January 31, 2008
"Test?" Liza asked into the microphone. Donnie stood next to her with some annoyance, fiddling with the tuners as Liza and Mikey repetitively said Test back and forth. Every so so often Don would fine tune something and then nod to them to continue.
"Test. How long is the training supposed to take?" Mikey asked. He fidgeted under Liza's glaring eyes, and he eyed his spare pair of nunchucks in her hands. He had his own pair tucked away into his belt. His mask was a little lopsided, which annoyed Leo to no end. He had his elbow pads and knee pads on, strapped and ready to protect him from landing hard. Liza said it wasn't likely, but we still felt the need to be cautious.
Liza had her black outfit on, because it was most comfortable to her. I would think the silver suit was better for fighting because you didn't have to worry about clothes getting in the way, but Liza begged to differ. So she was in her baggy sweater and skin-tight pants. Her boots were off and back at the door because she seriously doubted that she'd need them for anything.
"Depends on how many insults you can take before you break," Mikey answered himself. I was lost about why he'd answer his own question and realized it was Liza that said it. She looked over at Don and said, "Test."
Don took a large step back, giving Liza a wide birth. Liza flexed her shoulders, neck, and jaw, testing the restraints she had. It was a headset buckled around her head, and the mouthpiece was placed over her mouth. All the buttons and fine-tuning were over her left ear, and it was a crap ton of god knows what to look at. She flexed her wrists, testing the weight and flexibility of the nunchucks. They were one of Mikey's spares, so it was a bit stiff because of disuse. But Liza did a couple of spins and she got most of the kinks out of the chains.
"So you're insulting me in my voice?" Mikey asked. Liza looked over at him, her face somber.
"No," She said in Mikey's voice, and I felt my head twist in on itself hearing her. "You're hearing yourself insult you. Rule number one, there is no Liza in this training. It's you fighting yourself."
"Uh, how does that work?" Mikey asked. He looked about as confused as I felt. Liza smiled, reaching into the pocket of her sweater. From her pocket came a black blindfold, and she handed it to Mikey. He looked at it cautiously, taking it carefully. He fingered the dark material and looked up at Liza. She made a hand movement of covering her eyes and Mikey caught on. He placed his nunchucks in his belt and tied the blindfold around his head. "Master Splinter has taught us this. Fighting with our eyes closed is easy."
"Shut up." Liza began, silently walking back several steps. Mikey fidgeted, turning his head around to listen to Liza.
"Sorry?" He asked, spreading his legs apart for a better fighting stance. He pulled the nunchucks back out, putting them under his armpits and tensing his muscles to attack.
"Duck!" Liza shouted, kicking her leg high. Mikey wobbled, and collapsed to the ground to avoid her leg. "And I said shut up."
"Hey, what about Hai?" He asked, listening for Liza. Liza swung one of the nunchucks out and clipped Mikey's plastron. She wasn't aiming to hurt him, but he flinched back when the weapon scrapped his chest. "Woah, hey!"
Mikey jumped from foot to foot, off his balance at the weird way Liza was trying to teach. Liza swung her leg up once more, kicking Mikey squarely in the chest. He fell back on his carapace with a loud thud and he scrambled to stand. He got back into his fighting stance, shoulders tensing and untensing. His hands flexed, and I saw his jaw grate as he tried to listen for Liza, strangely serious now.
"I said shut up," Liza said, her imitation of Mikey's voice sounding very opposite of his usual voice. Mikey was always carefree in tone and attitude. Liza sounded quick and angry, which were two things Mikey never mixed together. Mikey opened his mouth to talk again, and promptly closed it. "You will speak when spoken too."
Liza walked around him slowly, and Mikey fidgeted again. His head turned with her feet, and he tensed his body to prepare for a blow. "What is this, Ladies-"
He ducked, spreading his legs to do the splits to avoid her blow. He rolled sideways and out of Liza's reach when she tried for another harmless hit.
