A/N: Apparently, my sense of time is way wack this week. I posted the last chapter, thinking it was Monday (twas Sunday), and I meant to post this Tuesday. Evidently, that was yesterday. Pfft. Glad I don't keep track of anyone's Day Planners...

WOLF - I always aim to throw out the unexpected, so, sweet! Look forward to more of that to come. ;)

Sciencegal - Sorry about your cut-off review. Still love you, though. *hugs* Hugh hasn't been through the worse part yet. Hug him while you can...

Chapter 24: May Showers

How could the days continue such a rapid descent? Just when Michelangelo found a highlight in one, it seemed Turtle Luck was set on eclipsing it soon after. And the resulting dreariness was beginning to take its toll on everyone, even him.

'We haven't heard news about Nia in almost a week. Then when I came home on Thursday Splinter was already like…this.'

The turtle mutant sighed, dipping a washcloth into a basin of tepid water beside Splinter's futon. Its moistness always numbed his fingers, although it wasn't cold, and he frowned at his father's raspy sigh when the unconscious rat writhed at its touch.

'The wheezing's constant. I remember Mel saying he'd been choking on mucus when he collapsed….Maybe he should sit up more. Or…I don't know.'

"Ni…ah." Splinter grumbled. His head jerked towards Michelangelo, his dark eyes squinted and glossed as if unsure of his son's identity. "We…need tea," he continued in a hoarse voice.

Mikey noted how his paw shook to lift, so he captured it, running a thumb over its hot flesh. "I—I'm sure Ni-chan would love to drink tea with you, Sensei. But your fever has to go down first."

"Miss, tea, Nia…Leonar…" The rat had already begun to drift asleep before he finished speaking. His head fidgeted against his small pillow as his body heaved below his kakebuton.

Mikey could hardly stand the sight—let alone the mumblings of his missed siblings–so he drenched the washcloth again, wrung it, then set it on Splinter's forehead before rising from the tatami floor. With a thick sigh in his chest, he exited the bedroom, sliding the shoji screen shut behind him. He hoped he'd heard enough depressing things for the day.

Then again, he should've expected more from Turtle Luck.

"What about the stupid computer chip thingies April got ya for Christmas?" Raphael asked while scowling. Insomnia outlined his eyes in thick circles and he paid no mind to his youngest brother when the orange-masked Chūnin neared him and Donatello by the kitchen table.

"Not everything I do is magic, Raph," the genius shot back. "Ape and I are still encountering program bugs. Besides, it's meant to track people outside. It can't find Nia in a hospital."

"So all the work ya've put in it had been for show."

"I'm tired, Raph. Can we not have this fight again?"

"Just sayin'."

"We'll find her, alright?" Don questioned, gentle.

"Whatever," Raph whispered. His arms folded, his gaze lowered, but Mikey felt the stance was more defeated than defiant.

He focused on the dense gauze wrapped around the hothead's knuckles, frowning at the faint red seeping through them. 'He's been back and forth between listlessness and annoyance ever since Melody bandaged his hands. Who would've thought his moodiness could be worse?'

"Look"—Don's voice drew his brothers' gazes—"the antibiotics should be here within the hour. April texted me not long ago, saying she'd met Olson, paid him. As soon as we get Sensei set-up, I'll have her help me look into the facial recognition program. Deal?"

Raphael shrugged. And to make matters worse, he walked towards the couch without a glare or huff to spar. It was so unlike the hothead that Michelangelo's stomach sank. He sent the purple-masked mutant a questioning gaze, except Donatello responded by smiling bitterly before heading for Lab.

'Guess I'm talking to grump turtle.'

The nunchaku master twisted on his heel then neared the couch's back. His elbows rested on its top as he leaned forward, his attention partly set on the television's ads. "Saw you this morning. Still sleeping on the couch?"

"Not like I can sleep in my room."

"Too many memories?"

Raph glanced sideways with darkened amber eyes. "That beast has taken it over."

"Little Piggy?"

"It's a monster, not a pig."

"Looks like a pig."

"An' a piranha. An' an armadillo."

"Should I start calling it Little Arma-pig-anha then?"

"I don't care what ya call it. It's a destructive pest an' it's taken over my room."

"Surprised you're putting up with the mess, honestly." When Raph snorted, Mikey half-smiled. "Thought you would've resorted to murder by now. Or banishment at least. Wanna transfer him?"

"No."

