Disclaimer: Lenni and Day don't own the Ninja Turtles or our buddies.
By Thursday, Master Splinter still had not called off their probation so Michelangelo decided to spice life up a bit. He had designated to day as Special Splendiferous Artistic Day at the lair.
Sneaking out of his room, Mikey bent down and plugged his boom box into the wall. The lights were still off and everyone was asleep, snuggled down in their blankets. Quickly finding the song he wanted, Mikey found the track on the CD that he waned to play and spun the volume dial up to maximum.
The Six Flags theme song blared out from the speakers, "We like to party, we like, we like to party!" and immediately Mikey started to hear annoyed exclamations from behind the closed doors.
"Wake up!" Mikey shouted over the music, walking down the hallway were their bedrooms were. He banged his nunchucks against the doors of his little sisters' rooms, beating out good-morning rhythms. "C'mon, up and at 'em turtles!"
"Turn it down!" shouted Arista. Her pillow made a loud thunk against the door and Reiko started barking. "I mean it!"
"Knock it off, Mikey," Hexadecimal said as she opened the door to her room. She glared at her cheerful older brother with tired eyes. "The rest of this family is trying to sleep."
"I know, but that's not the plan for today," replied Mikey. He flung open the door to Machias' room and let out a piercing whistle. "Party time, Match!"
"Ahhhh!" Machias screamed as she was startled into awakening. She fumbled to grab the ninjato at her bedside, thinking this might be the start of the Trials or something. As she unsheathed the blade wildly, Mikey let out a yelp and closed the door again. Figuring out that it was just Michelangelo, Machias groaned and flopped back down on her bed.
"Somebody kill him," mumbled Splinter as she walked out of her room, rubbing at her eyes. She had gotten up anyways, knowing that Mikey would just be annoying until they obeyed his wishes.
"My pleasure," Raphael snarled as he appeared in his doorway, a sai in his clenched fist.
Michelangelo ignored them and continued to beat on the doors. He started singing along with the Six Flags Theme, occasionally making up his own lyrics.
"'Cause everybody's jumping, this place is really hopping! From New York to San Francisco, we can all do disco!"
Raphael had retreated back into his room the moment Mikey started singing. Hexadecimal gave a frustrated scream and slammed her door while Splinter just walked towards the kitchen to get some breakfast.
"We can't all do disco, Mikey," Donatello said, leaning against the doorway of his room.
"But then I'd have to switch the song around," Mikey complained as he threw open the door to Lenni and Mily's room.
"Get up!" he shouted, walking in and standing in the middle of the room. Both of them sat up and stared at him, not really sure of what to do.
"What you doing?" Mily finally mumbled sleepily, reaching for her pink bandanna. She thought it was Mikey but seeing the time on the clock, she was beginning to think it was Leo on a sugar rush.
"Waking everyone up!" Mikey replied as if she should have already known.
"Oh," said Mily. She threw her blanket over her head, trying to ignore him. He picked up a stuffed animal from the floor and flung it at Lenni's head. "C'mon, Lenni, wake up."
"Leave me alone…" growled Lenni, pulling her pillow over her head. Not deterred in the least, Michelangelo grabbed her shell and began to bounce her up and down, using the springy mattress to his advantage.
"No can do, short stuff. I have plans for today, it's gonna be fun, now get up!" he announced. He beat his hands gently against her shell and she sat up, yelling indignantly. Laughing, Mikey ran out of the room.
"You're supposed to be nice to me!" Lenni yelled after him.
Leonardo, who had already been awake before Mikey had started his early morning rampage, appeared at the end of hallway, giving his little brother a suspicious look. Mikey hated waking up early and did not like to inflict the torture of it on others. That was Leo's job. Oh, well, thought Leo as he sipped on his coffee and returned to the kitchen, at least the pillows and such would not be hurled at him.
Mikey skipped through the hallway as his younger siblings left their rooms, bewildered and quite annoyed with how happy he was when they were miserable. Most of them glared at him before continuing on to the kitchen for breakfast; Hexadecimal made a point of hitting him.
It was Raphiella and Donatello's turn to fix breakfast but they decided to neglect cooking and just set out a bunch of cereal boxes and the milk. If the others wanted something hot, they knew how to work the oven and the microwave.
