Title: Consequences
Rating: T
Summary: While mutated into a monster, Donatello escapes into the city and commits a terrible crime. The mutagen Bishop released into New York has claimed victim after victim, and a young reporter is slowly putting the pieces together. Raph/OC, Mikey/OC, Leo/OC
Chapter 3 ReactionsShe awoke with the disconcerting notion that she was swaying. It was peaceful, and the gentle rocking motion eased the cramps in her belly. She couldn't hear anything but snoring. She sniffed hesitantly, because despite the comfortable resting place, something smelled bad. It was a nasty mix between dirty socks and dried sweat. Her eyes grew large as her stomach rolled unpleasantly. Covering her mouth in an attempt to hold off the inevitable, she pitched her body off the hammock and scrambled to her feet.
Something was terribly wrong. First, her balance was shot. Being six months pregnant, she'd gotten used to dizzy spells, but this was something else entirely. Her entire body felt foreign, and an unexpected weight on her back made her stumble.
Her stomach protested further, and she felt her last meal coming up the back of her throat. She stepped on something that was definitely alive, because it grunted and soon hands were steadying her. Startled, she whipped around too fast and forgot to keep her hand over her mouth. The nasty stuff drenched the poor guy before he even knew what was coming.
"What the shell! Nasty!" His voice was deep and angry sounding, and it frightened her. She pulled away from his half-hearted grip and tried to run for it, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness. She narrowly avoided tripping over something else before his hands grabbed her again. She knew they would not let go this time. "Easy, lady, I'm not gonna hurt ya."
She wanted to believe him, and his voice had calmed considerably. She knew she needed to calm down. She was soaked in sweat and her heart was beating like crazy. It couldn't be good for the baby. She forced herself to relax.
"There ya go, much better," the graveled voice praised. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to get her bearings. She was beyond confused, and she was half-afraid she'd be sick again very soon. "Look, I'm gonna turn on the light, okay? But I'm warnin' ya, my appearance might be a little disturbing. Are ya' ready?" he asked. She took a deep breath and nodded.
"You…you're one of the turtle men. I remember your voice," she said hesitantly.
"Yeah, that's right," he replied. The light clicked on and she observed a medium sized brick room. The hammock was still swaying gently, and as she had expected, it was a male's room. That explained the nasty odor. Her captor was one of the giant turtles she remembered, but not the monstrous one that had attacked her and Rex. She was further calmed when she saw that she was not in some kind of jail cell, but rather in a bedroom of some sort.
Her captor was looking at his chest in a disgruntled way, his face scrunched up and his eyebrows forked in irritation. He grabbed a nearby towel (yellow with stains of some sort) and mopped up the puke.
"Err…sorry about that," she said automatically. He glanced up at her and then quickly focused on the towel.
"You couldn't help it," he admitted after a moment's hesitation. They stood there, awkwardly, him staring at the dirtied towel while she stared at him. Finally, mother nature broke the standoff.
"I really need a restroom," she managed to say. Her voice sounded rusty and completely alien to her ears. He glanced up at her, wrinkling his nose again.
"Yeah you do," he agreed quickly. She had the feeling it was an insult, but she was far too disoriented to duke it out with some giant turtle man. She merely glared instead, her hands rising naturally to rest on her hips. He got the point, and muttered something that could have been an apology but was indistinct. "Err…follow me, bathroom is this way."
She followed him, or started to, until she noticed something.
Why was her skin green?
Frozen in the dimly lit bedroom, she stared first at her protruding stomach that was still a pale shade of yellow. That was normal looking. But her hands…they were a light, mossy green color. Her eyes scanned slowly up her arms (also green) to her breasts, which looked as though they were coated by some kind of lightweight peach armor. She touched her own chest in wonder, skimming green fingertips over the impossibly thick skin. The tops of her breasts were still soft and flesh toned, but below that her skin was like that of a reptile's. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
"What's takin' so long?" The voice questioned from just outside the room. She snapped out of her self-examination and hurried after him, hoping to find a mirror in the bathroom.
She pushed past him once she saw the toilet, causing him to grunt yet again. Once inside the room, she slammed the door shut and flicked the lock, pushing herself against the wall and allowing herself to fully relax for the first time since she had awoken. The door was locked, and she was safe for the moment. She waited a few moments to see if the giant turtle would try to break down the door or something, but when she didn't hear anything, she slowly inched forward and hit the light.
The reflection that greeted her was not her own. She gasped, gripping the sink basin so hard that her fingers hurt, staring unblinking at the face in the mirror.
