Angel: Someone asked me to do a Next Mutation fanfic for TMNT, and I hope that's a joke, because if you know me, then you'd know that my opinion on TMNT: The Next Mutation isn't very high. I can't stand the live-action designs, and I definitely don't like the voice acting. The editing isn't good either, and the less I say about the continuity mistakes, the better. Like I said before, I wrote a journal on Deviantart, with the list of shows/movies I'll never write, and Next Mutation is on that list too—for good reason. It's my least favorite TMNT show ever.
Yeah, just no. I'd never write Next Mutation even if I was desperate for new content, which I'm clearly not. Stop suggesting stuff I don't wanna do, guys, Sing or Next Mutation is not up my alley. Anyway, I forgot to upload yesterday, and I was supposed to do that, but yesterday I dealt with stupid high teenagers during the last hour of my work shift, so I just forgot about it because I needed to unwind as soon as I got home, and then I fell asleep. So, sorry about that *sweats sheepishly* And next week I'm working a lot too, so if I happen to forget again, you now know why.
When Ari wanted adventure and to fulfill her dad's biggest wish, she didn't think she'd have to sink that low to become a scullery maid. Which was the last thing on her mind when she was excited about this expedition. Jim and Delbert shared the same sentiments of their bad first impressions of the journey as well. They walked down the stairs together, followed by Mr. Arrow.
"That woman! That...feline!" Delbert voiced his complaints out loud. "Who does she think is working for whom?"
"It's Ari and I's map, and she's got me bussin' tables? And Ari has to be a maid?" Jim complained as well. Mr. Arrow grabbed Delbert and Jim by their shoulders, Ari wincing nearby.
"I'll not tolerate a cross word about our captain! There's no finer officer in this or any galaxy," He defended, the girl rolling her eyes silently. Whistling was heard, getting their attention to the kitchen up ahead. "Mr. Silver?"
Mr. Silver looked over his shoulder and saw them standing there. "Why, Mr. Arrow, sir! Bringin' in such fine and distinguished gents and this lovely young lady to grace my humble galley," He came into view and Ari's eyes widened. "Had I known, I'd have tucked in me shirt."
Jim glanced at the brunette and noticed that she looked a little pale staring at the cook. He then examined Silver's eye, arm, and leg, now understanding her reaction. Silver turned to look at them with his robotic eye and they remembered Billy Bones' warning.
"A cyborg!" He whispered to Ari, stepping closer to her protectively.
"Yeah..." Ari bit her lip nervously.
"May I introduce Dr. Doppler," Mr. Arrow spoke up and Delbert stepped forward. "The financier of our voyage."
Delbert bowed politely, being earned an amused look. "Love the outfit, Doc," Silver scanned him with his robotic eye, going over the whole suit.
"Well, thank you," Delbert covered the lower half of his suit, feeling a bit violated and embarrassed. "Um, love the eye. Uh," He glanced at the two teens and grabbed them by the arms, pulling them forward. "This young lad is Jim Hawkins and his dearest friend Arianna Johnson," He purposefully moved away from them.
Silver lunged his hand forward, but it was full of knives. But even if it wasn't, their suspicion of him was enough to keep them away from shaking his hand. "Jimbo! Lassie!" He realized that his hand wasn't exactly shakable and then switched them back to regular robotic fingers. He held it out to them again and Jim glared up at him, pushing Ari a bit back from in front of her. She stayed quiet and made no effort to speak either or to shake his hand.
"Aye, now, don't be too put off by this hunk of hardware," He walked back to the kitchen, his hand turning into cutters. He grabbed a bundle of shrimp with his free hand and used his robotic one to cut the tails off. He then turned his robotic hand into a blade, cutting up the shrimp effectively and quickly. Then his hand turned into a cleaver to cut vegetables, which landed in the pan nearby where the shrimp was. He moved the vegetables with his free hand and then made it appear as if he sliced off his own hand. "Whoa!" He gasped dramatically before it was revealed that he was fine, grinning at the duo. "These gears have been tough getting used to..."
He grabbed three eggs and Ari glanced at Jim skeptically. "But they do come in mighty handy from time to time," He tossed the eggs behind his back and caught them with his robotic hand. He cracked the eggs open, putting them into the pan. He then held up the pan and his robotic limb turned into a flamethrower, humming as he walked over and tossed everything into a large pot, the flames keeping the pan afloat.
He threw some seasoning in there before grabbing a ladle and tasting it for himself. He smacked his lips together and smiled in satisfaction. He dumped soup into three bowls, walking over to the trio of visitors.
"Here, now, have a taste of me famous bonzabeast stew," He gave them the hot bowls, Delbert sniffing it. He then lapped at it and hummed.
"Mmm! Delightfully tangy, yet robust."
"Old family recipe." Delbert went for another taste, only to be met with a blue-colored floating eye in his stew. He screamed at the sight of it, Silver laughing. Ari stuck out her tongue in disgust. "In fact, that was part of the old family!" He continued laughing, Delbert not looking so amused. "I'm just kiddin', Doc!" He wrapped an arm around the dog-man, taking away the eye from the soup.
"Uh...yes, well..." Delbert stammered, Silver throwing the eye into his mouth.
"I'm nothin' if I ain't a kidder," He nudged both Jim and Ari, and he stood between both of them. "Go on, Jimbo, Lassie. Have a swig."
Ari frowned down at her soup, not sure if she should really eat it in case of another...surprise. "I would prefer it if you would call me Arianna, and no thank you. I don't eat bonzabeast," Ari told him thinly. Silver just shrugged and took away her bowl.