"There is our first problem Mikey," Liza said, circling Mikey. The use of 'Our' caught me off guard, and I wondered if she'd actually said it. "You talk too much. You're impatient, you're too enthusiastic, you're too sporadic." Liza stopped behind him. "Duck."
Mikey dropped, but Liza didn't do anything. Mikey paused, waiting for the sound of Liza moving. When she didn't, he stood up slowly. When he was standing straight again, she did her first strike. She swung her leg out, catching Mikey's side again. I flinched, waiting for the sound of his ribs breaking. But this wasn't the same fight, Liza was training him, not hurting him. He got caught off his gravity and tilted to the left some. He grabbed his side, looking around for Liza.
"What the shell!" He shouted. "That's foul play."
"I said: Shut up." Liza growled. Mikey shook where he stood, and went back to try and listen for her. "You see? We talk too much. We're impatient. If I said swing your right arm up-" Liza swung the nunchuk up and Mikey brought his arm up. "You would listen without a second thought. You don't think about lying. Jump."
Mikey hesitated, and Liza stood still in front of him.
"It's like a bad dream," Mikey murmured, remaining tense.
Liza didn't even hesitate, she swung her leg high into the air and connected with Mikey's shoulder. This time he did topple over, and he fell to the floor. Mikey twisted his body to land on his shell, rolling with it to stand on his knees. He lifted his arms up for an attack that never happened. Liza stood over him, lightly chuckling. It was almost evil, and I for a second thought she was enjoying this, but I could see Liza strain to create such a noise. Her throat hitched and her hands fisted, and she wasn't looking at Mikey when she did it. She was looking at the ceiling, as if laughing at him was the last thing on her mind.
"And there is our pathetic problem." Liza sneered in Mikey's voice. Mikey didn't get up, and when Liza moved he moved away from her. He wasn't going to try talking again, that was for sure. Liza hesitated, a brief look of pain flashing over her face. But she steeled her appearance, and she was emotionless again. "You can't take orders, even from yourself. How many times has your family nearly died at your hands just because you couldn't listen?"
"No," Mikey whispered, grasping his nunchucks tightly in his hands. He moved to stand, but Liza made a very loud display of stepping closer.
"What was that?" Liza asked. Mikey bit at his lip. "No, come on Mikey, speak up."
It was cruel to imitate Mikey as his own mind and in his own voice. But that was exactly what Liza was put through in her training sessions. She told us she'd train us in the same way she was trained. I don't think Mikey realized how much an insult in his own voice could hurt. I don't think any of us considered how much it would hurt. In your head was one thing, but out loud was a whole other ballgame.
"I... I listen." Mikey said, barely loud enough to not be called a whisper. Liza hummed for a long moment.
"Doubtful. Remember the time on the roof? You know, it was a couple of years ago. Because of you, Master Splinter nearly died. Imagine the looks on your family's faces. Remember those? The looks of disappointment. Leo also got hurt, all because you didn't listen. You assumed you knew what you were doing. You acted too rashly, and now there are scars on your brothers because of it." She lilted, almost cheerily. It almost sounded like actual Mikey, except Mikey never spoke that depressingly, or that down-putting.
Mikey stood up shakily, straightening out and clenching his nunchucks like he was getting ready to fight. I took a slow breath, waiting to see what he'd do, but before anything could come of it, his arms dropped lamely at his sides. He faced where his voice was coming from, and he breathed shakily. Liza's face softened for a moment, and then she tightened her grip on her nunchucks.
"So what are you going to do from now on?" Mikey's voice asked.
"I'm going to listen," Mikey muttered, because it was obvious that was what Liza wanted.
"Oh really?" Liza asked skeptically. Mikey got back into his original fighting stance, and I found myself rooting for Mikey. "Dodge left."
Mikey did exactly what she said, but she didn't follow her own rule. Mikey rammed into her leg, and the wind was knocked out of him. He fell with a whoosh of air, and stood back up instantly.
"You said-" He started.
