Remember that warning that things were about to get really nasty? It starts HERE. Things are taking a turn for the worse for our star-crossed couple, and it's only going to get more intense and dangerous from here on out!
Michelangelo's Journal: Pt 4
So, um, after Sensei made Orlene a kunoichi, he decided it was time to start trainin' her with weapons. I kept hopin' she'd pick 'chucks like I did, but she's not especially good with them. Not too shabby with the sais, though. Raph was pretty stoked about that. But she REALLY shines with the gunsen or the kusari-gama. Funny, but I never pegged her for the type to use that one. It's almost as hard to learn as mine, but it's got more range. I only suggested it to Sensei because she did so well with the kama. Imagine my surprise when she took to it like she'd been born with it. I think it was the dual-wielding that was givin' her fits with the 'chucks. But 'chucks are best in pairs, if ya' want my opinion. One's just not good for much.
It didn't take long before she got to try out her new toys, either. I'd say her first test run was a "smash", to use a bad pun. Leo fussed at her for takin' risks against that shotgun dude, but it's nothin' we haven't done before ourselves. No big deal. Not like dealin' with trained killers like that bastard Saki. He's just bad news all around.
Anyway, she spent the night down in the lair with us that night after her first real patrol, and watched a bunch of Bruce Lee movies with us. I let her stay in my room, and she made us breakfast the next morning. Cool, huh? She can cook, likes kung-fu movies, and even laughs at my jokes! Well, most of the time. Yeah, I think I'll keep her….
She started goin' out on patrols with us all the time, and she was gettin' pretty good, too. Gotta' appreciate a girl who's smart, pretty, AND can kick some butt. She's got spunk, that's for sure! Guess that's what first drew me in, really- that fiery spirit. Well, that and those totally tubular curves. Yeah, so I'm a sucker for a hot babe. And why NOT? I got eyes, don't I? Just wish I knew how to tell her how I feel.
Too bad my bros didn't see it that way. I dunno what Raph's problem is- other than, y'know, just bein' Raph- but Leo was ridin' my ass about it every chance he got. What a hypocrite. He's been moonin' over Lotus for years, and he tells ME to "give it up"? At least MY girl never worked for Krang or tried to kill us. But every time I remind him of it, he just gets pissed at me- like it's MY fault he picked the wrong girl to fall for. I think maybe he's jealous.
At least Donnie was on my side- sort of. He didn't get on my case about wantin' to be with a human; mostly he just shook his head with this disappointed look, and didn't say anything. It's almost like he just felt like I was betrayin' the family or somethin'. But it's not like I'd ever abandon my bros! They should know that by now. As much as I love her- wow, did I really just SAY that?- I'm still totally down with keepin' us together and safe. Leo worries that I'm lettin' my feelings get in the way of my first duty to the clan, but he's dead wrong. He doesn't understand. None of them do. I can't HELP how I feel, it just IS.
Raph seemed more angry than anything. Big surprise there. Maybe he's really just afraid I'll up and leave. Maybe he thinks I'll run off and forget about them. Like I could EVER do that. We're family, and besides, where else am I gonna' go? It's not like I can just get my own place and live like a human. Not sure I would really want to, either. Too many headaches.
Not that I wouldn't LIKE to be able to live like everyone else, mind. Sometimes I get jealous of other guys our age. The only things most of them ever have to worry about are findin' a date to a school dance, or gettin' their driver's license, or whether or not they should vote or go to college. If that was all we had to think about, things would be a lot different for us. Instead we gotta' worry about where we're gonna' get our next meal, or if someone will find our home, or if that jerk Saki is gonna' finally wipe us out. Heck, we can't even go out in public without some kind of disguise.
Don't get me wrong- it has its up side, too. Like livin rent-free, which is really a blessing in a city like New York. Or havin' easy access to just about every utility and amenity without the hassles of usin' money. Not supposed to talk about that, but there you are. We pirate EVERYTHING. Sometimes I think the world would be better off without money. We get along fine without it. Most of the time, anyway. The only time we ever need to deal with it is if we go topside to eat pizza at Vinnie's, or visit Mr. Murakami for those awesome pot-stickers he makes. He's this old blind guy who runs a little Japanese restaurant down on Bleeker St., near April's place. He knows what we are, but he doesn't care. I like him.
Anyway, long story short, I got into a couple of fights with my bros, and then Sensei put his foot down- on our heads. Can't believe he actually grounded us. We're almost eighteen, fer cryin' out loud! Who gets grounded at THAT age? Well, I'm sure other kids do- but probably for doin' stuff like sneakin' out to get drunk, wreckin' their parents' car- y'know, REALLY stupid stuff like that. And what do WE get it for? Fightin'. Y'know, the thing he TAUGHT us to do? I don't get it.
