A/N: Okay, here is the chapter I know many of you have been waiting for: Operation Pink Love Gloves! You finally get to read my attempt at Raph's POV in this chapter. I know last chapter was extremely long, so I decided to split chapter 12 into two parts. This way I don't overload you with a super long chapter and you get an update sooner! ;) Enjoy!
Chapter 12 part I
My nerves are a jittery mess of excitement and palm-sweating fear as I watch my brother work. We're in enemy territory and we only have 20 minutes max to make this work. Ah! The waiting is driving me crazy! I hook my thumbs in my nunchuck belt and drum against it with my fingers.
The repetitive noise draws his attention, "Why are you so nervous? This was your idea."
I give my brother an incredulous look, "Dude, this," I motion to room we're in, "was not my idea."
"Yes, it was!" I narrow my eyes with a pout, my brother simply rolls his eyes, "Well, you were going to prank him anyway, you said so yourself."
"Not like this!" I squeak, trying to keep my voice down. I look through the door for signs of discovery…nothing so far. "This is so much bigger than anything I would have planned. We should have written a final will and testament for Master Splinter and Leo just in case."
"Hey!" He whispers harshly, "Do not get cold feet on me now, Mr. Prankenstein," Pointing a mattress spring at me; it jiggles and bounces with every enunciated word, "we are in far too deep for you to start having second thoughts. Hand me that golf ball."
"I know," I sigh as I plop the small white ball into Donnie's hand, "But what if it doesn't work?"
"It will."
"But what if it doesn't? " I can't hide my hysteria as I think of all the many ways this prank will backfire leaving Donnie and me either beaten to a pulp by Raph or meeting a torturous punishment courtesy of Master Splinter, "Maybe you like hanging out in the Hashi but I don't, bruh." He gives me a withering look. I chuckle sheepishly; guess that joke was a little too soon. But seriously, Donnie practically lives in the Hashi now, it's like the only place I see him outside of his lab (and the kitchen he continues to raid). Donnie never told us what happened between him and Master Splinter that caused the continuous Hashi punishment. The vibes between him and Sensei are like sharp electricity, shocking and painful to watch. Ever since the 'incident', Sensei lets Leo lead practice. I think Leo knows what's going on, but he's being pretty tight-lipped about it too.
"Trust me. It'll work. The timing, the measurements, and the mechanics are perfectly orchestrated. Everything's going according to plan. Besides, have my calculations ever been wrong?" He challenges my doubt with a smirk.
"I don't know." I sigh with a shrug. Like I'd really be able to point out a miscalculation in his diabolical charts of physics formulas and algebraic equations.
"Right….Because my calculations are never wrong. " He shakes his head at me as if to say 'duh'. I chuckle as I crack a smile. We can do this, and it will work. We have to do this for little brothers everywhere. Tonight, vengeance belongs to us!
"Yeah, you're right. This is no time to freak out!" I give an affirmative nod, "And its Dr. Prankenstein. It's important to be accurate." Donnie snorts at me while tying a wire to the leg of Raph's bed. "Seriously, though, thanks for helping me put all this together. No way I would've been smart enough to do this by myself."
"Don't count yourself short. With a little practice and patience, you could do this by yourself, no problem. You already have the creative flair for it." I give him a doubtful look. When he sees I don't believe him, he turns around from his seated position on the floor and points to the corner, "What's that?"
"Um, a lever?"
"that?" he points to the ceiling without looking at it.
"a pulley," I smile, realizing what my brother is doing.
"And that?" He points over his shoulder.
"A pendulum, though I prefer the name 'click-clack ball knocker.'" I don't even try to hide how proud I am that I actually remember some of the stuff Donnie's been showing me over the past month.
"See? Just basic mechanics, and you remembered them." He smiles at me and it just makes me beam even more. "Technically this is your brain child," he compliments while gesturing to the rigged room we're standing in, "Sure, I helped with the some of the more difficult mechanisms, but the spatial calculations and visionary structures, I can't take credit for. That's all you little brother; brilliance at its best."
If Donnie is anything its critical, he doesn't just toss out unwarranted words of praise. He is a genius after all so, if he says I'm smart, then heck, I must be a freakin' wiz-kid!