"Shut up." Liza snarled over him.
"No!" Mikey shouted at her. Liza's fists tightened around the weapons she'd only used twice, and Mikey turned his head to the sound of metal grinding.
She moved silently, swinging the nunchuck through the air with lightning speed, and Mikey's head jerked to the side with the blow. He stumbled, but he stayed standing. I tensed, fighting the instinct to help Mikey. Was this part of the training? If I interfered what would it do?
"Listen!" She shouted.
"I am," Mikey said right back. "But you're not making sense! You're telling me to listen to you, but you keep ly-"
"Duck." Liza growled, and I never knew how dangerous Mikey's voice could sound.
Mikey ducked as told, and Liza kicked over his head as if she was planning on kicking him. He popped back up with a surprised look, and stared at where he thought Liza was. She was circling around to his left, but he did know that. "Dodge left."
Mikey hesitated, and did it again. The same thing as last time happened, and his stomach got caught on her leg. Liza spun a complete 360, making Mikey fall on his butt.
"Stop that!" Mikey hollered.
"You are refusing to listen." Liza gritted out, reaching down to grab the top of Mikey's plastron. She hauled him to his feet, and I flinched at what the pulling must have caused. Mikey didn't flinch though, his hand snapped up to catch hers. Liza tinkered away, slipping just out of his fingers. Mikey growled low in his stomach, creating the spine chilling sound. It took me a second to realize I actually couldn't differentiate who was creating the sound. Liza couldn't do it normally, but it wasn't that hard to create a guttural sound in the back of the throat. If she kept her mouth positioned right with that mouthpiece she could create the noise.
"You're telling me lies!" Mikey said right back.
"Liza," Leo starts. "Why aren't you telling him to listen to the sound you're-"
"Hush Leo," Liza cuts him off, looking over at us. "He needs to figure it out on his own."
"Well obviously he's not figuring it out." Leo said right back, pointing at our youngest. Liza gave him a bored look, and she turned her back on Mikey. Mikey shifted, nervously moving his weight.
"That's part of the training. Break him down. When he's completely broken, he'll have nothing to rely on but his instincts." She explained for the umpteenth time for all of us.
Leo stood up, crossing the room. Liza pulled the mouthpiece up from her face, because she knew he was stopping the training. Mikey swung his arm out when Leo charge him to take the blindfold off, and the nunchuck caught Leo's neck. Leo gasped at the hit, jumping back and out of Mikey's reach. Liza looked surprised at Mikey, and then at Leo, who was grasping his neck. Mikey stopped, listening closely to sound of moving towards him. Liza smiled at us, and motioned Leo back to the bench we were sitting at.
Leo walked over silently, rubbing his neck where Mikey had swung violently. Liza placed the mouthpiece back over her lips, and turned around to face Mikey. "Let's see..."
"Dodge right." Mikey hesitated once again, and then he moved in the direction Liza said. Liza swung her leg up once again, but instead of getting hit, Mikey jumped over her leg. He landed on her other side, and she completed her 360 spin. But she didn't stop there. She ducked low, swinging her fist out to catch Mikey's stomach. "Dodge."
Mikey didn't dodge, instead he threw his nunchucks out. The chain of his weapon wrapped around Liza's wrist, and he spun into her. Liza was dragged with the weapon, and she was caught off balance because of how wide a berth Mikey threw. Liza smiled, and she unwrapped the chain from her wrist.
"There you go. Now you're getting it. Jump."
0o0
"I know what you're doing." Liza murmured, rubbing the skin between my fingers. She was nestled into my side, and we were relaxing in the new queen bed April and Casey got for me. This one was more comfortable than the old one, and I couldn't figure out if it was because there was more space or if it was just a better material. Liza paired her fingers up, sliding them between mine. It was no longer weird to me, and I felt like there was some large achievement to overcoming something so small.
