April walked up to the big green food truck parked at the edge of the soccer field while keeping an eye on Shadow during her evening soccer practice. She ignored the looks from the people waiting in line and smiled at Woody as he tossed her a to-go bag from the order window in the back of the truck.
Woody offered an apologetic shrug to the customers waiting and offered up a, "That's my sister," and a wink to placate them before he was handed the next order through their tall pass-through window from a whistling Michelangelo.
He smiled as he recognized the song Mikey was whistling and took the order from the next hungry customer before glancing at the soccer fields to watch Shadow in action. He'd played soccer in high school and had been slightly amused when Shadow had come to him for tips and he'd actually been able to provide her with something that none of her other athletically talented uncles could provide.
Once the crowd of customers had all been fed, Woody slipped through the door that led to Mikey's work station and stole a few kisses from Michelangelo before he was shoved out of the truck to watch the end of Shadow's practice. He wasn't sure where Casey was tonight but they all knew Shadow liked having as many family members around the soccer field as she could get.
He spotted April on the sidelines talking to some other parents and headed that way as he searched out Shadow. She was at the other end of the field trying to keep a soccer ball in the air by bouncing it back and forth using just her knees. It was something he'd taught her and she was pretty good at it.
He'd almost reached April when he stopped suddenly and focused back on Shadow. A strange man wearing a sweater, inappropriate for both the summer heat and the soccer field, was approaching Shadow. He looked strangely familiar to Woody but he couldn't place where he'd seen him before. But he was pretty sure it wasn't here on the soccer field.
Shadow sensed the stranger approaching her and let her soccer ball drop to the ground to turn to him.
"You're April O'Neil's daughter, right?" the stranger asked her, eyeing her red hair and freckles.
Shadow got a bad feeling about the look on this stranger's face and she took a step back. The stranger took another step towards her in response but stopped suddenly when her Uncle Woody appeared behind her and placed a protective hand on her shoulder.
"Can I help you?" Woody asked.
"Who are you?" the strange man asked Woody.
"I think you should head over to your mom," Woody said, giving Shadow's shoulder a squeeze.
She nodded and turned to go and then narrowly dodged the strange man's hand as he jerked forward to grab her arm. She jerked herself backwards and quickly kicked her soccer ball into the man's face.
The stranger yelled out in surprise as the soccer ball cracked his nose but pushed forward to try to grab her again.
Woody spun around and kicked the man in the stomach, a move he'd seen the turtles do effortlessly in the dojo a thousand times. It was a little harder than they made it seem but he was happy to see the man fall backwards. He turned and saw Shadow running to April.
April wrapped her arms around Shadow and raised her eyes in question to Woody across the field. Then her eyes widened as she saw Stockman knocked down on the grass behind Woody.
"Grab him!" April yelled.
Woody turned back to the strange man as he jumped to his feet and began running away. Woody lunged forward and tackled him.
"If we were still at the beach, we wouldn't have to go to bed this early," Machi said, practically pouting.
"Well, we're not still at the beach," Akito snapped at her, tired of hearing her whine. He wasn't happy to be home either. He tried not to let his mind wander to the walks in the sand he was missing out on with Violet. He'd only just worked up the nerve to hold her hand yesterday before they were all rushed back on the jet to come home. Mr. Usagi had transported himself, Violet and her brothers and sister home directly from the beach. He hadn't even gotten a chance to sit next to her on the jet again.
He could feel his pop's eyes on him and knew he shouldn't have snapped at Machi. The kid had thrived on that island with the amount of time she got to spend outside. Unlike here where outside meant they got to go for a run in the sewer with their dad. He knew his fathers and uncles had been raised in the sewers and their only experience with the real outdoors came when they began patrolling at fifteen. And even then, it was mostly just rooftops in the dark. So he should be grateful for their nice apartment building. And he was. But he also wished they could go outside as freely as they did at the beach house. It was why he'd managed not to snap at Machi, before this moment, whenever she complained about not being allowed to go watch Shadow's soccer games.
He glanced over at Machi and took in her sad pout. He knew Machi shouldn't just be allowed to go watch Shadow play soccer. Machi should be out on the soccer field playing too. He had a sudden vision of her dominating on a soccer field and grinned.
"What?" she snapped back at him when she caught him looking at her.
"Do you want to kick a soccer ball around tomorrow morning in the dojo with me?"
She narrowed her eyes at her big brother and wondered why he'd make such an offer. Lately his version of hanging out with her included shooing her out of his room and closing the door in her face when he talked to Violet on the inter-dimensional phone Uncle Donnie had down in his lab.
Raphael watched the two of them in their stand-off outside their bedroom doors. He was wondering if Machi was going to let her stubbornness turn down Akito's offer when Machi finally nodded her head in response.
"Great. But I don't want to hear any more whining tonight," Akito said and shut himself in his room before Machi could get another word in.
Raph tried to hide his grin as he watched Machi scowl at Akito's door before going into her own room and shutting the door. I guess I'll get good night hugs later, he thought to himself as he glanced towards Leo in the kitchen. Leo stood facing Raph but his focus was centered on something else as he held his T-phone pressed tightly to the side of his head.
Raph narrowed his eyes and wondered who Leo was talking to as he noticed Leo was actually glaring at the floor. His grip on the phone was tighter than it needed to be and his head dipped as his free hand reached up to scrub down his face. Raph's focus zeroed in on Leo's swollen and bruised shoulders, injured thanks to Leo taking the brunt of the force of supporting both of them as the parachute had opened.