"There that should do it," he says dusting his hands together. He makes a motion to stand but winces with the movement. He stays knelt on one knee while firmly kneading the other. I offer him a hand up which he accepts without much hesitation. He bends and stretches out his right leg. The motion seems to alleviate whatever spasm he had, because he's not making that pained expression anymore. I still worry about him though. When he thinks no one is watching, I catch a glimpse of his pained expression as he rides out spasms that are becoming more frequent.
Now, he's fussing over the alignment of the barrel funnel; such a perfectionist. I feel a little guilty for begging Donnie to follow through with this prank. I know he's been super busy with the retromutagen. Every time I crash out in his lab, he's hunched over a beaker of green ooze. Even now, he just looks exhausted.
"Are you going to be able to run?...because you know we will have to run after all this is over…." I question him as gently as possible. I don't want him mad at me, but I really don't want him to hurt himself over a silly prank.
He looks down at his feet and just kind of zones out for a minute, but then shakes his head at whatever haze he was in "Yeah, I'll be fine." His eyes are soft and his voice a little strained as he offers me a tight-lipped grin. I think I hurt his feelings, but he interrupts me before I can ask, "C'mon, let's get out of here. Raph will be back from his blockhead session with Casey in approximately ten minutes," he walks past me, toward the door, "watch out for the wire," he warns just as I overstep the nearly invisible string of nylon. I quietly step out of the room, leaving the door cracked just a smidgen as not to disturb the gorilla glue in the strike plate of the door. I give Donnie an 'okay' hand sign. He nods and gestures toward the den where Leo is currently parked in front of the TV doing katas.
My eyes are closed as I pivot my hip to flow into the next stance of my kata while listening to Captain Ryan give another heroic command to his crew. I don't need to see the episode to know what's happening as I drop and rise into another kata; I've seen this episode a hundred times and can quote it by heart with my eyes closed.
I also don't have to see Donatello or Michelangelo to know that they're up to something.
It's not uncommon for Mikey to make himself cozy in the lab, but even Donnie has his limits on how much 'Mikey time' he can take in one sitting. Usually, after an inevitable crash, Donnie kicks Mikey out of his sacred lab. However, for the past few weeks, Mikey has managed to stay in the lab with Donnie for hours at a time without so much as an aggravated shout from Donnie. Between Mikey's knack for mischief and Donnie's mad scientist tendencies, the two of them together for any length of time is disconcerting. Their bathroom fiasco of '06 still makes me shudder.
Donnie's been making himself extremely scarce lately, only emerging from his lab to eat or train, but mostly eat. Having a conversation with him is nearly impossible since he only ever says enough words to answer my questions before retreating back to his lab.
Sensei started instructing me to lead our morning training sessions. Usually, I can depend on Donnie to be focused during training, but now he zones out more than Mikey. When Donnie loses focus, it's pretty much free range for Raph and Mikey to goof off and completely disregard my instructions. Our training session have been anything but productive lately.
Considering how much time they spend together, I'm not sure how Mikey wormed his way into Donnie's good graces. Well, now that I think about it, Donnie seems less irritable when he's with Mikey. My youngest brother tends to have a way of pulling people out of their funk….when he's not being utterly incorrigible.
"Are you sure we used enough cornstarch?"
"Yes, it's the perfect consistency. I'm telling you, the schematics are flawless. Don't worry….shush, he's still in there, be inconspicuous."
"Huh?"
"Just act normal."
I sigh as I hear their hushed voices coming from the kitchen. They're definitely up to something. Eyes still closed, I continue moving soundlessly through my katas. I hear their padded footsteps and the squeak and plop of the couch behind me as they sit on either side of it. There's a small clacking noise that sounds like glass being tapped behind me. The sound makes me pause in the transition of my last kata. The clacking noise is followed by a sucking and smacking sound. My eyelid twitches slightly, but I continue my kata. They will not punk me into paranoia with their antics. I hear the sounds again.
Clack, suck, smack.
Clack, suck, smack.
Clack, suck….
I can't take the obsessive sounds anymore and slowly turn around to face my youngest brothers.
