Chapter 4
"Mike's Story"
Abby shuddered as another chill racked her body. She sank deeper into the warm water, trying to let it soothe her frozen, chapped skin. She watched as the white, dead spots on her legs turned red and sparked to life with shooting pain. Another shudder coursed through her, but this time it was due to the pain.
Abigail tried to remember how she had gotten here. The gaps in memory frustrated her. She remembered her mom saying that she was going into town... She remembered painting her nails blue. As she looked at her nails, she noticed they still had remnants of the polish, so it couldn't have been too long ago. Then she remembered waking up here. With this... this... creature holding her... and being cold... so cold... but how had she gotten here? WHAT was that creature she had seen? She had seen two of them. The other one was the one who had drawn up this bath for her. Did she know them? Was she supposed to know them? Damn it, she hated coming out of these episodes. She thought about the one who had been holding her, and suddenly it struck her... they were just like... HIM... Leonardo.
'Oh God.' Abby thought to herself, 'Another episode. I'm in the middle of another episode!' She had rarely been this awake in an episode though... this sentient... this reasoning. What was going on?
Her thoughts were interrupted as a knock came on the door and the door to the bathroom creaked open slightly. A hand reached in and set some towels on the counter.
A female voice said, "Here, dear, some clean towels. When you get out Don says we need to wrap that ankle up."
Abigail remained silent. 'Don?' she thought, 'Who's Don?'. Then she looked at her ankle. True, it had hurt a little when she was getting in the tub, but now she saw it was puffy and swollen, not to mention that it was changing to an odd purple color. Now she recognized the throbbing pain she felt; the pain that had been masked by the stinging sensations that came from her frozen skin. 'Damn, how did that happen?'
Abigail got up, out of the tub, and hobbled the short distance to the counter. Now the numbing effects of the cold were wearing off and the pain was starting to get to her. Everything hurt and she was still chilled to the bone. She dried off with the towels, surprised that they were warm. Thankfully, under the towels she found some clothes. They weren't hers, but they looked warm and roomy enough.
As she put on the sweatshirt and tightened the drawstring on the pants, around her waist; she noticed the back was stretched out quite a bit.
Abigail shivered again, still not warmed up, and a knock came on the door. It creaked open slightly and that same female voice said, "Dear, can I come in?"
Abby stayed silent and the door was opened and someone stepped in. Abigail stared, it was another.. well.. What was it? She was a mutant like Leonardo, but she was.. well.. a she. Abigail took a few steps back, and sat down hard on a chair, the pain reminding her that her ankle was still sore.
"Dear?" Venus asked, "Are you okay?"
"fine." she murmured softly. If she had just gotten out of an episode, the supposed mutant was probably a nurse. It probably wouldn't do Abby any good to talk of the hallucinations and it would just get her in more trouble.
"We need to bandage up that ankle of yours. My name is Venus. They tell me you're a friend of Raphael. What is your name?"
"Abigail." she said quietly. 'Raphael?' why did that name sound so familiar?
"Well, Abigail, let's get that ankle bandaged up." Venus sat down near Abigail's foot and started bandaging it.
The more Abby watched this nurse, the more aroused her curiosity became. If this was a hallucination, it was sure the best damn one she'd ever had. The most detailed at least. After Venus finished bandaging her injury, she stood up and said, "There we go. Now let's go have some breakfast."
"Wait." Abby said quietly, finally figuring out a safe question to ask. "Do you have any family, Venus?"
Venus looked at Abigail strangely.. 'Didn't Raph tell her anything?'. Abby shuttered. She knew that it was a silly question to ask the nurse, but she had to be sure she was talking to a person, and not just a figment of her imagination.
"Yes I do." Venus smiled. "I have a son named Tyler. And you know that turtle that drew up your bath earlier? That's Michaelangelo, my husband."
Abby shook her head, sure that she had misheard. "Did you say turtle?"
"Yes dear, I did. He's just like Raphael. They're brothers."
'Raphael' again that name... something about that name bugged her. For some reason it reminded her of an eye patch.. why? Was Raphael a pirate? 'Maybe a sea turtle??' "What about you?" Abby asked cautiously, treading on shaky territory.
"Me?" Venus asked, "You mean, are they my brothers? Well, not genetically. Although I have thought of them as brothers ever since we met, I'm only genetically linked with Leonardo... erm.. well I was at least." The thought of her absentee brother made Venus frown.
"L-L-Leonardo??" Abigail looked very scared. All pigment drained from her face, and she looked as though she was going to faint.
