Hello everybody!

Sorry for the hiatus last month; I got to go home and see my family for the first time since May, and then I had to go back out of state for school, which I just finished my first full week of. With my classes, there may be long periods of time between updates, instead of the usual once a month [especially since I'm doing my thesis paper this semester]. I apologize in advance for that, and I'll try to update whenever I can.

Anyway, this is a chapter I'm sure some of you have been waiting for, especially after the end of the last chapter! I think the title of this chapter says it all, so without further delay, here's chapter five!

Enjoy!

Enter: The Turtles

"You know, I could've brought you guys fresh empanadillas from the restaurant," I said, walking to the back of the van with the bags of frozen food, sodas, cooking oil, disposable plates and napkins in my hands. "Why do you wanna try frozen ones?"

"It wasn't my idea," Bebop informed me.

"Funny, I figured that out myself," I muttered, setting the bags in the back next to Rocksteady, who was sitting next to a new-looking fryer [probably stolen, since they hadn't asked me to buy it for them], ready to go. He had requested that, this evening, we fry frozen empanadillas instead of ordering them from the restaurant. I had just bought the food from a small grocery store specializing in Puerto Rican foods and products, and the two of them already had a cooler with ice and drinks ready when I walked into the back alley.

"Wanted to see how the frozen ones tasted compared to your family's," the rhino mutant explained. "Plus, frozen food's tastier than fresh food, and it's also better to eat somethin' fresh from the fryer instead of waitin' for ya to deliver them!"

"Hold on, frozen's not better than... actually, never mind that," I said, not wanting to get into a discussion over Rocksteady's bizarre train of thought, especially when something else he said caught my attention. "Why steal the fryer in the first place? Why not have me buy one for you? Better question-" I turned to the warthog thug. "Where do you guys get all this money for food and stuff? You've been paying me for over a month."

"We have our ways," Bebop replied coolly. "And don't go stickin' your nose in places it don't belong!"

"Fine," I conceded; it was probably better if I didn't know how they got their money. It'd probably be one of those things where if I found out, they'd have to kill me. Besides, we had more pressing issues. "Okay, so, where are you gonna plug the fryer in to use it?"

"Uh…" Rocksteady looked at a loss, realizing that we were sitting in an alleyway devoid of any electrical outlets, with frozen empanadillas that could not be allowed to thaw. "Bebop?"

"Don't look at me," the mutant warthog retorted. "I wanted tacos tonight; it's Tuesday!"

"Tacos can be eaten any day of the week!" the other mutant complained.

I shook my head in disbelief at the lack of forethought these two had. "Okay, let's see… No outlets out here, so unless you have a power generator hidden in the backseat, we're not frying anything soon."

"Too bad," Bebop said, clearly not upset at our lack of electricity. "Guess we gotta get tacos now!"

"Aww," Rocksteady whined, looking like a kid who had dropped his ice cream. Suddenly, he brightened up. "Wait! That hideout of ours ain't far from here, and it's got outlets!"

"You guys have another hideout," I asked, looking between the two mutants.

"Of course," the mutant rhino replied. "Us havin' one single hideout in all of New York? That doesn't cut it when you're a criminal! Gotta have a lotta places to hide out from cops, stash some merch, things like that." He looked at his friend, who looked annoyed that he had remembered the second hideout. "Let's go there!"

The mutant warthog snorted angrily, shaking his head.

"Fine, whatever," he muttered, walking towards the front of the van, hitting the side of the car before climbing into the front seat. "Well? Hurry up!"

Figuring we should comply, I quickly left Rocksteady to hurry around to the passenger seat. As I was about to climb in, something flickered in the corner of my eye. I looked up at the nearby building, wondering if a bird or something had just flown over the top of the building. Not seeing anything, and hearing Bebop start the van, I turned away and climbed into my seat; it had probably been my imagination or something.

Ten minutes later, we were in a large, mostly empty warehouse several blocks from the store, with a door big enough for us to drive the van into; Rocksteady said it used to be a meatpacking place of some kind, which probably explained the chilly interior and strange smell. Since the frozen food had started to thaw, Rocksteady and I quickly brought the fryer and supplies over to the nearest outlet, setting it up so we can cook them quickly. While having the fryer on the floor was not ideal, I put some napkins down in case some oil accidentally spilled. Bebop, apparently still sore about not getting tacos, sat in the open back of the van, watching us and refusing to help. Having grown up in a restaurant, I was easily able to figure out how to work the fryer, and rinsed out the metal container with a nearby hose [using some of the napkins I had bought to dry it out] before filling it with oil.

"Okay," I said, now opening the first package of slightly-cold empanadillas; each one was about the size of my hands, and each box held about twenty empanadillas. "We're gonna fry these until they're golden brown on each side, and use this-" I took out a cooking utensil called a spider, which looked like a giant spoon with a wire mesh scooper. "It'll allow us to take the empanadillas out without burning our hands, and let the oil drain properly."

"Okay," Rocksteady said, hanging onto my every word and watching my every movement with an awestruck expression.

"How long do they take to cook," Bebop asked from his seat, taking off his sunglasses to scratch the bridge of his snout.

"And who said you're getting any," I asked, turning to him with a slight frown. "In my family, you either gotta cook the food or help out in some way in order to get fed. Besides, I thought you wanted tacos."

"I helped ya," Rocksteady said quickly. "I helped carry the fryer and wash it out, right?"

"Don't worry, dude," I said, patting the mutant on the back. "You get first dibs!"

"Yes," the thug said, grinning and fist-pumping the air.

The mutant warthog growled a little, getting up from his seat. "Can I talk to ya for a sec, kid?"

Roberto, I thought with some annoyance, cautiously standing up and walking over to the criminal. Bebop didn't usually want to talk, but we were still in Rocksteady's eyesight, which assured me a little as I said a quick prayer in my head.

"Ya know, you're gettin' pretty cocky for an errand boy." He frowned at me, crossing his arms. "I don't like it. The only reason I haven't busted your mouth open is because Rocksteady over there won't shut up about ya. And because we still need ya to clean and do stuff for us."

"I'm not trying to be cocky," I explained to him, purposefully keeping any disrespect and attitude out of my voice. "But if you wanna talk about who's being rude-"

"I really wouldn't go there if I were ya," the thug said, bending down so we were eye level, forcing me to look at my reflection in his shades. "I can still take ya apart and put ya back together like a jigsaw puzzle!"

I swallowed a lump in my throat, trying not to show how scared I felt. However, I felt that I should risk a reply.