Both of them—Mikey on the left couch cushion and Donnie on the right—are quietly watching TV. They purposely ignore me for a moment before returning my stare. Mikey, sitting cross-legged, gives a small wave before turning his attention back to the show playing behind me. Another sucking sound draws my attention back to Donnie who has a jar of peanut butter in his lap, sucking idly on the spoon in his mouth. He pulls the spoon past his lips with a resounding 'smack' before plunging it into the jar with a 'clack.' His brows raise with an unspoken 'what?' as he crams another glop of peanut butter in his mouth.
My lips twitch to the side as I look back and forth between them. "Okay, what are you two up to?"
"Watching TV?..." Donnie says questioningly as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Mikey just sits there, feigning an exaggerated interest in Space Heroes. Donnie gives me an innocent smile before turning his attention back to the TV.
"Uh-huh," I say crossing my arms, "You can cut the act. I know you two are planning something."
"Leo, we're not planning anything. Mikey just dragged me out of the lab for a break, that's all." Donnie replies a little to casually and Mikey hasn't breathed a word yet.
Something is horribly wrong with this picture.
"Fine, don't tell me, but don't expect me to bail you out of whatever you're not planning to do." Before I can further interrogate my deceitful brothers, my other brother's insulting voice cuts in.
"I shoulda known you dorks would be watching that stupid Space Zeros show."
"It's Space Heroes," I correct Raphael as he saunters pass us.
"Whatever, Lame-o-nardo." He shrugs rudely at me before heading for his room.
I turn back to Donnie and Mikey who both still look overly suspicious to me, "I'm watching you both," I narrow my eyes as I point two fingers at them.
"You have nothing to worry about, Leo."
I pause as Donnie's words sink in. I arch my brow unable to hide my curiosity, "What are you guys going to do to Raph?"
It's great just to get outta the lair without having my brothers breathing down my neck, stifling me all the freakin' time. They can be so annoying, always in my space being….well….annoying.
Running into a puck-head like Casey is the best thing to happen to me since Spike was turned into Slash. Yeah, Casey ain't much of a listener when I wanna vent about my idiotic brothers, but he's the first one to suggest head-bashing Purple Dragons as cure-all for my frustrations which is good enough for me. I've always been better at venting with my fists anyway, especially when they're breaking some thug's jaw. I'm still on an adrenaline buzz after that neighborhood patrol with Casey. Nothing too serious, just roughed up a few hoodlums, but it was enough to let out some pint up anger.
Coming back to the lair, I feel claustrophobic, like I gotta bottle everything that pisses me off until I can let it all out again with Casey in blaze of satisfying and unfiltered fury. My brothers are in the den watching that stupid show. After such an awesome head-bashing session and I wanna hold on to that feeling of gratification for as long as I can before Leo starts bossing me around, Mikey starts pestering me, or Donnie starts being an PMSing emo chick. I plan to just chill in my room until my brothers disperse, then I'll get a few rounds in on the old punching dummy. Opening the kitchen cabinet, I reach for my bag of cheese puffs. My eyes widen and then narrow as I grab a nearly empty bag of my favorite snack. The bag crinkles loudly in my fist as I snatch it from the cabinet. I don't ask for much, really, I don't. I'm not a hard turtle to please; just leave me the shell alone, let me burn off a little steam, , and don't touch my freakin' cheese puffs.
I gather as much air into my lungs as possible, "DONNIE! STOP EATING MY CHEESE PUFFS OR I'LL SMACK THE FREAKIN' SCALES OFFA YA!" I bellow with immediate anger I don't bother to hide. See? This is the crap I'm talking about. I ain't home five minutes before one of my brothers decides to tick me off. "…Sick and tired of him, eating every freakin' thing in the freakin' lair…." I mutter and head for my room, "Giant, cheese puff-eating Sasquatch." I slam my door, putting all of my merited anger into it as it rattles into the doorframe.
I sigh, as I lean back against my door. Is a little respect too much to ask for? Stepping further into my room, my ankle catches on something. Looking down, I see a broken piece of string that must've snapped against my ankle. I huff nonchalantly and shrug my shoulders as I—
"Gah!" I nearly jump outta my shell as a huge book falls and slams against the concrete floor with a loud thud. I look down at the book to the right of me. An encyclopedia?...What the heck is an encyclopedia doin' in my room?...
Suddenly I hear a rapid thumping sound. Snapping my head upward, I watch as a series of pizza boxes on my shelf cascade into one another like a row of dominoes. The last box hits a cue ball that rolls off the edge of the shelf landing on a spring that catapults it toward my stereo. The ball hits the foot pedal for my drum set which hits a button on my stereo.
