a bit before finally puffing out a, "Master Splinter…Raph and Casey went out. They haven't returned yet…I think..."
Inhaling deeply, Master Splinter closed his eyes. Then he opened them. "Leonardo."
He couldn't help but notice the slight wince in his eldest sons's face. The tone softened a bit as Master Splinter continued on. He didn't want his son to feel as if he was to blame for his brother's absence, but he needed for Leonardo to understand his responsibility was report issues such as these instead of taking them into his own hands. "How long have you known that Raphael and Casey were out?"
"Mikey told me this evening that they were going to meet up some time tonight."
When Master Splinter sighed heavily, Leo quickly interjected trying to plead his case. "I didn't know that he was going to leave so late. I was trying to stay awake so that I could catch him before he went, but I think...I might have..."
"This could have easily been avoided had you come to me," Master Splinter firmly replied. He sought to keep the edge from his voice, not wanting the bitterness of his nightmares to be thrown into Leonardo's face. Instead, he kept his mind purposely blank as he continued lecturing. "By volunteering to become leader, it rests on your shoulders as to your brother's whereabouts, even if it means that you must admit to someone that you are in need of assistance. I trust in your judgement on these decisions, Leonardo, which is why you are a leader."
The last few words were not so much a reprimand, but to demonstrate the shared burden of responsibility between father and son. Master Splinter did not want to discourage Leonardo's efforts for trying to be leader. Eventually, that role would need to be filled and the burden would fully transfer. But for the time being, Master Splinter needed to know where his sons were and what they were doing.
He could not as both father and teacher, allow his children to go
"I thought that you might think that I wasn't able to handle things if I didn't fix this myself," Leonardo confessed, peering downwards. He scanned the floor for a moment, before the teen picked up his head with a new resolve burning in his stormy blue eyes. "I'll go find him, Sensei."
Suddenly, there was a flashing of alarms that sprang up from around the room, near Donatello's lab.
Splinter was already poised for attack and Leonardo had copied his stance just as quickly.
The lab door came flying open and a wide-eyed Donatello stumbled out, fingers darting to something inside the lab, obscured by the wall. "Guys, we've got unwelcome company!"
Splinter sent a look at his eldest son. "Get Michelangelo up. Donatello, get our weapons."
Both boys went skidding in opposite directions, all the while leaving Splinter standing in the center of the room, unmoving. His eyes narrowed at the turnstiles and the darkness that laid beyond them. If the foot had discovered their whereabouts once again, Splinter was certain to make quick work of them before they could relay this location.
Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello came zipping back in a flash, Don handing their respective weapons to each member of the family before glancing around and noticing that Raphael wasn't among them.
"He went to the surface again, didn't he?" Don deadpanned.
Mikey rolled his shoulders trying to shrug off his sleep, before sending Don a partial smirk. "He was crying about missing all the action."
"He didn't have to go far," commented Leo with a grumble before Master Splinter shushed his children. He was busy listening, making sure that nothing came at them unsuspectingly.
That's when he heard a click off in the distance.
He had second to react as his fingers pinched the incoming dart right before it reached his neck. All the boys glanced up wide eyed as Splinter dropped the dart and flipped his cain around, successfully smacking another two aimed in his general direction.
Leo managed to deflect one flying in his direction while Mikey expertly avoided another with a backflip.
The one targeting Don got jammed right into his staff.
Then a figure walked out, black suit, raven hair slicked back, hands clasped loosely behind his back. The way he stared down his lightly shaded glasses made him appear as if he were a scientist inspecting a test subject. The two dark eyes narrowed as he stepped in a bit closer, without any fear on his being whatsoever.
"Well, that was worthless," the man named stated. He kicked one of the syringes that Leo deflected, causing it to bounce along the uneven ground before smacking into the wall. Three other men came out of the shadows, they still had tranquilizers in hand and Master Splinter was unable to tell if they were reloaded. Most likely the answer was one that he wouldn't be pleased with.
"Who are you?" growled Splinter, taking a direct step in front of his sons. His parental instincts were kicking in over time the more he surveyed how very trapped they were.