"Dear child!" Venus rushed to support Abigail lest she fall off the chair, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Abigail said, although inside her head everything was wrong. This was no hallucination, it was real as she was. "Shit." Abigail murmured softly.
Don sat at the kitchen table, making faces at Tyler when Venus came in supporting that girl. Venus helped her sit down at the table. She looked quite shaken.
"Here you go, dudette. This will warm you up through and through." Mike said as he set a mug of hot chocolate in front of her. She looked silently at him, then murmured in a quiet voice "Thanks." and took the mug and started to sip at it.
"My name is Donatello, and that's Michaelangelo." Don stated to the girl. "What is your name?"
"Abby." she stated quietly.
"Well Abby," Don said, taking a bite of pancake and chewing it thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing and continuing, "How did you meet Raph?"
There were a few long moments of uncomfortable silence then Abby shrugged her shoulders. Donatello felt like shaking her as his brow wrinkled. Was she going to be this difficult the whole time?
"I could tell you how I met Raph, if it'd help." Venus said softly, non-intimidating. Abby looked at her gratefully. Venus seemed a little less scary than the others.
"I can tell ya too!" Mike laughed, "Wham! Pow! Right in the kisser! Venee hog-tied us and hung us up like sides of beef."
Meih Pei Chi gave Mikey a look. "You make me sound like a common hood."
"You are. You're a ruffian, Meih!"
"You better watch it, Mike." Meih said in a mock threatening tone, shaking her fist at her husband, "I'll show you a ruffian."
Tyler started fussing and Venus broke her gaze on Mike's smirking face. She sniffed the air, her beak wrinkled up. "Icky.. My little boy needs a change, doesn't he?" she told Tyler as she picked him up out of his high chair. She took Tyler and left the kitchen, heading upstairs.
Donatello looked at Abigail expectantly, she had been asked a question and he expected her to answer. Abigail squirmed uncomfortably under Don's scrutinizing gaze. Mike noticed her discomfort and decided to step in. "I take it Raph didn't mention us." he said.
Abigail shook her head 'no'. She still didn't remember Raph, but it was true that she had no idea who these.. well... these turtles were.
"Well, we're his brothers. He did tell you how we mutated, right?"
Again Abby shook her head 'no'.
Mike sighed, "Raph can be like that sometimes. Real closed book."
Abigail merely blinked.
"Well, lemme tell you a story then. It was..." Mike paused as he did a little mental arithmetic, "Damn, it's been over thirty years now, hasn't it Don?" Mike said, a faraway look creeping onto his face.
"Sure has." Don said.
"Well, anyway, Abigail." Mike began, "In late, last century, people were very lazy with how they disposed of chemicals. Some of it got into the sewer system. You know what that is, right? It's what they used to use before chemical waste disposal became more common."
Abby nodded 'yes'. What did this turtle think she was? Stupid? She wasn't that young! Even if she hadn't learned about the sewers in school, every once and a while the news would buzz with politicians arguing over what to do with the old underground tunnels.
"Well, anyway, back then we were just normal turtles, bought as pets actually, all five of us. We fell into the sewers somehow, and came into contact with a totally weird mix of these leftover chemicals, and it started changing us. We became what we are today.. mutants..." Mike looked at Don.
Don smiled and took the cue, reciting the familiar yarn "Well, at about the same time, a rat got into the same mutagenic mixture of chemicals. Somehow it started increasing his intelligence even that early in the mutation. He gathered four out of the five of us turtles into a coffee can, and when we all fully mutated, he took us four in as his own."
"And Venus! She was the fifth turtle, she got carried away by like some gnarly sewer water curls. She ended up down in a part of the city that used to be called Chinatown, and a Chinese guy named Chung I who was visiting New York from his home in China found her. When she started mutating, he realized that she was more than just a sign of good luck. He took her in and raised her in his homeland, China. When we all were in our late teens, we finally reunited with her. Now she's my wife." Mike grinned proudly.
Abby felt as though she was in a trance. This whole thing was too unreal. It wasn't an episode, she had convinced herself of that by now, but what was it???
Don looked at his beaming brother. He had noticed that Mike's Californian surfer accent had deeply enhanced, but the overtones of the Bronx sound that had always shadowed it were still faintly there. Don still did not know of any of Mike's goings on whilst he was away from New York. Donatello decided now was as good a time as any to bring it up. "I've been meaning to ask, Mike. How and when DID you and Venus get married?"
Mike's grin grew a tad wider. He was in just the right mood to tell this story. Don sighed because he could tell by the look in Mike's eye that he wasn't gonna get the abridged version of this tale.
