TMNT: Unexpected Friendship
Chapter 8: Babysitter gets Babysat
"She owns an antique shop?" Bianca asked curiously.
"Yeah, since her last job was with the whack job Baxter Stockman, she decided to open up her dad's old shop." Raph explained.
"Oh, well, wait! She was the one with the mousers you were telling me about?!" Bianca gasped as she recalled hearing about those dreaded mousers invading their home and wrecking havoc.
"Yeah, who else would it be?" Mikey asked jokingly.
"I mean I guess it makes sense, poor thing. Stupid scientists." Bianca grumbled.
"Excuse me?" Donny asked as he turned around with his arms crossed over his plastron.
"Uh, I mean crazy psycho scientists! Not you Don, you're great."
"Mm-hm." He huffed as she scratched her head awkwardly and grinned like an idiot. As that happened, Mikey knocked on the door loudly and soon a woman with dark red hair, purple crop top and baggy pants answered the door.
"Hi April!" Mikey greeted cheerfully. "Green brothers movers and schlepps reporting for duty!"
"Hey guys, thanks for coming. I need all the help I can get." Came April's voice from the door. "Mike, you can start by moving those heavy boxes."
"Just let me put on my herney adjust." Mikey joked.
"Right over there, wise guy." April sighed shoving him through the door. "Plus, I got a heater that won't heat!" She called after him.
"Hence, these." Don said holding out the pipes he was carrying as he entered the store.
"You two," She signaled to Raph and Leo. "That whole wall of antiques needs moving, carefully." She instructed.
"Hey I'm a ninja not a-" Raph started complaining but Leo clasped his hands onto Raph's shoulders and started pushing him forward, interrupting him saying,
"Your wish is our command." He smiled kindly as he ventured into the shop further. Bianca was stunned by how April could order the guys around like they were her children, or paid workers.
"Man I wish I could get them to work that quick, and without complaining too, I'm impressed." Bianca sighed as she stopped leaning against the doorframe and walked up to April formally.
"Oh, hello, are you Bianca? The guys mentioned you'd be coming." April said as she stared at her.
"Yeah, and you're April, I've heard a lot about you, nice to meet you. Glad to meet another girl, hanging around these guys all day is exhausting." Bianca said as she stuck out her hand and laughed with April.
"Nice to meet you too. Could you help me dust off the antiques hanging on the far wall?" April asked as she pulled out a feather duster like her own from her back pocket.
"Sure." Bianca said as she grabbed hold of the feather duster but she dropped it when Casey who was walking in behind her bumped into her. "Watch it you overgrown bean pole." Bianca huffed as she straightened up her jacket she was wearing and bent down to pick up the feather duster.
"Yeah, whatever pipsqueak." Casey laughed as he then met April's eyes and the two older humans just stared at each other for a moment as Bianca looked back and forth between the two, intrigued by the interaction.
"You're…not a turtle." April mused as she continued to stare at Casey like she was in a trance.
"Uh…definitely not." Casey said too after a beat. Bianca's mouth dropped a bit as she watched the two stare at each other for a moment.
"Uh, hope you don't mind, we brought along another friend." Leo said as he gestured his hand towards the big guy. April automatically starting lifting her hand for his to shake but he stuck up his hand and waved saying,
"Yo…uh, Casey Jones." And with that, he walked right into the shop; Bianca sweat-dropped at the sight of his cluelessness. "Hey, uh, nice junk." He said looking around. Leo rubbed the back of his head mentally saying, 'it's out of my hands' and he sighed and went back over to helping Raph move stuff around.
"It was my dad's." April explained following him into the room. Bianca sighed and just decided to walk over to the far side of the room and casually listen to them talk still. "The shop I mean, I'm reopening it, uh, for now, until I figure out what to do with myself. My last job ended kind of…weirdly."
"Oh I get it…" Casey said like it was the most obvious thing. "While you're waiting for a real job to come along, you're just hiding out in your pap's junk shop, it's cool."
"Oh my goodness…" Bianca moaned as she slapped her forehead loudly. Don looked up from working on the heater, cocked an eyebrow (if it was there), and asked,
"What?" Bianca didn't answer and just gestured for him to look April and Casey's way.
"It's an antique shop," April stated very clearly. "And I'm not hiding from anything." April argued.
"Okay, whatever babe." Casey shrugged as he decided to walk away.
"'Babe'?" April repeated as she started to grind her teeth together.
"Ugh…For a real second there I thought things would go smoothly, but then the hockey puck had to open that mouth of his and ruin it…" Bianca sighed disapprovingly.
"Ruin what…?" Don asked, still not getting what Bianca was talking about.
"Oh never mind…" Bianca grumbled as she went back to dusting, holding her nose so she didn't inhale any of the dust that was flying off.
"Guys, guys! Be careful!" April warned as she wandered over to where Casey was helping Raph lifting a heavy case of plates. "That's very rare…" April was about to continue but the plates fell out of the open case and shattered on the ground. "Antique china…" April sighed sadly as she face palmed.
"Hey relax, we'll clean it up." Casey eased.
