April awoke the following morning to find Holly already up, a pot of coffee was brewed and there was toast, bacon, and eggs already out on the countertop.
"Good morning." Said Holly piece of toast in her hand.
"What's all this?" April asked. Gesturing to breakfast.
"Oh, I woke up pretty early today." Holly said touching her ribs lightly.
April had almost forgotten that Holly had been hurt yesterday. They had stayed up talking about what they had discovered and sending random texts to the turtles. It had probably been about three in the morning when they had finally collapsed into bed.
"Does it still hurt?" April nodded at her side. Holly pulled up her night shirt and pulled down the bandages, an angry looking bruise had formed over her ribs. It was only about the size of a tennis ball, but it looked tender.
"You know, it looks worse than it feels." Holly said, poking her side gently. "I think I'll be ok."
The girls finished up their breakfast, washed the dishes, and put them away. They took turns showering and changing into clean clothes, then they sent out texts to their favorite mutant boys to see if they were awake yet. Michelangelo answered first, so the girls decided to walk over to give the rest of the guys a chance to wake up. They grabbed a bag of spare workout clothes and a spare towel each, although Holly doubted she would be taking a dip today, and they set off.
Donnie had been texting April and Holly late last night, he had gone to sleep with his phone on his pillow and had had the best dream. It was a shame he had to wake up sometimes. Donnie had a feeling that Holly was trying to help him out a little in the "April" department, but he wasn't absolutely sure. She was always trying to get April to sit next to him by taking the only other free seat first. But then again, she usually ended up sitting by Raph, and Donnie knew that Raph was perfectly ok with that.
Donatello rolled over in his bed and decided it was probably time to get up, he didn't need to hear Leo yelling at him to get his shell into the training room. He walked out of his room and into the kitchen only to find that April and Holly were already there, and they had breakfast.
"What's going on? Am I still sleeping?" He eyed them suspiciously.
"What? No." April laughed at the look on his face. "I got a good breakfast today, so we figured we would bring you guys something special too." She held a plate of bacon and eggs up to him. "I saved you some since Mikey has eaten most of it already." April shot him an evil eye over her shoulder.
"What? It's really good." Mikey said looking glum. He wanted more of this delicious thing called bacon.
"Well, aren't you a lucky boy." Holly said pulling a hidden bag out of nowhere, it had two more pounds of bacon in it. She started cooking it right away knowing that Mikey was hovering over her shoulder waiting for more. Leonardo had yet to emerge from his room, although Mikey had knocked on his door earlier and had received no answer. Raph was still out for the count. Apparently Mikey had knocked on his door too since he was normally the last one to wake up, and all he had gotten was some groaning and a soft thud on the other side of the door.
"I might be able to wake him up." Holly grabbed a plate full of fresh bacon out of the kitchen and walked over to Raphs door. She then sat down and placed the plate on the floor, and began to waft the smell of fresh bacon under his door.
It didn't take very long, Raph could smell something... Something delicious, and he was starving. He rolled off the bed and dragged himself to his door. He pulled it open and was greeted with Hollys' face about six inches from his own.
"Hi!" she said, a little louder than necessary.
"Blahh!" He yelled and fell over backwards, his eyes were wide and he stared up at the girl from the floor unable to say anything.
"Want some breakfast?" She said, laughter starting to bubble out of her.
"Dude! You should see the look on your face." Mikey was almost doubled over because he was laughing so hard. "She got you good!"
Raph looked embarrassed, Holly was sure if it had been Mikey to prank him, he would have pounced and punched until he felt better. Raph would just have to suck it up this time, it would be a good learning experience for him.
Holly held out her free hand to Raph, the least she could do was help him up since she had just put a dent in his pride. "Come on tough guy, I saved you some bacon." she smiled and winked at him.
"How are you this perky this early?" He took her hand and let her pull him back to his feet.
"I took a whole bunch of aspirin to morning." She grinned at him, but handed over the plate of bacon.
"Oh, that's right, How are you doing?" They moved toward the kitchen, and Raph headed straight for the coffee. Mikey grabbed the unattended plate of bacon and started to eat as much as he could.
"I'm doing ok, it's not as bad as it looks. The bruise has already started to shrink, and it has faded from purple to blue." Holly rolled up her shirt to show the boys that she really was ok. "It just needed ice."
Mikey moved closer and crouched down getting a better look at the bruise. "Donnie said you got hurt. Is it still sore?" Mikey moved to poke her. Holly was quicker though, she smacked his hand away just before his big green finger touched her skin.
"Of course it's still sore. But only if I move weird or someone touches it." She hastily rolled down her top again, removing the temptation for Mikey to try poking her again.
Raph shook his head and smiled behind his mug. Unfortunately, he looked over at April and Donnie who were wearing matching smug grins, they looked at each other, then back at Raph. He just narrowed his eyes at them, trying to tell them that they were just as bad as he was without actually saying anything.
