The lair was relatively quiet. Everyone was off doing their own thing. Donnie tried his best to keep Mikey's boredom from breaking things. Mona and Raph kept their fights up to schedule like they did every afternoon, this time about Mona waking up every morning with his feet in her face. Humorous to listen, yes, but to watch, you were going to get dragged into it. At this time of day, Splinter would go about on his long walks within the sewer; discovering new places and bringing food back home in the afternoon. While everyone did their normal thing, Leonardo was able to do something he hadn't done in a long time. Keeping control on his team and caring for his newly expanded family was enough work to drive you bonkers. Today was his declared relaxation day. How long he has waited for some type of peace (There's only so much quiet with his brothers, running septic, and New York roaring above your head). This morning, it was started with a new hair brushing experience, but Leonardo would usually be seen sitting back in the skateboard chair. He kept his soda can by his side as he relaxed while watching TV on one of the twenty monitors. Reruns of the The Wayans Bros. created a marathon on the BET channel, bringing a good and hilarious day. In the nearing end of an episode, Leo picked up the sounds of cemented footsteps coming from the door in the room. The door was barricaded by Donatello's junk, but was removed for it was the fastest, and the cleanest, way from April's apartment to the lair. Voices grew more and more clear as April and Vern argued with each other.
"C'mon O'Neil." Vern agged on as he opened the door for her. April fast walked in, not even looking to see who was around. Vern turned around to shut the door, doing it so swiftly to catch up with the furious woman.
"No Vern, that was sneaky and I don't appreciate it. It's bad enough I'm already busy with my new job." April plopped herself onto the edge of the monitor desk, crossing her arms.
"How much trouble is it to run a stupid antique shop?" April's head turned his way abruptly. Vern knew he juts made a fatal mistake.
"First off: those "stupid" antiques are my Uncle Augie's. He was my favorite relative before he passed away. And secondly: making ends meet while taking a couple more courses in law and journalism is killing me."
"Then, how about stopping and go beg Thompson for your job back?"
"Why don't I shove a club up in Thompson's-."
"Hey." Leo decided now was the time to get the two to stop arguing. He gave up his position as he turned around the swivel chair and stood up to greet them.
"Hey Leonardo." April smiled as she stood to hug her friend. Vern followed behind her.
"'Ey Leo." He grabbed his three fingered hand and bumped shoulders with him. Vern wouldn't normally do so, but ever since he met the guys, he learned that he needed to boost up his style points. Vern couldn't admit it to himself, but it was because Raphael called him a "human nerd".
"What brings you guys down here?"
"What? I can't visit my family with a real reason?" her comment brought a bigger smile on Leo's face. He liked the fact that April calls them family. There were a number of things she could address them as: Mutants, Monsters, Freaks, or worse… pets.
"Is that who I think it is?" Mikey popped his head out of the bedroom. The sight of April made his eyes pop out of his skull. "Angelcakes! I missed you so much babe!" His big shoes plodded to make echoes. He finally reached her, squeezing her tightly as she hugged him back. She loved how much of a love bug Mikey was.
"I know, I've been busy with my new store so I didn't have time to visit you." She squeezed him once more before letting him go. Vern was going in to greet Mikey, but he was completely oblivious to him. To Mikey, he's still "That other old guy". He stood back, rejected.
"A week and a half is a long time when you're living down here." Leo bumped Vern's shoulder, making up for Mikey's rudeness. Vern smiled when he did. Suddenly, Mikey grabbed his skull.
"Aw man! You won't believe who else has been living down here with us either!" he exclaimed.
"Who else?" Vern cut into their little circle. "Are you guys keeping somebody prisoner or something?" he laughed. He continued as he looked around the room. Nobody was laughing. Their vacant stares stopped his hilarity as he tried to contain himself.
"Check it out." Mikey called towards their bedroom. "Mona! Come here! There's somebody I want you to meet!" his voice carried over their lair.
"Ya think you've done enough stretching?" Raphael leaned on the dojo walls chewing on one of his toothpicks. He was talking to Venus, who was sitting on the floor, stretching her legs for hours at a time. Donatello was there with them, doing last minute checks on his Bo staff for any cracks or tested if his extension button was working. "Do it any more and your leg will snap off."
