Go...
Gary had taken Todd and much of their luggage inside. He also turned on a few lights as he went upstairs. Steve invited the other four into the house. They walked into a small room that looked more like a hallway. The front half was the foyer to the front door and to one side was a curved stairway. The place held a comfortable glow from the polished maple wood on the floors, walls and trim.
Mike forgot where he was and took off his mittens. Just a minute later did Steve get a glimpse of his green hands. She didn't think they would be the glove type, but it did give her an idea.
Then Mike promptly stuck his hands in his coat pocket.
"I'll show you the room upstairs anyway, just so you can put your stuff down." Steve started up the stairs. "I'll invite you for supper too."
In the wide but short hallway, Steve pointed out the four rooms, starting with the one on the left. "This is Todd's room, over there is our room, across from it is the bathroom. Next to the bathroom here is the den. This is where I'd letcha stay, if you want." she told them, opening the door. "It's also a guest room when we need one."
"Thanks again, Mrs. Edgley. But really," Leo said, putting his bag on one of the couches in the room.
"And this couch, it's a hide-away." She pointed to the same couch. "Take off the cushions, and pull the mattress out." She also showed them where she kept the extra blankets.
"I just don't feel right about us staying here like bums. Take this, as a payment," Leo offered her some of their money.
"No, that's--"
Leo was not going to take no from her. "Take it, it'll make all of us feel better."
"Oh um, what time is it... uh..." Don asked her in an off-handed way. He wasn't sure if they were in a different time zone now. Steve pointed to the grandfather clock at the end of the hallway. He promptly left the room to reset his watch.
"You all can call me Steve. I don't mind." She decided to spring the question that's been bothering her since the trip. "I've been wondering, do you guys also wear turtle costumes?" Steve saw a couple of them freeze.
"W-what did you ask?" Leo faced her.
"As a group back in New York, do you wear turtle costumes, or something, as a gimmick?" Steve repeated, more descriptive. She swept some of her straight hair behind an ear.
"How did'ja guess that?" Raph walked up to her.
"From a newspaper article last fall, complete with a picture." Steve explained, pacing around the room. "It was about the show you put on in a night club, while trying to stop a criminal freak. You did something called 'Ninja Rap' with that Vanilla Ice guy."
Leo looked over to Raph and Mike and sighed. Splinter was right. That occurrence was going to haunt them for the rest of their lives. But they had to do something...they didn't want the people to think they really were a bunch of mutants trying to kill each other.
Don returned. He sensed uneasiness in the room now. "Did I miss something?" he whispered to Mike.
"She's getting hot, firey hot." Mike blew at his bangs. And so am I.
Don gave him a confused look.
"She's seen the newspaper article about us in that night club, remember that one?" Mike lowered his voice.
"No copulatin' excrement--"
"Personally, I think we should tell her-- I mean, if we want to get anywhere here. I don't care what Leo says, I don't wanna sleep in a barn. And these, mas--" he noticed Steve and Leo looking in their direction.
Steve suddenly felt guilty for asking them in such an intruding way. "Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't know this was confidential," she turned to leave.
"Uh...wait, wait-" Mike called to her.
She turned around at the stairway.
Mike glanced at Leo. Leo? He seemed to still be dumbstruck about something. "Do you really want to know the whole story?" Mike asked.
Her eyes seemed to be stuck on Mike's reptilian hands, studying the wrinkles of the leathery green skin.
Don looked at her and took in a deep breath, "We don't wear costumes, we really are turtles."
"So you're aliens, or something?" Steve interrupted.
"No, mutated turtles," Raph broke in. "Y'know all that shit you humans throw down the drains and into the sewers? That's where we came from. We were once normal pet-shop turtles before we got into the crap."
Don really didn't like how Raph said that. It wasn't all true. "Actually, it was some kinda alienated radioactive toxin produced a couple decades ago by TGRI, Techno Geological Research Institute, a by-product of theirs that had gotten into the sewers. As luck had it, we were at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Mutated turtles?" she wondered, "You don't look like a turtle, or is it--"
On cue, Mike peeled off the latex mask from his face to reveal his true self.
"We're in disguise, so we could get around without attracting attention." Don pulled off his gloves. At least we weren' t supposed to.
"Yeah, I've got the shell to prove it," Mike lifted up the front of his hockey jersey to show the brown plastron underneath.
