Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the TMNT franchise in any way, shape, or form. No money is being made. This is just a labor of love for the series. Please don't sue me, Viacom!

Alternate Universe fic. The timeline is the same as the TV series until just after "The Pulverizer Returns". But right now, we are still nine years in the future.

Warnings: None for this one still. :)

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Chapter 1

It takes us awhile to get home because Mom went the wrong way. We all knew that we were going the wrong way, but said nothing. Mom taught us long ago that when he says 'Follow me' it really means 'Do what I do without question or hesitation. Something's wrong but we need to act naturally.' We were halfway across the city's sewers when he suddenly stopped, took out a smoke bomb, and, after giving us a quick look, dropped it. As soon as the smoke cleared, all of us were no longer anywhere in sight.

We stayed hidden for so long that I was starting to wonder if it was some sort of exercise. Then we saw them. Two Foot ninjas skulked out of their own hiding spots and began to look for signs of which way we went. Mom's hunch had been dead on. If we'd gone straight home, we would have led this scouting party right to it. From where I was I could just barely see Mom's eyes as they narrowed sharply at the intruders. We watched them for a little longer before Mom carefully and silently eased himself out of his hiding spot among the pipes on the ceiling. They still couldn't see him, but we could and I reached for my chigiriki in anticipation of combat. He looked right at me as he brought an 'index' finger to his lips followed by bringing his hand down to his side; palm down and flat. I nodded obediently as I let go of my weapon.

Mom slowly crept along the pipes until he was right above the enemy. They had no idea that he was right there. But they did have sense enough to stay together for protection. Unfortunately for them, this time it worked against them. Mom silently dropped down behind them. In a move straight out of Uncle Raph's comics, he grabbed the backs of their heads and face planted them into the hard sewer floor, knocking them out cold. He slowly scanned the area to make sure that was the last of them. Then he gave the all-clear gesture and we joined him.

He didn't say a thing as we re-gathered our bags, but this time he picked up Lewis and set our little brother onto his back. After making Lewis sure had a secure grip around his neck and checking that we were ready, he broke into a run with my sister and me following closely behind. We kept that pace until we crossed the perimeter of our home.

The lair never looked better as we reach the turnstiles that lead into the main room. Mom's the only one tall enough to have to walk through them so only one crank sound announces our presence. Kaiya and I duck under them just because we can. Besides, maybe we can surprise one of the adults. The TV is on and a pair of sky blue eyes peeks over the couch. "Yo, Donnie and mini-Donnies! Welcome home!" Uncle Mikey cheerful greets us and Mom gives him a tired smile. Darn. He spotted us. Uncle Mikey's the most fun to sneak up on.

"How'd things go? Find anything good?" Uncle Mikey asks as he pauses his video game and takes a better look at us. His eyes suddenly go big. "Dude! Why do you guys look so roughed up?!" He vaults himself over the couch so he can come over to get a better look at us. And he looks more worried with each step. "Where's Lewis?!" he demands as he approaches Mom.

"BOO!" Lewis shouts as he pops up from behind Mom's shell. Uncle Mikey yelps and falls onto his butt in surprise. All three of us burst into puckish laughter. Mom chuckles as he reaches down to help Uncle Mikey back to his feet.

"Not cool, little dude," Uncle Mikey protests despite his relieved smile. "You seriously had me worried."

"You think I'd be this calm if I was missing one, Mikey?" Mom asks curiously as he reaches back, grasps Lewis' hands, and helps him down to the ground.

"Oh. Yeah…I hadn't thought about that. Oops!"

Mom shakes his head a couple of times. "Kaiya, please get my med kit. Hikaru, get me some hot water and some clean washcloths, please. I've got some patching up to do. Meantime, Lewis, please go take your medicine. I don't want you to forget again." We all nod and trot off to do our assigned tasks. Just before I leave the room, I see Uncle Mikey reach out to touch a long cut on the side of Mom's face. How'd I miss that?!

