"Look, we need to go back down there and flush those stinking ninjas out of our sewers!" Raph growled in Leo's face, "And I mean flush!"
"Raph, we don't even know what they're doing down there!"
Off to the side, Mikey and Donnie were sitting opposite from each other, watching the fight with interest.
"Well, I don't care!"
"You should!"
"Boys!" Yoshi scolded from the corner he'd claimed as a meditation spot, "You have all thwarted their many plans, defeated their master… clearly, they are searching for our home."
"I thought with Saki gone, we'd seen the last of them!" Mikey piped up, turning to Donnie, "Do you really think they could find the lair? I've just got my room the way I like it! And- and all my rare ninja trading cards are just lying there in the open! If they take those I'll- I'll- "
"- Relax." Donnie waved his hand in dismissal, "With all the techno-camouflage and security systems I've installed, there's no way they could find the lair… barbeque soy chip?"
"Fire it at me bro!"
Raph and Leo hadn't listened to a word of the conversation.
"Those nin-jerks are keeping us from our home! We should be down there, smacking heads together!"
Yoshi sighed, "Running into battle without knowledge or preparation is foolish! Sometimes the wisest course of action is to sit still. The answers will come."
"Dad's right." Leo nodded in agreement, "Besides, our home is where we're all together as a family, that's what matters!"
"Guys!" April cleared her throat, "You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need, but not if you're just going to stand in front of the TV!"
"Sorry." "Sorry April."
And then the doorbell rang.
"Oh, come on." April groaned, "Who could that be? You guys shouldn't be seen, so you'd better- "She turned, only to frown when no-one was to be seen.
She opened to door, to reveal a takeaway delivery person.
"Chinese takeout. Fourteen, ninety-five."
April frowned, "But I didn't order any- "She saw a flash of purple hair out of the corner of her eye, "Oh… of course I did. I'll just get my purse."
As April moved away from the door, the takeaway guy glanced around the room, spotting a ginger cat on the nearest armchair.
"Here you go." April handed over the notes, taking the food from the man, who gestured at the cat.
"Cute. What's its' name?"
April glanced back, "Mikey."
"Strange name for a cat."
"Yep! Thank you so much, bu-bye now!" She shut the door, and turned back around, raising an eyebrow when she saw all the brothers in their original positions, "Wow, you guys are good!"
"It's our job." Leo shrugged, bowing low, as Donnie nodded in agreement.
"Yep, we're ninja!"
"Yeah, check out my ninja stealth action!" Mikey grabbed the bag of chips, holding it up in front of his face, "Now you see me, now you don't. Now you see me, now you don't!"
"Give me them!" Donnie rolled his eyes, grabbing the bag, "You've been hogging them all afternoon!"
They paused as April moved closer, a look of amusement on her face as she held up the bags of food. "Your order, I presume?"
"He did it!" "He did it!"
"May I have the privilege of getting you anything else m'lords?" She teased.
"No… thank you April." Donnie smiled up at her as Mikey grabbed the bags, eagerly dividing them out.
"One from column A and one from column B."
April watched as they tucked into the food noisily, sighing to herself. "Why do I feel like I've gone from happily single, to mother of four overnight?"
Yoshi chuckled, "You should have been there when they were all under the age of ten. Now that was chaos."
In the new, comfortable silence, Raph yawned and stretched, "Right, I'm hitting the shower."
…
Less than half an hour later, as Donnie tinkered with a new device, one that could be used as a back-up to his bo-staff electrical supply, listening to Raph singing in the shower, he flinched as Raph suddenly yelped in alarm, the bathroom door slamming open to reveal Raph clad only in a towel.
"Yo Donnie! Can you do anything about this hot water? Guy can't even take a decent shower in this place!"
"Been there, done that." Donnie muttered, focus almost entirely on his project.
"Well go there, and do it again brat!"
"Why do I have to do it?" Donnie whined, as Raph yanked his chair away from the table and therefore, away from his project, "Why can't you or Leo or M-Mikey, fix something once in a while!"
They both glanced over at Mikey, who was currently begging for treats as a Corgi, head on April's foot, tail thumping on the floor.
"Fine." Donnie sighed "I'll go and fix the water heater… again."
