Chapter 4: New Friend, Old Enemy
"Check it out!" Donnie yelled, jumping from one rooftop and flipping through the air. "Yehee!" He launched himself over the alleyway below, landing on the rooftop across from him with a grin.
Mikey went next, running up and jumping from the base of a water tower. He flipped through the air as well, and landed a few feet away from Donnie, who applauded him as he stood up with a laugh.
By now, Leo, Jade and Raph had caught up. All three of them skidded to a halt at the rooftop's edge. "Top that, ya chumps!" Mikey taunted, with Donnie making a 'go on' gesture.
"Alright, guys," Leo said, backing up. "Check this out." He ran forward and flipped on the roof a couple of times, before launching himself off the edge and flipping to the next rooftop, and did one last cartwheel through the air for good measure, landing close to the youngest two.
"Whoa," Mikey said in awe, then he, Donnie and Leo looked back up at Jade and Raph.
The two turned to each other. "Ladies first?" Raph smirked. Jade shot him a playful look, then returned her gaze to her other three brothers.
"Okay," she said quietly, standing up straight and taking a few steps back. She furrowed her brow in thought, then her face lit up as an idea struck her. Grinning, the feline turned around and started running backwards, much to her brothers' surprise. She backflipped once she made to the edge, rotating through the air a couple of time, and landing in a crouched position with her back to Leo, Donnie and Mikey, who were a few feet away. She straightened herself up and turned around, still grinning, and Mikey applauded her.
"Cute, kiddies," Raph said, making the four turn to him. He cracked his neck a couple of times and ran forward. But instead of flipping like his siblings had done, he simply jumped and barreled straight towards them. They barely had enough time to let out surprised yelps before Raph slammed into them, causing all five of them to go down like a set of bowling pins.
Mikey and Jade both groaned as they pulled themselves back up, alongside Leo and Donnie. Raph, meanwhile, remained sitting as he laughed. "Hey, what was that?" Donnie asked the hothead. "You didn't do any flips."
"Oops," Raph said with a grin.
A sudden clattering noise nearby drew their attention. The five rushed towards where the noise was and hid behind the wall of the stairwell entrance. Leo signaled for his siblings to wait, then slowly drew his katanas. The others followed suit, drawing their weapons.
They jumped out, ready to attack…and found a little black and white cat sitting there, meowing at them.
Jade's eyes practically sparkled, while Leo's were wide. Raph sheathed his Sais and walked up to the leader, while the others relaxed, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't give up, Leo," he said. "You might actually win this fight."
"Aww!" Mikey said, pushing past Donnie and Leo. "It's a little kitty." The cat meowed at Mikey and raised on paw up. Jade gasped softly, and Mikey picked the cat up.
Mikey lifted the cat up and started petting its belly, which it seemed to enjoy. Jade zoomed to Mikey's side in barely a second, much to her brothers' surprise. Her eyes still sparkled as the kitty turned and meowed at her. "Tiny…" she whispered out. She moved her hand to pet the cat, but it rubbed its head against her hand, purring softly. She gasped again, this time hearts practically appearing around her head. "Precious!" she squealed. Leo, Raph and Donnie all chuckled, and Jade felt her face heat up, though her smile remained.
Jade removed her hand, and Mikey started inspecting the collar around the kitty's neck. "And it's name is…"
"Mittens!"
"Good guess," Mikey said, then realization hit him. "Wait, who said that?"
"Mittens?" the same voice called again, revealing to be from a man at an open window with a fire escape.
"I think that's the owner," Donnie said. Mikey wasted no time in heading to the rooftop's edge. "What're you doing?!" Donnie exclaimed.
"Whoa, hey!" Leo said.
"Oh!" Jade said in surprise.
"Mikey, wait!" Raph called.
The freckled turtle stopped and turned to his siblings in confusion. "What?" he asked. "I'm returning Mittens to her owner." He said it like it was the simplest thing on the planet, raising the cat up slightly to emphasize.
"Are you an idiot?" Raph asked. "W—Let me rephrase that. You're an idiot!"
"You can't show yourself to a human," Donnie said.
"Why not?" Mikey asked.
"Because they'll freak the heck out," Donnie said. "That's why not!"
"No, they won't," Mikey said. "I'm not so scary."
"You're an ugly, green mutant armed with ninja weapons," Raph said dryly.
Jade flattened her ears to her head. "Mikey, please…" she said softly.
"Look," Mikey said. "This guy's gonna see that I'm just a regular cat-lovin' dude like him." He tickled Mittens under her chin as he spoke, causing her to meow and purr again. "Nex thing ya know, we'll be best buds!" An excited grin appeared on his face. "This is gonna be awesome!"
Without waiting for a response, he turned and jumped off the rooftop's edge.
"No!" Leo cried.
"Don't!" Raph called after him.
"Wait!" Donnie exclaimed.
"Oh no…" Jade whispered. All four of them made it to the edge in time to see Mikey landing on the fire escape, making the man turn to him.