"Well... That probably wouldn't be a good idea," I finally said.

I could sense his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses. He then scoffed. "Oh really?"

"I mean... you said yourself that I'm your errand boy," I explained. "And I dunno what you think, but I like to think that I've done a pretty good job helping you guys out." I pointed at his shirt. "That used to have a giant bloodstain on the shoulder, but I managed to get rid of it. And if I came home with so much as a black eye, my dad would take me off delivery duty. And once 'summer school' ends, you'll have to go back to cleaning your own clothes and getting your own food." I shrugged. "Basically, if you want me to keep helping you, I'd refrain from hurting me."

The warthog mutant's hands momentarily clenched into fists, and I instantly readied myself in case he decided to take a swing at me. Had I gone too far? At least with Rocksteady, it was easy to figure out what would and wouldn't upset him. Bebop seemed to get annoyed at whatever I did; I once yawned too loudly while picking up some of the trash in their home, and he threatened to break my arm if I ever did it again. Rocksteady was watching us curiously, which was my only hope for being spared an ass-kicking; even though I was still unsure if I was friends with the mutant rhino, in his mind we were as thick as thieves, and he would no doubt rush in if Bebop tried to hurt me.

Something landed on the ground a few feet away from us. We both turned to it with surprise, and I briefly saw a small, round green object laying on the concrete. Before either of us could react, it suddenly popped, letting loose a large cloud of smoke that filled the area.

"What the-"

I heard Rocksteady yell out with shock, followed by a loud thudding noise. Someone, Bebop probably, knocked me over and I landed on the floor, hitting my shoulder hard. All of us were coughing, and I pulled my shirt over my mouth and nose, my eyes watering as I tried to look through the smoke. It was impossible, and I heard more thudding noises, as well as a few grunts and gasps.

"BEEPS... IT'S THE TURTLES," the rhino mutate yelled, somewhere off to my right.

The who, I thought, right as someone [not Bebop or Rocksteady, since the hand was too small] grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to my feet.

"Don't worry, dude," an unfamiliar voice said; it sounded like a fellow teenager, and his voice had a lighthearted tone to it. "I'll get you outta here!"

"Wha-"

The mysterious person pulled me through the smoke, moving faster than I could run. Somehow, I managed to keep up with him, blinking the tears out of my eyes as we raced through the smokescreen. Behind me, I heard both Bebop and Rocksteady yelling, and at one point I could've sworn I heard the sound of metal clanging against metal. What was going on? Who threw that smoke bomb, and why? Rocksteady's comment about the Turtles sounded vaguely familiar; had the mutant thugs mentioned them before?

I heard the sound of a door being flung open. The mysterious figure and I ran out into the night, and I was relieved when the smoke vanished and I could finally see again. I doubled over, taking deep breaths of fresh air as I wiped at my watery eyes.

"You okay, dude," the unknown teen asked again, and I felt him pat me on the shoulder a few times. "Don't worry; you're safe now."

"S-Safe," I gasped, finally catching my breath and straightening up. I turned to face him. "Safe from whAAUGH!"

I nearly leaped ten feet into the air, and I ended up falling onto my butt, gaping up at the unfamiliar mutant. He was a lot shorter than Bebop and Rocksteady, maybe an inch or two shorter than me, and appeared to be a turtle or something. He had green skin, a bald head, and a had a shell on his back. Like my criminal companions, he had human-like limbs and stood on two legs. However, the most surprising thing about this mutant was that he wore an orange mask over his eyes, and held a pair of nunchuks in one hand.

"It's okay," the turtle teen said quickly, holding up his hands, smiling a little. "I'm not like those guys; I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"You... Y-You're a..." I swallowed a lump in my throat, trying to get over my shock. "You're a... t-turtle?"

"Yep," he replied happily. "The name's Michelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey!" He held out a hand to help me up, and I noticed that he only had three fingers. "What's yours?"

"Roberto," I said shakily, hesitantly taking the mutant's hand. He was stronger than he looked, pulling me up with ease.

"Nice to meet you!" The turtle's face momentarily became serious. "You don't have to worry about those goons anymore." He jerked his thumb at the warehouse. By now, I could hear more yelling and angry roars coming from the building, as well as a few loud thuds. "Do you know how to get home from here? They didn't blindfold you or anything?" I nodded. "Okay; go home, and I guess... Don't call the police. I doubt they've got a cruiser big enough for those two!"

I nodded, turning to leave when I realized what he was talking about.

"Wait," I said. "You think I was-"

"Sorry, but I gotta help my bros out," Mikey said quickly, turning and running back through the open warehouse door, vanishing into the dissipating cloud of smoke.

I stared after him for a few moments, still shocked at the sudden appearance of Mikey the mutant turtle. And, judging by the various yells that came from the warehouse, the teenager wasn't alone; Rocksteady had mentioned 'Turtles,' as in more than one, meaning that there was probably a whole group of them in there, attacking the mutant thugs. I had no idea what to do now, and I surprised myself as I once again turned away from the warehouse.

Whoever these Turtles were, they didn't seem to like Bebop and Rocksteady very much, judging by the yells of pain coming from the warehouse. Were they crime fighters of some kind? Mikey was much kinder than Bebop, and he had pulled me out of there to make sure I was safe; it sounded like a typical hero to me. But if he and the others were heroes, should I try to stop them from attacking the mutant thugs? I mean, given the two's love for violence and larceny, it was probably a good idea for them to be stopped; earlier that week, Rocksteady had been bragging about all the places he and Bebop had held up in the past [not to mention the new fryer they had provided for me tonight had to have come from somewhere]. I didn't give much thought to how they got the money to pay me for groceries and renting food, but something tells me they weren't working a 9-5 office job.

I could leave. The thought suddenly popped into my mind, and I looked back at the warehouse. I had no idea who would win the fight, but why should I stay and deal with this craziness? And frankly, the odds seemed to be in the Turtles' favor; even if they were all as small and young as Mikey, they outnumbered the hulking mutant duo, and they had the element of surprise with that smoke bomb. I took a step back, then stopped.

Bebop and Rocksteady, while being crude and violent most of the time, treated me with some level of respect that I had never gotten before, and certainly wasn't getting at home. Bebop, though he still treated me with disdain, no longer considered me a complete idiot. Plus, his habit of threatening me had diminished somewhat these past few weeks, going from ten to eight times a day. And Rocksteady treated me like a friend, asking me how things were going at the restaurant, occasionally helping me with my more difficult chores, and even inviting me to watch TV with him every now and then. While I had earlier considered us far from being friends, I started to wonder if that was really true. Even if they weren't, I had a feeling that I shouldn't leave them to face the turtles alone. Not to mention the two were paying me to help them out, and running away would mean I'd go back to being broke and working at the family restaurant.