"Ugh!" April exasperated as she stormed off somewhere else, probably to get a dust pan and broom.
"Geez, are your friends always so, sensitive?" Casey shrugged as he stared at his red bandana wearing friend.
"Put a sock in it Casey…" Bianca growled as she firmly placed her feather duster on the counter she was near. She walked over to Casey thinking she would just beat him up, but she got a better idea as she got closer. "Or better yet, here." Bianca said as she took a rag from Mikey and stuffed it in Casey's mouth. "Dimwit." Bianca said under her breath as she stormed out of the area and went over to April.
"What a bonehead." Bianca mumbled.
"Right!" April agreed with a huff as they continued to clean up.
Bianca sighed as she started studying her chemistry again, she was having such a hard time with it, being in an AP class wasn't what it was all cracked up to be anymore. She sat there completely mystified by the chemical formulas in front of her as Donny yet again tried explaining it to her.
"Can't you use any dumber terms for me to understand. I can barely understand you."
"There really isn't a simpler way to explain it, that's what you get for being in a tough chemistry class. This is pretty advanced for your age isn't it."
"Well I like chemistry, I used to rock at it, but once I started taking this class, I felt like a complete idiot." She sighed as she let her head fall into her hands. "Is there anyway you can explain it to me like I was Mikey?"
"Hey! I heard that!" Came Mikey's voice from the couch.
"Sorry but there isn't anything that can dumb it down to that level." Donny sighed, wishing it was that easy.
"Ugh…whatever, I'll just have to go to the teacher tomorrow and ask him about it. If he doesn't totally judge me for it." Bianca growls, she was suggested into the class after all, the teacher might have to reconsider the switch. She didn't want that.
"You should be fine, I think you're overthinking it a bit." Donny said trying to comfort her.
"That's my nature, to overthink." Bianca sighed.
"But even though I enjoy that I can talk to you on an intellectual level, sometimes it's nice to just stop thinking. I used to think that was impossible, but when I was younger I learned that technology wasn't the answer to everything, and that some things are left as they are."
"Wow, never thought of it like that. Even when you're saying to not think you end up sounding smarter than most people I know who claim to think."
"You're too kind." Donny said bashfully as he turned slightly pink.
"Seriously, don't boost his ego anymore Bi," Mikey said suddenly from behind her, making Bianca jump. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders too. "He'll get an even bigger head than Raph's."
"What'd ya say?" Raph's voice echoed through the halls. Mikey squeaked and stood frozen in place as slowly Raph appeared in the large room. That's when Mikey bolted for it, Raph on his hells. This cheered Bianca up quickly as she cracked up.
"Ha-ha-ha! It's like he has a sixth sense about when Mikey's bad mouthing him." Bianca managed to say between laughs.
"Do you want me to make popcorn like last time?" Donny asked, laughing too.
"Nah not this time, this one should be fairly quick." She said trying to get control of her laughter.
"Good, because we have to go anyway." Leo said popping into the room suddenly. Bianca and Donny turned their attention to him.
"You do?" Bianca inquired.
"We do?"
"How come?" Bianca asked curiously slapping her book closed.
"April wants us over at her place, she thinks that 2nd Time Around is going to get robbed, and she thought we'd be best for the job." Leo explained.
"Can I come along? Just to say hi? I think we hit it off nicely last time." Bianca asked, she missed the company of another woman too, her friends had been busy this week so she hasn't seen much of them.
"Sure, the more the merrier." Donny piped in.
"Sweet, dya think it's Purple Dragons up to the robberies?" Bianca asked.
"Nah, it's all pretty sophisticated from what I've heard on the news." Donny explained. "They're able to shut down the alarm system and break in without any commotion, and the cameras are offline too."
"So is it a professional?" Bianca thought.
"Nah, usually professionals have patterns and hit things that are related to each other." Leo pointed out.
"Oh."
"So everything's been random, but since they're happening near April's block, she wants us there to back her up."
"That's smart, they'll go running to their mommy's when they get a look at you guys?"
"Aw, what's that supposed to mean, I'm the pretty one, don't put me in the same ranks as Raph's ugly mug." Mikey argued.
"Sounds like someone needs another beatin'." Raph said cracking his knuckles.
"Later Raph, let's head to April's." Leo sighed stopping the feud to Mikey's excitement, so excited that he cheered.
"Ah, fine." Raph grunted as he started heading out the door with everyone, but as soon as Mikey was in clear shot, Raph slapped him upside the head and carried on walking with a smug look on his face.
"Ow!" Mikey complained as he rubbed his head getting into the Battle Shell. They cruised down the streets for a while until they arrived on April's street. They parked the Battle Shell in the alleyway next to April's apartment building and headed up the fire escape. They quietly knocked on the door and April smiled as she approached to open it.
"Thank you guys so much for coming. Oh, hi Bianca, good to see you." April said switching gears and deciding to lend Bianca a hand.
"Good to see you too." Bianca said as she took April's hand kindly and stepped inside the apartment.
"I'm a little nervous about these robberies." She sighed as they continued to pile in. "The jewelry store that just got robbed is right on my block. So that's why I asked you here for a sleepover tonight."