"That's highly unlikely." Donnie chimed in, not taking his eyes off of his staff. "But with too much pressure you can tear a muscle." Venus ignored him, especially when he used his staff to push her down lower just a tad to prove his point. It was already burning when she was doing it. Her face would have already been touching the floor if she wasn't constantly reminded that she was in a sewer. She continued as Donnie blabbed on some more. "Of course the muscle will heal and come back stronger and make you even more flexible in that given area, but I would not recommend it without any proper procedure or authorities such as a doctor to prevent any further complications."
"Thank you Dr. Donatello." Venus heard Raphael say rather amused. The sound of his feet came closer to where Donnie stood and where she sat. "Ya know what? I almost forgot to give ya somethin'. I deliver a message from the human race." With that, Raphael presented his fist before Donatello. His brother winced a little. They were more than familiar to their bigger brother showing them his fists. Slowly, he opened up his hand to reveal his palm. Donnie studied carefully, confused about his brother's intentions. He looked up at Raphael puzzled, which he was met by a slap on his cheek. "Shut Up."
Donatello kept his hand on his hurting cheek. It felt hot to the touch and left a tinge of red on his olive green skin.
"Okay, okay." Venus pushed herself up and stood between the two. "Let's save the punches and slaps for our little activity." Her arms extended outwards, pressing their plastrons to keep them separated. Raphael smirked, then hastily took the toothpick out of his mouth and stepped back. Venus let her arms come down. "What are we doing today Donnie?" she asked merrily. Still holding his cheek, the tech turtle explained to her.
"What we are doing is an exercise of balancing the mind and our energies. We will be fighting in a three way, or a Truel."
"A truel? What kind' of stupid name did you get that from?" Raphael asked as he made way for the weapons wall. Upon opening the cabinet, he grabbed a pair of Sais in one of the compartments. They felt right in his possession as he twirled them in his fingers, feeling the chilling wood in-between his fingers.
"Internet." He answered bluntly. Of course. "There are no team ups, all three for themselves. Got it?" he finally took his eyes off his prized possession. The six foot staff banged the end of it on the ground, shaking the peace the other two turtles had in them.
"Got it!" Venus exclaimed. Excited, Venus fumbled with her ribbon wrap as she unsheathed her fans. All stood on opposite ends of the room, getting low in their preferred athletic stance with a domino effect.
"Hajime!" Raphael called out. The male turtles clutched their weapons tighter in their hands. They would have commenced quickly, but looking out the corners of their eyes, they could tell Venus was obviously lost.
"He said 'begin'." Donatello explained.
"Oh," she realized, then clutched her fans like so. "Kaishi." She called out.
All three charged at each other, not one was going to slow down. The first to contact were the two brothers. Always wanting the first punch, Raphael drove his sai towards his brother's head, only to be blocked by the wooden stick. The blade skinned part of it as the sai jerked free. While his sibling fumbled for grip with his staff, the bare feet of his attacker came to contact with his small head. Donatello took a couple steps backwards, trying to regain balance. Shortly after, he regained his foot and adjusted his glasses. Out of frustration, he could see the look in his brother's eyes that he was aiming to charge his once off balanced legs and upset his footing once more. In the quick second, Venus appeared on the other side of the rampaging turtle. Using this knowledge to his advantage, Donnie was able to jump and roll off of his brother's back and kick both back with a splits kick. His previous attacker fell to the ground, but the lady ninja didn't go down too easily.
Venus attempted to blind him with her blue weaponry as she swatted against him with her flimsy fans. Each one of her steps failed to touch him as he back flipped twice to avoid her, using his staff to balance himself and push him off of the ground. He analyzed Venus quickly, something he constantly thought about while fighting an enemy. Venus was fast, which is probably the product of her smaller stature and shell size. Speed was her friend, but maybe he can use it against her. She continued to charge at him but Donnie got the best of her. Driving the staff to the ground, he easily avoided her when he jumped onto the staff and spun himself in a circle. The lady turtle whizzed past him, pushed by Donatello's leg momentum. Once he touched the ground, he picked up the staff and slapped the stick down to defend himself from the Sais Raphael tried to prod him with. The red clad turtle searched for any weak spot that came with his taller brother speedily spinning his weapon like a sonic fan.