"Well, after Venus and I left New York. That was about five years ago by the way, Abby." Mike added, nodding to Abigail, "We traveled north, took in lots of Canada, though most of it from the side of train box cars. I was just kinda following Venus. I knew she wanted to go home... to China. It took us about a year, but we made it..." Mike stopped and scratched his chin, as if thinking. "Once we got there, we stayed with a lady named.. get this.. China!" Mikey paused and let out a hearty laugh, Don smiled and shook his head at his brother's merriment. "Anyway, I worked for China keeping her land, and Venus helped her in the house. Turns out she knew Chung I well and pretty much helped raise Venus. One of the silly things about her was that her father was from the UK, and she had been raised there, so she had a British accent! She was an awesome old lady, great sense of humor."
Don's eyeridges raised. He had known Venus for a long time and she had never disclosed any information about a "China" to him. How odd... he had known she was closed mouthed about her past, but he had never known to what extent.
"We got married in a private ceremony in one of China's gardens. It was fun! Meih was so beautiful." Mike paused for a moment as he realized something. He looked at Abigail. "By the way Abby, Venus' real name is Meih Pei Chi, so sometimes I call her Meih, ok?"
Abby nodded her head mutely.
"Anyway, we got married about a month before..." Mike paused, a frown covering his features, a furrow on his brow. He looked at Don, and Don saw a deep sorrow in his eyes. "Well, before... you know..." Mike sighed, He hadn't realized until just now how soon before Leo's disappearance that his wedding had been.
"It's okay, Mikey." Don soothed, realizing what his brother must be talking about. He reached over and patted his brother's shell, "It's okay..."
Mike sniffed and put a determined look on his face, not to be deterred from telling his story. "Well, Abigail, what I'm talking about is that our brother, Leonardo, disappeared about that time. I won't go into too much detail, because frankly, we don't have much. Leo went to meet some girl he met on the Internet and just never returned. He's most likely dead."
Abby's eyes grew wider at the mention of Leonardo's name. It was just too unreal to be a coincidence. Her Leo and theirs had to be one in the same. Abigail cursed the fates for playing with her.
Mike noted the change in Abby's expression and made a mental note to ask her about it at a later date. "Anyway... about a year after our marriage..." Mike let out a shaky breath before continuing, "Venus and I experienced another tragedy. China passed away."
Mike stopped and covered his eyes, then ran his hand back over his scalp. He let out a hollow laugh. "All the sad parts of the story in the same place... don't you know that makes for a bad book?"
Don shrugged, unsure on what to say.
"Well anyway, it wasn't all bad news. China had left everything, her whole estate, plenty of assets, to Meih and me. After we traveled to the UK with her body for the burial, we came back to the estate in China... but it just wasn't the same... it felt haunted, ya know?"
Don nodded, he had felt the same way in this very farmhouse, especially when he was alone here.
"Anyway," Mike continued, his attitude cheering a bit, "We decided to move back to the states. We packed up and headed to a small town in California. That's where Tyler was born. I started up a small surf shack and was doing quite well. You'd be surprised how much appearance doesn't affect people's attitudes towards you on the West Coast! Especially if it's accompanied by decent prices and friendly, knowledgeable service with a smile." Mike flashed his smile to show what he meant, feeling in much higher spirits.
"Why'd you come back here, Mike?" Don asked.
"Well..." Mike bit his lip, "You know what I said about people on the West Coast being pretty tolerable about looks?"
Don nodded, he knew where this was headed.
"Well, some people aren't. Some group of people had been bothering Venus and I the last six months that we lived there. They spray-painted nasty messages on our house and cars, broke windows in my shop, and even went as far as to come up to Venus in the marketplace and make threats to her." Mike sighed, "When Venus and I came home one day, our house was on fire. It was all we could do to get a few possessions out of there. Since neither of us are legal residents, not to mention that we're mutants, we really couldn't go to the cops or anything. When I returned to my shop, I received notice from my landlord that I was to vacate it as soon as possible. Apparently that group had been threatening him too. I sold all I had and came here..." Mike looked down, "I'm sorry Don. I didn't mean to impose on you. It's just the sewer lair was the only real place I could think to go. I'll give as much money as I can, but I don't have much left."
Don smiled at his brother. "Don't worry about it, Mikey. It's all taken care of and don't ever think you're imposing on me. You're my family, so is Venus and Tyler. Anything I have is yours."
"Thanks Don." Mike looked at his brother and smiled gratefully.