When Master Splinter came to the table, he was surprised to find all sixteen of his children sitting around the table, most of them scowling at Michelangelo. Reiko and Klunk were no where to be seen; they had probably hidden themselves somewhere else in the lair after the wake-up call. Danceingfae was nearly asleep in her chair, having stayed up late writing her essay for Donnie. She lazily pushed her spoon around in her Cheerios.
"Good morning, my children," Master Splinter said as he took his seat at the head of the table.
They all returned mumbled responses, none of them which contained the word 'good' except for Michelangelo's.
"Good morning, Master Splinter!" he exclaimed brightly, grinning over his bowl of Captain Crunch. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I did, Michelangelo," Master Splinter answered slowly, giving his youngest son a curious look. He certainly was more alert than the rest of his siblings.
"Mikey woke us up too early!" Lenni accused suddenly, pointing her spoon at her orange-wearing brother.
"Yeah, Sensei, he woke us up before Leo wakes us up," added Tyger, scowling at Michelangelo. Mikey shrugged.
"I was excited," he replied, still beaming. Their bad moods could not even dim his glowing happiness. "You guys will be too when I tell you."
"What, the probation's off?" Raphael asked, slamming his spoon into the bottom of his bowl. He scowled at Michelangelo. "If that's your big news…"
"It's not!" Mikey said, shaking his head.
"Then what is it?" asked Daydream, catching her brothers excitement. She was a morning person after she woke up.
Michelangelo stood up and cleared his throat, preparing to make an official important announcement.
"Today is going to be Special Splendiferous Artistic Day! WOOO!" Mikey pumped a fist in the air and waited for the rest of them to join him in cheering.
They all stared at him over their cereal bowls.
"Okay," Leo said unenthusiastically, returning to eating his Cheerios. The girls looked a little more interested while Donnie and Raph just shared an exasperated look.
"What does that mean, exactly?" asked Arista, putting her spoon in her empty bowl. She was a fast eater.
"We're going to paint the lair and, I dunno, write poetry and stories and dance and just whatever artistic thing you want to do!" Michelangelo explained, still pumped about the whole thing.
Around the table, the girls were starting to really like the idea. This would be a good change of pace for all of them and, besides, it'd be great just to play around with painting and stories and all that sort of stuff.
"Are we going to paint our rooms?" Mily asked. She already liked the way she and Lenni had their room.
"Not if you don't wanna," said Mikey, "We're going to paint the hallways and the walls and everything."
"No ponies or rainbows!" Raphael broke in, pointing at all of the girls. "I swear, no gushy girlie things."
"Oh, hush, Raphael, we can paint whatever we want and you can paint whatever you want," Punker said, sticking her tongue out at her brother.
"I'll be painting over your pony first," said Raphael, standing up and picking up his bowl. Ella frowned as he walked away to put his bowl in the kitchen sink.
"I will not paint ponies!" she called after him.
"What about practice?" Arista asked, looking over at Master Splinter.
He nodded to Master Splinter. "I talked to Sensei about it last night and he said it's a good idea. There won't be school today and we'll only have one practice!"
There was a loud cheer at that announcement. Lenni was especially loud, yelling exuberantly at the top of her lungs.
Arista and Machias looked at each other. They couldn't afford to cut back on practicing right now. Leo noticed their glance and leaned over to Arista who was on his right.
"I'm certain you could artistically practice, if you liked," said Leonardo in a whisper and he winked at Arista. She smiled at him, knowing that he knew her better than any other person did.
The girls burst into chatter, each saying what they wanted to do with their artistic day.
"I wanna paint the living room!" shouted Lenni, laying claim to her territory immediately. Mikey nodded.
"Mind if I share with you? I have some good ideas for that," Mily said, smiling pointedly at Raphael as he rejoined them at the table. He eyed her warily.
"No ponies, Mily," he snapped seriously. Mily held up her hands innocently.
"Oh, of course not," she replied with mock sincerity.
"Bedroom hallway," Raphiella and Hexadecimal said together, Hex added an extra determined head nod.
"Can I do that too?" Tyger asked, not wanting to be left out.
"Well, duh," said Hex, rolling her eyes. "We're not going to make you go do something else."
