Episode 12: Winks From the Past – Part 1

Ethan had never felt so tired in his life. Although it was ten in the morning, his furry face was so close to his bowl of cereal that he had to catch it on occasion from falling in. They had been searching all night long for the turtles and Splinter, but had found absolutely nothing. Kaela opened the fridge. "Morning, Ice Cream cat." she said sleepily as the big mushy creature meowed at her and offered her the frozen can of orange juice mix.

Kaela slowly closed the door and blinked blurrily garbed in her pajamas. It was Saturday and therefore she had no need to be in school, which was good. Kaela had recently gotten into a bad mood when it came to school. Being the only one who had to go didn't seem to be sitting with her quite right. She sleepily began stirring water and the orange mix together in a blender that she had found in the cupboards.

"This cereal is old." Ethan said. "I think this is maybe the cereal the turtles were using."

Kaela nodded, but likely hadn't heard a word that he was saying. Kaela had been nice enough to do most of the cleaning up of the turtles old lair. "The other day I threw out like twenty old pizza's from the fridge, I swear."

"Seriously?" Ethan asked. "I chucked a whole pile of them that I found under the couch the other day." He nearly missed putting his spoon of Crunchios into his mouth and half stabbed himself in the cheek with the spoon. He crinkled his nose at the feeling. A nap was already starting to sound really good to him.

"Where's Jess?" Kaela asked, pouring some of the now completed orange juice into a cup.

Ethan shrugged. Jess had been getting out of bed later recently. He could still remember those first few days being stuck in a mutant body that he didn't understand. It certainly wasn't an easy transition. "I'm sure she's still trying to feel better. Our lives have been so messed up recently it's a miracle that none of us are seriously damaged by it all." he twisted his spoon in his hand. His own mutation, Master Hamato's death, and now Jess' mutation were likely not easy at all. He rubbed at his eyes and tried to think of a way to cheer Jess up.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Jess appeared in the doorway. She had on her pajamas, but her tail could not be seen waving behind her, like Ethan's. Her mask was tied around her face, her snout long and sleek, her eyes blinking tiredly. "Morning, Jess." Kaela said. "Geez, I'm the only one without a tail now." she said sarcastically. "No fair."

Ethan appreciated that Kaela was attempting to make things a little more lighthearted as well. Jess sat down next to Ethan and didn't say a word. Her amber eyes met his and then she looked at the cup of orange juice that Kaela had just poured for her. She groaned.

"C'mon, Jess." Ethan said nudging her arm with his shoulder, "Being a mutant isn't so bad."

Jess drank a gulp of her orange juice and then wiped her maw. "It's not just that." She said, putting her forehead on the table. "It's Mako."

Kaela and Ethan looked at one another with confusion. "Um, he's related to all of this . . . how exactly?" Kaela asked.

"Please don't tell me that all of this is because you can't see him at school anymore." Ethan added quickly.

"No!" Jess said lifting her head up in annoyance. "He was there when I got mutated. He probably sold us out or something." She slammed her head onto the table again with a grimace. Ethan winced at the sound. "He tried to stop them, but well . . . he obviously failed."

Ethan nodded and slapped her on the back. She winced and glared up at him. "I know what will make you feel better." he said. "Let's do some practice. You and me in the dojo!" he said enthusiastically. "Let's see what's stronger – a fox or a red panda."

Jess mustered a smile. "Kay." she said.

"I am going to start reorganizing those scrolls." Kaela said, downing more of her orange juice. "And then maybe I'll clean something else while I'm at it." Ethan grabbed Jess around the arm and dragged her out of the kitchen and to the dojo. Even though both of them were in their pajamas, Ethan didn't really care. He grabbed her two kama's that were on the side of the wall and chucked them to her. She snatched them out of the air expertly and gave one of them a spin, as if trying to get the new feel of her weapons in her padded hands.

Kaela stepped in after them and opened the side door to get to the pile of scrolls she had left there. "Alright, you ready?" Ethan asked, picking up his naginata and giving it a quick spin. Jess nodded and lowered her stance, spinning her two kama's. Even with a new furry face, Ethan could still recognize the focused look she was giving him. It always appeared in training with Master Hamato. Now, with her sly features, it looked all the more intense. He prepared the end of his weapon and smiled at Jess, his tail twitching from side to side in anticipation of her attack.

She went on the offensive.

Ethan parried a blow with his weapon and then ducked under another one, sliding across the tatami on his knees before using his hand to propel him back up onto his feet. "Not bad!" Ethan said. She turned and jumped forward, locking Ethan's weapon in the air and the two struggled, pushing against one another. "Gotta say though," Ethan panted, trying not to lose focus, "I'm sure happy you aren't doing this for Shredder." Ethan seemed to have unintentionally made her more angry and she shoved him backward. Probably too soon to joke about that.