I rush to gather the supplies Mom requested as quickly as I can. Now, I'm worried about him. He didn't seem hurt. However, I was so amped up from the fight that I didn't even notice that cut. What else hadn't I noticed? I adore my mother, even idolize him. But I do realize that he's not the strongest ninja in our family. Uncle Leo is incredibly devoted to his training so he has mad skills and is great at thinking on the fly. Uncle Raph is SO amazingly strong that he can more than handle himself in almost any fight. Uncle Mikey, while not terribly dedicated to training or overly strong, has energy in spades. Most enemies tire long before he does.

Mom…Mom is the brains of the family. He tends to pursue interests other than constant training. His build is, to put it politely, slight so he doesn't have an extreme amount of raw power. As for energy, well…Mom needs at least half a pot of coffee to get going in the morning. Of course, he wouldn't need it if he'd go to bed at a reasonable time instead of working on his projects at all hours of the night. Wait a minute. I think I've briefly lost track of who the kid is in this relationship.

Anyway, I'd say, other than his incredible intellect, Mom's strength is his endurance. "No one can take a hit like Mom. So, he has to be OK," I convince myself. It doesn't last as my brain starts its infamous overthinking. "Of course…if Mom WAS seriously hurt, we'd be the last ones' to know." I'm reminded of the last time the four brothers got into a bad brawl with the Foot Clan. Mom was supposed to be on bed rest for two weeks afterwards. But he INSISTED on being a part of our lessons, physical and mental. We had no clue how bad he was hurting. At one point we were literally jumping all over him. That was when we found out just how battered he was and two weeks became four. I whimper at the memory. I don't think I could stand to see Mom like that again. "OK, OK. I'm not going to relax until I see how bad he is for myself so, hurry it up, Hikaru!"

I finish getting the supplies and race back to the living room. Once there, I see Mom sitting on the couch, talking quietly. Uncle Mikey is standing up in front of him with a serious expression on his face. I can't hear what Mom is saying, but I easily guess he's telling Uncle Mikey what happened. "And you're sure the mini-Donnies are fine?" I hear Uncle Mikey ask worriedly once I'm close enough again.

Mom nods as Uncle Mikey relaxes. "Cuts and bruises is all. They'll be fine. Thankfully." Mom sees me and smiles. "Thanks, sweet pea," he says affectionately as he holds his hands out for the supplies. His eyes go big as I thrust the supplies at Uncle Mikey, who squeaks as he juggles them for a bit. I climb onto Mom's lap making his eyes take on a puzzled appearance. Then I grab his head to turn it to the side so I can get a good look at the cut. I can't help a sigh of relief when I see that it's superficial.

Uncle Mikey grins widely and laughs. "She's totally got your bed-side manner, bro."

I feel Mom's face warm in my grasp as he blushes at Uncle Mikey's comment. "I'm fine, Hikaru-chan," he reassures as he gently pulls my hands off his face so he can look me in the eyes. I look down and suddenly notice that the cut wasn't the only injury I missed. I snap my eyes back to him worriedly. He continues before I can give voice to my worry. "I promise. I'm fine. Don't fret about me. You're too young to worry so much." I watch him for a moment longer, trying to determine if he's hiding something. Once I'm certain he's being honest, I hug him around the neck and cuddle closely to his plastron. Strong arms wrap themselves around me and I relax into his return hug. After a few minutes, he breaks the silence with a soft question. "Can I get another look at your injuries?"

"I don't know. Can you?" I can't help but smile against his neck as I give him a bit of sass for worrying me.

His sigh has a touch of a growl to it. He hates it when we correct HIS grammar. "Fine. MAY I get another look at your injuries? Little smart aleck," his tone trying to camouflage amusement as frustration.

"You may," I state with a chin lift before I slide off his lap to stand in front of him. Uncle Mikey took our cuddle moment as a chance to sit down beside Mom and start soaking some of the cloths. Mom takes one and brings it over to my face to begin getting me cleaned up. I can't help but smile as I watch Uncle Mikey grab a cloth of his own to try and clean Mom's wounds. Mom shies away from Uncle Mikey's unexpected touch and scowls at him. Uncle Mikey offers him a sheepish grin. He sighs and rolls his eyes at the expression before he allows Uncle Mikey to treat him.