"I call the dojo," said Leo, raising his hand. "Arista and Machias can help me."
"As long as you do get some painting done, my son," Master Splinter put in, a light smile on his face. Leo nodded, returning the smile. Leo was actually a pretty good painter, though most of his siblings did not know about it.
"I'm gonna paint the doors," Punker said, a mischievous gleam in her eye. She glanced sideways at Raphael. "And don't worry Raph, I'll make sure your door is a treasure of gleaming cheerfulness!
"No ponies!" Raphael said again, this time slamming a fist on the table. Mily and Lenni giggled.
"I'm going to paint the kitchen," Danceingfae said, looking into the air as she pictured what she wanted it to look like in her head. Maybe an Italian kitchen theme. This was going to be fun!
"I think I'll just stick to my lab," said Donatello. "Wanna help out, Zip?"
"Of course!" replied Ziptango, looking up from her Fruit Loops. "It'll be the best looking lab in Manhattan."
"I want to paint the ceiling!" Daydream exclaimed excitedly. "I don't care if I don't get to paint anything else, I want to paint the ceiling, please, Mikey?" She looked hopefully at Michelangelo.
Mikey laughed. "I had the same idea, Day. I even borrowed some scaffolding from some construction dudes." He made a face as Master Splinter gave him a reproving look. "I'm gonna give it back, Sensei, I swear," he said, crossing his heart.
"You would do well to remember that promise, my son," Master Splinter said.
Mikey turned back to Daydream, the grin returning to his face. "So, you and me vs. the big bad ceiling."
"No fair," said Lenni, frowning at her sister in the tie-dyed bandana. "That's not fair, I want to paint the ceiling, too."
"You're already painting the living room with me, Lenni," Mily said, feeling disappointed that her sister did not want to work with her anymore. Lenni tossed her brown hair back.
"Well, that was before I thought about the ceiling." She glared at Daydream, who she saw as a threat now that she was going to be the one working with Mikey. "Daydream will paint with you and I can paint with Mikey."
"Wait, I don't wanna paint the living room!" Daydream replied, then added, "No offense, Mi."
"None taken."
"But you're going to paint with Mily, cause I wanna paint the ceiling!" Lenni complained.
"No!" replied Daydream, taking a firm stance on this. "Me and Mikey are gonna paint it."
"Mikey, please?" Lenni asked, ignoring Daydream now.
"She called it first," Mikey said with an apologetic shrug.
"Besides, Lenni, you might pop your stitches climbing up the scaffolding or something," Donatello said. Lenni glared at the both of them.
"Fine!" Lenore shouted angrily, as she wanted Mikey, and it was way too early to be up considering she hadn't slept too well. She shoved her chair back as she got up from the table, sending it flying. She then proceeded over to the sink and tossed her bowl and spoon into it with a loud clang. She angrily brushed past everyone, stalking out into the den.
Master Splinter's tail swished warily behind him, but he didn't say a word. He'd talk to her about her attitude later.
"I think I'll paint a unicorn on Raph's door," TMNTPunker snickered, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm sure he'll love it."
"Do an' die a long, slow, painful death," Raphael snarled.
"Well, let's go grab our colours and such," Michaelangelo grinned, not letting his littlest sister's attitude get the best of him. "I'm sure a few bowls can wait, can't they Sensei?"
"I'm sure one will be doing them by herself rather shortly," Master Splinter replied.
The others all shrugged, getting up and tossing their dirty bowls and spoons into the sink as the milk got put back into the refrigerator. They all quickly escaped the kitchen, all surprised to see just how much paint Michaelangelo had confiscated.
TMNTPunker quickly grabbed the paint she wanted and took off down the hall to paint everybody's doors.
Raphiella, TygeroftheWynd, and HexAdecimal all eyed the paint for a bit, as they talked over exactly what they wanted to do to the bedroom hallway.
Leonardo, Arista, and Machias all grabbed a few cans of paint and some brushes, before scurrying off into the dojo. They weren't just going to paint, but secretly practice as well. Though, Arista was determined not to let her brother in blue see just how much she'd been practicing. She did want to do this without his help, if at all possible.
Donatello and Ziptango grabbed different shades of purple and disappeared into his lab to get to work on their design.
