Good morning, readers! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story, and that you are anticipating what comes next! We've already had a few spooks, but this is only the beginning! Are you ready for more? Please enjoy this next update!
Later that night, Leo sat in front of the television, watching the news report with deep intensity. It was like he was in a trance, his eyes never flickering from the screen. Photos of missing children faded in and out on the screen, their name and physical characteristics spelled out below each picture.
Leo studied each of them, always taking this time to refresh his memory. It was possible that their kidnapper had made them change their appearance to keep them hidden even in plain sight. He had to be vigilant if he was going to have any chance of saving even one of them.
He was so deep in thoughts that he stopped paying attention, nearly missing the last photo in the reel. When it caught his eye, he suddenly sat up, his large hands digging into the arms of his chair. As he leaned forward, he gaped at the television.
The photo was a group shot of himself and his brothers as children.
He rubbed at his eyes fervently before looking at the screen again. The photo was no longer there, instead showing Amelia Smith again.
"Must be the fatigue." Leo thought to himself, slumping back in the chair as he sighed. "Maybe I DO need to chill..."
The following morning, Leo decided to focus on clearing his head as he trained with his brothers. Even after they called it a day, he persisted.
As the remaining turtles ate some breakfast bagels, they looked up when April suddenly came into the room, and was beyond frustrated.
"I cannot believe that man!" She exclaimed, her bags plopping onto a nearby couch. "I knew I should have dug into him more before attending that conference!"
"Uh... hi April." Donnie smiled nervously.
"Grayson Roberts can NOT be elected for state Governor. He just publicly announced his opposition for the mutant community in the same breath he announced throwing his hat in!" April exclaimed.
"What?" Raphael curled his lip.
"April, that's so wrong..." Mikey shook his head. "Why would he just throw away a perfectly good hat?" His two brothers looked over at him flatly, Donnie pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Look, April... I can see that you're angry, but there's always going to be people who don't like us. We've learned to just let it roll off our shells."
"Normally, that is a great attitude, Donnie, but not when it's someone who could potentially hold political power." April sighed, sinking down. "I'm starving, by the way... mind if I have a bite of that?"
At this, Donnie's spine straightened, clearing his throat. "Of course, please, help yourself."
"You know Donnie, if she eats that side of the bagel, it'll be as if you kissed her." Raph said as he and Mikey snickered. Donnie seethed at them, and a moment later, he whipped out a taser from his belt, shocking Raph's arm.
"Hey, knock that off!" Raph exclaimed, Mikey nearly falling out of his seat from laughter.
"He got you good, Raph!"
"I'll get you worse if you don't stop laughing." Raph said, cracking his knuckles.
"We just can't have a peaceful morning, can we?" Donnie rolled his eyes, placing the taser back on his belt.
"Guys, seriously, aren't you worried about some crazy mob hunting you guys down?" April frowned.
"I think we can defend ourselves, but thanks for worrying." Raph smirked.
"Like how you defended yourself against Donnie's taser?" Mikey snickered, ducking when Raph swung at him with an open palm, meaning to smack the back of his head.
"What is going on in here?" Leo asked as he headed in. "Oh, hey April." He gave her a nod.
"Just the usual, these two acting like knuckleheads." Donnie said flatly.
"We need to be worrying about what's happening out there." April said.
"Couldn't agree more." Leo replied. "Have you finished those upgrades to the surveillance systems yet, Donnie?"
"Just about, I've been making some tweaks to the heat signature system and high res streaming." Donnie said.
"Good. We can't just be on the lookout for the Foot Clan anymore. Shredder may be down for the count, but it's given other criminals opportunity to take to the streets. Make sure you've got that precinct radio receiver up and running by tonight. That's when these goons like to strike." Leo said.
"Leo." April got up, following him as he headed out of the room. "Look, I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but we have a bigger problem. The conference I went to last night, this jerk Grayson Roberts wants to shut down any supporting campaigns and groups for mutants. We can't forget how mutants were shamed by the government in the past- I mean, that registration act..." She sighed. "We've been making progress over the last decade but if people elect guys like this, we're going to go right back to square one-"
"April." Leo placed a light hand on her shoulder. "I know how you feel. I've been struggling with... things myself. There's so much out there that we can't control..." He sighed. "I guess we both need to stop working ourselves up."