"Don't worry April," Raph chided as he got up from his seat on the armrest of the leather chair to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We gotcha covered."
"I feel so much better having you guys here." April sighed thankfully as she relaxed a bit. "And thank you for coming over too. I need to make sure these guys aren't complete slobs, maybe you'll set an example for them."
"Haha, I doubt that, but I'll try my best." Bianca laughed as she stared at her green friends making a mess in the first few seconds. "And I'm glad to get out of the house, my brother's been out working late nights so I've been by myself a lot."
"You know, if you want, you can stay over as well." April suggested as she grinned at the sudden idea.
"Really?" Bianca asked skeptically as she stared around the room uncomfortably. "I don't want to be a bother, and besides you already have such a full house."
"Bianca's sleeping over!" Mikey stated more than asked excitedly, as he jumped up and down while holding Bianca's shoulders. Bianca laughed nervously as all eyes came on her.
"But, I didn't come prepared…" Bianca mused, trying to get out of this situation, she didn't think her brother would like it if she slept over at a stranger's house with four guys, err, turtles.
"You can borrow of course, I have some stuff that'll definitely fit you."
"Well…" Bianca
"Please, please, please, please, PLEA-" Mikey pleaded before getting cut off.
"Okay, okay…if it'll get you to shut up." Bianca complied as she covered Mikey's mouth with her hand. Mikey shook his head quickly and Bianca removed her hand, which was a mistake, when she got tackled in a bear hug by Mikey who dropped her on the ground when he hurled himself towards the kitchen. Bianca regained her balance and watched Raph open the window and stare out it for a while.
"Raph what are you doing by the window?" Bianca asked curiously.
"Hm? Nothing much, just checking out the area." He shrugged while trying not to smirk. Bianca ridged her brow at him but ignored it when the smell of fresh food was coming from the kitchen.
"Ah, whatever…" She sighed as she rushed to the kitchen to the smell of preheated pizza and popping popcorn. Bianca helped carry them into the room and the boys went right to eating and chowing down in front of the TV, watching some monster movie marathon. Bianca sighed, April handed her a fresh pair of pajamas and so Bianca headed for the bathroom to change. The pants ended up being too big for her so she decided to just sleep in her jean shorts, they were loose, so they weren't going to be uncomfortable. She galloped over to the guys and sat with them as they enjoyed the movie.
Soon, everyone had passed out with TV was left on, too exhausted to turn it off. April was in her room fast asleep as well. Suddenly though, Leo jolted awake as he heard something from outside, quickly dropping the drink he was holding.
"Ow!" Came a very annoyed voice. He looked down and saw he accidentally kicked Bianca in the head. "If you wanted to wake me up, you could've just yelled!" She growled as she rubbed her head gingerly.
"Sorry…" He mumbled. "Guys…" He whispered to the rest, he starting shaking Mikey's sleepy form and he mumbled,
"Can I have another s'more?"
"Out of all the food that could be on his mind he thinks of s'mores?" Bianca questioned as she stretched her arms up.
"What?" Mikey asked loudly and Leo quickly shushed him.
"Noise, down stairs." Everyone started to wake up and get their things ready. Bianca got excited, itching for some excitement, but as she got up, Leo grasped her wrist and said, "No way, you stay here."
"Aw…" Bianca whined as she got out of his grip and crossed her arms. She plunked herself down in the chair that Leo just got out of and watched as everyone quickly left the room to check downstairs in the shop. Bianca hated that she couldn't go with them. Suddenly the door to April's room slowly slid open and a tired April emerged as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Hey, did you guys hear…" Before she could finish her question, she looked around and only saw Bianca in the room.
"What do you think?" Bianca asked sarcastically with a smirk.
"I'm guessing, yes…" April sighed as she went back into her room. Bianca decided she had enough standing on the sidelines and quickly changed her shirt and slipped her shoes back on. She hurried to the window and out on to the fire escape. She quickly hid in a dark shaded where she couldn't be seen. She stared blankly at the scene unfolding in front of her. The guys were fighting…a giant, masked, robot…Things in her life, she realized, were never going to be normal, ever. She also noticed that the robot had a partner, but he was human, a small man with a devious but scared face with a fedora and a cheap looking jacket with plaid print. He said something and the robot charged and slammed its fists on the ground, just missing the guys by an inch. They tried to attack it but everything they did didn't seem to work. Mikey went up behind it and kicked its back, but all it did in response was turn around and smack him away, like a pesky fly. With the robot's back now to Bianca, she got a crazy idea. She went to the edge of the fire escape, stood on the railing, and held on to the part above her. She carefully started swinging her legs back and forth, like on a bar in gymnastics. Suddenly with enough speed and height, she released her grip off the bar and lauched herself at the robot's head, she went to it's face and covered its eyes. She was hoping that would confuse it and blind him, but his mask switched around and a new face, one of shock, was now in front. She tried covering it again but the same thing happened. Getting fed up, she resorted to kicking the mask hard and cracked it. the robot's hands flung up to its face and it almost sounded like it was crying, and with no vision at the moment it easily got misled and collided with the wall to its side.
