Disclaimer: I don't own them because they don't want to be owned. How about that?
A/N: Well, this is it, guys. It's been fun! This is my last chapter to this story. Now don't you all worry if you don't see any more fics from me for like five months, because I am going to write one for the TMNT before I come back and write another story for this one. I have the next story all planned out and it is going to be a Jarod centric fic, no Kara and no turtles. In fact, I think that Kara wasn't that big of a hit so if I ever do write a fic with her in it I don't plan on posting it. If you want to see it (if and when I write it) just send me an e-mail or tell me so in your review and I'll send it to you. A special thanks to ShadowElfBard, my beta reader, and to my one and only reviewer! You know who you are!!
"Ben?!" I jumped out from behind the bush and pounced on the stranger, enwrapping him in a great big hug.
"Whoa! Kara?! Hey, girl! Where'd ya go? One day you just like up and left!"
I pulled away. "Well Ja- Daddy, got a transfer. I guess we did leave kinda quick."
"Well." Ben picked himself up off the ground and leaned against a tree. "So… what's new?" I winced slightly and chanced a glance upwards. The tree Ben was leaning on was the tree Mikey was hiding in. He was perched precariously on a puny branch that looked like it was barely holding his weight, but he couldn't move for fear of alerting Ben.
"Oh, not too much," I replied. "I've been keeping myself busy with school and what not. I'm here on spring break."
"Spring break? It's only April."
"Yeah, well..." A loud 'Achoo!' was heard from the foliage above as a green cannon ball fell right on top of Ben. Ben once again found himself on the ground, this time face to face with none other than Mike. Mikey tried to grin a bit, but Ben's eyes were as wide as saucers and a sharp bark of surprise escaped his throat.
"Busted," I groaned.
"Some ninja you are," Don said, swinging down from the tree he had shimmied up.
Ben's jaw worked up and down but no words spilled forth.
I could hear Donny speaking from behind me. "Come off him, Mikey. You already scared him to death with you're face. Why not save him some dignity and keep from flattening the dude like a pancake?"
Mikey rolled off of Ben but not before leaning down to give him a kiss. Don promptly yanked his Bo staff out of its holder and whacked his brother one on the head.
"Hey, the dude was asking for it with his mouth moving like that."
I laughed as I helped Ben up. Mikey's joke seemed to snap his brain out of its stupor.
"Kara! What is this?! What are these things?! Where are they from?"
My face dropped at Ben calling them 'things'. Technically I was just like them. The only dissimilarity being that my difference had more to do with my instincts rather than my physical appearance. Mikey seemed unfazed, however, and as always knew just what to say to break the ice. He nodded as if confirming something.
"Mutants," he said. "From Xavier School for the Gifted."
"Stop fooling around, Mikey." Donny extended his hand to a very bewildered Ben. "My name is Donatello. This dimwit here is my brother Michelangelo."
"Uh, Hi… I guess."
"Look, Ben," I said, "it's a long story. Why don't we go back to my place and we'll give you some explanations."
I didn't really want to tell Ben the whole story. Telling him all about the guys would mean telling him about The Centre, which would lead to the facts about me. I don't think Ben could handle all that at once. Maybe I could pass the word to Donny on the walk back that we needed to fabricate a bit so as not to get into any more trouble.
Mikey had Ben busy for the moment with a whole pack of stories about X-men so I decided that if ever there were a time to talk to Donny, now would be it. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned slightly to show he was listening.
"Hey, Donny," I whispered. "About telling Ben the whole story…"
"No worries, Kara. I'm already working on it up here in the good old brain box. Anything else you want me to leave out besides the New York City sewers, The Centre, and the fact that you and Jarod are geniuses?"
"Nope, that's about it. Boy, you're good."
Don a stopped a moment to execute a bow.
"Why, thank you. I pride myself on my deceiving abilities. Remember, girl, I'm a ninja."