The sound of eerie static feels my room as my stereo whirls to life. What the shell?...
Is this thing on?...Sweet!...*ahem* Good Evening Raphael Hamato.
I growl as Mikey's voice wafts through the speakers of my stereo. I shoulda known that moron would pull something. It's been too long since his last idiotic prank.
Welcome to Michelangelo and Donatello's Epic Room of Revenge. Muahahahahaha!
Ah, revenge. Cold, yet sweet, and we plan to serve you a full course meal of it. It's time for us to enjoy the show and get a good laugh at your expense, dear brother.
Yeah, bruh, its going down in Chinatown; it's on like Donkey Kong, son!
Crap. Mikey and Donnie are in on this? The Bathroom fiasco of '06 sudden flashes like a crack of lightening to my memory.
Uh-uh. I gotta get out here. Turning on my heels, I reach for the door knob.
Ah-ah-ah. I wouldn't open that door if I were you.
"Screw you, Donnie," I mutter to the prerecording as I turn the knob of my door. A small irritated panic grips my chest when the door doesn't open. I forcibly jiggle the knob as I pull it. "Hey! Hey! Open the freakin' door, you idoits!" I shout as I pound on my door to be let out. I give one more pull on the doorknob and stumble backwards as it comes off the door with a small pop. There's a wire attached to the knob that triggers a humming sound in my booby-trapped room.
We warned you, dude.
Try to escape again and we'll tase you.
Nah, we're just messin' withcha, bruh…..or are we?...
I back away from my door as I realize I probably shouldn't test that possible bluff unless I want an electric current seizing through my body. The humming is a mini fan suction-cupped at the top of my door. An animalistic screeching sound takes me off guard as I duck toward the center of my room. The fan blows a chain link of little plastic monkeys down a homemade zip line to the other side of my room. The chain of monkeys hit the wall, falling into one side of a balance scale causing the other side to lift. As the other side of the scale lifts, the string attached to it pulls the crank on a jack-in-box
How about some music before your demise?
One way or another, I'm gonna find ya, I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha….
Oh, that's real cute. That stupid song just adds to my paranoia as I turn a slow circle around the various little bootleg machines coming to life in my room, one mechanical action triggering another. The tinkling melody of the jack-in-the-box is still winding down quietly under the blaring sound of the stereo. I snatch up the stupid box toy with every intent of shattering it against the door. At that moment, the last note plays before the lid 'pops' open.
Dropping the box, I gasp as my heart gets stuck in my chest. A horrifying screech pierces my ears and then I realize that god-awful sound is coming from my mouth as a giant roach springs out of the jack-in-the-box. Within seconds, I pull my weapons from my belt and start pinwheeling them at the disgusting vermin.
*HONK*
"GAH!" My foot steps on something pliable and loud as it sounds like a long distance truck blew its horn behind me. Stumbling forward I snap another wire which triggers….
What the frick? "Vibrators?" I frown in confusion. There are at least 6 vibrators duct-taped to a liter of soda on my bed. Squinting my eyes, I notice the lid is missing and there's some sorta ball stuck in neck of the bottle.
"Oh, crap."
My eyes widen with sudden realization as I hit the floor just in time to miss a pressure-induced golf ball soar over my head. I'm still pressed against the floor as a stream of soda spews over my shell running down my face from the sudden release of pressure. I lick my lips. Orange soda. I hate orange soda.
I can hear the pinging sounds as I imagine the golf ball zipping and bouncing at top speed against every surface of my room. Sais still in hand, I cross my arms over my head, but resist the urge to pull into my shell. I will not give them that satisfaction no matter how freakin' terrified I am of being taken out by vibrators, a jack-in-the-box, and a haphazard golf ball. Turning my head to the side, I jerk away from the roach beside me until I notice not so much as its antennae is moving. It's plastic. I clench my hands into fists and hammer the floor cursing loudly. I am gonna kill them….
As the pinging stops I rise to my feet just in time to hear a click. I take a fighting stance, ready to rip apart whatever else those dorks have planted in my room.
