Hey, guys! Before we begin, a few quick notes:
One – MERRY CHRISTMAS! What a wonderful time to remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God! May the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace! Praise the Lord! Amen!
Two – I'm only going to be doing seasons 1 to 4 of the 2k12 series. Season 5 is kind of a mess…plus I don't really want to do it.
Three – There will be absolutely NO romance between Jade and any of the Turtles (they're siblings, your honor). Turtles x OC isn't really my cup of tea, so if you're the same, this fic is free of that.
Four – For Jade's voice actress, I've decided on Michelle Ruff (for those who don't know, she's the English voice of Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach, Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann, Tsukasa Hiiragi from Lucky Star, Fujiko Mine from Lupin the 3rd, Sinon/Shino Asada from Sword Art Online II, etc.)
Five – I've drawn a reference of Jade's debut outfit, which is currently the cover art for this story. If you want to see the full version, it's on my deviantArt page (ScissorSoulOtaku235); I'll also be posting the drawings on AO3 (LittleRedTea). I'll draw each of Jade's outfits in this story, once I get to that particular chapter.
Six – I don't have a beta for this story, so I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammatical errors.
Seven – Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Please leave a review letting me know what you think! God bless you and have a wonderful day/night/whenever you read this!
Chapter 1: Rise of the Mutants (Part 1)
Ten years later…
The rules were simple.
The three of them would engage in a free-for-all. The first to surrender would be eliminated. Then, the two left standing would fight one-on-one; winner would fight Leonardo, while the loser would fight Raphael. Today's lesson was focusing on their weaponry skills.
Jumping up from their sitting positions, Jade, Donatello and Michelangelo swiftly drew their weapons. None of them spoke or moved for several seconds, their eyes narrowed in determination, as if to study one another. Nearby, Leo and Raph were sitting and watching their siblings.
Then, with a determined shout from each, all three charged. Donnie twirled his staff masterfully in his hands before thrusting one end at Jade, who swiftly blocked with her Tessen. She barely had a moment after Donnie pulled his staff back, before another shade of green entered her vision. Jade ducked and backflipped away from Mikey's roundhouse kick instinctively, stopping in a kneeling position just a few feet away.
With Jade out of the way, Donnie set his eyes on his next target. He swung his staff at Mikey with a shout, who responded by wrapping the chain of his nunchucks around the wooden weapon. Reddish-brown eyes widen in surprise before their owner was suddenly flipped over Mikey's head, catapulted by the staff that was firmly in Donnie's grasp. The purple-masked turtle regained himself in midair, landing gracefully on his feet and narrowing his gaze at his younger brother.
A smirk appeared on Mikey's face and he prepared to charge at Donnie, only to be met by Jade charging from a blind spot and kicking his side hard enough to send him stumbling for a few steps. That was enough time for Donnie to charge at Jade, spinning around to swing his Bo staff like a baseball bat at her. Jade immediately raised her Tessen, using it to halt his attack, then delivered a sweeping kick to his feet before he had time to pull away.
Donnie fell to his back with a grunt, though somersaulted away just as Jade was raising her leg to stomp down on his plastron, stopping on one knee a couple of feet away. "Y'know," he couldn't stop the playful grin that came to his face, even if he wanted to. "There better be some good algae muffins after this."
"You expect anything else from me?" Jade quipped back, crouching down slightly and still gripping her Tessen.
"Save some for me!" Mikey's excited shout drew both siblings' attention to the orange-masked terrapin, looking up in time to see him launching himself into the air, nunchucks spinning and a grin just as playful as Donnie's on his freckled face. "Booyakasha!"
Donnie and Jade both moved just as his nunchucks would have struck them. The moment his feet touched the carpeted floor, the feline and taller terrapin didn't hesitate to charge their brother. The next few minutes consisted of constant back and forth from all three teens. Attacking, blocking, jumping, dodging…
At first, it looked like it was going nowhere.
Then, gritting her teeth, Jade swung her Tessen towards Mikey and barreled towards him, going off to the side just a bit. The metallic fan spiraled through the air, and Mikey barely had enough time to see it coming and duck out of the way before Jade somersaulted from one side of the dojo to the other. She caught the Tessen in midair, and prepared to charge at Mikey from behind the moment her feet hit the ground.
Only that didn't happen.
Because Donnie, having seen what she was doing, took advantage of Mikey's distraction and ran towards the feline. Not wasting a moment, Donnie jumped and swung his staff and hit Jade in the stomach right before her feet could touch the carpeted floors, knocking the wind out of her and making her let out a surprised noise right before she was sent tumbling to the floor, finally stopping on her back. She barely had time to look up before Donnie pointed his staff at her; chocolate-brown eyes widening at the weapon that was mere inches from her face.
After a few seconds, Donnie and Mikey both relaxed. The former crouched down slightly to help Jade to her feet. She shot him a defeated yet grateful smile before grabbing her Tessen and making her way over to the other side of the dojo. She snapped her weapon shut and placed it back on her belt, then sat down not too far away from Leo and Raph.
With one out, the youngest two brothers faced off against each other. Just like a few minutes ago, Donnie and Mikey went back and forth for a while, exchanging and dodging attacks. Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, Mikey ended the match by knocking Donnie to the ground plastron-first and sitting on his brother's back, preventing the taller turtle from getting up.
Mikey laughed at his victory as the two stood up. At the same time, Leo and Raph stood up and walked over. Within seconds, Raph and Donnie were on one side of the dojo, while Mikey and Leo were on the other. From the sidelines, Jade unconsciously twitched her tail as she watched her brothers.
First up was Leo and Mikey. Katanas drawn, the blue-masked turtle charged first with a battle cry. "Oh yeah!" Mikey exclaimed, spinning his nunchucks and running forward as well. "Michelangelo is on the move!" Leo swung at Mikey once he was close enough, only for the latter to effortlessly jump over and land a few feet behind him. Leo whipped around. "You don't know what to do!" Mikey taunted.
Leo ran up to Mikey and swung again, but the freckled turtle dodged each attack smoothly. "I'm here, I'm there," he continued. "I could be anywhere!" He dodged one more attack, then appeared behind Leo again, who turned to face him once more. "How do you stop what you can't even see?"
Mikey charged again, nunchucks raised and ready for attack. But at the last second, Leo changed direction, and hit Mikey in the gut with the butt of his sword before he had a chance to react. With a loud grunt, Mikey dropped his nunchucks and rolled forward, before letting out a strangled noise and collapsing to the floor.
"Like that?" Leo spoke up for the first time, an amused smile on his face.
"Good one, Leo," Mikey wheezed out, then dragged himself to his feet and made his way over to Jade. He sat next to the feline, who gave him a reassuring smile. And he couldn't help but return it.