12:00 noon
Rural Ohio
Jarod's Ranch house
The living room
"… After our Master Splinter died we really didn't have a reason to stay in New York anymore, so we packed up and hit the road. Not long after that we met Jarod and Kara."
Don was pretty good at what he called his 'ninja deceiving abilities'. The ironic thing was that almost everything he said was true. He made a few alterations to their past like the reason for their Sensei to train them in ninjitsu, and where they really lived, but everything else was true to a fault.
"Our other bros are outside right now, doing ninja stuff. Don't worry-- you won't have to see them for a good long while. Raph's face would be enough to scare the pants off ya!"
As if on cue, Raph came scrambling through the front door and slammed the door shut behind him. He dived for the nearest window and peeked out from behind the curtain.
"What's wrong, Raph?" Donny jumped to his feet and had his Bo staff out before I could blink.
"It's a huge bear! Came lumberin' into the yard right in front of Leo and me!"
"So where's Leo?" Mikey already had a growing grin on his face as he asked the question, thinking of his own answers.
"Climbed up a tree. Said he still wanted to meditate. Not me though, dude. I high tailed it outta there!"
A loud shout was heard from outside and Leo came flying in the door. Sure enough, a large Grizzly bear came galloping after him, but was stopped short by the door that was now locked and bolted. Yet she still pawed at it and growled deep in her throat. I walked over to the window beside Raph and craned my neck to see the front door. A small bear cub came ambling up crying pitifully for his mother.
"Leo, You didn't get between that Grizzly and her cub, did you?" I asked. If he did, he was in big trouble.
"No!" he answered, insulted that I even ask such a question. "The cub walked up to me! When I saw the mom coming Raph went inside and I decided to go to high ground. Little did I know, those things can climb trees!"
"Well, that's why the mom came after you. She thought you were trying to harm her cub."
"So how do we make her go away?" asked Raph. He stayed by the window and eyed the enraged mother skeptically while the rest of us moved back to the center of the room.
"I dunno about that. All I know is why you made her mad."
Ben raised his hand a bit from where he sat. He still seemed pretty shy around intelligent beings not of the same species.
"I think I may have the answers to your problem." He paused to make sure that he had been noticed. "Just spray pepper spray in her eyes. It will startle her and she can't face an enemy blind. She'll run off as soon as she makes sure her cub is following."
"Great!" Mikey jumped up,but stopped suddenly as an after thought. "Jarod,do you have any pepper spray?"
"Well, no, but I'm sure we can whip up something just as affective."
Jarod got up and walked into the kitchen. The coffee must have done its work while we were on our walk and he was back to his normal "average" self.
"The components in pepper spray are much the same as the ingredients found in the spice drawer. Pure Cayenne pepper creates a burning sensation. If you separate the pepper even farther it's even more potent. Mixed with a bit of oil to help it stick to the skin, it would be quite an effective weapon."
"What's Cayenne pepper?" Raph leaned over and whispered to Don.
"It's what Mikey puts on Chili."
"That stuff's supposed to burn?"
"Yeah, remember that time that Mikey put a tablespoon of it in instead of a teaspoon? Imagine eating it pure. Some peppers are so strong that they can burn holes through skin. Cayenne isn't that strong but it does irritate the eyes, noes, throat and lungs, as well as causing some swelling.
Raph nodded his head and straightened up, satisfied.
"Oh."
Donny stepped forward to help Jarod as he rummaged through the cupboards, trying to find all the things they needed. I swear that Donny is almost as into inventing things as Jarod is. I never really enjoyed that kind of stuff, but Don and Jarod were going at it with a force that was to be reckoned with. It didn't surprise me one bit when they popped out of the kitchen ten minutes later with a bottle full of an amber liquid. They must have stolen one of my hair sprays from my room because the bottle was complete with a spray action nozzle. Jarod gave a tense smile as he moved into the room with the concoction.
"Now, who's going to go out there and spray the thing?"
Everyone immediately diverted their attention to something else in the room. Leo was the one who suggested drawing straws.