"Argh!" I stab my sai at a flicker of movement behind me. I'm greeted with a resounding 'pop' as my plastron is splattered with a syrupy glop. I touch my plastron with apprehension. Pulling my fingers away with disgust at the strings of stickiness, I shudder at the thought of what it could be. There's a similar popping noise behind me as something splatters my shell. I spin on the balls of my feet. Nothing. My shell is once again bombarded, except this time it's an annoying feeling of several little feet plopping against my shell. I growl, gripping my sais tighter than necessary as I grow tired of this never-ending prank. Like a fool, I spin around again in hopes of catching a glimpse of whatever is attacking my abused shell. I come face-to-face with three Nerf guns that click simultaneously before pelleting my plastron quicker than I can blink. I look down at my torso. I try to pull off the offending objects but they're stuck.
Condoms. There are freakin' condoms stuck to my plastron. I ain't gotta be a genius to figure out that's probably what's stuck to my shell, too. Wait, is this about the stupid condom balloon thing last month? I am gonna kill them….
And now for the grand finale!
My eyes widen. What more could they possibly do? I freeze as a small hissing sound penetrates my thoughts. The hissing grows louder and louder with each passing second. I look up just in time to see several condoms taped to my ceiling being instantaneously blown up to gigantic proportions. The chorus of hissing slows as the condoms reach their limits.
Hey, Raph. Do you like 'em big?
The irony of Donnie's words ring a sense of dread in my center that radiates in a tingling sensation to my arms and legs.
"Oh, Sh—"
Before I can vulgarly express my distress, the condoms burst over my head, clouding my room in a sparkling pink haze. As the powdery clouds thin out, my room is completely coated in pink crap and glitter. My fists shake uncontrollably as I slam my sais back in my belt.
"I am gonna—" As I stomp toward my door my threat goes unfinished as my foot loses purchase and slips clumsily from beneath me. I take another step to try regain my balance but my other foot meets the same fate as it rolls behind me. My feet scissor back and forth as I circle my arms trying to keep from face-planting on the floor. I vaguely hear a cranking sound and a 'whoosh' before something collides with my face. I'm suffocated by something thick and…sweet? Marshmallow crème?
HA!...Guess who's brain isn't permanently set to stupid? MINE!
Guess who looks like a promotional ad for sexually active teenager girls?
YOU DO!
With irritated force, I wipe the crème from my eyes and beak, and blow the spluttering mess from my lips. The recording ends with Donnie's nerdy snort-laughing and Mikey's idiotic giggling. I just wanted to be left alone in my room….
"IS THAT TOO MUCH TO FREAKIN' ASK?!" I bark out to the ceiling not expecting any real answer in response, because my life sucks like that. I feel like I'm in a furnace; my skin is hot with barely contained rage as I stand there for a moment taking in this horrible mess that is my room. This peaking fury can't wait until my next hang-out with Casey. No. This must be dealt with now. My heart thumps loudly in my ears like a war drum as I prepare to give my stupid little brothers the inescapable butt-kicking of a lifetime.
We all stand outside Raph's gorilla-glued bedroom door listening to the random screams of vulgarity, horror and surprise.
"I can't believe you two booby-trapped his whole room." Leo says with a rather comically stunned look on his face. Telling Leo about this wasn't part of the plan, but there's only so long Mikey can go without blabbing about a prank.
"Actually, it's a sequence of Rube Goldberg machines." I correct him.
"A bunch of complex machines used to do simple stuff." Mikey pipes with a definition, looking to me for confirmation. I offer a smile and nod, which is enough to make him grin with pride and for Leo to stare at him in amazement. It's really not that hard to believe that Mikey understands simple mechanics. Leo should give Mikey a chance; sometimes he can be pretty amazing.
They never give you a chance. Always excluding you, using you, and belittling you….he's using you now. Are you so desperate for your little brother's admiration that you can't see how pathetic you are? Do I need to remind you about 'movie night'?...
I'm not really angry with them about that…it's not a big deal; nothing worth mentioning or getting worked up about….
But you still want to bash their brains in with your staff, don't you?
I push down my thoughts with the shake of my head as I tune back to my brothers' conversation.
"Did you really have to do this right before training?" Leo asks with an exasperated sigh.
"Dude, he totally had it coming! He's always raggin' on me about being dumb. Ha! Guess I'm not so dumb now, am I?"
