Next Day
The three remaining turtles stood back in the shadows of the park during the afternoon, watching the kids on the obstical course. If any of them knew where Mike was they weren't around about it. Raphael held onto one of Mike's knee pads they had found kicked to the outer skirts of the park, his blood boiling again. They'd located the boy Mike thought was the air element. He was talented. Leonardo though he seemed familiar. Raph wanted to see if he had the same talents if they threw him off a bridge.
"Wanna check out the observatory again?" Don whispered. Leonardo furrowed his brow.
"…Yeah. One last time." He pulled his hat down farther.
"I'll stay here." Raphael muttered. I'm gunna follow this brat home.
"Alright, just be careful. Home by sundown, remember?"
"Yeah yeah." Raph waved him off. Leo and Don started back down the path into the darker scapes of the park. Raphael hunkered down in the shadows and glared at the kids like a homely old man.
Michelangelo groaned, bringing his hand to his head. He squinted his eyes, trying to take in light. OOOOOOOoooooooooooow. He closed them again. The light in the room was way too much. He opened his eyes slowly, letting his eyes adjust. Woah, hey. He was lying on a crappy couch, it was making him feel like home. He pushed on the cushion as he looked about.
It was a large room, make shift furniture made of milk crates, cement blocks, and other junk yard foder. Kinda like a place a less orderly Donatello would create. Everything was draped in white cloths. Hundreds of pretty things hung in front of the windows; crystals, broken old fashioned watches, brass whistles, wind chimes, little charms hanging from shiny chains. Bottles filled with colored liquid were set along the window sills to collect light. Mike looked himself over. He was bandaged to kingdom come. Even where he wasn't scraped someone made sure he would heal well.
The pads and bandana were on a table on the other side of the room with his nunchucks. His cracked helmet was sat on the folded coat on the floor nearby. The skateboard was leaned up against the table, cracked across the middle, one of the wheels missing.
What the? White light streamed into the room through the opaque windows. He looked around. There was another room without a door that led to what apeared to be a kitchen. A pretty girl stood in the kitchen. She wore a long white skirt, and shirt, obviously hand made. She had long very light blond hair that reached down to the small of her back. Light green beads hung off her hip like a belt. Mike sat up, the couch groaned. The girl turned and came into the doorway.
"Hello there. How are you feeling?" She asked. He rubbed his head, looking at her entrancedly.
"Head hurts." His voice broke. She smiled and went back into the kitchen. He continued to rub his head as he waited for some response. She returned with some watery bags of ice and knelt by the couch.
"Here." She put the bag on his head.
"Thanks." He watched her still. She seemed nice enough. No screaming or bugged out eyes. Then again, she had been looking at him probably since she brought him here. She'd already seen how he drooled in his sleep and snored like a flock of passing geese. Oh, damn it.
"You had quite a fall."
"Yeah." He laughed nervously. "Ne-needs some practice." She smiled. "…uh…I,ya …" She cocked her head. "Um…what's yer name?" He put his hand over the bag to keep it in place. She took her hand back.
"My name's Erika. This is my home."
"Oh." He continued to look at her. I didn't drool all over your couch did I?
"Can I get you something to eat?" Oh god yes.
"Uh…sure." She smiled and went back to the kitchen.
"I hope you like peanut butter. It's all I have."
"Oh no, that's cool." He pulled himself onto his feet. Oh, man I hurt. "Uh…is it alright if I come in?" He asked tentatively.
"What? Oh, sure." She laughed. "Come on in." He went into the kitchen. Which was basically all plywood shelves, a minifridge wrapped in wet cloths, and a basin of water. There were more splinters around the place then there was food. Almost all canned, a few boxes of crackers. The corner by the fridge was sectioned off from the rest of the shelving. There was a quarter loaf of bread, a jar of honey, a jar of peanut butter, a can of strawberry pie filling that had been capped off, a discarded half loaf of italian bread, and several baskets of old halloween candy. There were two pots that hung from the wall, and a mixed matched set of silver wear that had been cleaned and scrubbed till they shone. Erika took out the bread, peanut butter and the knife and started making a sandwhich. He felt terrible for taking this girls food. By the looks of her, she needed it more than he did. He was formulating how he could turn her down when she spoke. "Um…I don't really mean to be rude. But… I was wondering why you're…" She looked over at him.
