Holly rode home in the back of the cab in silence. The cabbie had tried asking her why she was out so late but she just wasn't in the mood for talking. She stuffed her headphones into her ears and turned on some music; She'd have to give him a decent tip to make up for her rudeness. She stared out the window as the city lights whizzed by, but again she couldn't focus on anything in particular. She kept going over the days' events in her head, she had felt so bad about herself earlier. But Raph had looked her in the eye and told her that she was being ridiculous and she had felt better, she had never really felt accepted before. Her mom was always trying to dress her up like a doll, and she barely spoke to her dad anymore.
The cab pulled up to her building and she handed the cabbie forty dollars, the fair was only $24 but this should more than make up to the guy. She walked up to the front doors and waited for the door-man to come and let her in, she glanced around and noticed the list of tenants in her building. She skimmed over it but did a double-take when she saw one name in particular. It read "Stockman". No way, that would be too easy.
Bud unlocked the door and moved aside to let her in. Holly looked at him, and back at the name on the brass plaque. "Hey Bud, Do you know who this guy is?" She pointed at the nameplate.
"Oh yeah, Baxter Stockman, he lives on the floor below yours." He smiled down at the young girl. "Well, I say "lives" but not really." He added.
"What do you mean?" She looked at the aging man with confusion written all over her face.
He chuckled, "Well, he pays his rent but he is hardly ever here."
"Oh." was all she said, she walked as calmly as she could to the elevator and waved at Bud as the doors closed. As soon as she was moving upward, she pulled out her phone and sent a mass text to the others, just in case someone was asleep or away from their phone.
As she opened the door to her apartment, she heard her phone ring. She dumped her belongings on the couch and answered the call.
"What do you mean you found Stockman?" Leo's voice came through the tiny speaker by her ear.
"Hold on a sec, I need to check and see if my mom is home." She ran through her apartment checking every room, she pushed her mothers' bedroom door open wide making sure she wasn't sleeping. "Ok I'm good, and I mean what I said. I know where we can find Stockman, at least at some point."
"You're just confusing us now." April said. She must be on speakerphone.
"It turns out that Baxter Stockman is my neighbor. He has an apartment here, but apparently, he doesn't come home much." She walked into her kitchen and sure enough, there was a note saying that her mom was going to stay at her office because of some fashion emergency.
"So when will he be back?" Leo asked.
"No idea, the doorman said he's rarely home." Holly looked through her fridge for anything appetizing. She found a yogurt and fished a spoon out of the draw.
"Then what do we do from here? Wait for him to get home and then follow him?" Donnie's voice was the one to speak this time.
"Actually I was thinking more along the line of breaking in and snooping around." She said brightly.
"You can't do that!" Raph practically shouted.
"Well, I was planning to wait for you guys to get here so I can let you in too." Holly snapped back.
"You want to do this tonight?" Leo scoffed.
"Yeah why not?" Holly asked.
"Well for one thing, it's after midnight. And April was just about to fall asleep, and we'll all need our strength to make sure we can handle any trouble that might show up." Leo reasoned. Holly didn't answer right away, she knew he was right.
"Alright, fine. If my mom is going to be gone again tomorrow you can come here while April and I get into his apartment." Holly Huffed.
"Ok, well text us tomorrow so we can make a plan of action. See you later." Leo said.
"Yeah, see you." Holly sighed. She was so excited that she forgot how tired she was.
Leo hung up the phone and looked at Donnie. "Please tell me you have a gadget that will help us get into the apartment?"
"I may have a lock picking set stashed away somewhere." He grinned, smugly.
"Alright, everyone should head to bed. I want to make sure we have everything we could need and I'll want you girls to keep a look-out around the apartments for signs of Stockman." Leo first looked at his brothers, and then he nodded at April.
"Sure thing boss." April said, she stretched up with a huge yawn, and then flopped down onto the couch. "You don't have a spare pillow and blanket lying around do you?"
"I'll get them for you." Donnie sprang up and ran to find something April could sleep with. "If you want you can sleep in my room and I'll take the couch?"