The collision was so critical that it caused Bianca to lose her balance and she began to fall.
"Someone better freaking catch me!" She screamed as she spazzed in the air, arms flailing and all. Suddenly a body collided with her, carried her bridal style, and flipped its way safely to the ground. She looked up and saw Leo put her down.
"Didn't I tell you to stay inside?" He asked sternly with a scowl on his face.
"Didn't I tell you I don't take orders from you?" Bianca countered with her hands on her hips as she slightly leaned forward.
"No, but I'll remember that for next time." He sighed as he rolled his eyes. She copied his annoyed posture and eye rolling, but only until her eyes landed on the robot slowly approaching them.
"Move!" She suddenly screamed as she shoved him out of the way, right before a foot was going to trample them both. She sighed and punched him in the shoulder. "This is why you need to keep me around, so I can save your sorry shell."
"Stop your arguing and get to distracting that thing!" Donny called out to the two of them as he rummaged through his back of techy tricks. "I have a plan."
"Whatever you say Doc." Bianca sighs. She then gets a crazy idea, but hoping that her crazy mind was correct in assuming it would work. She quickly stepped away from the group and whistled, wanting to get the monster's attention.
"Hey tin butt," She yelled as she threw a garbage lid at the robot's back. It turned around and looked around until its gaze rested on Bianca. "Come and get me!" She mocked. The robot made a noise that would resemble a roar and quickly charged. Bianca waited to move at the last second and started doing numerous back flips, being able to get away from the robot quickly. She stuck her landing and lifted her arms in a finished position. She quickly ran over to the garbage cans and threw them on their sides and rolled them quickly in the robot's path, hoping to trip him over. She successfully got the robot to trip and land on its rear. What looked like white foam started twisting and maneuvering around the robot's body and slowly collected the pieces of the garbage cans it broke and the pieces merged to his armor.
"Oh, well that, was unexpected…" Bianca said nervously as she high tailed it over to Raph, Leo, and Mikey who were already doing their job at trying to surround the robot, who was still trying to regain its balance. Don quickly came up behind and started burning the robot's back. The gears inside the robot whistled and screeched, sounding almost like wailing from a small child. The noise made Bianca shudder as she thought of it for a split second being a real child. The robot quickly changed its mode and face into one of rage and knocked Donny right on his tail with a loud bang against the brick wall.
"Don't let those aliens get you kid! Knock 'em flat!" Came a rough voice. Bianca turned around and saw the man cheering on the robot.
"What do you know about this?" Leo demanded, sheathing one of his sword.
"A-Ah, Help! Kid!" The guy panicked as he held up his hands and started taking steps back as the rest of the gang started crowding around him.
"Da-Dee!" Came the robotic voice from the giant machine. It quickly swiped its hands out and knocked everyone to the walls on either side of the robot. The robot then proceeded to sweep its "daddy" off his feet and carry him off who knows where.
"What, was that thing?" Groaning could be heard from the corner of the alley and a wounded and dirty Casey Jones emerged from a pile of rubble, where he was obviously left unconscious until now. "Casey!" April screamed as she headed over to him and helping him stand up. "Oh, no."
"So uh, did I win?" He asked sheepishly as April removed his mask. He had bruises scattered across his features and the rest of his body.
"Well…ugh, that could've gone better." Bianca groaned as Mikey helped her up to her feet, patting her on the back. "Did, anyone else hear that thing call that creep, daddy?"
"I can't remember, I just remember colliding with the wall…" Mikey groaned as he rubbed his shell uncomfortably.
"Hey guys," "This stuff, is moving!"
"You sure you didn't hit your head too hard from that toss?" Bianca questioned skeptically as she tilted her head to the side.
"I'm not seeing things…see for yourself." He said tossing her the piece of metal. She caught it with ease and it didn't take her long to finally drop it in shock.
"Eep!" Bianca squeaked as she stepped away from the wiggling metal. "That's just freaky!"
"No, it's amazing, maybe its organic life mixed with machinery, nothing like this has ever been achieved before."
"Great, he's geeking out again…" Raph sighed.
"I need to take a better look at this."
"I have a microscope inside, you can use it to analyze it."
"Thanks April." Donny said quickly heading inside. Bianca rushed over to April and Casey, looping Casey's other arm over her shoulder.
"C'mon soldier, let's get you patched up."
"Thanks Bianca."
"Sure thing, he a lot heavier than he looks."
"Just because I'm about to pass out doesn't mean I can't hear you…" He groaned.
"You were supposed to, you need to go to the gym more often…" She sighed as she and April heaved him into the store and laid him carefully on the couch. April sped off to a side room and came back out with bandages to wrap Casey's torso which had quite a few gashes on them. April went into doctor mode and Bianca did her best to assist her in the wrapping process. Once he was tied all nice and neat like a present they laid him back down to relax, Bianca getting an ice pack to place gently on his swollen head.
"Wow, now I think your head is actually more swollen from the impact rather than your ego."
"Hey, why dya got keep pickin' on me? I'm already down."
