Undiscovered Power
~
"Hey Don, you found anything about the date of this Eye thingy yet?" Mikey asked tiredly, rubbing his right eye with his knuckle while clumsily walking into Donny's lab at 7:30 the following morning. His brother had awoken early with Leo to boot up his computer and continue his search for a date of when the Eye was created. Leo had grabbed a morning drink, and had disappeared into his 'second room', the dojo, for morning practice.
"Not yet," Donny said hopefully, staring at his screen as his fingers skimmed mechanically over the keyboard.
Mikey's eyelids drooped and he yawned, stretching his arms out. He turned and walked out of Donny's lab and disappeared into his and Raph's small, shared room. A few seconds later there was a small grunt from Mikey as he wrenched Raph's covers away from his brother; a very surprised "Whoa!" that was uttered quickly, and a heavy thud as one turtle body hit the floor from the top bunk.
"Get up – practice time," Mikey said chirpily, though unsure whether he should smile happily for his brother when he stood up, or whether he should run to avoid nasty bruises from a grumpy and angry Raph. Though these options were thrown aside as Mikey felt something knock his legs down and the next second he was on the floor; an angry Raph towering over him, trying to wring his brother's neck.
"How – many – times –" Raph said as he shook his brother, " – have I told you NOT – to do that?"
Mikey choked; tongue hanging from his mouth. "M-mor-nin', Rafffff!"
Donny stopped typing to listen to the familiar sounds of his younger brother being choked. His eyes turned upwards as he recognized the sound, then they returned to the screen and he continued typing.
Mikey kicked his brother over and rolled on top of him with a "Ha-ha!" Then he jumped to his feet and quickly legged it out the room into the dojo from where Leo was just appearing. They both collided and hit the floor.
"Ow . . ." Mikey moaned as he picked himself up and rubbed his arm, as Leo stood straight and gave him a meaningful questioning look. Mikey pointed to the side of him where Raph had just come bounding out of his room but had skidded to a stop, bunching up the mat. "His fault," Mike said, before disappeared, quickly, into the dojo.
Leo gave Raph a look as he walked past him into Donny's lab as Raph used his foot to smoothen out the waves he had created in the mat.
"C'mon, Don, Practice," Leo ordered, glancing at the back of his brother, and then at the screen he was staring at. His brother gave an automatic grunt, and Leo, who knew his brother hadn't even heard him, turned around and started to head back out, as Raph walked in Don's lab. Leo stopped. "Raph, dojo, before Master Splinter wakes." His other brother ignored him too, and Leo gave an exasperated sigh and joined Mikey in the dojo.
Donny continued to type and click away, caught up in his computer, as Raph walked up behind him, watching the screen also.
"Hey," He said, catching his brother's attention, even if he still did not look at him. Raph hesitated before continuing, "I think I, er, know what those two symbols are on the Eye thing – well, I mean, I think I've seen them before . . ."
Donny stopped typing and turned his rotating chair to Raph, waiting for him to continue . . .
Leo walked in a minute later, with sounds of Mikey practicing in the dojo behind him. He stood in the doorway of Donny's lab.
"Hey – you two," he said impatiently. "C'mon, practice . . . what's wrong?"
Donny twisted round to his comp and clicked it onto standby, and then stood up facing Leo.
"Nothing, Raph's having images again," Don said, throwing a sideways glance at Raph. He moved over to Leo in the doorway.
Leo looked upon his brother with an almost saddened gaze. "Splinter said you shouldn't think about . . . that . . . none of us should," he added with a small glance at Donny before lowering his head to the floor. He sighed, turned, and walked back to the dojo. Don gave Raph a final look and followed Leo.
Raph watched both his brothers leave the lab, unblinking. They thought he was cracking up again . . . Was he? The forgotten anger that lived inside him returned, stronger. He was angry at his brothers and at himself. He wasn't nuts, and as he recalled they had acted just like him those few weeks after the accident. With an angry exhalation, teeth grinding against each other for a second, he walked out of Donny's lab and into the dojo, seconds before Master Splinter joined them, pleased to see they had arrived to practice before him.
