Hello there! Re-watching TMNT 2012 has inspired me to write a bunch of one shots centering around Donnie and April starting from season 1 all the way through 5. I'll try to update weekly, to the best of my abilities and schedule. Hope you all enjoy! This one takes place during and after Rise of the Turtles.
"Are you okay?"
How could she be? Just hours ago, a peaceful walk with her father turned chaotic as they were both kidnapped by some strange men in suits, rescued by giant turtles who studied ninjutsu, nearly falling to her death and being rescued by one of them, only to be separated from her father as he was being flown to God knows where by alien robots. She'd be lying if she said she was 'okay'.
"Dad..." April whispered, watching the chopper fade away into the night.
Gently, Donnie helped the girl to her feet and stood protectively in front of her. "We'll get your dad back, but right now I suggest we get out of here!" From the sound of the screeching and laser blasts, it sounded like his brothers needed him.
April followed the giant turtle back towards the entrance of the base where she saw 3 more turtles fighting against a humongous plant creature and even more of those robot creeps that stole her father from her. Donnie noticed the mutant, which Mikey had named Snakeweed, being forced backwards into the machine that Leo was standing on.
"What are they doing?" The purple clad turtle questioned out loud. "They're leading him straight towards that power generator, that's incredibly stupid!" He pondered for a second. "Or brilliant...or both!"
Leonardo's taunting came in handy as he distracted Snakeweed and the bots continually shooting at the generator, it electrocuted the giant plant and exploded right after, making it rain Snakeweed bits all over the area. Quickly, the turtles and April hauled out of there before more trouble had arrived. Tonight had been one hell of a night for everyone. Leo guided the group towards the rooftops, keeping an eye out for anymore similar-looking men in suits. Once they got a moment to catch their breath, the turtles figured they should acquaint themselves to their new human friend.
"Is there anywhere you can stay until your Dad comes back?" Donnie asked.
April paused, still trying to wrap her head around everything she had witnessed, her world just got a whole lot bigger...and stranger. "Yeah, I have other family around here. My Aunt lives right above an antique store downtown. You know where that is, right?"
"Uhh...not really, no," Donnie admitted with a nervous chuckle. "This is the first time we've seen the city in, well, ever!"
She blinked. "Are you serious?"
Leonardo spoke. "Unfortunately, our Sensei isn't really fond of the outside world. We've spent 15 years underground and this was the first time we were allowed to explore the surface."
Mikey, unable to control his excitement, giggled with joy. "Dudes! I can't believe we've met an actual human!" He began jumping up and down, asking April question after question about the outside world until Raphael jerked him away by his bandana tails.
Leonardo sighed and stood next to the girl. "You'll have to forgive Michelangelo, he's just really excited to meet new people."
"Michelangelo?" She repeated. "Like the artist?"
Donatello nodded. "Our Sensei was a fan of the Renaissance art period. We're all named after famous artists of that time." He pointed to himself, "You've already met me, Donatello."
"Leonardo," the blue masked turtle introduced himself and bowed respectively.
"Raphael," the middle one said and crossed his arms. "And unfortunately, you've already met Mikey."
"Hey!" The youngest brother yelled and tried to attack Raph, being held back by Leo.
April laughed. She observed each of the brothers and noticed the different traits about them. Height differences, skin tone, eye color, each turtle was totally unique. It made her feel more comfortable. Seeing how those robots all looked the same, whether they had their human disguises on or not, made her skin crawl. Finally she introduced herself to the group. "I'm April, April O'Neil."
Leo smiled. "It's nice to meet you April. So this antique store, do you think you could lead us to it?"
"No problem."
Once April had arrived and told her Aunt that her father had to be away for awhile, she went up towards the guest bedroom where she used to stay whenever she spent the night. She realized she'd have to go back to her own apartment and gather some personal items; school stuff, laptop, extra clothes. The turtles had said they would be close by as she lead them to her Aunts. Opening the window, she sat on the edge waiting for her new friends. She didn't even hear them until they landed on the balcony. Ninjas, remember? She'd have to get used to that.
Donnie walked up to where she sat, concern in his red-brown eyes. "Are you going to be alright?"
April shrugged and smirked. "I guess. My Aunt says I can stay here for as long as I want." Her expression darkened, fists balled up. "I'll be a lot better once I track down the creeps that took my dad."