"Mikey! Just strip tease for the lady," Raph was shocked.
"Oh my word," Steve sat down on the couch. She stared at Mike as he wiped the sweat off his terrapin face. As soon as she realized how much she was staring, Steve only looked at them a glance at a time. "This is so...strange."
Todd came running into the room, happy to find Steve. When he saw Mike, he thought it was a funny mask he was wearing. But how come his mommy didn't look amused. "What wrong mommy?"
Gary came up the stairs and walked by the room. A few seconds later he was in the doorway. "What's the problem?" he had sensed an uneasy atmosphere from them.
"They, they are real turtles, mutant turtles." Steve got up and walked to Gary.
"Weally?" Todd's eyes lit up. It was something funny to him.
"The one and only!" Mike had to break the tension before it broke him.
Gary remained speechless as he looked at Mike. Then Steve called Todd and left the room with him. "How, how could this be? I have never seen anything like this," he sputtered out the words.
"Um, Don, you're good at explaining this." Mike looked back at his brother.
Raph walked to the back of the room, "We came from pollution, what more's there to say."
"I'm a theriogenetist," Gary squinted his eyes in thought, "But you are something I have not witnessed before. There are theories and myths of such...mutations, like the Island of Dr. Moreau, but, this...you?" he stepped closer to Mike, to inspect his face.
He was close enough for Mike to see the green in Gary's pupils. "Hey, look, I'm not on display." He stepped back, almost to hide behind Don.
"Incidentally, we weren't a special genetic experiment created to prove something, nor the offspring of a demented scientist who's gone astray." Don looked down to the floor and rubbed his hands together. "We're...we're just a freak accident. Y'see, a factory in New York City, possibly one that specialized in genetics, disposed of some of their radioactive by-products in the sewers. Coincidentally, this coagulated toxin was where we fell into the sewers, when we were normal box turtles. This substance inverted our genetic code and caused us to mutate, kinda like evolving physically and mentally."
"Amazing," Gary nodded.
"Yeah, it's amazin' Don talks like that," Mike whispered to Leo and Raph.
"That happened 16 years ago," Don finished.
"Are you still evolving? Does the toxins affect you?"
"Not really. It's more like a mutation, since the definition of the word evolve doesn't quite fit what happened to us. We mutated completely a few weeks after exposure. But, I imagine the stuff exists in our blood and tissues now."
"Now you can walk upright, talk, express emotions, you're clearly sentient..." Gary expressed. "I imagine you move much quicker now that your appendages are longer. Are you warm-blooded too?"
Don crossed his arms. "We are now," his voice was of a matter-of-fact tone.
"But, why do your physical attributes look crossed with homosapien genes." Gary walked a few steps more into the room. "You have teeth now, and your appendages and vocal chords posses qualities of a human."
"I dunno. I still wonder about that myself," Don sighed. "But I think all species go down roughly the same evolutionary path--every species is just at a different point."
"So how were you educated?"
"We watch a lot of TV." Mike shrugged.
I bet you'll ask how we figured out what a TV was, next. Don noticed Raph's disgruntled expression.
"Mr. Edgley, look at it this way," Raph stepped up to him, "Shit happens, to me, to you, to everyone...and we don't know why. There're questions out there without answers." Raph pointed to himself and looked at his brothers. "We are one of them. So just take it easy and live wit it." He crossed his arms and glared at Gary.
Gary turned his focus to the others and nodded. "So you won't be needing any special treatment then?" he checked.
They nodded 'no'.
"Well, I guess I'll be leaving you to your...means now." he left the room.
"Thanks for everything!" Don called out.
"I guess we're getting better at it with time." Mike sighed, peering out one of the two dark windows.
"A theriogenetist, damn." Don crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Show-off." Mike snickered to him.
"What is that anyway?" Leo asked.
"A scientist, or a doctor, who specializes in genetics, and theorizes ideas for genetic advances." Don explained.
"Damn," Raph finally agreed.
"Man, I don't know what I'm going to do without you, Websta-tello." Mike patted Don on the shoulder.
Don sighed and took his mask off. He put it down on his backpack and left the room. "But my brain's fried," he rubbed the sweat off his brow and leaned on the banister of the stairway. He heard Mike smirk from his remark. Then there came a pattering up the steps.
It was Todd coming up, but he didn't go far when he saw Don.