Taking that as his cue, Donnie twirled his staff a few times and pointed it at Raph. The red-masked terrapin, though, looked bored with the whole thing. He cracked his neck a few times, then spoke, "Alright, Donnie. Put down the staff and no one gets hurt."
Donnie snorted in disbelief, still aiming the weapon at his older brother. "Ah, you said that last time, Raph," he reminded him with a glare. "And then you hurt me."
"Yeah," Raph admitted, holding his hand up in preparation for a fight. "But…less than I would have."
"Yeah, right," Donnie scoffed.
The taller turtle lunged forward, rapidly switching between twirling the staff and thrusting it towards Raph, who relied on jumping around and jerking his head out of the way. Donnie attacked a few more times, each just as fruitless as the last. Then, he gave an overhead swing…only for the weapon to suddenly be yanked out of his hands faster than he could react.
Blinking in surprise, Donnie looked up to see Raph now holding his Bo staff. An all-too-familiar smirk on his face, Raph spun the staff in his hands for a few seconds, then promptly broke it cleanly in half over his knee.
He looked back up at Donnie, who gulped nervously. "Should've dropped the staff?" the purple-masked terrapin asked.
"Should've dropped the staff," Raph confirmed. Knowing what was coming next, Donnie tried to retreat, but wasn't quick enough. Raph ran over and started smacking Donnie on the shell with both halves of the staff, not unlike how a drummer would treat said instrument.
"Okay! Okay! Ow! I'm down!" Donnie cried out, having been forced to the floor from the beating.
Seemingly satisfied, Raph dropped the staff's remains and turned to face Leo, who was walking towards him. Donnie made his way over to his other two siblings and sat on Mikey's other side. Mikey stuck his tongue out at Donnie, who in return glared at him. Jade, meanwhile, smiled in amusement at the sight before returning her gaze to Leo and Raph.
The blue and red-banded terrapins both knelt down, eyes locking with each other. "Onegai shimasu," Leo said calmly.
"Whatever you say," Raph shrugged casually.
Leo stood up, unsheathing only one katana this time. In the same breath, Raph stood up as well, drawing his Sais. Leo ran forward and swung the blade down, only to have it blocked by Raph's Sais. The two struggled against each other for a couple of seconds before Leo pulled his katana back, dodging the swipe Raph sent his way.
Leo and Raph quickly circled each other, with Leo swinging again and Raph ducking to avoid it. The red-banded turtle twirled his Sais for a moment and, with a shout, ran towards his brother. Leo swung his katana, which Raph ducked to avoid again, and Raph slammed his elbow into Leo's chest once he was close enough. Leo grunted in a mix of surprise and pain, the attack forcing him to his hands and knees. But before Raph could fully turn around and strike again, Leo swung his body in his brother's direction, delivering a sweeping kick to Raph's feet that knocked him onto his back.
Leo stood back up, gripping his sword tightly, and Raph sprung up into a one-knee position, his emerald-green eyes narrowed. With a shout, Leo charged at Raph and swung his sword down, which the red-masked turtle against blocked with his Sais, only thing time Leo yanked his katana to the side, knocking the Sai out of Raph's right hand. The weapon went flying, rushing in between Mikey and Donnie, before hitting the wall behind them. Jade flattened her ears to her head and winced slightly at the clanging noise it made, while Mikey and Donnie wordlessly narrowed their eyes at their elder two brothers.
Eyes narrowed in determination and annoyance, Raph gripped the remaining Sai in his left hand. This time, both of them shouted as they charged at each other. Within seconds of clashing, Leo's katana fell from his grasp, and before he could even reach for the other one, Raph hooked Leo's wrist in one of his Sai's gaps, allowing him to twist around and grab his brother's arm with his free hand. Raph yanked Leo's entire body over his head, sending the blue-masked turtle to the ground shell-first.
Leo groaned, gripping his wrist with his eyes closed. "Nice try," Raph said with a smirk, prompting Leo to open his blue eyes and look up, seeing his brother standing over him proudly.
The sound of a door sliding open fills the air, immediately followed by a familiar voice exclaiming, "Yame!" Five pairs of eyes turned to the source, seeing a tall rat walk towards them with a green staff in hand.
The five teens quickly scrambled towards the middle of the dojo, sitting side-by-side on their knees in a single line. The order, as usual, was oldest to youngest. Leo was the last to join his siblings, sitting in the space between Jade and Raph. The moment he did so, Jade turned and gingerly placed her fingers on his wrist, making him look down. "You need anything?" she whispered to him.
Leo turned to his sister, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm okay," he whispered back. Jade returned the smile for a moment, then both of them straightened up once their Sensei approached the line.
"You all did very well," Splinter told his children as he walked past them.
"But I did better," Raph pointed out, prompting Leo and Jade to give him a pointed look.
"This is about self-improvement, Raphael," Splinter reminded his son as he made it to the end of the line, turning and walking behind them now. "It is not about winning and losing."
"I know, Sensei," Raph responded. Even so, he could help the grin that appeared on his face as he placed both hands behind his head. "But I won, and they lost."
This proved to be a mistake. Because once Splinter was behind him, he jabbed a fingernail into a specific nerve at the top of his neck, right underneath his mandible.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Raph yelped out, his eyes widening and face twisting in pain. "But what's really important is that we all did our best!" He said quickly, twitching his limbs in his discomfort. "Good job, everyone!"
Splinter finally removed his hand, causing Raph to collapse forward onto his hands, sighing heavily in relief. And behind him, Splinter laughed quietly to himself.
OoOoOoO
Sometime later, the family of six found themselves hunkered down in the kitchen. Five of them were seated at the island, with each of them having plates of brightly colored algae piled high, worms squirming through said piles. Jade, who sat directly across from Leo, grimaced as she picked through her plate, avoiding the worms like the plague. She'd never be able to get past their texture. And while Leo, Raph and Splinter all dug into theirs portions without complaint, Donnie was obviously having the same dilemma as her, sticking his tongue out in disgust at one point.
"There's a little more algae and worms left if anyone wants is," Mikey informed them, beaming as he mixed the pot in his arms. "Anybody?" he asked, looking between his older siblings. "Anybody?"
"No, thanks," Leo answered.
"I'm good," Raph added on.
"All yours," Donnie added, grimacing slightly.
At this, Jade and Mikey exchanged a quick look, the former smiling while the latter smirked slightly. "Well," Mikey started to say as Jade stood up from her seat. He placed the pot back on the stove, while she walked over to the fridge, quickly pulling something out and hiding it behind her back. "That's a shame."
The eldest and youngest walked over to the island. "And to think, we worked so hard on this…" Jade started to say, then quickly revealed what she was hiding. "Cake!" she exclaimed cheerfully.
