I'm baaaack! Didja miss me? Don't you hate it when RL runs interferance on your fics? Blech! Sorry for leaving everybody hanging like that. Please accept this extra-long chapter by way of an apology. : ) Thank you for your patience.
And, of course, a huge thank you to all of my awesome reviewers. Oh wait, that's all of them, silly me! Thank you reviewers! : D
Am I the owner of TMNT? *runs and checks* Nope. Darn.
On With The Chapter!
Dear Journal,
We're all spending the day in the Lair getting ready for tonight's infiltration of TCRI. Don, Leo, and April are doing pre-planning type stuff. Mike's testing out this grappling harness that Don built. I can't see Raph, so I don't know what he's doing.
But Max is cooking lunch. God help us all.
Later
Couldn't resist some snooping. I just heard Max asking how old the Chinese take-out in the fridge is and I went to investigate. It looks like we're having his 'specialty'. It's actually not that bad, it's just kinda gross in concept. He takes all of the leftovers (and a few other random items) from the fridge and pantry and mixes them all up together in a frying pan. Or soup pot, depending on the consistency of the available resources. He calls it an April 16 Special. April 16, the day after tax returns are due. You've given all your money to the government and you're living on leftover leftovers. Actually, he invented it one day when we were almost out of groceries and neither of us wanted to go to the store, but he thinks April 16 Special sounds more poetic.
Oh goodness, he's investigating pizza boxes. Must stop him before he tries to stir fry pepperoni pizza. The last thing we need is him giving Mikey any ideas.
Dear Journal,
Okay, we've all eaten, (It wasn't that bad. Never is. Actually tastes semi-good in an 'I can't believe this is what I'm eating' kind of way. Our arteries are probably the consistency of molasses right now) and right after lunch we sat down (well, most of us sat down. Mikey was still in the harness. He refused to take it off) and started planning for the break-in. Actually, it wasn't so much planning as Don giving a presentation on TCRI, Mikey getting hyper and tangled in the harness lines while making endless movie references, Leo telling us what he wanted us to do, and then us either agreeing with Leo or arguing with him and each other. Fun times.
It took a while to convince Leo to let Max and me come with to the actual break-in. Max is going to be doing remote tech support for April so that Don can focus on doing his ninja thing, just in case she runs into anything weird. Also, she's taking this tech thingy with her. It's a jump drive with a wireless connection. If she can find a computer terminal and plug it in then Max can hack their computer systems and try to find any files with information on those canisters. That way the guys focus on finding Master Splinter (that's been appropriately deemed as the top priority) and still get their answers at the same time. Max can relay any time-sensitive information as he finds it.
Leo seemed to be convinced that Max could do all of this from the Lair. No need to 'take needless risks'. He didn't take too well to my asking to come either, even when I suggested that I could be their getaway driver.
"Max isn't coming, and you're not coming. Only people who are actually going in are coming. You two are waiting in the Lair where it's safe." he said, with his 'I'm the leader, that's why' expression.
"Alright then. Who's going to stay and 'protect' us in case something goes wrong?" I asked. "If we're that useless then we must need protecting." Max tried to get up at this point and walk away, claiming that he wanted to 'stay out of this one'. I pulled him back down onto the couch.
"Come on Leo, just let 'em come. It ain't hurting anything." Raph said. From the tone of his voice I think that he knew what he was doing.
Leo and I were in a staring contest at this point and when Raph said this Leo whirled around and said something sharply in Japanese. Raph responded (in Japanese as well) and it was as if all hell had broken loose. Within seconds all four of them were yelling at each other in Japanese. April, Casey, Max, and I just sat there for a minute with our mouths open. I was reminded, for a brief moment, of the month that Max and I stole cable from the upstairs neighbor (because he was a friend of Max's and he bet Max a hundred dollars that he couldn't do it. He could. We did.) and Max found this Spanish network and we laughed our butts off at Spanish soap operas for about two hours one afternoon (The laughing was mostly at each other and our estimations of what we thought the people were saying to each other, or at least what would be funniest for them to be saying. Max takes such good care of me when I'm sick). There was a lot of yelling on those soap operas and I didn't understand a word of it.
Okay, random tangent over. We all just stared at the shouting match going on before us, that was obvious that we were not supposed to be taking part in. Max was frowning. I knew why and was trying to keep from snickering as he slowly used his crutches to stand up.
