Yes... I've decided to continue this... anyway, onwards!
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
I closed the door behind me silently, giving into the urge and lean back on it, sighing inwardly.
Our first 'mission' had been a complete bust. We had barely been able to catch up to the crazily driving truck, before loosing just before the highway.
It had... simply put... just vanished. Even with Eoran's keen eyes and my upgraded tech, we still couldn't find it. It hadn't gotten onto the highway, it had just...
Well, it was just suddenly gone. Right before all of our eyes.
We had circled around the area and searched for a good hour, before Dean called it off, telling us to all just go home.
So we split off, and now I was back inside the safety of our house, trying to be as quiet as possible. The last thing I wanted was to wake my parents up, or maybe just my mum, remembering Eoran had seen glimpses of our dads out there somewhere...
Thirst finally got me moving, and I slipped quietly into the kitchen, opening the fridge and looking inside it.
Was I disappointed? You bet. This would have been our chance to prove that we could handle ourselves, and in a real life fight.
I hadn't even been able to try any of my new tech, adjusting my goggles on my head. I would have to check to see if they were working properly, since they were meant to not only scan, but pick up heat signatures. They didn't seem very effective after that truck vanished though, I mean... even if they had been able to hit a cloaked area, I should have still been able to track them by their heat signatures.
But... nothing...
I finally decided on milk, grabbing the carton-
"So"
The voice startled me so much I launched the carton into the air as I spun around, barely catching a blur shoot beside me as they caught the now falling milk.
Being a ninja was good for getting inside a house. Not so much when both your parents were even more skilled than you.
I blinked, staring slightly down at mum, who smiled as she put the carton on the bench.
"Oh, you scared the bulldust outta me" I muttered, watching as she moved to turn the light on now, indicating I shut the fridge. I complied, moving over to sit on the bench, watching as she moved to grab two glasses from the cupboard.
"Sorry sweetheart... just wanted to make sure you got home safe" She started to pour the milk, the sight of her doing something so familiar calming me a little "Also so I can find out how you went"
Mum and I used to always do this when I was younger, when dad went through his weird stage. He'd lock himself up in his lab for days, and mum and I both worried about him. Then again, this wasn't long after our grandpa Splinter had passed. He took it harder than he'd liked to admit...
So... mum and I bonded a little more like this, on nights when we couldn't sleep. Thankfully, over time... he came back to his senses, and we were able to be a happy family again.
Well... a happily dysfunctional family.
"I... um..." I stopped, taking the glass from my mums hands, looking down into the milky white depths of it.
"Guessing it didn't go well?"
I frowned, looking up at my mum sheepishly. Surprisingly, my mum smiled, moving around the counter to stand beside me, her arm going behind my shell and hugging me a little.
"Come on, tell me what happened"
As much as I didn't really want to tell her, I found myself spilling the whole thing to her.
That was the thing about her. She was a short woman, kind of small compared to my dad, but there was always something about her. Something that made her seem bigger than she really was. Even as tall as I was now, I always felt small next to her.
Then again, it could be because she was one of the people that stopped two alien invasions. Along with my dad...
"Miah, don't be so hard on yourself. You found something on your first night out, and even though you didn't manage to find this truck, you went after it without fear, my brave girl. I am so proud of you" Mum smiled at me, hugging me a little tighter.
"Thanks ma, just..." I stopped, looking back down at the milk.
"I know, it's disappointing... but at the end of the day we all have had hits and misses. Maybe next time you'll get the bad guy, then you can come home with some interesting stories"
I hummed, and she turned me to look at her.
"Miah, stop. I know that look... your father always has that look when he's-"
"Where is dad, anyway?" I asked her, seeing her face lock up slightly, before she sighed.
"You kids are too smart for your own good sometimes. No sense lying... they wanted to be nearby just in case you ran into trouble. Hopefully he'll be back soon, and they haven't run into their own kind of... problems"
"I hope not. When was the last time you went on a patrol mum?" I asked her, watching as she pulled up a chair next to me.
Slowly, the conversation started to slip away from the nights events, although I did wonder how a fairly decent sized moving truck had vanished so quickly into thin air.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The morning had been uneventful, breakfast with both parents at the table as per usual. Dad was going on about some kind of experiment he was doing on a blood sample from someone, who's I didn't really hear as I ate, and mum talked about what she was doing with her old team that day.
I was still quite down from last nights events, but when they asked me, I just told them I was tired. I don't think either of them believed me for a second, but I was glad they dropped it quickly.
I helped my mum clean up afterwards, bidding her a good day as she left, watching as dad took off excitedly towards his lab.
Which now left me to do what I wanted with my day. Sadly, all I knew was that I wanted to fix my goggles, knowing there had to be something wrong with how it was picking up heat signatures. Ithiell and my dad had helped me with some of the components, but it was mostly my design.
