(n.) the action of throwing someone or something out the window.
James peeked through the crack in the door, watching Vienna pack her necessities into her purse. In her twin bed beside him, Emelia snored soundly, not fazed in the least by the early time, the crinkle of his sleeping bag, or the empty beer bottles on the floor next to his backpack.
Drinking had become his bad habit to fight his insomnia. By his standards, he was still on Austrian time, and by Austrian law, he was 2 years past the legal drinking age. America could go screw themselves. He was going to enjoy the burn of alcohol racing down his throat, whether the glorified rednecks liked it or not.
James checked his watch: 3:30 in the morning. God, what was she doing up at this ungodly hour?
Packing up for another trip to see that friend of hers, he thought with distaste.
It was true that he'd changed in the time he'd spent apart from Vienna. To find her in a city like this, surrounded by Wallstreet wolves and sharks in suits was a definite shock from the young girl he'd see in pigtails and overalls, back in Cannon Beach. He wasn't sure the harsh reflections of sunlight off skyscrapers suited her. He much preferred seeing her body bathed in seaside sunlight, in that little bikini he loved...
She'd changed. Her skin wasn't tan from outdoor romps anymore. It was paler, more fragile than he remembered. Her eyes had lost a bit of that naive spark that he recalled so fondly about her. She'd gotten cold, more reserved, a change he could only accredit to her stay in this city.
Or maybe it was just when he was around her that she acted that way.
She had a tattoo, some Asian symbol he couldn't begin to decipher. Her hair was darker, her eyes still multiple colors, something that had always irritated him when he couldn't figure out their hue.
She was distant, which was definitely a change.
She had moved on. From what, he wasn't quite sure. From her life in Oregon? From her craving for her mother's approval? From him? Whatever it was, she'd definitely detached.
Vienna had barely talked to him, the entirety of his stay. He'd spent his time calming down Angela after the bomb was dropped about not attending Juliard, and playing with Emelia. And even the toddler wouldn't shut up about the 'new friend' Vienna kept visiting.
The one she was getting ready to sneak off to now.
The alcohol singed his trachea when he took another large gulp, setting his last bottle down and looking around. Maybe it was the beer talking, or the loneliness from waking up to Vienna sneaking out, but he wasn't going to sit around while his best friend drifted away from him.
He unhinged the keys jangling on his belt loop, that no longer went to anything. A brass house key, a key to a mailbox, one to his old PT Cruiser back in Oregon... all to things that had been abandoned across the country. Carefully removing the small device he'd fashioned way back in junior year, he rolled the cube of metal carefully in his hands.
A tiny tracking device, perfectly pocket-sized, usually hanging from his useless key chain.
He used to have a problem with losing his keys all the time.
Opening the door a bit further, and with all the accuracy of a former high school basketball star, he tossed the tiny tracker into Vienna's bag.
Nothing but net, he rejoiced silently in amusement, retracting his hand and watching Vienna pick up her belongings and creep out the window, seeing her cringe slightly at the squeaky hinges, completely oblivious.
This'll be fun, he thought once the lights turned out and her footsteps faded into silence, shouldering his backpack and retrieving his Handheld Pacman Game turned tracking receiver, powering it on and watching its glow light up his fingers and the end of his nose.
You know she hates pranks, he told himself while he gathered the empty beer bottles and stashed them in his pack, away from Ms. Bardi's prying eyes as he tiptoed toward the window after her.
This isn't a prank. It's an investigation, he reasoned, slipping out into the cold night air to trail after his old friend, chuckling half-drunkenly in glee.
...
The sun peeked over the horizon, its striking rays silhouetting the pine trees that reached with spindly branches toward the sky. The air, rid of urban pollution and the plethora of city noises, was still, apart from the occasional stirring on the forest floor from a critter skittering by. A small square of the scenery was visible through the digital window available to the six riders in the Shellraiser.
They'd reasoned that striking in sunlight would provide a certain element of surprise. The ninjas of the group normally operated nocturnally, so a daytime infiltration would increase their chances of catching the enemy off guard.
Stealth and camouflage would be greatly diminished in the light, but a speedy break-in seemed the better alternative, considering Karai's precarious situation.
The sooner they got in, the sooner she got out.
Donnie had been unsuccessful in his attempts to dissuade Vienna from tagging along. In their levels of adamance, he'd determined she and April were equal.
Vienna had shown up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 4 AM on the dot, dressed in her usual spaghetti strap tank and jeans (or rather, BODYSUIT and jeans - she'd made sure to enlighten him that she'd become obsessed with that particular piece of vintage clothing).
