March 20, 2014
April groaned, rubbing the crust from the corners of her eyes. What time is it? Even her inner voice was groggy. She slapped around her bedside table for her phone.
11am? April didn't even remember crawling into bed last night. What happened? She thought back to the celebration of the turtles' 17th birthdays the night before.
There had been the usual cake and presents with the family. The Murakamis were in attendance as usual; it was the first year that Takeshi and Mona Lisa had been able to come.
April laughed and joked with everyone around the table, but couldn't help but notice that Splinter and Leo sat the closest to Karai. It had been almost a year since that weird inner voice pointed out Splinter's favoritism for Karai and it had been almost impossible to completely shake the thought away.
It wasn't too long before the ever growing group of teenagers took to the rooftops to outdo each other in skateboarding tricks. April's heart swelled as Donnie picked her up and spun her around after she had performed a particularly difficult trick, only made possible by the use of her psychic powers.
The night grew later and the majority of the group wanted to turn in, only a couple hours before Splinter's iron-clad 3am curfew. Karai and April decided that they would walk with Mona back to her apartment and then return to the Lair. The guys argued against it, but knew that once the girls had their minds made up, it was impossible to dissuade them.
Karai and April said good night to Mona after leaving her at her apartment in Witch Town. Surprisingly, they ran into one Casey Jones. April, who at first interacting with Casey thought him arrogant and rude, found herself seeing the weasel yokai in a new light. Neither kunoichi protested when he suggested they check out the new tattoo parlor that opened nearby.
At that train of thought, April's upper arm began to itch something fierce. She hissed at the tenderness of a particular patch when she went to scratch it. She ripped the covers from her legs, pushing up the sleeve of her sleep shirt as she crossed to the mirror.
"Oh. My. Gosh." She whispered. "Splinter's gonna kill me!"
The teenagers must've done more than simply check out the new tattoo parlor. April was the owner of her very first tattoo. She knew that Splinter wasn't thrilled with the idea of marking one's skin. The girl wondered if his disappointment would be abated since the tattoo she apparently got was the Hamato crest.
"How can I not remember getting a tattoo?" April ran her hands through her bed head, wincing as her fingers caught in knotted ends of her hair. She rushed back to her phone, quickly finding Karai's contact and calling her.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" Karai's smug voice came through louder than April would prefer first thing upon waking. "Sleep well?"
"I don't know! I don't even remember coming home last night, Karai! What the heck happened?"
"Looks like Jones was right: not everyone can hold their Hidden City Punch!"
"What's Hidden City Punch?"
"Ah, just something Jones brought."
"DID CASEY GET US DRUNK?" April screeched. She quickly lowered her voice as to not bring attention to the fact that she was awake. "PLEASE tell me he did not get us drunk!"
"Oh gosh no!" Karai assured. "It's actual punch; like a yokai's version of fruit punch. Jones had been warned that it's hard for non-yokai to tolerate it, but you were really nervous about your tattoo."
April massaged the bridge of her nose. "We'll get to the tattoo in a minute. Did you get hard as I did with this punch?"
"Well…"
"Well what, Karai?" April could almost see the other girl playing with the ends of her hair, a nervous habit of hers.
"I… I didn't have any last night. I accidentally tried some at school one time and it turned me off the stuff. Jones only gave you a sip because you were straight flippin' over that tattoo."
"Oh my gosh!" April paced the room. "And about that! Am I the ONLY one who got a tattoo last night?"
"Jones got one of our high school mascot playing hockey. He'll have to go back to get it finished. I'm not really a fan of tattoos myself."
"The perfect little princess," The voice April referred to as 'Zee' purred.
Hush, Zee! April thought back.
"Anyway, I brought you home last night. And just a heads up… Father caught us coming in. He… he thought you were drunk."
"WHAT?" April screeched again.
Karai rushed to reassure her. "Hey! I took care of it, explaining that it wasn't what it looked like. Just letting you know because he'll probably still want to talk. Speaking of talking…"
April turned at sound of a the knock at the door.
"That should be Donnie. He asked me to text him if you called me after you woke up. Have fun with that!"
"Thanks," April muttered. She ended the call without saying goodbye. "Come in, Donnie."
She smiled as her boyfriend backed through her doorway carrying a tray of waffles, coffee, and water all balanced on a tray.
"Hey, April."
"Hey, Dee." April ruffled her hair, trying to push the remnants of her bedhead away. She scootched to make room on the bed for Donnie and the brunch tray. They 'cheersed' their waffles before settling into an uncomfortable silence.
Donnie was the first to break it. "You were out late last night." He mumbled through a mouthful of waffle and syrup.
"I believe it." April reached for her cup of coffee. "I don't even know how late I was out." Donnie swallowed, not meeting her eyes. "Donnie… what time did Karai and I come back?"
He sighed. "5 am."
April sucked in a breath. Splinter is REALLY gonna kill me! That is WAY past curfew…
"You are legally an adult, my dear." Zee once more stuck her voice into April's internal monolouge without being asked. "The rat has no right to restrict your life."