"Is everything set up to paint the ceiling?" Daydream asked Michaelangelo.
"Yup," Michaelangelo grinned. "I set it all up before I woke y'all up."
"What's we gonna paint on the ceiling, Mikey?" Daydream wanted to know.
"Got any ideas, Kiddo?" Michaelangelo smiled, grabbing some blue and white paint.
"Ooh! I know!" Daydream exclaimed, as Michaelangelo nodded knowing what she was thinking. "Let's go!"
The two of them disappeared, leaving Mily, Raphael, and Danceingfae all standing there looking at the remaining paint cans.
"Well, they didn't leave us with much, now did they?" Raphael commented.
"You're actually gonna paint, Raph?" Danceingfae smirked. "Yah not just gonna splash it everywhere an' be done with it?"
Raphael gave her a pointed Look. "I'm gonna help Mily here, 'till the lil' crankster gets her shell in here to paint what she staked claim on."
"Thanks Raph!" Mily said, feeling a bit better. She was still a bit hurt by her little sister's actions though.
Danceingfae shrugged and grabbed some colours she figured she'd need to paint the kitchen. She sighed when she found Lenore in there grumbling as she did the dishes.
"Let me guess, Sensei's makin' yah do chores for today," Danceingfae piped up, letting the other girl know she was there and not alone anymore.
Lenore turned, wiping her tears from her face. Master Splinter had taken her to his study while everyone was busying eyeing the paint. She'd been given quite the talking too and had been whacked with his walking stick a couple times, like he usually did to their brothers when they did stupid things.
Danceingfae frowned some. "What's wrong? Not like yah haven't been in trouble before."
"I c'n still paint," Lenore said finally, though very softly. "Just not with Mikey….I'm not allowed near Mikey 'till bed." She felt her heart wrench, as the thought of not being able to hug and tackle her brother all day broke her heart.
"Well, you shoulda just let things be when Daydream staked claim on the ceiling," Danceingfae told her. "She didn't know Mikey was gonna want to paint it too."
"I better get back to the dishes," Lenore responded, turning her back on her sister. "You just go on paintin' whatever it is yah gonna paint."
Danceingfae shrugged. If her sister wanted to be like that, she wasn't going to pity her or show sympathy.
Back in the living room, Raphael and Mily were arguing over the ideas they had for the space they were in.
"You didn't even stake claim on anything!" Mily yelled. "Lenni an' I are s'pose to paint the room 'cause we'd ideas for it!"
"Well, I got better ideas!" Raphael growled back.
"If yah gonna be like this, I don't want yah painting with me!"
"Fine!" Raphael snapped, tossing a paint brush down and leaving the room.
"Now we know where Lenni get it from!" Mily shouted after him.
Raphael froze slightly. Was this why the youngest one was so hard-headed and stubborn and such a brat? Was she really just trying to be like him, even if she idolized Michaelangelo? He shrugged and continued to stalk off down the hallway.
"Careful Day!" Michaelangelo exclaimed, catching his sister before she fell off the scaffolding. "We don't need another injured turtle 'round here. They seem to get pretty grumpy."
Daydream gave a nervous giggle. "Thanks, Mikey. Thought for sure I was gonna fall."
"Nah, not when yah got a ninja up here next to yah," Michaelangelo smiled. "I'd never letcha fall, if I could help it."
"So are we really gonna paint a sky up here?"
"Yup. That way we can always see the sun."
"An' the stars! We can paint the night sky on another ceiling, or the other half of this one."
"Good idea, Kiddo," Michaelangelo told her, ruffling her hair affectionately. "Now, let's get to work shall we?"
Daydream nodded eagerly and began to paint a big white fluffy cloud.
In the dojo Leonardo, Machias, and Arista were busy practicing their ninjitsu. They hadn't started to paint yet, as they wanted to get their practicing out of the way first.
"You're both doing rather well," Leonardo complimented. "But if yah wanna pass the trails, you have to do better than that."
Arista and Machias both shared a look, knowing that the other was holding back so not to let Leonardo know just how much practice they had done.
Their look was not lost on Leonardo, but he decided not to push it, as they'd never budge and tell him what the look was about.
"What're we gonna paint, Leo?" Machias asked suddenly.