"Nah, I'm good here." She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes again. "If I fall asleep, I'll see you guys in the morning." Not five minutes later, she was out for the count. The turtles retired to their own rooms, giving April some peace and getting some rest of their own.
The following morning, April woke up on the couch in the lair. It had been kind of nice staying with the turtles. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, did she smell coffee? As she walked into the kitchen, red hair sticking out at weird angles, she saw Master Splinter sitting at the rough old table sipping out of a little cup, he was reading an old-looking book.
"Good morning Master." April greeted the old rat. "Interesting book?"
"Ah, good morning Miss O'Neil." He put his cup down on the table and turned the book over to show her the cover. "It's a collection of old folk stories told throughout Japan."
"Cool, it looks like you could do with a new copy though." April pointed at the book. Its cover was faded and grubby and some of the pages were falling out. "Is that coffee pretty fresh?"
"I don't drink it, but Donatello and Raphael have a taste for it. I make a pot every morning before they get up." The old rat winked at her, and not a moment too soon. As soon as he had finished talking Raph slouched through the archway, heading straight for the coffee pot.
"Good morning my son." Master Splinter said, with a grin on his face. Raph just grunted in response.
April laughed. "Oh, I'm so glad I don't have to deal with you every morning." April said. Again Raph didn't actually respond, he just glared at her over the top of the mug he had just poured for himself.
Soon, all the turtle boys were up. Naturally, Mikey was the last to awaken, and to April's surprise, he acted much like Raphael had. Except all he needed was some breakfast, and he was back to his hyperactive self.
The little group of friends sat around eating breakfast and talking about random things. Master Splint remained mostly silent listening to their conversations until the topic of training came up. Leonardo wanted the boys to practice today since they had slacked off the day before. April was also getting a little impatient, she hadn't had a training session in almost three weeks.
"Oh, I have decided that, if Holly wishes, I will train her along with you April." Splinter said to the young girl.
"Fantastic!" April shouted, "I'm going to text her right now!" April jumped up and ran to fish her phone out of her bag.
"Is that really such a good idea?" Raph asked.
"What makes you say that? I thought you liked Holly?" Donnie said, suspicion written all over his face.
"I do like her." He said.
"So, you don't have confidence in her abilities?" Leo added crossing his arms.
"Of course I do!" Raph snapped back.
"So what's the deal bro?" Mikey joined in the grilling, he loved winding Raph up.
"Forget it! Never mind!" Raph yelled this time. He stomped out of the kitchen muttering to himself, he slammed the door to the training room shut and some rather angry sounds came floating out to the rest of the family.
"What was that about?" April asked as she returned to the kitchen.
"Raph's worried about Holly." Leo chuckled.
"So?" April asked with a shrug.
"We have to give him a hard time." Mikey was giddy with joy. He didn't get the opportunity to poke fun at their overly sensitive brother, this was going to be so much fun.
"What did Holly say?" Donatello steered the conversation off this topic, it wouldn't be long before Leo and Mikey started making fun of him since he was in the same predicament.
"Oh, she didn't sound very excited, she kept asking if Master Splinter was sure he wanted to train her." April frowned, she was worried about her friend.
"I'm sure she'll be just fine. Besides, she has to have some skill to shoot like she does." Donnie put a hand on Aprils' shoulder. She reached up and placed her own on his gently, giving it a quick squeeze of thanks.
"We had better get into the training room before Raph breaks everything in there. Besides, we need to get back to work." Leo announced. Mikey groaned, he liked slacking off.
"Let me go change, and I'll join you." April said.
Holly was a little worried, Splinter had said she might be able to train with April, but now that he had agreed to teach her, she wasn't so confident anymore. She was pretty active and didn't have any problems in gym class, but that was nothing compared to the turtles. April could even outrun her in class. Plus, with her glasses, no one would take her seriously. Her eyesight wasn't that bad, at a distance things just got blurry. Her mom had tried to get her to wear contacts, but she didn't really like them.
After a quick shower and changing, Holly decided it was time to call her mom. She dialed her cell phone number and waited for an answer.
"Holly? Is that you?" Her mom said sounded ecstatic.
"Hi mom, how's it going?"
