TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter Five, Book Three

Mel reloaded one of the pistols she'd smuggled and took aim at the wall. God she loved guns; they were like insta-kill bow and arrows. She spat out her dull bubble gum and squeezed the trigger.

Bam!

She hoped she was far away enough so the others (especially Splinter) didn't hear her… well, she knew that was impossible, but she hoped they at least would dismiss the noise if it was distant enough.

She approached the wall and examined the cracked brick. Yes, she'd aimed correctly. As usual.

She smirked; all her life the doctors had told her ocular albinism would destroy her eyes, but it had done the opposite, enhancing her vision while giving her some badass irises. She knew it wasn't normal, but hey, if it helped her see better, who was she to complain? Plus, purple eyes were gorgeous.

Mel took aim again and was about to shoot when something tapped her shoulder. She gasped and turned, pointing the gun at a petrified Leonardo. She sighed in relief and lowered the weapon. If she had to choose another colour for her eyes, it would definitely be blue. "We really need to establish some ninja-ing boundaries here, Leo." Had he followed her out here? She supposed that was alright; how else would she find her way back?

Leo was staring at her pistol. She glanced at it, then back at him. "Wanna give it a shot?" He looked at her with strained eyes, but his mouth was twitching. She grinned and placed it in his shaking hands. "It's not hard, and it won't kick, I have pellets in there, like the kind used in Beebe-Guns." She helped him hold the gun properly. "See that notch in the top? That's how you take aim. Then once you're done, squeeze the trigger." She tapped his finger.

Leo hesitantly took aim and fired. He was way off. "Try again." He fired again, and missed, worse than before. "Don't forget to aim." Leo took his time aiming before firing. Much better, but still mediocre. "Here," Mel said and dug through the bag full of guns she'd dragged along, pulling out a target, covered in dents. "Try to hit the center of this." She held it against the wall. Leo gulped.

"Aren't you going to move your hand?" he coughed, still not used to talking. Mel arched a brow.

"Why would I? You won't hit me." Leo hesitantly took aim, taking his time. He fired. He'd hit the target, but around the edge. "See? I told you ya wouldn't hit me," she sang and grinned.

They stayed there for a long time, how long, Mel and Leo weren't sure, but Leo's hands were starting to ache. His arms fell and he was panting. Mel took the gun and tucked it back in the duffle bag. "Let's take a break." Leo nodded and sat against the wall. Mel sat next to him. "Guns are a wild old time, eh?" Leo nodded, though he didn't really know what she meant.

"Splinter doesn't like them." He coughed again. Mel snorted.

"Neither did my mom, but that didn't stop me." Leo blinked, studying her.

"Where is she?" Mel glanced to her right.

"Jail." Leo arched a brow.

"What's that?" Mel slowly met his eyes.

"It's where bad people go." She took a breath. "Or really, really good people that don't conform to the norms of society." Leo blinked. Mel chuckled, "sorry, it's a place for bad people to be punished, or good people to be whipped into… average-ness, I guess." Leo didn't respond. Mel sighed. "It's hard to explain. Basically, my mom did something bad, and the police were like: bitch, no! And took her to jail." Leo thought this over for several minutes.

"She's still in your dimension?" Mel nodded. "Do you miss her?"

"Not really."

Leo arched a brow. "Why?"

"I'm a lone wolf, Leo, I don't miss anyone."

"What about Wayne and Quinn?" His confidence shocked Mel, but she blinked as if she'd expected his question.

"That's different." Intense silence. "You remembered their names?" Leo gasped and stared at her like she'd told him the meaning of life.

Mel studied him; she hadn't expected him to look like this, so real. He was handsome, despite being a mutant. His scales were such a pure green-turquoise, it reminded her of… well, the first time she'd seen him in action, TMNT 2012 Season One Episode One: Rise of the Turtles Part One. Mel sighed: it was so hard to think of them as real, because now, when bad shit happened, it really happened; it wasn't 'just a show' anymore.

Splinter really hated her. Karai had really tried to kill herself. Leo was really broken.

Though, on the positive side, Raph was really gay. She snickered.

"What?" Leo whispered. She shook her head.

"Never mind. C'mon," she hauled him up, packed up the bags, slung them over her shoulder, and motioned for Leo to walk her back to the lair, "I've gotta go to work soon."

"Don't leave." The sternness in his voice made her shiver.

"Huma?"

"Don't go," he demanded again. Mel arched a brow: this was new.

"Uh, I kinda have to, Leo. We need food, and to get food, we need money, and to get money, Wayne and I have to work." Leo processed this as if he'd just learned it.