Jim didn't look enthusiastic about eating it since the stew looked...chunky. Then suddenly the spoon came to life, the end of it becoming a pink blob. It swallowed the stew and the two teens gasped, taken aback. Jim's spoon turned entirely into a pink blob with eyes.
"Morph!" Silver exclaimed at it. "You jiggle-headed blob of mischief!" Morph turned into a straw and slurped the rest of the stew. "So that's where you was hiding!" Morph then zipped over to Ari's bowl and sipped that as well. He landed in the bowl and when he looked up, he let out a satisfied burp. Morph came into view and rubbed at their cheeks, causing them to laugh.
"What? Ha! What is that thing?" Jim held up a hand.
"What is that thing?" Morph mocked him and then turned into tiny little bubbles.
"He's so cute," Ari smiled, hands on her knees as she examined him. "I've never seen anything like him before."
Morph beamed at her and then turned into a diamond, shining a bit. She chuckled at his reaction to her compliment.
"He's a morph," Silver explained as Morph then turned into a smaller version of Jim. "I rescued the little shape-shifter on Proteus 1." Jim and Morph stared at each other before the shape-shifter licked the both of them. He flew over to Silver and rubbed against his cheek affectionately. "Aw. He took a shine to me. We been together ever since. Right? Yeah. Nice boy."
"Similar to you and your lover, Mr. Hawkins," Mr. Arrow commented, both teens flinching at his statement. Both their faces felt red as they whipped around to him.
"L-Lovers?!" They exclaimed at the same time.
"W-What?! We couldn't be any farther from that," Jim protested to him, waving a hand nervously.
"W-We're just friends!" Ari added in. "We've known each other since we were in diapers!" Though, she felt a bit betrayed saying that out loud, for some reason. They had never gotten statements like that, so she had never thought about it until now.
"My mistake," A bell then rung from the deck above their heads. "We're about to get underway. Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?" Mr. Arrow gestured to the stairs.
"Would I? Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?" No one answered the question and it felt awkward for a few seconds. "I'll follow you."
The two followed after him, only to be stopped by Mr. Arrow.
"Mr. Hawkins will stay here in your charge, Mr. Silver. Miss Johnson will be in your charge as well."
Silver spit out the sample of stew he had in his mouth. He let out a few coughs. "Beggin' your pardon, sir, but-"
"Captain's orders! See to it the new cabin boy's kept busy and that every morning that Miss Johnson is up at the crack of dawn. This time has been suggested by the Captain so that she gets her list of tasks complied by myself for the day."
"Dawn?!" Ari questioned in disbelief, eyes wide. "You can't-" She got interrupted by Mr. Arrow throwing clothes into her arms and she looked down at them with a frown.
"This will be your uniform that you will wear daily until your tasks are done for the day. If you are found not dressed in it for whatever reason, you will be punished. No exceptions, no excuses," He bent down to her, looking at the girl right in the eyes. "Is that clear, Ms. Johnson?"
He didn't wait for a no as he started to leave.
"Aw, no, but-"
"No, you can't-"
"This is crazy-"
He left and as soon as he did, the three sighed at their situation. Jim and Silver specifically rubbed at their eyes in almost the same way. He raised a brow at the two, watching Ari pinch her nose. He could tell that this wasn't what she signed up for.
"So, Captain's put you two in with me, eh?" He put his arms behind his back, pacing and giving them suspicious looks.
"Whatever," Jim commented, wrapping an arm around Ari's and pulling her a few away.
"Well, who be a humble cyborg to argue with a captain?" Silver just shrugged at them and got back to work.
"Ari, when you looked back in the fire, did you see any shadows?" Jim asked her quietly.
"Yes, but...it's a bit of a blur right now...It's like everything I remember is blocked out because I don't wanna have to be reminded of it...Sorry," She pinched her nose.
"It's okay," He placed his hands on her shoulders gently, blocking her from Silver. "Go get dressed and meet me on the ship, okay?"
"Y-Yeah, okay..." She stammered in concern, walking off with the clothes. She glanced back at the duo before completely leaving.
"You and your girlfriend known each other a long time, eh? That must be nice."
"She's not my-!" Jim grunted in defeat, rubbing at his face. He noticed a barrel of fruit nearby. "You know...these purps, they're kind of like the ones back home on...Montressor," He spoke up to Silver, staring at his back. "You ever been there?"
"I can't say I have, Jimbo," Silver answered him, cooking.
Jim took a bite out of the purp. "Come to think of it," He jumped onto the counter. "Just before Ari and I left, we met this old guy. He was kind of looking for a cyborg buddy of his."
Silver's robotic hand turned into a saw. "Is that so?" He asked casually.
"Yeah...What was that old salamander's name?" He smacked his lips together in thought. "Oh, yeah. Bones. Billy Bones?"
"Bones?" Silver poured in something into the pot, seemingly unfamiliar with the name. "Booooooones? T'ain't ringin' any bells. Must have been a different cyborg," He carried over the pot to Jim and placed it down, causing it to splash. "There's a slew of cyborgs roamin' this port. Now that I think about it, wasn't the Lassie's father here at the port?" Jim glared up at him. "Ahh...that old Oli! Now he's seen a slew of cyborgs other than me."
A whistle was heard and they looked up. "Prepare to cast off!" Arrow's voice was faintly heard from above.
"Ehh, off with you, lad, and watch the launch with your friend," He pushed Jim off the counter. "There'll be plenty work a-waitin' for you both afterwards." Jim gave him one last look before walking to the staircase. Silver watched as he left and stopped what he was doing. Instead of a smile, he now had a scowl on his face. "We best be keepin' a sharp eye on those ones, eh, Morph?" He handed Morph a cracker, which he happily took to eat. Silver stroked him, still staring to where Jim left.
"We wouldn't want them strayin' into things they shouldn't..."