"Cuz…" She said trailing off. He waited a moment to see if she'd continue but she didn't.
"Cuz?" He asked.
"Just cuz. That's really it." he was going to swat her away but before he could even reach her he started to strain himself. He groaned, and then decided to give up and continue moping.
"Whoa, definitely something you don't see everyday." Donny piped up from where he and his brothers were over by the counter with the microscope.
"What'd ya find?" Mikey asked curiously.
"Take a look."
"Ew…what are they?" Mikey said squeamishly.
"Nano-bots. Microscopic robots all working together."
"Oo, lemme see!" Bianca perked up as she dashed for the microscope. Mikey quickly maneuvered out of the way to avoid being trampled. Bianca bent over and peered into the lens. "Cool…" She mused as she enjoyed watching the little white krill looking robots swim around.
"Are they dangerous?" Raph asked.
"They're moving randomly. Probably when they were cut off from the main group, they became mindless, unmotivated."
"Oh," Mikey mused, everything seemed to be completely clear to him now. Bianca ridged a brow at him, surprised that maybe he actually got technical terms. "Like when Raph goes solo. He becomes mindless, unmotivated." He said pointing back towards Raph who was standing behind Mikey. Bianca sighed as her hopes were crushed.
"Ay," Raph said slapping Mikey's hand away. "Speaking of mindless, did that thing, seem kind of lost to ya?"
"Yeah, like, like a little kid." Mikey concurred.
"Uh, Donny…" Bianca commented quietly as everyone turned their attention to her.
"What?" He asked.
"Something weird 's happening…" Bianca said ominously. Donny quickly stepped into science mode again and peered at the nano-bots.
"Uh oh…it's reproducing itself. Each nano-bot makes copies of itself, and if the copies make copies, then this thing can really become unstoppable."
"Then we stop it now." Leo suggested. "Is there anyway to trace this thing?"
"Hm, the nano-bots have a unique power signature. Hey," Donny says snapping his fingers. "I bet the tracker in the Battle Shell could get a lock on it."
"And once we find robo-boy, then what?" Mikey asked worriedly.
"Well, as much as it pains me to destroy such amazing technology," He sighs holding up the powered up torch. "It does seem to be susceptible to extreme heat."
"So what are we waiting for?" Raph says as they start to head out.
"Just lemme grab my gold b-AH! Ow…" Casey groaned as he tried to get up and join his green friends.
"You, aren't going anywhere mister, you wait right here until I can get some more bandages." April demanded as she stood up from her crouched position next to Casey and headed back into the side room.
"You wouldn't be milking this boo-boo thing, would you Case?" Raph asked suspiciously as he knelt down next to his friend.
"Hey, show a little concern shell for brains." Casey argued with a grin.
"You owe us one, pal." Raph smirked and lightly tapped Casey's shoulder with his fist.
"Definitely," Casey nodded as he tried readjusting himself but failing. "Ow." He moaned as he collapsed back into the best position he could have.
"And if you try anything funny with April," Bianca mused as she slowly galloped her way across the floor to get in Casey's face, "I'll make sure you hurt everywhere…" She threatened.
"Yes ma'am." He swallowed nervously. Bianca smirked victoriously and started heading towards the door. "Go have fun cheering on the turtles, T-M-N-T, let's go team!" He mocked as he copied the finishing pose Bianca did when she did her flips. Bianca twirled on her heel and was about to storm back over to him and throttle him 'til he turned blue but April came back in the room and shooed her away.
"No going near my patient, now run along with the guys." She said as she place her hands on Bianca's shoulders and turned her around, forcing her towards the door.
"Bye-bye miss cheerleader." Casey laughed as he waved Bianca away.
"It was a one time thing!" She hollered over her shoulder as April continued to push her out the door. Before Bianca could fight back more, April closed the door on her face. Bianca pouted all the way to the Battle Shell and hopped in with a huff. The guys didn't have time to question her actions as they started heading towards where the tracker was leading them.
"Should be right through…there!" Donny announced as he pointed ahead towards some junkyard with gates blocking the way. The Battle Shell simply blasted its way through the doors and caused quite the commotion.
"So much for being ninjas and using the element of surprise." Bianca commented sardonically.
"We don't have time for sneaky maneuvers, we need to stop this thing before it continues to steal from other stores." Leo argued.
"Fine, fine, what ever you say…" She mumbled as the Battle Shell came to stop and everyone began to unload from the armored car. Bianca was the last to hop, and she was greeted with an annoyed looking Leo.
"Why dya gotta give me that look? I'm not gonna get in the way, I've been helpful." Bianca tried standing up for herself and making herself bigger than she really was.
"Oh, you mean when you fell off about three stories high and then helped the robot upgrade its armor, oh yeah, real helpful." Leo commented sarcastically.
"Lay off Leo," Raph argued. "She's been training hard with us and she's experienced, you gotta let her loose."
"This coming from the turtle who can't listen to a single order." Leo argued.
"Cuz we're not dogs in da military, Leo, we're ya teammates, and dat includes her." Raph motioned to Bianca.