"Why not? We could find a place that's roomy. And you'd get your—"

"It stays on her side 'a the bed…"

Michelangelo blinked at the hothead's soft sigh then leaned further over the couch so he could see the pain etched in his brother's expression.

"When I go in there, it'll let me leave food on my side," the sai master added. "But if I try touchin' any 'a Nia's stuff, it attacks. She really likes it, so if it's happy there…"

"I don't care what anybody says; you're a good guy, Raphy Boy," Mikey teased. He shoved Raph's limp shoulder, although his amusement fell when the hothead wouldn't straighten. "We'll see her again."

"That's what everyone keeps sayin'."

"Well, are you gunna let Gavin hold onto her forever?"

"Fuck no."

"Then it's settled. You'll find her." Grin returning, Mikey squeezed his brother's shoulder to set him up-right again. While Raph didn't fight the youngest's lead, he smirked, and that filled Mikey with enough confidence to step back from the couch and ask, "Is your Stealth Watch in your jacket pocket?"

"Why?" Raph countered wirily.

The orange-masked Chūnin approached a coat rack by the Lair's entrance then searched the pockets of a leather bomber jacket. "It's a little early, but I promised to meet Hoshi."

"Ya'll are usin' nicknames now?"

"Come on, you should hang out with us sometime. She's fun."

"Ya mean infuriatin'."

"Didn't you say the same thing about Nia once?"

Raphael blanched under Michelangelo's impish smirk.

"Since we've been booted from helping Lacio, we're gunna steak out a few Hubs. And before you have a heart attack, May showers are rolling in. Any activity will be minimal at best, so"—Mikey snickered at Raph, producing the Stealth Watch at last —"I get the feeling we'll be talking instead."

- 0 - 0 -

"This was supposed to be a shower, not a downpour," Starberry Girl griped.

Her pink and black form paced like a caged lioness below the covered walkway that provided shelter from the relentless rain, even at three stories high. Sure, it was a work-in-progress, but at least traffic was kept at bay during the late afternoon. And the unused steel rafters piled towards the building behind them provided a nice seat for Michelangelo to watch the green-haired heroine glare at the wet scene beyond them.

"Could be worse," the hero noted while tossing Raph's Stealth Watch up like a baseball.

"It's boring, Figo."

"Not completely." Mikey tossed the watch up again after catching it. "You got a pee break."

"It wasn't a—" The female paused with her thin lips parted, having caught Mikey's playful smirk. He swore a pinkish tinge blossomed over her cheeks, although it was hard to tell in the dull sunlight obscured by the storm. "Vabbe. My steel bladder can't last forever."

The hero chuckled behind her back when she turned away, continuing his private game of catch while she detached her Star Staff to whirl. "You probably have an easier time peeing than me."

"Tell me, Figo; how do you whip it out in time with a full-body suit like that?"

Michelangelo about choked on his spit. Okay, so he did. And he beat the orange 'T' across his covered plastron to regain his senses and oxygen as the heroine threw a smirk over her bare shoulder. 'Alright, payback. I can play this game.'

"Wouldn't you like to know," he jested, stretching his arms up then behind his head.

"Don't flatter yourself," Hoshi countered when he reclined against the brick building. "But seriously, I need stimulation. Maybe we should switch to another Hub."

"And lose this prime spot?"

"The EPF fool down there has done nothing except pick his nose and look up porn for the last half hour."

"Uh, gross."

"It's your fault we're behind on this project anyway."

"Mine?" Mikey's lips pursed. "Why me?"

"You insisted on using our time together to investigate Lacio."

"Hey, you agreed!"

"That's because—" Starberry cut herself short by huffing. She jerked her head sideways then faced the rain again, cutting its dense fall with swings of her golden staff.

"Because what?" the hero pressed, his arms lowering.

"Doesn't matter. They didn't want our help, and we only wasted chances to catch the bomber. I scraped up as much extra time as I could behind Mum's back to follow the Hubs as well, but…"

"Wait, you've done hero work without me?"

Hoshi snorted. "I don't need a babysitter, Figo. So don't pout."

"Would this happen to be the same time you tried recruiting Nightwatcher for our team?"

"Did he tell you about that?" The heroine sounded a bit too distant for comfort and Mikey frowned when she sighed. "We talked the same night of the fireworks incident, where his helmet was found."

"He isn't dead, if that's what you're worried about," Mikey noted while crossing his arms.

"I know that much. Forty-Four members have seen him at least twice on the street since then. But not at all these last few days."