So, I steeled myself for whatever lay within, and then ran into the warehouse.

[][][]

I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I entered the building, gaping at the sight before me. A mutant show-down was taking place in the middle of this abandoned warehouse, and four of the six fighters took me by surprise.

The other three turtles looked like Mikey, save for a few small details. Each one of them wore a different colored bandana mask [blue, red, and purple], and each one held a different weapon. Purple held a giant stick [or a staff, I realized] in his hands, which he twirled and spun around with amazing skill. Red, who had a snarl on his face and looked about as friendly as a porcupine, held two smaller weapons that reminded me of knives, but thinner and not as sharp. And Blue had two swords. SWORDS! They reminded me of swords I'd once seen in a samurai movie, and with the determined and serious expression on that mutant's face, I had the feeling that this was someone I did not want to cross.

All four of the green mutants were currently battling Bebop and Rocksteady, who had each armed themselves with weapons from the van; Rocksteady with a sledgehammer, and Bebop with a large metal pipe. The two thugs towered over the turtles, and all six mutants were exchanging blows back and forth, dodging each other's weapons as they tried to hit one another. I quickly noticed that the Turtles were much faster, dodging blows and quickly running and jumping around, always just out of reach. The way they moved, the way they handled their weapons, it was clear that they were very skilled fighters, which explained why my thug companions hadn't defeated them yet, despite being bigger and stronger. At the moment, Mikey and Blue were facing Rocksteady, who was standing close to the van, as if trying to guard it, while Red and Purple faced Bebop. The acoustics of the empty warehouse amplified the sounds of them fighting, as well as the banter between the two groups of mutants.

"RAAUGH," Bebop roared, swinging the pipe at Red, who did a backflip out of the way, landing nimbly a few feet away.

"That all ya got, Porky," Red taunted in a rough voice; he also sounded young, and I started to wonder if all the turtles were teenagers.

"Don't... CALL ME THAT," the mutant warthog snapped, steam coming out of his nose as he brought the pipe around to block a strike from Purple's staff. Meanwhile, Rocksteady missed Blue by a few inches, and his sledgehammer hit the side of the van, putting a sizeable dent in it.

"Ouch," Mikey winced. "Looks like your insurance premiums just went up!"

"C'mon, Rocky,' Bebop called from his fight against Purple and Red. "Watch where you're swingin' that thing!"

"I'm tryin'," the mutant rhino replied, kicking at Blue as he yanked the sledgehammer out of the vehicle. "They're too damn fast!"

"Why're you guarding the van anyway," Purple called over, jumping up and kicking Bebop in the face, making him stagger back as Red tripped him from behind. "Is there something in there you don't want us to see?"

"'Cuz I ain't lettin' you freaks get in the van and steal our stuff!"

"Why would we steal from you," Mikey questioned, leaping onto the top of the van. "You're the crooks here!"

"Don't play innocent," Rocksteady retorted, turning to look up at him. "You've stolen a buncha stuff from us! Machetes, sledgehammers, some grenades, combat knives... even my bear traps!"

"Of course we did," Blue said. "We took those so you wouldn't use them to hurt people!"

"That still counts as stealin'!"

"Give it a rest, Rocky," Bebop snapped, now holding Red in a headlock, the turtle's weapons laying several yards away. "They're just makin' fun of ya!"

The rhino blinked with surprise, having apparently not realized this before, then rounded on Blue.

"I'LL SMASH THAT SHELL OF YOURS WIDE OPEN," he roared, bringing down the sledgehammer with so much force, the concrete floor cracked as he hit it, and I was relieved that the turtle managed to dodge the attack in time.

Watching the six mutants banter and fight, I found the whole situation a bit... juvenile. All this swinging with barely any contact, and all of them chit-chatting as they tried to do each other in, it reminded me of a cartoon. Why were they talking like this instead of focusing on beating each other up? It was almost stupid, in a way, but on the other hand, all of them had weapons, and I could see a few cuts and bruises on all of them. I didn't want Bebop and Rocksteady to lose, but I couldn't let them beat up four teenaged turtles; I needed to get them to stop fighting, but I had no idea how. There was no was I could [or would] jump into the fray, and the only weapons available were in the back of the van, not to mention-

The fryer, I remembered, spotting the small fryer, which was starting to smoke a little. The oil was starting to burn, and if I didn't turn it off, it could catch fire and probably destroy the fryer. Well, I wasn't sure if that was REALLY what would happen, but I had never used a personal fryer before. And seeing how angry Bebop and Rocksteady looked, and knowing they'd fight dirty, I got an image of one of them grabbing the fryer and tossing the scalding hot oil onto the Turtles. I winced, and decided to make my way over there to turn it off. Besides, I had a feeling that we wouldn't be cooking any empanadillas tonight, and there was no point keeping the appliance on; my dad was always yelling at someone to turn off any kitchen appliances that weren't in use, and I had picked up that mentality. So, keeping to the walls so I could avoid getting hurt, I slowly made my way over towards the fryer, not taking my eyes off the fighting mutants.

"AAUGH!" Both Bebop and Rocksteady ran to attack Purple at the same time. The turtle leaped out of the way, and the two mutant thugs slammed head-first into each other. I winced for them, quickly making my way over to the fryer. I switched it off, and was about to reach for the plug when someone spoke up behind me.

"Why'd you come back?"

I yelped a little, nearly knocking the fryer over as I whirled around to find Mikey standing there, looking at me with a curious expression.

"Uh... Sorry," I said, hoping the turtle wouldn't start attacking me. "I know you said to leave, but I figured I shouldn't leave this thing on; the oil's pretty hot, and the last thing anyone should get is a face full of it."

The turtle teen smiled. "That's some smart thinking; wouldn't want anyone to end up like Freddy Krueger!" He chuckled a little, his nunchuk's held limply in one hand. He spotted something by my feet. "What're those? Calzones?" I glanced over and spotted the nearly thawed out frozen boxes of empanadillas.

"No, they're empanadillas," I replied, picking up one of the boxes. "They're Puerto Rican; pockets of dough filled with various fillings. Sort of like a turnover, in a way; you fry them, and the dough gets all flaky. This one's beef filled, and the other's a pizza filling, which is just filled with cheese and sauce."

