March 29th.
"Y'know," says Mikey. "Kurtzman always seemed kinda creepy to me."
Raph turns his head slightly to glance Mikey's way, but Mikey's not looking at him. He's gnawing on his thumb, staring at the alley under them without any real expression on his face.
"Yeah?" Raph prompts, after Mikey's been quiet too long. "You want to get a little more in-depth, Mikey?"
Mikey shrugs, still gnawing his thumb, and doesn't answer. Raph sighs, but doesn't push him. To tell the truth, Raph's just relieved Mikey started up a conversation on his own. For the past two weeks — ever since Leo and Mikey dragged their asses back from the grannies', full of more bad news — Mikey's alternated between sulking in his room or being extra-clingy, draping himself over whoever's in reach and whining when they try to get untangled. He's been this way as long as Raph can remember, but he's never taken it so personally when someone shoves him away. There's something desperate in the way Mikey clings, and he's angry when you walk away from him now.
It might just be Mikey trying to work through the crap with the grannies - which was bad, Raph's not denying it - but Raph wonders if it's not the Boar, pushing Mikey, just a little bit. The only thing keeping him from going straight to a worst-case scenario is that pretty much everyone else has been acting like jerks too.
Everyone's on edge, and the close quarters for the past two weeks haven't been helping. Leo put a stop to patrols once Raph told him about the bodies, and the last time any of them went topside was later that night, when Leo hauled Raph, Mikey, and Usagi up to move the bodies farther away from the lair. The last thing Raph wanted was to go anywhere near those bodies again, but he understood. And, selfishly, he knew it was his last chance for fresh air for a while. He knew better than to ignore the chance.
But when they got there, the bodies were gone, and the alley scrubbed clean. Like, eat-off-the-ground clean. That, more than realizing what April had slipped in, more than seeing the bodies piled at the end of the alley, makes Raph want to scream and pound his head against a wall.
He doesn't blame Leo and Mikey for getting freaked — he would've been, if he'd had to face that resin crap — but there had been teeth-marks in the bodies.
We got the crap end of the deal, he thinks, and looks up at the night sky. The air's starting to turn fresh — not clear, not in the city, but Raph can smell spring, just around the corner. Dumbass frat boys have been wearing shorts for almost a month, and soon, what passes for gardens here in the city will start blooming.
And there still will have been bodies in an alley, waiting for Raph when he and his family came home.
He shoves the thought away, knowing the image of raw, exposed muscle will creep up on him soon enough, and folds his arms over his plastron. April's got five more minutes before he climbs down to haul her skinny ass out of there. He's not going to say it when they're two floors below the guy's apartment, but Kurtzman's not his favorite human either. Having one nerd in his life is almost too much as it is; add in some old guy who dresses like he just walked out of a bad detective movie and who likes to hint at his relations with extraterrestrials and Raph's way past his limit.
Kurtzman's got his uses, though. And if he's got a power cell, then that's one less thing that Donnie's got to worry about.
"I'm cold," Mikey says, out of nowhere.
"We could go down," Raph suggests, glad for the distraction. At this point, even Mikey whining is better than waiting for his brain to surprise him with another glimpse of internal organs that aren't so internal anymore. "Kurtzman's got heat. He won't mind."
Mikey shrugs again and keeps chewing on his thumb.
Raph nearly yanks Mikey around by the mask tails to get him to stop acting like some weird emo kid, but he manages to get the impulse under the surface. "Come on," he says. "We can make sure Kurtzman's not asking April for a blood sample or anything."
It's not a good joke, but it gets Mikey bouncing toward the fire escape without another word, and silently climbing down the fire escape. "Yeah, you lead the way," Raph mutters to himself, then follows Mikey down. He makes a quick scan of the alley, and the roofs and streets beyond, before he pulls himself into Kurtzman's warm living room. Just a few cars passing by, a couple kids smoking on a stoop down the block. Nothing to worry about.
Don't even think it, Raph warns himself. Too easy to jinx everything now.