Don grinned nervously at him and waved.
Todd, on the other hand, turned tail. "Mommy, mommy! Dare still there!"
"Talk about first impressions!" Mike stood by the doorway, laughing from the incident.
"Very funny," Don shoved him aside to get through the door. He figured Mike was being that way to shake the nerves that built up.
Mike decided to go downstairs and see how Steve was. He spotted her in the kitchen to right of the stairway.
Todd was at the table, coloring in a coloring book. Steve apparently explained to him who the four were in more detail.
"You turtle? Mommy said you were." Todd questioned Mike.
"Uh, yeah, totally." he stood at the doorway.
"Weally?" Todd then asked, still coloring. "Y'don't muv sluwo."
Mike nodded, then walked over to Steve so he wouldn't end up being quizzed. "So like um, what's cookin'?" he asked peering over her shoulder.
She was startled by his presence. "Uh, pea soup, my homemade kind." Steve opened the third Mason jar out of the trio. "This is sort of a impromptu fair I do for large groups. Um, you do eat human food?" Steve asked, slightly aware of their position. Then she remembered what they ate at the diner, and wished she hadn't asked the question.
Mike stood back and glared at her in a mocking way. "If you like, think that we eat like turtles, we're going to hafta sit down and have a talk." Mikey shaked a finger at her. He smiled once, then went over to answer Todd.
"Yes, of course." Steve confirmed, pouring the jar into a pot on the gas stove. She glanced at him talking to Todd, and realized she forgot his name. All she could remember now was that he was the one who showed her his shell.
"Forgive me, but what's your name again?" Steve asked him.
"Michaelangelo...er, Mike," he answered, turning around.
"Michelangelo? Is that your real name?" She repeated with a grin. "Who, how did you get that name?"
Mike sighed, "That's a long story too,"
Don walked into the kitchen, looking for Mike.
"And you're, um..." she then tried.
"Don."
"Hey, tell her your real name, Donny," Mike poked him in the arm.
"What?"
"Yeah."
He looked at Steve square in the eyes and cleared his throat, "Donatello."
"That's cute," Steve said, "after the Reconaissance artists."
"Um, that would be 'Renaissance' artists," Don corrected.
"Whatever."
Don stepped back out to the hallway. "We're going outside to study the perimeters of this place," he asked Steve. "Is the trainer still here? Y'know," he swept his hand over his green head.
"No, he goes home at night." Steve smiled. "But, if you want to get anywhere here, we might need to tell him about you four."
Don nodded thoughtfully.
"Like, shell it," Mikey anxiously replied, heading for the back door. He made note of the barn they saw when they left the garage earlier. "How about checkin' out this barn first?" The big, old barn out front didn't look occupied by animals.
Don turned right from the deck with out hesitating.
"If it's open."
"When are they closed?"
The barn was unlocked and the two entered, after siding open the tall, wooden door.
"There shall be light!" Don punned, after finding the light switch.
The big, round, flood lights on the rafters above slowly generated. A spacious indoor arena became visible to the right. There was a row of varnished, oak stalls to the left, running the length of the barn. The first room to the left looked like an office. Next to it, was was a tackroom. The walls near the office were adorned with dusty ribbons and a few framed pictures of racehorses. The arena itself looking like a good one, with a sandy footing and colorful fringed banners hanging from the rafters.
"I think I like it." Mike walked to the stall after the office and tackroom. A card on the stall door said "Delilah". He continued down the stalls and read the names out loud as he looked at the horses.
"And Over and Out...hey, Over an' Out! What's happenin', girl?" Mike stopped to look at the black filly for a minute. "Who's your neighbor...Total Eclypse, spelled with a 'y'. And, Jontondo...hmm. Then Tally Ho...doesn't look like you race a lot. And last but not least...Sundanza. Hey, you're a stallion!" he grinned. Mike slid down to the next stall and found it only had some bales of hay in it.
"Thanks for the introductions, Mikey." Don walked into the arena.
"Man, I thought our names were long." Mike walked back toward the office. He stopped to look at the pictures by the office. The wall held some old pictures of the stallion, Sundanza.
"Admit it, you're getting to like horses too." Mike decidedly told Don.