"What's up Mikey? I was reading a pretty good issue of-." Mona Lisa stepped out of the bedroom. She wore her comfort clothes instead of her usual pink dress. Instead of the everyday bumped up ponytail, she had braided it and fastened it with her pink ribbon. Her braid was a little messy, but that was because she had recently taught Leonardo how to braid hair. It dangled all the way down her hips, whipping around lightly as she walked. She paused when she stopped rubbing her hurting eyes. There was Leo and Mikey, but there were two strangers, a man and woman, with their eyes glued onto her. More staring. "Hello."
"Hello." April smiled and cocked her head to the side. Mona made her way over, shuffling her feet lazily over the cold, cemented floor. Mickey couldn't contain his excitement as he playfully wrapped an arm around April and Mona, trying to get them acquainted on a good note. His arms latched around both of their shoulders and pulled them closer to him.
"April, this is Mona Lisa. She's from China. Mona, this is April O'Neil." He introduced them. Mona's eyes went wide.
"Oh," she removed his big arm from her shoulders. Her voice took a sudden change in tone "so this is Mikey's girlfriend." Leo smirked as he saw Michelangelo's pupils shrink three sizes.
"Girlfriend?" April smiled as she looked up to her orange clad friend. Vern had the same look on his face, trying to look at Michelangelo as well.
"Hehe, ya, uh, well she meant to say girlfriend like a girl that is a friend of Mikey. It's the whole Chinese translated to American thing," in a desperate attempt to save himself, he hugged April tight and allowed his big head to rest on her shoulders. His bulging blue eyes looked like a little puppy to her. "Yeah."
"Smooth." They could all silently hear Vern and Leonardo say in unison as they idly stood behind them.
Meanwhile, Raphael was shell up on the ground. Somebody swatted him down, but he didn't know who. All he could see were little green feet and legs standing over him. That was good enough for him. He extended his arm with the sai in hand and swiped them towards her legs. Not wanting an engraving, Venus leapt into the air and spun like a sideways ballerina. She came down fairly hard on Raph's shell with her clashing against it. The vibrations stung both a little bit. Raphael grunted once she rolled herself off of him and beside Donatello. He believed she was going to get up, and his legs would be ready to kick her down. Instead, his useless kick granted her access to get underneath him. Her long leg shot up in front of him. Her heel dug into his lower abdomen as she pushed him down to the ground.
"Where's Donnie and Raph?" April asked as if she didn't know. She and Vern were sitting on their unique couch hearing the distinct grunts coming from the dojo. Mona insisted to stand as Mikey sat on their "coffee table" and Leo in his previous chair.
"Venus is in there sparring with them." Mona unfolded her arms to point the way to the dojo. An aluminum can annoyingly ring as it hit the floor. Eyes shot to Leonardo, who got up from his chair. Worry settled into his blue eyes.
"Venus is fighting them?" he asked.
"You don't hear her in there?" Leo attempted to synthesize the air and listen. Behind all the grunts and clashes, he heard Venus in there.
"Wait, who's Venus?" April asked. All three mutants looked at one another. They had forgotten that neither she nor Vern were introduced to her.
"Venus is my sister." Mona promptly answered. Half of her face revealed to those behind her.
"Her turtle sister." Mikey bounced his eye ridges up and down. He was due for a slap, but neither of the two other mutants noticed. Vern doesn't count, right?
"And you're not worried that she might get hurt?" He walked towards Mona Lisa, who continued to defend her sister.
"It's just Raph and Donnie."
"It's still very dangerous."
"And it is… why?" The lizard rolled her wrist as she spoke, and ended with her face tensed up and her hand palm up as if she were holding a glass of something. It surprised Leo a little. Either it was because she was representing Kiesha or the fact that she knew what it was.
"They're good guys but even they can't withhold their strengths."
"That's an interesting fact Leo. Now can you tell me the bad news?"
"They can seriously hurt Venus. She's not the strongest turtle we've seen." He had a valid point. Venus isn't nearly as big as them, not even as big as Donatello. If anyone of them hurt her, Leo would feel like he would be responsible for it. He knew that. It was his team and they aren't exactly gentle whether fighting baddies or finding something for all of them to watch on the monitors. He took a step further to her, drawing an appearance reflecting authority.