He slides past the blackout curtains and tugs the window closed, wincing as it squeals in its runners. Mikey doesn't look away from the front windows, but the way his stance relaxes means he knows Raph's here. The living room is almost humid, both radiators cranking at full blast. Raph wonders why they didn't decide to keep watch up here to begin with, until he turns around and comes face-to-face with a full-color photo of Kraang Prime, its mouth wide open.
Oh yeah, Raph thinks, and flips the photo over. That's why. Maybe Mikey does have a point with that whole Kurtzman-is-creepy thing — his apartment's still a museum to all things Kraang, one of the many things Raph would be happy to erase from his brain forever. No doubt April does too, but if she can handle being here, so can they.
As Raph locks the window, April looks up from her spot at the kitchen table, where she's elbows-deep in a cardboard box. She gives him a brief, tight smile and blows her bangs out of her eyes. "Glad you guys decided to join us. You can keep a lookout from the window, right?"
Leo didn't make anyone in particular leader of this little trip, but the fact that it's science-related means that April's taken point. Not that Raph minds. Leading doesn't quite have the same thrill anymore, and hasn't since he had to direct April and Usagi on how to move a pile of dead bodies. Just one more thing all this Boar and Bull magic crap has ruined.
He leans against the wall, positioned so the radiator's at his back and he can see — but not be seen — through the crack in the curtains. The smokers have gone inside, a few more lights in the apartment buildings have gone out. It's getting late.
"I want you back by one am," Leo said. "No delays — for anything, Raph. Leave the Purple Dragons for another day."
Raph definitely didn't say yeah, if there is another day, but he hadn't needed to. Leo knows pretty much everything he could say by now. Why waste the air?
"So," comes Kurtzman's voice, floating from the direction of the kitchen, "as I was saying, April, when I got your call, I pulled everything I had out of storage, just in case there was something else you needed." He shuffles out of the kitchen a moment later, with a heavy tray balanced on both hands. Raph's stomach growls as the smell of toast and fried eggs hits his nose. Kraang obsession or not, Kurtzman does make good breakfast. Raph feels Mikey's attention hone in on the food, but he stays at his window. Leo'd be so proud. "Ah, gentlemen." Kurtzman sets the tray down next to the box and spreads his hands wide. "Good thing I made extra. Help yourselves!"
It's hard to think of a guy as creepy when he makes you breakfast whenever you come over, on top of helping you save the world. Raph looks back at Mikey over his shoulder and jerks his head at the table. "Mikey, you go first. I'll keep an eye on things."
He doesn't have to tell Mikey twice; a few seconds later, he hears Mikey tearing into the toast, and ignores his stomach growling. There'll be enough left for him — Mikey knows what'll happen if there's not.
"Anyways, April," says Kurtzman. "I picked up a few of the Kraang weapons —"
"I saw." April probably sounds just fine to Kurtzman, but Raph hears the sour note below her voice. Before they left, Casey had asked Raph if he wanted to bet on whether or not April would give Leo the silent treatment once they got back. He regrets not taking it now. He could've used the money. "We just need the power cells."
Kurtzman holds up his hands and steps away from the table. "Better safe than sorry, I thought," he says. "But that's what I've got. You're welcome to any of it."
"The power cells are fine." April stands up, one in each hand. She's frowning, but she smooths her face when she faces Kurtzman. Even manages a smile that doesn't look like she just stepped in crap. "I appreciate this," she says. "Seriously. Especially on such short notice. Thanks. I'll bring this back as soon as —"
"No rush." Kurtzman turns his own smile from April, to Mikey, and then to Raph. "Just happy to be of help. Been too long since I got to be part of anything exciting."
Clearly the guy's angling for a hint, but April just turns up the bland smile and tucks the power cells away in her bag. "Yeah, well, I doubt testing a new power source for the lair counts as exciting, but I'll let you know if anything explodes." She doesn't even bat an eyelid, and there's no over-acting. If Raph didn't know better, he'd believe her just as easily as Kurtzman does.