"Mmm..." Mikey smiled a little licking his lips [wait, did turtles even have lips?]. "That sounds really good!"

"Yeah. They're pretty-" I stopped talking. "Shouldn't you be helping your friends?" I looked around the turtle to see that the other mutants were still going at it; Purple was now sitting on Rocksteady's shoulders, trying to pull his staff out of the rhino's mouth [I had no idea how that could've happened], and Bebop was laying flat on the ground as Blue and Red attempted to pin his arms behind his back.

"Brothers," the young mutant corrected. "And don't worry; we've taken on worse baddies, and those two are as tough as a brick wall, and in Rocksteady's case, about as smart as a brick wall!" He snickered a little at his own joke. "It'll take a while till they tire out. Now-" He picked up the other box of frozen food. "Can I try one of these?"

I blinked at him, looked at his brothers fighting my criminal employers, then back at him.

"Uh... Right now," I asked.

"Why not? The oil's hot, and I take it you were gonna cook them before we showed up." He smiled. "Besides, we've been on patrol for a couple hours, and it's pretty tiring, running and jumping across rooftops!"

"Rooftops?"

"Yeah, it's how we usually get around; can't really go walking around the streets with these." Mikey tapped his shell. "Oh, and there's the Turtle Van, but Donnie's doing repairs to it now."

"Uh... Okay." I turned to the fryer, and saw that the oil was still hot enough to cook the empanadillas if I turned the fryer back on now. I was hungry, but it still felt weird to just sit here and cook while there was a fight going on a few yards away. On the other hand, I could keep one of the fighters occupied, and would have time to think of something to stop the others from fighting. So I nodded at the turtle. "Okay then."

"Yes," the turtle said happily, setting his weapons aside and sitting down on the opposite side of the fryer as I switched it back on. Mikey opened the box of pizza-filled empanadillas, and was about to dump them into the oil before I stopped him.

"You don't wanna do that," I said. "Not only would you splash us both with hot oil, you'd bring the temperature of the oil down too much."

"OH!" He nodded quickly, handing me the box. "Sorry! I should know better; I watch cooking shows all the time!"

I took out one of the semi-frozen pastries, carefully setting it in the fryer, jerking my hand back before the oil could hit me. The oil sizzled a little as it started to cook the dough, and I set two more empanadillas in before I got the plate ready. Then, taking the spider utensil, I used it to turn the empanadillas over once the first side had finished cooking; they needed to cook on each side for a few minutes, until the exterior had turned a golden brown and bubbles formed on the dough's surface. When the first three were finished cooking, I used the spider to take them out one by one, letting the excess oil drip back into the fryer before setting them on the plate to cool. The whole time, Mikey watched me fry the food with wide eyes, and I could've sworn I heard his stomach grumble.

"Can I have one now," he asked as I started to cook the next trio of empanadillas.

"They're still a little hot," I warned him.

"So's Fartelli's Pizza," he replied, carefully picking up one of the dough pockets, which he quickly tossed from hand to hand to avoid burning himself. "I'll be fine!" Blowing on it a couple times, he took a cautious bite of the Puerto Rican food, closing his eyes and sighing a little as he chewed and swallowed his bite. "Woah! That's really good! Tastes just like pizza, but the texture and flavor's totally different! And you were right about it being flaky!"

"Yeah, this brand's not bad when it comes to taste," I said. "I haven't eaten it in a while, though; I usually eat the ones we serve at my family's restaurant."

"Your family owns a restaurant," Mikey asked, amazed by this fact.

"Mm-hmm. 'La Libertad: Specializing in delicious Puerto Rican cuisine since 1974!'" I quoted the slogan on our menus. "My whole family works there; I'm the delivery boy."

"You're so lucky," the mutant turtle said, taking another bite of his empanadilla, gasping a little as it burned his tongue. "Getting to work in a restaurant with your family!"

"Yeah," I said unenthusiastically. "It's a real blast!"

Suddenly, a weapon flew over my head and hit the wall next to us, clattering to the floor. I screamed, ducking my head down before another one could take my head off.

"Watch it, Raph," Mikey called, seemingly unfazed as he picked up the weapon; it appeared to be one of Red's knife thingies. "You nearly hit Roberto!"

"Nearly hit WHO," one of his brothers yelled. I couldn't tell which one, since the five fighting mutants were currently a whirlwind of limbs and weapons.

"You seem pretty calm about letting your brothers fight Bebop and Rocksteady," I said, cautiously bringing my head back up. "I mean, I can tell that you guys fight well, but shouldn't you be helping them?"

The teenaged mutant shrugged. "Probably, but Leo, Raph and Donnie are pretty good fighters; better than me, I think!" He glanced over at his brothers. "But maybe you're right..." He lifted his half-eaten empanadilla into the air. "Hey, guys! We've got free food over here; stop fighting for a couple minutes and try some of this!"

...Does he actually think that's gonna work, I thought incredulously. Like they're just gonna stop fighting and-

My mouth dropping open with surprise as Bebop, Rocksteady, and the three turtle mutants paused mid-fight and turned to look at us. All of them were breathing heavily, and Rocksteady's fist was still raised, ready to punch Red in the face.

"What," Blue asked, gaping at me with shock. "Why's he still here? I thought you took him to safety!"

"And why's he cooking," Purple queried, sniffing the air a little. "And what is he cooking?"

"Hey! Why're you givin' them our food," Rocksteady asked, looking slightly betrayed as he held Red in a tight grip under one arm, preventing him from getting away.

"Your food," Red asked incredulously, unable to wriggle free as his arms were pinned to his side, and his shell was facing the ground .

"Fuckin' dammit, kid," Bebop snapped, pushing himself to his feet. "You're just sittin' there cookin' shit instead of helpin' us out?!"

"What was I supposed to do," I retorted angrily. "I've never been in a fight before, and I'm not about to face armed teenaged mutant turtles with just my fists!"

"You forgot the 'ninja' part," Mikey spoke up.

"Shit," the mutant warthog muttered, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "I feel like I'm in a fuckin' mental asylum!"

"That makes two of us," I agreed. Bebop glared at me, and a tense silence descended upon the entire group.

"Roberto," Rocksteady finally asked. "Can I still have one of those... uh..." He tried to pronounce the word. "Empen... Empana-da..."