"… There's no other way?"

"Nope." He pouted, and Mel nearly decided to call in sick. "Well… hey, it's cool man, I'll be back later." Leo's eyes brightened at this. Mel smiled as they took a left turn. "Would you feel better if I left you some books of mine or something? It must be boring in that room all alone."

Leo smiled like a child on Christmas. "I like books." Mel laughed.

"Me too; my Writer's Craft teacher always said: "expand your horizons, read another book." God I miss that class." They were half way back when Mel added; "I have about 300 books at home." Leo's jaw dropped.

"Can you take me back with you?" Mel doubled over; it wasn't what Leo had said, but the way he'd said it that caught her. Leo was staring at her when she finally calmed down. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, hah!" Mel bit her finger and held back giggles. "Oh, Leo, if only it wouldn't piss Splinter, and possibly Karai, the hell off, then absolutely!" She wrapped a jolly arm around his shoulders, "God I love it here." Leo had tensed at her touch, but after a few seconds of not feeling Keeper, he relaxed and pat her hand. Mel chatted, mostly to herself, as they walked back, and Leo smiled; his heart wasn't beating as fast as usual. He wasn't as nervous as usual. His hands were shaking, but they weren't sweaty. This was fine. He was fine.

Mel exhaled once she got back to the lair. Casey had waited outside the pizza place to walk her and Wayne back; she'd ended up liking him more than she thought she would. She'd been on edge all day; unable to shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Wayne had noticed immediately—bless his heart—and asked if she needed to head back early. Apparently her stress was evident, which was odd, considering Mel herself. She'd lost count of how many customers asked if she was alright. She took a deep breath: it was good to be home.

"Guess who's back," she sang and shuffled into the main room; the waterfall room. Mikey popped out from the pool and smiled at her.

"Hey Mel!"

"Hey, kiddo." She spun past him and subtly glanced in Leo's room. He was engrossed in one of the books she'd left for him; Jonathan Livingston Seagull. She grinned; that book would do him some good. She wandered on and found Karai sitting on the 'kitchen' counter as Donnie fooled with the sink—which was actually a hose he'd hooked up to the pool in a tin.

"So it was just clogged?" her voice was still husky, but at least she was talking. Donnie nodded and twisted the hose.

"The grime should shoot out once I've loosened the canals…" the minute he finished speaking, brown gunk shot out and exploded on Karai's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She toppled off the counter but Donnie caught her before she hit the ground. His next words were rapid-fire apologies and concerns, "Ohmygosh I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know it would do that! Are you okay?! Karai?!" Karai was half touching her stomach, blank faced.

Mel burst into laughter, catching their attention. "Oh my god, you guys have no idea how perfectly timed that was!" She slapped her knee. "That was better than when, than when," she weakly pointed to Karai, "when you called Leo stupid but adorable, and he got all dorky, then you swung at him at he was like;" Mel tried to mimic his expression, "WHAH! Hahah!" she toppled onto her back and gripped her gut, rolling around like a potato bug. "Oh my god, Karai, you're awesome!" she sputtered between bursts of laughter.

Karai studied Mel, and Mel was certain she was in for an ass-whipping when Karai started shaking. Mel forced herself to calm down before Karai got too upset. "Okay, okay, I'm calm now—pfft! No, Mel, stop that!" she took a breath, only to find Karai smiling under her bangs. Was… was she giggling? Mel arched a brow, biting her finger. "You—pfft—you okay, Karai?"

"Hahaha!" Mel blinked and stared at her: she'd never heard Karai laugh before; chuckle, sure, but not full out, uncontrollable laughter like this. "Hahahaha!" she bent over, smiling more than Mel had thought possible. Donnie was on the verge of panic.

"Oh my god, I broke her!" that sent Mel over the edge again: she fell right back onto the floor.

"Pfft! Hahaha! You, you broke—oh Don-Donnie, hah! Never change!" The girls carried on in ecstasy, none really sure why it was so funny anymore, only laughing out the fear and stress they'd been holding back. Donnie was frozen, he looked between Karai and Mel several times like they were cats prepared to pounce.

"What is it this time, Mel?" Splinter snapped, approaching with Quinn in toe, his ear twitching in annoyance. Mel gasped until she could form a decent sentence.

"THE SINK THREW UP ON KARAI!" She planted her face to the ground and muffled scream-laughter followed her statement.

"No way!" she heard from Quinn, who raced around to see, and followed in Mel's laughter.

