Chapter Ten: Judge Karai Presiding

Closing time at Murakami's.

Fewer words could be so sweet. It was a time when the restaurant was empty, leftovers were still warm, and teenaged mutant ninja turtles could wander around without restraint. One such example could be Michelangelo as he danced a culinary jig behind the counter, his hands a blur over the many spices. Two days had passed and he'd made a speedy recovery, just enough to finally be allowed to leave the lair and spend some quality time with his siblings.

Today, he decided to be a chef. Karai sat opposite him at the counter and watched with a bored expression, her face propped up in her hands. Finally, Mikey produced a large bowl of multicolored popcorn. Karai immediately knew that this would not end well.

"I've finally done it," Mikey said proudly. "With just a dash of cumin, I think I've finally created the perfect Monster Movie Marathon Mix."

"Shouldn't you be taking it easy, Mikey?" asked Karai.

"Come on," he pleaded, "just try one?"

Karai sighed and tentatively popped one piece into her mouth as Mikey did the same. Almost instantly, their faces scrunched up in reference to the confusing tempest swirling in their mouths.

"This must be what bad breath tastes like," said Karai.

Mikey forced himself to swallow. "Maybe the cloves were a bad idea."

"I think the whole idea was a bad idea," she said as Mikey took the bowl and made his way to the trash can at the far corner of the restaurant. "Buttered popcorn is as good as popcorn is ever gonna get, Mikey."

The doors swung open, bringing with them the drafty evening air. Karai turned round to see Leonardo and Donatello entering the diner, their faces twisted in miserable frowns. They were hunched over as thought they'd just finished dragging a plow.

Karai cocked an eyebrow. "Who died?" she asked, noticing their not-so-happy expressions.

Instead of answering, the two brother pointed at the door behind them with their thumbs. As if on cue, Raphael and Casey entered. The two were engaged in a fierce shouting match and the peaceful quiet of the diner turned into a happy memory. Casey had a small plastic bag in his hand and waved it around to emphasize his argument.

"Try listening to that for four hours straight," said Leo. He sat down next to Karai while Donnie sat at her other side.

"I've seen reality show catfights with more dignity than this," Donnie commented.

The volatile argument continued. Raph and Casey were in each other's faces, teeth bared, veins bulging and spittle flying everywhere.

"Who'd bother picking a fight with Raph anyway?" Leonardo wondered aloud. "They'd never get the last word in."

Karai and Donnie exchanged looks of pure confusion. Did Leo seriously just ask that question?

"Donnie, are we in the Twilight Zone?" she whispered, but received a clueless shrug.

"Raph, you're being a baby-!"

"Oh look who's talking, Casey Marie-!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Somebody's cranky, maybe they need a nap!"

"Hey, Leo, Donnie, and Karai forgave me. Why the heck can't you?"

"It's not that simple..."

Karai grabbed the meat mallet off the counter and headed for them. "What are you two squabbling about?" she demanded.

The two of them pointed fingers, their arguments fighting for dominance.

Karai finally lost her patience. She banged the meat mallet on the small table in front of them. "Order in the food court!" Casey and Raphael immediately shut their mouths, glaring at each other. Karai cleared her throat. "Now, if you want me to help, you'll have to speak one at a time, slowly and clearly because I'm not fluent in Fool. Hamato Raphael, what is your story?"

"Oh, drop it, Karai," Raphael huffed.

Karai pursed her lips. "Raphael wants to drop it. Is there a second? None heard. The motion fails." She banged her makeshift gavel once before continuing, "Back to the question. Raphael, what is your major malfunction?"

Raphael sighed. "If you must know, your honor-which you already do-Flakey Jones here didn't stick to the plan we spent hours on! He put us all in danger because he was too friggin' sentimental."

"I see," said Karai. She turned to the human boy. "Casey Marie Jones-pfft!" She had to pause and gather herself after her failure at suppressing a laugh. "What is your story?"

"You already know it, your honor. And besides, you told me to give Paige a second chance if I thought it would be a good idea."

"Silence!" Karai exclaimed, slapping his shoulder. "The judge is neutral ground."

"Ha Ha," Raphael taunted. "You got yelled at." He received his own rap on the shoulder.

"Who told you to speak?" Karai demanded. "This is the Peons' Court and I demand full R. E. S. P. E. C. T. I'm the boss, applesauce."

"You've been hangin' around Mikey too much," Raph and Casey said simultaneously.

"Dudes, and dudettes, chill for a second." Michelangelo cut in, walking over to them. "I think I know what's going on here."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "The same way you knew that the Easter Bunny was out to get you?"

"Hey, don't start that, you're gonna give me nightmares. And…I think you're just jealous, Raph."

"What?!"

Mikey only nodded; never mind his brother looking about ready to kill him for even suggesting such a thing. "Yeah. Casey's always been your buddy and now he's got someone who he trusts as much as you. It's gotta be pretty rough on you, huh?"

Raphael stammered, the words dying in his mouth. "That is-Why would you-I don't-You are-I can't even finish a thought! Mikey, that's ridiculous!"

"Uh huh. If I'm being ridiculous, than you're being a hypothalamus."