Raph uttered a curse as he drew the shortest straw from Jarod's hand.
"Alright. Now how do I 'spray' this thing?" he asked as he snatched the bottle from Jarod.
Ben instructed Raph on the procedures to spray the bear.
"Stand about twenty to thirty feet away from her and let her charge you."
"Wait! Whoa! Let her charge me?! Why not just go up and spray her?"
"Because if you do that, she will be unaware that her enemy was the one inflicting the pain. Wait until she charges you then spray, aiming for her eyes. Stay still and let the chemical do its work. Wait for her to leave before you do anything. If she still charges then try again, but if she gets too close then get out of there."
"Let's just get this over with."
The door slammed as Raph walked out of the house, announcing his presence to the fuming bear. We all scampered to the window to watch as the bear left her assault on the front do to investigate the noise. Raph appeared by the side of the house holding the bottle of homemade pepper spray in one hand and a Sai in the other just in case. The enraged female wasted no time in initiating an attack on her enemy, but Raph didn't waste any time either. Before she could react Raph had sprayed the formula in her eyes and it seemed she was already feeling its effects. She pawed at them, sneezed a bit, and shook her head around wildly, trying to get the offending chemical out. She released a roar from deep in her throat and Raph jumped and tensed, ready for a fight, but stood his ground. The baby bear cried more and the mother lumbered off with her babe following. Everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Way to go, Raphael!" Mikey screamed as he hung out the window.
Jarod laughed at Mikey's antics and couldn't resist pushing him the rest of the way out the window. I poked my head out to see Mikey lying on his shell on the porch.
"Help! I'm a turtle and I can't get up!" he joked.
I laughed as he held up his hands to me to help him. I had just grabbed hold of his wrists when I felt someone picking me up. I was dumped out the window right on top of Mike, turning around I was staring right into the grinning face of Raph.
"We'll leave you two love birds alone."
A "What?!?!" was heard from the immediate background and Don came forward.
"What was that?"
"When Leo and I were comin' out of the woods this morning we saw, um…"
"Come join us, Raph!" I said as I pulled him out the window.
He landed on top of me, and Mikey 'oofed!' from the extra weight.
"Hey," he said, his voice muffled by my head in his face.
"Aren't you supposed to be out there meditating and improving your well being or something?"
"If you think I am gonna go get all comatose with a bear out there, you're nuts, Mikey. Besides, I still gotta tell Don what I saw!"
He jumped off me and leapt off the side of the porch.
"Come on, Don!" he yelled as he ran around the side of the house.
Don hopped out the window and followed Raph at lightening speed.
"I wanna hear this!"
I rolled off of Mike, laughing.
"I don't care if he tells Don or not, but I really, really want to go after him just for the fun of it."
"Well, Takara, my dear, I can't let my bro beat up on you! I'm coming too… Purely for protection purposes"
I jumped of the porch just as Raph and Don had and ran in the direction they had taken. Mikey did a handspring off the stonewall and landed in a crouch, a wide grin on his face. I swear he's such a show off… I wish I could do that! We were about to turn the corner to the house when an idea struck me.
"Hold up. I've got an idea."
I ran back inside and came out with two buckets.
"Let's go down the hill to the creek and fill these up. We can give Don and Raph a bit of a surprise."
"I like the way you think, girlie," he snickered and grabbed a bucket from me as we ran down the hill.
"Yeah, dude. Who would've thought-- Mikey the Lovebird."
"Hey, guys!" I called sweetly from behind the corner of the house.
Raph and Don looked up long enough to get a face full of water each. They traded glances and came charging after us, roaring and yelling almost as loud as the bear. I dropped my bucket and sprinted across the yard, laughing my head off, but that was my one mistake because Raph then picked up that very same bucket and disappeared over the hill while Don wrestled Mikey for his. I sprinted around the house and dove in the kitchen door, tearing the house apart looking for more buckets. I ran past Leo and skipped up the stairs to the storage closet coming out with two more large red buckets and blew past Leo again on my way back down. Jarod followed me down the stairs and stopped to converse with a somewhat stunned Leonardo.