"Ahem." Venus said, standing in the doorway with Tyler positioned on her hip, "Sorry to break up this touching moment, but Mike, did you give Tyler Froot Loops this morning?"
"Umm..." Mike said nervously, "Maybe..."
"Mike! You know that his stomach doesn't agree with those!" Venus sighed and rolled her eyes, "I cleaned him up. Now I need a shower."
"Sorry, Meih. He usually keeps them down when I feed them to him! Must be the new environment."
"Apparently."
Venus handed Tyler over to Mike. Tyler cooed and gurgled at his dad happily, as if laughing at the trouble Mike was in. "I'm going upstairs to shower." Meih Pei Chi said as she turned around and left the room, "Donatello, I'd feel much better if you were out repairing that fence rather than in here harassing that poor child." She commented as she headed upstairs. Mike noted the spit-up and Froot Loops sticking to the back of Venee's shell.
Mike looked at Tyler when his wife was out of side. "You're trying to get me in trouble, aren't you?" he addressed his son. The child laughed and spat up a few more pieces of chewed up Froot Loops as he hiccuped. "Cute, Tyler." he smiled and wiped off the baby's mouth.
"Abigail, how old are you?" Don asked, continuing his questioning of Abby.
Abby sighed, but at least this was a question she could answer. "I'm nineteen, sir." she replied quietly.
"Well then, how-"
"Don." Mike interrupted, "Leave the poor girl be. She's traumatized. She's been with Raph, for heaven's sake. Also, Venus is right. Shouldn't you be out checking the fence line?"
Don gave him a look that said that he didn't trust Abigail. Mike read it clearly and smiled as he replied a bit sarcastically. "Don't worry, Don-san. I'm sure Abby will behave while you're gone. Right, girlfriend?"
Abigail stared at him blankly for a few moments before realizing he expected her to answer. She shook her head 'yes' meekly.
Mike grinned. "And if ya don't, I'll unleash Ty here on ya! I'll shake him up, and he'll spew cereal all over ya!" Mike laughed a little at his own joke. Don smiled and shook his head as he stood to put his outer cloaks on. Abigail looked a tad disgusted.
"Okay Mike. I'm going. I'm going to leave the communicator link open if you need to reach me, okay?"
"Ok dude. Go fer it, mon!" Mike said, "Wave bye to Uncle Don, Tyler!"
Mike beamed with a pleased face when Ty waved his little hand and said "byyyyee."
Don knelt down in the snow to examine the broken barbed wire. It had been broken by force. A circular shell imprint in the snow within the fence's perimeter confirmed that this was Raph's work. 'Damn,' he thought, 'Breaking through this thing must have really hurt that jerk.' Donatello's own shell ached a bit in sympathy pains for his brother.
Donatello took out his tool kit and started replacing the barbed wire, then laced the electrified fibers discreetly through the intertwined metal wires. He connected the fibers to the other adjoining sides and stood back to look at his work.
"Pretty good if I do say so, myself." he smiled to himself. Then he noticed the tracks of a hare. The tracking mechanism in his mind switched on and he found his eyes following the tracks without thinking. He smiled at his mind's autopilot. 'Aw well, we need more meat anyway.' he thought to himself as he started following the tracks a little into the woods.
Donnie smiled a bit when he remembered Venus's reaction when they had first brought home a rabbit for dinner. She was aghast and very perturbed at them for killing it. Thankfully, she had gotten more used to it as time had gone by. That had been a harder, thinner time for them all, and they had no choice but to eat rabbit. In the time doing it though, Don had developed a taste for them. He often would hunt one or two down when he was out here on the farm just for the thrill of the hunt and the taste of the meat.
Don's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Raph and Abigail's tracks, which ran nearby the rabbit tracks. A few other sets of human tracks branched off into the woods. Don's eyes widened and he hoped it wasn't what he thought. 'Oh shit, PLEASE let me be misperceiving these.' he thought to himself. As one of the sets of tracks ended at a tree, he looked up to see the snow disturbed on one of the branches. He gulped nervously and examined the tracks some more. He looked at the original set of two tracks, and could have slapped himself for not noticing earlier. The set that supposedly belonged to Abby was way too deep to be made by a girl of her stature. Not to mention their freshness. While a light snow from last night's wind and flurries covered Raph's tracks, Abby's were deep and prominent still. They had been made today.
"Shit." Don said loudly and he turned on his communicator, "Mike?" he asked into it.
After a bit of buzzing, the communicator clicked on the other end, and Mike's voice was heard. "Yo Don-dude, what's the haps?"
"Mike, we've got a problem..."