A/N: This chapter is dedicated to The REAL Cheese Monkey. Thank you so much for all your support!
Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.
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He loved summer. Most of the storm drains dried out enough to create a skaters dream, although the smell was usually worse. "Oh well, can't win 'em all" he mused, easily avoiding a pile of refuse that emerged out of the gloom as he sped along. Recently Don had figured out some way of adapting the hard rubber wheels so they didn't make as much noise running over the uneven surfaces of their underground world. Although the wheels still performed as well as before, and their need for secrecy was still as high a priority as ever, he did miss the racket the old wheels had made.
It was the first Wednesday in July. New comic day! He was making his weekly pilgrimage to a comic store; hoping the latest issue of Spiderman would be in. Thankfully his brothers had given up on this tradition ages ago or supposedly grown out of it. However, he did catch them sneaking off with the odd issue on occasion, and still made sure to get their favourites. Well maybe not always sneaking, last week Raph had stalked into his room, threatened him with dire death if he said a word and taken a pile of Batman comics to read " Just 'cos I'm bored an' sick a bein' grounded an' Leo's hogging the heavy punch bag, again!" Funny though, he had known exactly where they were piled amid the chaos.
Mike skidded to a halt at a branch in the tunnel. "Hmmm… I suppose I should head down town, but Cindy might be back from her trip. Yup, Mort's Comic Emporium it is then!" He straightened his trench coat, settled his hat firmly on his head, and propelled his skateboard in the direction of 'Mort's' with a grin.
Visits to comic stores had started years before, once Splinter had realised that the colourful images and avid storylines had kept his sons interested in learning to read, more so than the other tattered books they had collected. It was also an introduction to interacting with humans without being discovered, and the value of money. To this end they had found a few different stores and visited each randomly, so as to minimise suspicion. Now that he was making the trips on his own, he had started to circumvent this rule a little. After all, despite not heading to the same store every week he was still considered a 'regular' at every comic store within a 10 mile radius of the lair. Besides, he reasoned, none of their enemies would be into comics, so wouldn't think of surveying these stores for mutants.
Over the past few months he had become much more of a 'regular' at Mort's store. Cindy was the store owner's daughter; she worked the till on her days off from Uni. Luckily Wednesday, the same day new release comics were delivered, was one of those days. She was a leggy brunette who had a fondness for mini skirts and crop tops. She wasn't really into comics, but she did have a great sense of humour. They had developed a running 'lame joke' competition lately, and Mike couldn't help giggling to himself as he thought over his arsenal for today.
It was almost closing time, the evening starting to encroach on the city. The light not quite faded enough to start turning on lights. Cindy started to count the till. The store was usually pretty empty this time of day, the main afternoon rush hour come and gone. There were only a couple of customers that ever bothered turning up this late. She had found that the store essentially had two kinds of customers; most liked to browse or waste time wandering through the icons of their youth; the rest knew exactly what they wanted, a quick duck in and out, probably before they were spotted by a passing work mate. She didn't really care for the vast majority of them. The few that actually acknowledged her existence as a human being only did so to either hit on her or be hugely shocked when she didn't instantly figure out the exact issue of Cyberswine they were trying to find from their vague descriptions. Like she knew the content of every comic ever published!
There was one customer she was hoping would turn up soon though. He was a sweet kid, with an infectious laugh. He usually turned up late on a Wednesday. He was a little weird, but compared to some of the freaks that she'd met in this store, he was tame! He always wore a battered long coat and fedora, even inside; he was so short she'd never gotten a good look at his face. Or his hands, he had a knack of leaving his money on the counter in a moment she wasn't looking, and she had tried hard to catch him at it. She figured it was just a silly game, like their jokes.
The bell over the door jangled as he entered. He did a fairly quick round of the store, pausing briefly at the Marvel stand to curse quietly. She just couldn't hide her grin as he headed for the counter. "So ya got a good one today, huh?" He asked, the comics he'd grabbed materialising on the bench top along with a couple of notes. "Uh huh, and some good news too, some for you, some for me." "Really? Like what?" "Why don't blind people skydive?" "Dunno" she could hear the smile in his voice. "Because it scares the crap outta their dogs!" They both giggled for a moment. "So, what's your news?" "Oh no you don't, come on lets hear yours first." "Hehe, OK. What's the last thing ta go through a bugs mind when he hits a windshield?" "Surprise me." "His butt!" They giggled again.