The girls went to bed with sore jaws that night, but none of them cared: they were happy, goddamnit. Mel had loaned Karai a large, soft, black hoodie. The hood had little nubs that, according to Mel, were cat ears. Again, Karai marvelled in how good it felt to wear normal clothes, soft and tame; so unlike the skin-tight armour Shredder had designed for her. She preferred fighting in loose Gi.

Mel understood that. Karai sighed and lay on her back; Melancoly Hills, the girl whose name was literally 'depressing hills', could always understand, and make her laugh. Whose idea was it to name her that, anyway? She wasn't depressed or cynical… in fact, Mel was the happiest person Karai knew. Why was she so proud of a name that made her sound like the product of a hipster and goth parents attempt at originality?

Karai closed her eyes; no point in losing sleep over a name.

Shredder grinned at his new mutant posse: all he lacked was one final fighter. The skinny man.

"You're sick!" the Aikido instructor shouted. Griffin Lockhart. His mutation was quite gruesome; a slimy, transparent lizard with bulging yellow eyes and sickly blue skin. His organs were visible. His teeth were small and yellow, and he had two rows of them, with a sticky tongue that could double as a whip. Shredder had cut off one of his four fingers as a test, and was pleased to find it slowly regenerating. "You can't do this to us!"

"Silence!" Miles twisted his arm and held him still. Shredder nodded in approval. "Once all of you have learned your place, you'll aid my men in the recapture of the city." The city was anyone's game as of Kennedy's death. No one had done anything to assert dominance. Shredder had to make sure everyone knew he was still in charge. Especially the Kraang. In order to do that, he needed the most powerful mutants. There was a silver lining in Kennedy's death; he'd found all her old notes on the modified mutagen after some spare foot bots rummaged through her lake house. As well as some very intriguing ancient spells… "Now, Miles, Bradford, take our new recruits to the lab." He sneered; he would perfect the mutagen, and then he would be unstoppable, and Yoshi and those damn turtles would finally pay.

The mutants struggled against his lackeys as they 'escorted' them out. It would finally be better… he would finally get his revenge.

Quinn bit her lip as Mel fumbled around the kitchen, searching for the apple she'd set aside yesterday. Something was wrong with Mel; she never fumbled. And she was talking much more than usual; it was usually shocking to people when they found out Mel wasn't mute.

"Apple, apple, apple, apple, where did I put my precious apple?" she sang to herself. Quinn poked at her omelet; Mel would be alright, she always was. "Ah, there you are, precious," she muttered and held the apple in her mouth as she tied her shoe.

"Mel, why are you so talk-y today?" Quinn chewed a piece of the fluffy egg while Mel fumbled with the shoelace.

"Beffusss ffumffinfff wromm wiff," she finished tying her shoe and took the apple out of her mouth, "sorry, because something's wrong with the atmosphere."

Quinn swallowed. "Huh?"

"The air is thick and heavy today, don't you feel it?" Quinn arched a brow and focused on the air. Now that Mel mentioned it, it did feel rather… grey, and anxious today. "I just think something bad is gonna happen. No good vibes today." She shivered.

"You could always call in sick," Quinn suggested. She didn't know if staying behind would help or not, but at least she'd be able to keep an eye on Mel. And have someone to hang out with. Mel shook her head.

"I haven't even had this job for a month, Quinn, if I call in sick, I may as well quit." She sighed. "Besides, I like working; I get filthy moneys." Quinn laughed and took another bite of her omelet. Mel placed a glass of water in front of her, and the girls shared a knowing smile—Quinn hated white milk, and despite being a health fanatic, Mel never made her drink it, always letting her have the chocolate milk. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Quinn nodded and turned back to her breakfast.

Mel bundled up, two sweaters over her uniform, one giant winter coat, and heavy, durable winter boots with her work shoes in a plastic bag. She clipped a couple knives to her pants and slipped a sachet of Karai's blinding powder into her bra; just in case.

"Are you that paranoid?" Mel didn't face him, she didn't have to.

"Yep." Wayne sighed and slipped on his jacket; neither of them were good with the cold.

"I feel it too." Mel bit her cheek. "I was considering calling in sick."

"Quinn asked me to as well." They sighed in unison. "You brought weapons too, didn't you?" she teased. Wayne chuckled.

"One Kunai, Mel."

She laughed. "Oh, bullshit." Wayne shook his head.

"Okay, yeah, 20."

"That's more like it." They stood in silence until they couldn't afford to procrastinate any longer. With cautious eyes and tense muscles, Mel and Wayne walked to Antonio's Pizza Place, all too aware of the piercing glare that followed them.