"You can call me Agent Bishop. I've been observing the turtles for quite some while. I had expected a Hamato Yoshi, but not you. I see the mutagen has affected you as well. Nevertheless, I think it would be more preferable that my team analyze your family for the sake of humanities survival as opposed to what the Kraang might do when they succeed in capturing you."
Don sent Leo a questioning glance. "He knows about the Kraang?"
Though the inquiry was meant to be private, Bishop addressed it nonetheless. "Actually, I know quite a bit more than you think, Donatello. This unique family has developed much interest in private sectors of the government. Almost unbelievable at first, but the cameras everywhere don't lie about your involvement in this mess that we are desperately trying to keep under wrap in New York City."
Don frowned. He knew about the technology of the upper world, but had been extremely careful to block out camera fed when they were moving about. He had the system wired. Sure it was a little suspicious with black out in unison with their movements, but it was better than their faces being plastered on every federal agency out there. These guys were living proof of that.
Something must have happened, must not have worked right. There must have been a flaw in the system. It might also explain how they had been discovered since the foot soldier's interference in the alley. Don had chalked that up to luck back then, but perhaps, it wasn't as much luck as preparation. They had been a completely naive to the world topside when they first ventured out of the sewers. Don had only caught on to the cameras hiding around every corner after a few of their battles.
"We don't have any of the advancements that you require for bettering humanity down here," replied Master Splinter, eyes still narrow. "I would suggest that if you are as interested in the Kraang as you say, you intrude on their property instead of ours."
Bishop rose an eyebrow, amused at the threat. "I plan to do that as well…in time."
Splinter gave a weary glance as the men aimed their weapons.
"Boys!" was all he shouted, leaping to block view of his sons before darts went flying in their direction once again.
Kurtzman didn't much care for driving his car in the city. The streets were nearly always cramped and there were people day and night that did the strangest of things out in the middle of the road. He just didn't have the time or the patience to sit through all the shenanigans of everyday life. But at the moment, he really didn't have much of a choice.
His building wasn't within walking distance from a certain New York resident that remained his only contact to the mutant turtles. He had to make sure to get the word out to them before Bishop did anything that might sabotage Earth's only successful resistance to the Kraang invasion. If Bishop could manage to see that, maybe he would be more inclined to not carry through with his plans of hunting down every mutant he crossed because of Kraang involvement.
He parked his car across the street before hopping out and racing over to the apartment complex. He slammed his hand on the buzzer, giving the name and room number to someone inside.
It only took seconds for there to be a slurred, female voice to answer the buzzer. "Hello?"
The voice was much to old to belong to a certain red-haired sixteen year old. This must have been the infamous aunt that April had spoke of living with for the time being. Getting around her would prove challenging, unless by some off chance, her aunt knew about the turtles as well.
"My name is Kurtzman, I am a private investigator, and I am looking for April O'Neil."
The woman's voice flooded back into the speaker. Even through the hollow intones of the buzzer, she sounded skeptical. "I don't know any Kurtzman..."
"This is about her family. I need to speak with her immediately."
There was silence and Kurtzman closed his eyes as he swayed, leaning against the side of the building. He didn't know if she believed him and the last thing that he needed was for other family to become over protective of the girl tonight. True it was late and he was technically a stranger, but when April heard his name, she would instantly fly into action. He was sure of that. It would just take a few minutes before April's aunt alerted her of Kurtzman's presence. She wouldn't take this long without having done so.
Unless she had not at all believed him and walked away from the buzzer in hopes that the unknown man requesting her would disappear.
That had Kurtzman a bit worried.
"I'm sorry," the buzzer stated, coming alive once more. "You will have to come back at a decent hour, when I can understand how the two of you know each other. I'm not inviting anyone into my apartment until the sun is up or unless it's someone I personally hired."
He stood outside, waiting to see if April would make it past her aunt to race down the stairs.
When she hadn't after a few more minutes ticked by, Kurtzman sighed and allowed his forehead the rest against the cool brick of the building. So that was it then. There was no one left but fate to determine the outcome of the turtles. He wouldn't even know how to get in touch with Bishop after this either to work that angle. It was all over and he didn't even have a chance to rectify this situation, to fix this terrible blunder of judgement.