Upon learning she'd snuck out without her mother's knowledge, Donatello doubled his efforts to send her back home. The danger was immense, the predicament delicate, and her reputation with Ms. Bardi was already being threatened.
All he received was a nonchalant shrug, and a mischievous smirk as she slipped past him into the battle vehicle.
Though she maintained alertness throughout Donnie's detailing of the mechanisms in the Shellraiser, Vienna found it impossible to stay awake, especially during the wee hours of the morning. No sooner than the four brothers and two girls hit the highway was she searching for a spot to catch some shut-eye.
Raph absolutely refused to have the bespectacled girl snoring anywhere near him. Leo and Fae were already occupying the front seat (albeit reluctantly - the tensions between them still hadn't abated), and cramming into Mikey's seat alongside the bouncy turtle hadn't proven a sleep-conducive arrangement.
So, as the rest of the team bustled about, and as dawn made its appearance in the east, Vienna continued to snooze soundly against Donnie, a blanket thrown over the both of them, her head propped on his shoulder, and her glasses askew.
And as the time drew nearer, and the jeopardy of his and his brothers' and Fae's lives became more imminent, and the team began their preparations for battle, he couldn't bring himself to stir her. Vienna's eyelids fluttered, wavered, batted against the delicate skin 'neath her eyes, signaling her pleasant dreams. Her breath brushed past his clavicle, the steady rhythm of her inhales and exhales reminding him of the tempo of a waltz. In, 2, 3, out, 2, 3, in, 2, 3, out, 2, 3... Her gentle hand rested against his chest, fingers securing themselves on the grooves in his platron. Her hair, smelling more of strawberry shampoo than any sort of art medium this morning, tossed away his thoughts of strategy.
Her presence was making him forget that the warehouse holding a fading Karai was only two miles away, hidden behind the brush and quickly-retreating shadows.
Not moving a muscle seemed a small price to pay for such ignorance.
But alas, the obliviousness wouldn't last. The sun climbed higher still, and the digital clock on the dash counted off the minutes, until Leonardo stepped close and shook the girl awake, much to Donnie's discontent.
Vienna shot awake, the remnants of slumber still in the corners of her eyes. She slumped back into the genius when she realized nothing was amok, looking up at him with a soft grin. Like she'd simply dozed off after a long day of rambling and drawing and singing. As if they weren't about to encounter danger of the strongest kind.
He smiled back, easing her away to begin his own work for the day.
Fae had been designated to step out first, to patrol the surroundings. After all, with her keen hearing and feline sense of smell, the blonde would've easily spotted any threats.
Faline stepped out of the vehicle, taking a deep breath and then crouching to graze her fingers through the dirt. Her backbone bent, arched and sprouted golden fur, the strap across her chest holding her nagamaki tightening against her expanding ribcage. Her wrists and ankles transformed into secondary patellar joints. Her arms elongated, nose lengthening into a snout, ears stretching and traveling upwards to prick back and forth atop her head.
And then she was gone, a blur of golden coat and black-as-night spots vanishing up into a tree for a better vantage point.
"Damn," Vienna breathed, the frames of her glasses rapping gently against the doorframe as she peeked out, looking on with child-like wonder. "I'm gonna be able to do that someday?"
Fae returned approximately two minutes later, her leopard tail and ears still present while she stepped in on human feet, hastily grabbing her spare t-shirt she'd packed to replace her now-tattered top.
At her confirmation, the team whisked off into the trees. Donatello paused before following his brothers and Fae, watching Vienna casually extract a few Copic markers from her bag.
"You'll be able to see everything through here." He tapped his newly-equipped shoulder cam.
" 'Kay."
"If the alarm sounds, I've already given you the contact for the Mutanimals."
" 'Kay."
"If you need anything - if anyone comes in here - the emergency button's over on the right."
" 'Kay."
"A response consisting of more than one syllable would be good here, V."
She glanced up, chewing the end of her pen. "Okay."
Donnie rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."
Her giggle filled his head, echoing and reverberating inside his cranium. "You love me," she teased, making him seize up.
"Do not," he cried, too defensively and too quickly to possibly cover it up.
"Jesus, don't take it so gravely. You can love someone as a friend, you know." She'd turned back to her sketchbook before he could argue. "Be safe. I don't want to have to suture any more injuries than I have to."
The genius nodded hesitantly, stepping out with a strained, "See you soon!"
...
Another routine check to the monitor, and all Vienna saw was the same air-conditioning duct Donatello had apparently been crawling through for the past half hour, partially blocked by Raph's rump shimmying through ahead of him. Granted, that duct had probably taken numerous twists and turns to maneuver the team into the belly of the beast, and at any moment the Turtles and Fae could be caught and subjected to the same cruel torture Karai had endured for so long.