Leonardo had finally decided to join the others for breakfast. It looked like he hadn't slept at all that night and when he did finally emerge from his room, he didn't even say hello until he had had a full cup of coffee and was working on a second.
"No offense, but you look worse than I do." Holly greeted him once he was more awake.
"I appreciate that, really. How are your ribs?" He croaked back.
"I'll be fine, why do you look so bad?" She gestured at the bags under his blue face mask.
"I couldn't sleep, I was trying to figure out our next step now that we know what's going on." Sometimes Leo took his role a little too seriously, but that was what made him a great leader.
"Yeah, I hear you. We were up for a few hours doing the same thing." April sympathized.
"I suggest we do our training to wake up and clear our heads. Then we can discuss what we are going to do and when." Donatello reasoned. Everyone agreed.
Splinter didn't go easy on them, the boys sparred against each other while the girls did more strength training and worked on their form. Holly tried to do the sit-ups, but she just couldn't do more than a few without her ribs aching. Master Splinter didn't seem to mind that she had to do a few at a time, at least she was trying.
After training was over and everyone was clean and refreshed, the turtle brothers and the human girls sat around their kitchen table discussing their next move. It was already decided that Holly and April would have to sit this one out, they just weren't ready to deal with the Purple Dragons directly.
"I think we need to stop production of the mousers without drawing attention to ourselves. That way Stockman and the dragons won't know for sure who is responsible." Leo suggested.
"Yeah, the last thing we need is another group trying to hunt us down." Mikey added.
Holly narrowed her eyes suspiciously but decided to forget it for now. If she hung around these people long enough she would find out everything sooner or later.
"Why don't we just go in and knock a few heads together." Raph punched one hand into the other for added effect.
"Not every problem needs to be solved with violence Raph." Leo looked at his brother. "And you don't need to show off for anyone either." Leo just grinned shooting a knowing glance at Holly, he would pay for that later but sometimes Raph just needed bringing back down to earth.
Raph nearly choked. He was going to kick Leo's butt later, as soon as Holly was gone. He just folded his arms and sulked for the rest of the meeting. Holly smirked, she almost felt bad for Raphael. Almost.
"Ok, but how do we get past the Purple Dragons without being seen? You know they're always skulking around the factory." Donnie spoke up.
"We'll need a distraction, it needs to be noisy and flashy but it can't be associated with us." Leo said scratching his chin.
April and Holly looked at each other, maybe they could be of help. "Firecrackers." They said almost in unison.
"We can get you fire crackers and throw them outside the entrance to the cookie factory." April blurted out excitedly.
"It should work." Donnie said, "But I don't think you girls should get involved, we don't want them to think you're associating with us."
"But it will take all four of you to make sure Stockman can't keep producing mousers, and they'll just think we're a couple of kids making trouble." April continued
"We can wear disguises, if we dress like we're snotty teens they won't even think twice about us being anything but trouble makers." Holly added. The turtles looked at each other, they really didn't want to get the girls involved in this. No one said anything for a few minutes. April was determined, she knew she could do this and she wanted to help.
"Alright, fine. But as soon as you see any Purple Dragons you get out of there. We might not be available to help you out if you get in trouble." Leo said.
"Speak for yourself." Raph muttered.
"Ok. April and I will get firecrackers and well grab some of my sparer hoodies and sweatpants." Holly summarized, holding back another smirk. "When are you guys going to do this?"
"Tonight." Leo said definitively.
"We'd better get going then." Holly stood and April followed suit. They moved out of the kitchen and scooped up their bags before heading to the exit.
"See you later!" Donnie shouted after them.
"Bye." Both girls replied.
Raph was still annoyed. "I wasn't trying to impress anyone." He said to Leo, still sulking.
"Yeah right dude. Your acting as bad as Donnie does around April." Mikey interrupted.
"Hey!" Donnie yelled, he punched Mikey in the shoulder for good measure.
Raph just stomped off, he didn't want to admit that there was the tiniest possibility he might maybe have some actual feelings for the girl in the glasses, but he couldn't deny it either. If Mikey could tell then he really must be acting strange. He stomped into the training room and punched the dummy a few times, he felt a little better now.
"Raphael," Master Splinter walked slowly up to his son. "What seems to be troubling you?" Raph didn't say anything, it sounded so stupid when he said it out loud. "Your brothers are teasing you about your feelings for Holly, aren't they?" Splinter guessed, not that it was a challenge. Again, the turtle in red remained silent. "There is no shame in these feelings my son, and caring for someone is not weakness."
"What does it matter how I feel? It's not like I, or any of us, could ever actually have a relationship with anyone, Donatello may still be deluded but I'm not." Raph finally put all his thoughts and fears into those few sentences, his heart tightened in his chest painfully. He hadn't realized how long he had been wanting to say that out loud.