"Hi!" Mikey greeted cheerfully with a wave. He held Mittens out. "Here's your—"
The man screamed in fear. "Ugly green mutant freak!" he yelled, pointing at Mikey.
"But I got your cat!" Mikey quickly said, still holding onto Mittens.
"Help!" the man yelled. "He's got my cat!"
"Dude!" Mikey exclaimed. "Chill!" In his hand, Mitten arched her back and hissed, flattening her ears and unsheathing her claws as she turned to Mikey. "I'm just—" he cut himself off as Mittens lunged herself at his face.
Mikey yelled as he frantically tried to get Mittens off of his head as she yowled at him, which ended with him falling over the side of the fire escape and crashing into the alleyway below. Raph facepalmed, Donnie grimaced, and Jade and Leo both winced at the sight.
Mikey rubbed his head, sitting up against a graffiti-covered wall. His siblings jumped from the rooftop and landed in front of him, making him open his eyes and stand up in embarrassment. "Someone wanna help me with this?" he asked sheepishly, then lowered himself slightly to reveal Mitten on the upper part of his shell, still yowling as she clawed at his carapace.
"No," Leo, Raph and Donnie all said in unison.
Jade walked over and reached for Mitten, who had started yanking on Mikey's mask tail with her teeth. She pulled the protesting kitty off of his shell and immediately pulled her close to her body, wrapping both arms around her so she couldn't escape, despite her squirming. "I'll go return her," she said, heading to the alleyway's entrance.
"Stick to the shadows!" Leo reminded her just as she disappeared around the corner.
"Got it!" she called back.
By now, Mittens had started to calm down, and even purred a little as Jade paused to shift her into one arm and tickle under her chin. The kunoichi smiled. "Kitty," she said softly, then continued with her objective.
Inside his apartment, the man looked panicked, worried about the green mutant that had his poor little Mittens! Should he call the authorities? Or maybe—
A sudden knock at his door interrupted his panicking, and he hesitantly walked over. He looked through his peephole. Nothing. Gulping, he reluctantly cracked the door open…and was immediately greeted by a meow outside. The man practically ripped the door open, finding Mittens sitting there, happily meowing at her owner.
"Mittens!" he cried out, crouching down and scooping the kitty into his arms. "That freak didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked. Mittens only replied with another meow. The man paused and looked up and down the hallway, but couldn't see anyone else—human or mutant. Gritting his teeth nervously, he brought Mittens inside, shutting and locking the door.
Meanwhile, Jade quickly slipped through the open window of another apartment on the same level and climbed onto the building's rooftop. She sighed in relief, then made her way to the edge that overlooked the alleyway. Sure enough, her brothers were still there. And it looked like Mikey was demonstrating some kind of kata.
Jade giggled softly at the youngest's antics. But just as she was about to jump down and join them, movement caught her eye. She turned her attention to the source.
Finding several people dressed in black and red ninja uniforms. Several people on the rooftop she and the others were just on, staring down at the four terrapins.
Jade felt the fur on the back of her neck stand up, and reached for her Tessen. The sound of movement behind the feline made her stop and whip around…and gasp when she saw more of those people behind her.
"Well, tied for last, with everyone else on Earth," Raph teased Mikey, who only glared at him.
But before anyone could say anything else, something suddenly crashed into the dumpster right next to them, making them jump in surprise and draw their weapons. The 'something' was revealed to be someone in a ninja uniform climbing out of the dumpster, only to collapse onto the ground, out cold.
They barely had time to be confused before a familiar shout of, "Guys!" made them look up in time to see Jade jumping from the fire escape and landing in the alleyway a few feet away, looking frantic and gripping her fanned-out Tessen. "Ninjas!"
As if on cue, several more of those people made their appearance. They jumped down from the rooftops, surrounding the mutants and drawing their weapons.
"Ninjas?" Donnie echoed. "In New York? Other than us?"
The five stared at them for what felt like several seconds, before one of the ninjas threw a shuriken at Donnie, who blocked it with his staff. And that must've been the cue for the other ninjas to run forward and attack.
Jade used her Tessen to block the attack of a ninja with twin tanto blades, delivering a sweeping kick to his feet and knocking him to the ground. Her ear twitched at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps behind her. She whipped around in time to see another ninja swinging a naginata at her, and she barely had enough time to bend over backwards and avoid the blade, staring at it with wide eyes.
As soon as the blade had passed, Jade quickly backflipped away and flung her Tessen at the ninja. Said ninja jumped backwards to avoid the spiraling weapon. As he did so, Jade rushed forward and jumped in the air, slamming the soles of her boots into his face and knocking him to the ground. Behind her, another ninja, this one with a sword, started running towards her. Jade turned around again…just in time to see her Tessen, having boomeranged back to where it was originally thrown, hit the ninja in the head and ricochet off, causing him to collapse.
Jade blinked in surprise. The Tessen spiraled to her, and she caught it without even looking up. "Huh…" she said quietly.