But Vienna was much too proud of her work on Donatello's workspace to worry about the mission at hand.
Sure, she hadn't asked permission to doodle across the blank space surrounding his keyboard and mounted tech, and sure, it would wash off fairly easily without a proper top coat, if Donnie didn't consent.
But if he happened to like the comical graffiti of his brothers' missions, Fae's leopard eyes, and the occasional owl kanji, all it would take would be a layer of translucent nail varnish and the masterpiece would be permanent.
Her hands searched for something to busy themselves with, while her eyes caught a faint jar of the image onscreen as Donnie, Faline, Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo jumped into what seemed to be a storage closet.
Peeved that she'd been sidelined in the midst of such peril, Vienna snatched up her phone (she'd sniffed out her mother's hiding spot for it finally) and pulled up Donnie's string of texts, typing lazily:
What if the Earth revolved around the Moon, instead of the other way around?
She watched in amusement as the digital image halted, and Leo's dismal expression was caught on camera.
Whoops. Guess Donnie had forgotten to silence his cellphone.
His response was prompt:
Really? Now?
She snickered to herself, her thumbs thudding against the screen methodically.
Tell Leo he really needs to fix that RBF of his.
Vienna cackled more as a hand came up to fumble with the camera, swiveling it to show Donatello, motioning 'cut it out', though it was obvious he was straining to keep a straight face.
A swift reply came seconds later.
Redirecting my messages to onboard command center if u don't quit. Leo's gonna kill me.
She let out a jaded sigh, texting back:
Then tell him to lighten tf up.
Apparently he'd already switched his notifications to his computer before he read her second message. Her last text popped up beside the camera recording.
Sorry, I just miss you. Be safe ok? Couldn't bear to lose you.
Perhaps it was best he hadn't received that particular text. Too mushy and sentimental, she realized as she reread her words.
Stupid feelings getting in the way of logic, as usual.
Vienna propped her chin in her hand, watching the recording and envisioning Donnie's concentrated tongue-stuck-out expression sneaking down the shadowed hallway, the muscles in his legs taut, ready to springboard into action at the slightest hint of any movement, his talented hands twirling his staff to off any obstructions in his path, eyes constantly scanning, as routine as if he were checking over his latest set of test results.
Damn, if she didn't stop obsessing over him soon, she'd have to write a book about all his little ticks and habits. The Many Sides of Donatello, she'd call it.
That, or Operation Get Don A Date: A Record Of Every Stupid Little Thing That Smol Genius Does That Any Girl Should Find Irresistible, But That, For Some Crazy Reason, Ms. O'Neil Does Not Notice.
Her head snapped up when a harsh ping! permeated the Shellraiser. Vienna squinted at the computer screen, realizing that alongside Donnie's recording and text thread, a video chat had been initiated. She blinked at the strobing green light on the otherwise empty list of incoming calls, swiveling the cursor and selecting April's contact picture to accept the chat.
"Oh. You're not Donnie," was the first thing the ginger remarked when the frontal camera focused on Vienna's features.
"Nope! It's V," the brunette explained jovially, flicking her hair from her eyes. "Donatello is inside Foot headquarters with his brothers. He can't talk right now. Can I take a message?"
"Just tell him I found an intruder in their...hang on. Foot headquarters?" April's eyes blurred with confusion, then shock. "Why are they...? Why didn't they...? How could...?"
Vienna took it upon herself to finish her choppy sentences. "They're going in to rescue Karai, who's near death. They probably didn't tell you because you were not a key part of the mission, or they were protecting your safety. They are perfectly capable of withholding things from you, April, sorry as I am to tell you."
April's mouth opened and closed, though she couldn't seem to force out any reply. From off screen, a male voice groaned, "Hey Red, we're out of milk again."
"You're living with Casey?" Vienna asked without hesitation, peering at the scene behind April to pull clues from her situation.
"Vienna, that's not my concern right now," April snapped, the unexpected information cutting her patience short. "When was the entire plan decided o—"
"The implication of 'we' when Casey stated the lack of milk would mean that, together, the two of you collectively are out of milk. The undergarments tossed on the couch behind you are proof enough that you've also taken your relationship to another level, whether it be moving in, or—"
"Will you quit?!" April screeched, hoisting her device up and hurriedly obstructing the evidence from view. "You barely know me, so that's really none of your—"
"On the contrary," Vienna cut her off again, "I know more about you than you think."
Wow, creepy much, V?