"Thanks Raphie…" Bianca smiled sweetly as she tapped him on the shoulder with her fist in appreciation.
"Don't push it kid with the 'Raphie' bit…" He warned as he messed up her hair. She shoved him off playfully. Leo looked at Bianca with a lot of concern.
"I…I just don't want you getting hurt." Leo admitted. Bianca was caught a little off guard but quickly stepped forward and hugged his torso, not giving enough time for Leo to respond before she let go.
"Don't worry yourself so much, okay? If I can't handle myself in the fight, I'll step out," She sighed as she tried to look sincere. "Promise." She said sticking out her pinkie for him to pinkie promise with her. He held out his smallest finger, but when Bianca realized his was too big to actually make the promise, she laughed lightly and stuck out her hand instead for him to shake. "Kay?"
"Fine…" He agreed and took her hand. She grinned and jumped towards Donny and Mikey and followed their lead.
"She better be smart about this…" Leo sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. Raph clasped an arm around Leo's shoulders.
"Agh, you gotta stop worryin' so much bout it, she's a big girl. She needs a 'lil room to grow up. 'Cides, none of us want her hurt. We all got her back." He chided. Leo nodded in appreciation, though that didn't shake the nerves off his shell, but he and his red clad brother soon joined the others.
"Look at all this stolen stuff." Leo commented as they started climbing up some of the mountains of junk to get a better look around.
"Where is that thing?" Donny said holding a portable tracker to locate the robot. "The locator says it should be right here.
"I know it's been used before guys but, I'm getting a baaaad feeling about this." Mikey shuddered as he looked around, a little panicked, thinking he was trapped in a horror movie. Suddenly the robot charged from behind a pile of stolen goods and tried to clobber everyone on sight. Everyone quickly found another place to locate themselves and got ready for the upcoming assault. Before it decided to attack, it called out a battle cry and shot its arms out in opposite directions. The white foam from before that really was the millions of nano-bots that were moving in unison swarmed around more material and added it on to its body. It grew double in size practically and it's face changed from masks to a TV screen displaying one masked face that changed.
"And now, I'm getting an even bad-er feeling about this!" Mikey cried.
"Maybe my time to sit out has come already…" Bianca cowered as she stepped back slightly, staring wide-eyed at the metal golem in front of her.
"Uh, guys, anybody wanna tell me how we're gonna do this?" He asked, nun chucks ready.
"Like we always do: together" Leo said, and Bianca shot her head around and stared at Leo in shock. He smiled at her softly and nodded his head. She smiled at him too. "Hit it so fast it can't rebuild itself." He said with determination. "Now!" Leo cried and everyone jumped into action, including a newly determined Bianca, running in the opposite direction. She knew she couldn't knock it down in size, since she didn't carry a weapon, but there was something just sitting on the sidelines with a whole artillery of weapons at her disposal.
She hopped in the seat of the Battle Shell and quickly kicked it into gear and sped off towards where the guys were keeping it busy. Once she saw them in view, she saw that it was already rebuilding itself, the machine was just too fast at repairing itself for the guys to tear down. Mikey suddenly got picked up off the ground and was dangling upside down. She honked the horn loudly to get everyone's attention. She grabbed the microphone and yelled,
"I'd move it if I were you!" She sped forward and was able to ram the truck into the shin of the machine and it quickly toppled down to the ground. Mikey flew through the air and managed to grab to the top of the Battle Shell. Bianca swerved slightly as she tried turning on the gravel and came to an abrupt stop, causing Mikey to fall onto the hood of the car. She looked outside at the guys continuing to chop the robot down to size.
"Thanks for the save, dudette!" Mikey smiled as he slid off the truck's hood.
"All in a day's work." She smiled, giving him a two-finger salute. "But you should thank my brother for making me take driver's Ed."
"What's that?" Mikey asked but before she could explain, she heard the roar of the robot reforming and rising taller than before. she grabbed the microphone again and yelled,
"Time to head on out of here! Load up!" She ordered as the rest of the guys piled into the back of the Battle Shell. Bianca quickly stepped on it, narrowly missing a fist from the robot. But even though Bianca was driving quickly and quite recklessly, the robot was still able to catch up to the Battle Shell. And suddenly the Battle Shell shook and stopped moving. The robot had them in its grasp. Bianca pushed the gas petal to its limit, but they weren't budging. The nano-bots started to try and take the Battle Shell apart. The robot's other fist knocked the side of the truck, causing everyone not in a seat to fall over.
"Faster Bianca! It's taking us apart!"
"Who'd let her drive anyway?"
"I'm pushing the engine as hard as I can chief!" Bianca mumbled as she tried shifting into another gear, but still nothing worked.
"She cannot take no more." Mikey said rolling his r's.
"Raph, you're on: Shell Cycle time."
"Sure, I always got to do the crazy stuff."
"Keep it busy until we're in position!" Leo yelled over the roar of the cycle.
"GO!" Bianca called out as she pressed a button to open up the back doors, and Raph zoomed out of the Battle Shell and rode over the robot's face and caused it to let go of the Battle Shell, allowing everyone else to speed off.