A heavy thud snapped the feline out of her stupor, and she turned to see that someone else had jumped down into the alleyway. Someone that was tall and muscular, wearing a red martial arts outfit, had armor over his shoulders, forearms, knees and lap, and a metal helmet that concealed his identity.
The red ninja was suddenly in front of Leo, delivering a punch that sent him crashing shell-first into the wall. Raph barely had time to raise his arms in defense before the red ninja kicked him away, sending him tumbling to Donnie's feet with a pained grunt.
Jade gasped sharply. Then, the red ninja turned his attention to Donnie. Jade's body moved without her thinking, running up and launching herself onto the ninja's back, tightly wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his forearms, pinning the latter to his body. The action caused the ninja to stumble forward for a moment, but it wasn't enough, as he quickly backed up into a wall. Pain soared through Jade's body the moment her back crashed into the wall, causing her to let out a yelp as she loosened her grip on the red ninja and fell to the ground when he rushed forward, all within barely a few seconds.
Jade pulled herself up just as the red ninja used Donnie's staff to knock him into the wall opposite of the feline. She hurried to her feet, while Mikey was pulled to the ninja by his own kusarigama chain, with the ninja holding him up with one hand and asking, "What are you?"
Mikey launched himself off of the ninja, who started to pull at the chain again. Thankfully, he didn't pull Mikey towards him again, as Leo jumped over and sliced through the chain with his katana. The ninja quickly recovered, just in time to see Raph, Jade and Donnie join their brothers, each ready with their weapons.
The wailing of police sirens pierced the air, and was soon accompanied by a flashing of blue and red lights. The red ninja narrowed his eyes at the mutants, then vanished, along with the other ninjas. The Hamato siblings relaxed, confusion clear on their faces. Leo and Raph glanced at each other, before all five of them fled the alleyway right before the police cars showed up.
OoOoOoO
The following afternoon, April headed into the sewers as soon as she got out of school, sending a quick text to her aunt that she was hanging out with some friends. It didn't take long for her to reach and walk through the turnstiles, gaining the attention of Leo, Raph and Mikey, who were all in the pit.
"Hey, April," Leo greeted, before turning his attention back to Space Heroes. Raph, meanwhile, was on the beanbag with a sketchbook and pencil in his hands, and Mikey was laying on his front near Leo, swinging his feet as he read one of his many comic books. The sketchbook grabbed April's attention, causing her to set her yellow messenger bag down and peek over Raph's shoulder to see a beautifully detailed sketch of the Turtles and Jade training.
"I honestly, truly didn't think you'd fall for that."
The feminine voice tore April's attention away from the sketch, and she turned her head to see Jade coming out of one of the bedrooms with an armful of blankets and sheets. She placed them in a laundry backet in the hallway, then spoke again as she picked it up, "In fact, I devised a much more elaborate trap further ahead for when you got through this easy one."
The feline walked towards another room, setting the basket down and opening the door, disappearing inside. "If I'd known you'd let yourself get captured this easily, I would have just dangled a turkey leg on a rope from the ceiling."
April blinked after the feline, then dared to ask, "What is Jade doing?"
"Laundry," Raph answered casually, refining the sketch.
"And…who was she talking to?" April pressed on.
"Nobody," Leo said, not taking his eyes off the screen. He spoke as if this were the most normal thing in the world. "She's just repeating her favorite video game to herself."
The confusion disappeared from April's eyes, and was replaced with a look of understanding. Donnie, having exited the lab with a small device in his hands upon hearing April's voice, heard her questions as he approached. "And in case you're wondering 'why'…We stopped asking that a long time ago."
April gave Donnie a smile, which made him blush and chuckle nervously. The genius sat down and start tinkering with the device, just as Jade exited the second room with another armful of blankets and sheets. "Well, it was nice catching up," the feline said, placing it in the basket and moving onto the next room. "Let's get to business."
"Yeah, don't bother her," Leo said. "She's having the time of her life over there."
April smiled at him as well, then sat down and pulled some of her homework out of her bag.
OoOoOoO
A couple of hours later, Jade found herself sitting on the edge of the spiral staircase above the pit. She happily swung her legs as she read a manga she found during a recent dumpster dive: Bacteria and Paint, and, much to her joy, it was one of those 3-in-1 volumes.
Leo had gone to the dojo to do some solo training, while Raph was using his Sais to do pushups, Mikey was looking through a Martial Pain magazine while on the beanbag chair, April was sitting on the couch with her own magazine, and Donnie was on his laptop.
"Whoa, that's rad," Jade heard Mikey say over Raph's grunting. "Oh, I wish me and Chris Braford were friends!" He laughed joyfully to himself.
"Mikey, you already have a human friend," April said in an amused voice as Jade turned a page in her manga. There were a couple of seconds of silence, then April added on, "Me."
"April, you don't count," Mikey responded. "We saved your life. You have to like us."
"Too bad there's no place for freaks to meet people were no one can see how hideous they are," Raph taunted through his pushups.
"Wait, there is," April said. "The internet. Donnie, can I see your laptop?"