"He hasn't been feeling well," Mikey muttered towards the ground. He shook his head, though, refusing to think about the depression at home, and lightened his tone as Hoshi began swinging her staff like a baseball bat. "But he did mention you proudly revealed our secret exchange of numbers."

"Was that a secret?

"Not that I'm complaining"—which he actually was—"but why make our duo a trio?"

"There's strength in numbers, Figo."

"While true, I've been enjoying having you to myself."

Starberry's staff swung hard enough that she nearly hit the side of her head. She played it off by swinging the staff the other way just as hard then back again, only weaker. "I'm sure we could all have a fun time together. He's easy to mess with."

'I told Raph that earlier, but…I'm okay with him holding off for a while.'

"Don't tell me you'd be jealous," Hoshi continued with a snicker.

"No more than you were about a little girl," Mikey countered.

The heroine growled. "I wasn't jealous."

"You're awfully defensive for someone not jealous."

"I'm not defensive, either."

Mikey grinned at the way her green ponytail bobbed when she shook her head. "Sure thing."

"Zitto, idiota."

"Now I may not speak Italian, but that sounded like an insult. I should be…well, insulted."

"I get the feeling that's one of many insults you've been called."

"How do you figure?"

"You're smiling."

Michelangelo threw his head back in a laugh. Yeah, he was. He couldn't stop, either, so he maintained his grin through a series of thunderous rumbles that echoed in the distance. "When you're the youngest of three brothers, you have to adapt. I know they mean all their names with love, though."

"Right; I forget you had that many siblings."

"Plus some sisters. And a father."

"Full house."

"More or less…What about you? You've mentioned your mom, but do you have any other family?"

And cue a sore spot. Mikey flinched at the sudden rigidness that halted Hoshi's swing mid-stride, and he considered retracting his question when the staff's round head met the walkway's floor. She sighed heavily—more like his question was bothersome than hurtful—then steeled her stance, twisting her torso so she sent the hero a look that seemed dead because of her black eye mask.

"Family has nothing to do with why we're here," she said listlessly.

"Just making conversation," Mikey countered, his gloves raised in surrender. "Wouldn't want you to get bored. What would you rather talk about?"

"Anything except siblings…" Shoulders slumped, Hoshi beat the butt of her staff against her combat boots, gaze set on the rainfall instead of Mikey's weak smile.

"How about teachers? We haven't had much chance to talk about Madame Vermillion, and I'm dying to know how accurate the comics are."

"Considering she used me as an errand girl to relay that information, I can tell you most comics are accurate."

"Yet you were never mentioned in them."

"Because I came around after Mill's retirement."

Mikey raised an eye ridge. "You call her Mill?"

"Well, I called her by her real name. But I swore a blood oath never to reveal it."

"Really?"

"Want to see the scar?"

"Can I?"

Hoshi sent a pointed stare. "No."

"Just where is this scar?" Mikey asked with a sly smile.

"I met Mill when I was thirteen," the heroine added. "On the streets of Palermo when I tried to stop a mugging."

"Palermo again. Is that where you were born? And did you start being a hero at the age of thirteen?"

"Do you want to hear this story or not?"

Michelangelo grew quiet when another rumble of thunder accentuated Hoshi's pout and she faced the rain again only after he nodded.

"I didn't know she was Madame Vermillion at the time. She'd been retired since I was three, so I only saw her as some surly old Chinese lady who showed up at weird times and insisted on giving me unwanted tips."

"Old Asians make the best instructors," Mikey drawled. But he sucked in his bottom lip the moment Hoshi's staff beat the concrete.

"I pushed her away at first. A lot. And paid for it with pain. When I finally admitted I needed help in heroism, then she told me who she was. Apparently all those odd appearances were tests."

"To see if you were worthy?"

"No. She told me outright I wasn't chosen because of worth."

"Then…what?"

"They were tests of my stubbornness. Like I said, I earned a lot of pain trying to pave my own path. I still remember the words she told me before my mentorship started, 'Several heroes have come before you, yet none were willing to endure the pain. They gave in where you did not. It made me believe I have found the one who can survive my tutelage.'"

"Survive?"

"That's the exact word she used. And it was appropriate. I can't begin to number the sleepless nights of aches and hours of practice. The trips, the fights, the stress—it was all meant to morph my character, reveal my true potential. I graduated a year behind my peers because I sacrificed so much time for my role as Starberry Girl. Mum hated that…"

"D—did your mom know the whole time you were a heroine?" Michelangelo leaned forward with his elbow on his knees, unsure what to make of the slight twitch in Starberry Girl's shoulder.