"What was all that about?" Leo asked.
"I don't know, but if I know anything about Kara, I know that that look on her face means that she's up to some sort of prank. Care to come watch with me?"
Leo nodded affirmative and walked with Jarod out to the porch where Ben was sitting already watching the escalating battle. Jarod pulled out his Polaroid.
"It's a Kodak moment," he laughed as he started snapping pictures.
On the battlefield buckets had been abandoned and traded for all the mud that the morning's shower had churned up. I felt someone hoist me up and carry me down the hill. My own laughter and the laughter of Raph (who seemed to be carrying me) drowned out my kicking and screaming. He didn't waste time in throwing me in a deeper spot in the creek. I stood up thigh-deep in muddy water to see Raph doubled over in hysterics. I looked like something straight out of a swamp-monster movie!
I took the opportunity of me being in the creek to gather up some mud. In no time at all Raph looked like a great big talking mud-ball. Mikey and Don came bounding over the hill as well, also covered in muck and bits of grass.
Leo appeared at the crest of the mound, dragging a hose behind him. He looked like one of those heroes in the movies that stop at the top of a hill before charging down into the valley on their horses.
"Get to high ground!" I heard Donny yell right before Leo turned the hose on us.
The rest of the day was spent roughhousing outside. At some point during the day Ben went back to the farm, making up the excuse that he told his boss he'd make dinner. By then we had pulled Jarod into our little game of war and he was having the time of his life. Our battle carried on late into the night, until the combatants decided that sleep sounded like a good idea.
8:00 am
Rural Ohio
Jarod's Ranch house
"Howdy, home dwellers!" I heard from my spot on the couch between Mikey and Donny.
"Door's open!" I screamed back to Ben.
Ben waltzed into the living room decked out in what you would call true cowboy attire. He had on boots with spurs (that I was sure were just for show) that had been dulled down to nothing, and a checkered flannel shirt with its top few buttons undone so a bit of his chest showed. His black cowboy hat and large brass belt buckle completed the getup. I had to laugh as I turned around to look at him. He would have been the hero out of an old western movie if not for his all too modern 'cool guy' sunglasses.
"So," he asked shyly, his bashfulness completely clashing with his outfit, "I have the day off. I was thinking… do you guys want to go riding with me?"
"What kind of riding?" asked Leo as he walked into the room sheathing his katanas.
10:00 am
Rural Ohio
Ben's Farm
The guys stared wide-eyed as my grin became wider, watching them.
"That's a big horse," Don said as if in a trance.
The other boys nodded dumbly. Ben patted the mare on the shoulder blade and the horse in turn jerked its head up and down as if nodding. The turtles all took a step back and put their hands on their weapons, ready to draw. Ben only laughed and grabbed his horse's halter and brought his head down rubbing his nose with his other hand.
"It's alright. This is Monogahela, Moggy for short. She's a Pinto."
I couldn't help but to laugh again as Mikey cautiously stepped forward to pet the brown mare covered in white patches of fur.
"Good horsy," he cooed. "Aww! You're such a sweet thing!"
I suddenly remembered something.
"Hey, Ben, can I bring Sunflash out?"
"Sure, Kara, just be careful with him. He's been on the jumpy side lately."
I ran into the stables and seconds later came out leading a tan horse with a long black mane. He was still young, seeing as he was born a few days after I first met Ben, but he had defiantly grown into a fine horse.
"He got so big, Ben!" I said as I patted the young colt right behind his ears.
"I think he missed you, Kara. Ever since you left he's been a bad boy, hopping fences and escaping the pastures, throwing trainers and what not."
I laughed and went back into the barn to retrieve Sunflash's tack. Together Ben and I had six horses saddled up in no time. Ben was just tightening the last strap to a saddle and flipping the stirrup back in place as I instructed the guys on how to mount correctly.