Kurtzman laughs, and pats April on the shoulder. "You do that. Always good to see you, April. Keep in touch." He sticks a hand at Mikey, who shakes with his mouth full of toast and egg, and nods at Raph. "You all take care now."
Raph waves over his shoulder, already fighting with the window lock. One by one, they slip out to the fire escape, with April turning around to wave while Kurtzman shuts and locks the window, and then they climb to the roof, with Raph at the rear and April taking point.
"Ugh," Mikey mutters, shaking his hand. "I'm gonna have to wash the old off when we get back to the lair."
"There's old all over that toast, Mikey. I don't see it bothering you now," April says, glancing back with a sly smile. With every step they take away from Kurtzman's apartment, Raph watches the barely-noticeable tension leaving her back. Leo's punishment is over, and they've got the power cells. If they make it back fast enough, Raph might still be able to sucker Casey into that bet.
"Oh man," Mikey whines. "I didn't even think of that. Gross. Raph, you take the rest."
"Thanks, numbnuts." Raph catches the toast one-handed, grinning when he realizes there's an egg inside it. "Your loss." In the middle of his first bite, he realizes that April didn't touch the food while they were in the apartment. Crap. "So, April, you want any of this?"
She shakes her head, scouting the next rooftop. "I don't have Mikey's aversion to old, but I'm good. Thanks though." She pauses, one foot in the air, then turns back to Raph. "It's just after eleven," she says, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah?" Raph swallows the rest of the sandwich. "So?" He thinks about reminding her that Donnie's waiting for her back at the lair, but holds back at the last second. He wants maximum humiliation potential.
"Well," April says, drawing out the word. "There's enough time for an errand, if you guys are up for it."
Normally Raph is all about ignoring what Leo tells him to do, unless Leo's telling him to break someone's face, but he shakes his head. Mikey, who's in the middle of nodding, starts to shake his head as well when Raph glares at him. "We got the power cells, we should head back," he says. "We don't have time for mysterious errands, April." He's not sure why she's beating around the bush like this; one of the things he likes about April is that she doesn't bullshit anyone. If she wants something, she goes and gets it. "Let's head back."
April rolls her eyes, and plants her feet. "I want to go to my apartment," she says.
"Yeah, no," says Mikey, and Raph has to agree. The last time they were in April's apartment, Casey and Donnie were bleeding all over the floor and the whole place smelled like shit — even before he hauled Karai in. April's apartment is the last place he wants to be.
April gives Mikey the shitlook, hard enough to make Mikey back up a couple steps. "I really doubt anything's camped out there waiting for us," she says. "And you guys may not care, but I wasn't expecting to spend a month in the lair with just a backpack and my laptop. I need clothes, I need to check my mail — you know, life stuff."
Raph opens his mouth, but April rolls her eyes again, pulls off her bag, and tosses it to Raph. The two seconds it takes for him to catch it and make sure the power cells aren't damaged is all the time it takes for April to leap to the next rooftop and sprint out of sight.
"April!" he bellows, ignoring Mikey shushing him. "Get your ass — oh my god, seriously?"
She keeps running, not even looking back.
"Oh my god," Raph says again, throwing the bag's strap over his shoulder. Leo'll be pissed they went off mission, but Raph doesn't have a word for what he'll be if they let April go off on her own. "Is everyone else in this family an idiot except me?"
"Less talking, more running!" Mikey says, already sprinting to the edge of the roof. "She's got a head start, dude!"
April's apartment is a New York treasure; rent-controlled, everything but internet and cable included, and on the third floor of a building that holds an antique store and its storage. No neighbors, no loud parties — she doesn't know how Second Time Around stays open, but she's grateful, because no one else she knows has a two-bedroom in this neighborhood for less than three times what she's paying.
Her dad probably had something to do with it, but she doesn't think about that. She can't. If she thinks about her dad now, she won't be able to stop, and she has to keep her head clear. No drowning in what ifs allowed.