"Venus is perfectly capable of handling herself." Mona took a step forward as well, face to face with the older brother. Her dulled claw poked at his chest, accentuating her every word to make her point. "Look, if you're that high strung, why don't you come with me and play the referee?" Leonardo tried to retort, but Mona swung fast and made her way over to the dojo. The big blue sighed. He had to protect Venus, from his brothers.
"Girls." He thought in his head as he walked over to the sounds of fighting.
Donatello jabbed at Raphael's arm. The rebel lifted his elbow quickly and took hold of the stick under his arm. With this advantage, he rounded a punch towards his head, but Donnie blocked it with his forearm. Raph had let go of the staff after he punched, so Donnie had great leverage to punch back. His brother squatted down to duck from the oncoming blow. Raph stood back up, going for his brother's head with his Sais, crossing both of his arms upon missing. They were getting really caught up in the fight, Leonardo suggested to himself once he walked into the dojo. Mona was already spectating to the side, grinning at the two humans and the ecclesiastical turtle watching the fight. Throughout the fight, they could hear Leonardo point out flaws of the fight, but it didn't matter about what he thought; everyone else believed it was a great fight. Raph and Donnie were still going at it. Without a scratch on his head, Donnie swung his staff like a bat, but it was blocked by two Sais. The miniature prongs slid their deadly blades along the top of the Bo staff once again. He used brute force to push the weapon down, but failed when he brother shook him off of it.
In came Venus. They were wondering when she would jump back into the game. They all thought she was taking a breather or she was down for the count, but she wasn't doing either. She was letting them wear down. She sprinted to Raphael. Her fans opened up in her hand, ready to fire them at him. She pushed off of her legs and took for the skies. With a single flip, she lashed down at Raphael, who blocked her with one hand of his sai. Both threw their fists at each other and blocking them. Apart from fists, Raph got the idea to lift up his elbow. The tactic worked for Venus jerked down and hit her chin upon in. Leonardo tried to make a move to break them up, but Mona Lisa pressed his hand on his chest.
"Watch." She ordered. Slightly hurt, Venus bounced back up with a back flip and ran back into the fray. She was okay. For now. Her move landed her back into Donatello's space. Quickly, he swiped his leg in the air to kick her down, but the light blue ninja avoided it and ended up landing on her knees. They hurt slightly upon coming down on them, but she continued to fight with him, lashing, punching and blocking. Her legs helped her up, and Donnie found himself being chased once more.
"Mona, you proved your point." He admitted to her. "But I still don't feel comfortable letting Venus fight them."
"Why? Because she's a girl?" They both looked behind them when the three spectators oo'd. Leo put his hand up and they stopped, and then continued watching both fights go back and fourth.
"You're taking that out of context."
"Come on Leo, be serious. Venus looks like a weakling."
"You know I can hear you!" Venus cried out while dodging Donatello's attacks.
"Hush up, you're fighting!" Her sister snapped back at her. Venus gave her the stink face. "But she was trained by a Ninjitsu master. Shouldn't that make her a little more qualified?"
"Splinter is a Ninjitsu Master." Leo fired back with a cool head.
"Where did Splinter learn?"
"Well-." Mona cut him off, saving him from telling her the embarrassing story of his great ninja father learning Ninjitsu from a book he found in the storm drains.
"You worry too much." Leonardo looked back the fight, letting his two big arms intertwine with each other.
"Comes with my job."
"For your brothers. Worrying about Venus is my job."