"Uh—y—sure!" Donnie said hurriedly. "Just a sec!"
A few seconds later, the sound of typing reached Jade's ears. "Check it out," April said, prompting Jade to lower her manga and look down. Donnie was sitting next to April, who was typing away on the genius' laptop. "It's a site where you can make friends with anybody online."
Mikey rushed over in excitement. "Sweet!" he pushed April out of the way and started typing. After a few seconds of waiting, Mikey gasped in awe. "Oh, Christ Bradford's on here!" he resumed his typing. "He'll be my first friend." He pressed one final button, and a small beep filled the air.
Jade's ear twitched as Mikey leaned in close to the screen, staring in anticipation. "Mikey," April said in amusement. "People don't always respond immediate—"
Another beep filled the air, much to everyone's surprise.
"But sometimes they do," April said.
Mikey shakily gasped in his joy. "No way!" he exclaimed, gripping the top of the screen. "Christ Bradford has accepted my friendship!" the terrapin squirmed in place happily. "I have a friend!" he turned and pulled the human girl in a hug, much to Donnie's shock. "Thanks, April!"
Mikey threw the laptop in the air and headed towards the lair's entrance. "Where ya goin'?" Donnie asked, then dove for the laptop before it could hit the floor.
"To hang out with my friend, Chris Bradford," Mikey said, as if it were obvious. Jade's eyes widened in surprise as she watched him.
"This guy's famous," April pointed out as Donnie sat back down with his laptop. "He probably has thousands of 'friends'." She used air quotes for the last word, making an uneasy look appear on Jade's face.
"And guess who's number 5,286?" Mikey asked, stopping in front of the steps leading to the turnstiles.
There was a brief paused before April asked, "You?"
"Daniel Ramirez!" Mikey exclaimed. "And I'm right next to him!"
He started to turn back to the turnstiles. Jade's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Mikey!" The youngest, as well as the other occupants of the room, all turned their attention to her. She looked sheepish for a moment before asking, "Are you…sure this is a good idea?"
"Of course it is, J," Mikey answered nonchalantly.
"But—"
"Later!" and with that, the orange-banded terrapin jumped over the turnstiles and disappeared.
Jade frowned worriedly as April said, "Well, this oughtta be interesting."
"Should we go after him?" Donnie asked.
Jade opened her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Raph. "Eh," he said dismissively. "He's gotta learn somehow."
Jade closed her mouth, though the worried frown remained. She knew Mikey could defend himself against basically anything, but that didn't stop the anxious feeling in the feline's gut. "Abba, please keep him safe…" she quietly prayed, then returned her attention to the next chapter of Bacteria and Paint.
OoOoOoO
It was probably another 30 minutes before Jade placed a bookmark in the manga and hopped down into the pit. Leo had joined them shortly after Mikey's departure, and was sitting on the couch with his own magazine. April, meanwhile, was on her phone with one ear-phone in, tapping her foot to whatever she was listening to.
Jade stepped out of the pit and started to head towards the kitchen, walking behind April as she did so, and took a curious glance over April's shoulder when the human girl started scrolling through it again. She paused when she realized that April was going through her music, and her eyes widened at the name of a familiar band on the screen.
"Oh! MercyMe!" Jade exclaimed happily, making April jump in surprise and turn around, while also gaining Leo, Raph and Donnie's attentions effortlessly. Jade bashfully looked away for a second, but looked back when April cheerfully spoke up.
"Oh, you listen to them, too?"
Jade smiled and sat next to the human teen. But instead of the feline, it was Raph who answered, "Yeah, they're good, but honestly, TobyMac's songs are where it's at."
"No way, dude," Leo playfully argued. "That spot goes to Casting Crowns."
"Oh, we play some of their songs at my church sometimes," April added on, then seemed to realize what just happened and asked as a smile appeared on her face, "So, are you guys also…?"
"Christian?" Raph said. "Yeah."
April looked happy to hear that, though it couldn't compare to the giddy grin on Donnie's face. "This is so awesome!" he whispered to himself. "She's also a believer! Oh, thank You, Lord!" Then, he cleared his throat and spoke louder, "And by the way, you're both wrong! The top spot belongs to Third Day!"
April giggled, causing Donnie to blush for the second time today.
OoOoOoO
Hours later, Jade sat alone in the pit. The feline was reclined on the beanbag chair, dressed in her pajamas, and the only light in the room was coming from her old handheld gaming console. Everyone else had gone to bed at this point, and she elected to stay up until Mikey got back.
Jade wasn't sure how long she waited there, battling monsters and opening chests in dungeons, before the familiar sound of the turnstiles reached her ears. She immediately looked over to see Mikey enter the lair, and smiled at him, silently thanking the Lord.
"Hey, Mikey," she said just loud enough for him to hear, pausing her game and standing up. "How'd it go?"
"Oh, it was great, dudette!" Mikey exclaimed as he approached the pit. "Chris Bradford is such a cool dude!"