I hummed a question in response, squeezing her tighter to me when I realized I was relaxing my arm. She was leaning over my shell, and had a leg thrown over me to keep herself in place. I was trailing the line of consciousness, seeing how it was eleven o'clock and all four of us had gone through some of the training Liza did. She nipped at specific pieces in all of us, and while I thought it was a weird thing to blindfold us, when I was in the ring I understood. At first, it's weird to listen to yourself talk out loud, but when you point out your own flaws, it starts weighing down. It made you start thinking, and you start thinking what-if. She also pulled up information she shouldn't know, and when Donnie demanded how she knew we'd lost Master Splinter when traveling back from the future, she'd said that Master Splinter told her. It turns out, while she had trained with us physically and learning how we fought, she went to Master Splinter for things to pick at. The stuff she didn't know but he did, and used them against us.
"What am I doin'?" I asked. She shuffled closer to my body, letting my arm take up less weight as she lay half on top of me.
"You're changing your room for me." She murmured. I couldn't help the corners of my mouth lift. I opened my left eyes, staring down at her. She was wide awake apparently, because there was no tiredness in her eyes. "Thanks for your consideration, but you don't have to make it more comfortable for me."
I blinked a couple of times, clearing the fog of sleep from my head. What now? Liza wrapped her hands around my torso to keep herself in place as I stretched. "Why shouldn' I make it more comfortable for ya?"
"Well a regular bed makes you uncomfortable," She responded slowly. I reached back around her and tugged her up closer. I shifted in the bed a little, getting into a more comfortable position. "But you got it so I could sleep."
"A bed is more comfortable with ya in it." I confessed. Liza looked at me like she didn't believe me, but she still smiled.
"Your weapon rack was in the center of the room before. Now it's alone in a corner." She pointed out. I glanced over to my weapon rack, lifting my head to see it better. It was in the far corner, leaving the center of the room open. I thought it'd be easier to navigate my room. Even before Liza, it was a nuisance, but I finally decided to move it a couple of days ago. I like it there, but didn't think what Liza thought of it.
"We got a kinda mornin' routine. The rack got in the way." I answered. Her head thumped into my chest, and I chuckled at her. "I get what yer tryin' ta say, but I'm not doin' anythin' that makes me uncomfortable. I'm jus'... addin' stuff to make it comfortable for ya too."
"When I'm gone?" she asked. I shrugged.
"The anticipation is enough ta muck on through. Believe me, when ya live in the sewers yer whole life, just simply knowin' there's a room for ya is enough." I answered.
Liza stayed silent, and I realized she was beating herself up again mentally. She did it often, even if she didn't notice. I worried sometimes because she let off really heavy vibes, but usually just talking got her out of it. After the training she put us through, I understood a bit better why she did it, and why talking to her got her out of it so easily.
"Hey Liza?" I murmured. She looked up at me expectantly. I paused, wondering what to talk about. There were a couple of things I wanted to talk to her about, but I figured it was too soon for some. What was something that was going to happen soon?
"Yes?" She asked. I looked at her again, and figured out what I wanted to talk about. It was February in an hour. We were closing in on the springtime, which pinpointed an important time of my life. It would be my third year through the cycle. I could already feel the need to move and travel, but I was stuck in the lair. I didn't know what kind of adverse effects it could have on us, but Don didn't bring it up, so I could only assume we were okay. I reached behind my head, rubbing it nervously. She propped herself up, giving me more focus. I shifted around, closing my legs so I was pin straight. There was a tingle at the base of my tail, and I really didn't want to see what talking about it did.
"How much do ya know about... turtles?" I asked. Liza shrug unhelpfully, shuffling herself to lay across my chest. She straddled my abdomen, crossed her arms over her chest, and rested her head on them.
"I know average lifespan, body temperature, bone structure, intestines, sexual organs, growth cycle, and what habitats are best for them. I know what defense mechanisms they have, and um..." She paused, counting out her stuff. She'd done a bit more research than I anticipated.
