I found the bathroom, located towels, and was happy to discover that all the fixtures in the shower were normal so that I wouldn't have to ask for help. I didn't see any shampoo or conditioner, which made sense since they didn't have hair, but there was body wash, which was good enough for me. I cleaned off, rinsed, and then got out of the shower feeling good as new. I got dressed quickly and then I ventured back towards the living room, listening for any signs of Raphael killing Mikey. I didn't hear anything, so I peeked around the corner to find a spotless kitchen.
How did they do that?
I had probably only been gone twenty minutes and the entire kitchen had been trashed when I left. I shook my head, smiling to myself at all the mysterious things I was discovering about the brothers.
I turned back around, almost jumping out of my skin as my eyes landed on Donatello who had come up behind me. I put my hand on my heart as it pounded.
"You scared me!" I cried breathlessly.
"I'm sorry." He replied sheepishly, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "I uh, have something for you."
He held up what I remembered as the phone-like device Splinter had ordered dinner on last night, only this one was a bit smaller. I took it, giving him a questioning look as I did.
"I developed phones for us to use. They get service down here in the sewer, and they are on a system that I set up myself, so our phone calls can't be tracked or located. Its for you, so you can, you know, get a hold of us if you need to. Originally, I had made it for Splinter, but he needed a bigger one, so I've had this one as an extra." He rambled, sounding nervous and not even looking me in the eyes.
"Thank you!" I said, grinning. "That's so sweet of you. Really."
I flipped it open, pressing buttons and trying to figure out how it worked.
"So I go here..." I said, showing him the screen. "...to find who I want to call, and then I press this and..."
A ringing came from Donatello's belt, and he pulled out a much, much larger version of the phone he had just given me.
"Very good." He praised me, sounding appreciative of the fact that I figured out how to use it all on my own so quickly. "I put in the codes for the front door in there too. There is a tracker built into the phone and it sends out a signal to our security system so that the alarms won't go off when you walk by them."
"Fancy." I commented as I studied the small device and pushed more buttons. "So you have a lab?" I asked, remembering what he had said earlier at breakfast.
He nodded.
"Can I see it?"
"Su-sure." Donatello stammered, appearing to be shocked that I was interested in such a thing.
He lead me down the hall to one of the closed doors I had yet to see inside of yet. There were about twenty monitors along the walls in the room. Some were turned off, but most of them were showing footage from the cameras inside of the sewers leading up to their home. There were three computers: a very old desktop, a newer desktop, and a newer laptop. There was also a wide array of things I had no idea as to what they were, and a big metal table that I assumed was where he tinkered. There were lots of random items scattered along the surface of it and the only open space was located in front of a lone stool.
"Wow." I stated as I admired the equipment. "You have got to let me game on these sometime. I would die of happiness. My computer kinda sucks."
"I could uh, take a look at it sometime." Donatello offered. "See if I can make it work better..."
"You'd be my hero." I said, giving him a kind smile. "So, what kind of things do you build? Besides cell phones." I questioned him with fascination.
"Uhm, lots of things." He said, shyly. "I fixed up or built all the appliances in our home. I make sure all of the alarm systems I put in throughout the tunnels are working. Most of the time I just toy around with ideas that I've had for, you know, useful inventions."
"That's awesome." I told him honestly, getting the feeling that his brothers probably didn't show much interest in these kind of things. I was just about to ask him about his current invention, when Mikey appeared in the door way.
"Donnie, if you bore Lily to death with your nerd speak then she'll never wanna come back." He said mockingly.
"I asked to see his lab." I retorted sharply, narrowing my eyes at the orange masked turtle and putting my hands on my hips. "I think its cool."
Mikey's eyes widened, and he held up his hands in surrender. Donatello beamed at me and then gave Mikey the biggest shit eating grin.
"So," I said changing the subject. "Where are Raphael and Leonardo?"
"About that..." Mikey said awkwardly. "Splinter stuck them in the Hashi."
"Again?" Donatello asked flatly.
"What?" I said, totally confused.
"The Hashi." Donatello repeated. "It's where Splinter makes us go when we've done something disrespectful, something that is against our training."
"Where is it?" I asked, still not understanding.
"It's deeeeep in the sewer." Mikey said dramatically. "It's pretty much a torture chamber."
"Ah." I replied, noting that even though Mikey was making it sound bad, he didn't seem too upset that his brothers were in there.
"Raph and Leo are in there at least once a week." Donatello explained as if he was reading my mind. "It's really not that big of a deal. They'll be out in a few hours."
"Hours?!" I exclaimed and Donatello nodded.
"I dunno about that this time though," Mikey said. "Splinter was pretty mad about what Raph did to Leo during practice. I overheard them talking."
"What Raphael did?" I asked. "You mean when he didn't shake Leonardo's hand after he won?"
"Yes," Donatello replied. "That's the highest form of disrespect you can show after defeating an opponent. Not to mention Leo is Raph's brother - his older brother - which only makes the disrespect Raph showed even worse."
All I could do was nod. It made sense.
"Yeah, super sucky... But, oh well! Wanna play some video games?" Mikey asked me, his voice so hopeful, I couldn't say anything but yes.
And so for the next few hours I hung out with the two younger turtles, enjoying both of their company very much. Donatello seemed much more comfortable around me now, and I found that he was just as funny and goofy as Mikey. I knew that I needed to go home, even though not one part of me actually wanted to. But, once Raphael and Leonardo got out of the Hashi, I figured there would need to be some family time. I didn't want to be any more of a distraction. I also still feared over staying my welcome, even though Splinter made it clear he didn't mind.
I broke the news to the brothers that I needed to head home and they both looked at me with sadness. I flashed the phone Donatello gave me and promised that I would see them soon. Donatello excused himself from the room as I gathered my things. They were going to take me home, since I knew I would have no idea how to get back on my own. Mikey and I were waiting by the door when Donatello finally came back with two cans of spray paint in his hands and a piece of paper.
"What are those for?" Mikey questioned.
"I mapped out the quickest route from here to Lily's apartment. We can mark the route with paint so that she can find her way back here without us if she ever needed to." Donatello explained.
"You're sweet." I said, glad that they obviously wanted me to come back again. "Thank you."
He muttered his reply, looking very embarrassed.
I hoped that they wouldn't make me ride on any skateboards this time, and I almost started to panic when Mikey grabbed one and started on his way. Thankfully, Donatello kept walking at my side as we left their home. He tossed the cans of paint to Mikey and ordered him to spray as we journeyed through the tunnels. The path didn't seem that complicated, as there were only a few turns that I needed to take. The rest was just going down long, straight passages. Eventually, we came to a manhole that Donatello said would lead to an alley about three blocks from my street.
"Hey." I said, something from earlier popping into my head. "Mikey, why did Raphael have to help you clean up after breakfast?"
Mikey gave me a sly grin. "Cause Raph asked me to make breakfast for you during practice, and I told him the only way I'd do it was if he helped me clean. I mean, I had been planning on cooking something special for you anyways, Lil. But then Raph asked, and he like never asks for favors, so I gotta milk him for all he's worth when he does."
I laughed, feeling pretty special that Raphael had done such a thing.
I thanked both the brothers for hanging out with me and getting me home safely. Mikey wasn't shy at all, wrapping me into his arms and lifting me off of my feet as he hugged me goodbye. When I embraced Donatello, at first he tensed up, but then finally loosened, returning my hug happily. I waved to them as I climbed out of the sewer and went back to the above ground world. I put my hand into my purse and clenched the phone, making sure it was still there.
I held it all the way home, hoping that the feeling of emptiness wouldn't stay with me for too long.