"Won't the police help?" Leo asked.
"Funny thing," April responded with a scoff. "When you tell them your dad was kidnapped by alien brains in robot bodies, they don't take you all that seriously."
Mikey rolled his blue eyes, remembering how his brothers didn't believe him about the alien brains either. "I hear that."
"April, I promise you that we will not rest until we find him," Donnie said.
"We won't?" Raphael asked, half sarcasm, half serious.
Leo glared and nudged him. "No, we won't."
April was touched. She was thankful that she wouldn't be alone on this mission. But she had just met these guys, how could she ask them to also risk their lives just so her life could return to a decent form of normalcy?
"Thank you. But it's not your fight."
Donnie put his hand on top of hers. Surprisingly, it was warm and soft. Just like his voice. "Yes, it is."
She couldn't help but smile at him, grateful for his kindness and heart. He returned the smile, a bit embarrassed by the contact and followed his brothers as they headed towards the rooftops once more. They shared one more wave before the turtle vanished into the night.
A few days had passed and April was still determined as ever to find her dad. She figured that those creeps could be hiding anywhere in the city, so she set up a message board on different websites for people to list unusual sightings around New York. She also spent long nights researching various labs, scientists and companies to try and find a lead for this whole thing, but no luck so far. April figured she needed some air to clear her mind and opened her window, only to find Donnie standing before her, just as he was going to knock. Both of them yelled and fell back in surprise.
"Geez, Donnie! Way to give me a heart attack!"
"That would make two of us," the young ninja replied, still on the floor and a hand on his plastron.
April helped him to his feet, closing her window behind her. "What are you doing here? Everything okay?"
"Well, after some consistent begging and reasoning, we've convinced Master Splinter to let you into the lair! In fact, he'd like to meet you personally."
"Your Sensei wants to meet me?" April repeated, confused by mysterious invite.
Donnie smiled. "Yep! If we're going to work together to get your dad back and stop those alien robots, it's only fair that you know where we are in case you ever need us." He held out his hand. "You ready?"
"Sounds awesome!" She quickly grabbed his hand and held tightly as he helped her towards the roof.
Once in the sewers, the duo walked quietly with Donnie leading the way. Their footsteps echoed in the tunnels with the occasional drip of water and scampering of rats following after.
April kept glancing at Donnie. He seemed focused as he kept his eyes forward leading her to their home. She wondered what this Master Splinter was like. From what she knew, he had a love for the renaissance as given by the turtles' names, he had to have taught them how to be ninja, and he wasn't trusting of the outside world, specifically humans. Fantastic. Why would April be any different? She looked at Donnie again, his calm expression allowing her to relax a bit. If he wasn't worried, she didn't have a reason to be either.
Donatello, however, was not as calm as his outer self disguised him to be. Inside he was a nervous wreck, and for all the silly reasons. Here he was alone in the sewers with April of all people! What should he say to her? They've been silent for about 5 minutes now. He cursed himself for not having the social skills to strike up a conversation with her. He made a mental note to fix that later. And hopefully, if she came by the lair more often, he could find more ways to hang out with her.
"So, what's Master Splinter like?" April wondered. Hoping that more knowledge of him would make her less nervous.
"Huh? Oh, Splinter? He's great! Taught us everything we know. He raised and took care of us ever since we were just hatchlings." The teenager spoke fondly of his father.
"So you guys weren't always...?"
"Giant, walking, talking turtles? No. We were once just four regular pet turtles."
April nodded, still not understanding how a small baby turtle that could fit in the palm of her hand grow up to be a 6 foot tall ninja. "What happened to you all?"
"Well," Donnie began. "As Splinter always told us, he ran into a strange man on the street and decided to follow him. He was spotted and while trying to protect himself and us, some green ooze got spilled onto us and transformed us into what we are today."
"Oh man," April replied. "And you've been down here all this time, right under people's feet and they don't even know."
"And we'd like to keep it that way," he reminded her. "A ninja's greatest weapon is the shadows, and as long as we aren't spotted by too many people, we'll be safe."
Finally they made it to the hideout - An abandoned subway station. It was surprisingly cleaner and a bit fancier than the rest of the sewers. April's eyes scanned the area, amazed at it all. Various arcade machines that Donatello had fixed up so he and his brothers could play, a TV in the main area, a tire swing above a small pool of water. It was...