"How hard can it be to get on a horse?" asked Raph as he tried to mount his and promptly fell over the other side.
The horse whinnied as if laughing as Raph got up and dusted himself off.
"That's why it's important to swing your far leg over as you get on, so you don't do an instant replay of Raph's face plant."
I demonstrated on Sunflash, which was somewhat amusing, as Sunflash never stopped moving long enough for me to put my foot in the stirrup. Everyone else got on with little difficulty and we were off.
"You know," Mikey said after our horses had been trotting through the field for some time, "Donny always wanted a horse."
"Oh, come on, Mikey. I was like five!"
"You remember though? You saw that My Pretty Pony commercial on TV and you fell in love with the things!"
Mikey was riding between Ben and me and the other boys were in a line behind us. Their voices sounded distant as they carried on the debate.
"I remember that! Splinter found one of those figurines one day while he was out scavenging and brought it home for you. You wouldn't put that thing down!" Leo continued to tease.
"Yeah, until Raph cut the head off when he was playing war with his GI Joe set," Donny pouted.
I laughed as Raph corrected Donny, telling him that it was his Star Wars action figures, not the GI Joe ones.
"Hey look!" I pointed. "There's a groundhog. See 'im over there?"
The guys saw him, but the problem was that Sunflash did too, and apparently he didn't like small critters. He whinnied and reared up, and while I managed to stay in my saddle, Mikey wasn't so lucky. He had Sunflash's older sister, Starfire, who wasn't as well trained as the other horses. Starfire reared up and stomped about, trying to crush the rodent with her hooves. Mikey couldn't hang on and was thrown from her back like a rag doll. He hit his head on a boulder and went limp.
"Mikey!" I screamed as I jumped off my horse.
The groundhog scrambled off to its nearest burrow in fright and the horses calmed.
I was first to Mike's side with Don following as a close second. Don checked his pulse and breathing.
"He seems alright, I think he just got knocked out. He should come around soon-- he has a thick skull."
I put my hand behind his head to hold him up and it came away bloody.
"That could be a problem," Don confirmed. "Help me get him on the horse, Raph. We gotta get back to the house so I can clean this up. He may end up with a concussion."
11:30 am
Rural Ohio
Ben's Farm
Living room
"Put him here on the couch." Ben said as he rushed to get the First-Aid kit for Donny. Mikey groaned as Raph and Leo laid him on the couch.
"We need to wake him."
Mikey groaned again.
"Uhgg! Major wipe out, dudes."
"Hey, Mikey. It's time to wake up now, Bud," Leo said as he gently shook his little brother.
"Go way. I got a huge headache. Whatever it is Raph did it."
"Wake up, shell-for-brains." Raph gently kick Mikey's shell and Mikey opened one eye to glare at him.
"Is this the way you treat wounded turtles, Raph? I'm shocked."
Mike opened both eyes and tried to sit up.
"Whoa! Talk about seeing multiples. There's like twenty Raphs! That's just too much to handle."
Ben came back with the First-Aid kit as Donny pushed Mikey back down into the couch.
"That cut on your head is gonna probably need stitches and I'm pretty sure you have a concussion," Donny said as he threaded the needle.
"Ow! Don! That hurts! You mind being careful with my noggin? It's the only one I got and I kinda want to keep it!"
"Oh, stop whining, Mikey, I'm almost done."
Ben came rushing into the room just as Don was putting in the last stitch.
"Hey, you guys gotta find somewhere to hide! My boss is home!"
My head snapped up from where I was sitting with Mikey. This wasn't good. Ben's boss was nice and all but she didn't take nicely to strangers. I doubted very much that she would be too fond of strangers that weren't human.
"We'll go in the basement. I already called Jarod…. er… Daddy, to come pick us up, so he will be over any minute."
"Alright, let's help Mike down to the basement. Careful with his head, though."