Indeed, the platter in her hands held a large cake, vivid shades of green and blue on full display, with a single candle in the middle. Leo, Raph and Donnie's all lit up at the sight, practically hovering around the cake as it was placed on the island. "It is a cake," Donnie exclaimed.
Raph took a dollop of the gooey substance on one finger and licked it. "Made of….algae…" he said, his tone unenthusiastic, as they watched a single worm wriggle across the top of the dessert. "…and worms."
"What's the frosting made out of?" Leo asked.
"You don't wanna know," Mikey said quickly as Jade, who had grabbed a matchbox from a nearby drawer, quickly struck a match and lit the candle.
"Happy Mutation Day!" The feline exclaimed, her enthusiasm clear despite her timid voice.
"Happy Mutation Day!" All four turtles echoed around her, smiles evident on their faces.
"Ah, yes," Splinter said in a gentle tone. "Fifteen years ago today, our lives changed forever, and we became the unlikeliest of families."
"Tell us the story, Master Splinter," Mikey said, eagerly moving up to his Sensei's side.
"Michelangelo, I have already told it many times," Splinter said in amusement.
"Please?" Mikey begged, as Jade opened one of the drawers and pulled out a knife. "Pleeeease?!"
Raph, who had moved behind his brother, placed a hand over the freckled turtle's mouth, effectively silencing him. "Please," he groaned out, Jade watching over his shoulder with a soft smile, working to cut up the cake. "It's the only way to shut Mikey up."
Splinter sighed. "Very well," he relented.
OoOoOoO
That night was so vivid to him. Feeling like it only happened yesterday.
"Kitty!" Jade squealed joyfully, petting the purring feline through the cage's bars. "Kitty!"
From the checkout desk, Yoshi watched the one-year-old with a gentle smile. It had only been a few months since he found her wandering the outskirts of New York City. No one had come looking for her, based on the lack of missing child alerts. Even the police couldn't identify her. So, not wanting to place the toddler in foster care, Yoshi had decided to adopt her.
Partly out of obligation. But mostly because whenever he looked at her, whenever she smiled or giggled or babbled, Yoshi saw his little Miwa, even if it was only for a second.
"And what shall your name be, little one?" Yoshi had asked the night he made his decision, lifting the giggly toddler into his arms.
"Jade!" she had exclaimed, her little hand reaching up and patting his cheek. "Jade!" she had been saying the word constantly since Yoshi found her a few days ago. At first, he assumed it was her favorite word to say, but he now realized it was what her family must have called her.
Yoshi had laughed softly, brushing a finger against the toddler's face, eliciting another giggle from her. His eye momentarily went to the strange, pink, eyeshadow-like markings on the top and sides of her eyelids. It wasn't makeup, as the officers at the station hadn't been able to wash it off, nor was it a tattoo. And it wasn't a sign of a medical condition, either, as a trip to the doctor quickly disproved that. Some kind of birthmark, maybe? Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be harming the toddler.
Now, after a few months, the adoption process has been finalized. And to celebrate, Yoshi had taken Jade to the local pet store, where they had purchased four baby turtles.
"Come along, aka-chan," Yoshi called once the clerk was done, getting Jade's attention. She immediately scurried to his side, leaving the store with him.
But during their walk home, movement in a nearby alley caught Jade's attention. After a moment, a scrawny cat suddenly burst from the alley, yowling as it ran down the street.
"Kitty!" Jade exclaimed, immediately giving chase.
"No!" Yoshi exclaimed, hurrying after the overexcited toddler. "Jade, stop!"
The girl didn't seem to hear him, too lost in her desire to catch the feline. But alas, the cat was too fast for her, and Jade lost sight after a couple of blocks. Now tired and alone, Jade whimpered as she toddled down the empty street. "Chichi?" she whimpered out, using the word Yoshi had taught her. Where was her father? "Chichi?"
More movement drew her attention, and she looked over in time to see a tall figure disappear down a nearby alleyway. Jade brightened up. There he was!
"Chichi!" the toddler said, rushing over. But once she turned the corner, the smile left her face.
There were a few men in the alley, one of which holding a canister filled with a glowing blue-green substance. But none of these men were her father.
Whimpering softly to herself, Jade started to back away. She nearly made it to the entrance when Yoshi, who had finally caught up to her, rounded the corner and accidentally stepped on the tail of a brown rat, which had been sniffing through the alleyway just moments ago.
The rat let out a loud shriek, making Jade jump and cry out in surprise, as the men turned towards the source. "Jade," Yoshi breathed out in relief.
Unfortunately, this relief proved to be short-lived, as the strange men quickly approached and surrounded them.
"Go no further," they said, their voices sounding almost…robotic. Jade whimpered and hugged Splinter's leg, clearly distressed by the scary-looking men being so close. "This place is a place where you are not allowed to be in this place. We have been seen in this place by you, so this is not a place that will be left by you."
Yoshi acted swiftly, fighting off the men while keeping Jade and the four turtles safe. The man who had been carrying the canister dropped it the moment Yoshi punched, causing it to hit the ground. The glass shattered upon impact, and glowing substance splashed all over Jade and Yoshi, who dropped the glass bowl in his surprise, also shattering and causing the four turtles to tumble into the ooze.
Yoshi yelled out in pain, his flesh feeling like it was on fire as his body painfully transformed against his will. Bones twisted and muscles quickly rearranged themselves, as fur rapidly covered his skin, and Yoshi felt his clothes rip open as his height and mass increased.
It was only when the transformation ended that a new sound hit his ears, and Yoshi realized that Jade was squalling in distress. He immediately turned to the toddler, ready to grab and comfort her, only to freeze as his eyes widened. Instead of a human toddler, a small, humanoid cat was lying on the ground where Jade had previously been. A cat with brown fur, and a white tail tipped with black.
But she still had a mess of auburn hair atop her head, albeit a slightly darker shade now. Her little pink dress was now torn up and dirty. And when she looked up, she had familiar pink markings over her eyes, which were a familiar shade of brown.
"…Jade?" Yoshi breathed out in disbelief at what he was seeing, reaching towards the toddler with one hand. He frozen again, however, when he got a good look at his hand. It was thinner now, with four fingers instead of five, pinker, and accompanied by claws.
Before he could further contemplate this, though, more movement caught his eye, and he looked up to see the four turtles also growing, becoming humanoid and quickly standing on two legs instead of four…
OoOoOoO
"That was the beginning of our lives together," Splinter concluded his story, holding up the empty canister. Most of the glass had been glued back together, though a good chunk of it was long gone. "It was the mysterious substance in this canister that, in a way, gave birth to us all."
Mikey smiled and grabbed the canister from his Sensei, hugging it close to him. "Mom," he practically cooed. His four siblings, each of them having a slice of the algae cake in front of them, gave him a look, ranging from confusion to annoyance to amusement.
