Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the property of Viacom, Nickelodeon, Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and all organizations associated with said names. This is non-profit.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Exile
by BrownEyedBirdie
Author's Note: I'm back! I know I'm super late and, as much as I want to explain myself and the reasons behind my delay, that's not why you came. So I'll just say it was a very emotional and painful week. But I'm back now and I'll do my best to get myself back on schedule. Weiterlesen!
Chapter 19 – Rerun
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Mikey, will you cut it out!" Casey hissed.
"I'm sorry," Mikey said. He flipped over again, his shell thumping against the floor.
"Sleep, I wanna sleep," Casey moand and buried his head under the pillow.
"Pfft," Mikey said, "You try sleeping with a shell, dude."
"I'd crawl inside it like a normal turtles," Casey said and threw his pillow at Mikey. Mikey ducked and the pillow sailed across the room, smacking Donnie in the face.
"Hey!" Donnie said, "What's your deal Jones?" He threw the pillow back and Casey caught it easily.
"Ask Mikey," Casey said. He rolled over and buried his head under the pillow again.
"Okay," Donnie drawled slowly, "Mikey, not that I don't enjoy a little "Casey harassment," but what's up?"
"Me," Mikey said.
"Dreams again?" Donnie asked.
"No," he replied, "I just can't fall asleep. My mind won't shut off."
"Welcome to my life," Donnie said. He patted Mikey on the shoulder.
"How do you stand it?" Mikey said, "I mean, I've never had this problem before. My brain is really chilled at night. And you manage to sleep despite your big brain."
Mikey flinched. Donnie stared at him narrowly.
"No offense," said Mikey lamely.
"Right," Donnie sighed, "My trick is getting my mind to just use up all its energy. That's why I usually do coding or programming; it's mindless work that wears it out."
"Not much chance of that for me," Mikey said.
"We've all had a lot to cope with lately, Mikey," Donnie said, "You need something midless."
Mikey frowned.
"How?" he asked, "No video games, no skateboarding. Not even TV."
"We have TV," Donnie said, "Why not watch the news or a late night movie. Infomercials are usually pretty mindless."
Mikey sighed.
"To be honest," he said, "I miss cartoons."
Donnie thought for a moment and then smiled.
"I have an idea," he said, "And since I'm awake and need something mindless too, I can help."
"Well, do it quietly" Casey growled. Mikey and Donnie looked at the sleeping teen and then grinned at each other. They crept out of the room. A flickering light from the bedroom across the hall was the only indication of Raph's presence with Leo. Donnie poked his head in the room. Raph was sitting next to Leo, his face staring intently at a magazine April had picked up for him. He looked up and opened his eyes in question. Donnie waved thumbs up and Raph nodded. Donnie and Mikey continued downstairs and into the front room.
"Okay," Donnie said, his face beaming with anticipated joy, "Let's see if we can find a little cure for Mikey's insomnia."
"I'd rather you found a way to help my staying awake," Mikey said. Donnie rolled his eyes. He retrieved a screwdriver from the tool kit in the hallway closet and turned the television around.
"Dude," Mikey whispered, "What if you blow it up?"
"Hey remember who got the TV working back at the lair at the age of 8?" Donnie asked, slightly offended. Mikey nodded but still cringed as Donnie removed the back of the TV.
"Whoa," he said, "I haven't seen a set like this except in old black-and-white shows."
"Lame," Mikey said. Then looked thoughtfully at the TV.
"Hey D, that reminds me. I've been wanting to ask you because you know so much."
Donnie smiled proudly.
"When did the world get colored?"
Donnie blinked.
"What?"
"The world," Mikey repeated, "When did it get colorful? I mean, the TV shows and movies you and April sometimes watch, they're all blackand white."
Donnie smacked his head and cursed as the screwdriver handle left a red welt.
"I'll explain some other time about black-and-white and colored TVs," Donnie said, "I thought you were hoping for mindless TV?"
"That was before you decided to take it apart," Mikey whined.
"I'm only adjusting the tuner," Donnie said, "I think this TV was used mainly for news and probably movies. But a little chewing gum, a little tinfoil and…"
There was a zap and the smell of burnt ozone. Donnie smiled. Mikey fell backwards.
"Perfect," Donnie said. Mikey stared in shock.
"You killed it!" Mikey cried. Donnie quickly shushed him.
"It's not broken," Donnie said, "Give me a second." He bolted out of the house. Mikey stared miserably at the still smoky wiring.
"Poor TV," he said, "And you had so much promise." He reached out to pat the set sadly, as though it were a pet.
"April and Donnie just got things all worked out and speaking again," he said, "And now that Donnie broke you, she'll get mad again."
"Please don't go!" Mikey cried and threw his arms around the set.
"Are you serious?" Donnie said.
"You killed it," Mikey repeated, sniffling and eyes streaming tears.
"Mikey, the TV is fine," Donnie said, "I just opened up the antenna connector." Mikey blinked as Donnie held up a long coil of copper wiring.
"Using this," Donnie continued, "We should get a few more channels coming in clearer."
"Why not just get cable?' Mikey asked.
"I'm not going to steal cable," Donnie said, "That's illegal."
"You stole the electricity," Mikey said.
"That was different. That was about survival. This is a luxury."
Mikey gave a pout as his suggestion of a satellite died on his lips. Donnie's fingers strung the coil of wire through the tubes of the TV like wool on a spindle. Mikey quietly admired how his older brother's thick fingers, so callused from his bo and his mechanical building, could still work something so delicate in such small places. Mikey smiled as Donnie's tongue poked out from the corner of his mouth. His eyes stared in focus and Mikey realized his older brother wasn't even aware of anyone else now.