Jade blinked in surprise. "He was?" Mikey nodded vigorously. "I-I mean, he was okay with the whole…y'know…?"
"Mutant thing?" Mikey pressed. And when Jade nodded once, he eagerly explained, "Oh, yeah. He was cool with it, once I told him we were friends."
"Huh…" Jade said softly, shutting her console. Splinter had always talked about how humans wouldn't accept them, and the incident with Mittens' owner was reminder of that…but maybe there were more people out there like April?
And besides, Mikey looked so happy—if his ear-to-ear grin and the way his eyes lit up were any indication. So…maybe this was okay?
Jade smiled again, and the two walked side-by-side towards their bedrooms. As they did so, however, a scent hit Jade's nose that made her pause for a second. The scent was coming off of Mikey…and there was something familiar about it…
"Mikey?" Jade asked just as her brother was reaching for his door handle, making him turn to her. "Did you…" she paused, trying to find the right words, "…do anything else tonight?"
"Oh, nah, dudette," Mikey said. "Just hung out with my best friend, Chris Bradford." Jade tried to think of something else to say, but was too slow, as Mikey said, "Night, aneki." And headed into his room, closing the door behind him.
Jade remained there for a moment, then quietly exhaled and headed to her own room. That scent…where had she smelled it before?
OoOoOoO
"They must've been watching us from here," Leo said, looking over the rooftop's edge. "The perfect place to stage an ambush."
"It wasn't very fair, was it?" Donnie commented.
"It's not about fairness," Leo said passionately. "It's about victory."
"Okay," Donnie said, putting his hands up. "I'm sorry."
"And then—and then Chris Bradford put on his hakama!" Behind them, Mikey was excitedly talking to Raph and Jade, with the forming sitting on the rooftop and the latter leaning against one of the nearby generators. "Man, that guy can rock a hakama!"
Raph, having dragged his hand over his face in exasperation, glanced over at his brother. "Maybe he'll wear it again when he takes ya to the prom," he said dryly. As he spoke, he looked at Jade. He could tell that she was trying to be nice and listen, but even her patience was starting to wear thin.
"And then after that, he—" Mikey started to say, paying his brother's comment to mind, as he walked past him.
Raph groaned loudly. "Ugh, enough! You've been going on about this for three hours!"
Mikey approached Raph, crouching down slightly so he was eye-level with his older brother. "Ooh, someone sounds jealous," he said, then stood back up as he continued, "You just can't admit you were the r-word." There was a brief pause, and Raph looked over at Jade, who merely shrugged in bemusement, then back to Mikey again. "Wrong."
Leo and Donnie both groaned as they facepalmed, while Jade blinked at the youngest, and Raph scoffed. "I'm not wrong," the red-banded turtle said.
"Oh yeah?" Mikey challenged. "If you don't wanna talk about my friend," he paused, then hurried back over to Jade, who had started to daydream, and put his arm around the feline, who blinked in surprise. "Then I've got a sister who does."
Jade chuckled softly, but started giving her brothers the 'help me' look. Raph sighed heavily. "She's suffered enough, Mikey," he quipped.
Mikey removed his arm, and a guilty look immediately appeared on Jade's face. "Oh, actually, it's no big—" she started to say, but was cut off by Mikey.
"That's alright," the youngest said, then flipped over to Leo and Donnie, placing his hands on their shoulders. "Because I've also got two other brothers."
"Actually, I'd rather talk about anything else," Leo said.
"Like the concept of the silent 'w', perhaps?" Donnie suggested.
"Fine," Mikey said with a small laugh. "I'll go talk to a guy who likes to talk about Chris Bradford more than anyone else: Chris Bradford." And without waiting for a response, he dove off the rooftop.
OoOoOoO
"And then he kicks! Twists! And sweeps the leg! Ha!" Mikey demonstrated the kata in front of his siblings, all five of them gathered in the dojo. Leo, Donnie and Jade were in front of him, watching in awe, while Raph was leaning against the tree with his arms cross, not looking very interested. "The Death Dragon!"
Jade grinned and started applauding. "That was amazing!" Leo said.
"Yeah," Donnie said as Jade stopped clapping. "It's devastatingly effective and complex."
"And yet even Mikey could learn it," Raph said dryly.
"Thank you," Mikey said, then realize what his brother had said. "Hey!" Before anyone could say anything else, Donnie's laptop, which was open on the dojo floor, let out a familiar notification sound. Mikey expression immediately shifted to one of excitement. "It's Rad-Brad!" he exclaimed, and practically zoomed over to the laptop. "That's my little name for him," he said over his shoulder, then turned back to the screen and started typing. "He wants to get together for a little B-ball." His brothers and sister gathered around, watching him type up a response. "Can't wait to find out what the 'B' stands for!" He licked his finger and clicked a key to send, then headed out once it was sent.
"You're going now?" Leo asked.
"Sorry, dudes," Mikey said, approaching the dojo's exit. "Human friend stuff. You know how it is." He walked out and disappeared, only to zoom back a second later. "Oh, wait, no, you don't." He turned and walked off with a laugh.