"Empanadillas," I said, and he nodded. "Yeah; there's three cooking right now-" I quickly turned to find that they were close to burning, so I quickly grabbed the spider and flipped them over. "But there's two others that're ready."

"Thanks for tellin' me earlier," the mutant rhino said with some irritation, walking over to the fryer with a cursing Red still held under his arm. "How come he got to try some first?"

"Sorry! I didn't know they were for you," Mikey said, picking up the plate of cooked empanadillas and holding it up to the criminal. "You can have the next one; they're REALLY good!"

Hesitating for a moment, as if wary of the turtle's friendly nature, Rocksteady grabbed one of the foodstuff with his free hand [Red was still struggling to wriggle free with little success], and ate half of it in one bite. He yelped a little at the heat, breathing and panting to cool his mouth down. A few moments later, a large grin came onto his face.

"These are GOOD," the mutant thug said, shoving the other half into his mouth. Forgetting that it was still hot, he let out a yelp as he quickly chewed and swallowed the food, burning his. "AAAH! MY THONGUE!"

"Sorry! Forgot to mention they might be a little hot," I said.

"Iht's fine," the rhino replied, his speech somewhat altered [no doubt from burning his tongue] as he turned back to Red. "Now, where were whe?"

"I was about to kick your ass," the turtle growled.

"Coulda sworn it was the other way around."

"Seriously," I asked.

"Shuddup, we're still fightin'," Bebop snapped, brandishing his pipe.

"Fine with me," Blue said, raising his swords.

"What are you guys even fighting over," I asked, hoping that another brawl didn't break out. "Is this some kind of mutant rivalry or something?"

"Well, these two are criminals," Purple explained, pointing at Bebop and Rocksteady.

"And you four are pains in the ass," the mutant warthog retorted.

"We can't just let you run around robbing stores and doing whatever you please," Blue added.

"We ain't phulled any crimes lhately," Rocksteady protested.

"Ha! As if," Red snapped, still trying to wriggle free from the rhino's grasp.

"Can't prove it, can ya," Bebop asked, smirking at him.

Santa Maria, help us, I thought, rubbing my face and taking a breath or two. The evening had been so much simpler before the four mutant turtles showed up, and now I was in the middle of two opposite groups, torn between sticking with the two thugs that had given me freedom from my home and family, or these four crime fighting teenagers. If I didn't do anything, and quick, they'd start fighting again. So, in an almost desperate attempt to keep the peace, I spoke up.

"Look, why don't we just stop fighting for now," I said loudly, causing all the mutants to turn to me. "We've got enough empanadillas for everyone, so why don't we... I dunno... Call a truce and have something to eat?"

I winced on the inside, my cheeks flushing a little as I felt everyone's eyes staring at me. I know that Mikey had suggested the same idea, but hearing it come out of my mouth... it sounded pretty stupid. Asking a group of fighting mutants to stop attacking one another and sit down for empanadillas, as if we were all friends? Bebop especially looked upset, glaring at me from behind his sunglasses; I could tell that he was furious with me for suggesting that we not only stop fighting these enemies of his, but also share the food we were planning to eat with them. But what choice did I have? I couldn't let them keep fighting, and I was no expert in diplomacy.

"Hey, I'm game," Mikey said, grinning at me. "It's what I was trying to do in the first place, since there's no better way to break some tension than with good food! And you're gonna love these, bros," he added, turning to his brothers. "They're like pizza pockets, but better!"

"Really, Mikey," Red said, gaping at his brother. "Does this look like the time for stupid ideas?!"

"Hey, the fight stopped, didn't it?" Mikey retorted with a smile; he clearly knew he was right and that Red couldn't deny it.

Rocksteady smirked and tightening his grip around the turtle's shell, causing the teen to wince with pain. "And what's youhr complainin' gonna do anhyway? Yhou're still shtuck!"

"Stop that," Purple ordered, pointing his staff at the mutant rhino. "Let him go!"

"Drop the stick, " Bebop countered, hefting his pipe.

"Why don't you try and make him," Blue said sternly, lifting his swords.

"NO," I finally yelled, getting to my feet. "Cut it out!"

"Stay outta this, kid," Red snapped. "Mikey, get him outta here and back to his parents-"

"I don't WANT to go back to my parents," I snapped back, my hands clenching into fists. "My dad is a douchebag of the highest order, and I'm here of my own free will! I was actually looking forward to spending time with my friends before you four attacked us!"

All six mutants gaped at me after my outburst, the turtles looking especially shocked as they realized that I had not been kidnapped, and did not need rescuing. However, I couldn't tell why Bebop and Rocksteady looked surprised; Rocksteady dropped Red, who quickly scrambled away, standing next to his brothers, and I could see Bebop's eyes looking at me over the top of his sunglasses. A few seconds later, I finally realized why they looked so surprised:

I had called them my friends.

"Wait... You're friends with Bebop and Rocksteady," Blue asked, looking between me and the mutant criminals, an incredulous look still on his face.

"I..." My face flushed with embarrassment as once again, I felt everyone's eyes on me. "I..." I glanced over at Bebop and Rocksteady, who were now looking expectantly at me. After a few moments of thought, I turned back to Blue, nodding. "Yeah."

There was another moment of silence, and then-

"OH! That explains why you came back," Mikey said, nodding a little. "You're friends and were just gonna have dinner together!" He turned to the mutant rhino and warthog. "We thought you'd kidnapped him!"

"Khidnapped," Rocksteady repeated.

"Damn," Bebop said, shaking his head a little. "You turtles are dumber than we thought!" He pointed at me. "First off, if we was gonna kidnap someone, we wouldn't let them wander around and cook shit! Second, we'd kidnap someone important, not some rando with daddy issues!"

He's lucky he's got at least a hundred pounds on me, I thought. Or I'd knock his ass to the ground!

"That does make sense," Purple said, bringing a finger on his chin as he turned to me. "Are you being held against your will? Are they making you say this stuff by threatening you or someone you know?"

"No," I replied.

"I find that hard to believe," Red cut in, glaring at the mutant criminals.

"Whe ain't threatenin' him," Rocksteady said. He hesitated. "Whell, Beeps shometimes says-"

"Not helpin'," his friend snapped. He turned back to Blue. "Look! Ya ain't got nuthin' on us! Unless ya saw us robbin' a store or somethin', ya can't just attack us!"

"He's got a point," Purple said.

"And they're not hurting me or anything," I said, turning to the turtles. "Sure, they're both a little rough around the edges, but they're not regularly beating me up. In fact, they're paying me to help them out!"