To make things even worse, Donnie HAD to go and tell her about the whole "mating season" thing. Like I really needed THAT embarrassment. Might as well have posted a big sign in the living room- "Turtle territorial dominance fights daily through June 1st. Admission 5$." Well, somethin' like that, anyway. Havin' her around almost every day wasn't makin' it easier, either. I don't think I've ever taken so many cold showers in my life! Didn't help, though. Still had the same problem.
Gettin' grounded only made it worse. I couldn't go out to skate the sewers on my board, or even keep myself occupied with games or TV, since Splinter banned us from those for a week. I even got bored with my comics. So I started findin' OTHER ways to entertain myself. Yup, that's right- Dr. Prankenstein came out to play! Raph is usually my target, 'cause he's so easy. Donnie's harder, but really fun when he gets in a huff, 'cause he just yells a lot and doesn't really do much about it. Leo- well, he's a tough one to pull one off on, because he's usually on his guard, even in the lair. Plus, he gets suspicious anytime I'm not actin' like a hyperactive clown. He knows me too well….
We got a little reprieve when April called one day to let us know that Casey had heard word about some kind of major deal goin' down with Big Louie's boys. He's a Mob kingpin who's involved with all kinds of illegal stuff. They were havin' some kind of meeting in an old office complex that was scheduled for demolition the next day. We got to the scene just in time to witness an execution go down. I know that stuff happens all the time in this city- but we don't usually SEE it. It was a little upsetting to watch it happen right in front of us, knowin' that if we'd gotten there sooner, maybe we coulda' stopped it. No one should go out like that. It just ain't right.
So we crashed the goons' little rendezvous, but that turned into a huge bust when Louie decided to set off the charges on the building. We barely got out of there in one piece, and all the evidence went down with the building. Donnie did some digging afterward- on the internet, that is- and found out one of Louie's companies had the contract for the demolition. He thinks that's why they used that place for the execution- it would be easy to get rid of the bodies when his own guys were the ones doin' the demolition.
We got reamed by Sensei for goin' out against his orders, of course, but it was worth it, I guess. At least it gave us a chance to get away from the lair for a little while and get some air. I was goin' kind of stir crazy after only three DAYS of bein' grounded. Can't imagine what it would be like to be stuck at home for WEEKS. But once he got over bein' steamed at us and found out what we'd seen, he decided that keepin' us cooped up was probably a bad idea. We STILL had to work our tails off for the next few days- or we WOULD have, if not for a certain human can-opener…. But that's a whole different can of worms.
I was just glad everything was back to normal again at home- or at least as normal as it ever gets for us. But then the universe decided we were havin' it too easy, and threw a monkey wrench into the works- one by the name of Oruku Saki, aka Shredder. Wouldn't ya' know he had to show his mug again? And right in the middle of one of April's reports, too. It all went to hell from there. Especially after he…. On second thought, better not get into that now. And as much as I hate to admit it, I was actually a little jealous of that creep; he did the ONE thing that I never could. Well, not without a LOT of pain and awkward maneuvering involved. Let's just say we're NOT built from standard-issue parts. Especially in the, uh, "software" department. At least, not in HUMAN terms.
There's this funny misconception that our ordinary cousins are a bit "underdeveloped" in certain respects. NOT true. See, the truth is more like the opposite- there's "wow", and then there's "holy crap, what's THAT?!" Proportionately speaking, we'd be somewhere in the neighborhood of "HELL, no!" Like I said, not exactly human-friendly. And don't even get me started on the OTHER issue. I used to wonder what was up with that- until Donnie explained a few things about "normal" shapes of terrapin anatomy one day. He showed us some stuff in one of his biology books, and- well, it was WAY more than I needed to know. Scary stuff….
It's funny, but I never used to think about things like that; but lately…. I guess none of us ever really figured it would matter. It's not like there are any girls like us around. I think that sort of makes us an endangered species. Once WE'RE gone, that's it. It'd be as if our "kind" never even existed. A dead-end on the evolutionary tree, as Donnie would put it. That's pretty depressing, when ya' think about it. No chance of ever having families of our own, that's for sure. Not that we get a lot of dates down here to begin with. What female in her right mind would ever give US the time of day, much less get involved romantically? Heck, I'm not even sure if that's LEGAL!
It started when she and April were doing a report on Stock-Tronics, Baxter's old robotic engineering company. Even with Fly-guy out of the picture, it was still doin' some pretty high-tech research. Unfortunately, when Shred-head found out about the new exo-suits they were workin' on there, he decided to crash the party; naturally, he brought along his pet hench-morons, as usual. He took April and Orlene hostage to keep the cops at bay- she wasn't about to try fightin' him by herself again, so she stayed put and kept quiet. Good girl. Of course we couldn't let that stand, so we drove like a bat outta Hell to get there, and sprang on him and those mutant ham-heads of his from the back door. But Leo didn't count on him having General Traag and a couple dozen of those stupid robots with him- and THESE were some sort of upgraded model. Chaos ensued.