Perhaps April would call him. She would know how to get in touch with the turtles. The question was, would she call him? Had he given her his number to call him? He couldn't remember correctly. He couldn't remember if he had given the redhead his business card at all. The minor mishap might be costly since he remained fairly unlisted over the internet. He was more or less an old fashion sort, even if that meant he only got the left over cases.
Something thunked from over head, breaking through his thoughts.
Kurtzman glanced up to see the figure of a girl clumsily pulling herself down the side of the building with whatever it was she was holding onto. Then the girl slipped, dropping the rope before catching herself and sliding down it at an alarming speed.
Her bottom met concrete before Kurtzman had time to come to her aid.
"I do it all the time, Red. Works like a charm no matter how high up you are," she grumbled to herself in sarcasm, before throwing the rope at the building in disdain. Then she glanced up noticing that Kurtzman was offering her a hand. Taking it, she smiled shyly at someone having heard her short speech and muttered, "Thanks."
"Miss O'Neil," Kurtzman couldn't help but sound serious despite the ridiculous display. "The turtles are in danger."
The smile on April's face immediately vanished into a frown. Her entire reflection portrayed that she knew enough to not need to ask questions about Kurtzman's visitation. She understood that the situation must have been dire for the man to come knocking on her doorstep. "You can tell me on the way," was all she said before the two ran towards the car.
April held the T-phone up to her ear, biting the end of her thumb as she waited for someone to pick up. The endless ringing filled her ears, making the corners of her lips turn further and further downwards. Every loud 'rrr-ing' became longer and longer with every growing second. It was almost agonizing how long the spacing between them carried out. One minute or so, felt like three hours, especially since no one was picking up.
She had already tried Donny, her first choice; Leo, her second….Now it was Casey's turn.
Suddenly, the ringing stopped.
"Red!" Never in her life had she been happier to hear Casey Jones call her by that silly nickname.
"Oh, thank God, Jones! Nobody is answering their T-phones in the sewers and I don't know what to do." She couldn't withhold the panic in her voice. She hadn't exactly waited for Kurtzman to explain everything out to her before she went on a frenzy of finding her adopted family.
"Relax, Red. I'm sure that everyone is fine. You're just overreacting-"
"I'm serious, Casey, Kurtzman is with me right now and he's saying that the guys are in danger!"
"Kurtzman?"
Suddenly, there was a wrestling on the phone before a new voice hopped on. "What's going on, April?"
"Raph? I thought you- Nevermind, just, Kurtzman said that this guy, Bishop was looking through the maps of the sewers or something. He's after you guys."
April bit her lip, hoping that she could get at least one of the two to understand. Kurtzman was already driving down the street towards where April had requested she be dropped off at. If anything, she was going to go down there to make sure that everyone was alright.
"Bishop? You mean, the mean guy with the suit? We ditched him earlier."
April couldn't bite back her frustration. "Raph, how am I suppose to know what he looks like? He's some government guy and he's hot on your trail whether or not you ditched him. Kurtzman is sure of it. He's been looking for mutagen and Kraang obsessively. Kurtzman doesn't know exactly what he wants, but he's someone not to mess with."
"We lost him. He didn't find our home...Donny made the lair undetectable."
"What if he figured it out anyways?" April frantically questioned. Then she pleaded for the other to understand her point of view, "Raph, I don't know about you, but I've got a really bad feeling about this. I mean a really, really bad feeling."
At first came silence. It was quickly replaced with Raph's voice, no longer argumentative nor hesitant about the matter any longer. "We're on our way."
Relief flooded April's being. "Casey can show you our usual meet up point. See you there."
April hung up the phone and fell back into her seat. Despite the solace of having Raph take her seriously, she felt queazy and sick in her stomach. The idea that the last of her family being hauled off by the government did not bode well with her. She needed to be there and much faster than the speed they were traveling now.
"They're coming?" Kurtzman asked from his seat.
April sighed. "Yeah."
Then she groaned aloud. "How did this Bishop guy even know about them? He wouldn't hurt them…Would he?"
Kurtzman inhaled, taking his time to answer her question. "I didn't tell you about the specifics of my case."