"By the way, you owe me an extra buck, if you want your good news that is." "Huh?" "I saved you a copy!" He all but danced with excitement as she produced the latest Spiderman issue and placed it on the counter. "Awesome!" He started to wriggle as he ransacked his pockets; it was obviously a futile effort, as that was where his hands invariably were anyway. "Oh, damn, I don't have a buck. Gees, guess I'll just leave the Phantom for this week." He sounded so heartbroken she couldn't resist. "Well I guess I can let it slide, just this once OK?" "Really? Oh, wow babe! You are the greatest! Thanks!" All the comics quickly disappeared into the front of his coat, his hand back in his pocket before she could barely register the movement through her grin.
"So aren't you gonna ask me what my good news is?" "Huh? Oh, yeah, what is it?" She presented her hand with a dramatic flourish; a huge diamond glittering on her finger. "My boyfriend finally got the guts to propose on our trip last week." "OH! Uh…, hey that's great! Congratulations!" "Thanks!" She cupped her hand back in her own, studying the gem. "I still can't quite believe it." "Well, um,… I hope he makes you happy." She smiled at him again. "Oh, that's so sweet. I knew you'd be happy for me." "Yeah, 'course. Well I'd better let you close up, huh?" "OK, I'll see ya later, take care now." "Yeah. See ya…um…later…"
Mike wandered dejectedly down the sidewalk. Usually he sped home quick as could be so he could read a couple of his new comics before dinner. But today he wasn't in any hurry. "It's no big deal" he muttered to himself. "It's not like ya had any real chance anyway…" It wasn't often he felt this glum, he could usually think of something to cheer himself up. But nothing was coming to him right now. He couldn't even look forward to teasing Raph anymore. Sensei had banned any mention of girls during the extra three weeks of detention Raph had earned for storming out before his last lot was finished. On top of that Raph had been made responsible for all of the chores around the lair while he was grounded. Mikey wasn't looking forward to dinner either.
He entered the alley, still meandering slowly and starting to wonder if it was too late for him to bum a meal from April and Casey. At least it wouldn't be burnt. Mike was considering the possibility of convincing his father that cooking was an art, not a chore, so they wouldn't all be poisoned over the next few weeks as he turned a corner. The manhole cover was behind this building. He stopped in surprise, a leering punk was stood on his exit, baseball bat in hand and a small army gathered in the gloom behind him. Mike backed up "Er, sorry guys, wrong turn, heh." As he spun to leave another platoon of punks started to fill the entrance to the alley. "Oh shit. Bad day." "Not for us, freak!" the guy with the bat bellowed as the two forces descended upon the mutant.
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He woke, and the pain hit him. He had fought pretty well; it had taken them a good ten minutes to overwhelm him. But they had just kept coming, and judging by the amount of cuts and bruises he felt now he didn't think they had stopped as soon as he had lost consciousness either. He warily opened an eye, shutting it quickly against the bright light that assaulted him. Adjusting to the brightness slowly he managed to look around. He was alone, naked, in a cage built with one side a concrete wall, the rest thick bars. Along the opposite wall there were lockers and a bench where his gear had been dumped. To the left of the cage there were entrances to a tiled area; on the other side were a set of double doors. There were no windows, although the chill draught from the overhead air conditioning ducts was helping to clear his head, even as it added to the stiffness in his muscles.
He tried to sit up, and realised his wrists were shackled together with three links of thick chain between them. A second chain lead from the centre link to a metal ring embedded in the middle of the concrete wall. "To be sure, to be sure" he muttered to himself, managing to push himself up to sit, propped against the bars near the double doors. He started as he heard a quiet click from behind him. He managed to stand, if a bit shakily, to see a young girl slip through the door. She was pretty small, with long hair tied back in a pony tail. She was wearing a black cotton shirt that was obviously a size too big, the cuffs sitting over her hands and the bottom almost reaching her knees as it wasn't tucked in. Underneath she had on faded jeans and well worn brown boots, kinda like hiking boots. He thought he'd seen her face before, but where?
She closed the door quietly and then turned to face him, arms crossed with a defiant look. "Who the hell are you?" he croaked past his swollen lips. She was taken aback. Then her face softened for a moment, she looked relieved? She hid the expression so quickly behind her defiant look again he couldn't be sure. "A 'Dragon' of course, just curious to see what you look like in the light." "Well this aint a friggin' zoo, lady." He returned her fierce look. Her eyes softened again. "Sorry, I don't mean to make you even more uncomfortable." He couldn't help but scoff and she looked away as she continued. "But I was… I have only seen you guys in the dark before." Her defiant look returned again.
He didn't bother to answer, still trying to think of where they had met before. "Heh, you know when I first heard about a 'turtle' gang, I was kinda expecting just another load of goons, not actual turtles. Gees, just thought you wore green or something, easier than damn tattoos that's for sure. How the hell do turtles manage to learn martial arts and go leaping about on rooftops for goodness sake?" It finally clicked where he had seen her before.