"What do ya know about reproduction?" I asked, clearing my throat. I placed my hands on her hips to stop her from moving. Her shirt hiked up, and I pressed my thumbs against her skin. It was still cold in the lair, and she was always warm.
"Uh... Both genders have cloacas... A male turtle usually has it in their tail, but you guys have it farther forwards towards your plastron." She began slowly. I fought the urge to shift. "I don't know as much about females because I didn't look into them... Um, males go into heat during the spring, and females in the summer. A female can hold their eggs for as long of a time as they want, and can lay three batches. The average gestation period is forty to ninety days..."
"Yeah, about that springtime thin'," I murmured. She looked up at me, waiting for me to continue. "Yeah... well, we kinda have a... mating type instinct?"
Meaning in February we feel the need to move, and March is about the time we get antsy. Usually, we'll hole up in our rooms most of the time, because if we didn't, we could get into some fights. And while regular turtles just have claws, we have weapons. Liza took a slow breath inwards as she processed that, and her jaw went slack.
"You mean you'll feel the urge to..." She trailed off while looking at me. I nodded. She smiled and continued, "Press me against the wall and have your wicked way with me."
I gasped, coughing on my breath. Liza chuckled at me, grabbing my shoulders to keep from being tossed off. I covered my mouth, coughing into my hand.
"No, turtles aren't like mammals," I coughed out, and cleared my throat. "We're more affectionate."
"But you're hound dogs in the end." She muttered teasingly. I smiled, reaching down to tug her up farther. She lifted her legs a little, careful of my shell. We discovered the hard way that my shell was like concrete, and could cause the same amount of damage as scraping your knee across said concrete.
I pulled her till our noses touch, and I could feel her breath across my lips. I crossed my arms over her back and held her to me. "Hound dogs, eh?"
She shrugged, the movement brushing my mouth against hers. I rolled, the concave of my shell aiding me in turning, until I pressed her against the new mattress, leaning over her to keep our noses close. I place my hands at the hem of her shirt, sliding it up as I rubbed her skin. I stopped under the swells of her chest, running my thumb under the tender skin. I wiggled my hips to get closer, causing her to spread her legs a little farther apart.
She trailed her hand down my chest, scraping her nails over my stomach. I shivered against her, resisting the urge to thrust my hips forwards. She continued down my stomach, squeezing past the edge of my plastron. I pressed down harder, trying to keep her hand from getting too far. Somehow, she got a single finger through. I didn't know she did until she rubbed her finger over the top of my covering. I felt my legs grow weak, and I slid my head to her shoulder to muffle my groan. I changed my decision and lifted my body higher, letting Liza do what she wanted.
"Liza," I mumbled into her shoulder, and nipped at the skin there. Her lower body tensed like she'd been pinched, and I ran the tip of my tongue over the area to soothe it.
Liza had no qualms testing the waters. She started easy, pretty much just figuring out where the slit was and how far it went. When she started getting into deeper waters, I was already ready to lose it. And then she tried splitting the opening and ran a finger through what she could create. My shoulders shook from trying to hold myself in, but Liza caught on that what she did was sensitive and kept doing it.
"Yer making it hard to focus." I accused breathlessly. She smiled at me, very gently running a nail on the outside of the cloaca. I curled my tail, taking slow breaths. Liza surprised me by stopping her advances, and I was just about to relax when I felt her hand grab my tail. A very brutal shot of lust went through my system, and left me gasping quite loudly. Instantly she let go, and I fell next to her. I took several shaky breaths, trying to calm myself. She propped herself up on her elbow, looking over at me.
"Was that a bad thing?" She asked tentatively. I inhaled slowly, easing my nerves. I laid a hand over my eyes, staring into the blackness. Now how to explain this.
"Our tails... Are extremely sensitive." I murmured, looking over at Liza. She was looking down at my tail, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
"Sensitive in a good way? Or sensitive in a bad way?" She asked, looking back up at me.
"A good way." I chuckled. "If ya want a fast way ta do stuff, the tail is the thing ta go after."