Raph helped Mikey to stand and right away he looked like he wanted to toss his cookies. I closed the door to the basement just as I heard greeting his boss, Karen.
I scooted down the steps to see how Mike was doing as soon as I was sure the coast was clear.
"Here," Don held out some Extra-strength Tylenol to Mikey. "Take these. I need to finish fixing up this cut."
"Kara!" Ben yelled down the stairs. "Your dad is here!"
"Ok!" I yelled back. "Tell him I'll be out in a minute after I finish up here!"
A voice with a southern accent was heard farther away up the stairs.
"Kara? I haven't seen you in forever, girl! Come on up here. Don't you be a stranger now."
"Hello, Karen. I'll be right up!" I turned to Leo. "Ok, I'll distract Karen while you all go out the back door down here. Get down once you get out there though, because she likes to walk people to the door."
"Will do, Kara."
I walked up the stairs and Karen greeted me with a big bear hug. She was a mountain of a lady with a strong build, a dark tan, and dirty blonde hair. Jarod was already in the hall talking to her when I came in.
"We really do need you back, Jarod. The vet we have now doesn't know the difference between a donkey and a goat."
"Well, Kara and I are only here on vacation. I don't think they were planning on sending me back to this area but if you want I can come over tomorrow some time and do an unofficial examination."
I craned me head around Karen to look out the window. There I saw the guys scampering over to the awaiting van. I waited until the door closed before I tugged at Jarod's shoulder.
"We really need to be going, Daddy. I wanted to do some yard work before lunch."
Jarod seemed to get the hint and said his good-byes.
"Just call me some time, Karen, and I'll come over."
"Oh, let me walk you two to the door."
She opened the door to let us out, and right way I noticed a problem.
"Jarod, is that a turtle shell in the back of your car? It's awfully big."
Jarod's eye also widened at the sight of the top of a shell showing through one of the back windows.
"Yeah, um… It's a snapper. I got it from the antique store in town. It cost me a small fortune."
I prayed that whoever didn't hide well enough would stay still.
"Come on, Daddy. It was nice seeing you again, Karen!" I called as I made my way to the car.
As I opened the door to the front passenger seat I whispered between gritted teeth.
"No one move an inch. She can see one of you."
I heard someone curse as Jarod entered the car and drove of. We reached a turn in the road and I let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Coast is clear, guys."
They all sat up. Raph didn't waste anytime on hitting Don.
"You're getting fatter, Bro."
Mikey held his head between both hands and blinked hard several times.
"Oxygen deprived brain, dudes. Not good."
"What happened?" Jarod asked.
"Mikey tried to play bucking bronco with his horse and whacked his head off a rock," Leo summarized.
"Have you checked for a concussion?"
"Yeah. I think he's got one so to be on the safe side we are going to keep him in bed for a few days."
"A few days?! Oh, come on, Donny! We don't know how long we are going to be here and you want me to sleep the day away! That's cruel unusual punishment."
"You know I've been thinking about that. The farm is the perfect place for you to stay. I wasn't sure before but now that Ben knows about you he can run into town for stuff for you. I need someone to keep the house up for us anyway while we are away. What do you say?"
"Well, Jarod," Leo answered for them all, "it's a very generous offer. We'll have to talk it over."
2:00 pm
Rural Ohio
Jarod's Ranch house
Mikey's room
"Hey, idiot. Wake up!"
Mikey snored on.
"Here, let me try, Raph." Leo bent down and whispered something to Mikey.
"No! Don't you dare! Raaaaph!" Mikey screamed as he shot straight up in bed and immediately regretted it.
"What'd you tell 'im?" asked Raph.
"I told him that you were going to make his nunchucks into firewood if he didn't wake up."
Raph laughed gruffly as Mikey glared at him and reached over onto the nightstand and grabbed his weapons protectively.
"Hey, dumb bell. Don wants to make sure that your head isn't getting to big for your skull."