"There!" Donnie said with a final spin of the screwdriver.
"Dude, your fingers," Mikey said, spotting the red burns on the pads of his fingers.
"Oh, those are just minor burns," Donnie said, "Barely even that. It's from the electric spark. The tubes were still hot."
"Don't they hurt?" Mikey asked, looking closely at them.
"Not really," Donnie replied, "I barely feel them, to be honest. They'll probably be a little sensitive at training, but I'll be fine. Not the first time I've been burned. And definitely won't be the last."
Donnie checked a few more connections and replaced the back of the set.
"There," he said, "Let's see what we got. Mikey?"
Mikey returned from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of water and an ointment.
"Master Splinter taught me how to care for burns," Mikey said. He handed Donnie the water and Donnie slipped his fingers into the dish. The cool water was surprisingly soothing and Donnie sighed. Mikey grinned at him.
"What made Sensei teach you about caring for burns?" Donnie asked.
"Oh, I burned myself once," Mikey said, "First time I was cooking with the oven, my knuckles touched the rack. It hurt for a couple of days and then just itched a lot."
Donnie sat quietly for a few more minutes. Mikey handed him a towel and Donnie dried his hands.
"I found this in the cupboard," Mikey said, "It should still be good since it was stored so well."
"Aloe vera," Donnie said, spreading a generous portion onto his fingers. Then he grinned at his brother.
"Thanks, Mikey," he said, "How about we check out what we got on TV?"
So far from the city, there were mostly local channels, but they discovered a few new ones, including an all movie channel, playing an old black-and-white one Donnie was fond of.
"Hold on," he said, "I like this scene."
Mikey sat on the couch and tried to figure out just what Donnie found so interesting about the antics of two grown men trying to insult and undermine each other. Then Mikey saw the female lead and realized the attraction. He wondered which one Donnie identified with more; the one with the large ears or the one with the longer nose.
"Okay," Donnie said as the screen faded into a commercial, "Let's see what else."
They flipped through more channels until something caught Mikey's attention.
"Go back two channels," he said quickly. The channels flipped back onto a scene of a trio of stranger people. One looked female, bluish skinned and had black hair. Beside her was a bulky helmeted monster. Ahead of them was a muscular human with light brown hair and dressed in a blue tunic and boots.
"Ride, ride," the man shouted.
"We do ride, Crognard," the female said, "But you haven't told us where we are going. My magic isn't tingling."
"Graah," the helmeted creature said.
"We ride to adventure," Crognard said.
"What in the name of Darwin's theory is this?" Donnie asked. Mikey was starry eyed.
"The coolest thing since Super Robo Mecha Force Five!" Mikey said.
"Are you serious?" Donnie asked.
Mikey stared at the screen, clearly unaware Donnie was even still in the room. Donnie rolled his eyes but smiled. He sometimes envied his brother's innocence and sweet-nature; it seemed idyllic to be able to be unaffected by cynicism and logic and look for the best in everything.
"We will fight against evil!" Crognard roared as he reared his steed at the top of a hill.
"This. Is. Awesome!" Mikey squealed. Donnie pulled out his phone and typed in a search.
"Crognard the Barbarian," he read out, "Early 80s cartoon from Auman Murakami Enterprises, Inc. It follows the adventures of Crognard as he journeys across the land to destroy evil of Megalord Zarrik.
"This is so…" Mikey searched for words.
"Juvenile?" Donnie supplied, "Corny? Badly animated? Poorly written?"
"Oh come on," Mikey said, "You're dissing this when you watch that corny black-and-white stuff with two guys trying to out snark each other for a girl?"
"Hey," Donnie grumbled, "At least it has some lasting value. Those movies are classics. You weren't even born for this stuff."
"Like you were around for the black-and-white?" Mikey said, "You have color, dude. Green."
Donnie opened his mouth but decided it was a useless fight. Mikey nodded proudly and turned back to watch the remainder of the episode. As the credits rolled, a voice came over the channel.
"Join us at 8 pm Eastern Time for Crognard the Barbarian," the announcer said, trying to come across as epic and excited. But as the clock chimed midnight, Donnie found it only a reminder of familiar bravado and attempts at super hero talk.
"Looks like nostalgia's a powerful thing," Mikey said safely, "All the old shows are coming back. I bet Leo would like this too."
"Doesn't that announcer remind you of Leo?" Mikey asked, voicing Donnie's thoughts, "You know, when he triest to sound like Captain Ryan."
"Yeah," Donnie said. Both chuckled as they thought back to times when Leo's impression would be particularly grating.
"D," Mikey said, "Is Leo ever going to wake up?"
"It depends on how badly he's hurt," Donnie said, "I wish I could get a good look at his internal condition."
"Maybe you can."
April's voice made them jump. She stood at the top of the stairs.
"Sorry," she said, "I should have said something."
"Did we wake you too?" Donnie asked. April smiled at him warmly. She wrapped the quilt around her shoulders and Donnie returned the smile.
"No," she said, "I'm still such a light sleeper when I'm not in my own bed."
"What did you mean about Leo?" Donnie asked. April smiled grimly but with a determined air.
*()()()*
And another chapter down. I'll have the next one posted later Easter Sunday, assuming I have the chance to get it typed up. If not, definitely be on Monday evening. I'll see you all then.