"Well... I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this guy is slammed. I'm going to dig up anything I can." April said.
"Hey guys, look at this! There's going to be a festival in the city this week! Costumes encouraged!" Mikey suddenly exclaimed as he came into the room.
"Isn't it a little early for dressing up? Halloween isn't for another four months." Donnie commented.
"Do we really have time for a festival, Mikey?" Leo asked.
"Aww come on, guys, don't you ever want to relax and mingle with people like, y'know, we're normal?"
"I don't think anything will make us look 'normal', especially dweeb costumes." Raph said.
"You know what I mean!"
"Well this COULD be a good idea actually." Donnie mused, much to everyone's surprise. "This could be a good way to get up close and personal with the people we defend on a daily basis. Besides, maybe that kidnapper that Leo's been obsessed with will be there. There's going to be lots of kids..."
Leo perked up at this, glancing over at Donnie. "That's a good point." He stood up a bit straighter then. "Alright, we'll go."
"Yes!" Mikey beamed, fist pumping the air. "Popcorn, and cotton candy, and rides, and balloons-"
"Hey, what's up, reptilians?" A voice suddenly sounded as they turned, Casey Jones striding up to them. "April, taking off from work for once, I see."
She rolled her eyes playfully. "At least I work SOME of the time."
"Hey, all work and no play makes Casey really, really antsy." He lifted his hockey mask. "So you guys are going to that festival, huh? Count me in."
"Well, he's going to blow our cover for sure." Donnie said flatly.
"He's not what we need to worry about. We need to worry about how the hell we're going to find costumes in our size." Raph said.
"Wait..." April smiled then. "What if... this IS the costume?"
"I had no idea air could be a costume." Mikey scratched his head.
"No, you guys can go to the festival as yourselves, and people will think you're already in costume!" April exclaimed.
"If it gets me out of wearing something potentially humiliating, I'm in." Raph smirked.
"Aww, but that's no fun." Mikey frowned. "But I guess getting to go is good enough for me." He shrugged.
"Besides, a costume might hinder us if we need to scram." Leo says, patting his brother on the shoulder. "So when IS this festival exactly?"
"Well, on this paper, it says it's tomorrow." Mikey said, Donnie looking at it.
"No Mikey, that's the theme, Tomorrow Land. The date is... today! Look, June 20th!" Donnie exclaimed. "This thing starts in an hour!"
"Good thing we're not getting costumes..." Raph snorted with amusement.
Later, the group emerged from the sewers, a little ways off from the public eye of course. Before long, they merged seamlessly into the gathering crowd. As predicted, no one seemed to pay them any notice, under the assumption that they were in costume.
"Oh man, this is awesome!" Mikey squealed, his eyes darting everywhere as he took everything in.
"Ugh, too many people." Raph complained as he kept getting bumped into.
"Guys, remember why we're here. We're not here to play games, we- Mikey!" Leo rolled his eyes as he looked over to see his brother had already made a beeline for the games.
"Come on, Leo, I'm winning!" Mikey beamed, the gentleman running the stand handing Mikey a plush when he finished playing.
"Hey, want to go on the love boat, April?" Casey wiggled his brows as April rolled her eyes.
"I think I'll pass." She replied flatly.
Donnie cleared his throat then. "We should decide how we're going to navigate the area."
"Dude, it's a festival, not a field trip. Let's just chill." Casey said.
"We are not going to 'just chill.' We are here for an important reason- why are YOU here?" Donnie responded.
"Because you're my pals?" He shrugged.
As the pair bickered, April stopped when she noticed a balloon stand. "Speaking of 'pals,' Casey, I should have given you a good beating for your prank last night." As she said this, Raph was over by the strength bell, taking the mallet and easily ringing the bell with one swing. The surrounding people were impressed, complimenting his skills and "costume."
"I knew you liked it." Casey snickered.
"Uh no, I didn't, and I didn't like the balloon popping trick, either. Seriously, you have too much time on your hands, Casey Jones." April huffed.
"Balloon popping trick?" Casey rose a brow.
"Yes. All the red balloons that you had floating in the alleyway? How you managed to get them to pop all at once is a mystery to me."