"Well, it wasn't a very smart thing to do considering Raph's track record for pounding you."
I ease a little closer to Raph's door and hear the long awaited 'splat' of marshmallow crème pie in the face. I grin to myself. Mikey's right; he really did have it coming. It's really annoying constantly be the butt of his crude jokes. If I had a penny for every big foot joke he's made….
"IS THAT TOO MUCH TO FREAKIN' ASK?!" I pull back from the door at the sound of my brother's sudden outburst.
My T-phone jingles merrily before I quickly answer it, "Hello?...Hey April….why of course I can come over and help you with Trig…." I continue talking as I backpedal my way to door, "…and I'm sure Mikey would love to see the baby turtles….see you in a bit, bye." I grab my bo from the side of the couch. I meet Mikey's eyes with a purposeful look, "We should get going, Mikey."
"Wait, what?...Oh, no, uh-uh….I see what you're doing," Leo points an accusing finger at me, "We have training in twenty minutes, you two aren't going anywhere! Whatever mess you two have made with your little Rube Goldberg prank you will clean it up."
"Mikey, come on. We need to go now," I ignore Leo as I tug on Mikey's arm. Leo never steps in when Raph taunts me, and he always belittles me during practice—pointing out every feeble strike, every misstep, everything that sets me apart from my skilled brothers. Training with Leo is just as bad as training with Sensei.
Why do you think Sensei put Leo in charge of training?...He was tired of dealing with your pathetic shortcomings.
I push down the thought of Master Splinter. The extra hashi sessions are a constant reminder of his obvious disdain for me. Whatever. Let 'Perfect' Leonardo deal with the soon to come 'Raphael fallout'.
"Dude, just a few more minutes. I gotta see how he looks!" Mikey says as he giddily skips from one foot to the other.
"That's why we put the video-cameras in his room, Mikey. The footage will go straight to my PC, I can access it later!" I remind him with another tug.
"I know, I know, but don't you wanna see—"
All three of us jump at the sound of metal piercing wood. We all look back at Raph's door to see a sai sticking through it. The tip of the sai disappears and reappears with a resounding 'thunk' as it plunges through another part of the door. The door mincing continues several times with an intensity that reminds me why we should have left five minutes and twenty-five seconds ago, "Mikey…." Apprehension grips me as I start walking toward the entrance, but never taking my eyes of the splintering door as Raph continues to hack at it from the inside out. A ferocious growl erupts from the room as my red-banded brother kicks a hole through the weakened part of the door. Busting the rest of the way out, he stands there, shoulders heaving exaggeratedly from the exertion. I smirk at the sight of him. Even Leo blurts out a laugh. It is absolutely priceless.
There he is with powdery pink skin that sparkles with every intake of his breath. The condoms cling to his plastron and carapace like stubby tentacles; they are also slightly tinted by the pink powder. And then there's the icing on the proverbial cake as thick marshmallow crème coats his face. Two smeared holes show his beady glaring eyes as he spots Mikey and me.
"You…." He growls in a dangerously low tone. If glares could kill, Mikey and I would be vaporized from our shells right now.
"How'd you like that face full of 'baby batter', Raphie?" Mikey teases with just the right amount of turpitude.
"AAARGGGGH, BOTH OF YOU ARE DEAD!" He takes a menacing step toward us, but Leo steps between him and us.
"Be quiet, Raphael!" Leo says blocking him from us as he tries to keep a straight face, "Master Splinter's in the dojo and said he did not want to be disturbed."
"I DON'T CARE, TWIDDLE NERD AND TWIDDLE DORK JUST TRASHED MY ROOM AND TRIED TO KILL ME WITH VIBRATORS AND A LITER OF SODA! JUST WAIT 'TIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU TWO!...I'LL FREAKIN' RING YOUR NECKS RIGHT OUTTA YOUR STUPID LITTLE SHELLS!"
With that lovely threat, I bound toward the entrance and jump the turnstiles. I turn around to make sure Mikey is following, but of course the show-off is blowing raspberries and shaking his tail at Raphael, who wasted no time charging pass Leo to get to him. I'm not too worried about Mikey, he's been dodging Raph after his notorious pranks for years; he has it down to a fine art. I watch this comical cat-mouse chase as Mikey maneuvers over, under, and around the TV, couch, arcade, and other miscellaneous items in the lair. Each time he cuts a corner, he narrowly misses Raph's enraged grasp. While Mikey practically glides around the room with his verbal hecklings, Raph simply burrows through everything in his path, leaving a trail of glittery pink powder and sticky marshmallow crème in his wake as he curses with enough passion to make a Marine embark on a monastery life.