"So," Ethan continued, dodging another double stroke and a back kick as he worked his way towards the tree and around it's huge brown trunk. "'Are you and Mako a thing now or what exactly is going on with him?" Ethan knew it was maybe a touchy subject, and therefore a dangerous one to talk about right now, but he was curious. He desperately hoped that what he had said didn't come off as spiteful.

Jess' eyes didn't flash and her blows became a little less sturdy as she struck again against the blade end of his naginata, throwing it out of her way. "I dunno." She said quietly. "It was just a stupid fling, I guess."

Their weapons locked again so their faces were only inches away from each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan could see Kaela tinkering with the scrolls on the floor, rolling some of them up and returning them. He turned his focus back to Jess, "You said that he tried to stop it all from happening, so he's gotta have a soul after all, right?" He tried to shove her backward and gain footing, but she maneuvered her body around so that his back went to the tree, cutting off his route and angled her kama blades so he couldn't break away.

The two inches their way towards the tree, neither giving, their hands clenched tight around their weapons, their feet sliding against the tatami, arms shaking from the effort. "He tried." Jess agreed. "But, I don't know exactly how hard. Not to mention he was in the enemy lair. I dunno, Ethan. It's complicated."

"I get that." Ethan's mind had turned to Karai where it had rested itself at least once an hour. Now that Ethan had confirmed that she was being controlled by one of those disgusting brain worm things, it was almost unbearable staying here doing nothing. But they had run into one too many traps and Ethan was not ready to get themselves into another one. He wasn't going to take one more failure from his team. He wasn't going to disgrace Master Hamato.

Jess suddenly gave and twisted, throwing Ethan off balance and he fell to the floor, his naginata skidding across the tatami, his chin slamming hard against the ground. "Ow." He muttered through his pointed teeth, thankful that he hadn't bitten through his tongue.

"You let me win on purpose to make me feel good." Jess said, swishing her big bushy white tale and smirking. Her usual smirk comforted Ethan, but it looked far too good on a fox's lips. She helped him back up and Kaela, seeing that they were done returned to the room.

The scrolls had been organized and put into separate slots. "So," Kaela said happily, "Since it's Saturday, is anyone up for another Narcissist King marathon. Ethan and Jess groaned as if she had made a horrible joke and turned their back on her.

They flipped through the channels, hoping for a new show for the rest of the day until night fell and the filtering light from the high gratings vanished into starlight. Ethan couldn't help but feel incredibly creeped out in the sewers at night. That was something he was just going to have to get used to. The three of them were in the living room. The TV was on, but nobody was watching. Kaela was slumped on the couch, fast asleep. Ethan yawned himself and Jess sat on the floor, focused on it as if she was seeing something Ethan couldn't see.

Finally, Jess looked up at Ethan. "I can't stay here." she said.

"What?" Ethan replied, feeling his heart jump with shock.

"I mean tonight." She clarified. "I haven't left the sewer for a few days. I just want to be out alone tonight. Feel the fresh air y'know."

Ethan shook his head, "I don't know if that's a good idea. What if Shredder catches you? Or the Purple Dragons?"

Jess raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, what if Shredder catches you?"

Jess sighed, "I'll stay close to the sewers and I will call you if I am even remotely worried. I will run no matter what – no fighting. Please?" She put her hands into a ball and let her lower lip protrude out.

Chuckling, Ethan finally nodded, "Kay, fine. But only a couple hours, okay?"

"Deal."

Jess stood up and stretched, adjusting her bandanna on her face and her belt around her waist. Ever since the two had been mutated, neither hardly every took off their bandanna. Kaela on the other hand had her yellow one hung up nearby with a magnet on the fridge. She hadn't worn it since they had fought at Shredder's weapon room several days ago. Jess gave a final wave, snatched up her kama's and sheathed them in her belt and ran past he barriers and out into the railroad. Ethan couldn't help but immediately feel nervous. If he wasn't so tired and if he didn't feel so bad for his sisters recent mutation, he was positive he would have refused.

Ethan yawned.

Suddenly the alert went off, the red light from the lab flaring again and Ethan jumped out of his seat, falling onto the ground. Kaela snorted and woke up, "Wha, what's that?" she muttered, grabbing as if to get her weapon even though it was an entire room away.

Ethan jumped up and ran to the lab, stopping at the computer. He grabbed the monitor and pulled it closer to him. Most of the camera's had been damaged by Rocksteady's flamethrower, but Ethan saw from one of the intact ones for only a moment a girl, blonde highlights at the back of her hair, black bangs hanging around to frame her pale face, red make up making jagged shapes over her eyes.

Karai.

He quickly shut the monitor off as Kaela stumbled into the entryway of the lab. The alarm shut off at Ethan's request. He looked up at her. She blinked and rubbed at one of her eyes, suppressing a yawn as she spoke, "What was that?" She asked.

