Alright, sorry for the wait, but this chapter was stuck up my butt and apparently I had constipation.
...
Sorry.
Mikey whooped and hollered as he leaped cross the gap between rooftops, basking in the twilight provided by the setting sun. The cityscape at this time in the evening was absolutely breathtaking. Shades of bright orange, purple, and pink glazed the sky, and the lights that were flickering on in the streets and in windows added a sort of magical feel to the atmosphere. At least that was how it felt to Mikey, who had never been left unattended in his life. Being free, with no older brothers or Sensei to scold or tell him what to do, was absolutely exhilarating for the turtle. Being topside while he was grounded was a plus, too, of course. But he tried not to think of his rebellion while he was in such a good mood.
"Alright." said the orange garbed ninja as he perched on a building's ledge across from his target, peering carefully at the row of windows along the fourth floor of the well-kept apartment building. Mikey looked at the business card Don had handed him before he left. It read;
Robyn N. O'neil
Attorney at Law
Call 547-123-4567 for your free consultation.
Mikey flipped the card over, where Donnie had written the address to the apartment April's aunt currently lived in with red ink. The genius turtle had used some website to look up Robyn's home address and her relatives, which happened to be April and her father, Kirby. Don had said that besides her father, the red-head's only other relative was Robyn, so he concluded that she must be living there if not at her own apartment.
"Geesh, it's a good thing Donnie's smart." Mikey mumbled as he thought of how Raph would never have told them where the girl was living, not that they would have asked their brother anyways. No, that would just be suspicious.
Carefully reading over the address once more, Mikey verified that the building in front of him was indeed his target destination. He happily pulled out his T-phone and began hitting the keys to send his still handicapped brother a message.
You: Found it! (:|D U wer so rite! Shuld I go in now or...?
Donbert: Good. And yes check in now, but dont go into the building. If u can c anything through a window that will b good enough.
You: :|D Cando bossman!
Donbert: Hurry, its 545 already!
"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" Mikey replied out loud to the text, rolling his eyes. After shoving the card and cell into his belt, the turtle closed in on the building, jumping down the side of the structure he was on now and running across the street when he made sure it was clear. Once safely in an alley by the apartment, he began climbing up the fire escape, stopping once he was on the fourth floor. A door with a window lead into the building, and when Mikey peaked through the glass, he saw a long hallway with doors lining the excellently lit corridor. At the end of the hallway, a good one hundred feet away, was another door that Mikey assumed led to the main stairway.
"Screw looking through windows." Mikey said to himself with a mischievous grin, "Ding-Dong-Ditch is so much more fun.
With that statement made, the turtle opened the door slightly, running silently along the side with the doors until he reached apartment 407. Without much thought, he swiftly knocked three times, then jumped, using his arms and legs to pin himself into place above the door frame in the corner made where the wall met te ceiling. Only a few seconds passed before footsteps could be heard, and the apartment door swung open.
Mikey tried his hardest not to laugh out loud as a tall, dark red-haired woman came to the door, looking around in confusion through her icy blue eyes.
"Huh, I must be hearing things..." The woman mumbled as she began to close the door again, all the while her gaze shifting up and down the hall.
"Aunt Robyn? Was anyone there?" came a slightly familiar voice from inside.
"Nope. I thought it might be the pizza man, but I guess not..." Her voice trailed off as she shut the door and went deeper into the house. Mikey jumped down as soon as the lock clicked.
"Awright!" Mikey cheered quietly, smiling widely and grabbing his phone to text his brother. It was then that he noticed the sound of someone clearing their throat and looked up in surprise. To his right stood a scrawny looking, acne riddled, greasy blonde haired teen holding a box of pizza, staring right at him with a slightly horrified expression. Mikey's mind went into a whir as he began panicking immediately, fumbling for the words to say or what to do in his mind.
"Uh... This isn't what it looks like!" Mikey said, slapping himself mentally for saying anything at all and not just running away. But the teen did wat he least expected at the words. He smiled.
"Oh, I get it, you're an alien!" Exclaimed the kid, flashing his silvery braces as he grinned.
"Huh?" Mikey let out in confusion.
"News flash, dude! Halloween isn't for two weeks!" the delivery boy laughed, leaving the turtle with blank stare only momentarily. He quickly recovered and let out a nervous chuckle.