"Uh... that does sound like a neat trick, but I did not pull that one off. Although, I could pop-..." He leaned over to whisper in her ear, to which she shoved him aside.
"Casey, that is revolting!"
"April, come on, it's a joke!" Casey exclaimed.
"Well it's NOT funny!" She hissed.
"Both of you are making a scene, knock it off." Leo said lowly. "Listen. I'm going to reel Mikey in. Looks like Raph is coming back. The four of you walk around and get back to me if you notice anything." Leo said as Raph approached with a prize, cracking his knuckles. "Raph, I'm going to find Mikey. I'm leaving you in charge of the group."
"Sweet." Raph nodded, turning to the others. "Hear that, ladies? I'm hungry. Let's grab a bite."
Donnie interjected then. "Shouldn't we be keeping watch for-"
"Uh, I think Leo just left ME in charge. And I say, we get a bite first." Raph said before moving past him to the concession stands. Donnie sighed, shaking his head before reluctantly following him.
April was about to go after them when Casey stopped her. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry about before. I was just joking, okay?"
"Fine... just, try to help me out here, okay?" April asked.
"You got it, sprocket." He gave her a wink, making her smirk as she rolled her eyes playfully.
"Seriously though, how did you pull that trick off?" April asked.
"I already told you. After I threw the water balloon at you and stormed off, that was it." Casey said.
"So you're not going to fess up?" April gave him a look.
"I'm not lying, April. There were no balloons in that alleyway except for the water balloons in my back pack."
April decided to just drop it, getting on line. They each got some lunch and snacks, the four looking for a table. They found one, about to sit down, nearly being cut off by someone.
"Ah... Ms. O'Neil." Grayson said, nodding lightly as he smiled. "Forgive me. I can see you have some company. You can have this table. I'll eat elsewhere."
April cleared her throat when she saw him, nodding in return. "Thank you." She said warily.
"I must say this... I apologize if I offended you in any way, last night. I have a great amount of opposition... it's important for someone in my position to establish... a good stance on things. We could use some more hard working youth like yourself."
"I appreciate that, Mr. Roberts." April said, but she still wasn't showing much enthusiasm.
"Perhaps one day we can have a nice talk over some coffee... clear the air." Grayson said, pursing his lip. "Until then... let me just say this. You've built a good reputation for yourself, Ms. O'Neil. As someone who requires the same... I suggest you think twice about the company you keep." He glanced at Casey for a moment, who curled his lip.
"What're you getting at?" Casey asked, April hissing him to keep quiet.
"Casey Jones... three time offender for battery assault and not unfamiliar with juvenile prison." Grayson pursed his lip. "Sounds like someone who would put a smear on someone like April's pristine record."
"Mr. Roberts, all three of those charges were dropped." April commented as Raph and Donnie approached, keeping a distance between the group as they listened in. "Casey tries to fight criminals, not be one himself."
Grayson chuckled. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised, Ms. O'Neil." His eyes flickered to the pair of turtles a short distance away. "I think I've taken up enough of your time... your elaborately 'costumed' friends are waiting on you. But as I was saying... I'm not surprised. If you're willing to run the streets with four mutant reptiles doing... who knows what..." He looked her up and down for a moment. "... then Mr. Jones is surely just a playful fling in comparison."
April had to take hold of Casey's arm as he hissed, his jaw rigid as his gaze burned. Donnie clenched his fists, but remained silent as Raph simply narrowed his eyes. April straightened up, looking at Grayson defiantly.
"Thank you, Mr. Roberts." She said simply. "Thank you for revealing what kind of person you are. I'll be sure to make my statements based on that fact."
Grayson chuckled lightly, leaning in a bit. "There are many layers to me, Ms. O'Neil. You've barely scratched the surface. You have a nice day now." He nodded, turning to walk away.
As he did, Casey shook his head. "That asshole is lucky I don't bust his skull in-"
"Casey, there's children around." Donnie said, exhaling sharply. "However, I would have to concur with you on that."
"I'm assuming that was the guy you were telling us about?" Raph asked April. When she nodded, he let out a grumble. "Lucky for him, we can't very well beat his face in public."
"He'd look better with a couple black eyes, am I right?" Casey snickered, nudging April lightly with his elbow.