From the building across the street, she scans the alleys and rooftops, and waits for Raph and Mikey to catch up with her. When they do, not even breathing hard, she keeps her eyes on the street. Her own heart's still going double-time, but she doesn't think she did too badly for someone who's been out of the fight for almost two months.
"I didn't think I had that much of a head start," she says when Raph crouches next to her. "You guys getting slow in your old age?"
"Don't even start," Raph snaps. "This is stupid, April. Why not just go get new clothes? You know, in the daytime? Why do you need this old crap?"
He has a point. Leo would make an exception to the lockdown rule if she argued hard enough, and money's not an issue. But she wants her clothes, the ones she bought when she was a just a vigilante pretending to be a grad student. Funny, how the past two months have made the Kraang and the Foot look small.
Well, maybe not the Kraang. Kurtzman's apartment is too fresh in her head for that, with sharp-toothed pink faces staring at her no matter where she turned.
"Because they're mine, Raph," she says, and ignores him when he scoffs.
Mikey comes up behind them. "Streets're clear," he says. "No one's coming."
"All right, let's do this." Raph stands up, one foot braced on the roof's ledge. "We're in and out, five minutes, so move fast, April."
The last thing April wants to do is argue with Raph when he's decided he's in charge, so she takes the jump, landing heavy and skidding on the gravel. She nearly loses her balance, but Mikey steadies her with a hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even heard him land.
"Thanks," she says, and gets a tight smile back before she swings down to the fire escape, and jimmies her bedroom window open to let herself in.
Everything's how she left it: her bed unmade, her closet door open, the bag of cotton balls on the counter in the bathroom. The only thing that's changed is the thin layer of dust over every flat surface. Someone — Donnie, probably — remembered to turn down the heat before they left, and the air is stale and cool.
"Four and a half minutes," Raph says from the window. "Chop, chop, April."
Shut up, asshole, she thinks, but doesn't say anything. She digs into her closet for a duffle, and then starts heaping clothes into it, heavy leggings and thick wool sweaters and her Frye boots. When she turns to her dresser to grab a handful of underwear, she hears something shift, faintly, on the other side of her bedroom door.
She freezes, one arm wrist-deep in panties and bras, and looks back toward Raph. His eyes are narrowed to slits, his mouth a thin line. Guilt flashes through her — she brought them here, it's her fault if something goes wrong — and then anger replaces it. This is her apartment. Her home. It's already been invaded once; the difference now is that she has a whole new way to fight back.
Two weeks of working with Splinter and Leo have given her a fundamental understanding of her new abilities; they're not predictable yet, but April can sense the underlying pattern, just out of reach of her comprehension. What she does know is that when she calls, the power will come; blunt, inexorable, merciless, unfurling like ocean waves under her skin.
April nods to Raph and Mikey, and turns toward the door. She knows exactly what floorboards to avoid as she moves, and doesn't make a sound until her hand falls on the doorknob. There, she waits, listening — and the shift comes again, a quiet rustle of fabric, like someone's changing position on the couch.
She takes a moment to swallow down her anger — this is her apartment — and throws open the door, pulling her tessen free with her other hand, ready to let loose a concussion at the first sign of trouble.
Her brain is so ready for the attack that it takes a moment for the adrenaline to clear and let April see who, exactly, is cringing away from her on the couch.
"You?" April says, completely flummoxed, letting her tessen fall to her side. "But you — what the hell are you doing in my apartment?"
"Angel!" Mikey says over April's shoulders. "What's up?"
April spares Mikey a bewildered glance, then moves into the living room to let Raph shoulder his way inside. "You said you were —"
The girl on the couch holds up her hands, looking more miserable and exhausted than a kid has any right to look. She's wearing one of April's hoodies, the one April keeps at the kitchen table for when she's up late working, and a pair of baggy sweatpants. The huge clothes only make her look smaller and more afraid. "I didn't have anywhere else to go," she says, quiet but defiant. "It didn't work. I couldn't hide, because of you!" She jabs a finger in Mikey's direction, dark eyes bright with tears, and takes a deep, hiccuping breath as Mikey flinches guiltily. "I told you, you'd screw it up, and now I can't — Gran —"
April shoves her tessen back into its sheath and yanks back her hood. "What are you talking about?" she asks, even as the evidence starts to form a clear picture in her head. Some of the Bull's magic protected the grannies, as long as they weren't tainted. Tainted, like April and the turtles. Apparently, proximity alone was enough for that to happen.