Leo cleared his throat. "So, Sensei," he said, as Mikey sat down between Jade and Raph. "Now that we're fifteen and sixteen, I think we're finally ready to go up to the surface, don't you?"
All five teens turned to their father, eager smiles appearing on their faces. "Yes…" Splinter said simply.
The five broke out into cheers.
"Sweet!"
"Woohoo!"
"Yes!"
"Alright!"
"Yeah!"
"…And no," Splinter said.
The smiles immediately left their faces, instead being replaced with dejected looks as they lowered their heads.
"Aww, man!"
"Come on!"
"Oh…"
"Lame…"
"I hate when he does that."
"You have grown powerful, but you are still young," Splinter said. He stood up from his seat. "You lack the maturity to use your skills wisely."
He started to walk out, only to be interrupted when Donnie spoke up. "So, Sensei, isn't that just…no?"
"Yes," Splinter answered. "And no." He turned around to face his children. "Wisdom comes from experience. And experience comes from making mistakes."
"Aha!" Donnie exclaimed, stroking his chin in thought. "So, in order for us to gain the wisdom, we have to make the mistakes. So we can go!" He looked back up at the rat, displaying his gap-toothed grin as he did so.
"No," Splinter said bluntly.
Donnie looked a little disappointed, but didn't lose his grin just yet. "And…yes?" he asked hopefully.
"No!" Splinter responded, his voice a little harsher now.
Donnie groaned, fully losing his smile this time, and lowered his head. Next to him, however, Leo wasn't as easily defeated.
"Sensei," he spoke up, his tone calm yet desperate. "We know you're trying to protect us…but we can't spend our whole lives hiding down here."
Frowning slightly, Splinter turned away, stroking his beard in thought. When he turned back to his children, he was surprised to find all five of them sitting on the floor in front of him, their hands clasped together and giving him their best attempt at puppy-dog eyes.
Splinter stared at them for a moment, then sighed heavily. "You may go. Tonight."
Their reactions were instantaneous.
"Whoo!"
"Awesome!"
"Aww, yeah!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Booyakasha! Haha!"
Mikey sprung to his feet. "High three!" he exclaimed, and all four of his siblings slapped their hands against his in their excitement.
OoOoOoO
Finishing tying her auburn hair back into a ponytail, Jade looked over herself in the mirror once more. Nothing could wipe the giddy grin off her face. She had made this outfit weeks ago, in hopes of finally going to the surface, and it seems her prayers had been answered. After all, the girls in those cartoons always made sure to look their best before going out, and she wasn't about to be the exception!
Adjusting her clothes one last time, Jade stepped into the hallway, closing her bedroom door behind her. Donnie and Mikey were both already in the hall, talking excitedly to each other, and turned towards her at the sound of the door shutting. Their talking ceased, and their eyes widened. And suddenly, despite her eagerness to wear her new outfit, Jade couldn't help but look at the floor bashfully.
Her previous training clothes, which had consisted of a pink exercise shirt and black basketball shorts, had been replaced. Now, the feline wore a white bandeau bra and reddish-pink spandex shorts underneath a short, sleeveless, dark gray qipao dress-like top that ended at her mid-thigh with high slits on either side, and a black band around her waist. Her feet, which were bare during training, now had dark brown hanfu boots on them. There was a brown belt secured around her waist, holding her Tessen on her left, while the right side had a single pouch that rested on her hip. The outfit was accompanied by gray knee and elbow pads, as well as rouge-pink wristbands.
And of course, her pink mask was being used to hold up her neck-length ponytail, having been tied into a ribbon.
"Whoa! Lookin' good, sis!" Mikey said cheerfully.
Jade giggled nervously as she flattened her ears to her head, feeling her face heat up and twisting the ends of her ponytail with one finger. "Really?" she asked shyly. "Y-You think so?"
"Yeah," Donnie added on, inspecting his sister's outfit. "Plus, nothing's restrictive or loose, so it looks like it would be good in combat."
Jade laughed softly again, unsure of how else to respond. Thankfully, she didn't have to, as Raph's voice drew the trio's attention to the living room, where Leo was currently watching his favorite show: Space Heroes.
"You know this show is stupid, right?" the red-banded terrapin asked dryly, not looking up from his magazine.
"Space Heroes is a great show," Leo argued back. "And Captain Ryan is a great hero. Someday, I am gonna be just like him."
Raph looked up from his magazine, shooting the older turtle an amused, almost condescending smirk. "Well, you do like to hear yourself talk, so you're on your way."
Donnie, Mikey and Jade turned to look at each other. All three of them nodded, and headed out into the living room. "It's go time!" Mikey called out excitedly, the trio throwing their arms up excitedly.
OoOoOoO
"You are going up to a strange and hostile world," Splinter said, walking in front of his five children, who were all lined up in front of the lair's entrance. "You must maintain awareness at all times."
"Hai, Sensei!" The teens exclaimed in unison. They started to turn to leave—
"Stay in the shadows," Splinter added on.
All five of them straightened up, forming the line again. "Hai, Sensei!" They started to turn again—
"Don't talk to strangers," Splinter continued.
"Hai, Sensei!" They exclaimed, though their voices weren't as enthusiastic this time.
"Everyone is a stranger!" Splinter added.
"Hai, Sensei," the five said, not even bothering with the line and clearly annoyed now. They turned and ran towards the entrance, but didn't even make it to the steps before—
"Make sure you go before you leave!" All five froze in their tracks. "The restrooms up there are filthy!"
"Sensei!" The teens snapped.
Splinter sighed heavily, lowering his arm, and gave them a warm look. "Good luck, my children."
The five could barely contain their excitement.
"I am so pumped!"
"Surface time!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Here we go!"
"This gonna be epic!"
They all jumped over the turnstile, running out with big grins on their faces. "Look both ways before crossing the street!" Splinter called after them, though they were already out of earshot by now.
OoOoOoO
Leo lifted the manhole cover a few inches, glancing around for a moment, and completely removing the object once he was sure the coast was clear. He pulled himself up to the concrete, with the rest of his siblings behind him. They all looked around in wonder.
They were currently standing in an alleyway, one littered with trash and graffiti on the walls. Flies buzzed while little rats squeaked and scurried around the corners, and there was a homeless man sleeping on a nearby mattress, using an old newspaper as a blanket.
The sound of nearby police sirens and whistling winds filled the air, and the five turned their attention to the entrance of the alleyway, showing the rest of the city before them. Several stars dotted the dark sky, the moonlight bathed everything in a bluish light, and several buildings were alit with activity.
"It's so beautiful…" Mikey breathed out, all five of them staring wide-eyed at New York City.