Maybe the design itself was flawed, and I'd need to rebuilt the whole thing from scratch...
The thought dampened my mood even more, knowing it had taken months to perfect these goggles.
So, I slunk into the lab where my dad was talking excitedly to himself about chromosomes, towards where my little lab bench was.
It was a gift for my fifteenth birthday; my very own little area where I could play and tinker with my own gadgets, build things...
I sat down on the chair, pulling myself up to the bench and putting the goggles down on it. As I did, I looked at my weird hands, turning them over and then back again.
I had the same kind of skin as my dad, colour and all, but I'd come out with five fingers, like my mum. It was weird to compare myself to the two, and it always made me feel more out of place in this world than I usually did.
I knew I shouldn't, but knowing my cousins and I were the only ones of our kind...
We didn't even really look alike. I mean, our dads were turtles, through and through, and they all had similar features, but...
Dean looked more like a turtle than the rest of us. His only human features seemed to be his eyes and the mop of black hair.
Jake and Cassie had more human features, but all of us had come out with shells, strange as it was.
It was still a mystery how I was even here. Or even how my parents...
I shook my head, shuddering a little at the image that almost came into my head, instead shifting my focus to the task at hand. I grabbed a small screwdriver, moving it to the side of the goggles, gently pulling of the little panel where the small wires were that I needed to get to.
As I worked, even my dad's constant yammering soon faded away, my focus now entirely on what I was doing. Pulling out tiny little wires with the utmost of care, putting new ones in, fiddling with the connections to make sure they weren't loose...
I don't know how long I was like that for, but my focus was broken abruptly by a loud cry from my dad.
"Miah! Miah... oooh you have to look at this! This is... its fascinating!"
I turned in my chair to look at him, seeing he was almost giddy as he moved around on one of his larger benches, fussing with this and that.
"What is it dad?" I couldn't help the sad tone in my voice, almost cursing myself as he finally looked up from his work at me.
He obviously read something in my eyes, his face falling and concern replacing it as he moved over to me.
"Miah, whats wrong?" He asked, sitting on the bench beside me. I frowned, and he raised an eyebrow, knowing there was no hiding anything from him.
I sighed "It's just... last night was..."
"I know, I heard"
Now it was my turn to look up at him "No, you saw... I know you and my uncles were out there too"
"Miah" His hand now rested over mine, sadness in his eyes "I just worry about you. Plus... we wanted to make sure... nothing happened..."
"I know dad, I just..." I pulled my hand from his, standing up and starting to pace the room.
A trait, as I've been told, I get from mum.
Dad waited quietly until I stopped, looking up at him with my arms folded. I bit my lip a little, feeling like I wanted to cry but holding back the emotion.
"I wanted to prove to you and mum that I was capable, and I can do this. I'm a ninja now, and-"
"Not quite" Dad's smile threw me a little, and I stopped my rant to stare at him.
"You're still in training, remember that"
I stared to pace again, feeling edgy as I spoke.
"Dad, I just want you to believe in me... to know that I can... and I will... take care of myself... and my cousins"
Dad was instantly in front of me, his hands now on my shoulders.
"Miah, don't think I don't believe in you. I trust you, wholeheartedly, and I know you are very capable. But the real world is... well... more dangerous than you think"
"I know, but... I'm tired of..." I stopped, wondering if my next words might hurt my dad.
His eyes narrowed a little "Tired of what exactly?"
One thing I hated about my parents... they could read me like a book. They'd brought me up to be honest, and to just say things outright, so when I tried to do otherwise... well, let's just say I could never really hide how I felt.
"Tired of feeling like you always need to protect me" I pulled his hands from my shoulders, watching as his face dropped a little.
"Miah, it's... well its what we do as parents" He sighed heavily, tilting his head a little at me.
"I... I know... I'm sorry dad, I..." I moved away, towards my little bench and looking down at my partially dismantled goggles.
Why couldn't he just see that I wanted to be strong like him?
I felt him put a hand on the top of my shell now, looking up at my brilliant father as he shifted his glasses up.
"Miah, you're my daughter, and I love you"
"I love you too dad" I tried to smile, knowing I really was being too hard on him. After all, I technically shouldn't exist, and he...
He let out a sound of surprise as I threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly.
Slowly, his arms went around me, and I felt him kiss my forehead like he used to.
"Just want you to be proud dad... want to be like you and... yeah" I stopped, knowing he already knew.
"My sweet little girl... I always have been" Was his only response.
I snorted a little "Not so little any more"
We fell into a small silence, a million things going through my mind before I came a conclusion. It was the only thing I could think of, and it might help my cousins and I as well.
"Hey uh... dad?"
He moved away just enough to look down at me, a puzzled look on his face.
"Could... could I borrow some of your equipment?"
"Hmm... only if you tell me what you need it for"
Had to love my dad sometimes.
-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Aaaand there we go!
Let me know what you thought guys!
