The Spark

Chapter One: A Change in the Air

I am not the owner of the Ninja Turtles.

With shaking hands, wandering eyes, labored breathing, and twitching fingers, Fox swiftly grabbed a handful of organic red apples and stuffed them silently into the over-sized pockets of his coat. He waited for the world to end. For the hand of his father or oldest brother to smack the back of his head with righteous zeal. The fruit stand owner to grab him by the neck and shake the stolen goods out of him. NYPD at least.

Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.

No one came, no one grabbed him, no one shouted, no one noticed. It was just himself standing in front of some fruit stand, one of the many at the bi-monthly farmer's market feeling like a complete idiot. It was a miracle that no one had noticed what he was doing; he was no expert.

He remembered the advice that his brother, Skull, had given him a few days prior. "Act natural and look like you are just browsing the merchandise, like you are thinking really hard about what you want to buy. Don't be afraid to touch and smell stuff, throws them off your trail."

Sure.

The advice was easier said than done. So there he stood, smelling, inspecting, and looking perplexed at the various stands filled with various produce and other yummy products that people had labored over and were selling looking to make a honest wage. As he kept up this act, he was sneakily stuffing his pockets full with food.

Skull told him that it was okay to do this. Their family was suffering. Due to slight food shortages and increased prices, their father, although he tried very hard, was not able to provide him and his three other brothers with enough food to survive comfortably. They were growing boys and ate constantly. As he stole, going against all the teachings his father had bestowed upon him, he was surprised that nothing happened. Just like their suffering in the sewers of New York, the world continued and took no notice.

Life goes on.

He quietly moved to the next stand. He stuffed his pockets with carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and bags of handpicked mixed nuts. His movements were swift and calculating and he made sure to keep constant visual on the rapidly changing environment.

His brother Skull filled him with good advice, and he got the feeling that he may have been a semipro at shoplifting. "Hey, make sure you grab Leo's coat. It is bigger on you and his pockets are large. If you wear that, it won't look like you are holding anything."

Strawberries, a bag of dried blueberries, miniature oranges. One by one, he grabbed fistfuls of goods and stuffed them deeper and deeper into his growing pockets.

Looking up, he could see Skull weaving in and out of the meat stands grabbing a fish or two at one, a small chicken at another, and a small container or eggs at another. His bright red sunglasses and confident smirk were clear despite their distance.

Potatoes, kale, broccoli.

He saw Skull make his way to the entrance of the farmers market where they kept all of the baked goods, and he knew that that was his cue to hurry up and leave. Before their "mission," he was told that they were going to grab two loaves of bread each off the cart. He was supposed to follow the lead of his older brother and grab the bread without stopping. His brother emphasized that point countless times. No one monitored the cart, so it would be a piece of cake. They cleared the cart and grabbed two steaming large loaves of bread without slowing down. He waited for someone, anyone, to stop them. Two thieving oddly dressed children who were robbing innocent people. No one came, and the world, just like them, kept on moving.

Outside of the farmers market, the cool air sent chills down their spines as they sped walked away. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, pooling at the base of his neck. He couldn't believe what he had done. Once they made it to the end of the street, they broke into a dead sprint and didn't stop till they made it to the manhole cover that would lead them home. The laughed, whooped, and galloped, feeling free and valiant because even though they broke many rules and laws, their family would survive another month. They lifted the cover, and quickly climbed down the metallic ladder and welcomed the warm moist air the sewers provided them.

They laughed and Fox welcomed the approving pat on the back of his shell. They pumped their fist and shouted into the darkness while pointing fingers towards the surface world, mocking its inhabitants and their lack of observation and intelligence.

"The city is our, its all ours!" Skull shouted while spinning in a valiant circle.

"The city is ours?" Fox said, turning to his brother with questioning eyes,

"It sure is, bro. If we, a couple of kids, a couple of mutated freaks can walk up in there and take a crap load of stuff right under their stuffy big fat noses, we can do anything and everything. We have nothing to fear and nothing or no one can stop us. We are not babies anymore!"

Smiling from ear to ear, Fox shouted and yipped with glee.

They were not babies anymore. They just had their eleventh birthdays, and were ready to tackle the world head on. They noticed that the fears they used to have were diminishing and people were not as large as they used to be. Their father was not as intimidating, and they were slowly gaining the courage to do things they had previously dreamed about. Groundings, spankings, timeouts, and scolding's were not weapons anymore. Their code names, Skull and Fox were symbols of their abandonment of childhood. Words could not express the changes that were taking place within the lives of these two boys.

Fox noticed the change the most in his older brother. His brother would boldly defy any form of authority. He would proudly talk back to their father and their oldest brother. He would intentionally break rules and test boundaries. To the rest of our family, he is still known by his birth name, Raphael Hamato, but as he bravely roamed the sewers and the streets of New York stealing candy, food, or whatever he deemed useful. To Fox, the immediate younger brother, he transformed into his codename, Skull.

Fox didn't have the same nerve as Skull, and he knew that the changes they were experiencing were taking them to different places. He was not sure where they were going, but he was for certain that they were not where they used to be. The events that took place in the farmer's market were only the start of many. In their future, the two young boys saw bigger stores, vandalism, cars, late nights from home, and freedom.

Since they were new, new to this life, new to the changes, new to their shifting world, they decided to go by their new names...

Raphael Hamato became Skull, and Donatello Hamato became Fox.

A/N: Wow...it has been a while...I can't believe how long its been since I've posted on this site. I am going to use this summer as the opportunity to finish those stories that troubled me, and begin new ones that I have been itching to write. What do you all think of this story so far? Please read and review, and as always, constructive criticism is welcomed.

~CB