"Stay safe!" Jade called after him, though he was most likely out of earshot by now. The feline smiled softly, though that smile disappeared when she remembered that same scent from before was in the air. She sniffed a few times and frowned in confusion.
"Everything okay, Jade?" Leo asked, causing Raph and Donnie to turn to her.
"It's fine," she reassured him. "It's just…there's this scent, and I-I smell it on Mikey whenever he comes home."
"That's probably just Mikey's stench you're smellin'," Raph rolled his eyes.
"No, it's different," Jade said. "I mean, there's something…off about it, but I'm not sure what?"
Donnie glanced at his brothers, then offered his suggestion, "Maybe he's just bringing back the smell of an unfamiliar place?"
Jade shook her head. "I-It's new but…it's not?" she sighed softly. "I don't know. I've smelled it before, but I don't know where."
"Eh, who knows?" Raph shrugged.
"Hmm," Jade hummed softly in response, unsure of what else to say or think.
OoOoOoO
Not long afterwards, Donnie and Jade watched Leo spar against Raph, practicing the kata. "Not quite!" Raph grunted as he landed on his feet.
"Wait, I think I got it," Leo said with a grin. He started again, and this time, he succeeded in knocking Raph off his feet.
Jade grinned, and opened her mouth to congratulate her brother—
"Where did you learn that?!"
Jade and Donnie both turned in surprise, seeing that Splinter had entered the dojo at some point, while Leo helped Raph to his feet. "Mikey learned it from his new friend," the leader explained.
"The man who taught him that kata is no friend," Splinter said. "It comes from the Shredder."
Jade's eyes widened in horror as Donnie echoed in surprise, "Shredder?"
Leo, Raph and Donnie glanced among themselves for a moment, then Leo asked, "You mean…Bradford is one of his students?"
"He must be," Splinter said.
"So Bradford's just pretending to be Mikey's friend to get to you," Leo realized.
"Oh, what a relief," Raph said. "Everything makes sense again." He paused, green eyes widening as another realization hit him. "Mikey's in trouble."
And at those words, Jade's—who had remained still and silent the whole time—pupils shrunk to mere pinpricks, and she bolted out of the dojo. Her brothers and father stared at her in surprise, and her brothers quickly ran after her.
"Jade!" Leo called, though she didn't seem to hear. All three of them exited the dojo in time to see her jump over the turnstiles and continue running at top speed. All three of them followed suit. "Jade!"
Jade's heart practically roared in her ears as she ran through the subway tunnel, eyes still wide.
And in her mind, a familiar image taunted her. An image of being on her knees in a distribution chamber. Of her holding the limp form of one of her brothers, who remained unresponsive as tears formed in her eyes—
"Jade!"
Leo's voice yanked the kunoichi back to reality, making her skid to a halt and turn around, seeing Leo, Raph and Donnie running up to her. All three of them stopped behind her. "It's okay," Leo breathed out, as Raph and Donnie tried to catch their breath. "We're gonna get him out."
"But Mikey—he—and-and Bradford is one of—" Jade started to frantically say, only to be stopped by her immediate younger brother again.
"I know," Leo said, placing a hand on the feline's shoulder. "But rushing in head-first won't help. We're gonna stop Bradford and get Mikey out."
Jade still looked uneasy, everything now catching up to her as she tried to catch her breath, but nodded nonetheless.
OoOoOoO
Getting to Bradford's dojo was the easy part.
Breaking in through the skylight using some bubblegum and a drawing tool? Also easy.
Right before Leo lifted the pane, Jade looked inside, her irises and pupils having disappeared like her brothers'. Mikey was on the floor—alive, praise the Lord—laying on his plastron with his wrists and ankles all tied together with a rope. And guarding him were four of those ninjas in black and red uniforms.
Or, more accurately, Foot ninjas.
And as soon as Leo opened the skylight, that same smell from before hit Jade's nose.
Now it was starting to make sense…
The three turtles and the feline lowered themselves into the dojo via ropes, drawing their weapons and running through the darkness, easily knocking out each of the ninjas guarding their baby brother. Jade took out the fourth and final ninja, simply hitting him on the side of the head with her closed Tessen.
"Dudes!" Mikey exclaimed once the last ninja was down, as Leo sheathed his swords. "That was sporadic!"
"Shh!" Jade, Leo and Raph all shushed him, while Donnie facepalmed.
"That's not what that means," Donnie hissed.
Leo kneeled down and used a kogtana to cut the ropes, freeing Mikey. The youngest sat up, and Leo gently rubbed his head with a smile. As soon as that was done and Mikey stood up, Jade was suddenly right in front of him, and the freckled terrapin let the feline quickly look him over for injuries, then sigh in relief with a smile once she couldn't find anything. The feline pulled him into a quick hug, making him smile as well.
"Come on," Leo whispered, and the five didn't hesitate to leave the dojo, running across rooftops until they made it to a specific manhole. They all jumped in, with Jade going last and pulling the cover back over the manhole.