"Something related to the dojo, of course," Leonardo replied with a smile.
Machias rolled her eyes slightly. Of course, only Leonardo would insist upon that. Though, it didn't sound like such a bad idea. It could be fun.
Splinter was wandering around the lair watching everybody else paint. She was feeling a little put off, seeing as nobody had asked her to paint with them or what she wanted to do. They'd all gotten up and left before she'd stated her opinion, and Lenore's outburst hadn't helped matters any either. She got an idea then - a brilliant idea. She grabbed two cans of paint and very quickly exited the dojo unseen as everyone else was pre-occupied, including Master Splinter.
"Wow, that's a nice portrait of Mikey," TygeroftheWynd told HexAdecimal. "They're gonna be shocked to know we're painting our family on these walls – and right next to their bedroom doors too."
"Well, what else would we paint down this hall?" HexAdecimal shrugged. "I mean, it's not like anybody's gonna be expecting it."
"Ponies," Raphiella giggled. "Though, I promised Raph I wouldn't paint any."
The three giggled, imaging Raphael's face if TMNTPunker painted a pony on his bedroom door. They knew he wouldn't be pleased, which made it all that more amusing.
TMNTPunker glanced down the hall at her sisters. "Do I look like I have a death wish?"
"Maybe," HexAdecimal replied. "According to Leo, everybody else does."
"Well, it's my job to prove him wrong then," TMNTPunker smiled. "Of course, he's not gonna like that."
"Hey Donnie? Do yah think we got enough shades of purple?" Ziptango asked. They were making weird designs on the walls with every shade of purple they had. "Or should we go find some more?"
"Zip, I don't know where Mikey got these or how he convinced Master Splinter to let him go out there alone," Donatello replied. "So, yes, I think we have enough. Don't want to overdo it, now do we?"
"Nah," Ziptango smiled. "That's Mikey's job. He overdoes everything."
"Point taken," Donatello smiled back, as he continued to paint. They'd covered up all his precious items with drop clothes they had found lying around in the lab.
Back in the living room, Mily was busy painting her idea on the wall, when Lenore came in silently.
"Mily?"
"What?" Mily asked sharply. "Decide yah better come paint with me, like Sensei probably said too?"
"I'm sorry," Lenore apologized softly. "I wanna paint with you, like I said in the beginning. I was just kinda mad that Mikey wanted to paint with Daydream, when he usually does things with me."
"You can't him all the time, Lenni. There is twelve of us an' only one of him."
"That's what Sensei said – again," Lenore answered with a heavy sigh. "If yah not too mad at me, c'n I please paint with you? I got an idea of what I c'n add to yours."
"Just don't paint any Backstreet Boys," Mily told her firmly. "Nobody will like that."
"I won't. I promise. Cross my heart," Lenore nodded enthusiastically.
"Grab a brush," Mily smiled.
Lenore returned the smile and immediately rushed over to her sister's side to help out. She still felt a little miserable, but at least she had Mily to hang out and goof off with. If she couldn't have her favourite brother, at least she could hang out with one of her favourite sisters.
Master Splinter had decided to check on his pupils, as they'd all been rather quiet for a while, despite the occasional giggle that was heard. He made sure they were all safely inside the lair, chuckling when he found Splinter painting a beach theme in the bathroom.
"We're Ninjas in Hawaii!" Splinter exclaimed proudly. "Everybody keeps sayin' they wanna go, so I brought it to us!"
Master Splinter nodded his approval, then went on down the bedroom hall, stopping to stand behind TMNTPunker. "That is very nice of you to paint that on the door for your sister," he commented.
TMNTPunker looked up from the door she was painting on. "Well, I figured Lenni'd like nothin' better than Brian on her door, so I just had to paint him on there for her. Maybe it'll keep her quiet for a while, so she won't throw so many tantrums."
"One can only hope," Master Splinter replied gently. "And I'm sure Mily will love whatever you decide to paint on there for her."
"Oh, she will. Trust me," TMNTPunker grinned. "I know what everybody likes."
"ALRIGHT! WHO PAINTED A UNICORN ON MY SHELL CYCLE!" A voice roared out in the main room of the lair, coming from one very angry looking turtle in red.