As he moved to head down to the basement, April gently reached out and grabbed his arm, "I really appreciate this Donnie. Do you want me to come down with you?"
"No, it's fine."
"Okay… but be careful of Mister Kirby! Remember, the man I rent the basement room out to? He's very worried about the gangs in this city, and your hair doesn't help."
Donnie pulled a lick of hair down, examining the purple strands, before wincing. "Don't worry. I'm a ninja. Piece of cake."
"There's cake?!" Mikey shifted back into a human, "I love cake!"
…
Slowly, Donnie crept down the stairs, hearing them creak underneath his feet. Shooting a bolt of electricity towards where he knew the bulb was, he blinked sharply at the sudden brightness.
And then he saw the shadow.
"What the- "
His eyes widened at the sight of a winged, bat-like creature flying towards him, forcing him to leap to safety several times, grabbing his bo staff and swatting at it as it flew around the corner.
"What was that thing?" He rushed after it, only to come to a dead end.
Nothing.
"Huh… I could have sworn I saw it go this way." He muttered, heading back towards the boiler, passing a partially open door where a man was sat at a desk drawing.
April's new tenant then.
Donnie watched in awe as the man finished the drawing… and then it came to life, flying around the room, prompting him to shuffle further inside to take a closer look, ducking when the thing flew over his head, disappearing with a golden flash.
"What the- " The man, Kirby, had turned around, only to spot Donnie standing in the doorway, "- I don't remember drawing you… unless, unless you're here for the crystal?!"
To be honest, Donnie hadn't even spotted the crystal.
"Look, I was only borrowing it!" Kirby backed away slightly, "I'll give it back, just-just put the stick down!"
Donnie glanced down at his staff, before re-sheathing it. "Sorry." He held up his hands in silence, "But honestly, I'm not here to hurt you! My name's Donatello, and I don't know anything about any crystal."
At least, not the little pink one on Kirby's pencil.
"How did you do that?" Donnie continued, "Make it come alive like that?"
Seeming to see that he was just face to face with an overly curious teenager, Kirby visibly softened. "It wasn't really me… I mean, I can draw sure, been doing it for years but the crystal supplies the magic."
"Crystals." Donnie couldn't help but sigh, "Why is it always crystals?"
"What do you mean?"
"Never-mind… it's just that I've had my fair share of magic crystals lately."
"You should give this a try then," Kirby lead Donnie over to his desk, "Here, let me find you a clean piece of paper."
"Aren't you mad that I was technically snooping around your home?"
Kirby waved his hand in dismissal, "You seem polite enough. And trust me, ever since my sketches started leaping off the page, a curious teenager has been the least of my problems…. I forget to introduce myself. You can call me Kirby."
Donnie nodded, although he already knew that through simple deduction. "So… where did you find that crystal?"
"I found it at the top of a pile of coal, of all places. I found out what it could do completely by accident! Why don't you draw something?"
Donnie accepted the offered pencil, examining the crystal for a moment as he took a seat, "This is too good an opportunity to pass up! Maybe there's some bio-molecular energy transfer involved!"
"Kid, just draw something." Kirby chuckled.
"Sorry, sorry." Donnie winced and smile sheepishly, scribbling down a stick figure. Blueprints and inventions were easy enough, but anything else tended to come out a little… funny-looking, "Sorry, this is the best I can do."
"Don't worry, it takes a few years of practice before you can really start to have fun with it." Kirby clapped a hand onto Donnie's shoulder, "That's not a bad stick figure you know."
"Finished!" Donnie leant back in the chair, watching as the stick figure leapt off the page and bounded around the room, knocking things off of desks.
"This is amazing!"
"Told you." Kirby chuckled, watching as the stick figure rushed over to them… and kicked Donnie in the shins.
"OW!"
It did it again.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Donnie yelped, sparks of electricity darting around his fingers as the lights flickered.
The stick figure started to back away, only to disappear in a flash of gold light.
"He… disappeared?"
"They all do. Everything I draw comes to life and then it just… disappears." Kirby then frowned, "With the exception of one. One thing that never disappeared." He headed over to something covered in a blanket, removing it with one swift movement to reveal a glimmering circle of purple and blue, "I couldn't rightly tell you what it is."