"Ah! Yeah, just... uh, practicing for Halloween, yup! Classic pranks, you know!" He said as he pointed a thumb at the door.
"Yep, yep, I get it!" The blonde said, nodding, "Nice costume, bro. You toats look like a real monster." Mikey tried not to flinch.
"Ah, yeah, well! Be seeing you!" Mikey waved as he made a bolt for the fire escape.
"Aight, man!" pizza boy called as Mikey made it through the door and scrambled up to the roof. He made sure to jump several buildings away before he decided to stop, not wanting to take a chance of being seen again. The ninja took in several deep breaths before looking at the phone still clutched tight in his hands. He shakily began typing.
You: (:|D Mission complete capn!
Donbert: Wow. That was quick. Was any1 home besides her?
You: The ant lady was. |:|/
Donbert: K, thats fine. Whats ur ETA?
Mikey stared at the acronym for several seconds before another text came through.
Donbert: Estimated Time of Arrival
You: Oh! I thot it ment eat that ant. that wuld b messed up tho. lol (:|D
Donbert: Just tell me what time ur gonna be back.
Mikey laughed as he started texting back, but stopped halfway through as a chill went down his spine. His mind flashed back to a few days ago, when Leo stopped them all for no apparent reason, and had a feeling he understood what his oldest brother was talking about. He could feel eyes on him. The ninja's senses were immediately on full alert, and his three-fingered hands went down to the kusarigama as his waist.
"Hello?" Mikey called out, squinting his crystal blue eyes against the dark. A dark presence could be felt, sending cold shivers throughout his body once again. Something was not right. Instinctively, the turtle began to move, stretching his senses to try to pick up on the location what or who he was feeling, "Kraang bots? Or another freaky mutant?" he mumbled his thoughts out loud as he jumped onto the roof of another building.
He continued to run for another ten or so minutes, still feeling as though he was being followed. Leo's voice popped into his mind, telling him not to lead whatever it was back to the lair. Or wait? It sounded a lot to Mikey like Leo's voice was not coming just from his imagination.
"Don't you remember, Raph? If one falls, we all fall." came the all to familiar voice from below. Mikey did not have to look down into the street to know his brothers were walking right by him. Mikey slowed immediately, erasing his presence so that his hyper-intuitive older siblings would not pick up on him.
"Stupid turtle's luck. Maybe Raph was right, we are unlucky." the orange banded turtle mumbled almost inaudibly as he hid behind a gargoyle that was perched on top of the building he was on. He had the intention to race in the other direction of his brothers and head home, but as they turned into the empty, hauntingly familiar alley below, Mikey knew he would have no chance of beating them home. The youngest brother was so caught up in his rising panic, he almost missed seeing the black shadow of a figure from the next building across.
Mikey stared at the person, obviously in shinobi garb, bug like goggles over his black mask and a thin piece of red fabric around his forehead, its tails draped over his shoulder. While Mikey stared at the ninja across from him, the ninja stared at his brothers. The turtle could only watch in shock as the ninja of unknown origin slowly drew a silver kunai from seemingly nowhere, then jumped expertly towards him, throwing the blade hurtling down at Raphael. Mikey wanted to yell out and warn his brother of the deadly weapon coming straight for his skull, but the wind was knocked out of him as the ninja landed on his chest and shoved him to the ground.
Fear gripped Michelangelo as the ninja drew his weapon, a single katana, and raised it high.
No. No. No. No! No! NO! Did he just kill Raph? Oh God he's going to kill me! What if Leo comes up here and finds out I came up here? I'm dead even if I live! What do I do? The thoughts rushed into Mikey's mind, only taking milliseconds to process in his already quick paced thinking as he watched the metal of the sword glinting in the brightening moonlight. I need to move. Move. MOVE!
In between the instant the mystery ninja raised his sword and started bringing it down, Mikey's whole demeanor changed from being frozen in confusion and terror, to numb and robotic. His body loosened as he instinctively twisted himself from under the man's feet, sending the ninja sprawling sideways. Mikey's thoughts faded out as adrenaline pumped through his veins, making his movements seem random as he slammed against the ninja. He raised his kusarigama the moment the enemy fell over, bringing it down with crack to the side of his head. Before Mikey could realize what he had just done, chains caught his legs and made him fall forwards onto his hands.