"What's with the Facetime with a psycho?" Casey's voice asked, still far off.
"I know you cheated on Donnie. Based on the undergarments on the couch, you pay no attention to his feelings about your said adultery, seeing as you're calling him up while you're with Casey, in Casey's house. C'mon, you must know that would break anyone's heart. He's a sweet guy, deserves more than having his soul torn to shreds." Vienna tapped her chin, in profound thought now. "I know you strung his heart out on a line, and I mean, a girl's gotta do what a girl's got to do. Follow your heart, woman power, all that. But what you did put him in the Jake position of the Edward-Bella-Jake love triangle. I don't know about you, but I hate Twilight."
"Did she seriously just compare us to a novel?" Casey grumbled, shuffling and struggling somewhere outside the camera's reach.
"And this is way less romantic than some vampire novel," the brunette began to scold, becoming worked up while April watched her, mouth slightly agape. "Geez, April, he was in love with you! I don't know why you dumped him, he's everything a girl could hope for. Sure, he's nerdy and doesn't get in macho street fights every other day, but he's smart, and thoughtful, and quietly sexy in the way that kind of sneaks up on you and surprises you. He's the Newt Scamander of mutants, the Evan Hansen of turtles, the Jeremy Heere of ninjas!"
"Don't know any of those people," April squeaked, eyes wide.
"My point is, he doesn't deserve to be cheated on!" Vienna cried. "Doesn't mean you should've stayed with him, because that would've been just as dishonest. But letting him down easy leaves him with more dignity than leaving him wondering what he did to drive you away. Which I'm sure was nothing, I mean how could anyone say no to-"
"Maybe you should date him then, if you think he's so great." Another face appeared onscreen, with dark, uncut hair and a few missing teeth. His worn white undershirt looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks, as did the bandana tied haphazardly around his head.
She raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but... you dumped Donnie... for him?"
"Enough about my love life!" April shouted, jerking the camera away from her boyfriend and scowling at the girl with the glasses. "How long have they been in Foot headquarters?"
Vienna casually checked the time in the top right corner of the computer. " 'Bout forty five minutes. Oh, April, I hope you didn't take any of what I said personally. It's just when I see someone deliberately hurt someone else without consideration of the other person's feelings, I get... excited. My dad was a dirty cheat to my mom too." She bit her lip, trying to feign contrition. "Um, no offense."
"None taken." April's sarcasm was biting, as was her intensifying glower. "I love a good verbal bashing every once in a while."
"Oh, you're a good sport," Vienna giggled, pretending not to notice her obvious disdain. "Anywho, you were saying something about an intruder?"
April blinked, one step behind in Vienna's tennis-match of a conversation. "Intruder... oh! We found someone sneaking into the lair, about 4 AM. Casey and I... well, we know the Turtles usually finish their patrols around that time, and we were up, so we decided to stop by-"
"Wonder why you two were up~" Vienna teased, her eyebrow wiggle not entirely hiding her negative opinion.
"-and we found him snooping around." April curled her lip in a snide smirk. "Guess it must've been your fault, that he traced their location. Wonder how much of that quick wit you're gonna need to get yourself out of this one, V."
The condescension set Vienna's teeth on edge. "More wit than you most likely possess, Ms. O'Neil," she replied, sweet as honey. "Now, who's this intruder?"
The camera swiveled before April could absorb Vienna's latest insult, refocusing on shaggy blonde hair, a tan face partially obscured by a gag, a ragged t-shirt... old cargo pants...
"James?!" Vienna gawked, jumping from her seat and whacking her head against the overhanging CD player. "Take that thing off of him, he's my friend!"
"You know this punk?" Casey questioned, walking forward and shoving James' shoulder, sending him rolling precariously in the swivel chair he was tied to.
"Punk?" Vienna snorted. "Look who's talking."
"Vienna!" James exclaimed, once the gag was hanging limply 'round his neck. "You know these two? They're crazy!"
"You followed me?" Vienna interrogated with a raised brow.
"I wanted to know where you kept going! You've barely talked to me! Who are these guys? What are the Turtles they keep talking about? Some gang or something?"
"How many beers influenced this decision this morning?"
"...Two... maybe four..."
"James Nathan Miller!" She scolded.
"I know, I'm sorry!"
"I can't believe you would-"
The shriek of an alarm made her bump her head again.
"What's going on?" April asked, bitchiness replaced by concern.
Warbled speech exuded from the tinny speaker on the computer. On screen, the recording on Donnie's shoulder cam wobbled uncontrollably, as flashing red lights strobed in the hallway. The Turtles were mere green blurs, racing down the narrow walkway, away from an open cell. The view shifted, and there was Faline helping Leo carry a crumpled form, covered in bruises and lacerations.