At that moment, Venus was face-to-face with Raphael. He took a swipe at her chest area, which her quick reflexes aided her to lean back and avoid the cut. Like a wind up toy, he held his Sais up high and over his back. Venus had to think quickly to counter the maneuver. It was a difficult spot to be in; any wrong move would bring her down, and if she were in real combat, armless. Her knees went over her shoulders as she crouched down. Hot on adrenaline, like Sonic she rolled in high speeds under him when her opponent missed his target when he slashed down. In a desperate attempt, he spun himself around and swung both of his Sais to the other side of his body to the still crouching Venus. If only he had taken his time and slowed down his maneuver, he'd note that Venus was slow at getting up. His hit and miss, advanced Venus when she stood on all fours and swung her leg back to kick him by the head. Her calf smacked the side of his face, thrashing him to the ground. He didn't expect so much power from her. All watching were on their feet as they watched their muscular friend spin in the air then fall flat on his back. He wished he could get back up and fight, but he had that certain gut feeling not to get up. Raphael was down for the count, and Venus finished him off. In a huff, Venus stood over him and scowled at Mona and Leonardo who still argued about her.
"It is not!" she yelled across the room. Mona Lisa turned around. Her expression shocked for her sister's sudden outburst, and then.
"Mei Pei Chi!" She shouted back at her, but she was too late. Venus didn't keep her head in the game. If she did, she probably would have seen Donatello charging her with his staff. Upon yelling, Donnie was still in the game and kicked her down up high. Like hail, she fell down hard, bouncing off of her side.
Everything stopped. The training exercise, Mona and Leo, as well as everyone's breathing. Donatello's face dropped in shock of what he did. Guilty, he rushed over to her side.
"I don't know what happened. I'm so sorry Venus, I didn't know, I didn't mean to." His voice cracked as he spoke. Gently, he rolled her over more so that she was able to see him. Donatello immediately began checking her over. His hot fingers prodded and squeezed anything that could have been harmed.
"Donnie!" Leo shouted. "What did you do?!" his blood boiled on high. He knew this would happen. He knew it! Venus is probably in serious pain and it's all because they thought she could take on these two warrior teenage boys. What was she thinking? What were they thinking? One thing's for sure, they were all glad Master Splinter hadn't witnessed it. Everybody in the hashi for hours at a time, again, and it's because of them, again! If Splinter was here, he would have stopped it in the first place like a leader would have done if there was any sense of danger. If only they'd listen to him. Leonardo began to charge over and smack his brother around about it. Mona to the rescue, she stopped him from jumping off of the ledge. Instead of using her already strong arms, she wrapped her even stronger tail around his shoulders and pulled him back to her. Leonardo stumbled as she pulled, lightly resisting. She pulled him right beside her.
"Leo she's fine." She put her hand onto the side of his face and made him look down at the accident. His eyes witnessed his big doof of a brother tend to her. April sprinted in with their first aid kit that he had requested. He stared back at Mona, still unconvinced. "Mei Pei Chi." She called out.
"Yeah?" she sounded whiny and weak.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." She spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
"There you go." Mona extended her arm out to prove her point.
"She's hurt Mona." Leonardo stated. He tried to walk over again, but Mona tightened her hold on him.
"Where did he hit you?" Venus stopped her glare at the ground and looked up to her sister.
"The same place I'm clutching to!" she answered as if it wasn't obvious enough. Her arm grasped a part of her right upper chest. Donatello hadn't dared to check her there, so he stopped what he was doing. Although he was the brains, he failed to notice that she was clutching herself and just checked random areas around her. He stopped leaning over her and stood straight up on his knees. He had that super nervous look on his face with the protruding lips and fondling fingers. Obviously, he felt guilty, but now embarrassed about exactly where he had kicked her.
"Don't worry about it Donnie." Her voice began to regain its strength. Donatello eased up as he watched Venus' face turned into a big turtley smile. She reached her hand out to him and hastily but slowly helped her off of the ground. "It's mostly bone so I'll be fine." She let her hand slide down as her pain simmered down and steadied to a tolerable pain. "You got to stop getting me in the most embarrassing of areas." Venus obviously wanted Donatello to smile. He couldn't resist but smile at her charm. It was only for a brief moment until Venus unleashed any anger inside her and used it against the two fighters. And they weren't Donnie and Raphael.
"And you two. Seriously? I get how it's a 'job' to keep your sister safe, but you really sounded like it was your job." Venus said crossly as she sassily crossed her arms. She didn't seem to care that her braids got caught in her fold and pulled down the back of her head lightly. Leo and Mona let their heads hang down, much to Venus' approval. Mona let her tail slip down from Leo's chest and fall to the floor behind her.