"Oh, a turtle?!" She smiled and nodded. "Oh, well actually it's a pretty interesting story." She turned back to making the sandwhich. "You see, 17 years ago we were in this goop. Oh wait…ok, ok…first we we're these pet shop turtles, you see. …And this kid dropped us in a sewer, he was walking home. And then; when I say 'we' I mean me and my brothers. Anyway, and then we were crawling around in this goop. But it was really a mutagen! …So then master Splinter found us. He was a rat, …so he took us all to this place he was staying at in the sewers, but he got some of the goop on him too! So we all started mutating and stuff. And we got really smart, well, …except for Raph. …So we were all mutating and getting big and stuff.
Master Splinter had been the pet of this major ninja master, but he was killed by this bad guy who wanted his girlfriend, and then- oh wait…where was I…oh yeah! So Master Splinter started teaching us to be ninjas. So we grew up in this place in the sewers like an appartment, and then 'Bwwwwwaap!' Here we are!" Erika smiled and handed him the sandwhich. He had stuck in the ninja thing to impress her.
"That's a lovely story. Thank you." He bit into the sandwhich.
"Than' Oo!" He said with his mouth full. She smiled. Mike swallowed. "I actually thought you were some kind of wierdo or something. Takin' me in an' all."
"Something called me to. You seem relatively harmless." She turned back and started putting the things away. Mike raised an eyebrow and started wandering around. He had become oddly at ease here, and felt free enough to bumble about already.
"This is a nice place." He said before stuffing the last of the sandwhich in his mouth.
"Thank you."
"How long have you lived here." He cocked his head, looking at the collection of trinkets hanging in the light. Erika came out of the kitchen, wiping the knife off.
"I don't know. I was in between places for several years. Then I just started coming here more. Mabye…4 years?"
"Cool. Your parents live here too?" He looked around for another couch or bed.
"No, I don't have parents." He turned to her. Damnit you shmuck, why'd you have to say that.
"Oh …sorry." She smiled.
"That's alright." Mike looked around again.
"This place is bitchin'."
"Thank you. It's no sewer. But I call it home." Mike laughed.
"Right. Hey, ya got the time?" She walked up to one of the old hanging watches and retreived it out from behind some crystals.
"It's almost 3."
"3…as in 3 pm?" She nodded. "Eep. I gotta get home." He picked up his coat and broken helmet, stuffing his mask and pads in the folds of the coat. "Leo's gunna have my head on a platter. He stuck his skate board under his arm.
"Leo?"
"My brother."
"Oh. Alright."
"There's also Don. Anyway, thanks for taking me in an' everythin', and the sandwhich!" He grinned. You just had to eat the sandwhich. Erika laughed. "Hey, …um… is it alright if I come and-" He didn't want to say 'check in on'. "You know, hang out here sometime?"
"Oh, sure. I love company. You can come right in." Her eyes lit up. Did she have any friends? "Oh cool." He opened the door. "Thanks again, Erika!"
"Hey wait!" She took a step forward, still holding the knife.
"Yeah?"
"You didn't tell me your name."
"Oh, whoops! M'name's Mike. Michelangelo, Mikey, whatever." She smiled. "Sorry about that." He grinned sheepishly. "Here I am rambling on and you don't even know my name." She laughed, a soft wind blew through the window, making the wind chimes tinkle, the crystals and shiny doo dads to clink against each other faintly.
"Bye Mike."
"Later!" He closed the door jogged off.
Leonardo sloshed his feet through the sludge of his sewers in defeat. Beside him Donatello walked, looking at the ground. They hoped Raphael had found something. Leonardo glanced over at his brother. Don had pocketed some brochures about the observatory and was feeling guilty about it. Leonardo turned back ahead and jammed his hands in his pockets. The pipes above dripped with condensed water. Damn damn damn. Leonardo swore at himself as he opened the door to the lair. "…Mike?!" Don looked up. Mike sat on the couch, stuffing his face with left over chicken and taffy. He looked up quickly and waved, pushing a piece of old taffy into his mouth. Leonardo came in, followed by Don. "Where've you been?! What happened?!" He demanded.
"Oga fump, 'ei 'eai-"
"Swallow." Mike swallowed and pounded his chest with a cough.