"Well, we're animals an' they're animals, so it's a mutual thing." Don looked up at the rafters and studied the construction of the barn. He was making note of the structures, to see how a criminal, or a Foot soldier, could sneak in and hide. "I guess one reason why I don't like animals, is 'cause they're so unreliable. Take a computer for example, they'll do what I tell 'em to. They don't have a mind of their own, unless they have a malfunction or a virus. But that's even controllable. Animals...you have to feed 'em and clean 'em, and they still have their own ideas about you."
"Hmm, that's why I like animals," Mike thought out loud. "Speaking of which, I hope Splinter's taking care of Klunk..."
Don opened the aisle door by the hay stall, "Looks like there's more to see around here..." There were a couple more stall barns behind this one. He also wanted to see what the barn up front was all about.
Rather numb from the cold rain, the two walked into the back door of the house. In the living room glowed a warm fire from the fireplace. Mike decided to sit by it to warm up. Gary was now sitting in front of a computer at the other end of the room. He did not turn from it when he greeted Mike.
Don continued upstairs. He didn't really want to talk to Gary at the moment.
"Have fun in the rain?" Raph bluntly asked Don, in the midst of finding a good station on Mike's radio.
"Yea, they have 4 barns and 9 mares, 4 yearlings, and a stallion," Don responded tactfully. "It was advantageous, but she said they had twenty horses. I only counted 15...must be out in the pastures."
Leo pulled his katana blades and leather belt from his duffel bag. "Heads up, Raph." Leo tossed his sai to him. "Got 'em back from Splinter."
Raph caught them, "No shit!" I missed these guys, he inspected the shine of the metal before setting the sai next to his bag.
Don jumped when he heard Steve knock on the door.
The three settled down at the table. Gary and Steve served the soup to everyone, then said grace. They ate in silence for awhile. Steve checked on Todd, then looked across the table to Gary. He and Raph exchanged uneasy looks. The other three at the end of the table kept to themselves.
Gary decided to break the silence with a question directed to anyone. "May I ask where you're from? The likes of you seem as if you jumped from a comic book."
A few seconds passed before Mike spoke. "New York City, as before."
The table fell silent again for another minute, before Steve turned to Mike, who sat next to her. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but...can I touch you?"
Mike shrugged, and looked past her glasses into her brown eyes. He gave her a look that said okay and pulled his left sleeve up.
Raph put a hand on his brow, laughing to himself. "Can I touch you?" he repeated in disbelief.
Steve felt warmth come from Mike's arm when she placed her hand on it. Then she slid her other hand under his, looking at it as if he got a manicure. The muscles in Mike's arm grew tense, as his instincts kicked in. He wanted to pull his hand away; it seemed too damn intimate to him.
She continued to study his hand, running a couple fingers across the wrinkles on his knuckles. The skin felt soft like a snake's skin. But, it had a tough, leathery texture typical of turtles. Steve looked up at Mike. His facial expression told her how uncomfortable he was. She sat back and folded her hands on her lap. "Like your nails," she smiled modestly.
"Yeah, I do pay close attention to those, heh," Mike buffed his nails on his jersey and inspected him.
They all were laughing now, mainly to release the tension that built up again.
"I noticed you don't have much of a smell," Gary mentioned, while they were on the topic, "Like, well, the turtles kept as pets."
"That's 'cause we take showers." Raph promptly replied.
Don pushed his soup bowl aside and sat up. "But really, those turtles are kept in aquariums that aren't cleaned out often," he explained to Gary and Steve. "Do realize they're swimming in water with their excrement. The matter sticks to the shell and the skin, making them smell worst."
Steve couldn't resist asking. "Do you sweat?"
"Do horses sweat?" Mike responded.
"Yeah, you humans have a smell to us, like dogs have a smell, and fish have a smel--ahh."
Leo kicked Don's shin under the table. That last remark was just unnecessary.
They remained silent for awhile again. Only Todd was heard as he played with his spoon.
"This is why I didn't want to come inside the house," Leo finally spoke, "I was afraid all this would happen." He gave a sympathetic look to Steve, then Gary.
"It was a risk we had to take," Raph told Leo. "But if..." he looked across the table to Mike, then back on Leo.
"Hey!" Mike protested.
"You were the one to 'show an' tell'."
"Knock it off!" Leo told the two. He focused his attention back to Gary and Steve. "It's in our training to be secretive, not because of ninjutsu, but because of Master Splinter's fear of what humans would do to us...especially if we meet the wrong kind."