Then Max yelled something in Japanese and the entire room just froze. I really wish I'd had a camera to take a picture of the stunned look on those boys' faces. A Kodak moment if ever there was one!
Leo asked Max a question (still speaking Japanese, but not yelling), and Max replied. Then this entire conversation started between Max and the rest of the guys. Still in Japanese.
April looked at me and mouthed "What just happened?" I shrugged. It would take too long to explain that Max took Japanese in high school. It wasn't a your standard foreign language class though, he took it at the community college. It was part of this program that the school had with the college and the AP/honors program at the high school. I'm kinda sketchy on the details. Bottom line, Max learned Japanese. Besides the whole genius thing, it's kinda what got him his job. But that's probably not what she was asking anyways.
When the conversation ended the only thing that Max would tell me was that we were now being allowed to go. "It was a private conversation." He said. I had to laugh and roll my eyes at that one "Oh yeah, so private you could probably hear it from out in the sewers."
I guess if I want to know what they're saying I'll just have to learn Japanese…. Guess I know where I'm getting my foreign language credits. Heh heh. They'll never know what hit 'em! Either that or I'm going to need tons of help studying. That one sounds more realistic.
The break-in plan is simple, and slightly incomplete.
April goes in and pretends to have an appointment with the head honcho, and while Mr. Front-desk-guard guy is looking up the non-existent appointment, Casey enters and 'distracts', giving April ample opportunity to slip into the security control room where she'll turn off the roof alarms and cameras, and plug the wireless hacker thingy into a computer, then she and Casey book it out of there. Thus completing phase one.
In phase two, the guys, who are on the roof thanks to April's work in the control room, enter the building through a heating/air-conditioning duct (hey, it's clichéd for a reason). Meanwhile, Max will start the hack out in the van and download any files he comes across that might have pertinent information. April will be looking for anything on Master Splinter, building schematics and ways to help them through security. I'm on first-aid duty and getaway stand-by. Make-work, but at least I'm coming. (I didn't get the chance to tell Leo, but if he'd really 'forbidden' me from coming, I'd have just taken my car and showed up anyways. There's no way in the world I'd miss this, and no overprotective ninja is going to stop me. Sorry Leo)
Phase three is the 'slightly incomplete' part: Find Master Splinter, look for answers, and get out. It can't really be helped since we don't know anything about the inside of that building, and we can't break into the computer systems remotely. They've tried. So that's our plan, wing it.
It's so simple in theory, and yet…
I don't know, I just can't shake the feeling that there's an 'and yet' at the end of that sentence. I'm probably just being paranoid. I hope I'm just being paranoid
Dear Journal,
Max, April, Casey and I are sitting here in the BattleShell. I wonder where everything went wrong, or if it really went right and we were just too wrapped up in our own pre-planned ideas to notice. Whatever's happened, losing communication has us all kinda crazy. And it's not the good kind. Is there a good kind of crazy? Don't know. Off topic.
Max abandoned the idea of hacking a while ago. Apparently there weren't any USB ports in the control room. It was full of strange and unfamiliar technology and it took a long time as it was for April to find a way to turn off the roof sensors. The guys had to take care of the cameras on their own (I heard them say something about Don having a pigeon puppet? Need to remember to ask about that one. There's got to be a good story behind it), and then the roof vents were fake and they couldn't cut through the windows either. Literally couldn't. They tried. April found a way to get them in through what she said was some kind of exhaust port. That's about when it all started going south.
Casey's 'distracting' got out of hand and security found April and they had to make a break for it. And then, right after they got out we lost contact the guys. April and Max have already tried everything they can to get a signal from them. Meanwhile, there's not much around here for me to do. Casey's got a few bumps and bruises. Didn't take long to patch up. Honestly, he probably could have survived without the medical attention, but it was something productive to do (for me anyways). Better than just sitting here waiting for something to happen.
Dear Journal,
I take it back! I don't want 'something' to happen! Not if 'something' is a giant blue flashing light shooting up into the sky that's totally going to freak the entire city out and probably blow our cover! Aaaaaah!
I jinxed us! Saying 'I wish something would happen' is just as bad as saying 'what could possibly go wrong?' or 'it can't get any worse.'; the universe just has to prove you wrong when you say stuff like that.
Please be alright in there guys. Please be okay.
Dear Journal,
We've already got reporters outside. Doesn't look like much, they're just getting some 'live' footage for their top-of-the hour report. We had to move farther back into the alley though, and turn off the van so that we didn't get accosted as 'eyewitnesses'. Ironic that the reporters are the first ones on the scene and we haven't seen a trace of any kind of government authority yet.