"Right. Ok, so I was at the park…"
Leonardo perched again above the skylight of the club pool, looking down into the girls swimming class. The instructor he could identify as 'Ms. Lynn'. She lived five blocks away from the gym with her cat 'Freckles', and by the looks of her date book hadn't had a boyfriend in sometime now. He just needed to talk to her. Not to be her boyfriend or anything.
His ear picked up a sound at the other side of the roof. He disapeared behind an air conditioning duct. 'The Sound' had been the access door to the stairwell opening, very softly. One of the teenagers from the swim class came out from the staircase and looked around suspiciously. She had short black messy hair that spiked slightly. She must've been hawaiin or something. The blue swim suit showed off her well toned legs and slightly *ahem* endowed body. There was a light blue towels wrapped around her hips that kept him from seeing much more. She walked over to where Leonardo had been sitting and looked down into the pool. Leonardo straightened his neck, staying back in the shadow. His heart shuttered almost unoticabley. The girl looked around once more before going back to the stairwell. Leonardo looked out from behind the air duct to see the girl leave. Another shadow shifted back to a straight line from the other side of the building. Leonardo raised an eyebrow as the door closed again.
Michelangelo stood back again in the shadows of the skate park. The sunned pavement burned his feet now since his board had been impounded. Leonardo had ragged on him bad for trying the jump. Don had only grumbled when he asked him to fix the cracked helmet. Raph just laughed and bragged about the hot girl he had talked to. Flash set himself up again for the jump. Mike scuffed his toes against the ground and looked at his feet. This is so boring. Wish I still had my board. He griped. Even watching wasn't fun when he could jiggle back and forth on a pair of wheels. Someone was coming down the path, he hid farther back against the tree. Hey, Erika!
"Erika!" He called. She looked up and smiled. The wind blew the hair off her shoulders gently. He ran down the shadowed path to her.
"Hello, Mike. I didn't know you were here." He stopped in front of her.
"Yeah, just hangin' around." He shrugged play it cool, play it cool.
"Would you like to walk with me?" He looked over his shoulder. Flash was in mid air, his little friends cheering him on like any ol' day. Not like anything exceptional was happening.
"Uh," He turned back to her. "Yeah, sure." She smiled and started walking. "…you come here a lot?"
"I suppose. You seem to." He laughed sheepishly and rubbed his head.
"Yeah, kinda." She smiled. "Hey! Ya wanna hear another story?"
"Sure."
"This one I call 'Don gets spooked by a cat.'" He grinned. Erika stifled a smile, looking straight ahead.
She met a man, …he took her in.
He fed her on the sa-ame bullshit ag'in
'Cause he lied and he lied and he lied and he lied.
He lied like a salesma-an, sellin' flies
So she screamed and she screamed and she screamed and she screamed-
It's a different place but the same old thang!-
It's all I love! It's all I hate!
It's just too much for me-ee to ta-ake
I can't be sure, where it begins! Or if the good life, li-i-es with-i-in
So -man ah-
Raphael smirked. The girl sat on the bar, her back facing him, with a guitar in her lap. He walked down to his regular seat and sat down, turning his head slightly to look at her as she continued her song. She froze as soon as she saw him, her hand slapping down on the strings. Her entire face turned red. He sat back and relaxed. She slid off the bar and put the guitar behind the counter. Her eyes were fixed on the bar as she came down to the far end of the counter.
"Didn't hear you come in." She mumbled.
"You're not half bad." He crossed his arms, inadvertantly puffing out his chest.
"Gee. You really know how to charm a lady."
"Hey, I'm tryin' ta make a compliment here." His deep voice dropped a few octaves.
"Oh. …Sorry." He shrugged, his body language closed. "So, what can I getcha?" She straightened the apron tucked into her skirt.
"Beer."
"You got it." She went back down to the other end of the bar. Someone came down the staircase in the back. He looked mid-thirties with brown hair, his arm in a sling.
"Hey Maddie, remember to collect the pay slips at the end of the day, right?"
"Okay." He nodded and went back upstairs. The girl came back down to the other end of the bar and gave him his glass.
"Yer name's 'Maddie'?"
"Madeline actually. But people call me Maddie." He nodded and took the drink, his sleeves hiding his hands. "What's your name?" He looked up from under the rim of his hat.
"…Raphael." She cocked her head, mildly impressed.
