A/N: There are a few references to a show called Oz that used to air on HBO. For those of you who haven't seen it, it was mainly about the gritty prison life. Really good drama! Watch it if you ever get the chance!

Chapter Two: Human Accessories

"I just don't see how this could happen! It's genetically impossible!"

Donatello stopped and turned, then continued pacing the space in front of the blue couch. Michelangelo sat cross-legged on the couch, still huddled under his bed sheet, and his eyes were glued to the Game Guy in his hands. Raphael sat next to his younger brother and let out an annoyed growl every time Donatello got between him and the many television screens. He pushed the volume button on the remote, increasing the sound so he could block out his brother's scientific babbling. Leonardo and Splinter sat together on the floor on the right side of the couch, both feeling a bit nervous as they watched Donatello pace.

"Now if originally we had been human, and we somehow mutated back, that would be more understandable." Donatello held his new, smaller chin in his hand, crossing his other arm over his bare chest, and the wheels in his head turned faster. " It just doesn't make sense!"

"Neither does our disappearance." Leonardo added. " And we know for a fact the two coincide with each other."

"Man, this is so much easier to play with smaller thumbs!" Michelangelo said happily as he pounded away on the buttons. " My score is going through the roof!"

"Your thumbs are gonna be easier to break too!" Raphael grumbled as he turned the volume up again. " Turn that stupid thing off! That beepin' noise is makin' me crazy!"

"Ahhh, what's the matter, Raphie?" Michelangelo said in a mocked concerned voice. " Are you upset because you didn't get my good looks?" He then reached over and patted Raphael's cheek. " It's okay, I still think you're pretty!"

Michelangelo's smile faded when he saw the glare Raphael was giving him, which was more pronounced by his narrowed brown eyebrows, and he knew his brother was about to jump.

"Meep!" Michelangelo then dove over the back of the couch, only to fall on his face as Raphael grabbed the bottom of the bed sheet and jerked it out from under his feet. Raphael chuckled to himself as he heard Michelangelo moan in pain, but his laughter stopped when he noticed Splinter's cold stare.

Leonardo placed his palms together and bowed his head in thought, the ends of his hair bushing across his forehead. " Do any of you remember what happened that night?"

His eyes went to Donatello first, then to Raphael, both of them holding the same look of disarray.

Michelangelo sat up and leaned over the back of the couch. He pulled the twisted bed sheet off of his head, making his layered blonde hair fly away from the static.

"Weren't we tailing the Foot?" He asked, wrinkling his lightly freckled forehead as he faced Raphael.

"Yeah," Raphael continued. "We were ready to pounce on 'em, then this huge black truck appeared out of nowhere." His eyes then went to Donatello.

Donatello stopped pacing and stared into the floor. " I recall seeing the truck, but then I also remember a flash of light."

"Then nothing, right?" Leonardo finished for them all, and his brothers nodded in agreement. "Nothing but darkness."

"Man, my head hurts!" Michelangelo rubbed at his temples as he jumped back over the sofa.

Raphael suddenly laughed, trying his hardest not to crack a joke. "You make it way too easy for me, Mikey."

"I think our best bet would be to go back and retrace our steps." Leonardo stood up and tightened the knot in his bed sheet. "There must be something up there that could help us find out what happened!"

"Uh, one question?" Michelangelo raised his arm into the air. "Are the togas optional?"

Leonardo made a quizzical face, then realized that Michelangelo was talking about the bed covers they were all wearing.

"We still have those outfits that Angel gave us," Donatello spoke as he headed for the elevator that led up to the surface. "I stuffed them inside the Battle Shell."

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Raphael moaned as he jumped up from the couch and followed Leonardo and Michelangelo. "Do you know how ridiculous we'll look in those things?"

"It will do for now, Raph," Leonardo waited for his brothers to step into the glowing chamber before entering.

"Be careful, my sons. I hope you find the answers you seek." Splinter bowed his head, and the doors closed.

"Do you think we should have brought our weapons?" Michelangelo asked.

"What for?" Donatello replied. " Now that we're human, what kind of trouble could we possibly get into?"

"All right, boys. Out of the vehicle."

Michelangelo threw Donatello a dirty look as they unbuckled their seat belts and joined the police officer on the street.

"Yeah, Donnie. We couldn't possibly get into trouble!" He said sarcastically. Donatello's only response was a shrug under the weight of the baggy, white-hooded coat he wore.