"It's nothing Venus, really. Just keeping kill joy from stopping your fight." Leo scowled at her. She faced him back with a look saying "do something about it". "And you can't blame him for it."
"Why?" They watched carefully as Venus' eyes darted back and fourth beneath her. "Is it because I'm a girl?"
"What is with you guys with-?!" Leonardo exploded. His head took to the ceiling as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Both of his armored arms rose. Slapping sounds smacked against his skin green head. April appeared behind him, quietly whispering soothing words to him as she patted his shell to calm him down. She knew Leonardo can only handle so much stress.
"With him, most definitely," Mona pointed her finger from her arm fold. "But me, I'm your older sister. I took the Big Sister oath to protect you ever since you were born." As an example, Mona rested her right hand over her heart and raised her left hand. Venus wasn't as impressed.
"Can you recite this so sacred Big Sister oath? If you'd be so kind?" she asked sarcastically.
"Can't, top secret for big sisters, but you get the point. Besides, you're so cute Venus. I wouldn't want anybody to mess up those cute little cheeks you have." Being the big sister she was, she loved playing with Venus. Her cheeks were big, green, and so fun to play with. She pinched one of them gently and slowly wiggled it. Venus smiled humbly like a child would when they love the attention they're getting. Everyone watched them.
"Yeah." Venus' voice lightened. Mona let go of her cheeks and grazed her soft hand over her face stopping at its sides next to her eyes.
"And I sure don't want those big lime eyes blackened." The guys couldn't believe it. Was this what sisters do? Compliment each other and treat their younger siblings like mere children? Do brothers do that too? Man, were they doing it all wrong. They normally compliment on what quality of a punch somebody granted upon Mikey. Poor kid.
"Okay, I get it. I'm not mad anymore." Slowly, Venus let her arms drop from their fold. Her sister reached out for her dangling hand. She held onto it gently, not wanting her squeeze or injure her further. As always (most of the time), Mona Lisa treated her sister as a flower. Venus seemed so delicate to her, like a flower, yet she would let her fight. It was similar to a love-hate relationship. A careful- fighting relationship.
"Good. Now why don't you wash up and I'll cook up some spring rolls for you." Mona talked to her hand as she brushed her turtle skin across her palms.
"Sure." Venus withdrew her hand and jumped up onto the walkway. She did crouch down a little when she landed, still in some type of soreness from her fight. Venus looked behind her to see the awestruck faces. She passed it as a look of worry that she was going to break, so she smiled to assure them. Her assumptions were far from it. They still couldn't believe how Mona had handled her.
"I wish my brothers would act more like that." Leonardo said in a huff. He folded his arms across his chest armor and glared at his three siblings. Donatello looked away quickly to avoid eye contact. He knew Leo was still mad at him for hurting Venus, but he was angry with himself for doing it. He looked to the side to catch a glimpse at Mikey who was pulling a Keisha on Leo. Fearless, Raph matched Leonardo's look right on.
"Hey, I ain't lettin' ya pet me." He declared. April pressed her forearm against Leo's and leaned onto him.
"Well, you don't exactly have the biggest cheeks Raph." She pointed out with a smile.
"Do turtles have cheeks?" Vern commented, but again he was unheard and ignored.
"What are you talking about? I slap 'em around all the time when Raph's asleep." Instantly, Mikey jumped onto his red masked brother and began a series of hurtles slaps onto his cheeks, clearly ignoring the look of serious disapproval on Raphael's face. "They make a nice slapping sound." Mikey continued his assault. In good time, Raph slowly wound his arm behind him and jabbed Michelangelo right in the gut. Like a folding chair, Mikey went down in sections, clutching to his stomach.
"I thought Venus said it was bone." Vern asked unsurely of the female turtle's claims.
"That's what scares us about Raph." Donnie gave Vern the crazy eyes.
"How did that sound?" Raph asked. On his face was a smug look, happy on what he accomplished. Mikey looked up to the skies as if he saw the light.
"Like my insides are liquidated." Everybody chuckled at their hurt brother and friend. Whether or not in pain, he always made someone laugh with his comebacks and one-liners. Donnie put a hand on his shell when he stayed bent over on the ground.
"Not exactly accurate, but understandable."