All according to plan.
Sure enough, Bradford, a dark-skinned man, and several Foot ninjas jumped down the same manhole. They walked through the sewers. And one by one, the Hamato siblings quietly started pulling the ninjas into different tunnels.
The moment Jade saw Bradford wearing that familiar red ninja uniform, she narrowed her white eyes. Well, that certainly explained the stench.
Once they got to the distribution chamber at the end of the tunnel, they started yanking the ninjas up to the ceiling via ropes. It didn't take long for Bradford and the other man to notice the lack of ninjas. Their last two ninjas were yanked into the shadows as well. The other man pulled out a flare and lit it up.
The red glow showed all of the Foot ninjas tied up and hanging from the ceiling via ropes.
"Show your faces!" the man yelled with a Brazilian accent.
Leo and Raph both emerged from the water, their weapons drawn. Donnie and Mikey emerged from the shadows behind the two men, weapons in hand as well. And Jade dropped down from the ceiling, landing on one of the large pipes behind the youngest two and fanning out her Tessen.
"They've trapped us!" the man exclaimed.
"Take 'em down!" Bradford ordered, jumping down to where Leo and Raph were, while the man ran towards Jade, Donnie and Mikey. He dropped the flare as he did so, making it go out as it hit the waters below.
The man was doing a handstand, using his legs to block Donnie's Bo staff, until the genius swung low. This proved to be a mistake, as the man flipped over the attack and trapped Donnie's head between his feet, flipping him up and using him to hit Mikey, who had been charging towards him. Mikey fell back with a grunt, and the man landed on his hands again, throwing Donnie and making him land on top of Mikey.
Donnie and Mikey both looked up in time to see the man rapidly get back up to his feet, rubbing his thumb over his nose with a smug laugh and getting into a fighting stance. The moment he did so, Jade suddenly appeared and slammed her fist against his face. The man stumbled for a second, but then turned to the feline, looking more annoyed than hurt at the punch.
Jade eye's widened and she quickly backflipped away from the man. But not fast enough, as the man kicked her in the back as soon as her hands touched the ground, sending her tumbling towards Donnie and Mikey, who had since gotten to their feet and caught their sister.
A slamming noise reached their ears, and the three turned to see Raph and Leo trying to fight Bradford, only for both of them to be tossed around. Leo and Raph turned to their siblings. Donnie snapped his fingers, and Raph gave a thumbs up, before they charged back to their respective opponents.
Jade, Donnie and Mikey used the wall behind them to jump over the man and land on their feet in the pool. All three of them ran backwards as the man ran towards them. At the same time, Leo and Raph ran backwards in the opposite direction, facing Bradford as he chased them as well.
And through a blink-and-you'll-miss-it switch, they swapped opponents.
Bradford chased the three to the large pipes, and grunted loudly as he tried to punch Mikey, only for him to jump on top of the pipe, which Bradford hit instead, while Donnie and Jade jumped over it. Bradford tried to strike Mikey again, and the freckled ninja avoided it and grabbed Bradford's wrist with his nunchucks, lowering himself to the other side of the pipe. Donnie used his staff to knock Bradford to his knees. And through the gap between the two pipes, Jade slammed the butt of her closed Tessen into his face, hard enough to knock the man back with a grunt.
"They knew we were following them," Bradford said as Mikey and Raph backed both him and the man back towards the chamber's entrance.
"That's right," Mikey said, putting his nunchucks away and curling his hands into fists.
From there, the fight was basically over, with Mikey using Bradford's own kata against him and knocking him into the other man. Mikey turned to Leo and Donnie, who were at one of the valves, just as Jade rejoined his side. "Hit it!" he yelled to his brothers.
Leo and Donnie turned the valve slightly, causing a flood of sewage to enter the tunnel and hit the two men, pushing them down the drain on the other side of the chamber, their yells echoing through the tunnel as they disappeared from sight.
"Well," Raph said as the valve was turned back to its original position. "That didn't seem very fair."
"No, it wasn't," Leo said as he and Donnie joined their brothers and sister. All five of them laughed.
"High-three!" Mikey exclaimed, holding one hand up. And four other hands slapped their palms against his.
OoOoOoO
The moment they all said, "Amen," and the pizza box was open, Jade grabbed two slices, biting into one as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen. Sure enough, Mikey was still in there, sitting at the island with one hand pressed against his cheek, looking at the laptop with a forlorn expression.
Jade felt something tug at her heart as she approached the youngest, sitting on the stool next to him. "Hey," she said, holding up the uneaten slice, which Mikey took from her with a small smile.
As he said a quick prayer, Jade looked at the screen, and bit her lip when she saw that it was Bradford's social media page. The feline took another bite of her slice, unsure of what to say in this situation.