OoOoOoO
"The city is full of possibility," Leo said as the five teens made their way through the surprisingly empty streets. "There could be an adventure around this corner." He paused and rushed up to the corner of another building. "O-Or this one!" He ran to another corner, this one belonging to a building across the street. "Or this one!" That particular corner led to another street, where a scrawny alley cat jumped from a corner. "There's not, but there could be!" Leo excitedly ran down the sidewalk, while Mikey somersaulted on top of a nearby street light.
Donnie stopped in his tracks halfway past the window of an electronics store, pressing his face and hands against the glass. "Look at all the computers!" He exclaimed in awe, then gasped as a particular one caught his eye. "Is that the next generation cadmium processor with quantum encryption?!"
"I don't know, Donatello," Raph responded dryly. "Is it?"
Donnie narrowed his eyes slightly through the glass, and lit up with excitement a few seconds later. "It is!" he exclaimed, earning an eye roll from Raph.
Across the street, Jade sniffed the air as she walked past the various shops. The surface had so many new odors, too many for her to place at once, to the point where it was nearly overwhelming. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy taking in every moment of being on the surface.
Before she knew it, Jade had stopped in front of a large…actually, she wasn't sure what it was. It looked like a giant black box, though the front of it was glass, allowing her to see that there were several small, colorful things inside. "Ooh…" she said in wonder, then eyed one particular thing behind the glass. "'Danish…Cherry and Cheese…'" she read out loud to herself. She had no idea what a 'Danish' was, but she had heard the words 'cherry' and 'cheese' on TV a few times, and the people always smiled when they had it. Besides, the item looked very appealing in its colorful plastic wrap.
Jade looked down and saw a rectangle underneath the glass, and crouching down allowed her to see that it had 'PUSH' written on it. She smiled and eagerly stuck her hand in…only to realize that everything was out of reach. The smile left her face, and the feline struggled to at least reach something from the bottom row for several seconds, but to no avail. "Aww…" she said dejectedly as she pulled her arm out and stood back up.
"Guys! Guys!" Mikey's excited shout drew his siblings' attention, the freckled turtle in question pointing to another store window. "Check this out!" He pressed himself up against the window, which had a large, glowing pink outline of a hand on the other side. "A hand made out of light!" The hand suddenly vanished, giving way to a glowing blue outline of an eye instead. Mikey gasped. "Now it's an eye made out of light!" The hand and eye switched places. "And the hand again! Now the eye's back! Now the hand!"
"Come on, genius," Raph grumbled out, grabbing Mikey by the tails of his mask and dragging him away from the window.
"The eye!" Mikey cried out. Raph dragged him to the middle of the street, where Jade, Leo and Donnie were all waiting for them.
"So where to next?" Donnie asked once all five of them are together. Before anyone could come up with an answer, the sound of an approaching vehicle and the appearance of a sudden light reached them. The five turned with wide eyes to the source, just in time to see a young human boy, probably no older than them, slow his motorcycle to a stop in front of them.
The boy stared at them in surprise and confusion, looking at the five mutants before him. And they could only stare back with similar expressions. Except for Raph, who was smirking, and growled menacingly at the kid while waving his fingers at him. The kid yelled and immediately turned the motorcycle before speeding off, dropping a flat white box off the back of the vehicle. Jade flinched back and flattened her ears at the loudness of the engine.
Raph laughed as Jade rubbed her ears. "That was kinda fun," the red-banded turtle said.
"We're too exposed out here," Leo said. He turned and looked up at some nearby rooftops. "Come on," he said as he hurried in that direction. The others followed his lead, but Mikey froze in his track when he spotted the box laying in the street.
OoOoOoO
A few minutes later, the Hamato siblings found themselves on a rooftop, crowding around and staring curiously at the box, which they had set on an AC unit.
"Piz-za?" Mikey tried to read the words amidst the red and green on the box. Honestly, his guess was as good as anyone's.
"Should we open it?" Donnie hesitantly asked.
Jade, sandwiched in between Leo and Raph, leaned forward and sniffed the box curiously. She hummed softly. "It doesn't smell bad," she reported. "Actually, it smells…pretty good…whatever it is."
Nonetheless, Leo pushed Jade back to her original position with one hand. "Careful," he cautioned. "It could be dangerous."
Raph rolled his eyes and flipped the box open. Steam rose into the air, and the new smell was much stronger now. Five pairs of eyes looked down, finding a large circle with a brown outline, covered in splashes of red and yellow, and topped with several smaller, dark red circles. And on top of that, it looked like it had been cut into several even triangles.
"I think it's…food," Donnie said after a moment.
"It's not like any food I ever saw," Raph commented.
"I'll try it," Mikey volunteered, picking up one of the triangular slices. He inspected it for a second before sending a silent prayer and bringing it to his mouth. All four of his siblings watched in anticipation as he bit down on the pointed end of the slice.
Mikey's eyes widened, and you could practically see his mind exploding in wonder.
He let out a noise of joy and shoved the rest of the slice into his mouth, clearly enjoying the flavor, and swallowed before belching loudly. He glanced back at his siblings. "Uh…yuck!" he exclaimed. "You guys won't like it. I'll take the rest." He started to reach for the rest of the circle—the pizza.
"Uh-uh!"
"No way!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Back off!"
It quickly turned into a free-for-all, with each of them scrambling to grab at least one slice. The box was stripped clean of the pizza, which the siblings were all shoving down their gullets, each of them making similar happy noises as the youngest seconds before.
Raph swallowed his current mouthful, grinning with wide eyes at his half-eaten slice. "I never thought I'd taste anything better than worms and algae, but this is amazing!" He shoved the rest of the slice into his mouth.
"You said it!" Jade practically laughed through her mouthful of pizza. She swallowed and didn't hesitate to lick the fingers of the hand that held that slice, while her other held a second slice. Raph shot her an amused smirk.
"I love it up here!" Mikey shouted to the sky, throwing his arms up in glee.
OoOoOoO
The sound of laughter and cheers filled the night air as the five mutants ran and jumped across the various rooftops of New York City, catapulting themselves from water towers and sliding over skylights, until they all skidded to a halt one-by-one at the edge of a roof that overlooked another street. They all straightened themselves up, looking over the city in wonder as the wind gently swayed the tails of their masks (and fur, hair and clothes, in Jade's case).
"Alright, guys," Leo announced after a few minutes of silence between them. "It's getting late. We should probably head back home."
"Aww…"
"Man…"
"Lame."
It was the expected response, but no one argued. They started to turn around when—
Donnie gasped. "Guys, look at that," he said in awe, making his siblings stop and turn back to the street below, where the purple-banded genius was pointing at something.
The object of his interest was revealed to be two people walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The first of the two was a middle-aged man, who was bald yet had some orange hair on the back and side of his head, a matching beard, blue eyes, and wearing a brown jacket with a gray undershirt, tan pants, and brown shoes.