Donatello was tacitly forgiven for his little stunt he pulled on the "fragile" turtle girl. After Venus had disappeared into the bathroom, Mona had suggested preparing spring rolls for her sister. She quickly learned that everyone else decided to have one after they gave her specific orders of what they wanted in their roll. Not to be rude, Mona sucked in anything that she would fire back at them and made their rolls. Until she was finished with each one, the four brothers, along with April and Vern conversed in the kitchen. April sat at the table with Leo and Donatello. Donnie made sure that she sat between them. Leo could have forgiven him, but he might kick him or try to lecture him all night. Donatello knew better that April will stop him from either; she knew how to keep him calm.
Leonardo didn't give two winks about Donatello's foolishness from earlier as he continued to listen o April's stories about her new line of business.
"What were you two arguing about earlier?" he asked so patiently. April had just finished telling a tale of some senile old man who thought he was home. She stopped laughing and instantly shot a hot look at Vern. The man would look back at her in surprise, and then back at Leonardo. He silently thanked him for bringing it up.
"When do they not?" Mikey commented. His voice had a small echo but sounded contained at the same time as he kept his head in their refrigerator, looking for something to snack on so he could watch them fight comfortably. Still cooking, Mona scowled at him since she was already involuntarily making food for them.
"Tell them Vern," April mildly snapped him on the knee for he was sitting at the counter barely a foot away. His expression was like sudden surprise and hesitation. Like an "I don't want to tell it" face. "Tell them!" She repeated. April raised her hand up a little higher. Quickly, Vern realized that she was going to hit his now somewhat recovered arm that was now out of a cast and in a brace.
"Well, you see-." He began, until his female partner decided to interrupt him and talk.
"Vern signed me up in the Big Brother, Big Sister program." She blurted out. She realized that maybe Vern will twist it and start rambling like he would; April would get straight to the point.
"What's that?" Mikey asked with a full mouth. His head emerged from the fridge with his arms full with a box of Reese's Puffs cereal that somehow made its way into the fridge and not the cabinets. He enjoyed the cold, yet succulent frosted coating of the peanut butter and chocolate. His satisfaction got to Raphael as he dove his big hand into the box and packed a mouthful. "Are you getting a big sister? I didn't know it worked that way." He tried to think deeply about it, but it hurt his head, so he continued eating by the counter. Mr. Fenwick turned around slightly on the stool, catching a poor glimpse of Michelangelo as he talked over his shoulder.
"No, O'Neil will be learning big responsibilities, balancing her time, and not worry about the next big crime scene around the block while caring for a needy little girl."
"And Vern talked with the director behind my back and had me signed up." Aril snapped. The thought of the matter just frustrated her. Leo lightly patted her on the back as she fiddled with her fingers. I guess they both know how to calm each other down.
"Honestly O'Neil. All you do is crave for excitement and abnormalities." He allowed his hands stretch out towards Leo and Donnie. "Heck, your pet turtles are ninja masters." Both turtles looked at each other as if they just realized that they were turtles, but disagreed.
"We ain't her pets." Raph spat. Michelangelo nodded in agreement like a teenaged sidekick with his mouth full of food and mumbling
"Mm hm!" April pinched part of his denim jeans and yanked on it.
"And I'm perfectly balanced. You don't see people looking at me crazy in the face."
"That's not what they're looking at." Whispered someone with an orange bandana. The young woman lightened her expression and turned to look at him in the face.
"What'd you say Mikey?"
"I asked 'who's the girl.'" He spoke quickly and smoothly. Mikey turned away from her, looking up into the skies while scratching the back of his head. Good for him, April took it when she turned back around in her chair without a scowl. Raphael commented him.
"Smooth." Then both gave each other a victorious high three. Just then, Mona walked by and gave both of the naughty turtles a pop to the head. Someone must have heard.
"I was handed a paper of information the other day. Her name is Angel and she's 13 years old." She sighed. "I remember when I was 13. Do you remember Mona Lisa?" Mona was at the sink, rinsing off a plate she was using. It dropped to the bottom of the sink floor when April had asked her. They noticed she seemed a little tense for she didn't move anymore.