Dear Journal,
Reporters have come and gone a couple of times. There was a weirdo alien watcher guy a while back that tried to make a bonfire in the middle of the street. The reporters actually interviewed him. That was kinda funny. He was waving his arms and shouting "The blue men are coming! The blue men are coming! Take me with you!" Cops showed up about the time he started dancing around his street-fire. They put it out and hauled him away. Other than crazy guy, it's been mostly reporters. A couple of cops came by earlier, but they didn't even get out of their cars.
Meanwhile we're still sitting here.
Later
There was another flash. We still have no idea what they mean, just that they're big and they attract a lot of attention. And that our boys are in the building they're happening in.
Please, please, please, please be okay.
Dear Journal,
Insert expletive of choice here. The National Guard is on its way! They're going to 'investigate' the weird blue flashes of light. And we have no way to warn the guys that the building that they are in is about to be surrounded by government authorities! This can't be happening! Okay, need to stop writing now. We're getting ready to… do stuff. I don't really know what we're doing but we have to do something! We can't just let them get exposed! Not at any cost.
Dear Journal,
Can't write long. Army outside. Casey's been pacing like a caged tiger. He really wants to get out there and plow his way through to the guys. Not that it would work, he just wants to. Max has been looking at his cast with utter contempt and April's been eyeing the turbo button. I think we all want to.
Later
The building locked itself down (literally. It now has a layer of metal covering the entrances and first-floor windows). Really worried. Max is going to try to patch us into their radios, but it could take time.
Later
Their tanks didn't have any effect. The door withstood a barrage of missiles.
The military action in downtown New York is drawing onlookers by the dozens. I'm wondering, even with the ninja stuff, how are the guys going to get past the crowd of National Guardsmen, not to mention avoid being seen by all of the constantly rolling cameras and random civilians who apparently have nothing better to do in the middle of the night than gather at a building that's emitting blue flashes of light (it's like they're moths or something. Hellooo! Times Square anyone?). Still nothing on the radios, but it's not like we have a fully stocked lab back there.
Later
The army guys are backing off. Does that mean that they're leaving?
No. Not leaving. They just got a helicopter to shoot a missile at the door! And now there's a big smoking hole. Great. This is really great. And now even the army's inside and we're stuck out here.
We need to know what's going on in there! And we can't wait for Max to finish with the radios! Argh! If only there was some way they'd just tell us what we wanted to know.
Later
April's got an idea! It should get us closer, and hopefully get us more information. Maybe they actually will just tell us what we want to know. Here's to hoping.
Dear Journal,
Okay, that was officially the craziest night of my life. Bar none. And yes, I'm counting the night that I got kidnapped by Purple Dragons, thrown in the trunk of a car, found out that mutant turtles exist, and threw up on Raph's foot.
But Master Splinter's back, safe and sound. Everyone's safe and sound. So it's all worth it.
I can't even begin to describe all of the craziness that occurred. April and Casey disguised themselves as a news crew and went to try to get more info on what was going on and while they were gone we all got The Phone Call. It was Leo. He wanted us to try to warn everybody that the building was about to blow up. Yes, that's right. TCRI blew up! Imploded actually. But that's not even the craziest thing.
Since I found out that New York City's sewers really are inhabited by giant reptiles, I've stopped using that as my example for something totally unbelievable. You know. (*sarcastic voice* "Oh, riiiight. And there's all kinds of things living in the sewers.") That one. Well, I guess I can't use aliens anymore either.
Turns out that what the Guardians were guarding was a building full of aliens! Good-guy aliens that have a device that somehow beamed the guys to a different galaxy and back (the flashes of light were the transporter doing its thing). We have yet to hear the whole story, but apparently they were gone for two weeks somehow. And I'm really tired, so I'm going to go to sleep now.
Max and me and April and Casey (bad grammar at 4:30 in the morning) have decided to just take it for what it is at the moment and get our answers when everybody's had some decent rest.
Master Splinter is back. Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey are safe and unharmed. For the first time in a long time my family is truly complete. I'm going to sleep soundly tonight.
All is right with the world.
Hooray!
I know that I'm partway into season two, but I'm considering this my season one finale. (Not finale as in final chapter, just the season finale)
On to season two! Just from looking at the episode summaries I can tell that it's going to be fun!