"PAYING YOU," the four teenagers chorused, gaping at the mutant thugs with new surprise. Bebop shot a quick glare at me, and I shrugged; I was doing my best to help them look good, and prevent another fight.

"They're... giving you money," Blue asked incredulously.

"I'm essentially their errand boy," I explained. "I get groceries for them, and I also do other odd jobs and chores for them." I took a step towards Blue, who seemed to be the leader of the four brothers. "And while I'm grateful that you guys were willing to rescue me, I'd rather keep working for them, so I'd appreciate it if you'd stop fighting them." I turned to the mutant warthog and rhino. "The same goes for you guys; I gotta head home eventually, so if you wanna eat, then I suggest you put down the weapons and call a truce."

Bebop and Rocksteady exchanged a brief look, glanced at me, and then looked over at the turtles. The turtles exchanged brief looks with one another, glanced at me, and the looked over at the mutant criminals. I looked between the two groups, wondering if they would actually stop fighting. I could tell that Bebop, Blue, and Red didn't seem 100% on board with the idea, but after a few tense moments of silence, the turtles nodded, and they sheathed their weapons. Seconds later, Rocksteady tossed the sledgehammer aside; Bebop still held on to his steel pipe, but after another frown in my direction, he dropped it and kicked it away in annoyance.

"Fine," he said. "But any funny business, and I'm crackin' those shells!"

"Ouch," Mikey said with mock terror. "Well, we better get back to cooking then; we're gonna need a lot of these!"

"It only cooks three at one time," Purple asked, glancing at the fryer. "If you give me a few minutes, I can make it cook double at once."

"What," I asked incredulously.

"Donnie's a whiz at gadgets," the orange-masked turtle explained as Purple leaped onto the van, then up into the shadows of the rafters above. "He's always inventing stuff."

"Still, I don't see how he could make a fryer cook more food at once," I said.

"You'll see," Blue assured me, picking up one of the empanadilla boxes. "'Pizza flavor?' That does sound good!" Red's stomach grumbled at that moment, and a sheepish look came onto his face.

"Heh... What was that," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Ya better not eat all the food," Rocksteady said, frowning at Mikey, who had already started on his second empanadilla; his mouth must've cooled down enough, since he was talking normally again.

"What," the turtle asked as Purple landed nimbly on the ground, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "It's really good!"

"Well, I technically paid for those," Bebop said, crossing his arms. "So keep your slimy green hands to yourselves!"

"They're not slimy," Red countered. "And at least we aren't a literal pig!"

"Wanna say that again, ya green mother-"

Yep... This is gonna be fun, I thought, wondering how the heck I ended up in this situation.

[][][]

I used to think that tense meals only happened at home, but sitting in the middle of a group of enemy mutants, I started to wish I was eating dinner with my family. Sure, it'd be tedious, but at least there wouldn't be a chance of anyone getting maimed or seriously injured.

In this group of mutants, I felt very out of place, sitting in the middle of the semi-circle with Rocksteady on my right, and Mikey on my left. Bebop was also on my right, facing off with the other turtles on my left. Leo, Raph and Donnie, were not as easy-going and friendly as Mikey, but still seemed friendly enough; if they were humans, I could imagine myself being friends with them at school. And their weapons were pretty cool up close (though I never wanted to be on the wrong end of them). However, the tension in the air was evident, as the two groups of mutants occasionally shot glares at one another. A few times, I noticed Bebop and Raph in particular glance at their weapons, but both managed to keep themselves from attacking each other.

But at least the food helped maintain a level of peace; it kept everyone busy, and with their mouths full of food, no one could insult anyone. Donnie somehow managed to make the part of the fryer the empanadillas were fried in bigger, meaning I could now fry six dough pockets at once. Where and how Donnie had gotten all the pieces needed for that, I had no idea, but it was clear that Mikey wasn't exaggerating when he had called him a whiz at gadgets. Since I was already planning on frying all the empanadillas in both boxes for Bebop and Rocksteady, it simply became a task of reallocating some of the food to feed the four teenaged turtles. I could tell the mutant thugs weren't too thrilled about having to share their food with their sworn enemies, so I tried to give the majority of the food to them, hoping that they wouldn't complain or start another brawl. It seemed to be working, and seeing that all the mutants murmured and ate their food with gusto, it was a safe bet to say that they liked the frozen empanadillas.

"Can I have another one," Mikey asked, having just finished his fourth empanadilla.

"You've already had four," Rocksteady snapped, glaring at the turtle. "Quit tryin' to hog the food. Or did ya forget we actually paid for it?"

"In fact," Bebop added, "we oughta be chargin' ya for all this!"

"Kiss my ass," Raph retorted.

"Let's forget that," I said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation and turning to Bebop. "I'll pay you back for this. You can just deduct it from my next payment."

"Are you..." The mutant warthog seemed like he wanted to keep picking a bone with the turtles and partly with me too, but was unable to think of something to say after I offered to make up for the food the turtles ate. Finally, he gave a frustrated huff, turning back to the half of empanadilla in his hand. "Fine, whatever."

Santa María, I thought, turning to Leo.

"How did you four become mutants," I asked. "Did you all volunteer, or..."

"Not exactly," the turtle replied. "We were all mutated as babies."

"As babies?" Who would want to mutate four innocent babies? And for what purpose? "That's... I'm so sorry. That must've been horrible."

"Nah, we're fine with it," Raph said, taking another bite of his second empanadilla. "If it hadn't happened, we'd still be livin' in a pet store tank."

"Uh... why would you guys be-" My eyes widened with realization. "Wait... you guys were... regular turtles before being mutated? Not humans?"

"Yeah," Donnie replied. "Technically, without us, the formula that turned Bebop and Rocksteady into mutants wouldn't exist."

"Thanks for that," the mutant rhino muttered.

"I thought you two knuckleheads volunteered to turn yourselves ugly," Red said. He smirked. "Or well, uglier!"

The empanadilla in Bebop's hand was crushed as his hands curled into fists, and I could've sworn I saw steam coming out of Rocksteady's ears and nostrils. Knowing I had only seconds before World War III broke out, I thankfully remembered that we had soda in the van.

"COCO RICO," I practically shouted, and was relieved as all the mutants turned to me, confused expressions on their faces.

"... What," Bebop asked.