"It was a dark age for me." She confessed broken heartedly. Raph and Mikey looked back at her to see if something was wrong, but April proceeded to speak.
"Yeah. The moment I got to junior high, everything just went downhill." She demonstrated with hand motions going down gradually.
"Junior high wasn't that bad, at least not in China." Those in the kitchen turned to where the sound was coming from. Coming in from the dojo was Venus, fresh out of the shower. The four mutant boys stared with their mouths agape, alarming their human visitors. Mona was the only one who didn't seem to notice anything wrong.
"There were only three students Venus," Her voice carried her big attitude tone as she set Leonardo's roll before him. Then she set down April's. "And one of them was me." The turtle girl looked up from the ground. The sight was not amusing. Four turtles stared at her effortlessly while the two people stared as well but looked as if they were searching her for something. It was overall weird, but she was more tolerate of staring than Mona. She began to believe it was an American thing. Strange ways they have overseas.
"Venus! Have you forgotten something?" Leonardo's eye ridges crinkled a bit when he asked. Venus quickly looked down at herself.
"What? Is my skirt on wrong?" She looked around herself. Nope. She had a skirt on and it was right where it needed to be. Raphael waved his hand, palm up, in a waving motion.
"A little higher." She looked again, looking for what could possibly be missing from her body. Then she spotted it.
"My ribbon's hanging in the bathroom with my mask. Those things needed to get washed." The guys gasped in horror, except for Mikey who partially gasped when Mona delivered his roll.
"No. You should never wash your mask!" Their leader exclaimed. It was true that after weeks of living together, they saw the true Venus de Milo. Bald and all, but still just as beautiful. Her mask didn't hide her smooth head as much as it revealed a new feature to them. The outer corners of her eyes were paint brushed red. Leo instantly tried to blame Donnie, but they were done so perfectly and evenly that neither he nor Raphael could have done it. It must be a part of being a red eared slider turtle, but how come neither of his brothers had it? During all this thinking, he kept his stern face. It scared her a little as she retreated a couple steps while hugging herself.
"It was dirty." She asked while the back of her mind asked if she did something horribly wrong.
"Exactly, it holds all adventures, failures, and victories..." Donatello listed with his three fingers. His closest sibling pounded his heart with his armored fist.
"It represents your honor."
"And stench. I haven't taken that thing off in forever. I never wore it that long back home."
"Seriously?" Donnie asked. He had hoped that his unwatched tone did not offend Venus. The terrapin girl smiled at him slightly.
"The mask is not intended for memories. It was created to hide your true identity from your enemies. I've never had real enemies, and I never left the village until now. Why should I? It's not like I'm a giant talking turtle or anything." They had to hand it to her, she had a point. Simultaneously, each turtle felt up their masks and faces, assessing if they really needed one. What if they didn't have them? Would Vern and April recognize them? Yes, they had their styles of clothing, but what if they switched their garments? Could they still identify them? They should be able to tell who's Donnie and who's Raph. Would they realize that Mikey had more baby fat on his face unlike Leo? The differences seemed pretty easy to identify to them. Each one of these ideas popped into their heads at one point of time. Mona served up the last roll to April. She smiled courteously as she took a bite.
"Could you guys help me out with something?" She asked covering her mouth. The four turtles and Vern agreed to her in their own ways. April smiled.
"Not you guys." April turned around from the men. "Mona, Venus, could you help me make a list of things for me and Angel to do when she gets here." The sisters lit up instantly.
"Sure!" Venus exclaimed with joy.
"Hey! How come we can't help you out?" Michelangelo pouted.
"Two reasons: 1. they're closer to Angel's age than I am. 2. They're girls. They won't suggest boxing, or meditating, or read about quantum physics, or eat a sour cream and jelly bean pizza." The boys sat back, for they just got served. Although it sounded offensive, they did agree with her.
"Oh, I'd also like discuss some business plans with you Miss O'Neil." Mona threw out the napkin her spring roll was on.
"Please, call me April, and sure, what are you planning to do?"
"It has something to do with the restaurant industry." The lizard lady threw her giant braid over her shoulder and back to swatting against her legs.
"Sounds boring." Mikey commented as he watched April get up from her chair and into the turtle's bedroom with her new friends Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo at her sides.