The confession made April twist in her seat. She sent the other man an uncertain look, one that she might deal to a stranger than an ally. It wasn't until that point did she realize that she'd never really gone into detail about anything other than Kraang history and her connection to them. The most important piece of the puzzle, was how did Kurtzman know what he knew. That all seemed so irrelevant by the time she had learned her own history as a Kraang experiment. The question was, why had that become irrelevant?
Kurtzman seemed unaware of April's internal struggle. "I was assigned to find the missing scientists as I said. They were random scientists, no link or connection. Just a hodgepodge of people indirectly related to one another and none of it made much sense to me. Then I stumbled upon a fight one night outside the apartment. It wasn't a big fight, but it included your friends and a few black clad ninjas. I got lucky. Snapped a picture. Got interested.
"Wasn't long before I was looking through feeds, satellite images and everything trying to figure out what I had actually witnessed. But I guess my erratic work attracted this off the charts government branch that dealt with special scenarios such as these. That's when I got a phone call from Special Agent Bishop. He and I had a long conversation where he revealed to me who the Kraang were and what they were doing here. I did some research and found that he is legitimate, that he was apart of a classified sector. He didn't give me his own connection to the case, but believe me, I've tried to figure the whole thing out myself…Then I did something, that I now regret. I gave him information about you and your family. He already knew about them. He followed…some alligator mutant, I believe, for a while. He wanted more information. When the alligator went missing, he started coming more and more to me. He had all the names though, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo. He knew their fighting styles, their habits…He just knew. And then he vanished for a few weeks and I thought, that was that."
April stared wide eyed at the man, unable to help feeling betrayed. "You didn't mention any of this to us."
Kurtzmans' face fell. "I honestly didn't know how to bring it up. I was far too busy concerned with making sure that you knew about the Kraang. I didn't think about Bishop."
April sat quietly at that point. She didn't quite know how to feel, but Master Splinter had given her advice to make sure that her head was unobstructed by quick or unwarranted judgement so that she could think logically about her next decision. Any one of those decisions could be the balance between life and death in many scenarios. She knew that the only way to clear her thoughts was to concentrate on what needed to be done rather than resorting to anger at a man she once thought a friend.
She remained still, trying to do as Master Splinter had instructed her. But it was not working as well, even as they came to the spot April had told Kurtzman to drive to. Had she been wrong to give him even that much information?
"Pull over here," April stated abruptly, seeing two shadows looming in the distance.
It had Kurtzman skidding his car to a halt.
For one brief moment, her stomach rolled at the thought that this mysterious Bishop had somehow found her and was going to haul her off too. The figures were coming down a ladder, by the time April had collected herself mentally. She was behaving in the exact opposite manner than Master Splinter had warned her about. She couldn't let Kurtzman's conversation of this omniscient being take reign in her thoughts. She had to focus.
The figures morphed from her fears into Raph and Casey.
April began to hop out of the car, but was stopped by a hand grasping her arm. She was about to turn and snap at the older man to release her, but caught sight of his saddened face. She withdrew her sharpened tongue and instead listened, unsure if she even felt safe at the moment being within the same vicinity as Kurtzman. A card was forced into her hand.
"April, I'm going to stay right here. If you run into any trouble, I will make sure to be there as soon as you call me."
April nodded, thankful for the release of her arm. Her mind was battling the thoughts of distrust that seeped to the surface, even though Kurtzman had always attempted to be genuine and upfront about everything. However, the idea that someone else knew, that he had talked to that someone else in the United States government about the turtles... it was a terrifying thought. This could exploit the small family she had grown to love. The public would destroy them and scientists would tear their remains apart, just like April's dissection lab in biology.
The thought made April reel backwards and out of the car as her eyes no longer viewed Kurtzman as 'friend.' In her palm, she crumbled the card and slipped it into her pocket as if it were nothing more than a receipt for a soda-pop. Useless, featherlight baggage that could be stuffed away until laundry day and then thrown out.
She sped over to Casey and Raph.
Without waiting for either of them to reach her, she plucked the man hole cover off with strength she didn't even knew she had. Then flipping in Casey and Raph's direction, azure eyes lit with apprehension, she exclaimed, "We need to get down there! Now!"