A/N: Reviews are an author's fuel, thank you for your kind words and for sharing your superb ideas.
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Chapter 8-Confusion
With just the two of them in the dojo the room remained silent as Leonardo's mind raced to process everything Raphael had just told him from last night. Who the shell is this vigilante in the hockey mask, a human who calls himself Casey Jones? And why would he try to convince Raph that he was friends with him? It wasn't a very sound strategic maneuver. But more important than that was the fact that Raphael ran into two other mutant turtles? What the shell?
The silence was driving Raphael crazy. "Well, what do we do Leo?"
"I don't know Raph." Leonardo shook his head. "Where did these other two turtle's come from? And who do they work for?"
"I can answer that."
The two turtles jumped in surprise at the unexpected reply, then quickly dropped to their knees and bowed.
"Master Shredder."
It was late morning and Oroku Saki had already changed his clothing from their early training session. Sporting a really expensive suit and an even more expensive tie, the Japanese businessman had been just about to leave for a meeting. A meeting that he immediately canceled after the video from the security camera's Stockman monitored throughout the building was brought to his attention.
The fact that Raphael had run into his brothers wasn't the reason why Saki had canceled his meeting. It would be foolish to expect to keep Leonardo and Raphael hidden away from their brothers for too long, and Saki was no fool. In the short time the two turtle brothers have been under Saki's control they had quickly established themselves to be a valuable addition to the Foot Clan.
The problem came from the same place that all pests rose up from, the unexpected. The current decline of the turtles mind control, combined with the interference of the human vigilante Casey Jones, that was the real problem here. Until Baxter Stockman finished his work, the control on the two turtles had already been walking a fine line. Casey Jones's attempt to jar Raphael's memories could cause the mind control to decline even faster. But Saki didn't become one of the most powerful businessmen in New York City because a plan runs into a problem or two. And he certainly wasn't the type of man to let go of something with the potential for great value easily either. No, the two turtles were worth a little extra effort, and if there was one thing Saki had become very good at over the years, it was the art of manipulation.
Saki looked at the two kneeling figures before him. "Leonardo. Raphael. Come, join me for an early lunch."
Leo and Raph rose from their knees and shot each other a questioning glance. Master Shredder had never invited them to eat any meals with him before. What was going on?
Saki led the two ninja down the hallways of Foot Headquarters as he began spinning his tale. "There's something that you two need to know about a man named Hamato Yoshi, and his loyal disciple Hamato Splinter."
Holding one can of beer as an ice pack on his shoulder, Casey cracked open a second can of beer with his empty hand. "Want one babe?" He offered the cold drink to his girlfriend.
"No thanks." April rolled her eyes. Only her boyfriend would think that a beer would be suitable to use as an ice pack, and serve as a breakfast drink.
"And, don't call me babe."
Hoping to calm her frazzled nerves, April began moving around the kitchen, preparing a cup of hot tea instead.
"Raph really didn't recognize anybody?"
Casey shrugged, then winced as it jostled his sore shoulder. "Nope. Not me. Not Donnie. Not Mikey. Nothing."
Casey took a long drink, then began to balance the chair on two legs.
"So what do we do now?"
April watched the tea leaves uncurl in the hot water. The red head felt like each sinking tea leaf, was a harsh reminder of the reality of this situation. Normally, when April came across a question she couldn't answer, she would turn to Donatello. But right now, the genius turtle was actually part of the problem, and the frustrated red head didn't know how to go about finding a solution.
"I don't know Casey. It's not like we needed the proof or anything but your run in with the three of them last night, well it's crystal clear that none of them remember anything." April pulled out her cell phone and looked at the picture of the four turtles.
Casey let the chair's legs slam onto the ground. He could sense the start of a verbal rant coming on as he prompted. "And?"
April shrugged. "Why not all four of them?"
Casey couldn't follow the question. "What?"
"Think about it Casey, if the Shredder really does have the power to control someone's mind, why make all four of them forget, but only take two of them? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he didn't capture all of the guys, but why? After all, all four of them are highly trained ninja. And what about the memory loss, why bother wiping clean the memories of Donnie and Mikey if they aren't going to work for the Foot Clan anyway?"
The longer April talked, the more confused Casey got. "I don't know babe."
April rolled her eyes, didn't she just tell him to stop calling her babe?
"I really wish we could talk to Master Splinter. Maybe then we would have some answers."
Casey stared at his girlfriend. Didn't he just say something like that himself last night?
Huddling under his blanket, Master Splinter felt the cargo ship rock in sync with the waves. Splinter had enjoyed his time with the Ancient One, but the journey home always felt too long, and too cold. Or maybe he's just starting to grow a little too old. They say that the average life span of a domestic rat is only one to three years, and Master Splinter has lived much longer than that. But it's not exactly like anyone actually knows what the average life span of a mutant rat should be.
Splinter shivered again. Aw heck who was he trying to fool, he really was old. Maybe he should consider the Ancient One's offer to relocate to Japan. The Ancient One's home had plenty of open spaces that let the warm sun in during the summer months, and in the winter, the heated flooring kept the damp and chilly air at bay. Two very attractive features when compared to living in the dark, wet, windowless sewers of the city. And besides, his sons have been left home alone for the past two weeks, with no sign of any problems.
Removing a picture from his inside pocket, Splinter smiled fondly at the image of his two sons. It would seem that Donatello and Michelangelo have grown up fast, and could manage just fine on their own without their father hovering over them.
A/N: I wanted to share a couple of fun facts about this fic so far. Fun fact #1. In Chapter 1, Leonardo's cutting action and parting line "And turtles bite" was a nod to Leo during the big boss fight scene from the 2016 movie. Fun fact #2. In Chapter 3, the coffee cake Mikey bakes for Donnie here, was a nod to the coffee cake Donnie gets as his gift from Raph in my oneshot "Christmas Luck." Apparently I'm a fan of Donnie eating cake.