The laughter is gone from Leo's face as he panics and rushes behind the two of them trying to reposition everything Raph knocks over; his efforts are pointless as they circle around and knock everything over again. Mikey dives head first for the couch, rolling and tucking to the floor to retrieve his nunchucks before finally running toward me.
"Are you finished?" I ask with sarcasm that lost its bite after watching my brother's obnoxious tomfoolery.
"Yep!" He jumps the turnstiles with a playful laugh and a smile I find difficult to not to return in earnest.
"Raph, Stop!...Mikey! Donnie!...Get back here this instant!" I rolls my eyes at Leo's command. No thanks, I don't plan to die tonight.
As Mikey and I run through the sewers, I can hear Raph's labored grunts and curses echo with vehemence down the tunnels.
"Hey!" I lean over the turnstiles as I shout at my brothers, "You guys, better get back here NOW! I mean it! I'm not kidding! I'll—"
"Leonardo!"
I yelp as the sharp tone of my name cuts into my flesh like a whip. My eye ridges shoot up in surprise as I turn around and find Master Splinter standing in the middle of what was once our living quarters.
"Why are you shouting and what is the meaning of this mess? Did I not make myself clear that I did not wish to be disturbed?" He leaves no room for nonsense as his eyes penetrate me in search of answers to the chaos around us.
No, no, no…he cannot think this is my doing! I immediately start to panic, "This isn't my fault! I had nothing to do with this—nothing!" I scissor my arms in front me to further negate my involvement.
"Yet, you are the only one here. Where are your brothers?"
"In the sewers?..." I instantly regret how uncertain my response sounds as it leave my lips.
"I left you in charge, yet you deny responsibility for this mess and you do not know where your brothers are."
"It was a prank that got a bit out of hand." I admit with a sigh, "The guys are just goofing around in the tunnels; I think Donnie even had a good time. I'll clean up the mess." I haven't seen Donnie smile in weeks. If a little prank at Raph's expense , pulls Donnie out the sulky mood he's holed up in, then I'll take the blame for it. Besides, Raph had this one coming for weeks.
"You should be leading your brothers in training right now, but instead you allow your brothers to partake in childish behavior and leave our home as a pigsty. You cover for your brothers, yet where are they? Are they here to help you clean up this mess? No. Your brothers need more discipline, not games, especially Donatello. "
I swallow back a lump of guilt in my throat as his disappointment grips me like a vice.
"Leonardo, I expected better from you."
"But, Sensei, I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen." Okay maybe I didn't initially try to stop Donnie and Mikey's prank but I did try to stop Raph from clobbering them.
"Your brothers do not respect you because you try too hard to please them." His words sting like a slap to the face, or maybe it's just the truth behind his words. "Sometimes you will have to make decisions for your brothers that they will not like, but it does not mean the decision must not be made."
I stare at my feet pensively considering Master Splinter's words. I thought being a friend to my brothers was enough to make them respect me, acknowledge me as their leader. But I was wrong; it only gave them reason to take advantage of my lenience.
"Your brothers disregard you because you desire to fit in their ranks outweighs your responsibility to lead them."I see now I should have stood my ground and stopped their horseplay before it even started and began practice on time, even if I had to drag them by the tails of their masks.
"I apologize, Sensei. I will work harder to find balance in my leadership responsibilities." I bow with humility, sincere in my desire to meet his approval.
"Good. I do not wish to be disturbed the remainder of the evening. This mess is to be cleaned by morning, and you will lead an extra two hours of training with your brothers; you will also oversee Donatello's Hashi session tomorrow. Good night, Leonardo."
"Good night, Sensei," and with those instructions, he leaves me in the middle of our sparkly pink and sticky den. I sigh as I drag to the kitchen to retrieve wash rags, a bucket, and a mop.
"Holy crap, he's really ticked. Maybe this prank wasn't such a good idea," Mikey shouts beside me as we run through the maze of sewer tunnels.