"Ninjutsu." Gary repeated.
"Who's Master Splinter?" Steve wondered.
Leo put his hands on his face. They slid down from it as he sighed. "All I ask for is some privacy."
Steve looked at Gary, then reassured Leo, "Don't worry, you're secret's safe here. We won't exploit you. But, it's just that we're so excited to see something like you."
"Well, y'see, Master Splinter trained us to be ninja." Mike told Steve.
"Ninja?" Todd repeated, "Ninja, you are?"
"He's a rat from Japan that got into the same stuff we did." Mike continued.
"And he mutated, evolved like you did." Steve checked.
Leo nodded. "He trained us to go after the head of a ninja clan that killed his owner."
"Stupid pet tricks..." Mike grinned only a moment. "But his Foot clan is still around. We think they're takin' the horses."
Leo sat up. "That's the real reason we're pursuing this situation. If we didn't think the Foot was involved, we wouldn't be here." He stood up and took his bowl to the sink. Raph did the same.
Steve nodded. Gary's eyes met hers as they tried to accept this.
Don sighed and looked at Gary. Maybe he still could be a help to them. "You mentioned y'were a theriogenetist. So, are you a doctor in that field?"
Gary nodded yes. "I work at a lab in Utica." he also got up and took his and Steve's bowls to the kitchen counter.
"What do you work with?"
"A variety of livestock, for now." He sat back down.
"Horses?"
"Yes, we do some with them," Gary cleared his throat. Just the understanding of science this turtle had surprised him.
"What kind of things do you do?"
"We're looking at the possibilities of embryo transfer for the equine, better forms of artificial insemination, and the like."
"Do you do that here at this farm?" Don felt like he might be on something. These were ways to get good genes from good animals, and use them efficiently. But more importantly, he wanted to make sure Gary would not to turn them in for research.
"No," Gary looked over to Steve for a moment. "The Jockey Club has strict breeding guidelines for Thoroughbreds. They only allow natural means of breeding."
"Why?"
"Excuse me, but are you Mike?" Gary interrupted.
"Um, no, I'm Don." he pointed to his brother, "He's Mike."
"The Jockey Club prefers strong standards in tradition in the racing field. I guess they figure if it works why fix it." Steve replied.
Don sat back in thought. We should be safe from him. He noticed Mike gave him a curious look, one that wanted to know what he was up to now. Don got up and left the table with his bowl. "Here, I'll take that," he took Mike's bowl too. Then he offered to help Steve do the dishes.
Fine, don't tell me, Donny. Mike went to the living room to see what kind of shows were on TV. Sitting down on the long sofa on the right of the room, he couldn't help thinking how the place looked as if came out of a 'Country Living' magazine.
He wasn't alone for long. Todd eagerly joined him on the sofa. "Any ideas on what to watch, little guy?" Mike asked Todd as he flipped the channels with the remote. It didn't take him long to realize they didn't have cable. Todd just shrugged, trying to watch the three second pauses. Gary suggested there was a good movie on one channel.
He tuned to it and found it dull. Mike sat back into the sofa, and flipped through a horseracing magazine that was on the table in front of him.
"What's up?" Don asked, wiping his hands on his pants.
"That's a good question." Mikey mumbled, putting down the magazine.
Todd had his end of the couch claimed, sound asleep as he sucked on his thumb. "But I think he's got the answer for the intensity scale." Mike pointed to him.
It didn't take Don long to notice Gary's computer at the end of the room. He asked Gary about it, just to start some kind of conversation.
Mike left to go upstairs. He was barely in the doorway when Raph tossed him a beer. He had to reach to catch it.
"Uh-oh, we're startin' to slip." Raph gave Mike a concerned look.
"Like, where'd you get this?" Mike turned a glance.
"Stashed a six-pack," Raph falsely smiled. He had his own reasons. Being in the same room with Mike was one of them. "And why'd you bring this?" he pointed to Mike's radio.
Mike shrugged as he cracked open the beer. "Never know when it'll come in handy,"
"What's Don doin'?"
"Talkin' computers," Mike belched. "He noticed Gary had one."
Raph belched even louder. "As soon as he gets up here, I think we gotta talk about tomorrow. What's the plan gonna be?" he looked over to Leo.
"Well, I imagine Steve's got some work planned for us. After that, we'll get to business," Leo explained.