"Donatello is not deluded, he is hopeful, and there is nothing wrong with that either." Splinter added hastily seeing the look on Raphael's face. "I think you underestimate the power of love. Even though it takes work, it can be one of the most rewarding parts of life. My only regret from my life as a man is that I let my pride get in the way of my heart." Master Splinter turned to leave, he knew Raphael had to sort some things out in his head before he would be ready to try talking again.
"Thank you, father." Splinter heard from across the room. He just smiled to himself, Raphael could be so sensitive sometimes.
The girls returned to the lair a couple of hours later. Apparently, it had been harder to find the firecrackers than they had expected. They had resorted to bribing a senior from their school to buy them some from a firework stand in china town. It had been a huge pain, but they had managed it and they had scrounged up some clothes that didn't have brand names plastered all over them. They had come back just in time to start getting ready for that night's raid.
It was almost eight-thirty at night and the sun was just setting on the surface. The girls changed into their disguises and started laughing at each other. Holly had on a baseball cap and a big gray hoodie with the hood pulled up over her face. She had on a black pair of sweat pants that she had had to roll up a few times to get them to fit properly. April was dressed in a similar manner. She had on a navy hoodie with white stripes down the sleeves and matching pants.
The last thing Holly had decided to change about her appearance was to ditch her glasses for the night. She had grabbed one of her pairs of contacts and decided now was a good time to put them in, she didn't want to worry about breaking her glasses if she had to run for it. If she fell over with contacts in she should be ok.
The turtles looked at the two teenage girls, and if they hadn't known better, would have sworn they were thugs. Leo gave them a quick once over to make sure they didn't have anything sticking out that would give away who they were.
"April, make sure your hair is tucked in properly." He said to the redhead, her hair could easily be picked up against her dark clothes and that could give away her true identity. "Ok, I think we're ready. Where's Raph?"
"I'm here, chill out." Raph walked out of the training room, slotting his Sai into his belt. "Whoa." He stopped for the briefest moment to look at Holly. He had seen her take off her glasses to clean them, but she looked so different. Her eyes were bright and focused, and so very big.
"So? Are we ready to go?" April stared at Raph waiting for him to come back to them.
"Yeah, let's do this." Raph snapped back to himself like nothing had happened and charged out of the entrance. Everyone raced after him and off into the night.
The turtle boys were positioned on the roofs or buildings surrounding the fortune cookie factory. Leo was standing right above the girls and was waiting to give them the signal that they were ready. Once he saw that the others were in position, he whistled to the girls on the street. April and Holly were waiting in a side alley just out of view of the fortune cookie factory. They heard the signal and nodded to each other, they lit as many of the firecrackers as they could and hurled them around the corner at a couple of goons standing guard right in front of the factory.
The two meatheads hopped around as the firecrackers popped and flashed at their feet. The men jumped around flailing their arms from the shock, but they soon recovered and started hunting for the source. They saw two scruffy-looking teens throwing firecrackers at them from around the corner. The first goon yelled into the factory for backup while the second good stalked straight for the kids.
April and Holly threw a few more firecrackers before they started running, they knew that the two oafs at the door would follow them, but they needed to get as many of the dragons outside as possible. They saw one of the men open the factory door and yell inside for some help while the other started towards them. "Quick, throw the rest then let's go." April hissed. The two girls hurled the last few strips directly at the two guards, then turned on their heels and ran. They couldn't stick around to find out if the guys were ok, if they were caught their cover would be blown and Leo would never let them in on a plan again.
They ran as fast as they could through the back streets in no particular direction. They couldn't head to either the lair or Aprils place just in case the Purple Dragons followed them all the way back to either place. The girls ran around corner after corner and eventually found a good place to hide so they could strip off their sweaters and stroll out onto the street in the more feminine clothes they had on underneath.
Leo hopped over to the roof next to the factory and stood next to Raphael. They watched as the girls took off at full speed with a handful of Purple Dragon members in hot pursuit. Leo put a reassuring hand on Raph's shoulder, then turned and hopped onto the roof of the factory. Donnie and Mikey were already by one of the skylights waiting to go.
"They'll be fine, let's get this over with." Leo whispered to his other worried brother in purple. They lowered themselves onto the steel girders that ran the length of the ceiling and made their way to the upper level of the warehouse. They dropped down behind some crates and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. It looked like Stockman and the rest of the gang members were busy making sure there wasn't a gunfight going on outside, the last thing they needed was the cops to come and raid the place. There was enough stolen merchandise hidden here to get the whole group locked up for a long time.