She did not look pretty. Scrunching up her own face in disgust, she prodded at her limp, greasy hair. It was plastered to her face and shoulders like a tiny little snakes. Everything she once loved about her face was gone, replaced by strange, green features. Her pouty pink lips were now thin and flesh toned. Her blemish free, rosy complexion was now green and spotted with pale, peach freckles that made her look sickly. Her eyes trailed downwards in horror, noting the long, jagged nails on each hand and the rough green skin on her arms. Most shocking of all was the shell.
She had been mutated into a turtle.
It was almost enough to make her faint, but she retained her composure. Numbly, she turned on the water and splashed herself, hoping she might wake up to discover she was back in the apartment with Rex and she had just had a bad dream.
No such luck. She groaned, salty tears gathering in her eyes and sliding down her face. She was a monster. What was worse – her baby had not moved since she had awoken. Brokenly, her hands wrapped around her extended belly. She sunk to her knees trembling, blissfully out of view of the mirror.
She sat like that for hours before she found the strength to get up and use the restroom, and then to turn on the shower. She did not know what was going on, but she was going to take advantage of the bath while she had it. Then she was going to get answers.
TMNT
They watched her eat in amazement. She practically ignored them, wolfing down food as if she was starving.
"Err…easy there. It isn't going anywhere," April said a bit reproachfully. The teenage girl paused a bit sheepishly, and then slowed her pace by about a fraction of a second. At least she wasn't talking with her mouth full. When she had eaten her fill, she leaned back, sighing contentedly.
"That was great. I appreciate you guys helping me out, but I should probably go find my brother now."
April cleared her throat, glancing uneasily at Leonardo, who looked equally baffled.
"Don't you have anymore questions? Aren't you at least a little bit confused?" April prodded. The girl glanced at all of them and shrugged. "I'm not shocked by my appearance, if that's what you're wondering about. I knew all about the mutants because of my brother. He's a reporter. He was working on the mutant story and had been telling me all about it. He got a tip and went to investigate, and brought me along. That was the first time we saw the mutant. It was a giant dog. It was too big to be any normal type of animal. We barely escaped from it, and my brother immediately started doing research. He's good at finding out about things that are supposed to be secrets."
"And he found out that the mutated dog wasn't the only one roaming around New York?" Leonardo guessed. The girl nodded.
"I remember everything pretty clearly. My brother and I tracked one of the mutants down into the sewers. It attacked us and my brother missed his shot. It dragged me off. When I woke up, I felt pretty bad. I was down in the sewers and I was really sick. There was a cut on my arm," she held out her left arm where the healing cut was still visible, "so I knew I was infected. My brother had found some research notes when he hacked into some classified government files. The files said that the mutation spread by infected blood, usually by the mutagen leaking into a cut or scrape. The incubation period was different in each case. The animals all mutated at various speeds. The one human included in the study mutated in about a week. By my estimate, I was wandering around in the sewers for at least a day or two, plus the time I was unconscious."
"Then what happened?" Mikey asked, absorbed in the story.
"I started to hurt really badly. It was agonizing. I'm not likely to forget that anytime soon."
"Donnie was in a lot of pain right before he transformed, too," Casey added. The girl toyed with a fork, her brows creasing in thought.
"After that, my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I remember following a scent. I thought I was following the mutant that changed me, but it turned out to be someone else. She was mutated like me, but she was wounded pretty badly. Something about her smell…it made me unable to leave her. I brought her food. That's really all I remember."
"That doesn't explain why you're handling all of this so well," April replied. The girl shot her an exasperated look.
"I'm not exactly happy about it, if that's what you're asking. The way I see it, if it could be reversed this far, then I can probably be turned back into a human. I just have to find my brother. He'll know what to do."
"And just who is your brother?" Leo asked.
"His name is Cougar," she replied.
"The blonde man from channel nine?" Master Splinter questioned. The perky young girl nodded her head.
"Yeah, that's him! Not many people know of him. He hasn't been given too much air time yet."
"He covered a pretty big story last night," April said flatly. An awkward silence fell over the group. Mikey broke it by bringing their thoughts back to the girl.
"We don't know your name or anything about you."
"Oh! Guess I forgot in all the chaos. I'm Amanda – Mandy for short."
"How old are you, Mandy?" April asked, assuming she was younger because of her hyper personality.
"Fifteen, almost sixteen. I'm a sophomore. Or, I should say, I was a sophomore. Maybe my brother won't find a cure and I won't have to go back to school. That would be pretty sweet. Unlikely, though – no way I'd get that lucky." Amanda stood up from the table of breakfast foods, obviously ready to depart, when the bathroom door swung open.
Immediately, all eyes turned to the newcomer. She had locked herself in there since early that morning, and Master Splinter had informed them to simply let her be. Her almond eyes took in the scene, studying each of them carefully. April stood up from her chair, slowly approaching her.
