A/N: Forgot to mention at the beginning, but this story is set about halfway through the first season, right before "The Pulverizer" so human stuff is still pretty much foreign to the turtles. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and again, please review!
Chapter 3
*beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep*
Donatello groaned and slapped his alarm clock until the incessant noise ceased. It was far too early. He needed a few more hours to catch up on his lost sleep from the night before. He was about to roll over and forget about the alarm, when he heard a too-cheerful knocking on his door.
"Donnie! Come on, time to get up!" came Leo's voice through the wooden door.
Donatello knew from experience it was pointless to resist, so he shouted, "Coming!" and rubbed his eyes. That's when he felt it. Eyelashes. Eyebrows. The bridge of a nose. And too many fingers. In a flash, the strange events of the night before flooded into his mind. How could he have forgotten? Today he was going to analyze that Kraang substance and find some answers to their strange new mutation.
Blearily, Donnie reached for a coffee cup sitting on his bedside table. He wasn't sure how many days it had been sitting there, but he glanced inside it anyway. Empty. He heaved himself into a sitting position. Before he did any researching, he would need to brew a pot of coffee. Strong coffee.
As he stood up, the concrete floor felt cold on his bare feet. He was about to open the door when he glanced down at himself and realized he had removed most of his clothes before crawling into bed the night before. Searching around the room, he located the brown shirt and shorts he had tossed on the floor, and for the first time in his life experienced the common human ritual of getting dressed in the morning. It took him a minute to figure out how to tell if the shirt was backward or not, but he decided the pocket went in the front. Lastly, he grabbed his mask and shoved it halfway onto his head, not bothering to place it properly over his eyes, before grabbing his coffee cup and heading out the door.
In the hallway he met Mikey and Raph, who had just emerged from their own rooms. Mikey had his mask hanging around his neck and looked like he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. A grumpy-looking Raph was holding Spike in one hand. The little turtle looked as sleepy as the boys felt.
Suddenly Leo appeared before them, eyes bright, and a broad smile on his face. Both his katanas were drawn, and he looked ready for anything.
"Time for some morning practice! What do you guys think?" he said cheerfully.
In response, Mikey, with his eyes still glued shut, opened his mouth wide and let out a protesting noise that sounded like, "Bleeaaaahh!"
Raph grunted his usual morning communication and Donnie mutely pointed to his empty coffee mug and then toward the kitchen, indicating that training would not be possible until he had some caffeine in his system.
"Aw, come on, guys!" Leo insisted. "We have to find out if our ninja skills are still up to par, now that we're human."
"Personally, I would rather find out how we became human in the first place, and whether the change is permanent," said Donnie.
"And I'm not doing anything until I feed Spike his breakfast," added Raph.
Mikey visibly perked up at the mention of breakfast. His blue eyes popped open and, seemingly suddenly full of energy, he bounded toward the kitchen with the exclamation, "Oooh, I'll make breakfast! Who's up for omelets?"
Trying not to trip over his weird feet, Donnie followed, calling out, "Just don't put any algae and worms in it this time!"
Mikey poked his head back out through the kitchen curtain. "Why not?"
"One, because they're disgusting," Donnie said as he entered the kitchen. "And, two, humans don't eat algae and worms, so we probably shouldn't anymore." He was actually pretty sure it wouldn't do them any harm, but was grateful for any excuse to forego the revolting flavor.
Mikey, unfazed, simply said brightly, "Alrighty, then, I'll make a pizza omelet!" And he set to work cracking the eggs.
Donnie got the coffee brewing and popped a couple pieces of bread into the toaster as Raph came in and found some lettuce for Spike.
"Where's Leo?" asked Mikey as he chopped up bits of leftover pizza. Their oldest brother hadn't followed them into the kitchen.
"Went to talk to Master Splinter," mumbled Raph. Not trusting Mikey's culinary concoction, he poured himself a bowl of cereal.
"Isn't this the awesomest thing ever?" Mikey exclaimed excitedly, stirring the contents of the frying pan.
"What?" asked Raph, who was becoming less grumpy as the food reached his stomach.
"Being human, of course! I've always wondered what it was like."
"I think it's weird," grunted Raph, frowning. "I miss my old, handsome self."
Mikey snorted and Raph took a swipe at him, which his younger brother easily dodged. Years of experience taunting his brother had made him quick on his feet.
"Seriously, though, Donnie, how long do you think it will take you to find a cure?" asked Raph sincerely.
Donnie spluttered into the coffee he was drinking. "A cure?" he said, surprised. "Well, I – "
Before he could come up with an answer, however, Leo stuck his head into the kitchen. "Hey, guys, Splinter wants us all in the dojo for training."
"What? Now?" asked Donnie, incredulous. "But I need to go to my lab and analyze – "
"Now!" said Leo sternly, disappearing from view.
