yeah, I know. why eleven years later. I like the number eleven. It can't be divided, it stands on it's own. Screwy soundin' ain't it. Hope you like the story. Italics are for thoughts and flash backs so try not to get too confused. Enjoy!
Eleven years later:
Splinter was back at the same place in the tunnel. The one where he lost his son, Raphael. He had searched everywhere, every night for months. He was hoping for some sort of news about a large turtle but heard nothing. Now, he was back at the tunnel. The ground was no longer wet. This section had been closed off thanks to the cities new drainage plans. Splinter just stared at the spot where Raphael slipped off. He sighed and turned to go back home but stopped.
There was someone there. A large black figure was posed in the darkness of the tunnel. Whoever it was, they were tall, about six feet. And muscular. He stared at Splinter. The rat knew he was being overly hopeful but he had to ask.
"Raphael? Is that you?"
No answer.
"Raphael, my son. Please. Is that you?" Splinter took a step toward the large figure. He moved slowly. He tried to walk faster, even run to whoever was standing there, but he couldn't. He was stuck. He was dreaming.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"Stupid alarm," he muttered. M's eyes were only halfway open. His hand slowly groped around the table that sat next to his bed. After a few moments of knocking things over, he finally found the culprit to the irritating noise. He slammed down the button on the top to shut off the irritating noise and dragged his hand back to the bed, pulling the covers up over his eyes. Any second now, he thought to himself. Stupid dream, keeping me from getting any rest. 3….2….1…..
"Good morning sunshine!" A voice cheerfully exclaimed as the door to M's room flung open. "Time to get up and go save the world!"
M rolled over and flipped the covers off of his face. His eyes squinted at the bright light. Little black dots danced around in his vision for a few seconds. He rubbed his eyes with his fists, trying to force the little annoyances to leave. "You're way too cheerful for this early in the morning Jake," he grumbled.
"Hey," Jake answered back, still grinning. "At least I let you sleep in until 6:30. You could get up at 5:30 like I do. Now get up," and he slapped at M's foot as it dangled over the edge of the bed. "We got a lot to take care of before you hit the warehouse tonight."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" he muttered. "Just fix the coffee and I'll be right out, OK?" M pushed off the bed and slowly shuffled his way to the bathroom, grumbling all the way. Jake didn't catch much of M's mutterings. Just a few words, something about a giant rat, an axe and the alarm clock. Jake walked over to the kitchen area and began making the coffee.
Jake grinned for moment thinking about the young mutant. Jake regarded M as a little brother, even though he was far from being little. M stood six feet tall and weighted approximately 220 pounds. Every part of him was muscle. Jake thought out loud for a moment," I wonder how tall he would have been if we didn't give him the steroids?" The hiss of the coffee maker brought Jake back to reality. He turned around and the smile that once sat on his face quickly faded. A look of shock took its place as he eyed M's room.
The room was more of a studio apartment really. In the corner to the left was and elevated area that served as M's bedroom. There was a dresser and a hamper but the clothes never made it that far. They were scattered on the bed, dresser and hamper. How does he know which ones are clean and which ones are dirty?
He turned back to the coffee pot, Well, at least the kid knows how to wash his own dishes. He thought to himself. Jake quickly prepared the mornings drink and sat at the table, rifling thorough the magazines scattered there. Most of them were racing magazines. There was one however, hiding underneath the stack of cars and motorcycles. "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition!" Jake shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh.
The door to the bathroom opened and M walked out in a loose pair of black pants and a red t-shirt. The steam hung lazily in the air as M strode over to the table where Jake sat. A few trails of mist clung to him as he moved. M graciously accepted the drink and sat at the table. He blew the steam off the top and sipped from his cup, slowly waking up.
"Hey kid," Jake interrupted M's drink.
"Yeah" he eyed back over the mug.
"I can explain the racing magazines to Overseer because it talks about engines and technology. All things we expect you to keep up on."
"And?" M eyed him suspiciously, wondering what Jake was getting at.
Jake slid back the stack of racing magazines to reveal the swimsuit issue hidden underneath. He didn't say anything to M, he just leaned back in his chair, folded his arms and waited for the explanation.
M's eyes grew large when he realized what Jake was talking about. He grinned sheepishly and began to scratch nervously at the back of his neck. He put the coffee cup down and reached out to pick up the magazine. Before he could, Jake quickly grabbed it. Eyeing M, he just gave him a look. He really wanted an explanation now. M shrugged his shoulders, still smiling, "Um…….heh heh…..Anatomy lesson?"
Jake groaned, frustrated. He slid the magazine back to M. Sighing, he slid his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. "C'mon," he stood up. "We gotta' be in the training room at seven. We got two minutes to walk over there."