"Are you okay?"
"Um…I'm better, now, thank you. Who are all of you? Where am I?"
April thought of Devon and Donatello, both still sleeping. It seemed as though she would spend her morning explaining the same story over and over again. With a weary sigh, April gestured for the pregnant woman to take her empty seat.
"It's a long story. You might as well sit down and have some breakfast."
The woman approached slowly and carefully, her arms wrapped self-consciously around her large stomach. Her eyes connected with Raphael's, and she winced when she remembered puking on him. He was keeping his distance from her - obviously worried she'd try it again.
Once she was seated, her eyes locked with those of the girl opposite her. The strangest sense of gratefulness and déjà vu overcame her.
"I know you. I don't know how, but I know you."
The girl nodded, her short brown hair bobbing with her movement. She radiated youth and energy, and stood in direct contrast to the older female across from her.
"I stayed with you when you were hurt. I brought you food when we were both mutated."
"I don't remember being mutated. The last thing I remember is the attack," she said softly.
"A big monster turtle, right?" the girl surmised.
"Yes. We were in the alley and he crept up on us. We couldn't get away. I thought I was going to die. My boyfriend did."
"What's your name?" the younger one asked, tilting her head inquiringly. The blonde glanced at Splinter, clearing her throat a bit nervously.
"I'm Kim."
"I'm Mikey!" Mikey announced with a trademark goofy smile. Kim jumped a bit, startled by his loud voice. Raph popped Mikey on the back of his head.
"She's scared enough already – she don't need you shoutin' at her." Amanda smiled at Mikey and then turned her bright grin on Kim.
"And I'm Mandy. She's April," she pointed to the redhead standing behind her, "And that's Casey, Splinter, Raphael, Leonardo, and Mikey." Kim's head swam with all the names, but Mandy seemed to be perfectly adjusted.
"Err…you seem okay, Mandy, but aren't you just a little bit upset? Or have I been asleep for awhile?"
"Nope, I just woke up this morning. You were in the shower. I just knew a lot about the mutants before all this happened, so I guess you could say I was a little more prepared for something like this. I have to say, though, I never anticipated you guys! My brother is going to flip when I tell him about you all."
"No!" Leonardo cut in harshly. Amanda flinched backwards, her mouth forming a little 'O' of surprise. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. It's just… we've kept our existence a secret for all of our lives. You can't leave here unless you promise to never mention us. We have very dangerous enemies."
Far from being cowed by the dramatic speech, Amanda's eyes twinkled in excitement, as if it was all some big game, even while her mouth formed an appropriate expression of seriousness. Kim watched her nervously, sensing that the younger girl was not aware of just how dangerous their situation really was.
Kim exchanged a quick glance with the elderly looking rat and sensed his apprehension as well. So she wasn't the only one that saw through the girl's act. She stood up, drawing the attention to herself.
"I need to speak with you alone, Mandy." Her tone left no room for argument. Kim was the eldest of many brothers and sisters. She knew how to use her voice to get the point across that she meant business. Amanda's eyebrows knitted in confusion, but she stood up and rounded the table.
"Alright, but I have to leave after this. I need to find Cougar." Kim didn't know who Cougar was, but her hope was that when they were done with their little chat, they would both be heading back to her apartment...without any giant turtle men.
They watched the two girls enter into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them.
"Wonder what they're talking about?" Mikey mused aloud. Raphael pushed himself off the wall where he'd been leaning and crossed his arms.
"Can't be anythin' good. That kid was practically chompin' at the bit to spill her guts to the news."
"Relax, my sons. I believe that Miss Kim is attempting to talk some sense into young, Miss Amanda."
"Is it just me, or does Amanda remind anyone of Renet?" Mikey asked. The three brothers exchanged mildly scared looks.
"Renet was that ditzy time chick, right? Maybe she does, just a little bit, but most teenage girls are a little hyper. They grow out of it." April replied. She took Kim's untouched plate back to the kitchen and placed it in the freezer. "Well, I'm going to go check on Devon. He might have woken up by now," April said as she made her way towards Mikey's room.
"And I should bring Don some breakfast," Leonardo added, filling a plate for their absent brother as he spoke.
"I sure as shell ain't hangin' around to deal with those broads. I'm goin' ta work out. You comin' Case?" Raphael announced quickly. Casey nodded, stuffing his mouth with a biscuit before hopping off his chair and following after Raphael. Master Splinter was left with Mikey for company in the kitchen, wondering how the morning's events would play out.
A/N: Now you've met two of the original characters. I tried to avoid any Mary Suism and aimed to make them act like real people, but I don't know if I succeeded or not. I'd love to hear input.