Mikey looked sadly at his half finished plate of eggs, then shoveled it all into his mouth in one gulp and followed his brothers quickly out of the kitchen.
Splinter stood under the tree in the dojo, surveying his four sons as they knelt on the well-worn rug in front of him, looking up at their father with a mixture of expectancy and apprehension on their faces. Taking a deep breath, Splinter attempted to quell the conflicting emotions rising within his chest at the sight of his sons – his now human sons. For more than fifteen years he had raised his boys, hidden them, protected them from the world he knew would never accept them. All those years he tried desperately, within his limited means, to give them some semblance of a normal life, despite being isolated in the sewers. It had always pained him to know that there were so many things his sons could never have. And now, here they were – normal humans. Finally an opportunity had presented itself for the world to see his boys the way only he could see them – not as freaks, but as people. People with talents, dreams, and ambitions. People with desires, interests, and so much potential. Finally, they could have so many of the things he had always wished for them, and what did he feel? If he was honest with himself, the first thing he felt was jealousy.
For fifteen years Splinter had harbored a secret desire that someday he might regain his humanity. He had shoved it down into the deep recesses of his mind, choosing instead to focus his attention on raising his boys, on giving them the best life he was capable of. Yet the desire was always there, and it had been rekindled recently when Donatello mentioned his idea to create a retro-mutagen, though as of yet, his son had not discovered how to succeed in this experiment. The idea that the turtles could obtain humanity had not once been discussed, for none of them had ever considered there to be the remotest possibility of that happening. And yet, here they were, four human boys; and here he was, still a rat.
"Uh, Sensei, are you OK?" Leonardo ventured to ask, his voice tentative and quiet.
Splinter shook himself out of his reverie and, coming back to the present, remembered that his boys were patiently waiting for his instructions. Shoving his shameful emotions deep inside, the ninja master chose to approach the situation with practicality.
"Yes, Leonardo, I am fine." Splinter cleared his throat. "Now, we have a very unusual situation to confront."
Raph snorted in a way that clearly meant, That's an understatement! Splinter ignored him.
"Now, before we proceed, will you boys please give me a more thorough account of what happened last night?"
The boys glanced at each other a couple times before launching into a detailed, if rather disjointed account of their encounter with the Kraang the night before, ending with their unexpected transformation.
"Donatello, you will do your best to discover the nature of this substance and the conditions of your new mutation?" Splinter asked when they had finished their tale.
"Hai, Sensei. I plan to take it to my lab directly after training."
Splinter nodded. "And in the meantime, tell me, how do the four of you feel about your new state of being?"
Mikey answered instantly. "It's awesome! I have four new toes!" He wiggled them proudly for Splinter to see. "Wanna hear what I named them?"
Splinter chuckled at his youngest son's exuberance. "Perhaps later, Michelangelo," he said quietly.
"Well, I don't think it's awesome," interjected Raph with a frown. "This body feels all weak and vulnerable. I liked being a turtle." He folded his arms across his chest. "I just hope it doesn't take Donnie too long to find a cure."
Splinter raised an eyebrow at this, and noticed Donnie looking at Raph with a nervous expression. "And what about you, Donatello?"
Donnie fidgeted with his fingers in his lap. "I'm not really sure yet, Sensei. I'm still getting used to the idea." Splinter nodded and turned to Leonardo, who bore a confident expression.
"I'll know whether I like this new body when I test it out in the dojo," he said, looking eager to put his words into action.
"Yeah, come on, Sensei, let's get to training," said Raph.
Splinter smiled at his sons. How was it possible for them to look so strange, and yet so familiar at the same time? Though their faces were different, he could see their feelings as clearly as ever: Leonardo's desire to please his father, Raphael's thirst to prove himself, Michelangelo's eagerness for action, and Donatello's distraction. His genius son's mind was clearly already in his lab, planning his experiments.
Agreeing that their conversation was over, Splinter began running them through familiar katas, watching them closely and patiently as they tried to discover their new center of balance and tested the strength and flexibility of their new muscles. Eventually, satisfied that they were gaining confidence, the ninja master decided it was time to practice fighting, so he paired his boys up: Leo with Donnie, and Mikey with Raph. As the boys took up their fighting stances, he called out, "Hajime!"
Michelangelo pulled one of his nunchuks from his belt and began dancing around Raphael. Raph twirled his sai, but stood firmly, his bare toes digging into the rug beneath him. He would never admit it out loud, but he did not yet trust himself to move quickly without stumbling over his stupid human feet. He rather admired how quickly the nimble Michelangelo had gained mastery over his new body.