"Just fine darling, we managed to get the new line ready just in time to send it out to the manufacturer so that's one crisis averted." She chuckled into the phone.
"Well thank goodness," Holly tried to care, she really did, "are you coming home today?"
"I wish I could sweetie, but I have to make sure the presentations are ready for my conference next week, I'll be staying with Julie tonight and tomorrow, but I promise that I'll be home Monday to see you. Are you at school this week?"
The rest of the conversation revolved around Holly and her school. Holly couldn't really complain, her mother did care. They always caught up on how she was doing even if they couldn't actually see each other, and her mom always made sure she was doing ok and that she was safe. Holly just wished she could actually be home once in a while.
"Oh, I have a question for you." Holly said quickly just before her mother hung up.
"Yes?"
"Well, I was wondering if I could spend a night at Aprils while you're gone?"
Her mother was silent for a moment, thinking. "I suppose, but make sure the house is clean and locked up before you go".
"I will, and I'll keep my cell on me in case you need to get a hold of me." They finished their conversation and Holly hung up the phone feeling happier again, and immediately texted April the good news. They would have all of the weekend to snoop around Stockmans' place and then hangout with their friends. April sent her a message back asking if she was going to head over to the lair while they waited for it to get dark. Holly figured why not? There was nothing keeping her at home now.
She gathered up some spare clothes, just in case, and stuffed them into one of her spare bags. She also grabbed her phone and wallet, it was too nice out to take a cab. Just before she left, Holly remembered she had promised Mikey some games. She grabbed the box out of her closet that had her console and games in it and stuffed it in the bag with her clothes. Holly waved at the doorman as she left and set off towards the turtles' home.
An hour later, Holly walked through the entrance to the lair. She had stopped off and picked up some snacks for the boys, and Master Splinters favorite tea.
"Hello?" She called out taking her ear buds out of her head. She could hear a training session in progress so decided to put away the things she had brought while she waited for them.
Holly sat on the couch and waited for another twenty minutes before the door slid open revealing the turtle brothers joking and shoving each other playfully. Holly stood to greet them.
"Hey guys." She smiled at them, then frowned. "Where's April?"
"Just started training, you could probably join her if you like." Leo pointed over his shoulder.
"Uh," she shoved her hands in her pockets, "I... I think..."
"Holly's here!" Raph yelled at the top of his lungs. April slid the door open after a few moments and beckoned her in.
"You suck." Holly directed at him as she slowly made her way over to the training room. Raph just grinned smugly before turning toward the kitchen.
"Hey April," Holly said quietly.
"Come join me, we literally just started!" April was beaming.
"I don't know." She replied even quieter.
The door opened a little more, and Splinter stood tall next to April. "Come in, your just in time. You should probably change first though."
"H... How did you know I'd...?" She was cut off by the old rat chuckling.
"I knew you couldn't resist. You are just as curious as Donatello and just a feisty as Raphael." Holly let a smile creep onto her face. Without another word she ran over to her bag and grabbed her clothes.
The training was intense, Holly had never worked so hard in her life. Both girls were sweating profusely after just half an hour of working out. They started with a quick warm up and moved straight into strength training, they did push-ups and sit ups, bicycle kicks ,and squats. From there they moved onto the most basic of moves, focusing mostly on form over function.
"Developing muscle memory is more important right now, effectiveness will come later." Master splinter said to them at the end of their session.
"Hai sensei." The girls replied.
"Very good work, both of you." He smiled at them, "You have worked hard today, and I'll expect you back here tomorrow if you are able."
"My mom's not going to be home until Monday." Holly looked at April.
"I doubt my aunt will be mad if I'm out during the day. It just means I'm not slouching around the house." April shrugged.
"Good, I'll see you tomorrow." Splinter turned towards his bedroom.
April stood and stretched, she was wiped. The girls made their way to the door and slid it open giggling about their session. Holly had to admit, it felt good to work hard and she had fun doing it.
"Hey you guys! How'd it go?" Mikey yelled at them over the sound of his game.
"Good, it was definitely hard work, but worth it." April said. Holly just nodded.