"Too late for regrets, now," I state the obvious shouting back as we make a sharp left into another tunnel.
"Come back here, you yellow-shelled cowards! Take your beat down like a real turtle!" Raph barks as he gains speed behind us. Mikey reaches the manhole before me and immediately starts climbing. I'm right behind him as my trembling legs bend for my feet to connect with each ladder step on the way up to the surface.
A sharp gasp leaves my lips as my leg spasms and I miss a step. I'm one bar away from the top as my arms start to shake with fatigue. Raph is already at the bottom of the ladder, skipping a few rudders to get to me.
"Gotcha!" Mikey grabs my arm just as it starts to slip from the ladder. He pulls me up and through the manhole and in seconds, the metal cover is put back in place to keep our fury-crazed brother from following us topside. We manage to push a dumpster over the mancover just before Raph starts banging on it.
"Arrgh! You little punks, just wait, I'm gonna knock the green off the both of ya, then I'm gonna use Donnie like a stick to beat the that stupid smirk off your face, Mikey! You gotta come back to the Lair some time!" The dumpster rattles as Raph punches against the manhole. After a few more minutes, the rattling stops and we hear his colorful language fade further and further away.
"Do you think he's going to another manhole?"
"No. He looks ridiculous. The probability that he will bother to hunt for us up here are slim to none," I reassure him as we walk toward a fire escape ladder with plans of sprinting the rooftops to April's apartment. I gesture for Mikey to go first; my arms tremble with the onset of a spasm as I follow him up the fire escape. It's a small spasm; it'll work its way out of my muscles by the time we get to April's.
The rooftop jumps are mostly filled with sounds of Mikey's 'woots' and victorious gloats as the cold evening air nips at our skin. Showboating, Mikey backflips onto April's roof. I roll my eyes, and jump down with a simple landing. As I step down from the ledge, I suddenly crumple painfully to the roof.
The spasm didn't work itself out like I thought it would, but instead intensifies one hundred folds as my leg jerks violently with tremors. I force my shell against the raised ledge, holding my leg tightly in hopes of stopping the throbbing pain exploding from it.
"Donnie!" I barely registered my name as I try to slow my heart rate and breath through the pain. I squeeze my eyes shut as I white knuckle my leg until the tremors cease and the pain fades. I finally open my eyes, but only when I'm sure the warm wetness has receded back into my eye sockets. "Dude, one minute I'm showcasing my awesome new roof jump, and the next you're screaming."
Did I scream? I don't remember screaming.
"My triple axis backflip wasn't that bad, was it bro?" He tries to crack a joke to lighten the mood, to ease my embarrassment. "Are you okay? Was it another spasm?"
Weakling.
I release the death grip on my leg, flexing my knee in and out of a bent position to test the muscle strength, "Its fine. I just landed wrong, that's all," my voice is detached as I lie to my brother. He still has an overly concerned look (or maybe it's just pity) on his face when I refuse his helping hand. I manage to steady myself using my own equilibrium to stand, "Come on, April's waiting for us." I stiffen my stance as I lower myself from the ledge to the fire escape just outside April's window.
The window is cracked, so I jimmy it the rest of the way open and climb in. Mikey is right behind me as he closes the window snuggly behind him.
"April, Operation pink love gloves was an EPIC success! Oh, man you shoulda seen—"
I pull the ridge of his shell roughly to silence him. It doesn't take him long to notice the same thing I saw when I first stepped through the window.
There she is pacing in the center of her room, occasionally tucking her hair behind her ear.
"April?…." I call out to her calmly, but can't hide the concerned and questioning tone of my voice. She abruptly stops pacing as her glossy eyes meet mine. Without a second thought, I close the gap between us and gently take her shoulders into my grasp. "April, what's wrong?"
TBC...
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the long awaited prank, because from this point on its going from comedy to drama. I want to again thank you all for your wonderful support as I write this story. You guys truly overwhelmed me (in a good way) with all of your encouraging, supportive, and meaningful feedback for the last chapter. You've heard the phrase 'milk does a body good'?...Well a Review does an author's heart good, so if you have a moment I'd love to read thoughts on this chapter and the story thus far. Well, I'll be back with part 2 of Chapter 12 soon. :)
~Poetique