Thanks again, everyone! I managed to get a bit of writing done during some down time over the weekend, so here's the next little bit. How much did you love the "Space Heroes III: The Resurrection of Dr. Mindstrong" poster in Episode 7? I love that the creators are clearly making the show both for kids, and for their parents who grew up with the original TMNT run and are watching it with them.


From the Sewer: Act Two, Part 2

The familiar fight music swelled as Captain Ryan faced off against the weasel beast. Fists clenched, Leo couldn't help humming along a little as the intrepid captain leaped to the side and rolled across the arena.

"Leo, do you mind?" Raph asked. "You're getting geek all over me."

Mikey draped himself upside down across the back of the bench next to Raph, repeatedly tossing and catiching a ball he'd fished out of the storm water the day before. "This is a soccer ball right? Do you think April would teach me how to play?"

"Guys, will you please-" Without warning, the image on the TV switched to static. Leo stared at it in horror. "Donnie! The cable's out!"

Every light in the lair went out, and the turtles were plunged into darkness.

"Donnie!"

"It wasn't me!" The bobbing beam of a flashlight heralded Donatello's emergence from his lab. April was only a few steps behind him, holding the light. "I mean, sure, it's usually me, but this time it wasn't."

A flicker of lightning filtering through the skylight in the dojo outlined the doorway in ghostly light. An instant later, a rumble of thunder, usually masked by the incessant noise of the TV and the myriad games that populated the lair, rolled through the room.

Mikey flipped himself so that he was right way up on the bench, clutching his ball to his chest, his eyes wide. "Okay, I am officially creeped out." As a second flash of lightning threw shadows up onto the wall, he scooted closer to Raph.

Frowning, Raph planted a hand on Mikey's head and shoved him back across the bench. "I'm gonna go check it out." In another second, he was gone, vanishing silently into the dark.

April raised a hand. "Um, it's a storm, right? Power goes out during a storm?"

"Not here," Donnie answered absently as he moved around the lair tucking things into a duffel bag. "Our feeds are all underground and protected from most storm damage, and I've rigged backups to keep us from going out like this. Usually, the only time we lose power is when we have a mechanical obstruction on our end. " He stopped next to her and frowned at the bag, taking the flashlight back so that he could make out its contents.

Mikey scratched his head. "Is that your fancy way of saying that you blow the lights every time you electrocute yourself?"

"Shut up, Mikey."

"It's dark for a ways," said Raph, materializing next to April quietly enough that she shrieked and grabbed at Donnie's arm. Donnie didn't seem to mind much, but she let go quickly with a sheepish look on her face. "There are lights in some of the other tunnels though."

"Hmm." Donnie dug into the bag. "That would suggest that it's an issue with the cables and not a broader problem." He sighed. "We'd better go check it out."

"What, all of us?" Mikey's voice had climbed to a squeak.

Donnie started tossing out flashlights, which Leo and Raph caught easily. Mikey's hit him in the head, since he was still clutching his ball, but he caught it on the way down before it could break. Donnie rolled his eyes. "If it's a problem with debris, I may need help moving stuff." He vanished back into the lab.

"Yeah, but hold up a sec." Raph hooked a hand into his belt. "Not to point out the obvious, but some of us aren't exactly built for strength."

"Subtle," April said, folding her arms.

Leo reached out and grabbed the coil of electrical cable that Donnie tossed to him from the lab. "There's a ninja master who's extremely paranoid about strangers on his way home somewhere. You really think it's a good idea to have him come across someone he doesn't know, alone here, in the dark?"

Raph inclined his head. "Good point."

"Oooh!" Mikey raised his hand. "How 'bout I stay here with April."

"Nice try, meathead." Raph grabbed Mikey by the back of the shell and hauled him off the bench. "If I've got to get my hands dirty, you're coming too."

As Raph dragged a protesting Mikey past them, Leo turned to April. "Sorry about this."

She waved a hand. "No problem. Our building was pretty old, and I used to have to change fuses my dad blew all the time. I'm used to it." She paused, and a shadow crossed her features. "He was really great at his specialty subjects. Basic household maintenance wasn't one of them."

Leo hesitated a moment, and then placed a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him, a question in her eyes, he tried to put every ounce of conviction he had into his voice. "We will find him."

April stared at him, a little taken aback, and then smiled, placing her hand over his. "I know."

A loud throat clearing sounded behind them. Turning, Leo met Donnie's stare with a raised brow and set down the flashlight and the coil of cabling so that he could accept the pair of katana that Donnie held out to him. Donnie's bō was already on his back, and having apparently collected everything he felt they needed, Donnie returned the flashlight to April. Raph and Mikey stepped into the light, weapons in place, though Mikey looked decidedly greener than usual.

"Right then," said Donnie, slipping the strap of the duffel over his head. Remembering that April was watching, Donnie struck what Leo could only assume was supposed to be a heroic pose. "Let's do this."

The largest lightning flash yet threw the lair into sharp relief, and thunder echoed through the sewer like cannon fire. In response, from deep within the tunnels, an eerie cry rose, swelled, and faded into the darkness. Almost unconsciously, the four turtles edged closer to April, the expressions on their faces ranging from alarm to abject terror.

"Um… that's normal, right?" said April. "Like those subway guys said? Storms make weird noises in the tunnel?"

"S-sure," Donnie said, and cleared his throat. "That's all it is. Storm noises." He squared his shoulders. "Let's go." Reaching out to snag Mikey, who had slowly been inching toward the bedrooms, Donnie marched himself and his brother toward the turnstiles.

As she turned to follow, the beam of April's flashlight rested on the issue of From the Sewer that Raph had abandoned on the bench. She sidled closer to Raphael and whispered, just loud enough for Leo to overhear, "don't tell anyone, but I'm starting to like the staying behind with Michelangelo plan."

Raph slung his arm around April's shoulders and leaned in close. "Don't tell anyone either," he said, "but so am I."

April laughed, her voice tight with nervousness, as Raph led her after Donnie and Mikey. Leo watched, bemused, as she leaned into Raphael ever so slightly. His arm stayed solidly across her shoulders.

It had been a long time since the sounds of a storm had troubled their subterranean lives. As they had moved around the tunnels and filled their homes with more and more electronic paraphernalia, they had forgotten the fears that had plagued them as children whenever the thunder began to roll. But as Leo watched the tension ease out of April, he remembered just for a moment how Raphael, always the strongest and most solid of the four, had been the one to shelter his brothers with his sheer physical presence during those storms and chase away the monsters in the dark. Though he always threatened bodily harm if you ever breathed a word of it, even when they had been young enough for all four of them to fit in the cabinet under the kitchen sink.

Sliding his katana into their sheaths, Leo picked up the flashlight and the cables at his feet and set off after the others.