Donnie moved a little closer, "It looks like a weird sort of… doorway." Curiosity won over, as he carefully stuck his hand into the swirling colours, drawing it back with a beaming grin.
"Kid, you shouldn't get too close!" Kirby warned him, only for his eyes to widen as Donnie headed inside. "Don? DON! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
Shit… this kids' parents were going to kill him.
Before he could properly start to panic, Donnie's head poked through the portal. "Kirby, you've got come through! You've got to see what's on the other side of this thing!"
Kirby hesitated for a moment, before rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright, let me just grab my sketchbook." He grabbed it, along with the pencil, and jumped into the swirling mass of colours, "Geronimo!"
And then he landed flat on his face.
"Sorry." Donnie winced, "That last step's a doozy, huh?"
"… Ouch."
"So, what is this place?"
It was like they were in a mystical land right out of one of Donnie's fantasy books, or Mikey's sci-fi comics.
"It's like an alternate universe!" Donnie watched as purple shooting stars shot through the sky, "A different dimension… it's incredible!"
"And it all looks… familiar." Kirby gazed around the area, "Too familiar."
"What do you mean?"
"Look." Kirby opened up his sketchpad, "I drew it… I drew it all!"
Hearing a low grunting noise, Donnie glanced up, only for his eyes to widen in shock. "Look up there! That looks like one of your drawings!"
Kirby held up his sketchbook, eyes widening when the sketch and the creature matched up perfectly. "It is!" He exclaimed in glee, "I remember drawing him!"
"I think he's ignoring us."
As the creature moved away, Kirby chased after him, gesturing for Donnie to follow. "Come on!"
As they raced up a hill, they saw the creatures heading straight for a pink, Saturn-ring like road that led up to another city.
"Woah." Donnie spotted the human warriors blocking the path, "Looks like someone's in for a monster-sized beat-down!"
"You're right." Kirby's face was pale, "Those monsters are going to rip those guys apart!"
He was right.
The battle was short and practically one-sided, with the warriors falling unconscious and the remainder of the creatures cheering in victory.
"We have to do something!" Kirby cried out, frowning as Donnie grabbed his bo staff.
"Stay here, I'm on it!"
Donnie raced towards the group, hoping that his bo staff had enough juice in it for when he ran out.
With all the creatures fairly clumped together, it was relatively easy to shock them to unconsciousness, and when the other warriors regained their sense, they managed to chase the remainder of the creatures away.
Kirby whooped in glee, racing down the hill until he met up with Donnie, who's face was flushed with victory.
"I came, I saw, I kicked monster butt!" he cackled.
"Wow kid, you've got some moves!" Kirby praised, "I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before! Especially not at your age… unless it's in a comic book."
"Hail brave strangers!" One of the armoured humans strode closer, towering high above Donnie, who looked nervously up at him.
"Hey… I-I mean, hail!"
"You are welcome here. We few are all who stand against the darkness." He gestured to the others behind him, "We owe you our gratitude… but we must prepare. They will return."
"Bring it on!" Donnie beamed, "I was just getting warmed up!"
"They will be back in greater numbers, more than we can possibly defend against. When they arrive in force, we may lose the bridge… and with it, our city. I cannot bear to think of the dark powers destroying it… our loved ones, our families. Those monsters will destroy everything!"
"We won't let that happen!" Donnie vowed, as Kirby nodded in agreement behind him.
"We'll do whatever we can to stop that." He promised, clutching at his sketchbook.
"SIRE!" One of the men called out, "HERE THEY COME! THOUSANDS OF THEM!"
He pointed to the hills, were a swarming, black mass could be seen moving closer and closer.
The man was right…. There were thousands of them.
"We must defend the entrance to the bridge, even if it costs us our lives!"
As the mob charged towards them, Donnie turned to Kirby. "Did you really draw all these?"
"Yeah." Kirby sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "It's a bad habit… doodling when I'm bored."
"Did you have to be so prolific though? Couldn't you have drawn less? Or more nice guys?!"
"How was I supposed to know they'd all come alive and attack us?!"
"We must not let them cross the bridge!"