"You boys do know that it's illegal to drive without a license, right?" The cop's southern accent flowed out from under the toothpick in his mouth as he leaned forward.

" Andyou do know that you are in desperate need of a breath mint, right?" Raphael waved his hand, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Raphael!" Leonardo whispered as he shoved his elbow into his brothers' side. "Don't make things worse!"

The cop pulled his shades down and leaned in closer to Raphael, spitting his toothpick on the ground as his eyes burned.

"You sure do gotta a smart mouth, boy, and I suggest you keep it shut."

Raphael narrowed his eyes and pushed his thin lips together. "Are you gonna make sure of that, cause I'd love to see ya try!"

The sunglasses on the cops face fell lower down his large nose, and his wicked toothy grin grew.

Moments later, the four found themselves sitting in a cramped and dirty jail cell, and no one could stop from giving Raphael a dirty look.

"What!" Raphael said in his defense as he pulled on the white drawstrings that connected to the lavender hooded sweatshirt he wore. " Freakin' cop. I shoulda knocked him out!"

"Sure, Raph," Donatello rolled his eyes. "Getting arrested for assaulting an officer would have been a great addition to our joy riding charge."

Leonardo held onto the bars of the cell door and watched the hallway anxiously. Next to him on his left side, Michelangelo was seated on the small cot that hung down from the wall and he chewed nervously on his fingernails.

"I can't take it. I won't last a day in the big house!" His voice rose into a high pitch and Raphael couldn't hold back his growl of annoyance.

" Get ahold of yerself, Mikey. This is a police station, not federal prison!"

Michelangelo lowered his hand and tapped Donatello's shoulder. " Hey, do you think I could get in the Brotherhood or the Homeboys?"

Raphael laughed. "Naw, you'll be Fiona's little pet."

Leonardo turned away from the hallway and sighed. "I have got to hide those Oz DVDs."

"Right this way, Miss ÒNeil."

Leonardo turned sharply back to the gray walls and tighten his grip on the bars as a female officer led their good friend April down the brightly lit hallway, the lights above catching the highlights of her red hair.

" I still don't understand. This must be a mistake! I don't have nephews!"

The officer stopped in front of the rusty jail cell doors, and April stared blankly into the faces of four teenage boys she had never seen before.

"April!" The black hair boy in front of her called out. "I'm glad you came."

Her green eyes grew wide as she suddenly recognized the voice. " Leo? Is that you?"

"Ma'am?" The female officer grumbled as she cleared her throat. April pulled her eyes away from the young inmates and gave the cop a dumbfounded smile.

"Yep, those are my wild and reckless, uh, nephews," April then added a nervous laugh as the cop reached for the cell door key.

April was still in shock as she drove the Battle Shell down the busy Manhattan streets. Donatello sat in the passenger seat while his brothers rode in the back.

"This is just . . . genetically impossible!" She said again. Donatello nodded, laughing slightly as April repeated his own words. " I don't see you guys for three months, then this!"

"I was thinking of collecting our blood samples and running a few tests on them," Donatello continued. "But some of my equipment isn't quite up-to-date. The results wouldn't be very accurate."

April blew air up at her bangs as she wheeled the vehicle over the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Don, you're not thinking of going to back to Stockman's lab again, are you?"

"Goin' back? We blew that place sky-high!" Raphael leaned forward across the seats, fastening his long hair with a rubber band. "Since when have you been goin' back there?"

"I've made a few trips here and there," Donatello admitted. "Stockman may have been crazy, but his research equipment was highly advanced, and since he's not using them anymore, I've taken the liberty of retrieving it for myself."

"Well, whatever you do, I hope you find out somethin' about what happened to us." Raphael looked up at his reflection in the rear-view mirror and studied his strong square jaw line, still not believing what his eyes were showing him. "I'm missin' my old face!"

The Battle Shell came to a stop in the middle of a vast parking lot full of cars, and the previous mutants filed out, their eyes wide with surprise.

"April?" Leonardo was the first to speak. " Where did you take us?"

"Since you guys can't walk around in those," She pointed to the baggy street clothes that now hung loosely on their thinner human frames. " I'm going to buy you four some better outfits that actually fit."

"The Mall!" Michelangelo shouted as he jumped into the air. " I've never been to the Mall before! WOOHOO!"He then grabbed April's hand and jerked her across the parking lot.

Raphael sighed and spoke in a dry, sarcastic tone. "Oh, yeah, this is gonna be fun."