M agreed, swallowed the last bit of his coffee. He put his cup in the sink, slipped on a pair of flip flops and walked towards the door.
The inside of M's room looked normal. No different than that of any normal teenager. Except that he wasn't a normal teenager. He was a mutant turtle. He had been found at doctor estimated to be the age of five. He was in a serious state. Major damage had been done to the shell of the young turtle……………………………
Eleven years ago: "sir, the small turtle's shell has sustained damage to 25 percent of it. Some of that is already affected by gangrene."
The man behind the desk tapped his fingers and thought. "I suppose we should euthanize him. At least we can preserve his body for study."
"Actually sir," a female voice answered, "he is humanoid in form and as a result, has a backbone with a spinal cord running through it. I would like to try a procedure that would save him………… if it works."
"And why would we do that? What benefit would we gain?" The man behind the desk asked. His voice was deep and gritty.
"He can talk."
This was enough for Overseer. He nodded in approval and sent the doctors out of his office to continue on with the procedure.
Jake thought back as M walked out the door. He could see scars peeking out from the sleeves on M's shirt. He never went anywhere without something covering his back. He didn't want anyone to see it.
"What are you going to do Caitlin?"
"Well Jake, the shell is actually a living tissue. The outer scutes are shed as the turtle grows. I plan on removing the infected parts and disposing of them. The healthier scutes will be separated and placed in saline to keep them from dying. Then, will graft them on in separate pieces. Hopefully with the grafting, the scutes will fuse themselves onto the skin underneath and continue to grow. Steroid treatment maybe necessary to encourage the growth."
"So basically you're gonna' make a mosaic out of his back?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. But, it's worth the risk if it will save his life."
Caitlin finished scrubbing up and went into the surgical room to begin, leaving Jake to watch from the window outside.
Stepping out of the room and into the hallway, Jake's mind was brought back to the task at hand, getting M into the warehouse to retrieve some much needed information.
He looked down the hallway, it was a sterile white color with the occasional door and key codes on each one.
"What are all those buttons for Jake?" the nine year old asked.
"They're just so you can get into the different rooms in the building. That's all."
"Are they like the ones that I'm going to?"
Jake nodded to the young turtle. "Some are, some are just rooms for relaxing, some have computers and some are like the room you train in."
"I don't want to go see Caitlin."
"Why? Is she mean to you?"
"No."
"Then why?"
M bit his lip. "I don't like needles." He tried to scratch at his back.
"Look kid, she's gotta' give you the shot. That way you'll go to sleep and won't feel anything. While you're asleep, she has to give you more shots and you don't want to feel those do you?"
"No."
"Okay then. Besides, when you're done and wake up, she always gives you a treat. What do you want this time?"
"Last time it was pizza."
"Is that what you want again?" The two were almost at Caitlin's office.
"No, I heard some of the scientists talking. I wanna' try sushi."
Jake laughed as they entered the office, Caitlin smiled as M climbed up on the table. He laid on his stomach and Caitlin inserted an IV with a needle. The last thing M heard before he went to sleep was Jake's voice, "sushi it is kid."
They made their way to the training room and M walked in. It didn't look like much to the naked eye. But, once the holograms kicked in the room could be made to look like anything you wanted.
M was on the beach. The sand was warm in between the twelve year olds toes. He enjoyed the sensation. He had just finished making a sandcastle with Jake and Caitlin, now he was running into the water, ready to meet the next wave head on. Just before he dove in, the wave disappeared and he met with the floor beneath. "OOF!"
"You okay kid?" Jake ran over to help him up.
"Yeah, I'm fine." M got up without any help and just glared at the silhouette in the window above. His fists clenched tight and an angry snarl on his face.
"Jacob! Caitlin! What is the meaning of this?" a voice came over the speaker.
"It's my fault Overseer," Caitlin answered. "M mastered all of his tests so I thought I would reward him with a day at the beach." She looked at the floor. Overseer made her nervous. She was scared of him.
"This technology is for training only! Not frivolous pursuits! Is that understood?"
Caitlin looked up at the window. "Yes sir" she answered quietly. "It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't or you will regret it."
M hated Overseer. He had never seen the man but he knew his voice. It was deep and gritty, like sandpaper. He was a bully. He used his position to scare people into doing what he wanted. M wanted to kill him. He hated the way Overseer treated Caitlin. She was nice to M and was his friend.
"Glad to see you decided to join us," a voice dripped with sarcasm over the loud speaker. M shuddered. "Jake, I want M to run through a simulation of tonight's job. I want to see how quickly he will get in, get the information, and get out."
Jake looked at M and nodded. He went out the door and to the upstairs area to watch from the window. M heard the hum of the room and the hologram kicked on.