"Donatello?" Vienna cried, reaching toward the knobs and dials and tuning the radio to his walkie's frequency. "Donnie, can you hear me?"
"Who's Donnie?" James queried.
"Her boyfriend," Casey taunted.
"Shut the hell up, both of you!" April shushed, practically pressing her nose to the camera. "Are they alright?"
"Trying to find out," Vienna explained, crying out when the audio cleared.
"Vienna! God, c'mon V, ANSWER ME!" came Donnie's frantic plea over the speakers.
"I'm here! I'm here!" She adjusted the microphone hurriedly. "What's wrong?!"
"The cell door was rigged. I couldn't bypass their security system long enough to get Karai out." His labored breathing was becoming indistinct, as he shouted, "We need an exit. Press Control, Alt, E. It should pull up the map with my location display."
"Got it," she affirmed, her eyes flicking over the scene, clicking the mouse quickly. "You have an exit to your west. Make a left, then the second right, then another left, and you'll reach a door."
"You're a godsend," he told her, and she could hear the relieved smile in his voice.
"Some boyfriend," James scoffed on the other video display, "He sounds like a total dork."
"He's not a dork, he's a geek. And he's not my boyfriend!" Vienna argued in exasperation.
"We've got better things to worry about than who's dating who!" April shouted at everyone, making Donnie's recording steady as the terrapin screeched to a halt.
"Is that April?" he asked, somewhere between hopeful and confused.
"For the love of God, GO!" Vienna urged, working out the kink that had suddenly begun to form in her neck.
"Shit, Leo," Raph shouted, "That exit's not a door."
"Dude, that looks double paned," Mikey commented with a wince, and Donnie's recording swept up to catch a glimpse of the large window overlooking a rocky descent.
"What?! Okay, crap, let me find you a door. I'm so sorry, Donatello," Vienna rushed, grimacing and pausing her frantic attempts when the pain in her neck sprang up to her brain. "Ow! Jesus, that headache came out of nowhere!"
"No time for doors, we've got company," Fae growled, turning to face the robotic soldiers beginning to pour in. "We've got no choice but to..." Her face went blank, and then her grip on Karai's legs gave out, forcing Leo to support the kunoichi's weight while the blonde rushed to face Donnie's shoulder cam. "Vienna, what kind of pain is it?"
"What? Don't worry about me, get out of there!"
"What is going on?!" April's panicked cries had begun to grate on Vienna's nerves. Without a second thought, she ended the video chat and snatched the glasses from her face to rub the bridge of her nose, hoping that would help the pain ebb.
"Can everyone please quiet down?" she squeaked, head pounding and ears ringing from the sudden loudness filling the Shellraiser from the commotion on the recording.
"Leonardo, we need to get to her." Faline's head whipped to face her boyfriend. "She's morphing."
"Am not," the brunette slurred, her vision blurring and sharpening in startling speed. She tried to put her attention on the map. "You gotta get out. Turn left, then two rights, then... OW!"
The searing pain running up her arm made her slump out of the seat, clutching at her arm and howling. Her head slammed the edge of the opposite seat, doing nothing to help the pounding in her skull while she curled into the fetal position.
"Vienna? VIENNA!" came the sound of Donnie's voice. Loud. Too loud. Vienna clasped her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth and trying to ignore the agony traversing her skin, prickling her scalp like a thousand angry fire ants. Through her hazy vision, she could make out the violet haze her kanji tattoo now seemed to be emitting, like her veins beneath the marking had turned to lava.
"Help," she whimpered helplessly.
Her eyes flicked up to the screen, where she just managed to see Faline's golden coat as the Freeformer tore the oncoming Foot bots to pieces.
"Put your weight into it!" came Leo's strangled yelp, along with the sounds of grunts and carapaces smacking glass, trying to break through.
The gasoline scent permeating the Shellraiser choked Vienna, making her gag and retch. The sounds of battle made her dizzy, her vision going dark and then brightening unpleasantly.
"It won't budge!" Michelangelo screamed.
"Vienna, hold on," Donnie pleaded, his voice far off. "I've got some explosives. Leo, shield Karai. Everyone get back!"
"But dude, those rocks look pointy-"
"I said, get back!"
The loud crash and shattering glass sounding from the speaker made the bespectacled girl twitch, sobbing now as the pain shot fiery needles down her vertebrae.
"EVERYONE JUMP!" Fae hollered, before the agony became too much, and Vienna descended into darkness.