"You didn't know we were turtles? But you've been fightin' Raph haven't you?" Her brow furrowed. "Raph?" Mike gave her an incredulous look "Yeah, you know Raph-a-el, my brother." She actually looked a little stunned. "Oh, so that's his name. Yeah, well I did kinda figure it out the last couple of times we met…" Mike shook his head in disbelief. "You really didn't know his name? Gees, does he know yours?" She shot him a dirty look. "No I didn't, we haven't exactly been exchanging pleasantries you know. Come to think of it, I don't think he knows my name either…" He couldn't help but laugh, wincing at the hurt it caused. "What?" She demanded. "Oh, hehe, …nothing, I just thought he knew it is all. So, like, what is your name then?" She fidgeted for a moment; then murmured "It's Tausha. What's yours?" "Michelangelo, but the babes call me Mikey!" He grinned and winced again. She raised an eyebrow at him, a small smile starting to play on her lips. "Really?" Mike nodded as he patted his face gingerly, trying in vain to stop the aches.
Her smile vanished into a frown. Without a word she walked around the cage and disappeared into the tiled area. Mike heard a tap running briefly. She reappeared with a couple of towels over her right arm; her sleeve had been rolled up past her elbow, and a paper cup. She offered him the cup through the bars. It was his turn to raise an eye ridge, unsure whether to trust her. "It's just water" she assured, a little impatiently. Mike walked over and took the offering, giving it a quick sniff before he took a sip. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it and his thirst won over his concern. He downed the rest of the water in gulps. Tausha took back the cup and handed him one of the towels instead. The towel was damp and it felt good to wipe off some of the blood and grime. Starting with his face he ran the cloth over his body as best he could. He handed it back once it was too covered in muck to be of any more use. Tausha swapped it for the second towel, this one was dry. Mike was glad of that, the dampness was refreshing, but the extra chill had already started some of his bruised muscles twinging in protest.
Once he gave back the towel she disappeared into the bathroom once more. When she returned she was only carrying the cup, she offered it to him again. This time he took it and drank without hesitation. "Thanks." He gave her a warm smile, with only a small wince. Tausha smiled back. "No problem." She took the empty cup and tossed it deftly into a bin by the lockers.
"So what is the deal with you an' Raph then?" "Huh? There is no 'deal'. We just fight every now 'n' then." "Why?" "I dunno. He started it." She started inspecting a spot on the floor. "That's not how he tells it, and you stole his sai." Mike accused cheekily. Her head snapped up furiously at that. "I DID NOT steal his damn sai! Gees what did he expect me to do, just leave it there for someone else to pick up? Fuck 'im, if I hadn't of taken it he never would have got it back!" She stalked back around the cage, heading for the doors on the other side. Mike was shocked by her outburst, then realising she was about to leave, launched himself after her. "Hey! I'm sorry, please don't go." She paused, ready to push the handle and gave him a questioning look. Mike looked a little sheepish. "I just don't wanna be left alone" he muttered to the floor. Tausha's face softened again and she stepped closer to the bars in front of Mike. Quietly she asked "You know I can't do anything else to help you, right?" "Yeah, I know, you've done heaps already. It's just nice to know that someone here doesn't want me dead." They shared a sad smile.
They both jumped as voices sounded outside the double doors. "Shit!" Tausha cursed as she spun, backing into the bars of the cage. The doors were flung open as Hun and a few other punks entered the room. Hun did a double-take, seeing Tausha there. "What the hell are you doing here?" She cowered against the cage as he stood over her. "Nu,…Nuthin'. I was just curious…" "Well get out, I don't want to see you in here again, got it?" "Y… yeah." She shot Mike a look as Hun turned away, but he was too busy trying to fend off the goons that were muscling him up against the wall to notice. Hun started to wrap his knuckles in linen strips as he entered the cage. "I can't believe I've finally got one of you freaks to play with. It's time you started to pay for what you did to the master." "Hey, don't ya take American Express?" "Heh heh, no I think I'd prefer payment the old fashioned way." Hun noticed the girl hadn't moved yet. "Tausha, out, now!" She nodded and bolted for the door.
She stopped just down the hall, hugging the wall. "The old fashioned way? Get with the times why don'cha? UGH!" Mike didn't get a chance to say anything else that Tausha could hear. Not over the sickening sounds of knuckles on flesh, the odd sharper thwacks she guessed were strikes to his front, and the jeers of the punks. Suddenly a tune started playing, a mobile ring tone? It was one of those boppy kinda dance tunes, she hadn't heard it as a ring tone before, but recognised it as Lollipop by Aqua. It became obvious pretty quickly that no one was gonna stop the proceedings to answer it. Hearing the thuds and grunts over the upbeat music was more than she could bear. Tausha fled.