A wave of heavy relief swamps her; thank god she pushed the issue and came here - it's a safe neighborhood, but Angel's still just a kid, and it's their fault she's stuck out here. That she's tainted. "You couldn't…hide?" she adds, groping for the right word.
Angel nods, drawing her knees up to her chest. "And no one remembered me," she says. "I tried to go to my friends and to school and they had no idea who I was. It's like — it's like it almost worked, but not all the way, and now no one knows me." She drags her hand over her mouth, eyes slanting away from April and the turtles.
"No one but us." Mikey flops onto the couch next to Angel, not touching her, but beaming at her like she's his long-lost best friend. April watches Angel unbend a little under the force of his smile. It's hard for April to resist Mikey when he's trying to charm, after a decade building up an immunity, and Angel doesn't stand a chance. "So, you came here? How'd you even know this was April's place? 'Cause if you just figured it out on your own, that's some awesome detective work."
Angel smiles a little at that, her attention totally on Mikey. "It wasn't that, it was before, the Bull —" She flashes a guilty look at April, who only sighs and shrugs.
"It's fine, Angel," she says. "But why here? I mean, you could've just come to the lair. We wouldn't have chased you off." And it's true; Leo would have gone all pinchy about security, but his mother hen instincts would take over. They've taken in stray kids before.
"I tried." Angel's smile disappears. Her hands twist miserably in the pocket of April's hoodie. "I went to the manhole I used before, when I came to talk to you, but there was — there was blood everywhere, and I didn't…" She huddles deeper into the couch and closes her eyes.
April meets Raph's eyes, her stomach dropping. More? she mouths, and Raph grimaces, his teeth bared.
"It's fine, now, my friend!" says Mikey. He punches Angel in the knee, his smile still in place. "We're gonna take you back to the lair, you'll love it, I got some Orange Crush and there's a hot tub, and —"
"Let's go," says Raph. "We need to get moving."
Angel's posture closes up again at the sound of Raph's voice. Mikey shoots him a cold look, all dude, don't harsh my vibe, but Raph just makes a hurry-up gesture and stomps back into the bedroom. April closes her eyes; when she opens them, she holds out her hand to Angel.
"Come on," she says. "I don't know what you've been eating, but there's pizza at the lair. And keep the hoodie, it's a cold run back."
Splinter sets his cup to the side, then folds his hands on the table. "How goes Donatello's work?" he asks, the first time he's spoken the whole time he's been in the kitchen.
Leo looks up from the sandwich he's putting together — because Donnie will eat, even if Leo has to stand over him till he does — and tries to read Splinter's expression. Splinter gives nothing away, regarding Leo with clear, sharp eyes until Leo turns back to the sandwich. The curiosity about Donnie's work — which neither of them understand, and both Leo and his father know it — feels forced, asked as much out of obligation as actual interest.
"It's…progressing," Leo answers eventually, slicing the sandwich and rescuing a piece of tomato that falls to the counter. He pops it into his mouth, and while he's savoring the cool, tart juices, he tells himself to ignore the slight edge in Splinter's voice. Now is not the time to wonder why, and when, the air between Splinter and Donnie froze over, no matter how much it grates that Splinter won't ask Donnie himself, and relies on Leo to do it. It'll be one more thing for Leo to fix once this is all over.
"Once April gets back with the power cells, we should be in business," he says. The sandwich goes on a place, along with two pickles and half an apple, and Leo points himself toward the door. "I'll be back, once he eats."
Splinter nods, then pours himself another cup of tea. Leo hesitates, then adds the other half of the apple to the plate and heads for the lab. In the common room, Usagi looks up as Leo passes, offers him a quiet smile, and goes back to his book. A few feet away, Casey flips through the channels, frowning at Fox News, and doesn't even glance Leo's way.