"But what?" Raph pushed his point. "You know how I don't like waiting."
The latter of the house had somewhat settled down. In respect, the four kept to themselves by reading or sleeping. After some time, Mike's patience with the silence finally snapped. "Man, I can't stand it! I need some music."
"Shhhh!"
"Just keep it below one," Leo sat up from the bed.
"Yes!" Mikey triumphed, going over to the duffel bag to get a tape. As soon as it began, Mike realized he accidentally turned the volume up instead of turning it down. The sudden burst of Green Day caused literal deafness for a split-second.
"Damn, Mike!" Raph threw a pillow at him.
"Uh...sorry,"
"Think I'm going to be deaf for the rest of my life." Don picked up the book he was reading.
Mike was still awake despite the fact it was the middle of the night. He laid there on his stomach, peering out the window into the rainy night. The light that illuminated the front of the big barn showed through the window. Despite the soft rain or his drowsiness, he couldn't go to sleep. That seemed strange considering how much he slept before. But it wasn't all from excitement either. He had started coughing and it wouldn't go away. Then he was stuck sleeping on a hard floor. Don seemed to be snoring louder than usual.
Miraculously, Don stopped for a blessed long time. But then he whispered, "Still awake, Mikey?"
"Bingo," Mike whispered back. "I just can't sleep."
"Why don't you get a drink of water, for that cough?" he quietly asked.
"Uh, it tastes funny." Mike whispered in disgust.
"Well," Don punned. They promptly gave that one a laugh.
"Have you noticed how everything seems to be fitting in place lately?" Don sighed.
Mike rolled on his side. "Uh yea, like, let the Force be with us."
"But...who's Force? Splinter's? Or--"
"Excuse me, but how about waitin' till mornin' t' get fuckin' philosophical?" Raph complained from beneath his covers.
"Awl, and it was just gettin' deep." Mike fluffed his pillow before lying back down on his stomach.
Only a moment later they were bombarded with an outburst from Todd from across the hall. After a minute or so of enduring the boy's wails, it seemed that his parents where not going to check on him.
"Okay!" Raph said out loud. "When are they gonna--"
"How about you?" Mike teased him.
"Well, okay, maybe they're those kind that don't come running for every little thing." Don reasoned. He looked over to Leo, who was also awake.
The four listened to the scared wailing a second more in hopes of it ceasing.
"O-okay. I'm goin' to see what's his problem." Mike whispered as he crawled from his blankets.
After crossing the dark hall, he slowly opened Todd's door. Todd hid under his bed-covers, badly frightened still. Mike hoped this problem wasn't because of the four of them here.
"Uh, it's me, Mikey," he began, kneeling down beside the bed. "I won't hurt you...what's the matter?"
"A m-monster...ovah dere!" Todd stammered, pointing out from beneath his covers.
Mike turned to see a dark corner with a reflection from the rain-streaked window. "Monsters, huh?" he tried to reassure the boy. "I had those too, when I was little."
Todd pulled the blanket off his head and looked to Mike. Tears made streams down the boy's cheeks. His sandy hair also stood up from the static created from the blanket. That almost had a melting effect on the turtle.
Mike turned back around again to study the eerie shape, finally figuring out what it really was. He then thought of something. "Y'know, someone who cared for me said that monsters only like to scare you. They don't like to get you. Know why? The monster wouldn't have anyone else to pick on if he gets ya." Mike smiled, trying to explain it in a funny way. "And they really hate courage and love. Like, show him how brave you are by not freakin'. Then try to be nice to him. I betcha wouldn't find that monster around long!"
Todd continued to look at Mike. He didn't seem to be as scared anymore. "Is it okay if I pick you up?"
Todd shrugged.
The turtle picked him up, to prove his point with the 'corner monster', and walked over to the dark corner. "How old are ya? Five?" Mike whispered.
Todd rested his head on Mike's shoulder.
Mike made some conversation for him anyway. "You're really big to him. See, he's really little,"
He looked down to the boy holding onto the top of his plastron. Todd paid more attention to his shell, than he did his words. After the boy relaxed more in Mike's arms, he started to trace his finger along the top and front of the turtle's plastron. Todd looked up at him, smiling slightly. Mike also realized Steve stood in the doorway now. The turtle faced her with Todd in his arms and whispered, "I think he's okay now."
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