"Oh," Holly dug through her bag and pulled out the box. "Mikey, here you go." She held out the box at arms' length. Mikey peered over his shoulder, then gasped and dashed over to her.
She pulled the box back at the last second, "Ah ah ah. If you want this, you have to swear to never make that face again". She gestured at his general head area.
"Deal!" he squealed. She handed him the box. Before she had even lowered her arms he was back at the TV trying to hook everything up. She just shook her head.
"Here." Raph handed her some water, she hadn't realized how thirsty she was. She looked at him then back at the glass, she drained it in a few seconds. "Keep drinking that, you're going to be sore tomorrow but it's worse if you don't drink."
"Thanks." She finally managed. "I think I could use another shower thought."
He smiled mischievously. "We do have a shower," he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, "But taking a dunk in the pool is far more fun." He dashed over to their clean water access and stood over it ominously.
"If you throw me in there, you're in big trouble!" She yelled at him, she wriggled around trying to get out of his grasp. April and Leo had heard the commotion and looked over to see Raph threatening to throw Holly in the water.
"Do it!" April shouted, laughing hysterically.
"She can swim right?" Leo asked. April nodded, still egging Raph on.
"Put me down!" Holly yelled.
"Alright, alright." Raph moved to put her down but shoved her in any way. Holly squealed as she plummeted into the water. Raph just laughed as he watched her sinking.
"She is going to kill you." Mikey said through his laughter. Even Donnie was laughing, but Leo looked worried. Holly hadn't resurfaced yet.
"Where is she?" Leo asked.
Raph stopped laughing slightly and looked into the water, he could see her under the water. She didn't look like she was moving. He leaned over more to make sure and just at that moment, Holly popped up and grabbed him by the shell and pulled with all her strength.
Leo laughed harder than he had in a long time. It seemed that it was Raphs turn to take the plunge. Holly resurfaced again and was laughing so hard she had to grab onto the stone to keep herself afloat. Raph broke the surface too, he didn't look quite as amused anymore, but he was smiling.
"I did warn you." She said between chuckles.
"Alright, I deserved that." he said, swimming over to the side.
Holly hoisted herself out of the water and sat on the side. "Please tell me this isn't sewer water." she rang out her hair and clothes.
"No, it's clean." Donnie assured her.
"Oh good." she sighed. "That was actually quite refreshing."
"Well in that case..." April launched herself over the couch and jumped right into the water. "Cannonball!"
Everyone laughed. Raph climbed out of the water and sat on the side with Holly.
"I hope you have towels." Holly said as April swam up to them.
"They do, I've showered here after training sessions." April answered.
Holly got up and walked over to Leo who had just pulled out a towel from their storage space, on her way by she couldn't resist hip-checking Raph back into the water. Just as a bit of payback.
Once everyone was dried off, and in the girls' case, changed. The group sat around in the kitchen discussing what was going to happen tonight. Donnie had pulled out his lock picking equipment and was showing the girls how to use them.
"The only real issue I see right off the bat is that all the other floors don't have balconies. You're going to have to climb to the window and hope that they open enough for you to get in." Holly said.
"That's not an issue. We can climb just fine." Mikey said.
"It is since you'll have to wait on the roof for our signal. Which means we have to get into the apartment and open the window before you even hear from us." Holly explained.
"Well, not completely. We can keep in contact with our phones." April added, "But we're going to want to stay as quiet as we can so that none of the other neighbors find us."
"If we wait until 10 p.m. when the front doors are locked so anyone who comes in the building has to wait to be let in, one of you could keep an eye out from the roof-top for anyone. Then, well find a window and let you guys in."
"That's it?" Raph asked, "It's too vague, there are too many variables."
"I know, but since we have to do this alone we don't have many options." Holly shrugged.
"It's the best we can do for now. Besides, it's not like it's completely weird for Holly to walk around her apartment building, she does live there after all." Leo reasoned.
"Alright then, I'll head out earlier so I can see if Bud I working tonight." Holly added as an afterthought.
"Who's Bud?" asked Leo.
"He's this really nice guy who works nights, I might be able to ask a favor of him." Holly smiled, why didn't she think of that before?