"Italian?" He nodded. "Neat." She turned around and took one of the dirty glasses out to clean. Some other people came into the bar soon after him, wearing dark suits and slick hair. Maddie put the glass down and went up to the other end of the counter. They sat down at the opposite end from him, so he had to squint from the corner of his eye to get a look at them. Maddie started making a set of martinies. He turned back to his drink as the suits took the martinies and went up the back staircase. Maddie watched them go, putting the tops back on the liquor bottles. She picked her glass back up again and went over to the middle of the bar.
"Business partners?" She looked up at him like a spooked rat. He smirked and drank the rest of the tea down. She wiped the glass out, coming down to his end of the bar.
"So. Find your arsonist?"
"No."
"What are you anyway?" He glanced up. "I mean, do you work for some detective or something?"
"Yeah. Somethin' like that." He put the glass down.
"Want another?"
"No, I gotta get back before the boss starts raggin' on me." He pushed the glass forward. He was afraid of overstaying his welcome too soon. She nodded and took it. "Take it easy." He pushed himself away from the bar and headed to the exit.
"You too."
Leonardo sat on the edge Ms. Lynn's tall appartment building. It was dusk, he blended in with the lengthening shadows. He had to understand her entire routine to find just the right time to approach her.
Even when he worked alone he was thoroughly compelled to be the star pupil.
Leonardo dropped down onto the narrow ledge that ran along the 9th floor. He hunkered down by the window looking into Ms. Lynns kitchen. There was a door way close to him on the right. Refridgerator, stove, counters, basket of mail, and a strange dried flower thing tacked to the wall.
Ms. Lynn stood at the stove boiling some water for pasta, sitting in a jar by the coffee pot. Her ruddy hair was pulled back to a thick braid, but she kept trying to play with it. Leonardo resumed making a mental catolouge of her kitchen and the rooms he could see from where he sat. Ms. Lynn reached over and retrieved the jar of pasta. She shook out a small handful and let it drop through her fingers into the pot. Dinner for one. She put the jar back in its place.
A fat orange cat jumped up onto the counter and took a seat next to the stove. Ms. Lynn scooted him away. Freckles got up and sort of bounced away from her hand. She got a little more forceful, and in her attempt to prod him off the table her hand knocked over the pot of water, sending it tumbling down to the floor, spilling boiling hot water everywhere. The cat gallopped away. Ms. Lynn grabbed her wrist and leaned over in pain. She jogged her feet up and down in place, her wrist turning a bright red. She burned herself? She was burned by the water? Leonardo pulled himself back from the window. Oh damn. He scaled the building and took off across the roof.
Mike rolled his eyes, sitting up on the couch. He and Don had stayed up to watch a late night movie. Raph and Leo had gone to their rooms. Donatello laid sprawled out in the hammock snoring raucously. Mike grabbed his nunchuck and threw it at him, smacking his bicep. Don blinked a few times and looked up.
"Jeez, you sound like a fucking chainsaw." Mike turned back to the movie. Don tossed the nunchuck back at him.
"Hey, shut up. You're the one that wanted to watch this thing anyway." He mumbled.
"Yeah. I didn't know you had a bedtime to keep with." Mike propped his feet up on the table.
"Yeah, well you didn't have to hike all day, so piss off." Don turned over onto his stomach, crossing his arms under his head.
"Boo hoo." Don grumbled quietly and closed his eyes.
Next Night
Raphael shifted his glass around between his palms absently, watching Maddie make another set of martinies. The air conditioning had broken down, making the entire bar humid and sticky. Maddie's shirt stuck to her scandelously close, strands of hair that had fallen out of her pony tail stuck to her face. Her uncle had left earlier to get the parts he needed to repair the vents. He shouldn't have left her alone. Maddie handed the martinies to the suits. They took them and spoke to her for a few more moments before going upstairs. She swallowed and went back down to his end of the bar.
"Who are they anyway?" Raphael asked between gulps .
"Nobody." She answered quickly. Too quickly. He raised an eyebrow. "Is it hot in here?" She asked, her eyes wide. Raphael cocked his head. Maddie went down to the other end of the bar and poured herself a glass of ice water.
"…you ok?" He asked skeptically when she came back.
"Yeah…yeah." She sipped the water. "Fine." He nodded, catching Maddie giving one last glance to the staircase. She looked at the bar top, sipping the water.
"Pretty slow today." She nodded.
"You're here early."