"Incredible," April breathed. She could definitely hang out here from time to time.
"Yo, April!" A familiar, cheerful voice called out to her. Mikey pounced his way to where their new friend stood. "Welcome to our crib!" he introduced in a cool tone.
She laughed. "Thanks, Mikey." She noticed Raph working out on a punching bag and Leo sitting near the TV watching Space Heroes. "I'm actually here to meet Master Splinter. Donnie said he wanted to see me."
"Dojo's right over there," Raphael said between punches and gestured towards the green folding partitions.
The teenager smiled nervously. "Any words of wisdom before I go in?"
"Just act chill!" Mikey yelled.
"Remember to bow," Leo advised.
"Don't do anything Mikey would do," Raph joked and Mikey stuck out his tongue.
Donnie put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just be yourself. You'll be fine."
She patted his hand and smiled, facing the dojo. Here goes nothing.
The tree was the first thing that caught her attention. It stood near the center of the dojo, engulfed by the light that peaked between the skylight grate. April stared at the plant in awe. "Beautiful."
"Yes, it is," a voice answered.
Turning around, April finally came face to face with the turtle's master. She was frozen in place as he towered over her. Pink nose, whiskers, bushy eyebrows and fur. Their master was a giant rat. Most people would've screamed and ran by now, but not her. Of course, she was friends with four mutant turtles and what she expected to see was another giant, mutant turtle, so she had the right to be a bit confused. But something told the girl that this particular rat meant no harm, that same feeling she seemed to get when she focused on something. His eyes had a warm presence to him and although he was an animal, there was a humanistic atmosphere about him.
Remembering Leo's advice and wanting to show respect to her friends' mentor and father, she straightened her posture and bowed. "Master Splinter."
Splinter returned the bow. "You must be April O'Neil. An honor to finally meet you."
"The honor is mine, really," she said.
The mutant led her to the center of the dojo where he had set up a small table and prepared some tea.
"Please sit," Splinter gestured. He poured April a cup, to which she thanked him for. "My sons speak very fondly of you. It seems that your paths intertwined when they had their first journey to the surface."
April blew the steam that rose from her cup. "Yes, Sir. They were trying to stop the men that kidnapped my father and I. My Dad is still out there, but I would've been captured too if it wasn't for your sons."
Splinter bowed his head. "My apologies about your father, April. It would seem you all have a common enemy now."
"Sounds about right," April grumbled. "I'm doing all I can to try and track down these guys! I just...I want my Dad back."
"And you will get him back," Splinter reassured. "In time you will. But for now have patience."
The girl nodded. "I will, Master Splinter."
The Sensei took a sip of his tea and cleared his throat. "Now, aside from the issue concerning your father and these new enemies you have discovered, I am willing to answer any questions you have, to the extent of my knowledge."
April took a moment to think. What other questions did she have besides the whereabouts of her dad and who these robot aliens were? She had to admit, she was fascinated by the existence of mutants, even the wilder looking ones such as Snakeweed. And of course she wanted to know more about the turtles. Not wanting to dive into something too personal for the old master, she decided on something simple.
"Was it difficult raising four sons on your own?"
The rat's ears perked up, surprised by the question. He stroked his beard in thought. "It was quite the challenge, yes. And living underground did not make it easier. But like ninja, we have learned to adapt to our environment and use it to our advantage, whatever that may be."
"That's amazing!" The teenager beamed. "I didn't know that being a ninja isn't just about kicking butt."
Splinter chuckled. "That is what Michelangelo said when he was a child."
Speaking of Mikey, sounds of clutter and arguing could be heard from the living room. Raph was yelling about something that Mikey did, Mikey was protesting that whatever he did wasn't his fault, and Leo was telling them to keep it down as he was trying to watch Space Heroes. Splinter sighed and knew that was his cue to go see what all the commotion was about.
April stood up as Splinter set down his cup of tea in annoyance. Before the two could exit the dojo, he lay a hand on April's shoulder.
"I trust that our secret will be safe with you, My Child."
April smiled. "Absolutely."
The mutant master returned the smile, then turned towards the entrance of the dojo. "Now, how about I give you an example of how I was able to control four sons on my own?"
A little bit messy, in my opinion. I wanted to get April antiquated with the turtles and Splinter as quickly as I could. Hopefully, the following chapters will be more structured.