"I... I bought drinks as well," I said, my cheeks hot as I realized how out of place my outburst was. I quickly got up and went over to the van grabbing the two six packs of soda from the cooler. "We have Coco Rico, which is coconut-flavored, and Piña Buena, which is-"

"Pineapple flavored," Mikey finished, instantly taking one of the Buenas and popping the tab. Taking a sip, a shudder ran through him. "Woah! That's... very sweet!" The other mutants, including Bebop and Rocksteady, followed suit and chose their respective flavors. Sitting back down, I gave a sigh of relief; crisis averted.

"Okay," I said. "All of you are mutants, but you four used to be regular turtles."

"Correct," Donnie replied, taking a sip of Coco Rico. "Though our dad used to be human, before being turned into a rat."

I snickered a little at his joke, but I stopped when I saw the turtles looking at me with serious expressions. I blinked with surprise.

"Your dad's a... mutant rat," I asked.

"Yes," Leo replied.

"Like... as big as you?"

"About our size, yes."

"..."

"He's the one who taught us how to fight; he used to be a part of this group in Japan called the Foot-"

"Enough of the snooze-fest, Fearless Leader," Raph complained, downing the rest of his soda. "We all know the story!" "He doesn't," the blue-masked turtle retorted, frowning at his brother.

"Foot what?" I asked. Mikey took another sip of soda before replying.

"Clan of evil ninjas. Bebop and Rocksteady work for their leader."

"Clan of evil ninjas," I repeated, letting it sink in. "Are you- Sure, why not? I'm having dinner with a bunch of mutants; a clan of evil ninjas sounds tame by comparison!"

"And ya greenies should update your info," Rocksteady said, grabbing a freshly cooked beef empanadilla. "We ain't chummy with the Foot no more."

The four turtles were clearly taken aback by this, looking quite surprised, then Donnie spoke up.

"You guys quit working for the Foot Clan?"

"So what if we did," Bebop snapped defensively, a frown returning to his face. "It ain't any of your business!"

"This dinner's goin' great," Raph said sarcastically, taking another soda [which earned him a stink-eye from Rocksteady].

"I'm just guessing here, but I'd say you guys never really ever have truces like this," I said. "Any reason for that?"

The mutants thought about for a moment, and then shook their heads.

"No... Not really," Leo eventually replied, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Yeah," Bebop added. "It's always been us kickin' the crap outta each other soon as we see each other." He glared at the turtles, cracking his knuckles. "Which has always been fine by me!"

"Being fair, it's not like Shredder would ever call a truce," Mikey said, turning to me. "You're the first one to try it!"

"I... I guess I did," I replied. "But you're the one that called for everyone to stop fighting; all I did was bring the food."

"I still can't believe that worked," Raph muttered, taking another sip of soda and smiling ever so slightly.

"Neither can I," I replied honestly. "I'm not really into violence and fighting, but you four had some pretty cool moves!" There was a slight cough from behind me, and I turned to Bebop and Rocksteady. "You guys were great, too! Very... thuggish."

"Damn right we was," Rocksteady said, grinning widely and raising his fists in what I guessed to be a triumphant pose.

"Uugh," Bebop muttered, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses.

Now that the atmosphere had relaxed and calmed down, I was actually looking forward to asking the collected mutants about their lives. The turtles seemed like cool guys, and had lived the majority of their lives as mutants, which made me wonder how they hadn't been discovered before, or how they were able to eat if they didn't rob places like Rocksteady and Bebop. However, I happened to glance at my watch, and realized I had about twenty minutes to get back to the restaurant from my 'delivery.'

"Shoot," I said, quickly getting to my feet. "I gotta get back home!"

"I'll drive ya," Rocksteady said.

"Not gonna happen," Leo said.

"And why not," Bebop asked, he and his friend getting to their feet, glaring at the much smaller mutant.

Uh-oh, I thought.

"No offense, but we can't just let you drive off with him," the turtle explained. "Even if you're not kidnapping him, you two are still criminals."

"We ain't gonna beat him up or anythin'," the mutant rhino snapped. "He's our friend, and he said himself that we're his friends!"

"He's your Errand Boy, accordin' to Pigman over here," Raph cut in, getting to his feet, fingers on the handles of his sai. "He'll say whatever he has to so ya don't beat him up!"

"That ain't true," Rocksteady said angrily, but for a brief moment, his eyes flickered towards me, as if to check that I hadn't been lying earlier.

"And I'm a WARTHOG," Bebop added, pointing at his tusks. "Not a pig!"

"Well," Donnie started to say, "technically-"

"Ya better not finish that sentence, or I'll that that stick and shove it-"

"LOOK," I said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Driving's the fastest way for me to get home, but I need to leave now if I'm gonna be back on time." I looked at the turtles. "Can you guys drop the whole 'crime-fighting' routine this one time and let them drive me home? If my dad finds out I'm not delivering food I'll be in worse trouble than being with these two."

Leo and the other turtles looked pretty surprised by my request, and looked between me and the criminal thugs for a few seconds. Then, the four turtles got together in a huddle, whispering among themselves. A short while later, they straightened up and turned to me.

"Fine," Leo conceded. "We have to be going anyway; we've fallen behind on patrol."

"But don't do anythin' funny," Raph warned Bebop and Rocksteady. "'Cause we'll know."

"I'm so scared," Bebop replied snarkily.

"It'll be fine," I said, wondering if I should shake hands with any of the turtles, and deciding against it. "Well... Nice meeting you guys."

"We should totally hang out sometime," Mikey said, an excited look on his face. "You can tell me all about your family's cooking, maybe bring some food over to the lair-"

"Not now, Mikey," Donnie warned him. "Remember..." He jerked his head at the mutant thugs, and the orange-masked turtle nodded slowly.

"Sorry," he said slowly. " I mean... No, we DON'T have a lair."

"You really make me question how we're related sometimes," Raph muttered.

"Until we meet again," Leo said, nodding at me and, after an awkward pause, nodding towards Bebop and Rocksteady. "But Raph's right; one wrong move towards Roberto, and you'll regret it." And on that note, the four turtles leaped into the air, somehow finding foot and handholds on the nearby wall, scaling it in a few seconds and vanishing into the shadows above.

Rocksteady, Bebop and I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the spot where the turtle teens had vanished. I was amazed at how fast they had moved; they mentioned that they were ninjas, but I never expected turtles to be that fast or agile. Then, Bebop sharply turned towards me, opening his mouth as if to say something. He thought better of it, and then turned on his heel and stomped over to the van.

"Hurry up," he snapped. "We ain't got all night; get that shit back in the van."