Practice this morning was an average effort by the boys. Splinter noticed their lack of determination to impress each other with moves, and their unbothered attempt to beat the other. He had heard plenty last night to know that two of his sons had returned with the artifact that had been stolen from the museum the other night. It had been cold last night, and had he known beforehand that they were venturing to steal this artifact, he would have been worried; the cold could be dangerous to his sons, because of what they are. He was slightly surprised that Leonardo was second best today, and that Michelangelo, although appearing to be applying average effort to his practice, beat his older brother almost easily. Leonardo did not even appear to be bothered, he seemed aloof, as though his thoughts were affects his sparring. But Splinter was not perturbed by this behavior from all four of his sons; it was something that rose in their behavior a few times since his sons' friend had been killed. They had taken it hard the first few weeks, and after that they slowly began to return to normal, though there were some periods when they acted strangely. Splinter's feelings had been at sorrow for them; he felt just as heartbroken as them to know that they had suffered something they had never experienced. Leaving friends behind was difficult for them, and they suffered in their own ways. Not only had they left friends behind, but also one had been killed. Had it not been such a sad event, Splinter would have allowed his knowing-feelings to rise above the grieving ones, feelings that told him he knew something bad would happen, and that in a way, it was their own fault for making the friends they should not have accepted. But to deny them friendship when they were sent off to that school was like denying Mikey pizza in a pizzeria. Other thoughts defended his sons: They deserved the friendship they had for those few weeks; they deserved the experience of living a normal, human life; and they deserved the freedom they had found. Splinter suddenly gave himself a mentally sharp tap; here he was, thinking about the events of almost five months ago, and he had told his sons that they should not dwell on it. But it pained him to see his sons like this, and so he could not help but travel back to when they had been the happiest in their lives. Returning to the sparring, Splinter continued to watch and guide his sons through their practice, which ended slightly earlier later on.
()()()()
Donny sat back in his chair with a defeated sigh, staring at the computer as though it was deliberately keeping its information hidden. He had returned to it as soon as practice had finished, which was an hour ago. He leant forward and switched off his computer, and then gave his chair a small push and it spun around to face the door to his lab.
"I'm going topside for a break and some fresh air," he called. "Anyone wanna join me?"
Mikey's head poked around the door and his gaze rested on his brother.
"I'll come," he volunteered. "I wanna check out what DVDs are on sale." He stepped into the doorway as Donny stood up and spun his chair back to face the computer. "Not havin' any luck, huh?"
"Not a damn thing," Donny sighed, shoulders drooping slightly. He titled in head and walked over to Mikey in the doorway. "I didn't think you had any money," he frowned.
Mikey grinned. "Found an old stash hidden in that hiding place I couldn't remember ages ago."
Donny chuckled, and they both walked out into the lair, past the couch were Splinter was watching the morning news. They informed him of where they were heading, geared themselves up in trench coats and fedoras, and exited the lair via the ladder. They made their way, bending slight, quickly to the manhole dubbed as their front door, which was located in the alleyway out of sight. They climbed quickly out, replaced the lid and whistled away as they emerged from the alley into the street.
Mikey led them to a small mall fifteen minutes away, and disappeared into an open-out store which sold comics, DVDs, videos and candy. Donny, after having checked out a few of the other little stores, followed his brother, and found him in-between two short isles of shelved DVDs.
"Whatcha looking for anyway?" Donny asked, shoving his hands further into his pockets and listening to the odd, ambient background music in the store.
"Anything good," his brother replied simply, reading the back of a DVD he had picked up from a high shelf.
Donny was thinking about possible searches on the Net he could get into to find info on this Eye. It was bugging him that he hadn't found anything yet. His thoughts ebbed away as he listened to the new music that was playing. It was beautiful humming of a female artist.
Don nodded shortly to himself. "Now this is better music," he murmured. It was really nice humming, and it seemed quite loud, but yet soft.
"No," Mike said, putting the DVD down and looking for another, "that is someone humming, Don, in this store."