Leo darted out from behind the crates and over to what would be offices, inside was another Mouser unit on a workbench with a few old computers running alongside it. There was also a couch and a cot in the room, but that was it. The rest of the large workspace was filled with boxed full of hard drives, processors, and motherboards.
Donnie dashed out and crept into the office room, he moved instantly to the computer network and began tapping keys on the keyboards. He pulled out his phone and a USB cord and plugged it into the front of the tower. He had created a virus that he was going to attach to Stockman's files, if he tried to access or recover them at all he would have a complete system failure.
Leo pointed to the file cabinets and Mikey instantly started pulling out papers and tearing them to pieces. Raph waited outside the room hidden so he had a view of the group of men on the lower level. They didn't have long, the men were starting to lose interest in the commotion and were starting to move back from the doors.
"Let's go already." Raph hissed at his brothers.
"These things take time." replied Donnie, "You just have to be patient."
"There has to be a faster way?" Leo asked his technologically inclined brother.
"Just give me a moment, aside from stealing the hard drive this is the most effective way to shut him down." Donnie said.
This was stupid, Stockman was already climbing the stairs, and they were going to be caught no matter what. Raph groaned in frustration, he slapped his forehead with his palm and dragged it down his face. The least he could do was give Donnie more time to make sure this guy was out of commission.
Raph leaped out of his hiding place, he stood with one Sai in each hand right at the top if the stairs. "Sorry buddy, but we're just going to have to shut you down."
"What are you doing?" Was all Stockman could manage, until he looked up at his office and saw more of the things tearing up his life's work. "Hey! Stop that!" He turned towards the Purple dragon members who were still in the building. "Stop those things or you don't get paid!"
Paid, that was a word the gang was familiar with. As soon as they turned around and saw the turtles they paused, they had dealt with those freaks before, and gotten their butts whopped more than once. But when it came down to it, they would at least try so they could possibly get paid rather than give up and certainly not get paid.
The Purple Dragon members charged up the stairs past the stunned computer genius.
"Now we're talking!" Raph yelled and charged right back.
"Oh lord. Mikey, let's go!" Leo yelled back at his goofy little brother.
"Alright!" The two boys charged out of the room, leaving Donnie to finish destroying Stockmans files.
The three ninja boys dipped and dived around the flailing arms of the gang members. The odds were not in their favor, three fully trained ninjas against a room full of color-coordinated goons who weren't smart enough to graduate high school. You had to feel sorry for the gang members.
Raph took out all of his frustration on the poor unsuspecting men in front of him, he punched one of the guys in the gut with the hilt of his weapon, and he dropped to the floor gasping for air. Another was tossed over the railing and landed on top of two other halfwits. Raph dodged a fist and gave the offending brute a swift upper-cut. As he followed through with his punch, Raph span and kicked another advancing goon down the stairs into three other guys. He let a smile play across his face, he really did love this sometimes.
Leo sprang over the railing and down onto the conveyor belt on the factory floor. He swung his swords around as he assessed how many gang members they were dealing with. Raph seemed to be having plenty of fun on the stairs, so all he had to take care of were the few idiots on the floor. One of them came at him with a chain, he blocked the chain as it swished towards his face and sliced clean through it. As his sword came back around he flung the chain back at the guy who had just tried to hit him with it, the chain made a sickly thudding noise as it caught the guy in the chest.
Mikey followed Leo over the railing and started swinging wildly with his nun-chucks. He smacked a couple of guys in the face as the continuous motion of his weapon kept it spinning around and around. He ran off around the floor of the factory to come up behind the guys who were going for Raph. They just didn't have a chance, with the aggressive turtle in front of them and the excitable one behind there was nowhere to go. Within a few minutes, most of the purple dragons were lying on the floor groaning. The few who were still on their feet didn't seem to want to do anything anymore. They just stood waiting for something to happen.
Stockman was stunned, there're were three huge, what looked like terrapins running around beating up his lackeys. There was a fourth one fiddling around with his computer, he had to stop him before he ruined everything. He ran up the stairs past the angry-looking one and burst through the door to his office, Stockman surveyed the damage. His paperwork was lying in tatty pieces all over the floor, and he saw an upload bar on his screen. It was almost full. Whatever that turtle creature was doing, he had to stop it before it was too late.
Donatello heard someone behind him, he turned to see Baxter Stockman in the doorway clearly distraught that his work had been destroyed. But they couldn't risk the Mousers being released into the sewers.
"I wouldn't even bother trying to stop me." Donnie said to the man, pulling his Bo staff off his back. Apparently, the mad scientist didn't want to listen as he charged into the room, his little Afro bouncing on top of his head comically. Donnie rolled around the unskilled man and gave him a good shove away from the computers.
Stockman fell face first into his grubby couch. He clearly wasn't up to taking on this thing by himself so maybe it was time to call in the cavalry. There were some perks to working on the shady side of the law.