"Lead it over there, that will compress the robot into nothing more than a cube of metal!" Donny suggested as he signaled over to the far side of the junkyard.
"Did you get that Raph?"
"Yeah, I'll go play a little cat and mouse with it!" He yelled sarcastically over the comm. link.
"Just get moving!" Mikey yelled.
"Now, have you ever crashed before?" Donny asked over Bianca's shoulder.
"Not in a car, no!" Bianca panicked while glaring at Donny through the rear-view mirror.
"Well, let's give you a new lesson that driver's Ed won't teach you." Leo said.
"But…" Bianca croaked, but stopped when she saw there was no other way. "Ugh! Fine!" She yelled as she turned the whole Battle Shell on a 180 and faced the robot, currently being taunted by Raph on the Shell Cycle.
"Bianca: Ramming Speed!" Leo ordered, signaling forward.
" I better not die!" Bianca yelled as she pushed the Battle Shell to its highest speed. The robot seemed to have heard the engine and started to turn around but the Battle Shell had already collided with the lower half of the robot and it couldn't stop itself from stumbling into the machine and getting crushed to death.
"Y-ouch, looks like that did it." Raph winced as he took off his helmet and looked at what was left of the robot.
"Yeah, he's flat broke." Mikey laughed from the passenger seat.
"How about you don't say anything before we're sure." Bianca complained as she smacked him upside the head. She could see the nano-bots forming, as well as everyone else.
"You know, I'm gonna stop with the puns, they always come back to bite you." Mikey panicked as a metal fist gripped the side of the ditch it fell into.
"Bianca…!" Leo stared to yell but he didn't have to say anymore.
"I'm on it!" She yelled as she reversed it out of there and sped off. Bianca quickly glanced as her side mirror and saw the robot already completely formed and chasing them once again.
"I have an idea that can help slow it down." Donny piped up.
"How fast can you get into position?" Leo asked.
"Consider me there." Donny said as he hopped out of the back of the Battle Shell. Bianca, Leo and Mikey kept going and Raph appeared on their left on his Shell Cycle. They decided to veer off in different directions and the robot ended up following Raph instead of the Battle Shell.
"Guess robot children can hold grudges too." Bianca mumbled as she saw Raph speed up to keep out of reach of the robot.
"Not funny!" Raph yelled over the shell cell that was hooked up to the speakers of the Battle Shell. "Leo tell me you gotta Plan C, cuz I really need a plan C!"
"Plan C…" Leo stalled momentarily until he saw Donny climb into a crane with a huge magnet attached to it like bulldozer. "At twelve o'clock!" He shouted.
"Uh fellas, Plan C!" Raph panicked still not seeing the plan.
"Go Donny!" Bianca and Mikey cheered.
"Now!" Raph roared.
"No time better than now Donny!" Bianca called into the speakers, talking to Donny who was able to hear everything. Donny hit the switch and the robot was lifted into the air and got stuck to the magnet, Donny moved the machine around so it was dangling above a pit of fire that was used to burn excess material. The magnet turned off and let go of the robot and it splashed roughly into the hot substance. It screamed in pain, something Bianca hated to hear. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the little man from before running over to the tub as it slowly closed and he shuddered.
Suddenly sirens started blazing; meaning cops were on the way. Bianca not wanting to stay around anymore pulled over and waited for Raph to slide in the back of the Battle Shell with his shell cycle and then swung back around to pick up Donny. She quickly fired up the engine and sped off back into the heart of the city.
"You know, I feel kinda bad for the little bot," Mikey sighed.
"Little?" Raph argued.
"You know, he was kinda like a little kid." Mikey explained.
"All he wanted was a father." Bianca sighed from her spot in the driver's seat.
"Yeah, too bad he had such a rotten parent." Donny sighed too. Bianca found their way back to April's store, 2nd Time Around, and pulled over into the alley way. Everyone filed out as Leo said,
"I'm just glad the fighting's over."
"Me too." Bianca smiled at Leo and nudged him playfully and he smiled down at her. They were just opening the door to the shop when they heard,
"Taking care of me? I only got hurt cuz I was saving you!" Casey yelled. Everyone stepped out of the doorway, gone completely unnoticed as they just stared and watched the two adults bicker.
"Oh, so you think I need saving, is that it!" April sassed.
"You twist around everything I say! Agh, women!" Casey roared.
"Why, of all the myopic, misogynistic -" April started but before she continued Casey was so aggravated he knocked over a vase.
"Geez! How can you even talk if you can't even speak English?" He argued.
"I told you to watch the antiques you big ape!" April yelled.
"I, think they wanna be alone." Mikey chided, finally breaking everyone else's silence educed state.
"Agreed." Bianca mused.
"I'm outta here." Raph grumbled.
"Wait for me!" Donny yelled after him.
"Don't you dare leave me behind!" Bianca yelled too, "I don't have a ride home, you yahoos brought me here!" She continued to hustle to the Battle Shell and get in a seat before they took off down the busy night streets.
"Well that was awkward." Mikey said breaking the silence.
"Nah that was them blossoming their relationship." Bianca sighed.