Donny froze for a second and then loosened up. "Oh, yeah . . . right." But his small goofy smile disappeared as something deep in his mind stirred, pestering him until he realized it was a feeling of something familiar. Pfh, he didn't know anyone who hummed like that, how could it be familiar to him? April certainly hummed differently, she was not really a hummer, and he was sure as hell Casey couldn't even hum. Curious to see what the face looked like to who the humming belonged too, Donny started to shift his weight to his right foot, balancing his other as a steady weight so he could lean past the edge of the shelf he was near and see who was just on the other side. He had just got smallest glimpse of redish hair before Mikey tugged on his coat, pulling his brother back onto two feet. Don glanced at the edge of the shelf as the humming started to fade, and returned his gaze quickly to his brother, who was holding up a DVD, a horror flick, awaiting his comments about whether he should take it or not. Don stared at the front cover, and the hum disappeared completely.
"Whoa man," Mikey suddenly said, wrapping his coat tighter to him. "I think I have a fever or something, I swear turning hot and then cold quickly isn't normal, even for me."
Donny stared at his brother with a small frown creasing his bandanna ridges. "No," he said softly, looking up. "I felt it too . . ."
Mikey shrugged. "So, should I get this movie or not?" He waved the DVD with his wrist.
"Yeah . . ." Donny said distantly, having now moved backwards to the end of the isle and was watching a flash of a long red-brown plait disappear around a group of people. He frowned after it, looked down at the floor in thought, and was broke out of them by Mikey's voice. He somehow forgot the strange importance that red hair had to him as he walked with Mikey to pay for the DVD.
"Something for you to watch when you get fed up with that computer again," Mikey said cheerfully, thrusting the DVD in front of Donny as they walked out of the store and out of the small mall into the streets.
"Yeah," Donny said again. "Good, though I don't think I'll be away from the computer until I GET this information . . . I'm actually beginning to think it's impossible to find."
"NOT . . ." Mikey said with a one-sided grin, "for you, Boy-Genius."
Lifted by Mike's enthusiasm, Don mentally fought against himself that he HAD figured other things out before, and this one was just more of a challenge; but he had still won it. Wearing a smile identical to Mikey's, Donny chatted animatedly to his equally fun-loving bro about what new mischief Mikey could come up with, aided by Donny.
They found themselves at their 'front door' in only a few minutes, talking had ceased as they encouraged the silence to hide their suspicious entrance as well as the shadows as they slid the manhole cover off and dropped below pavement level. Once the lid had been sealed again, they broke out into conversation, typical brotherly topics. When they reached the trapdoor that concealed the ladder, Mikey remembered something important that he and his brothers had not spoken about. But as Donny opened the small square door, and started to descend, Mike waited to tell him when they had both reached the floor of the Lair.
"Were you gonna tell me something?" Donny asked, taking off his hat and hanging it up on the coat rack as Mikey did the same.
Mikey looked up at his brother. "How did you know?"
Don smiled. "I can tell; you always have that certain look on your face."
Mikey took off his trench coat and hung it up with a smile. "Well, yeah, I was gonna say – and I can't believe I only just realized – that it's Leo's Birthday in about, what? Almost three weeks?"
Donny looked around as though checking to make sure Leo wasn't there. "Yeah, I know."
"What is it this time?" Mikey asked, walking with his brother down the steps. "A surprise party?"
"For his sixteenth – yeah, I think so."
Leo walked out of the dojo just then with a pair of Mikey's spare Nunchucks held under his arms. A thin layer of sweat filmed his shoulders and arms.
"Think so what?" He asked, obviously having not heard the first part of Donny's sentence.
Donny opened his mouth and uttered a long "IIII think I can get this date of the Eye figured before the weekend."
Leo brightened. "Oh you're onto it already, that's great!" He wiped at the sweat on his beak with the back of his arm and hand.
Mikey, stood a few steps behind Don, smiled in relief at Donny's quick cover-up. Leo turned to Mikey, flicking the beads of sweat from his hand.
"Get any new DVDs?" He asked. He was panting ever so slightly, which meant he had only just been getting started on his solo spar.
Mikey held up his new DVD, and Donny walked over to his lab, eager to see himself bring up the information that had been challenging him. It might only be a few pieces of information, but it didn't matter to Don, as long as he got it.