While Mom is cleaning me up, I hear Kaiya grunting as she returns with the heavy medical kit. When she's close enough, Mom reaches over with one hand and easily places it next to him. "Thank you, sweetie. Hop on in line. I'll clean you up next," Mom says warmly without taking his eyes away from his current task. A few minutes later, Lewis finally returns. Mom glances up briefly before taking out a handful of band-aids from the med kit. "I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost." There is an amused twinkle in his eye. Lewis turns pink and looks awkward. Mom offers Uncle Mikey a few band-aids then neatly drapes the rest on his thigh. "In line, imp. You can go back to your project when I'm done with you," he states knowingly, letting Lewis off the hook for getting distracted by his latest attempt at an invention.

After about an hour, Mom is wrapping things up with Lewis when we hear two crank sounds from the turnstiles. Kaiya and I surge up to go greet whoever has come home. We're delighted to see our last two uncles coming down the steps. "Uncle Raphael! Check it out!" Kaiya declares as she runs over and gestures to her bandages and black eye. "Battle scars!" she announces loudly and proudly to her fellow brawler. I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes and I hear Lewis snicker from the couch. Pretty sure Mom didn't manage to resist the same urge.

"WHAT THE!?" Uncle Raph grasps Kaiya's chin to get a better look at how banged up she is. Uncle Leo looks as shocked as Uncle Raph. "DONNIE!" Uncle Raph barks out.

"I'm right here, Raph. No need to shout," Mom says calmly while he dabs a cloth at Lewis' last cut.

Uncle Raph storms over to Mom and is just about to yell at him when he freezes. Apparently seeing Mom bandaged up too was sobering enough to snap Uncle Raph out of his brewing temper. "What happened to you four?" he asks agitatedly instead.

Mom seems relieved. I could tell he was gearing up for a fight. "Foot soldiers attacked the trips while I was in another tunnel. I felt something was wrong, so I went to check on them. Between the four of us we managed to defeat and evade them." The three of us grin happily as Mom gives us some credit for winning the fight.

"Have you told Splinter yet?" Uncle Leo questions.

Mom sighs wearily. "No, I kind of felt that patching up my children was more important," he replies with irritation. He takes one look at the indignant expression on Uncle Leo's face and tries to take a cleanse breath. Uncle Leo didn't deserve to be snapped at for asking a practical question. Mom puts a hand up in an appeasing gesture. "The security system I installed would have alerted us if there was a breach. We're safe for now."

Uncle Leo nods at this. "All right, then. Are you about done?" he asks patiently.

"I just now finished," Mom says as he places the last band-aid on Lewis. He pets Lewis' head while standing up and looking to Uncle Leo. "Lead the way, Fearless," he teases. Uncle Leo gives him an amused smirk as he turns to go to Sensei's room with Mom right behind him.

Once Mom and Uncle Leo are out of earshot, Uncle Raph looks to the three of us and smiles. "So, did you pipsqueaks kick shell?"

We grin up at him. "HAI!"

"Good job, half pints!" Uncle Raph says proudly as he messes up Kaiya's mane. Afterwards, he goes over to the med kit to put it away. I quickly clean up the used water and cloths for Mom.

As I leave I hear Lewis ask Uncle Mikey, "May I bring my project in here so I can watch you play your game while I work?

"Sure, little dude! Just promise not to spill oil all over the floor like last time."

"Lewis, are you finished your physics assignment?" Kaiya asks firmly. "We only have three hours before bedtime after all."

"Come on, Kaiya! You really think 'Kaasan's even going ask about that stuff after what happened today?" Lewis whines.

"Oh, let me think about that. Hmmm, uh…yeah! Don't you think Mother would ask, Uncle Michelangelo?"

"Hey, leave me out of this, you two!" Uncle Mikey laughs. "No way am I getting between your mom and your studies."

I shake my head as I can't help but smile. The little excitement we had today has already been swallowed by the status quo.

A/N: Thank you again for sticking with me through another chapter! I do hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know with a favorite, a follow, and/or a review! I really do want to hear from you! :D