Raph took a jab as Mikey danced nearer to him, but his little brother flipped out of the way. He could hear the sounds of his other brothers sparring behind him, but he focused his attention on the fast-moving boy leaping toward him. This time he managed to land a punch on Mikey's shoulder, but his brother retaliated with a powerful kick to his nose. Raph reeled back a pace and a half, shocked by how much it had hurt. He growled in frustration, rubbing his nose. A smear of blood appeared on his hand when he pulled it away. Stupid human nose!
A few feet away, Mikey was taunting him. "Oh yeah! Big, bad Raphael is no match for Pinky and Stinky, Jr.!"
"What?" growled Raph, anger and annoyance rising in his chest.
"Pinky and Stinky, Jr.! Those are the names of two of my new toes!" Mikey held up his foot triumphantly in Raph's face. "Pinky because, well, it's kind of pink, and Stinky, Jr. because – "
"I get it!" Raph couldn't believe he was having this stupid conversation. Roaring in frustration, he charged at Mikey, whose taunting expression turned instantly to one of fear and concentration as he prepared for the assault. Several blows were exchanged before Raph decided to pull out the move that usually brought Mikey down. After dodging an uppercut Mikey had intended to plant on his chin, Raph spun around so that his back was toward his brother, and quick as a flash, swung his right arm back, striking Mikey hard in the chest with the handle of his sai.
As expected, Mikey collapsed to the floor with a grunt. Raph stood over him triumphantly, and was about to gloat about beating Mikey's toes after all, when he noticed Mikey wasn't getting back to his feet as he usually did. He was still crumpled on the floor, clutching his chest and whimpering.
Raph's green eyes suddenly filled with concern. "Mikey, are you OK?" he asked, crouching beside his brother.
From across the room, he heard his father call, "Yame!", putting an end to the fight his other brothers were still engaged in, and an instant later they were all surrounding Mikey, whom Raph had helped into a sitting position against the wall. He was hugging himself with a pained expression on his face.
"What happened?" asked Donnie, rushing to inspect his little brother.
"I – I don't know!" cried Raph. "I just hit him in the chest with the handle of my sai, like I always do. I didn't think I hit him that hard!"
"Dude!" cried Mikey, groaning. "You forgot, I don't have have a shell anymore!"
Of course! Raph could smack himself for not thinking of that. Without the hard layer of plastron covering his chest, there was nothing but skin and a bit of muscle protecting Mikey's ribs. Raph growled again. Stupid human bodies! Stupid soft, weak, fragile, human bodies! Seriously, how did humans manage to survive?
Donnie had now lifted Mikey's T-shirt and was inspecting the tender spot on his ribs where the reddened skin was already turning a blotchy purple. Gently he pressed his fingers to the place and felt the ribs. Mikey winced, and Raph could see tears in his eyes, threatening to fall, but he did not cry out.
Satisfied, Donnie pulled the shirt back down. "Don't worry, Mikey, nothing's broken. You're going to have a nasty bruise there for a while, but get an ice pack to keep the swelling down and you should be fine."
Mikey nodded gratefully and Raph reached down a hand to help him up. "Come on, little bro, let's get you some ice," he said, leading Mikey to the kitchen. Mikey gave him a smile. He knew that was the closest thing he would get to an apology from Raph, and he was OK with that.
Splinter called an end to training, and Donnie practically flew into his lab, eager to begin his experiments. His mind had been on nothing else all morning. Finally, he was going to get some answers!
Leo moved slowly into the main room of the lair, leaped into the pit and settled himself among the cushions on the bench. Out of habit, he picked up the remote, but did not turn the TV on. He had so much on his mind at the moment that not even Space Heroes could grab his interest.
Their training session had been eye-opening for Leo. He had quickly realized that, while his muscles remembered the moves he had been taught, his new body was neither as strong, nor as fast as his old one. This had been rather disheartening as he had tried to compensate for it during his fight with Donatello, but Leo had decided to take it as a challenge. He would have to train harder, push his body to its limits, to really discover what he was capable of.
And then there was the incident with Michelangelo. The loss of their protective shells would necessitate a change their defensive fighting style. Human bodies just bruised too easily. Leo decided he would have to work extra hard from now on, for if the four of them ever encountered the Foot, or the Kraang, or even the Purple Dragons, in their current form, it would be too easy to forget their new vulnerability. He had to do all he could to keep his younger brothers from harm.
Leo's thoughts were interrupted by a tingling sensation in the fingers of his left hand. Within seconds the numbness had spread up his arm like pins and needles. Surprised, he tried to move his arm, but to his alarm, found he couldn't. His whole arm had gone completely dead. He reached his right hand over to feel it, but before he could, his left arm suddenly twitched violently, and the feeling returned. He flexed it, and wriggled his fingers. Everything felt normal, but he continued to stare at it, concerned about the cause of such a strange incident.
Leo glanced up at the half open doorway to Donnie's lab. He would ask his brother about it. He stood up and moved toward the lab, completely confident the genius would have answers for him.