And Donnie — Donnie's still where Leo left him, but instead of typing, he's scratching away on a notepad, muttering to himself.
"Dinner is served," says Leo, shoving the plate under Donnie's nose. "And I'm not leaving till you've eaten everything."
Donnie sniffs, but sets his notepad and pencil to the side and picks up one of the pickles. "Path of least resistance," he says, brandishing it at Leo.
"Whatever gets you to eat," Leo replies. He drops into a free chair — not April's, he's learned that lesson the hard way — and folds his hands over his plastron, then leans back to stare at the ceiling. The only sounds are Donnie eating, quickly but neatly, and the steady tick-tick of the long-empty cryo unit on the far side of the lab. Leo lets the near-silence lull him, lets his eyes slide half-closed, and considers the question of April's powers, and how to deploy them.
He's worked her to near-exhaustion every day for the past two weeks, trying to find her new limits. She's reached the point where she can summon the concussion on command, with enough strength to topple Raph, but Leo isn't ready to trust it in full battle. Adrenaline does funny things to everyone's control, and April's temper adds another layer of complications. But Leo's hard-pressed to not use it as a weapon, even one surrounded by so many unknowns. It is, after all, the only one they have that feels remotely like it could level the playing field, and a dark, petty part of him wants to see April unleash it on Slash.
Or Karai, he thinks, and pushes the thought away as unworthy.
"S'good," Donnie says through a mouthful, holding up the last bite of his sandwich and distracting Leo from any more thoughts of Karai. "You added bacon," he adds, a little guilty, before cramming the last bite in his mouth and giving Leo two thumbs' up.
Leo grins back. He's well-aware of Donnie's conflicted relationship with meat in general, and bacon in particular, but adding bacon seemed…contextually appropriate. That's an unworthy thought too, but Leo doesn't care.
"Glad you liked it. See how easy that was?" He stretches, still grinning as Donnie huffs and waves him away.
"Yeah, yeah, gloat all you want, just do it somewhere else. I've got to figure this out before April gets back with the power cells. But…thanks."
Leo shrugs as he picks up the plate, privately pleased to see that Donnie ate everything, down to the apple core and seeds. This close, he can see every detail of Donnie's exhaustion — the dark circles under his mask, the slumped shoulders — but he sees how many of those details aren't there. Donnie is stressed, running on too little sleep and not enough coffee, but he doesn't look wrecked, not the way he did a few weeks ago.
Don't have to wonder too much about why, Leo thinks, his quiet pleasure turning smug as he heads for the door. His room shares a wall with Donnie's, and even if it didn't, April hasn't exactly been trying to hide where she's sleeping every night.
"They're back," says Donnie, when Leo has one foot out the door. "April and the others," he amends, standing and following Leo out the lab, a wide, soft smile creasing his face.
When they get to the common room, no one but Casey and Usagi are there, and Donnie turns to Leo with a frown, wringing his hands in front of his chest. "I thought I heard them," he says. "I mean, I heard April, and I thought —" He shuts his mouth as Mikey's voice echoes down the tunnel and floats over the turnstiles.
Leo winces, and makes a note to haul Mikey in for some meditation. He can't make out any of what Mikey's saying, but it's too loud, and Mikey needs a refresher in stillness.
"Oh, there they are," says Donnie, relaxing as Casey sits up and angles toward the turnstiles. His smile is back, brighter now that April's back and bringing science.
"— and we've got a sweet gaming system! Whatever you want, we got — my bro Donnie, he downloaded like, every game, so if it's Castlevania you want —" Mikey bounds into the light, pausing for breath long enough to jump over the turnstiles. "— then it's Castlevania you'll get. Do you like Tomb Raider? You look like you like Tomb Raider."
"I don't really play video games," says the girl behind him, her voice bemused and her face hidden by a hood.