Leo gave a single nod at the DVD in Mikey's held-up hand, and then announced he was returning to his practice, and that Mike could join him later if he wanted, after he had watched his movie.
Splinter had now emerged from his quiet room, and was slightly surprised to feel a smile start to creep onto his features. Early this morning his sons had been acting strangely, but they recovered so quickly, and were now acting normal. Splinter was glad of this.
Mikey moved towards the TV, where he bent down and inserted his new DVD in the player. He grabbed the remotes and jumped into the chair dubbed as Raph's, opposite Splinter's. While he been fiddling with the TV and DVD player, Splinter had walked into the open kitchen and made himself a hot, soothing, herbal tea, which he cupped in both hands and brought it closer to his nose, inhaling it for a second before making his way back to his room, where he would continue his meditation. Before he disappeared into his quarters, Mikey craned his neck back in Splinter's direction behind him, near the cars.
"Sensei, where's Raph?" He asked. The TV before him was playing movie trailers.
"I believe he is in his room," Splinter answered with a small smile, before closing his door behind him, into the dark room where only small, glowing candles illuminated the objects in there.
Mikey turned his front torso around to look at his and Raph's car: The door was shut, not too strange for Raph, as he liked to be alone sometimes, just sitting in his room, doing whatever he does. Mikey never knew what that was.
Figuring Raph might like to join Mike in watching the film, the orange masked turtle got to his feet and walked around the couch to his car door. He opened it and looked in to see his brother lying on his stomach, on Mikey's bed, playing on Mikey's gameboy.
Raph glanced up briefly before returning his eyes to his game. "Oh hey," he said.
"Yo, hey – you look a bit red dude," Mikey pointed out. Even though they were green, the red flush could still be seen.
"Yeah, I'm boiling," Raph said, giving one of his shoulders a shrug, while keeping his eyes on the game.
"Well I got a new horror flick," Mikey told him. "Wanna watch it? I'm sure it's cooler in the Lair than in here."
Raph switched the gameboy off, flung it on the bed and hauled himself into a standing position next to Mike.
"Yeah sure," he agreed, with a half tilt of the head, half nod. Now closer, Mikey could see his brother did look hot.
They both flopped down into their seats in the Lair, Mikey stretched out on the couch, Raph in his chair. Mike increased the volume with the remote, and they both sat there watching the film about a possessed dead corpse that liked to eat its own hand when it had the chance to show its disgusting manners. Mikey and Raph laughed at the bad make-up and effects, and at the typical damsel in distress, who was killed in a mortifying way.
The film was an hour and forty minutes, in which time Leo had took a break from his practice to stand behind the couch, hands on hips, watching about five minutes worth before he disappeared back into the dojo. Donny had slammed his lab door shut ten minutes into the film, desperate to keep out noise, and keep in silence so he could think.
After the movie ended, Mikey retrieved his DVD and placed it with the rest of his collection. Splinter, aware that the noise of the film had gone, took his place in his armchair after he had deposited his empty mug in the kitchen sink. Leo had finished his katas round about the same time the movie had finished, and stayed in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, thirstily gulping down milk from the carton. He made his dinner, two messy sandwiches, and watched from the kitchen the documentary that Splinter had decided to put on. Mikey sat on the couch watching too. He had ordered a pizza, and was waiting to go and direct the guy from his usual sewer grate. Raph was now occupying the dojo.
It was coming up to afternoon by the time the documentary had finished, and when it did, Splinter suggested a little game that would tune up their senses, since they were all bored. He turned off the lights, and the entire Lair was pitch black; nothing could be seen, not even outlines.
"This," came Splinter's voice from near the end of the couch, "is good for exercising our senses. Close your eyes, my sons, and open your inner sight. There are four sets of sticky yellow tags on the two small tables we have. The object of this activity is: you must first acquire one of these sets, and tag your fellow brothers on the shell without the other noticing. You will need to guide yourself around the furniture, and other objects in silence. This is a great time to put your developing stealth to action – Begin!"