Oh, that was awesome advice, especially right before mating season. Nothing could go wrong there.
"Sorry?" She said, though it came out a question. I looked over at her, surprised, wondering why she'd be sorry. I reached out and pulled her towards me.
"Why are ya sorry?" I asked. She laid her head on my chest, putting her hand on my stomach to tap away at the bone.
"You say good sensitive, but that doesn't mean it's best." She muttered. Oh, she probably thought she'd hurt me.
"The tail is sensitive... and it's a good thing. It doesn't hurt us in any way, it might be a weird feelin' because nothin' ever really touches it. But no hurting." I soothed to the best of my ability. Liza looked up at me with a speculating eye and her hand stopped drumming. She continued to stare for a second, and then propped herself up on an elbow. She removed her hand from my stomach, and I lost where it was in my peripheral vision. A few seconds later I felt her hand slide along my inner thigh, and Liza looked down to see what she was doing. I jumped, my tail hiding under my shell.
"Woah woah woah," I started, grabbing her wrist. Liza stopped her movements, her head snapping up to look at me. I swallowed thickly, taking in the surprised and almost hurt look of Liza. "Okay, my tail is really sensitive, and yer dealing with a male who is a teen who is a mutant. Yer my girlfriend, I've seen ya practically naked, and yer trying to touch my tail. That is not a good combination to go to sleep in."
Liza frowned, her fingers tapping at my inner thigh. She asked, "You've seen me almost naked?"
I felt my face heat up, but I couldn't pull the image of Liza almost naked to my mind. She'd been bloody, and it hadn't been the best of times to look at her. I was also worried about her remaining conscious. "Yeah, after the thin' with Hun."
Liza paused, looking up as she tried to remember. She understood seconds later, and her teeth clicked loudly. Liza took a deep breath, and looked down at herself. She looked back up at me, and then at our hands. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what she was going to do or say.
"Well, I've seen you naked." She muttered. I laughed, dragging her hand back to its spot on my chest.
"Tha' may be true, but I'm comfortable like this. Ya are not." I reasoned. Liza moved her body to straddle my abdomen again, bringing her hand up to my chest. She sat up, nearly doing to splits with how wide my shell was. She then scuffled down, and I grabbed her hips to steady myself when she rubbed against my hidden erection.
"Liza?" I cautioned.
"Okay, I'm self-conscious, but I feel better when I'm here with you. I sleep here with a really baggy shirt and short shorts. You might never notice, but that shirt rides up in the middle of the night. And the shorts don't exactly hide much. Over in the Shredder's Lair, it's sweats and a t-shirt. I can do stuff like this," She said, and she moved her hips a little to say what she was talking about. "And as long as no one opens that door, I'm okay with it."
"There's a big difference between yer shirt ridin' up in the middle of the night while sleepin' and bein' naked in bed with another person." I pointed out, shifting my hips up a little. Liza shrugged, laying down over my chest. Her face hovered over mine, and her knees placed themselves on either side of my hips. I pushed up on my feet, keeping Liza in place as I grinded into her. She released a shallow breath, her eyes fluttering.
"Well we can erase that line." She muttered finally. A shiver went down my spine at what she meant, and I was tempted to take her up on that.
"Yes we can," I murmured. "But not tonight."
Liza groaned in the back of her throat, placing her hands on either side of my head to hold herself up. "Why not?"
"Because," I muttered, sliding my lips down to the red spot I'd given her from biting her several minutes ago. "While you might not be sore, or tired, or at all affected by the training you put us through, I am."
She chuckled, turning her head to allow me better access to her throat. I sucked at the spot, careful to avoid it with my teeth.
"Well then we're going to have to work on your tolerance." She joked.
A/n: I've mentioned sequels a few times now, and I wasn't kidding. Originally I put here that my co-author mentioned writing a sequel, and I did. And I have a few chapters of a third installment written as well. Officially, there are four pieces to this story. And I will eventually get all of them up. I just wanted to let whoever read this far know.