"She was the one who bandaged me every night. She hated me doing it. But she also knew—knows—it's my nature. I physically can't stand back as others are hurt. I can't be useless. I can't…watch."

"I can sympathize with that," Mikey noted lowly. His eyes focused on the heroine's trembling fists to keep his mind from wandering too far, and when they stilled, he felt a sense of relief at her small tone.

"It's another reason Mill worked with me. She sensed a kindred spirit. So all those justice-filled speeches and manhunts for mobsters were accurate. It's probably why I'm so sore when the bad guys get away."

"What made you move from Italy? Did you and Vermillion want to come here?"

"Wish it were that simple," Hoshi muttered with a sigh. "I haven't seen my mentor in nearly three years, when I passed her final test and earned my chance to stand in her footsteps. Unfortunately, I was never as great as her; never got my own comic series or had villains shudder at my name. Can't help feeling I let her down in those regards."

"You don't seem like a let-down to me, Chibi Hoshi."

"Grazie, Figo."

"Maybe you can make a name here instead. With me?"

The heroine chuckled—a weak, pitiful action. "We'd have to do something pretty drastic. Certainly more than watch Hubs in the rain."

"Hey"—Mikey flashed a lopsided smile—"in this city, anything can happen at the drop of a hat. And with gang wars and the EPF roaming about…"

"Don't get me started with those monsters. Feels like there isn't any place their grimy fingers don't have a hold of."

"You never did tell me what happened with him in Italy."

"Because I don't want to talk about it. I know you're against them, which is good enough for me."

"You aren't the only one with grudges." Michelangelo snapped without meaning to; his mind reeled with the image of a light-skin brunette, whose short, side parted hair accentuated her large forehead. He remembered being thankful for that once, when he kissed it, and he couldn't shake the fear from her small, ovular eyes that'd haunted him for far longer than the Summers family did.

"Have they taken a lot from you as well?" Starberry asked, soft. She was considerate enough to watch the rain instead how the hero gripped his knees in pain, so he returned the kindness by not mentioning how hard her voice trembled.

"My clan has sort'a warred against Bishop for nine years. Guess it's natural. Still…people get caught in our crossfire, who are undeserving. And some of them had a lot to offer, like…God"—Mikey clicked his tongue, rubbing his face—"Christina could've done anything if it weren't for me."

"Christina?" Hoshi repeated the name with such familiarity, Michelangelo felt compelled to meet her mask in awe. "Christina Silliman?"

"How do you know her last—"

Doop, doop, bee, doop! Mario's theme song cut the mutant off with bouncy notes that betrayed the serious mood. He spared Starberry Girl a glance before reaching for his Shell Cell. The caller ID displayed Hugh's name, and for a moment, Mikey considered ignoring it in favor of his talk with Hoshi. 'Given all that's going on, I better not.'

So, flipping it open, he held the phone against his internal ear. "Howdy!" he greeted.

"Michelangelo." A sniffle sounded over the line then a growl, both of which belonged to the detective.

"Um," Mikey's voice lowered, "Hugh? What's wrong? Why is the background so loud?"

"I need help," the man replied in a scratchy voice. There was a pause as something covered the phone, muffling an argument in the distance that Hugh replied to. Whatever he said couldn't be heard, however, and the human didn't elaborate before continuing. "Come to Herald Square, you and Raphael. Please."

"Now?"

"Yes! There's a hostage situation at Diamond Bank. I—It's a mess and I…I need you to do something for me."

"It's, like, five o'clock, Hugh. It'd be light and if officers are already on the scene—"

"Marina's in there," Hugh hissed. "So are Jen and Megan. I've kept your secrets, dammit. I've been on your side and sacrificed, so the least you can do is this."

"Hugh…" Mikey sat back, his stomach sinking at the man's snarl.

"Don't play stupid. I know Nightwatcher and Titan are Hamatos. And I need them. I need them to save my wife."

.

A/N: Yup, we're jumping further into the story's middle now. Gotta few twists coming up. ;)

Meanwhile, I decided to do something similar to what I had done with "Hollow Hearts". My norm is to post two chapters a week, but if I get 4 reviews on a chapter, I'll add an extra one or two ( depending on the feedback ;D ). I leave it up to you how much I post. :P

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!