GUYS! This is a shorter chapter, BUT IT'S THE ONE I'VE BEEN MOST EXCITED FOR since Rise of the Hamatos!

I also posted a day early due to the fact that I may be too busy to post tomorrow, so I'd rather get the chapter to y'all sooner rather than later :)

Hope y'all enjoy!

May 25, 2012

Rain slicked the pavement. Jason panted as he ran, licking the droplets of water out of his vision. Gotta get out… I GOTTA GET OUT! The teen cried out as his newly 'enhanced' feet slipped in a puddle of water, sending him to the ground. Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Jason crawled behind a nearby dumpster. He trembled. No one can see me like this… Before he knew it, the boy passed out from fear and exhaustion.

After what felt like hours, the boy felt himself being shaken awake. He blinked slowly, willing his eyes to focus.

"Hey, geco? Are you alright, my friend?"

Jason's vision finally cleared, revealing before him a man made of bones wearing a surprisingly sharp suit for a New York alleyway.

"AH! Skeleton dude!" Jason screamed. He pushed himself away from the man, backing himself against the brick wall next to the dumpster.

The skeletal man lifted his arms in surrender. He had a confused look on his bony features. "I'm a yokai, geco. Haven't you seen yokai before?"

The boy nervously flicked out his tongue, still trembling. "I've never seen a lot of weird stuff before this week, dude."

The stylish skeleton removed his red fedora to scratch the top of his head. "You say you've never seen a yokai before, yet you look like one of us. How is this possible?"

Jason looked the man over. He looked weird like those other guys, yet his vibe felt much safer. He allowed himself to relax slightly. "Well… I actually used to be human." He admitted. "My old man and I had it out one night and he kicked me out. Told me to 'rethink my life' because pro skateboarding 'isn't a real career'. Anyway, I was sleeping outside one of the soup kitchens downtown when these creepy metal dudes grabbed me and threw me in their van!"

"Really?"

"'Sha, dude!" Jason was becoming more animated in his storytelling. "They brought me to their secret base or whatever and before I knew it, they dumped this green goop on me! It… did something to me…" The boy trailed off, looking down at his hands. "When the pain was gone, they said something about the test being a 'partial success'."

"How did you escape this facility?" The skeleton asked.

"I totally hid on the ceiling and waited for the metal dudes to open the door. I knew I just had to get out of there. But look at me! I'm a freakin' gecko!" Jason couldn't tell anymore if the liquid on his face was from the rain or his own tears. "I can't go back to my dad looking like this!" He felt a bony hand on his shoulder as the skeleton stood. He pulled a lever on the outside of the dumpster, a loud clattering coming from within.

"Well, it's a good thing I know someone who does not mind taking in strays, no matter what they look like." Hueso extended his hand towards the small mutant. "Come. Let's go see Big Mama."

I have been SO EXCITED to bring more of the 2018 Turtles into this environment AND THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!

I will be taking 2 weeks off of posting for Christmas and New Years, but I will continue to work on this story over the break.

Enjoy the hiatus and the holidays! Merry Christmas and STAY CREATIVE!

PS: If you want something to puzzle out over the hiatus, here are the next couple of chapter titles: Target: April O'Neil; Defy