"No," Don, who was walking by Mike's room, stopped just long enough to correct him. "I told you to make sure that someone wakes Mikey up every two our to make sure he doesn't slip into a coma."
"Well, I'm not a in a coma, so can I go back to sleep now?" whined Mikey.
"Yeah, Mike, knock yourself out," joked Raph as he left followed by Don.
"Don't worry, Leo. You can leave. I think I am going to stay here for awhile."
"Ok, Kara. Just call me if you want a break," he said as he wandered out of the room.
2:00 am
Rural Ohio
Jarod's Ranch house
WARNING: FIRST PERSON: RAPHAEL
I shuffled up the stairs towards my room with a Coke in my hand. As I passed Mikey's room I remembered my promise to Don to wake him up every two hours to make sure he didn't go comatose on us. I cracked open the door to see Kara in a chair next to his head, her body slumped over in slumber. That girl was really something. I could swear on my shell that her and Mikey were meant to be. I just wondered if my brother was too blind to see that she liked him as much as he liked her. I'd beat him out of his shell if he let her go. I lumbered over to where Mikey lay and I quietly lifted up his hand. I aimed carefully and let it fall flat on his face. He woke up with a start and I had to bite back a chuckle.
"I'm still among the vigilant, Bro. No worries," he whispered.
He pushed himself up on his elbows and noticed Kara all but asleep on his lap.
"She never went to bed did she?" he asked.
"She's got the hots for you, Bro. Make the most of it."
Mikey smiled as he looked once again at Kara.
"You really think she likes me, Raph?'
"Yeah, Mike, I do." I took a swing of my Coke and started towards the door. "Night, bro."
"Night."
I moseyed into my room and all but fell onto my bed.
Mikey deserved to be happy. We all deserved to be happy. It's sad that for fifteen long years we saved people from everything imaginable and not one of them seemed to want to see us as anything other than freaks.
I turned on the radio but only half listened to the music as I continued to fume.
We risked our necks day in and day out for people that never even knew we existed. I guess a little thanks would be too much to ask from New Yorkers, though. It seemed as though peace would never come for us. When we were old and could barely walk we would still be fighting against anybody who raised a weapon wishing ill against others. It was insane the way we lived.
The words to the song on the radio became clearer to me. It was a song that I recall Donny listening to once or twice. It was by some guy who never took off his cowboy hat and boots. I listened as the music drifted into the background and his deep voice came filtering into the room.
'We call them cool
Those hearts that have no scars to show
The ones that never do let go
And risk the tables being turned
We call them fools
Who have to dance within the flame
Who chance the sorrow and the shame
That always comes with getting burned'
Maybe that's what the world thought of us as. Really we were fools for putting our lives on the line every night when the sun went down.
'But you've got to be tough when consumed by desire
'Cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire
We call them strong
Those who can face this world alone
Who seem to get by on their own
Those who will never take the fall
We call them weak
Who are unable to resist
The slightest chance love might exist
And for that forsake it all
They're so hell-bent on giving, walking a wire
Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire'
Then again, maybe the world wasn't wrong. Maybe it was us. Would we ever really be able to live without our nightly real life drama? Goodness knows I got at Leo's throat when we haven't been in a scuffle for awhile. Would we be able to live with ourselves knowing that we had the power to stop crimes from happening, and instead we just sat at home and did nothing?
'Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire
There's this love that is burning
Deep in my soul
Constantly yearning to get out of control
Wanting to fly higher and higher
I can't abide
Standing outside the fire'
No, we probably wouldn't be able to take it. Fighting for the greater good was our life-- I really couldn't see myself as the homey guy that laid around the house all day and read the newspaper. I needed to have some action in my life and that was that. Maybe after everything had cooled down I'd go back to New York one day. I could continue our fight against evil. That's what I need to do.
I yawned as I turned out the light and made a mental note to wake myself up in two hours to scare the pants off Mikey again. Life was good, and I wanted to keep it that way, even if it meant standing inside the fire.
'Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire'