Mock Turtle Season

Episode 1: Money, Money, Money Part 3

When Raph heard music coming from his youngest brother's room, he ignored it. The fact that Mikey usually used headphones didn't flag as something weird. If he was sick, then Mikey must have forgotten to put them on or hadn't bothered. So Raph went about his business, trying to think of ways they could save money. When that became too frustrating, he went to the garage to pummel a punching bag and spar with his paper ninja buddy.

When he returned to the line of subway cars, he was surprised that the music was still playing. And not just that, it was the same song. And on top of that, it wasn't Mikey's usual taste. It was a solo, old-fashioned flute that played a simple tune over and over again. And now that Raph was paying attention, it was a little weird. And annoying.

"Hey, Mikey, what are you listening to?" Raph asked loudly.

Nothing changed.

"Mikey? Are you asleep?" Raph asked. Perhaps his brother just turned on some soothing music to help him sleep. Figuring he would just tiptoe inside and turn off his speakers, Raph gently opened the sliding doors.

He gasped when he saw Mikey standing at attention, a battered panpipe at his mouth. Mikey's eyes were completely blank and cracks of orange light were forming down his fingers into his hands.

Raph had only seen this happen once with Mikey and instantly moved to help his brother.

But it was as if the music had taken on a physical form because he felt something trying to move him back. But it wasn't strong enough to keep him from his brother. With two labored steps inside Mikey's room, Raph grabbed the panpipes away, thinking that this was enough.

While Mikey sagged to his knees, the music didn't stop nor did the glowing cracks disappear.

"Mikey? Mikey? Wake up," Raph called, shaking his brother. "Come on, bro. Get up." Panicking, he picked up his brother and raced towards Donnie's lab.

"Donnie! Something's wrong with Mikey," Raph shouted, relieved to see the soft-shelled turtle was still there. He laid Mikey out on a table.

Donnie was immediately somber as he saw the glowing cracks that had now reached Mikey's wrists. "Mystic energy?" he asked, examining Mikey's hands. "Was he trying to open another portal?"

"I don't know," Raph said, one hand on his head. "But he was playing this thing." He showed the panpipes that was still playing the strange tune.

Donnie snatched the panpipes and lowered his goggles, taking a closer look. "There's some sort of mystic energy around it, but nothing I have ever seen before. Is there music playing?"

"It's this flute thingy that's making the music," Raph asked.. The tune was starting to bother him even more than before. It seemed as if it were getting louder, boring into his mind. "So why is it different than other mystic objects?"

"Mystic objects usually emit energy, which usually gives me a hint as to what attributes it has," Donatello explained. "Like that gate that the basketball players used and turned them into monsters."

"Okay, so what's with the panpipes and how can we get it to stop playing?" Raph demanded, his voice louder than usual. He felt as if he could barely heard anything over the sound of the panpipes. He fought the desire to cover his ears.

"That's the thing. These panpipes are more like trying to hide the fact that they are mystic," Donatello said, turning the instrument over. "It's like they don't want anyone to know what it is or what it does."

"So how do we stop it?" Raph asked, half-shouted. He was starting to feel dizzy. It was hard to focus on Donnie's next words.

"I don't know," Donnie said. "We could try destroying it but—"

"Alright," Raph said, snatching the panpipe, putting it down on the desk and slamming his fist into it. It was only made out of wood. No big deal.

Turns out it was a big deal. He danced around the room, shaking his hand and squealing from the pain.

"As I was saying, we could try destroying it, but mystic objects tend to be near-indestructible," Donnie said.

"Would you shut up that music?" Leo walked into the room, hands covering his ears. "That tune is driving me insane."

"I know," Raph growled. "It's worse than disco."

Donnie opened up his desk and pulled out his noise-canceling headphones, snapping them into place. He had a look of self-satisfaction before he frowned. "They aren't working."

"It's obviously mystic music," Raph said, his focus getting more and more fuzzy. It felt as if it were affecting his thoughts and actions. "I think we need to get rid of it. Like maybe put it in another room or something."

"Gotcha," Leo said, grabbing the panpipes. He opened a portal and chucked the instrument, surprised when it bounced off the glowing rip in space and ricocheting into his face. "Ow! What the heck?" He tried again to get the same results, although this time he was prepared to dodge.

"It seems that this mystic object defies your portals," Donnie said, picking up the panpipes. "But don't worry. I have a soundless chamber for times when you guys drive me crazy."

"Great!" Raph said. "Wait, what?"

Donnie walked to a metal chamber the size of a bathroom, opened a sealed door with a pressure valve and tossed the instrument in. "Done and done. You're welcome."

The three stood in silence before they shifted uneasily.

"Am I the only one still hearing it?" Donnie asked.

"Well, it was a catchy tune," Leo said with a shrug.

"I think it's in our heads," Donnie said. "And it may be taking us over until we're like Mikey. It also seems that the instrument is draining Mikey of his energy."

"In our heads?" Raph said. "Well, I'll just smash it out." He punched himself in the face a few times, wobbling on his feet. "Hey, I think it's working a little." He continued to beat himself up.

"Good idea. I'll punch Donnie," Leo said, raising his fist.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Donnie said, putting his hand on his brother's face and pushing him away. "I think maybe Raph's a little too far gone. The music's got him. It's up to us to save our brothers."

Leo looked concerned. "Yeah, but how?"

"We obviously don't know enough about this thing, so who do we know that can help us defeat a mystic soul-sucking object?" Donnie asked, thinking.

Since the invasion of the Krang, Yokai activity had been at an all-time low. A few days after, they tried to get into the Hidden City and the Under City through their usual entrances, but were unable to open any doorways. Even Leo's portals couldn't take them there. It was as if the Yokai hadn't been there at all. Big Mama's hotel had been one of the buildings that had taken a pretty big hit during the Krang attack, but there were no bodies or Yokai found afterward. It was as if they had all vanished.

It was a riddle as to why this was, and the only one that could answer their questions was Baron Draxum, who had been unavailable on a whole since summer break when he no longer had a job as a lunch lady. Only Mikey had kept in touch with "Other Dad," while the others ignored the Yokai alchemist as long as he didn't cause any trouble.

But now that they needed him, it was a pain that they didn't have any way of contacting Draxum.

"So…we go ask Dad?" Leo asked, ignoring the rising volume of music in his head.

"He has surprised us way too many times with his past and prior knowledge of all things supernatural," Donnie said. "But we need to be careful. Even without the panpipes with us, we don't know if the music can be transferred to someone else."

"I've got this." Leo once again opened a portal and stuck his head into it. His muffled voice came through. "Hey, Dad. Can you hear a weird, ghostly tune in your head right now? No, Brittney Spears doesn't count. No? Nothing? Great, we have a problem." And with that, he pulled Splinter through the portal.

The rat looked altogether annoyed as he was unceremoniously hauled away from his TV by the back of his robe. He dusted off the doughnut crumbs and Cheeto dust before putting his hands on his hips. "What is going on? I was in the middle of figuring out our money problems."

"You were watching the Home Shopping Channel," Leo said. "That's the opposite of—" He slapped himself in the face, realizing who he was arguing with. "That's not important. Mikey's been possessed by some sort of magical flute or something. What should we do?"

Donnie and Leo explained everything that they knew to Splinter, but since Raph had punched himself silly, they had no information on where the panpipes had come from. Splinter listened attentively before examining Mikey then Raph, seeing that the glowing lines on Mikey were spreading, and some had started forming on Raph, peeking out from his mask near his ears.

"Oh, this is bad," Splinter said, folding his arms and nodding.

"How bad?" Donnie asked, getting antsy. The music was getting so bad that it was stressing him out. He really wanted to put on his noise-canceling headphones and curl up in bed under his weighted blanket, but fought the desire.

"You're screwed," Splinter said succinctly.

"What? That's it?" Leo shouted. "There's got to be something we can do. I didn't survive the Shredder and the Krang just to become a zombie for some hippie music."

"Yeah, it's not even something you can dance to," Donnie complained.

"Okay, okay. Calm down," Splinter said, gesturing soothingly. "Let me text Draxum. He'll know what to do."

"You have Draxum's number?" Donnie asked, feeling hopeful.

"Draxum has a phone?" Leo asked, skeptical.

"Us Dads have got to stick together," he said, taking out his phone and typing out a message. "Okay, I'm sure he'll text back soon."

They waited.

"Any minute now."

They waited.

"He's probably just gone to the bathroom. He'll reply any time now."

More waiting.

"I can't take it!" Donnie shouted, the music getting so loud that he couldn't hear his own thoughts, and that scared him more than anything. Even beach balls. "I'm going to rip out my own ear drums."

"Easy Donnie!" Leo shouted, tackling his brother. "Keep it together." Donnie bit him, and he attempted to pry his brother's jaw open.

"Oh, he's typing something!" Splinter announced.

In mid-fight, Donnie and Leo paused.

"He says to disrupt the spell, someone has to be in control of the panpipes," Splinter said. "That person has to prove to the panpipes that they are its master, otherwise it will control them."

Leo pushed himself off Donnie. "Great. I'm a whiz at musical instruments. I can totally shred a guitar. A panpipe will be no problem."

Donnie shuddered. "No. That's a definite nope."

Splinter scratched his chin. "What about Orange? He's the artist."

Donnie massaged his temple. "I think we've established that he can't control it because he was the first to fall under the spell."

"What about Red?"

"He's passed out on the floor?"

"Purple?"

"I'm right here," Donnie shouted. "Come on. We must know someone who can play a musical instrument with some ability."

"Didn't April play the clarinet? Remember, we saw her in a marching band several years ago," Leo said.

"Perfect!" Donnie exclaimed, pushing Leo out of his lab. "You go and get her."

"Why me?"

"Because the music is so intrusive that I'm going to go huddle in the corner and weep," Donnie said. "Leo, you know just how hard this is for me to say, but…you're our only hope."

Leo's eyes widened. His brothers were in dire need. "I won't let you down." He nodded before opening a portal and jumping through.

Three seconds later, he returned through another portal just as Donnie had collapsed in a shivering heap. "Oh, by the way, does anyone know where April is? She's not home. And if anyone asks, someone else broke her favorite coffee mug."

Casey returned to the lair with bad news. He wished he didn't have to do it. Things had been going well. For the first time in his life, he had known peace. Even going out and getting a job wasn't going to be terrible. It would actually be nice to interact with humans now that they weren't going extinct.

But what he saw on the TV, it was going to ruin everything.

However, those worries escaped his mind as he heard voices in Donnie's lab and went in that direction only to find chaos. And he'd only been gone for a few hours.

"What happened?" he asked, heading to Mikey. He grabbed the turtle's hand, seeing the glowing cracks that went up to the elbows. And still growing. He flashed back to that day that Michelangelo had opened the time portal which had eventually ended his life. "This is…His life energy is being drained. How did this happen?"

He gazed around, seeing Raph on the floor, red cracks spreading over his face. Donnie was in the corner in a fetal position with his hands covering his ears. He turned abruptly when he heard humming, finding Splinter staring at a large, metal container.

"Splinter, what happened to everyone?" Casey asked.

But Splinter didn't reply. He continued to hum, rocking slightly.

"Splinter," Casey shouted, grabbing the rat's shoulder and spinning him around. "What's going on? Where is Sensei?"

"Ohhhh, Hockey Face. When did you get back?" Splinter asked, putting a hand on his head.

"What is going on?"

Splinter tried explaining, but unless Casey kept asking questions, he would slip into his humming and rocking.

"But Donnie said this thing was sound proof," Casey said, looking into the small window. "So that means either the music can be heard though it or…" He looked at Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello. "Or the spell can spread from person to person."

"It's quite catchy," Splinter said and giggled at his own joke, his head nodding like a conductor's wand.

Casey's eyes widened. "If Leo went to look for April, then he could spread this…whatever this is. It could affect the whole city. Maybe even the whole world."

"I don't suppose you know how to play?" Splinter asked.

"We didn't have time to learn how to play an instrument in the future," Casey said. "The only music we had was pre-recorded songs, and only on special days."

"Then it seems we're on the final note," Splinter said, giggling and humming.

Casey noticed cracks glowing underneath Splinter's fur, and the rat sat down. Splinter was no longer humming, but he could hear the tune still, repeating over and over in his mind.

"Please hurry, Sensei," Casey whispered.

At Splinter's suggestion, Leo went to April's college to see if she was at work, trying to ignore the song in his head. It wasn't anywhere close to the glamrock that he preferred, and it was annoying how it kept repeating. Maybe if it added a bridge and some lyrics, he could have enjoyed it.

He popped into East Laird University's front office only to find it completely empty.

"April!" he shouted, drowning out the music that was getting louder and louder by the minute. He looked down at his hands, seeing glowing cracks of energy on his fingertips. He was feeling tired and a part of him wanted to surrender to the music completely.

"April!" he shouted over and over. If she was in the building, he had to find her. He made another portal and popped into another part of the building, shouting. He continued to move from portal to portal, determined to search every inch, including the women's room which he apologized profusely to an elderly woman at the sink.

It wasn't long before Leo realized that April wasn't in the building and panicked. If he couldn't find her then…then…

He couldn't figure out what the "then" would be, the music was invading his ability to think past finding April. He continued to make portal after portal, jumping all around campus and shouting his friend's name before he heard the sweetest sound in the world.

"Leo, quit spazzin' out like an idiot and get over here."

He jumped through another portal and skidded to a stop on his knees, seeing April's bright jacket.

"Oh, thank goodness," Leo said, hugging her legs. The music was making his thoughts sluggish, as if he hadn't slept in days. "You need to come back to the lair with me and play this stupid flute thingy."

"What?" April asked. "Have you been eating Meat Sweat's poisoned food again?"

"Please," Leo pleaded, grabbing April's jacket. "You have to make the music stop. I need it to stop. Anything would be better than this. Even Justin Bieber."

"Okay, okay. But you have to explain everything to me," April said, putting her hands in her pockets. She listened attentively as Leo told the story in discombobulated parts which didn't make sense. After many questions, she finally put everything together. "You think I can control this musical doohickey because I can play the clarinet? I can barely play Amazing Grace on that thing."

"Please, April. You're our only hope," Leo said, repeating the sentiment that had spurred him to save his family. "You're the closest thing we have to a master musician."

"Master musician?" April said, tapping her lips. "Oh, New Girl?"

"Come again?" Leo asked, wondering if he was starting to go insane.

"It's this girl I met today. I took her on a tour of the university," April said, before waving away the longer story. "Never mind. If we need a master musician, I have the perfect person for the job." She looked to the left and the right. "But she went home about ten minutes ago."

"Can you call her up?" Leo asked, putting his hands on his temple.

April winced. "That's the thing. I don't know her name or her number. I didn't think I'd see her again." Then a little detail popped in her head. "But she did say she took the subway here. Portal us to the nearest subway station."

Leo made a portal, and they jumped underground to an empty station, the train car just disappearing through the tunnel.

"Get us on that subway," April ordered her friend, slapping his shell.

Another portal put them on the last car of the subway.

"New Girl. Hey, is New Girl here?" April shouted.

The occupants of the car gave her apathetic looks although a few moved away as Leo collapsed on the floor.

"Ew, don't touch anything, Leo," Aprils said, picking up the turtle. "She's got to be on this subway, but in a different car."

Cracks had completely covered Leo's hands as he waved his sword, but it took him a little longer to make the next portal. They landed in a heap in the next car with April shouting for the mysterious girl before they teleported to the next car.

"Uh…I feel like mush," Leo groaned as April landed on top of him.

"New Girl!" April screamed, her desire to help her best friends pushing her lungs to the limit.

"April?"

April turned her head slightly to see the tall girl from campus giving her an odd look. A very odd look. Then her eyes lowered, taking in Leonardo.

"What th—"

"No time," April shouted, grabbing New Girl's hand. "We need you. Come on, Leo. Take us home."

Leo wobbled as he stood up, his swords swinging every which way and getting dangerously close to cutting someone. An elderly man who was asleep had one half of his mustache shaved off. A teen listening to music protested with profanity when his headphone cord was severed. A woman's fountain drink was punctured, spilling her soda all over the subway floor, in which she quickly covered the hole with a finger while sipping as fast as she could.

"Okay, Leo. Aim your swords here," April said, pushing and shoving Leo's body parts until he was aimed away from the subway occupants. "Open a portal."

Leo swayed as he swished one of his swords, and it took him a few times, but he finally opened it.

April pushed Leo into the portal, pulling New Girl inside as well. She grunted as she landed on Leo's shell with New Girl piling on top.

"April." It was Casey, helping Splinter into Donnie's computer chair. "Sensei."

"I'm your only hope," Leo said before going unconscious. Already the cracks in his skin had gone several inches above his wrists.

"Okay, I only received a drunken explanation as to the crisis, but as far as I can grasp, we need a master musician to break a spell," April said. "And I have brought a master musician. Ta da! What kind of music is that? And where is it coming from?" April looked around.

"It's the panpipes," Casey said. He covered his ears but it did little good. He pointed to the sound proof containment unit. "In there."

"Okay, New Girl, this way," April said.

But New Girl was rooted in place, staring down at Leo with a look of fear.

"It's okay. He's not that bad," April said, reaching for New Girl's hand.

New Girl jumped away. "These creatures. They were with the Krang."

"No, they're not," April said.

"I saw it on TV," New Girl shouted. "They were the green creatures with the Krang."

There had been multiple video footage of the turtles' fight with the Krang featured on Youtube and eventually on the news, and several "experts" had given their interpretation of what happened the fateful day.

"I don't have time to explain," April said. "Look, these guys are my friends, and they're about to die if you don't do something."

"Why me?" New Girl asked, her eyes still locked on Leo.

"Because you can play music. You have mastered an instrument," April said in a softer tone. "Please. I know it's asking a lot, but I promise you, they're the good guys."

New Girl looked up into April's eyes before nodding. However, as she followed April through Donnie's lab, she tiptoed and tried to make herself look small, eyes darting from one turtle to another, squealing at the sight of Splinter.

However, at the sight of Mikey—whose arms were almost completely covered with cracks—she stared at for a long time, her face softening.

"Are you sure, April?" Casey asked, his hands on the pressure lock wheel. "This thing is really powerful. I think Donnie's chamber is helping, and once I open it, it'll get stronger." He didn't mention his thoughts that Leo could have spread the spell to others while on the surface.

"We don't have any choice," April said. "Let her try."

Casey opened the door.

New Girl peered inside, tilting her head curiously as she spotted the tiny panpipes just inside the door of the chamber. She picked it up. "I don't know how to play this," she said, showing it to Casey and April.

Both of the humans present had their hands over their ears, pressing as hard as they could to block out the musical melody.

"Just try," April muttered. "Please. It's so loud."

New Girl shook her head. She couldn't hear a thing. She turned the panpipes over and over before putting it up to her mouth, blowing over each reed. She listened to each note, hearing a C scale before playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

"I don't think it's working," New Girl said, feeling completely useless as she watched Casey and April's pained faces. "What am I supposed to do? Is there a song I'm supposed to play?"

"You're supposed to master the instrument," Casey said, sifting through his muddled mind for anything that Michelangelo had once told him about magic. "Mystic energy is all about intent and confidence. Sometimes…all you need…is to believe." He collapsed onto his knees.

New Girl felt the weight of people relying on her, but she tried again. She blew a few songs that she could play in C Major, but was very limited with only a single scale. Most songs she could play were nursery rhymes or little ditties. Nothing seemed right for breaking a spell. Did she really think that? Was she really buying that she was holding magical panpipes.

"Okay," New Girl said, releasing a breath. "Intent. Confidence. You got this?" She blew on the panpipes, trying to get a sense of what kind of song she needed to play. And it was as if the song started playing in her head, a slow, melancholy song that played for a few measures before repeating. It wasn't long before she had the song memorized and she was able to play with the tune exactly on the panpipes.

The song became mesmerizing, drawing her in deeper and deeper, getting louder and louder in her mind. What kind of music was it? Something old. Way old. Was it Celtic? Or Scottish? Or even older than that?

She was being pulled farther and farther into the music, and if it wasn't for April nudging her, she might have fallen completely under the spell.

"That isn't helping," April said, her face a web of glowing cracks as her energy was slowly being siphoned away.

New Girl shook her head, pushing away the ethereal cloud that was threatening to take her over. "Get a grip," she told herself, thinking over the notes repeating in her head. "They don't sound like a song," she said out loud, hoping that voicing her thoughts would help. "It's not the melody."

"Melody?" April asked, trying to listen while fighting off the thrumming tune.

"It's usually the highest notes of a song or the soprano part," New Girl said. "Like when you sing with the piano, you sing the melody, but there are other notes that are played that are for the altos, the tenors and the bass. I don't know; I was never in choir. But usually everyone sings melody unless they know what they are doing. But these notes aren't the melody. They're…I guess the alto part and need the melody to make a harmony."

After she had spoken the words, she knew that was what the song was missing, and at the same time, she knew that that was what the panpipes didn't want. She listened to the song one more time, mapping the notes on a staff in her mind before blowing on the instrument to create a harmony. She played several, each time getting bolder by trying eighth and sixteenth notes to play with the rhythm, but in the end, nothing felt organic.

She needed confidence and intent. What she intended to do was to find a song that would stop the spell and to wake everyone up, but she didn't have the confidence with the panpipes. It wasn't her instrument. If only she had a violin.

Almost on instinct or perhaps there was a driving force directing her, but she stopped playing the panpipes and positioned her hands as if she were playing a violin, and in an instant, she was drawing a bow over the taut strings of the most perfect sounding violin she had ever heard. And better yet, it was just the right size for her hands.

Still listening to the song of the panpipes, she picked the perfect melody to harmonize with the reedy notes, creating a composition that was light and energetic, perfect to wake someone up. As the violin sang under her direction, she felt a thrill in her heart. This is what music was all about. There was true magic in each note. She played it over and over again, and after a while, the notes of the panpipe changed, slowing down and lowering in tone as if coming to an end. She followed, holding the last note.

When the violin's strings stilled, she opened her eyes to find several strangers—some she would have called monsters—staring at her.

One of the green ones with an orange mask began clapping. "Bravo! Bravo! Can you do The Devil Went Down to Georgia?"

April quickly ushered the strange, tall girl away, more for the new human's benefit rather than keeping the turtles' home a secret. Once she had finished playing the violin—which had once been a panpipe—she had only stared at the turtles and Splinter with a pale, sickly expression.

"I'll explain everything, New Girl," April said, pulling her away through the tunnels to find the nearest manhole cover. She didn't even consider asking Leo for a supernatural doorway out.

As for the turtles, they quickly recovered from their ordeal once the music no longer tormented them. When April and the other girl were gone, they converged upon the violin and watched it shift back to the battered panpipes.

"This is some serious mystic energy," Donatello said, poking the panpipes with his staff.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do with it?" Raph asked. "We can just leave it there on the floor and put caution tape over it."

"I think I have something," Splinter said, rushing to his room. He returned with an ancient-looking box with strange runes on it. He opened it, dumped out the five pounds of trash he kept inside it, and carefully scooped the panpipes without touching them. "There," he said, closing the lid. "This box is warded against magic, so as long as we don't open it, we should be fine."

"Why didn't you tell us about this when we were dying of music?" Donnie asked angrily. "It could have saved us a lot of effort."

"I couldn't think straight," Splinter said. "Could you think of anything while listening to that music?"

Donatello slumped. "Oh, I'm too tired to come up with any witty banter. Now everyone get out of my lab. I have important work to do selling our stuff on Ebay."

It might have been strange for any other family to go back to usual after almost being enslaved to a musical instrument, but not this family.

"Here, let me buy you a coffee or something," April said. "I can explain everything."

They had just climbed out of the sewers, and New Girl had a look of shock on her face that could only be described as seeing too much in too little of time.

"I think there's a Starbucks around the corner," Aprils said, trying to remember what was nearby.

New Girl shook her head, first to clear her thoughts, then to turn down April's offer. "No thanks. I think I'd just rather go home."

"Uh…are you sure? I mean, you just saw a bunch of strange stuff, and you're good with that?" April asked, surprised.

"Look, I just met you, and I can't imagine that we're going to see each other again," New Girl said, slowly backing away. "So, perhaps it would be best if I just forgot everything that happened."

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" April asked.

"Yes, and maybe it's a little bit of the shock talking, but perhaps curiosity is a bad thing in this situation," New Girl said. "I don't know you. I don't know what you and those freaky things are up to, and you say they're the good guys, and maybe that's true, but I can't be sure, and you know, watching all that stuff on TV with those pink Krang things really freaks me out and I'm not ready for…whatever it is that's going on with you. I have my own life to deal with and my own problems, and I don't think I can handle anything more."