Ethan shook his head with a shrug, trying not to give himself away. "I dunno." he said. "Looks like a big rat or something." He said. Kaela raised her eyebrows, "Not Splinter big." Ethan corrected. "Just some stray. Maybe it was a cat or something that got into the sewers."

Kaela nodded and turned back towards the couch. As she laid back down against the arm rest, Ethan slowly walked over to the dojo and grabbed his naginata from where he had placed it on the wall and then returned to the living room where Kaela had once again closed her eyes. "I'm just going to go check it out. It's not very far. Plus, I have an idea where uh . . . the keys might be to the um . . . vehicles."

"Kay, be careful. How long will you be?" Kaela yawned again and tucked her arm under her neck, situation herself more comfortably on the sofa.

"Ah, fifteen minutes or something." Ethan said, his feet guiding him out through the barriers.

Karai was close, and Ethan knew exactly what he needed to do. It was time to get that brain worm out of her head. "Be careful." Kaela said sleepily as Ethan walked around the corner and down into the red glow of the lights out in the tunnel.

Jess ran across the rooftops. She had taken quite a while to get out of the sewers and onto the New York streets, but she was surprised how accurately Ethan had described being a mutant. Seeing, hearing and smelling had all seemed to triple which was positive for her feet, and when she was running past the oil refinery it was awful for her nose.

She had tried to memorize the streets and hoped that she had gotten it right. Once she reached the High School and the abandoned tennis courts, she knew that she was on the right track. The Purple Dragon territory wouldn't be far from here. If she remembered right, it wasn't far from April O'Neil's house. She put on a burst of speed at the sight of another landmark that she recognized.

Her feet pounded against puddles. It seemed to have continued to rain on and off ever since she had been mutated, like some sort of omen. She ignored it. Jess, what are you doing? She asked herself this over and over again, but tried to ignore her own thoughts. In reality, she had no idea what was driving her to the Purple Dragon's hideout. All she knew was that she wanted to see Mako. Maybe confirm that he had miraculously quit the purple dragons and had become a vigilante to fight crime. Maybe he could even come with them to the sewer and help them defeat Shredder and the Foot clan. She laughed aloud at the "fairly tale ending" she had cooked up. She had been reading too much of her books again.

Finally, she saw the disgusting restaurant and warehouse where Mako had taken her on a date to. She could still remember the details of that stupid, stupid night. How had she not seen that he was a Purple Dragon? He had a purple dragon tattoo on his arm for crying out loud! She paused at one of the rooftops and looked down on the darkened streets. Tiny rain droplets plopped around her, but they did not gather into a steady stream.

In the streets, figures in black vests or with studded bracelets walked around like they all owned the place. Shiny cars that were likely stolen were found on the sides of the road and some of them laughed aloud at something someone had said and vanished into the light of the restaurant. Jess couldn't see Mako anywhere among them.

Wishing she had brought a hoodie to cover her ears and her white, furry face, Jess jumped down to the ground level, hiding in the darkness of the alleyway. She inched her way to the restaurant window and peered in. A few groups of guys and one girl with long black hair and gloves sat in one of the corners talking. A waiter was busily serving them drinks, but Mako's purple tipped spikes were nowhere to be seen among the heads of the guests.

She turned to the warehouse curiously. Knowing that there as no real other place that she knew of to check, she checked the road to make sure the coast was clear and then sprinted across the asphalt until she had reached the huge heavy doors. They were open slightly and she managed to squeeze herself through the crack.

She wasn't alone in the room and she quickly ducked behind a pair of boxes. Huge scorch marks covered the floor, the walls and the ceiling had massive holes in it. She was pleased to see that the fire had done serious damage to their already ugly hideout.

She peeked over the boxes to see who the other figures were.

One she recognized immediately.

Why does Hun wear sunglasses in the middle of the night!?

Jess couldn't believe the wannabe Korean pop star was there with his usual pointed boots and spiked studded knuckles. Standing next to him was the boy Jess had hoped she would find.

Mako.

He looked guilty as he shifted his weight from foot to foot and glanced up at the door every once in a while as if expecting Shredder himself to burst through the door in any moment. "Do I make myself clear Mako?" Hun asked snidely.

Mako nodded slowly, "Yeah. I'll see if I can find their sewer home or whatever."

He didn't sound so certain, but the fact that he said it at all made Jess want to punch him in the face. Mako shifted his foot again as if he was desperately hoping that he would be dismissed. "Do not disgrace the Purple Dragons anymore." Hun said shaking his head in disappointment.

No need any help from Mako. Jess thought sarcastically to herself.

Suddenly the metal doors slammed open and Jess jumped, pressing herself against the boxes in the darkness as someone she wished she never had to see again walked through the doorway.

A huge tiger with an eye patch, a cut off tail, a scarf and a lot of ammunition strapped across his chest for his gun that sat at his side, holstered for now. On his back was the jet-pack he usually had and the machete, sheathed.

Tigerclaw.