April shook the thought from her mind. She grabbed her pillow, ready to use it against the horrible news she was sure Donnie was about to give her.
"How mad was he?"
Donnie scrunched an eye. "Ehh… I would label his reaction more concerned, or -"
"Disapointment?" The red-head buried her face in the pillow. "Karai mentioned Splinter thought I was drunk." She raised her head as she felt her boyfriend place a comforting hand on her criss-crossed knee.
"In Dad's defense, April… you did look pretty wasted. He - we - were worried about you. Dad in particular was worried -"
"About what? That I'd go down the same drunken path that he did? I was out with friends for one night!" April instantly regretted how harsh her words had come out.
Donnie withdrew his hand, leaning back. "April… can you blame him for worrying? For all of us for being worried? Once you went off with Karai and Mona, we didn't hear from you for four hours."
"We were fine! And for the last time: I. WAS NOT. DRUNK! A guy from Karai's school met us in Witch Town - Casey Jones. It was this, this… yokai punch he gave me. Apparently humans can't tolerate it very well."
"Hang on," Donnie raised his hands, trying to understand. "Casey Jones? Who's he and why'd he think you you needed something that would basically impair a human?"
"Are you going to let him talk to you like that? Does he think that his 'love' allows him to dictate the company you keep?" Zee's voice spurred April on.
She leapt from her bed. "He's just a friend, Dee! Like I said - someone Karai knows from school. I'm allowed to hang out with other people, you know!"
"I-I never meant to insinuate that you couldn't," Donnie frowned, surprised at the sudden outburst. He gently reached for April's hand, approaching her like a spooked rabbit. "April, there's been something different about you lately. You're…" His eyes widened, realization dawning on him. "Changing."
April scoffed, pulling her hand away. "Of course I'm changing, Donatello. I'm growing up! You don't have to be a super genius to see that!" Her voice grew softer. "We weren't meant to stay kids forever… Ah!" April brought her hand up to her head where a headache had appeared out of nowhere.
Donnie was by her side in an instant, her head held gently between his hands. "Are you having growing pains with your powers again? I can grab you some aspirin if you want. Or, if you're up for it, we could run some tests in my lab. We haven't run any in a while. We could see your current power levels…"
Donnie's voice faded away as he continued prattling on. April withdrew into the dark mindscape where she could talk with Zee. Zee was still invisible, but April could always sense her physical presence. She could currently feel Zee gesturing at the image of Donnie still talking.
"See! THIS is how he truly sees you. See the gleam in his eye? Donatello doesn't really love you. He LOVES the mystery and scientific discoveries you bring."
A lone tear snaked from the corner of April's eye as she watched the image of Donnie. As she came back to consciousness, the tear must've fallen from her real eye as well because she felt Donnie wipe it away.
"No…" She whispered.
Donnie nodded. "Okay. You had a long night. I'll go get you that asprin then. You wanna rest and watch Little Mermaid?"
April's eyes flashed teal as she smacked his hands away. The boy recoiled from the harsh touch.
"NO, Donatello! I'm fine. I don't need an aspirin; I don't want to take any tests; and I don't want to watch a movie. Looks like I need to sleep off all that non-alcholic punch I had last night." Was April imagining things or was there more venom in her words that she intended? I want to be left alone right now, but I don't want to hurt him!
"It's the only way he'll leave you be." Zee once again purred.
There was no mistaking the pain and hurt etched on Donnie's face. He reached for her again. "April…"
"Just GO, Donnie!" She pushed him slightly with her mind. She sighed, grabbing the brunch tray and placing it in it outstretched arms. "Thanks for the waffles."
Donnie slowly backed out of the room, still hurt and confused. "Yeah…"
April wanted to cry, now that she was alone with her thoughts. Well… not just her thoughts…
"You were right to send him away." April could feel Zee's corporial hand patting her head.
Despite April's desire for tears, they wouldn't fall. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore… or who to trust!"
"Then I hate to add one more person to that list, but…"
"But what, Zee?" April felt Zee's hesitation.
"You might have blacked out with the punch, but I could see everything and I retained the memories. I saw Karai take a sip of Jones' punch as well.
"What?" Betrayal flowed through April while the tears would not.
"It wasn't as much as you, but to human eyes at least, it would appear that she had been imbibing as well."
"W-what did Papa say say to her when we came home? Did he ream her for it?"
Zee sighed. "No, my dear. Once again, the rat favored his real daughter."
THAT did it.
"I'M his REAL daughter!" April raged. She wished her mindscape was filled with something - or someone - she could do some damage to. "Splinter's been MY father for 14 years! She didn't even know they were related until two years ago!" The girl took a shaky breath. "Who else? Who else is using me? Who's not to be trusted?"
"You have been through much today, dear April." Zee soothed. "Rest now. REST."
April's world suddenly went black. She was close enough to the bed when she collapsed that she landed on something soft. Even though April's consciousness was asleep, Zee still remained.
"Rest assured, Dear One. I will keep you safe from those who lie to you in the dark." A dark, malicious smile appeared in April's mind.