Silence hung in the air after this. Mikey, who had a laughing grin on his face with his eyes closed, started to creep to one of the dinky tables, guessing Leo might have already snatched his, and guessing Donny would know the rush to the table, and would have hung back. Where Splinter had moved to, he didn't know, but for some weird reason, even in this darkness, Mikey had the feeling their Sensei could still see them. Mikey noticed the bump in the floor, which he knew was near the table, and bent low to the ground, stretching out his arm for the surface. He found it with a brush against his finger, and a second later his hand closed around the small pieces of sticky paper tags. He drew back his hand, and, still crouch, slinked animal-like a few steps away, straining his ears for any sound. He heard the softest, quietest sound of something brushing against the annoying rug, as the end tassels stuck up. It must have been someone's foot. Mikey guessed the angle of which it had been walking towards, and crept around it. Yes, he could sense someone. With his grin returning, Mikey resisted the urge to tick more than one tag on the brother that he was sensing . . .
"End!" Called Splinter two minutes later, and the lights flashed back on. Splinter was stood next to the light switch on the wall, quite still. He looked where his students were in the room. Michelangelo was stood a step or two behind Leo, who both looked at the other, surprised at the distance they were from each other. Donny was a about two meters away, near his own bedroom, and Raph was two meters away from him, stood near Splinter's armchair.
"Aw man," Mikey said, turning his neck to look at the three yellow circle tags on his shell. He turned back to look at Leo's shell, which only had two tags.
"Ha Raph, you got the same as me," Mikey teased, directing his eyes to Raph's three-tagged shell.
Donny, it turned out, had no tags stuck to his shell, which surprised everyone that he had none, and Leo had two.
"Well done, Donatello," Splinter praised a smiling Don. "That was the first, and I did not expect too much. We will try again, and concentrate of muting your own movements, Michelangelo, rather than tagging others."
They replayed this little game again, and after the same amount of time of two minutes, Splinter called for them to stop, and switched the lights back on. He too had joined in, but he was too silent for them to have known, and of course, he had no tags on his fur. Michelangelo had two this time, and seemed slightly proud of that; Leonardo had none, a feeling of great achievement on his features; Donatello had one; and Raph had three, again.
"Raphael, you are not learning," Splinter spoke wisely when they had taken their tags off their shells. "I could hear your clumsy footing from here, certainly not like you, my son.
Raph was titling his head, an almost wincing expression on his face. "Yeah, I know, I'm just not - I'm not feeling too good, that's all." He hadn't felt like saying that, but it was better than have his brothers think he was lousy at this game.
"Excuses, Harp!" Mikey tormented, breathing out the 'H' on Harp.
Leo frowned. "Harp?"
Donny was rolling his eyes, a groaning smile on his face. "Mike's being stupid, rearranging Raph's name around," he looked at Mikey, "Kimey!"
Raph snorted, laughing. "Ha, Mike, you're a girl."
Mikey glared humorously at Donny, who was chuckling. "Oh shut up . . . Nydon – or Yonnd!" Leo let out a small laugh, and Mikey turned to him, smiling. "And you? Er . . . Ole, hah, or Elo – " Mikey laughed. " – or Loe! Leo dude, you're loe."
All three brothers were laughing at the expression on Leo's face, which was glaring at Mike with narrow eyes, while trying not to laugh himself.
By the end of the day, rearranged names were forgotten and Leo and Mike were watching a comedy on TV, along with Splinter. The main lights were off and the candles had been lit. It gave them the feeling of nighttime, since there was no dark sky and twinkling stars down there to convince them what time of day it was. Donny was in his lab, and Raph was in the dojo; though he wasn't practicing. He was watching the punch bag swing from his hold. He didn't feel like punching it, which was weird. He found himself telling him that he had some bug or something, because his cheeks were burning, and his head was throbbing, as though his brain had swelled in his skull. Feeling bored, he left the dojo and stepped into Don's room. His brother was leant forwards, one hand on the mouse, while his head rested on his folded arm, staring up at the screen.
"Guess you haven't found anything then?" Raph asked as he walked further in.
Don lifted his head from his arm and looked as his brother sat down on the computer desk next to him.