We got there to see him talkin' to the girls in a real threatening way. He had Orlene all chained up like some helpless damsel in one of those cheesy old westerns. April was tied up too, but they'd only used ropes on her. We found out later that she'd tried to distract them so Orlene could get away after she cut the ropes they'd been usin' on her with one of her shuriken. Too bad Rocksteady caught her and dragged her back to that creep. We coulda' used the help in that fight- and maybe she wouldn't have ended up…. Well, things would've been different, that's all.
The fight didn't last long, but it was pretty brutal with Krang's head Stone Warrior goon in the mix. Shred-head didn't even fight; he just shouted orders and held his weapon on the girls. I'd call him a weasel, but that would be an insult to weasels. To make matters worse, they had already grabbed the exo-suit prototype before we even got there! When the fight turned sour, he carried Orlene off with him into the transport module while we were occupied with Traag and those damn robots. Just before he bugged out, I saw him use a sleeper-jab on her, not that it would have mattered much with her wrapped up like a Christmas present with Rocksteady's manriki-gusari wound around her real tight. He was usin' her as a human shield- like the coward he is- but I spotted him slitherin' off with his hench-dweebs, and broke off from the fight to follow that snake. I managed to slip in ahead of them and hide in the back. It's a good thing I did, too. Not sure what pissed Leo off worse, the fact that we were too late to stop him, or that our adopted sis got herself captured on top of everything. Leo takes things kind of personal sometimes, though. I get that he's got a lot on his shoulders- y'know, bein' leader and all- but sometimes he's just WAY too uptight.
I don't know what happened after I quit the battle to go after that creep, but as soon as I got in the module, I turned off my T-com, just in case. I didn't want it goin' off and blowin' my position once my bros realized I was gone. Knowin' Leo, it wouldn't have taken long. Maybe I should've left it on so they could track me, but I just didn't like the odds- it was too much of a risk to wait for them. Anyway, the whole idea was to get in and spring Orlene without gettin' caught. That was the important thing; she NEEDED me. Besides, I knew my bros could handle Traag and the stupid robots.
I guess the part about not gettin' caught is where I messed up. I heard the engine start up and waited while the vehicle burrowed its way down under the city to wherever the Technodrome was parked. Near as we could tell, it was somewhere under the harbor. When it finally got there, I waited while Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dumber grabbed Orlene and the exo-suit and followed Tin-face out of the hanger. I snuck out and followed them to see where they'd take her, and it wasn't long before they ended up on the detention level. I had to hang back a bit while they locked her up; then I waited until the brute squad left and I called to get her attention.
She was surprised to see me, that much was pretty obvious- and she seemed kind of scared, or maybe she was just nervous about me risking gettin' caught to help her. Can't say I blame her- I was nervous, too. I've been in the Technodrome enough times to know that place is WAY dangerous. It's full of all kinds of traps and nasty surprises, not to mention those robot ninjas and Krang's Stone Warriors. He's also got a few mutants running around the place, too. See, Rocksteady and Bebop ain't the ONLY mutants he's got working for him- there's also another pair he calls Tokka and Rahzar, and another one named Slash. Tokka's a real-life "big, bad wolf", and Rahzar and Slash are, um, well, they're turtles. But not like us- Rahzar's a snapper, and Slash is, I dunno, a diamondback, maybe? Slash was a pet of Rocksteady and Bebop that they decided to mutate so they'd have their own mutant slave to order around, if that tells ya' anything. They're all really big and tough, with tempers worse than Raph on a bad day. Only GOOD thing is they've all got the mental capacity of a four-year-old. Lucky us- we get all the brains, and they get all the brawn.
It didn't take long to figure out the keypad on the door lock was probably hooked to some kind of alarm, and if I got the code wrong, it'd go off. So I told her to sit tight while I went to the main computer room to override the controls. At least, that was the plan. I'm not real good at the hacking stuff like Donnie is, but I can figure out the basics well enough. Well, sometimes. One of these days, I gotta' get him to teach ME some of his tech tricks, too. Couldn't hurt, anyway.
It took a little while to get there without bein' seen, 'cause it's on one of the upper levels. I guess I got lucky, 'cause I didn't run into any Foot soldiers. Guess they were all on their robot lunch break or somethin'. Do robots take breaks? Meh, whatever. I had to hunt for the right file in the main computer, but I finally managed to find the security controls for the detention cells and shut 'em down. I boot-scooted it back, but when I got back to where she was, HE was there- and he looked like he had somethin' in mind that WASN'T nice. He had her shirt ripped in front, and when he saw me, he threatened to slice her open if I didn't give myself up. He'd have done it, too. I finally tossed my 'chucks, 'cause I didn't have much choice, but it really chapped my hide that there wasn't anything I could do without riskin' her gettin' hurt.