And right next to him was a girl who couldn't have been any older than sixteen. She had shoulder-length ginger hair tied into a small ponytail with ride-sided curved bangs, blue eyes, and freckles. Her own attire consisted of a yellow headband, an elbow-length black shirt with a yellow and white sport shirt with the number "5" over it, blue denim shorts, black tights, brown bandages/bracelets around her wrists, white high socks with two blue stripes on them, and black low-heeled boots.
Donnie's jaw dropped, unable to tear his eyes away as he felt his heartrate pick up. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen…" he said in a dazed voice, as if he wasn't aware that he was speaking.
"Uh…besides Jade…isn't she the only girl you've ever seen?"
Raph's voice snapped Donnie out of his daze, making him turn to his immediate older brother, who was giving him a blank stare. Jade, standing in between Leo and Donnie, laughed softly in amusement. Donnie felt his face heat up in embarrassment and looked away. "My point still stands," he quickly defended himself.
Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of tires squealing made them all turn back to the street. A white van with an unusual-looking black and red logo rapidly pulled up to the corner the man and girl were about to turn. Both of them stopped, and the five could hear the man's confused, "What?" from here.
The passenger door open, revealing a slim man with messy dark hair, a white tank top, blue jeans, and black boots. Barely a second later, both of the back doors slammed open, and five identical men stepped out. Each of them had slicked-back dark hair, a black suit with a blue shirt underneath and navy-blue tie, and wore an unnerving blank expression. The men started approaching the father and daughter, the latter clutching the former's arm as he spoke again, "What is this?!" Even from here, the siblings could see the fear and confusion the girl's face.
Donnie's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. "We gotta save 'em!" He was about to jump down, but stopped when Leo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Splinter's instructions were very clear," the blue-masked terrapin reminded him. "We're supposed to stay away from people. And bathrooms."
"I thought you wanted to be a hero," Raph practically growled out, narrowing his green eyes at his older brother. "Since when do heroes ask for permission?"
"They don't," Leo responded. "But—"
"Well I'm going!" Donnie declared, and jumped from the roof's edge without giving anyone a chance to stop him again. Raph and Mikey both followed suit a second later. Leo turned in disbelief to Jade, who could only give him a sheepish shrug before jumping after the three. Leo sighed heavily in defeat, and followed his siblings.
OoOoOoO
Things…weren't going as planned.
Okay, sure, there really wasn't a plan to begin with outside of "rescue the girl and her father from those strange men."
But they thought it would be easier than this.
Jade narrowed her eyes as she landed in front of one of the five men, her Tessen fanned out in her right hand. She ran forward and delivered a roundhouse kick to his side before he could do anything, causing him to stumble but not fall down. The man straightened himself up, his face still as blank as his companions'.
Jade scrunched her face up a bit, not just because it was unnerving, but because there was this…peculiar odor in the air. It was partly metallic, and partly…actually, she couldn't find the word for it. All she knew was that it hung heavy in the air, and it was unpleasant. Was this what all humans smelled like?
Trying to put the smell out of her mind, Jade ran up and swung her Tessen at the man, only to have him catch her wrist before it could make contact. She barely had enough time to let out a surprised, "Huh?" before he suddenly threw her over his shoulder. Jade yelled in surprise, and was barely able to recollect herself in midair before landing painfully on the asphalt.
Gritting her teeth, Jade stood back up and ran to the man again. He aimed a punch at her once she was close enough, but she quickly leaped over him, snapping her Tessen shut and spinning around in midair. She landed behind the man and hurriedly jumped onto his back, wrapping her legs around his torso and placing her Tessen horizontally against his throat, her hands gripping either end of the weapon as she pulled it towards herself.
The man stumbled as she jumped on him. But to her surprise, he didn't react to her attempt to choke him. Instead, he calmly reached behind with both hands—Jade mentally yelled at herself for not pinning his arms to his sides with her legs—and grabbed her by the back of her clothes, yanking her off almost effortlessly and throwing her to the side, where Raph was facing off against one of the other men.
Jade collided with the back of Raph's legs, eliciting a surprised "Oomph!" from the red-masked turtle as they both tumbled for a second, the other man having stepped out of their way and watching with that same blank expression, before stopping on top of each other in the street. "Sorry, sorry!" Jade hurriedly said, trying to untangle herself from her younger brother. Raph managed to gather himself and help Jade to her feet. "Are you—" she didn't get to finish before he rushed back to fight his opponent. "O-Okay," she said, then shook her head quickly and ran back into battle as well, Tessen still in hand.
The fight after that wasn't much better. And based on the sounds of surprised and pained grunts around her, Jade could tell that her brothers had similar results. After probably the third time getting tossed and landing near one of her brothers, this time Mikey, the orange-masked turtle glanced down at her.
Then, he lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Yo, Jade!" the feline perked her ears up and looked up at Mikey from where she was sitting a few feet away on the asphalt. "What'd'ya say we use our special move?"
At those two words, an excited grin made its way to Jade's face. Mikey hurried over, one hand reaching out while Jade started to raise her own hand—
"Absolutely not!"
Mikey and Jade immediately halted their actions, turning to the source of the voice: Leo, both katanas in hand, looking over his shoulder several feet away in an odd mix of anger and panic.
"What?" Jade exclaimed in confusion.
"Why not?" Mikey challenged, looking annoyed.
"Because every time you two use your special move, you wreck the dojo!" Leo snapped.
"But we're not in the—" Mikey didn't get the chance to finish, as one of the men suddenly punched him, sending him flying past a wide-eyed Jade with a grunt.
"Well, I'm not risking you two wrecking anything up here!" Leo argued as Jade scrambled to rush over and help Mikey to his feet, before turning his attention back to his own battle.
Jade wasn't sure how long the fight went on after that. But the next thing she knew, she, Leo and Raph were all somehow thrown into each other (thanks to the latter two arguing and not paying attention), ending up with her sandwiched between the two of them in a tangle of limbs. They manage to pull themselves up and apart from each other in time to hear Donnie yell, "They're getting away! They got the girl!"
Donnie was already way ahead by the time the eldest three siblings rounded the corner after him.
"You just jabbed me with your sword!" Raph snapped at Leo, both of them slightly ahead of their sister.
"Well, I didn't know you were gonna land where I was stabbing!" Leo argued back.
"Boys!" Jade yelled, making Raph and Leo stop in their tracks in surprise. Jade's expression immediately shifted from annoyed to discomfit, as she stopped for a moment as well. "S-Sorry," she said, her voice quiet and sheepish now. She shook her head, and quickly added, "C'mon."
The feline bolted past them. Leo and Raph exchanged a quick glance before following suit.
OoOoOoO
They couldn't keep up.
Jade had managed to track Donnie down by his scent, beyond grateful she could do so even with all the overwhelming odors of the city, and eventually founding him kneeling in the street several blocks away, panting in exhaustion. He hadn't been able to keep up with the van.