Twisting around, Mikey came face to face with six other identically dressed ninja as the one he just took down. The instinctive fight in his system had not yet been fully released, and Mikey let out an otherworldly snarl that put obvious hesitation into the offenders steps. The turtle did not let that moment pass him up, and grabbed the chain that was used to trip him, yanking it from one of the ninja's hands. Rolling quickly, Mikey tumbled off of the building, swinging the chain as he went. He managed to hook it around one of the gargoyles protruding from the building and swing himself down to the ground below without much trouble. As soon as his feet hit the pavement, Mikey bolted.
He ran for the nearest manhole, not bothering to see if any of the strange ninja were following him, and ducked under the lid quickly. Rancid water splashed onto his legs as he clumsily tripped once the adrenaline began wearing off, and a slight pain shot up his right leg where the chain had caught him, but he continued to run. The sewer tunnels passed by into a blur as they changed to subway tunnels, but it was all the same to the ninja, who felt as if he could still sense those ice like stares given to him from the darkness.
Mikey did not stop even once on the twenty-minute path back to the lair until he saw the turnstiles and burst through them.
"Mikey!" Donnie yelped with apparent concern in his voice. The taller turtle limped hurriedly over to his panting brother, still relying slightly on his staff for support. Don placed a gentle hand on to his brother's arm and led him to the lab.
"I-I think I..." Mikey started stammering as Don sat him down and began inspecting his leg, which the younger turtle still had not noticed was bruising, "Don I think I k-killed someone." There was a hitch in Donatello's movement, but he continued on with his work, never once looking up at Mikey. The orange wearing turtle gulped hard, tears burning at the rims of his eyes.
"Looks fine. No muscle damage, just some severe bruising that will heal with a little time." Don said in a detached tone, standing up straight. Mikey looked up at his older brother, confusion and fear alight in his eyes, but Donnie would not make eye contact.
"What happened, Mikey?" Don asked finally.
"I, uh, felt something weird; like "I'm being watched" kind of weird." Mikey started explaining immediately, "Then I started running, but then Leo and Raph were the and-"
"Woah! Hold up! Leo and Raph saw you?" Don interrupted, causing Mikey to shoot him an angry look.
"No! At least, I don't think so." Mikey retorted, "Anyways, it's not the point, there were other ninjas there! They attacked Raph and started fighting me!" The older turtle's eyes widened significantly, "That's how I got this bruise, and... And..."
"And what?" Don asked softly, now looking directly into Mikey's saddened eyes.
"Something took over when I fought the first guy. It was like... I wasn't myself." Mikey said, now taking his turn to avert his eyes, "I hit him pretty hard. But I didn't mean to!"
"Shh! I know, its okay Mikey!" Don told his increasingly distressed brother as he laid a hand on his shoulder, "Where exactly did you hit him?"
"Uh, I'm not so sure, but I think right about here?" Mikey said, pointing to a spot on his head. Donnie smiled.
"That's the thickest part of the skull, the guy will be fine, Mike. You did good." Don assured him. Mikey's blue eyes instantly lit up with relief.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. You trust me, don't you?"
"Of course!"
Donnie chuckled and pat his brother on the head. Just then clattering could be heard from outside of the room, causing both boys to jump slightly. The purple masked turtle turned sharply to his younger.
"You got that bruise from me, kay? I hit you with my naginata while you were picking on me." Don told Mikey, who tilted his head in confusion. The older turtle sighed with exasperation, "Its our alibi. An excuse. Don't let them know you were out, or that you fought another ninja."
"But, don't you think that's kind of important to let them know about that?" Mikey asked.
"Something tells me they already know." Don said as he hummed thoughtfully and head for the door, Mikey following closely. Sure enough, Leo and Raph were at the pit, looking pained and tired as they slumped down onto the couch. The edgy and frightened attitude of the turtle's instantly changed to concern and worry once they saw the state their brothers were in.
"What the SHELL happened!?" Don yelled out as he rushed as fast as he could to their sides. Both boys had bruises up and down their arms, Raphael a very prominent one across his left cheek, and a deep cut along his right calf.
"Someone had a helluva right hook, that's what happened." the brunette growled angrily. Leo sighed tiredly as he shifted uncomfortably on the couch.
"We took a little detour and ran into some trouble." The eldest boy explained. Donatello's worried expression faltered terribly and a cold, hard one took its place.