Kirby remained where he was as the others attacked, , eyes widening in concern when Donnie was practically thrown back over to him.
"Kid, are you okay?"
Donnie forced himself to nod, letting Kirby help him to his feet as he rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing at the ache. "There are too many of these things!" He groaned, before leaping back into action.
Mid-way the fight, he spotted a glowing around his hand, as a strange device surrounded it.
"What the- "
"I call it the Gravity Equaliser!" Kirby cried out from the side-lines, "It cancels out the gravitational equation, I-I just made it up!"
"I like it!" Donnie turned, firing at oncoming creatures, cackling as they slowly rose up into the air, "Eat negative-gravity losers!" He then helped the others, blowing the smoke away from the muzzle of the weapon, "The Gravity Equaliser, don't leave home without it."
When a lone creature charged, he aimed again, only to wince when it sputtered and died.
"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good." As the creature got close, Donnie punched it in the face, "At least it makes a good club."
There were still too many though.
"They're still coming Kirby! Do something, please!"
Kirby didn't seem to hear it, still scribbling in his sketchpad, "… and then add this for size reference." Something started to glow behind him, "Finish it up with a few details and voila!"
The next thing Donnie knew, they were standing in a large, robotic contraption.
"Woah!" Donnie beamed, "This is incredible! What do you call this one?"
As the creatures battered at the feet of the robot, not even managing to dent it, Kirby smirked, "It's sort of a mobile creep trapper. It's supposed to respond to my brain-waves, see?" Kirby waved an arm and so did the robot, scooping several creatures into its mouth.
"Operation clean-up!" Donnie whooped, throwing the Gravity Equaliser to one side, "You do your thing Kirby, and I'll do mine!" He jumped out of the bot, landing on one of the arms, which he used as a springboard to jump to the ground, landing on two of the creatures, before kicking another in the face.
"Creatures have broken through!" One of the men pointed towards the bridge, "We have to stop them!"
"Get back here you creeps!" Donnie yelled, deciding to use a little trick Mikey liked to use to goad Raph into a fight.
Reverse Psychology.
"Unless you're all cowards!"
It worked a little too well, as they all charged at him, tackling him to the ground. Meanwhile, the other heroes seemed to be having the same problems, all being pinned to the ground.
"It's no good!" Donnie tried to squirm free, zapping as many as he could, "There's too many of them!"
And then, all of a sudden, the creatures were bound by metal contraptions, struggling to break free.
The warriors all cheered, turning to Kirby.
"Thank you, mighty Sorcerer. You will forever be welcome in our home."
"Gee, thanks!"
As Kirby climbed down, Donnie rushed over. "Kirby, you are the KING!" He beamed, "How did you do that?"
"As fast as I could." Kirby showed Donnie the sketches he'd made of the creatures in the traps.
Donnie couldn't help but laugh at the sight of some of them, "Come on. We should get home."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." They started to make their way back to the portal, "I just wish we had more time to explore this place, it's incredible!"
"Well… we can do that another day, right?" Donnie beamed, "I'm starving though."
"Growing boys and all that." Kirby chuckled, "How about I order us some pizza or something?"
"Yeah!"
The joyous feeling soon disappeared, when they noticed that the portal seemed to quiver and bend right in front of them.
"The portal's shrinking!" Donnie cried out, as they rushed over to it.
"Go!" Kirby ordered Donnie, who turned to him in surprise.
"But- "
"-There's no time to argue with you about this! Now go!"
"Alright!" Donnie prepared to jump, "Once I'm through, I'll pull you through!"
He jumped at the portal, only to yelp when he got stuck, his legs still in the other realm. "I'm stuck!"
"Hang on Donnie!" Donnie felt Kirby grab his feet, straightening them out and pushing him fully through to the other side. When he spun around, he quickly realised that the portal was way too small for Kirby to get through now.
"Kirby!" He cried out, "Kirby!"
But it was too late, it disappeared with a pop, a paper airplane flying through at the last second, landing in front of Donnie.
Slowly, he leant back against the brick wall and unfolded it, seeing a picture of him with the Gravity Equaliser, with these words;
'Donnie,
Life at best is bittersweet. See ya around kid!
Kirby'