"No. We're going to get him in a better way. He thinks that me being friends with you guys is smearing my reputation? Well, we're going to return him the favor." April replied.
Meanwhile, Leo sighed when he finally spotted Mikey getting some cotton candy, starting to head over to him. "Mikey. Mikey!" Leo called him, his younger brother beaming.
"Look Leo, cotton candy! Wow, this stuff is good!" Mikey piped.
"We do not have time for you to be playing around. We have work to do." Leo said lowly when he approached him.
"I can still eat this though, right?" Mikey asked, to which Leo rolled his eyes.
"Sure. Just, come on, will you?" Leo replied. "We have to catch up to the others, they're probably wondering-"
"Caleb!" A woman shouted, seeming to be looking frantically as she weaved through the crowd. "Caleb, answer me!"
Leo stopped, glancing back at Mikey for a moment before approaching the woman. "Excuse me, m'am?"
The woman jumped, holding her heart. "I- I'm sorry, can I help you? I really need to-"
"Are you looking for someone?" Leo asked.
"I-... I'm looking for my son, I went in the back to throw something in the trash and when I turned around, he wasn't there." The woman said.
"What does he look like? We can help you look for him." Leo said.
"Oh my God, thank you, uh..." The woman dug through her purse. "Here's a picture of him. Please, take it. Uh..." She scribbled something on the back. "Here's my number if you find him." She said before turning, looking through the crowd and calling for her son.
"Let's go this way." Leo said to Mikey, who followed his brother. They went to the back of the festival, looking up and down the empty street.
"Which way, Leo?" Mikey asked as Leo narrowed his eyes, focusing. He tried to tune his hearing, a bit difficult with all the noises coming from the festival. "It's too bad we can't hop up to the rooves, but people from the festival would see us and get spooked. Alright. Let's go this way first, and circle back around."
Leo led the way, his jaw set. Could this be it? Could this be his chance to end the kidnapping spree? He shook his head at himself; this could easily be a simple case of a kid getting sidetracked by some shiny thing at a game booth and not noticing his mom leaving.
At least, he hoped that was all it was. Of course he wanted to find the creep, but he would rather this kid be found and returned safely.
Leo made his way down the back street, remaining vigilant. Mikey followed behind him, looking around. As they passed by another side street, he did a double take, stopping when he thought he saw something. He tilted his head, glancing at Leo for a moment before sneaking down a side street. Leo continued onward, narrowing his eyes as he turned the corner. He thought he heard voices speaking quietly, able to pick up lower vibrations better than most people. He crouched down a bit, continuing to move forward.
Mikey chuckled to himself, having been distracted by a red balloon as it floated, leading him through the side streets. When he turned the corner, a smile slowly grew in his features. "Awesome!" He headed over to a pizza box with fresh pizza inside, licking his lips. "This looks totally amazing..." He said in a higher pitched voice. He was about to take a piece when gloved hands came up from the non-existent space beneath the box, Mikey widening his eyes and moving back as the individual defied the laws of physics, seeming to rise to their feet from the paper thin space between the box and the ground it sat on. Mikey was no longer smiling, silent as a Renaissance-styled clown now stood before him, smiling darkly as he held the pizza box.
"Hi there, Mikey." He motioned to the pizza box he was holding. "Looks delicious, doesn't it?"
"Uh..." Mikey glanced at the spot the box had been sitting on. "How... did you do that?"
"It's a secret." He replied. "You seem nice. Would you like a slice of pizza, Mikey?"
"How... do you know my name?" Mikey asked.
"I know everybody... because everybody knows me." His smile grew. "Go on, Mikey. Take a piece. It'll be our... secret. I promise that it's... scrumptious." He licked his lips with anticipation.
Meanwhile, Leo furrowed his brow as he reached a dead end. He sighed a bit, shaking his head. "Alright, let's head back and- Mikey? Mikey! Oh, come on! I can't go for five minutes without-..." Leo stopped, tilting his head when something caught his eye. He reached over to take something posted to the side of a building, looking at a small poster. His eyes scanned the words, shaking his head in confusion. "'Missing Child: Caleb Walters; child not found after mother lost control of vehicle just outside of the city and was found dead at the scene of the single car collision. It is still unknown how the accident occurred. Details of the child's physical description below.' Wait a second..." Leo took out the wallet photo he was given, shaking his head slowly when he realized the child in both photos were the same. "This can't be-" He stopped when he felt something buzzing, digging into his belt to retrieve his communicator. "Mikey, is that you?"