"What kind of trouble?" the purple banded turtle asked in monotone, causing the three remaining brothers to give each other confused glances at the sudden change in behavior.
"Ninja trouble." Leo said simply as he quickly recovered from his confusion, holding out a red strip of cloth in his hand that the others had not noticed he was holding. Don took it immediately, stretching it out and looking it over with scrutiny.
"A foot?" Donatello remarked in confusion as he noticed the tiny black symbol sewed into the headband. Leo nodded.
"You think you could look it up and see if it belongs to any gang or dojo? This could mean big trouble if they are related to those robot-alien things." Leo asked, "It needs to be taken care of immediately." At the last sentence, Don once again tensed up, crumpling the cloth in his hands and standing up rigidly. Raph scoffed at this stiff display.
"Why are you asking him?" the green-eyed teen huffed indifferently, crossing his arms, "This is the first time he's talked to us since we fought. And its only because we're hurt."
"Raph!" Leo scolded, giving his younger brother a look that neither of the turtles could understand the reason for, but Raph seemed to know and looked at the ground immediately, as if suddenly ashamed.
"I recommend asking Splinter first." Don said, seemingly ignoring Raphael's words completely, "If you really ran into ninjas, then he would know if this symbol belongs to a certain clan or not." Leo opened his mouth to say something, but Don quickly turned from them, "I'll analyze it anyways. Raph, I'm gonna get some gauze and antiseptic for your cut. I would put an ice pack or the bag of frozen peas on that bruise on your face."
Then he was gone, the lab sucking him up in an instant. Raph fidgeted awkwardly as silence took over the room, and Mikey sighed loudly.
"Why are you so quiet?" Raph asked irritatedly just to break up the quiet, "You'd normally be all over this kind of thing." Mikey winced slightly and twiddled his fingers nervously.
"Oh, uh... Just thinking is all." Mikey explained, looking up at his big brother. Leo and Raph stared at him without a word, making him more nervous, "W-what?"
"You were thinking?" Raph said rudely, pointing a finger in Mikey's direction. The turtle huffed indignantly.
"Hey, underneath this beautiful, handsome body is a soft heart. Don't hate, bro." Mikey said while narrowing his eyes. Raph laughed loudly and gave his youngest brother a smile.
"That's more like the Mikey I know." He chuckled, then turned put on a slightly softer expression, "Whats up, Mike? You worried about us or somethin'?"
"No!" Mikey protested, " Well, maybe. I was just thinking about how Leo said it was dangerous to go out right now."
"Of course it is." the eldest boy interjected, "Robots, mutants, monsters, and now mysterious ninjas? I'd say things are looking pretty bad up top right now." Leo concluded with a nod. Mikey fidgeted nervously, looking back down at the floor. Leo gave him a worried look and reached out in concern, but the young turtle stood up straight suddenly.
"I'm gonna go clean my room!" Mikey blurted out as he ran off towards his bedroom. Both of the older boys shared a shocked glance.
"Since when does Mikey clean anything?" Raph asked, eliciting a shrug from Leo.
Mikey shut the door behind him and flopped onto his bed, sighing loudly as he looked up at the ceiling. He stared at the pizza slice stuck there from a failed prank involving super glue, hot sauce, and Raph, wondering how such a thing could feel like it happened so long ago. So much had happened in the past few weeks, that it seemed the 'normal' days were years ago. Mikey let out a deep breath once more and flipped over onto his plastron. He buried his face into his pillow, laying there for a few seconds before sitting up on his elbows and pulling out his T-phone to distract himself from his thoughts with games.
He was surprised to see six unread messages in his inbox, and clicked them open. All of them were from Donatello, within the span of the forty minutes he had not replied.
Donbert: Hello? R u on ur way home or not?
Donbert: Everything ok?
Donbert: If ur playing, I'm not laughing.
Donbert: Seriously, is everything alright?
Donbert: Mikey?
The last message was sent exactly fifteen minutes after the last one.
Donbert: First rule as a ninja; Come home safe.
Mikey groaned as he clicked his phone shut, laying it on his cluttered side table. He buried his face into the pillow once again, this time not bothering to bring it back up as he slumped against his bed.
"Stupid brothers." He muttered into the cotton depths, though his words lacked the anger they implied, "Can't they just worry about themselves for once?"