"Oh great, more psychologist mumbo jumbo." Raph complained.
"Hey! It's accurate!" Bianca argued. "They're obviously attracted to one another."
"How'd you figure that? They were at each other's throats in there." Leo asked curiously.
"Well you didn't see their official meeting. They both paused to size up the other one, in a sense. So they like each other physically, but their personalities are too strong and collide constantly so it'll take a while." Bianca explained.
"You sure, cuz that sounds like a stretch." Mikey asked as he scratched his bald scalp.
"Hey it can happen, I mean I've never seen it happen but that doesn't mean it's not there. You know the saying: opposites attract." Bianca tried to sound triumphant in her answer, but it still wasn't enough to convince them.
"Yeah, but I don't know about polar opposites." Leo joked.
"Hm, maybe, maybe not. It's too early to tell with them though. And it'll be infuriating to watch them bicker." Bianca sighed.
"Yeah, if they're always going to be like that, we'll have to set up a boxing ring to let them go at each other until they've calmed down." Raph joked.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a sound proof room. They're much too loud, if they're around the lair I'm sure Master Splinter will have a fit." Donny added.
"We're here!" Mikey called as he pulled them over.
"Finally…" Bianca quickly gathered her stuff and checked her phone for the time. "And I'm dead."
"How come?" Leo asked a little worried.
"Uh, it's a Sunday, I should've been home a ½ hour ago." She said like it was obvious. "So this will be fun explaining to James, ugh." She said roughly opening the door. "If you don't hear from me, either it means I'm grounded or I'm dead. So goodbye."
"Yeah, yeah, get going drama queen." Raph laughed as he shoved her out the door. She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Bye!" She called back to them as she headed up the stairs to the lobby.
"See ya!" They called back in unison as they closed the door and zoomed off. Bianca strode into the lobby and said hello to the doorman. She headed to the far end of the room to the elevators and slid in her keycard and pressed the top floor button. She cringed when the ding of the elevator indicated she had arrived on her floor. She would have to face the music eventually. She slid the keycard into the door and it clicked open. She tried to creep her way in and hurry to bed but then a light in the dining room area turned on and she saw her older brother finishing a late night meal.
"He, he…hi James…" She laughed sheepishly.
"And where exactly have you been?" He asked with a little stern in his voice.
"Well, I was out." Bianca answered simply putting her bag on the chair she always left it on for the next day. She ventured over to the fridge to grab a water bottle. She started to quickly scarf it down when James asked,
"Where?"
"With Arielle." She said swallowing.
"Uh-huh, then why'd she call asking for you?" He said. She almost choked on her next big sip but slowly let it go down her throat and paused before speaking, she's not the best liar, the details always got her caught.
"N-not that Arielle, I was at the library and, I met up with someone in my chemistry class, and you know how much I hate chemistry." She sputtered, I mean it's true there was another Arielle in her class and she was at the library that day, but it only lasted 10 minutes before she got infuriated with the too quiet place and called Donny saying she needed help with chemistry and he obliged.
"Were you really at the library?" He asked as he approached her and put his sink roughly in the sink, clanking as it hit the metal.
"James, why do you always have to assume the worst when it comes to my well-being." Bianca complained. "I'm sorry I'm late, and I'll make sure not to do it again."
"Okay…" He sighs into the hug as he pets her head. "But that still doesn't answer my question."
"You sound like dad." Bianca said quietly hugging James a little tighter. She felt him sigh and lean his head farther down to rest his head on top of Bianca's.
"I guess I've seen him yell at you enough to pick up a few pointers…" He tried joking and rubbing her back gently. He hated making her upset, and hated when she brought up their parents, he was obviously sad too but Bianca was still horribly injured from the experience. It had been three months now since that fatal day.
"A little too well I might add." She said as she nuzzled her face into his chest.
"Alright, I'll quit bugging you if you high tail it into bed." He said pulling her apart slowly.
"Yes sir!" She said sarcastically.
"Atta girl."
"Night, big bro."
"Night, princess."
"You always call me that, you know I'm far from it." Bianca said leaning against the frame of her bedroom door.
"Not in my eyes, you'll always be that little girl who played dress up and wore puffy pink dresses skipping around saying you're royalty." He joked.
"Ugh, let's not bring that up please." Bianca cringed. "Those were my dark days, I can't believe I ever wore pink."
"Aw c'mon, you used to love it."
"Yeah, but now that I'm sixteen, I try to avoid it, it's just too, too vibrant, I like real colors. Like orange, red, purple, blue, and green especially." She smiled to herself at the end of her statement.
"Whatever you say kiddo. Now get to bed." He said shooing her off.
"Alright, alright." She laughed and yawned as she closed the door behind her. James smiled at the door to Bianca's room. He could see the sign on the door that read 'Do Not Disturb: the princess needs her beauty sleep' and he chuckled softly to himself. He got it for her and she thought it was a funny joke so she kept it up. "You may not think you're a princess but you are to me, and always have been." He sighed and cleaned up his dinner plate he just finished eating off of and put it away before heading to his own bed to retire for the night.