He should've forced Leo to ice the shoulders yesterday when they had been returned to the beach house. But they had all been pretty busy getting their things packed and locking the house up tight and he'd forgotten about the ice. Easy to do when Leo refused to complain about pain. Then he and Leo had been zonked out for the entire flight home. They'd barely managed to wake up long enough to walk back to the vehicles for the last leg of the journey home. And he was pretty sure Akito and Machi had put him and Leo to bed last night.
Today they had slept in. Well, he'd tried to force them to sleep in. But Leonardo didn't really know how to sleep in and Raphael had had to use a firm grip and his bulkier weight to press Leo into the mattress to force him to stay and relax. His persuasion technique had worked, though, because by the end of it, Leo had lay panting for only a few moments before falling right back to sleep. Raphael smiled at the memory.
Mikey and Woody had come over and cooked them breakfast and even set out a lunch for them before they decided to head out in the food truck for the rest of the day. Master Splinter had come over when they left to eat lunch with them. This kind of hovering would've bugged the hell out of him a few years ago. Now, though, Raphael realized he tolerated it rather well. Maybe even liked it a little bit. Not that he'd tell his family that.
Leo hung up his phone and gestured towards the hallway as he headed to their apartment exit. Raphael quickly followed him and was surprised to find almost their entire clan, with the exception of Master Splinter, Miwa and little Shadow, standing out there in the hallway.
April had her arms wrapped around her middle and Raph watched as Casey tried to soothe her. Sadie stood to one side and watched as Donnie actually paced back and forth at the end of the hallway. And then Raphael focused on Woody, who was sporting a black eye he hadn't had when Raph had last seen him before lunch. He turned to Michelangelo next and found him leaning against one of the hallway walls with his arms crossed, looking sullen and upset.
Leo looked over their group as well. He had just hung up with Michelangelo who had called as he was finally driving Woody, April and Shadow home from the police station. Leo figured Woody must've called Sadie and told her about it as well based on Donnie's erratic pacing.
"Who wants to fill me in?" Raphael finally asked.
"Stockman tried to grab my kid at her soccer practice today," Casey said, as he finally decided to just pull April into him for a hug.
Raphael's eyes widened. "Where is she?"
"She's inside," Casey said, gesturing towards their apartment door. "Master Splinter is making her some of his special cocoa."
"And Stockman?" Raph asked.
"He was arrested," Woody said. He glanced over at his sister. It was only after Stockman had been taken into custody that he realized he was one of the men Sadie had had to testify against in court years ago. They'd been briefly told what had happened to Leo and Raph and their helicopter adventure yesterday, but he hadn't put it together that this was that same creep who had helped kidnap his sister.
"What happened to your eye?" Raph asked Woody.
"He decided to take down Stockman himself," Mikey said, his tone unnaturally neutral as he continued to lean against the wall behind him.
"Woody saved Shadow," April said, sending Woody yet another grateful look. "He was by her side before I even realized Stockman was on the field. He kicked him in the stomach when he tried to grab Shadow and then tackled him to the ground until the police arrived."
"The guy elbowed me in the eye on his way down," Woody said to Raphael.
"Damn, Woody," Raph said, thoroughly impressed. "I thought you were a pacifist."
"Not when his niece was in danger," Sadie said, smiling over at her brother.
Woody nodded back at his sister before glancing back at Mikey again. He, April and Shadow had ridden in police cars to the station to give their statements against Stockman while Mikey had followed them and waited in the food truck outside until they were finished so he could drive them all home. Mikey had clearly sat stewing over something while they'd been inside and Woody wasn't exactly sure what that was.
Raph glanced over at Leo and found him glaring at the ground again.
"Why does he want Shadow?" Casey demanded.
April's eyes lifted to Donnie and Donnie stopped pacing and met her gaze.
"Because he's figured out that he needs April's DNA to make working retromutagen," Donnie said. "And Shadow has April's DNA."
"And he figured it would be easier to grab a small kid," Casey said in realization as he tightened his hold around April. "Thank you, Woody," he said, sending the guy a grateful look as well.
"Well, Shadow also broke the guy's nose with her soccer ball," Woody said.
Raphael shared a small smirk with Casey before he turned back to Leo again. "What's up, Fearless?"
Leo finally stopped glaring at the ground and lifted his eyes to Raphael's. "Stockman isn't going to stop," he said.
"He's in jail now," Casey said, glaring at Leo. He didn't want Leo freaking April out any more than she already was.
"He got out of a maximum security prison," Sadie said. "He'll get out again. He could be out already right now."
"This is a very secure building," Donnie said, shooting Casey a reassuring look.
"Might not be enough for a mad scientist, though, Don," Leo said.
"Are ya tryin to give April nightmares here, Leo?" Casey demanded.
"He's thinkin of the safety of this whole clan, includin April and Shadow, Case," Raphael said in a grumble.
"So where do we go?" April said, running her hand down Casey's arm to calm him. "He'll find us at the beach house and there's no way he wouldn't find us out at a farmhouse that has my name on the deed."
Raphael looked to Leo and began shaking his head even before Leo opened his mouth. "No," he said to Leo. "No way."
Leo shrugged apologetically at Raph. "We have to take them someplace Stockman can't go."