That's when Rocksteady and Bebop showed up, and it all went downhill. It was bad enough when it was just him, but I knew I couldn't take on all three by myself. Not with her in harm's way. If it was just me, I wouldn't have been too worried, 'cause we've been trained all our lives how to fight our way out of a bad situation, but this time I was the one who had to protect my teammate. We all know how to take care of ourselves, and we all know that we might have to make sacrifices to do what we have to. That's just somethin' we've learned to live with. But I had someone else to think about now, and that's never happened before. I'm used to bein' the one everybody else worries about, the one my bros always want to keep safe; now I know what it's like to want to protect someone else, too. It really hit me then- this was what Raph always feels when one of us is in trouble, or what Leo deals with when he has to put one of us in the line of fire. It sucks.
Then those two grabbed me and shoved me down, with Rocksteady's boot in my back, and my arms pulled back so far it felt like they were gettin' ripped off. And then HE started- doin' what he did. Just thinkin' about it makes me sick. And I couldn't do a damn thing about it. Those two jerks started kickin' and stompin' me while I was down; Rocksteady stomped on my leg, and I heard a crack and felt a pain so sharp I didn't need Don to tell me it was broken. They kept kickin' me in the bridge of my shell- that's the part that connects the plastron to the carapace- 'til my ribs cracked. And they were just laughin' and watchin' while that human slime-ball held her down and…. And all I could do was watch.
I was scared; I admit it. Not for me- I've been through the "Mikey got himself captured again" thing enough times that it just doesn't seem as big a deal anymore. Heck, it's almost a running joke in the family by now. The last time was on my birthday, of all things. He tried to do me in like Dorothy did to the Witch of the West- by usin' some kind of acid goo to melt me like a popsicle on a hot day. Real classy guy, that Saki.
But this was different. What he did to Orlene- that went WAAAY beyond his usual brand of evil. He used her to try to hurt US, not because he had any real interest in her. She was just a tool to him. Somethin' to use and toss away when he was done. Made me more angry than I ever thought I could be. For the first time in my life, I actually wanted to kill him. I mean REALLY kill him. I wanted to rip him to pieces with his own damned gauntlet, or bash his head in with my 'chucks. Maybe both. I never hated anyone as much as I hated him at that moment. Seein' what he did to her was worse than when he tried to kill our father. That had stabbed at my heart, but THIS- it cut straight through my soul. I thought I finally understood what Raph feels when he goes into one of his rages.
Before he left, that tin-plated asshole had his goons strip-search me- which is kinda' pointless, if ya' think about it. Lucky for me they're not too bright, 'cause they forgot that turtle shells have plenty of nooks and crannies to hide stuff. We always keep a little somethin' tucked away for emergencies- like, say, a kunai. That's how I was able to get us out. Even then, we had to make a couple of detours through the armory, the mutagenics lab, and the Foot robot factory. Well, the lab wasn't totally a need-to thing, but I just couldn't stomach what was in there, and had to do SOMETHIN' about it. I just can't stand seein' ANYTHING suffer like that….
Anyway, by the time we finally got away, we'd done some pretty major damage- enough to make sure Shred-head and Krang would be REALLY ticked at us. Once we made it home, I took Don aside and told him what was up. He was pretty pissed, that's for sure, but he agreed that it would be a good idea to make sure nothin' was wrong with Orlene. I told the others about the rescue, but I left out the part about what that creep did at first, mostly because I didn't want to drag her through that. But, of course, Leo had to go stickin' his nosy beak into things as usual, and we almost had another blow-up over it. See, that's EXACTLY why I didn't want him and Raph gettin' involved. Those two always turn everything into a huge "thing". Couple of drama queens, if ya' ask me. And it made it harder on her, which was exactly what I DIDN'T want!
So, how do ya' deal with somethin' really bad that's happened, when you were right there, helpless to do anything about it? I still have nightmares sometimes- I hear her yellin', fightin' that monster while he's- damn it, I can't even think about it. And I'm down on my knees, those two stupid thugs of his makin' crude jokes while they beat the crap outta' me. Then I wake up, shakin' and cryin', 'cause I feel like it was my fault. She doesn't talk about it, but I know it still hurts- I see it sometimes when we're all sparring and she gets into a hold she can't get out of, and she starts to panic. Like maybe it reminds her of- THAT.
The guys don't say anything, but I think they're all worried. Especially Leo. But he knows what it's like to feel responsible when someone else gets hurt on his watch. He knows what it's like to let someone down when it really matters. Maybe that's why he never yelled at me for wantin' to go after that bastard on my own. He'd have felt the same way. I think maybe they all would have. But that's what makes it so hard- knowin' that I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't stop him. And it hurts every time she looks at me. I tried, I really did; but it just- wasn't enough….