"Yeah well. I haven't been able to find any arsonists 'round here. Thought I might drop by." He shrugged.
"I'm glad you did."
"Why?" She looked up.
"Oh…uh, I dunno. …not a lot of people come around here to talk I guess." She smiled. "Well. To me at least."
"I don't come here to talk to you." He insisted, setting his drink down.
"Oh …I just thought-
"-Well don't." He slapped a bill on the bar and slid off the stool, storming out of the bar. He slammed the door shut behind him and marched away from the bar. He nearly charged into the alley, wanting to kick over a trash can. What the hell was that. So she figured him out. He hadn't exactly been Mr. Sly. Raph knelt down to push the man hole cover off. Crap. He looked back over his shoulder in the direction of the bar.
The windows were clouding over with dark gray smoke. Raphael perked up a little. He caught the site of a red flame from behind the smoke on the second floor appartments. Oh shit, what the hell's Maddie gotten herself into now. Raphael jumped up and ran back around to the side walk. He gave one last glance at the building before he pushed the door open. Gray smoke was beginning to seep out of some of the open windows. Inside the bar a thin coat of smoke poured out from the back stairwell over the ceiling. A pair of small feet kicked and pounded as they were dragged up the stairs, disapearing just as he got in.
"Maddie! Wait!" Raphael took off after her.
Donatello crouched low in the bushes behind the dirt path, rubbing his thighs to keep them from cramping. Mr. Tagahasi was pruning a small grove of white flower trees. Dusk was beginning to set, the lights lowering around the arboretum. He was tired and wanted to go home. Mr. Tagahasi finally finished pruning and brought the large clippers down. He looked over his work and nodded satisfactorally. Finally. He locked the clippers up and headed down to the path. Donatello stood up behind a tall orange oriental tree and watched him walk off. He turned around to head back to the gates and froze. Noriko stood leaning back against one of the other trees watching him. Don began to stutter. If she didn't think he was creepy before, she sure as hell did now.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. "The park closed a half an hour ago."
"I, uh…was just smelling the flowers."
"You've been sitting like that for nearly an hour. How long do you take to smell flowers?"
"I, uh…I reeeeeeaally like the flowers."
"You come here everyday and just follow my grandfather around. Why?"
"Uh…"
"And you can just stand in one position for hours without moving. You must have some training."
"Oh, uh…"
"And not to be rude, but…you don't look…exactly…human?" Donatello felt the blood drain from his face. "And sneaking aboutin the bushes doesn't take to someones credibility." Don felt his insides twist up. "…I think you are a very special young man, and would be honored if you joined Grandfather and I for tea tomorow." She bowed to him. He figured later that she must believe in some turtle mythology for her to invite him for tea. She walked past him onto the dirt path. "Good night." Don just stared at the tree, forgetting to reply till she was long gone.
Raphael coughed, holding his arm over his mouth so he didn't inhale the smoke. The upstairs was thick with dark smog, flames flew around the hall and walls. The place reeked of gasoline. There was a small maze of corridors weaving around above the bar he found, thick with haze.
"Maddie!!" He called. A short series of gun shots responded. Oh yeah, that's just great. He ran off in the direction of the shots. "Maddie!" Flames licked at his feet and legs, singing the hem of his coat. The suits backed out of one of the back rooms, firing into it. Raphael backed up and around the corner. Two of them ran off, fire scorching their eyes. A colum of flames shot out of the room, the remaining men jumped to the side, the wall behind them catching aflame. A flaming monster came out of the room to finish them. It had large wings made of fire that came out from it's arms, and a tail made up of several long thick red stands that curled around at the end. It was hard to make out the rest of the form out of spreading fire.
Maddie coughed at the sheer amount of smoke clouding around as the wings sheathed back. Her eyes flickered one last time with flame before her knees collapsed beneath her. Raphael let go of his sai, ran forward and knelt by her. He put his finger to her neck. Aw shit. He threw his hat over her face and picked her up. The fire reached the storage room and exploded from all the kegs. Raph ran to the end of the hall and pulled the window open, shifting Maddie around in his arms. The fire grew behind him and surged for the fresh air. Raphael jumped out onto the ledge around the outside window sill. He jumped to the fire escape on the opposite building just in time to miss the flames. He could hear sirens faintly in the distance. Damn. He hardly had time to recessitate Maddie before he disapeared with her to the alley.