'... You're not him.'
"Hello? Who are you? Who is this?" Leo spoke into the device.
"... You're not him."
Leo reeled back as he heard the voice from right beside him, his breathing quickening as the woman from earlier now stood before him. She was no longer neat as a pin, her purse dangling from her hand as she was covered from head to toe in injuries, broken glass, a disheveled mess.
"M'am... I don't know what's going on here." Leo put his hands up. "Please, let me help you."
"You're not Caleb. Caleb isn't here, anymore." The seemingly distressed woman from earlier was eerily calm now, smiling slowly. "He's in a better place now... with us. Would you like to see that place, Leo?"
"How do you know who I am, my name-"
"There's lots of fun things there... you can see all the children just like you do on the television screen. Have you ever played an Easter egg hunt, Leo? It's my favorite game. They're all the pretty little eggs. I love to hear their skulls crunch in my teeth like... shells... when I devour them."
"M'am... you need to stop saying what you're saying and tell me where your son is." Leo said, his expression dead serious.
"Alright." The woman replied, her sinister smile remaining. "Follow me, and I can take you to him. You see... he's floating now, like a balloon."
Mikey stared at the bone-chilling clown as he waited. "... Okay..." He got to his feet, reaching an arm out, the clown beginning to drool as its eyes stared unblinkingly. Just then, Mikey stopped, feeling something buzzing on his belt. He took out his communicator as the clown's smile slowly broke down into a scowl. "Hello?"
"Mikey, where in the heck are you and Leo? We're looking everywhere for you guys!" Donnie spoke. "I tried contacting Leo, but we had a bad connection, I think."
"Oh, hey Donnie! I just was talking to this nice clown who was going to give me some pizza! Here, let me-... hello?"
"Hello?" Donnie rose a brow.
"No, not you, he's gone."
"Who's gone?"
"The clown!"
"Mikey, stop talking to clowns and get your shell back here right now! Where is Leo?" Donnie exclaimed.
"Uh... let me go find him." Mikey said, heading down the side street. He then stopped, ran back quickly, grabbing the remaining pizza box before continuing on his way.
Meanwhile, Leo felt his heart racing as the woman began to deteriorate before him, her skin graying as car oil began to spew from her mouth. He slowly reached back to take hold of his sword, the woman lurching forward as she screeched. He clenched his teeth as she burst into flames, slicing through the air as she nearly came upon him. He had managed to slice her in half, looking on in disbelief as the two halves continued to move individually. He backed away as the top half of the woman crawled towards him, continuing to char and burn as she did so.
"Leo, there you are!" Leo whirled around at the voice, seeing Mikey approach as he stuffed another bite of pizza into his mouth. "Donnie wants us to go back to the festival now." He wordlessly glanced over his shoulder, freezing when he saw that the horrific woman he had encountered, or any remnants of her, were all but gone. He was breathing heavily, swallowing thickly as he looked all around him.
"Where did she go?" He muttered under his breath.
"Leo, are you okay? You look like you got scared by something." Mikey asked.
"That woman was here, Mikey. The one looking for her son. She wasn't-... I saw-... I don't know what I saw." Leo replied.
"What are you talking about? She's back at the festival, remember?" Mikey asked.
"No. No, she was here. She's-... we have to find the others, now. Come on." Leo said, striding briskly out of the alleyway.
"But Leo, what about-"
"NOW, Mikey!" Leo snapped over his shoulder, not even bothering to stop.
"Okay okay, sheesh." Mikey said. 'Can we at least finish this pizza real quick?" He groaned, shoveling the rest of it in his mouth as fast as possible, tossing the pizza box into the dumpster.
And there we have it for now! Just what is going on here? With problems stacking up against the turtles, will they be able to tackle all of them? Will April be able to stop Grayson from becoming governor and condemning mutants? Stay tuned for the next update! In the meantime, please leave a review with your thoughts!