"But what about the oil," I asked. "We gotta drain it-"

"There's drains all over the floor," the mutant warthog continued, opening the door. "Rocksteady, clean it up and I'll come back for ya."

"No fair," the mutant rhino whined. "Why do I gotta stay and clean?"

"'Cuz you're the one who wanted to fry those things. Your bright idea, your mess." He got in the car and slammed the door shut. Figuring I shouldn't keep him waiting, I waved goodbye to Rocksteady and ran to the car, climbing into the front seat. Bebop switched the engine on and drove out of the warehouse, heading towards my neighborhood.

We rode in silence for the whole of the ride, which was fine with me. Bebop still seemed a little irritated by the whole ordeal, and I figured I shouldn't press my luck and say anything to upset him further. However, when we stopped in an alleyway near the 181st subway stop [I always walked home from there], I had just put my hand on the door handle when he finally spoke up.

"Why'd ya come back?"

I turned to the mutant, my reflection visible in his sunglasses lenses. He had a serious expression on his face, and I couldn't see any sign of anger or annoyance.

"I... I just couldn't leave you guys," I said, shifting in my seat a little. "I mean, you guys are... What I mean is..."

"We're your friends," Bebop finished. I nodded, ready for him to say that we weren't friends, and that I was stupid for not helping them fight the turtles. Instead, he turned back towards the front, both hands on the steering wheel. "See ya tomorrow."

I blinked with surprise, but nodded.

"Y-Yeah," I said, finally opening the door and stepping out of the van. "Goodnight." The mutant didn't reply, but reached over and shut the door, driving off a few moments later. I stared after him, wondering why he hadn't gotten angry at me, but decided, once again, to not look a gift horse in the mouth. So, walking out of the alleyway, I set off for the restaurant.

[][][]

Later that night, I sat on my bed, flipping through a book as the moon shone through the nearby window.

The room I shared with Arturo was already small to begin with, but with both our beds and stuff in it, it was downright cramped. While my older brother got the majority of the space for his things, I was lucky enough to snag the bed by the window. There wasn't that much of a view, just the alleyway and the building on the other side of it, but at least I'd be the first one out and down the fire escape in case the building burned down [which, living over a restaurant, was something I often thought of]. But for now, I was thankful for the quiet and solitude; Arturo was downstairs on cleaning duty tonight, and I figured I'd enjoy the alone time before he eventually trudged back up here, purposefully making enough noise to wake me up if I was asleep. Plus, after the crazy night I had, I was glad to not have to worry about mutants again until tomorrow.

Or so I thought.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

My heart just about leaped out of my throat at the sudden noise, which was coming from my nearby window. Looking around, I didn't see anything at first, but I gasped as a green, orange-masked head suddenly appeared, grinning at me.

No way, I thought, setting my book aside and opening the window.

"You're lucky I didn't scream," I said. "And how'd you even find me?"

"We followed you," Mikey replied, standing on the fire escape right outside my window. "We wanted to make sure you got home safe, in case Bebop and Rocksteady tried to pull anything."

"How'd you guys even follow us? We were driving."

"Rooftops," the mutant turtle replied, pointing above him. I stuck my head out the window, and looked up in time to see another green head quickly vanish from sight; looks like the others were waiting for their brother. "We don't have to worry about stoplights up there. Plus, if we did lose sight of you, Donnie could've looked up your restaurant on his GPS."

I sighed turning back to Mikey. "Look, I appreciate you guys for wanting to make sure I'm okay, but I'm fine. I know how dangerous Bebop and Rocksteady could be, so if I need to get away from them, I can."

"How," the teenaged mutant asked, a serious expression coming onto his face. "They know where you live, so even if you were to hide out somewhere else, what's to stop them from going after your family or the restaurant?"

"But they wouldn't do that," I insisted. But even after I said it, I felt a nagging feeling in the back of my mind; they had been petty enough to hold a years-long grudge against Loco Luis, and were intent on beating him up if I hadn't intervened. What if they...? No; best not to think about that. I haven't done anything yet to upset them, and I'm technically working for them. They have no reason to come after me and my family.

Still...

"Anyway," Mikey was saying, "Leo thought it'd be smart for you to have a Shell Cell to contact us with." He took something off his belt, handing it to me. It was round and green, shaped like a turtle's shell, and I could fold it open to reveal a screen and keypad. "You know, just in case Rocksteady and Bebop are giving you trouble..." He lowered his voice, as if worried someone would overhear. "Or if you wanna hang out at our lair-"

"I already said no, Mikey," Leo's voice said from the rooftop above.

"AWW, C'MON," the orange-masked turtle whined, looking up at the roof. "He's not trying to kill us, he's not a dangerous mutant, AND his family owns a restaurant! Plus, he's not an evil ninja, or a creature from another dimension, or an alien-"

Have they... met creatures from other dimensions, I wondered. And aliens?

"Mikey!" Leo poked his head over the rooftop, glaring at his little brother. "We'll discuss this later. Give him the Shell Cell and let's get going; Master Splinter's gonna be wondering where we are."

Mikey sighed defeatedly, turning back to me.

"Sorry, dude," he said. "Seriously, we haven't met anyone normal in... gosh, I can't remember." He smiled a little, pointing to the device in my hand. "Anyway, hit the green button, and it'll call Donnie's cell, and give us your location too." "Okay," I said, looking at the device and closing it. "Thanks, I guess." And I was grateful; now, if Bebop and Rocksteady ever turned on me for whatever reason, at least I'd have help.

"No problem," the turtle said happily. "Well, see ya!" He quickly scaled the fire escape, vanishing over the edge of the rooftop. Seconds later, four shadows leaped from my rooftop to the neighboring one, vanishing into the night. I stared after them for a bit, then brought my head back inside, shutting and locking the window behind me. First Bebop and Rocksteady, and now teenaged mutant ninja turtles. Who would be showing up next?

Whoever it is, they better not show up tonight, I thought, setting aside my book and crawling into bed, suddenly tired out and wanting nothing but to sleep. But seriously. Aliens and creatures from different dimensions?! What IS my life turning into?!

I hope you all liked this chapter! It was a lot of fun to write, especially the interactions with the Turtles. And I consulted my friend, RemTar85, with all the Puerto Rican cuisine and food you read about; it may not be available in most American stores, but you never know!

Have a great day everyone! Follow/Favorite if you haven't already, and leave a review with your thoughts and comments!

-aggiefrogger

I do not own Freddy Kreuger Piña Buena or Coco Rico at all!