They had failed.
After giving themselves a minute to catch their breaths, the four of them headed back, unsure of what to do next aside from picking up their youngest brother. Jade led the way, tracking Mikey's scent this time. All four of them were tired, and Jade's ears twitched as she heard them grumbling to themselves.
They were nearly there when Mikey rounded the corner and ran up to his older siblings. "Guys!" he exclaimed, panting with wide eyes. "Guys, you're never gonna believe this! That dude, he-he…had a brain!"
The four of them could only stare for a moment before Leo calmly responded, "We all have brains, Mikey."
"Not all of us," Donnie grumbled out.
Mikey placed both his hands over his upper plastron in exasperation. "In our chests?!"
"No, Mikey," Leo sighed. "Not in our chests."
Mikey stared for a moment, then yelled out, "You're not listening to me!"
SMACK!
Baby blue eyes widened for a moment, their owner getting into a defensive position at the sudden attack, then narrowed at the one responsible for is. "Did you just slap me?" Mikey growled out.
"I was calming you down," Leo said, trying to ignore the wide-eyed look Jade was giving him right now.
Mikey shook his head. "Why would that calm me down?!"
"I think he's delusional," Donnie said.
"Guys, please," Jade sighed.
"Just-just…come here," Mikey started to walk towards an alleyway, motioning for his siblings to follow him. Jade went first, and Raph, Leo and Donnie followed suit after glancing at each other for a moment. "I'm telling you, the big guy was a robot and he had a freaky weird alien brain-thing in his chest!" He paused to turn back to them. "You gotta believe me!"
Jade opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Raph saying, "I'm not sure we do." She closed her mouth again.
"Oh yeah?" Mikey challenged, all five of them finally making it to the alleyway. "Well, you'll change your tune when you see that he's—" he cut himself off when they all turned to see…an empty alleyway. "…Gone?"
Mikey turned back to his siblings. Raph shook his head before walking away with Leo and Donnie. Jade watched them for a moment, before turning back to Mikey and placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, blue eyes meeting brown, and she gave him a small smile. Mikey returned it, even though he knew it was one of pity. He headed after their brothers, with the feline right behind him.
OoOoOoO
Robot…alien brain thing…
Jade twitched her tail slightly as the five of them walked through the sewer tunnels, heading back to the lair. Why was she having the weirdest case of déjà vu right now?
Robots and alien brains…She felt like she heard that before, but couldn't place exactly where…
"Mikey?" Jade spoke up, her voice bouncing off the tunnel as the orange-banded turtle next to her turned his head. "What did the robot look like?" She wasn't sure where she was going with this question, but she was hoping it would help her remember, even if it was only a little.
"Oh, it was freaky!" Mikey exclaimed, his voice much louder and ricocheting around the tunnel. "It was all blue underneath his skin, and it had this freaky pink glow!" Jade nodded a few times, prompting Mikey to continue. "And then his stomach opened up, and that brain thingy screamed at me and attacked my face!"
Chocolate-brown eyes widened, their owner freezing in her tracks. Mikey stopped as well in confusion, and immediately understood why when a pair of soft, furry hands reached for his face, clearly checking for any injuries. "Dudette, I'm fine," he said, his voice a bit quieter now. He grabbed her hand and gently removed them from his freckled cheeks.
Jade breathed out in relief, then asked, "What did it scream at you?"
"Oh, it didn't say any words," Mikey said. "It was just a loud shriek—"
"Guys."
The eldest and youngest of the Hamato siblings turned in unison to see Leo, Raph and Donnie several feet ahead of them, all three wearing an annoyed expression. "Enough," Leo said simply before continuing through the tunnel.
"And quit humoring him, Jade," Raph added on as he and Donnie trailed behind.
Jade flattened her ears to her head, while Mikey lowered his own head slightly, before continuing their trek through the sewers.
OoOoOoO
"And so your inability to work together allowed them all to get away."
The five found themselves sitting in the dojo, lined up in front of Splinter. Sitting in between Raph and Leo, Jade flattened her ears and looked down, guilt welling up in her chest as she realized for the first time that those innocent people had been kidnapped, and her mind had been elsewhere until then. A part of her wanted to just run out of the dojo and track them down…but she didn't even know where to start looking.
"Well," Raph's voice made her look up. "Maybe if I hadn't gotten knocked off my feet, I could've saved them!" He turned towards Jade as he said this, green eyes narrowed at his sister.
Jade felt her face heat up, crossing her arms over her chest. "I said I was sorry," she practically hissed at him. Then, desperate to get the attention off of her, Jade turned to Leo and blurted out, "Why didn't you just let me and Mikey use our special move? It could've worked!"
"For the last time, you two are a danger every time you use your special move," Leo argued back, then turned to Donnie. "And you went flying off on your own. How smart was that?"
"Well, it would've worked out great," Donnie snapped, turning to Mikey. "If somebody hadn't hit me in the head with their nunchucks!"
"Well, none of this would've happened if…" Mikey turned to his left, only to see no one else there, then blurted out without thinking, "Somebody hadn't trusted us to go up there in the first place!"
All five siblings gasped when they realized what the youngest had just said, instantly straightening up and looking at their father with wide eyes. "Oh, boy…" Mikey groaned out. "Sensei, I didn't mean to—"
"No, Michelangelo," Splinter cut him off. "You are right."
"I am?" Mikey said in surprised.
"He is?" Jade, Leo, Raph and Donnie all said in unison in a similar tone.
"You were not fully prepared for what was up there," Splinter explained, walking past his children. "I trained you to fight as individuals, not as a team. And as your teacher, your father, the responsibility for that is mine. Perhaps in another year we can try again."
Jade perked her ears up in surprise, while Donnie sputtered in disbelief at what he was hearing. "Another year?" he echoed. "Has everybody forgotten that people were kidnapped? They don't have a year! Sensei, we have to do something now!" Splinter narrowed his eyes, though that didn't stop Donnie. "You weren't there, Sensei. You didn't see the way that girl looked into my eyes. She was scared. And she was counting on me—uh, us," he quickly corrected himself when his siblings gave him a pointed look. "To save her!"
All five of them looked back up at their teacher. Splinter furrowed his brow for a moment, then turned around, staring at a lone picture frame that sat on a nearby shelf. It contained a black and white photograph of himself when he was still human, along with his beloved Tang Shen and their baby girl, Miwa.
He was silent for several seconds, clearly lost in thought, then spoke up. "Yes." He turned back to his children. "You must save her."
"I agree, Sensei," Leo said. "But in that fight, we weren't exactly a well-oiled machine."
"Like that robot with the brain thingy," Mikey added on.
"Give it a rest," Raph groaned out.
Splinter hummed quietly as he stroked his bread, making the five turn back to him. "If you are to fight more effectively as a unit, you are going to need a leader."