Leo's katana are in the dojo, but he has the kunai in his belt in his hand before he recognizes the girl, and sucks in a heavy breath. Damn, he thinks, the word tainted moving in guilty circles through his head.
"It's fine! She's with us!" April yells, coming up fast behind the girl, one hand held up, while Donnie says "Angel?" and Casey waves cheerfully and shuts off the TV. "Sorry, Leo, I told Mikey to text you."
"That was your first mistake," Raph says, heaving himself over the turnstiles and shoving a bag into April's arms.
Mikey ducks his head, sheepish but not really ashamed, and tugs Angel into the lair. "So! Angel, meet my bros — that's Donnie, and you already met Lethal Weapon over there." Leo slides the kunai back into his belt, and sends a glare April's way. "The bun's Usagi — I know, he totally has that Toshiro Mifune vibe, I tell him that all the time — and that's Casey." Mikey squeezes her shoulder. "Splinter's around here somewhere, but that's pretty much the whole gang. You want a drink or something?"
"I —," says Angel. "I — yeah, a drink would be good." She looks like she could use a very specific kind of drink, Leo thinks, and he doesn't blame her. He lets Mikey guide Angel toward the couch, noting how April disappears into the lab with Donnie, and adds a reprimand to the to-do list for the morning. For now, there's a scared kid to talk to.
First things first, though; Leo takes another deep breath, and nods toward the kitchen. "You hungry?" he asks, and smiles as gently as he can when Angel nods.
"So," says Donnie, his heart leaping against his ribs. The power cell is lighter than he remembered, a brighter magenta too. It's such a small thing, this one last piece of the puzzle, but he already feels stronger with it in his hand. He loves the last few seconds before he leaps, when he has to trust in his calculations and wait to see where they'll lead him. That'll never change, no matter what he's got as context. "Moment of truth." He smiles and bumps April's arm with his, warmed all the way through when she smiles back.
"Moment of truth," April echoes, and leans around the generator to kiss the corner of his mouth. "All right. Let 'er rip."
"Hopefully, no ripping will occur," Donnie says, grinning wider when April huffs and mutters something that sounds like pedant. "After all, we are working with the space/time continuum."
"Less talk, more ripping," she says, defiant, and pulls back the cover on the generator. "Killswitch armed. We're ready, Donnie."
"Got it." He takes a deep breath, hefts the power cell one last time, and slots it into place with a small, infinitely satisfying click.
"Goggles on," he says, out of pure habit, and waits till April's are in place before tugging his own down. "All right, spinning up."
It feels anti-climactic to push a button, rather than flipping a switch, but when the generator purrs to life between them, Donnie can't help a loose, satisfied sigh. The probability of something going wrong — and by something, he means opening a portal to the surface of the Sun — decreases exponentially the longer the portal is open. Now that the first few seconds are past, he can take his eyes off the portal itself, and start to steer it.
He allots himself thirty seconds to get the hang of simultaneously manipulating his end of the portal and watching for a match on the biometrics streaming on his display before leaning back to check the energy readings. Everything is stable, the portal showing no sign of shrinking or collapsing, and while he's tempted to keep it running, and to see if they can nail the right string on the first try, there's no reason to push his luck.
"All right, April, shut it down!" he yells over the portal's growing whine. "We're good for now." He tilts his head back when the portal stays open, and finds April staring directly into it, her goggles pushed up on her head. "April, what is it? Are you okay?"
"Donnie," she says, her voice muffled by the portal's whine. "Look." She points, the whites showing all around her irises, her face totally drained of color. "Look, it's — it's me."
In the second before the string is lost and the portal powers down on its own, the woman rolls to her side, dull, bruise-circled eyes staring ahead. It's April, her hair bright as a bonfire against the stark, cold stones. But it's not April; the woman in the portal is too old, too exhausted, her face smudged with dirt, her knuckles swollen and her lips split and chapped.
All of that, Donnie could bear. He could carry it, every sign of that April's pain — but what he can't carry, can't bear, are the iron bars around her. The bars of the cage, shaking in the wind as it blows through the courtyard.