April blinked since that was the longest she had heard New Girl talk in one go before shrugging. "Alright. I guess that's cool. I totally didn't see that coming, but if you're sure…"

New Girl was about to turn around and walk away when she spun around. "Wait, maybe not," she called out, biting her lip. Could she walk away? But strangely, it wasn't the idea of finding out more about the green men and the rat creatures or how they were connected to the Krang. It was the thought that she would never see that musical instrument ever again.

April turned around, an eyebrow cocked. "Tell you what. How about we exchange phone numbers, and when you're ready, we'll talk? Deal?"

New Girl bit her lip. "Okay." She pulled out her phone, typing in April's number and her name before giving her own number.

"Uh…I really don't know you're name," April admitted with a grin.

"Oh, right," New Girl said. "It's Irma."

April blinked. "What kind of name is that?" She had definitely been hanging around the guys far too long, realizing her bluntness too late.

Raph woke up with a start, feeling the familiar cold sweat and tensing muscles as he awoke from yet another nightmare. The feeling of succumbing to the panpipes' song hadn't helped. He hated the feeling of something controlling him, of not being able to protect his brothers.

He looked at the clock. It was five past two. He still felt exhausted, but wasn't ready to lay back down again as if the nightmares were lingering nearby for him to fall asleep.

Thinking that a snack might help, he left his subway car-turned-bedroom to search the fridge when he heard whimpering down the subway line. He skipped Leo and Donnie's car to the youngest turtle, finding Mikey muttering in his sleep while tossing back and forth. Unlike Casey though, Mikey was only having a bad dream.

"Wake up, Mikey! You're having a bad dream," Raph shouted roughly, shaking his brother awake.

Mikey screamed and twisted around as if prepared to fight an enemy. When he saw who it was, he scrunched his face up in anger. "Thanks for the help, Raph," he said sarcastically.

"Anytime. You're not the only one who could be called Dr. Delicate Touch," Raph said modestly as if he had done a good deed. "What's going on? You haven't had a nightmare in years."

"It's fine, Raph," Mikey said, grabbing his pillow and laying down. "Everyone has one once in a while. Now let me sleep."

Raph did leave, but he returned, holding something out. "I thought you might want to have him back, maybe. You always couldn't sleep after a nightmare unless you had him."

Mikey turned his head to find a floppy, fluffy dog toy. He pouted, turned his back to the toy but then snatched him away.

Raph smiled, closing the door behind him. He was heading back to the kitchen when he heard another sound, stopping in his tracks and sighing. He could help Mikey, but what could he do for Casey. Night terrors weren't the same as bad dreams.

But what if he could help them both in the same way?

He returned to his bedroom and brought out his newest and softest toy bear, heading to Casey's room. He watched Casey groan and struggle with his inner demons for a few seconds, slowly lowering the plushie within Casey's grasp.

The young man's hand brushed against the faux fur and grabbed it in a deathgrip. He tossed for a few more seconds before he settled down, relaxing until he was sleeping peacefully, burying his nose and eyes in the bear's faux fur.

"I can't believe that worked," Raph whispered, tiptoeing away. He yawned, feeling sleeping coming back to him without needing a snack.

And what of his own nightmare? Perhaps a stuffed toy or two would help him as well.

When he slumped down in his own bed, he grinned, thinking about the stuffed toys he had been collecting over the years, all the memories they represented, and how he still needed them to help his brothers. He then noticed a rather large space where another toy was missing from the pack.

"Leo, you better return Leatherhead in the morning," Raph called before turning off his bedside lamp.

(Author's notes: Back when TMNT 2K3 was still showing, I had gotten big into the show. I had started a fanfic about the turtles as children, but wanted to do something bigger by bringing Irma into the storyline. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the first fanfic and I didn't get around to the other one, but I still have all these ideas for Irma that I wanted to explore. When I saw Rise of TMNT, I couldn't help going back to rebooting an Irma character, this time trying for a story and background that would be completely different than the previous Irmas and my 2K3 story. I also didn't want to bring in a totally off-the-wall character because somebody has to be the straight man in all this insanity. Oh, Irma will eventually bring out her crazy side, but I thought it would be interesting to slowly bring someone into the turtles' world who wouldn't blend in quickly.

See you next time.)