Leo quickly rose his hand. "Can I be the leader?" he asked eagerly.
"Why should you be the leader?" Raph asked in annoyance. "I kicked your butt. I should be the leader!"
"Hey," Donnie argued. "I'm smarter than all you guys put together. It should be me!"
"No way!" Mikey spoke up. "It should be me!" His older siblings stared at him, clearly waiting for his reasoning. "I don't really have a reason. I just think it would be neat."
Raph, Leo and Donnie all blinked at him for a moment before redirecting their gazes to Jade, who suddenly looked sheepish at being put on the spot. "U-Uh, well," she said nervously, looking at the ground and refusing to make eye contact with anyone. "I think I should be the leader because…because…" she sputtered for a moment, trying to find a good reason, and just said the only thing she could think of, "…because I'm…the oldest?" Her tense posture and unsure tone did not help her case.
"This is a difficult decision," Splinter said, walking into his room. "I will meditate on it." He closed the door. Then, a second later, he reopened the door. "It's Leonardo." He closed the door again, clearly leaving no room for arguments.
Leo turned to his red-banded brother, giving him a small grin. "No hard feelings, Raph?" he asked.
Raph groaned loudly in irritation as he stood up. "Stick it in your shell," he grumbled as he walked out of the dojo.
OoOoOoO
"Explain to me one more time what we're doing here?" Mikey said, just loud enough for his siblings to hear him, all five of them scattered across the rooftop.
Leo, Raph and Donnie all groaned in exasperation, while Jade merely swayed her tail a couple of times. "Mikey, we've been over this," Leo said. He pointed down to the building across the street. "That building has the same logo as the van that was used to kidnap the family. So, if we wait here long enough, one of the kidnappers will eventually show his face. And when he does, we'll make him tell us where they took them."
"And then we got ourselves a van!" Mikey added on cheerfully, pumping his fist.
Leo slapped his palm against his forehead. "Just hit the guy I tell you to," he sighed.
"Will do!" Mikey gave his brother a thumbs up.
"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Raph asked.
"Trust me," Leo said confidently. "They'll be here any second."
OoOoOoO
Seconds quickly turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. And the Hamato siblings spent those hours on the rooftop, watching and waiting.
Well, okay, Leo spent the hours watching and waiting. The others did whatever they could to pass the time.
It first started with Mikey and Donnie playing paper football together; Jade tried to watch, though her mind soon dissolved into daydreaming. She did, however, snap back to reality when Mikey accidentally hit Donnie between the eyes with his paper football, trying to suppress her giggles while Donnie glared at their younger brother.
Mikey feel asleep at some point, while Donnie tried to jump rope using an old rope he found in a nearby alleyway, only for it to get tangled around his legs and trip him. Jade, meanwhile, resorted to lying on her stomach and drawing on the rooftop with a piece of chalk she found; a couple of doodles over here, John 3:16 written out over there.
Eventually, Mikey and Donnie sat shell-to-shell, playing a game together, while Jade laid on her back, staring up at the stars and her tail occasionally flickering. "Okay," Mikey said when it was his turn, a cheeky grin on his face. "I'm thinking of something green. Ga-reen. Ga-reen."
"Is it Raphael again?" Donnie asked in a bored tone.
"Man, you're good at this!" Mikey exclaimed as Raph shook his head.
OoOoOoO
"Give it up, already," Raph groaned to Leo. "The guy's not gonna show."
"We have to be patient," Leo said.
"No, you need to come up with a better plan!" Raph snapped. "'Cause the five of us standing here with our thumbs up our noses…"
Mikey looked down at his own thumbs. "I don't think they'd fit," he commented.
"…Is pointless," Raph finished.
At that moment, Leo couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face. "You sure about that, Raph?"
Raph gave his brother the most deadpan look he could. "He just showed up, didn't he?" he asked dryly. Sure enough, the same van from hours before pulled into the alleyway across the street. "I should've complained two hours ago…"
The skinny man jumped out of the van. All five siblings found themselves standing on the edge of the roof. "Gentlemen and lady, I have a bold a daring plan," Leo exclaimed with a grin, reciting his favorite like from Space Heroes. "There's no time for hesitation. My orders must be carried out without question." He looked around, and noticed for the first time that his brothers and sister had left without him. "Guys? Guys, wait up!"
The five landed several feet in front of the man, who froze up as they approached him. "Alright, buddy," Raph said. "We can do this the easy way. Or, my vote," he and the others drew their weapons. "The hard way."
"Yeah, look at it logically," Donnie added. "There are five of us, and one of you." He laughed quietly to himself. "What are you gonna do?"
The man didn't give a verbal response. Instead, he pulled out some kind of blaster and fired it at them, sending pink lasers barreling towards them. They made a few surprised noises as they jumped to safety, giving the man enough time to run back to the van and hop in the driver's seat.
"You had to ask!" Raph yelled at Donnie, both of them having ended up on a nearby fire escape.
The van took off, and the five jumped to the street below. "He's getting away again!" Donnie yelled in frustration.
"No, he's not," Leo said.
All five of them climbed to the top of the building, hurriedly jumping from one roof to the next to keep up with the van. Raph managed to catch up first, and jumped down onto the roof of the van. The man sped up and sharply turned the next corner, throwing the red-banded turtle off and causing him to slam shell-first into a nearby building.
"Raph!" Jade exclaimed, halting her pursuit while the others continued, and jumping down to the street again. She crouched down, helping the groaning turtle to his feet. "You okay?" she asked worriedly. "Do you need any—?"
"Jade," Raph said, cutting her off once he was up. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be okay," his rough voice was gentler than usual.
"Okay," Jade said softly. "But if you need any—"
"Yeah, yeah," Raph said. "Come on." He climbed up to the roof, with the feline right behind him.
It didn't take long for them to track down and find their brothers. They just had to follow the sounds of a car crashing and the horn blaring. Raph and Jade joined the others around a corner, hidden from the van, which was flipped onto its side. Leo did a few hand signals as he looked around the corner. The others stared at him for a few seconds before Raph whispered harshly, "I don't know what that means!" while doing a few exaggerated hand gestures himself. Jade placed a hand to her mouth to prevent laughter from escaping.
"Go around back!" Leo whispered back, his voice just as harsh.
"Why didn't he just say so?" Mikey asked as he looked over his shoulder at Raph.
The turtles and cat crept around to the back of the van, weapons drawn as they approached the doors. One was open, causing cardboard boxes to spill into the street. Raph cautiously walked up and lifted the other door open. And as soon as he did, a canister tumbled out, much to his surprise. It rolled away from the van, stopping at Mikey's feet. The orange-banded turtle looked down at the canister.
It was filled with a glowing, blue-green substance.
Mikey's eyes widened. "Mom?"