"Nada," Don sighed. "I just keep getting the same information over and over again with every search I do." He could hear Mikey and Leo laughing from the couch. It must have been something funny because Don doesn't often hear Leo laugh that hard. Don smiled at their laughter, and then caught a glimpse of Raph's dark cheeks before he, too, turned to look at the door, listening to the laughing.
"What the hell are they watching?" He asked.
Donny didn't answer his question. Instead he said," Hey, are you feeling alright?"
His brother turned to look at him. "Yeah," he lied. "Why?"
"You look really flushed . . ."
Raph paused. "I do?" Damn, he was hoping no one could notice. He hated everyone making a fuss when he felt the tiniest bit ill or sick.
"Yeah, do you feel hot? I read in my medic book, and in my Reptile Keeping, which is massive, that . . ."
Don voice faded in Raph mind as he shut it out. There goes Don again. He made up his mind and stood up as Donny was still babbling away about something called Soft Shell, which he managed to explain just before Raph shut him up that it happened to turtles who didn't eat the right proteins and stuff. Or so Raph thought that was what he heard.
"I'm going for a walk, see you later," he interrupted Donny, who sounded as though he was educating adults. Before Don could argue he walked out into the lair, where Leo and Mikey were laughing again, shoulders shaking, eyes screwed up. Before Splinter could ask him where he was going, Raph had grabbed his coat and hat, and before putting them on, disappeared into the sewer tunnels, through the small exit behind the ladder, next to two doors at the back that they didn't use. These tunnels took a long way around before they eventually lead to a manhole.
Donny walked out of his lab a second later, watching Leo and Mikey grin at the TV. Splinter looked up as Donny joined them.
"Where has Raphael gone?" He asked his son. He did not usually ask, but it was late, and Raph left earlier to spend the whole night out.
Don shrugged. "A walk."
"Have you not found any of your information yet?"
Wondering how his Sensei knew that he was even looking, Donny shook his head. He felt, he himself, could go for a good night's stroll to clear his head, and get away from the computer. He felt like a best friend had betrayed him big time. Don turned his attention to the TV, and before he knew it he was laughing along with Leo and Mike.
//
The four turtles were not the only teenagers up late at night. Alone in her huge house, Prida felt as restless as they did sometimes. And, like they, she liked to exercise her energy, and it did not matter if it was night. Her neighborhood was not a bad one, but even she was not stupid enough to take a stroll at night. Instead she had another plan, but if her sister knew, she would not be happy. Her sister, at this minute, was not in her bed asleep, where she should be; she was on her Honeymoon, in Egypt with Korey. She had been gone for two days, but she was not due back home until two weeks. Their honeymoon was extended into a holiday, as after Egypt, they would go to Somerset in England, where their parents had gone on their honeymoon, and from where their father originated. It left Prida feeling slightly lonely, but at other times, she could have the stereo on as loud as she wished, could fix whatever she wanted in the kitchen and make a mess, and watch whatever she liked as late as she wanted. Smiling because of her mischievousness, Prida glanced her sister's car keys, hanging from a wooden key rack in the shape of a padlock, brought back by Korey after he had come from Spain to visit his Uncle.
"Oh, what the heck," she said to herself, and snatched the keys from the hook. Korey's dad owned a water ski lake just out of New York in the countryside, and because there was no one about, and the gravel roads were long, and overhung by trees, she had been allowed to drive around in Korey's dad's truck where she had perfected her bad driving; thud giving her the confidence to know believe she could ride her sister's car, this night, just around the block. It was late, no one would see her, and because of its well-behaved occupants, cops hardly ever patrolled the neighborhood.
It was a beautiful night; black sky, clear of clouds so the stars were shown. Prida locked her house door, as she new she should despite the niceness of the neighbors, pocketed them and unlocked her sister's blue car.
Just a slow drive around the block, she thought as she started the engine. Clear my head, not that it needs clearing. It's too boring in there, no more movies to watch – she had watched Men In Black 2 so many times already after renting it twice – no new music to listen to – she had listened to all of her CDs so many times she was sick of them – and . . . no one to talk to. So a nice quiet drive around the block will be a change, this later at night anyway, and no one to see on the way – thinking of Tooks, who was everywhere she always went. Yep, no one to bump into . . .