"Hypocrite!" Donnie corrected.

"Yeah, that too," Mikey agreed.

Raphael crossed his arms. "How am I being a hypocrite?"

"Remember that night we were having Perchan food?" Mikey asked.

"Persian," Donnie corrected again.

"D, I got this," Mikey assured. "You asked me what I would do if a good friend of mine came to me with suitcase full of dead body? You told me later that night that you'd hear him out and do whatever you could to help 'im." He gestured to Casey. "Well, Paige is kinda like Casey's suitcase."

Casey and Karai scrunched up their faces.

Mikey continued. "And now you're treating him like this. Doesn't really seem right to me, Raph."

"Mikey," Raph began. "Could you do me a favor? Could you stick your head in the nearest fish tank and take a deep breath?"

Karai smacked the back of his head. "None of that in my courtroom," she scolded.

Mikey continued. "The point is: you guys are bros. And what do bros do? They forgive each other and eat pizza. Can we do that now?"

Casey actually looked to be considering his words. Raph narrowed his eyes. "Mikey, go take a hike," he told his brother.

Mikey shrugged. "Well then maybe I was right the first time and you were just jealous. You-"

Raphael cut him off, clamping his hand over his mouth. He wanted this to end even if it cost him a little face. "Mikey, if I forgive Casey, will you shut up?"

The orange-banded turtle nodded.

"Fine," Raph breathed.

"There you have it," Karai told them, pointing the mallet at Raphael and then Casey. "You're both guilty. Now say you're sorry!"

"Sorry," they both said half-heartedly.

The kunoichi cleared her throat. "The fine for wasting my time…is that plate of pizza gyouza that Murakami-san made for you. Dismissed." She banged her mallet one final time before making her way back to the counter, wondering what this family would do without her. She shared a loud high-five with Leonardo before sitting back down at the counter. Mikey took his place behind the counter to resume his culinary endeavors, humming a jolly tune.

"Karai," Donnie began, "did Mikey just have a moment?"

The girl blinked, surprised and confused at the sudden realization. "Yeah…I think he did."

Donnie placed a shaking hand on his sister's shoulder. "I think we are in the Twilight Zone."

Raphael and Casey sat down across each other at one of the smaller tables. The red-banded turtle drummed his fingers on the table. "So," he began awkwardly, "…what's uh…what's in the bag? I never got to ask you."

Casey had completely forgotten the bag in his hand. "Oh. Just something I picked up for Paige." He pretended not to notice the way Raph rolled his eyes at the mere mention of the name. He reached in and produced a small jar containing a strange red mush. "It's mashed up chili pepper. Carolina Reaper, it says. It's, like, the hottest pepper in the world."

The turtle cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Dare you to try some."

"No way, dude. I still got a lot o' things I wanna do."

"Awww. Casey Jones losin' his touch?"

"Hey, watch it. I can still kick your butt at plenty of stuff."

"Yeah? Never at a spice-off."

"So, how'd your stake-out go?" Mikey asked his eldest brother.

He looked up from the plate of pizza gyouza he and Karai were sharing. "I think Donnie can explain it better," he answered.

Donnie reached down and retrieved his laptop from behind the counter. He flipped it open. "I've left three of my Spy Roaches at the docks," he explained. "If Bishop or the Shredder try anything, we'll know the exact same second. Raph, Casey, could you come over here?" He tinkered with the keys for a moment. "I went back to that satellite image we first saw Bishop in and I found something kinda…disturbing when I zoomed back a bit." He turned the laptop so that everyone could see. "Now, I don't wanna alarm anyone, but…this is what I saw."

The room fell silent as everyone looked at the screen. It showed a picture of the entirety of New York as well as a sizeable portion of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Exactly what are we looking at?" Raphael asked.

Donnie pointed at the screen. "Those are the docks, where Bishop met with Shredder. Here's the bay, where I'm guessing he passed on a sailboat…and here's the Atlantic." He pointed to an ant-sized speck on the blue part of the screen. It was in the shape of a hexagon, and seemed to be underwater due the layer of blue over it.

"So what is it?" Mikey asked. "What are we worried about? It's tiny."

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "Mikey…if something shows up on a satellite picture and you can see it, you know it's big."

The orange-banded turtle took a closer look at the screen. "Wow," Mikey breathed. "That is big."

"Is it a submarine?" Leo asked.

"I don't know," Donnie admitted. "But it's probably how Bishop got into the country all the way from Great Britain without detection."

"Boys!" Murakami-san called. He was at the front door. "Someone's coming!"

Author's Note:

Man, planning out Donnie's discovery was not easy. I went through like twenty maps of New York so I could be as detailed but accurate as possible. I feel it's very important to do your research before typing so much as a single letter.

BTW, I'm not sure about where you guys live, but here in the Philippines, it is officially Mom's big day.

Happy Mother's Day to all the awesome moms out there! Moms who put up with our crazy hobbies. Moms who shell out money for us to waste. Moms who get up at three in the morning to change their baby's soiled sheets. Moms who power through the work day only to come home to more work. You are forever and always appreciated. We love you. Happy Mother's Day.