The two sat in silence for a bit as they finished up their slices. Jade wiped her hands on her clothes, trying to think of something to say or do, then perked up as an idea hit her. She stood up and opened one of the cabinets, grabbing something inside. "Hey, Mikey?" she said, making him turn to her. She pulled a box of brownie mix, which April had given her recently, out of the cabinet. "Wanna help me make this? April said there's chocolate in it."
Mikey blinked and nodded, standing up from the stool. He preheated the oven, while she searched the fridge and cabinets for the required ingredients. As she did so, whenever Jade looked over at Mikey, she found him staring at the laptop screen again.
Once she got everything and set it on the island with a mixing bowl, Jade placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Hey," she said softly, making him turn to her. "Are you…doing okay…?"
Mikey sighed. "I don't know, dudette," he answered, his voice lacking it usual optimism. He turned to her, baby-blue eyes meeting chocolate-brown ones. Then, after a moment, he suddenly said, "I didn't mean to freak you out."
Jade blinked in surprise. "How did you—?"
"Leo told me," he said. Jade flattened her ears to her head, tearing her eyes away from Mikey's for a moment, then wrapped her arms around the freckled terrapin. He returned the hug, both trying to comfort one another from everything that happened. A bright glow filled the kitchen, and when it died down, Jamie was standing there, hugging himself.
He opened his different colored eyes and lowered his arms. He remained silent for a moment, then spoke a bit awkwardly in his double timbre voice, "C'mon, let makes these." He smiled softly. "Yeah." He reached for the box, which Jade had placed on the island at some point, only to slam his forehead against the kitchen light in the process. Jamie grunted in surprise and leaned back as the light swung a little bit, rubbing his forehead, then chuckled awkwardly.
It didn't take long for them to pour the batter in the awaiting pan and place it in the oven. Once that was done, Donnie's voice from the other room suddenly hit Jamie's ears. "Um, Sensei, aren't you hungry?"
Jamie's ear twitched and, against his better judgement, stepped closer towards the blue curtains at the kitchen's entrance to listen closely. A moment later, Splinter responded, "I fear we are celebrating too soon."
"Too soon?" Raph echoed. "The bad guys were swept away in a river of raw sewage. By my watch, that makes it the perfect time."
"Shredder knows I'm alive," Splinter said. "And worse, he knows about all of you. It's my worst nightmare come true."
"So, it's not over?" Leo asked.
"Oh, no," Splinter said. "It's just beginning."
At those words, Jamie backed away from the curtains, feeling the heavy weight of guilt form in his stomach. He returned to the other side of the island, and his eyes landed on the laptop screen, still displaying Bradford's social media page.
Maybe if Mikey had just been content with being friends with April and not some celebrity…maybe if Jade had been a better sister and made more time for him—
Jamie's head snapped up, eyes wide. "What do you mean 'better sister'?" he exclaimed in disbelief. He shook his head. "But I should've been!" He grunted slightly. "You were fine, aneki! I was the one who did this!"
The raised voices must've reached the others, because seconds later, Raph suddenly walked through the curtains, causing Jamie to stop and turn to him. Raph took a moment to assess the situation, glancing at the laptop, then turned back to the fusion. "How ya doin', Mikey?" he asked.
Jamie's posture visibly deflated. "This was all my fault," he said. "I should've never thought I could be friends with a human." He curled one hand into a fist, looking conflicted. "You couldn't have known!"
"Jade's right," Raph said. "Don't be so hard on yourself." After years of experience, it was easy for Raph to pick up on whether Jade or Mikey were speaking as Jamie, whenever the two weren't in sync with each other.
The fusion perked up. "So, it's not my fault?" he asked, gaining a small smile.
"Of course it's your fault," Raph said bluntly.
Jamie lost his smile and sighed sadly. A look of annoyance momentarily appeared on his face. "Raph, not helping," he hissed.
Raph paused for a moment, then asked, "Jade, can I speak with Mikey? Alone?" Jamie blinked, then nodded once. The familiar white glow surrounded him, making Raph shield his eyes, and when it died down, he opened his eyes in time to see Jade and Mikey pulling away from a hug.
Jade smiled at her brothers, then turned and exited the kitchen. Once she was a few feet out, she heard Raph's voice, "If you tell the others, I'll beat the green off you. But…you're an awesome guy."
A warm smile graced the feline's face, though she hurried into the pit before she could continue eavesdropping. She sat down with Leo and Donnie, and eventually, Raph and Mikey joined them, the latter smiling brightly. Relief flooded Jade's veins.
All five of them remained in the pit for a while, watching some old cartoon together. At some point, Donnie sniffed the air. "Hey, do you smell something burning?" Jade sniffed the air as well, finding the burning odor as well…and it was accompanied by a sweet smell…
Jade's eyes widened. "My brownies!" she cried, bolting towards the kitchen.
I love writing Jade's autistic traits (and yes, they're based on my own traits). And I headcanon that April would be able to pick up on them (as well as Mikey's ADHD traits) earlier than the others; since her dad is a psychologist, I imagine she's picked up a few things from him.
(The Hamatos most likely don't know what autism or ADHD is at this point, and just chalk it up to "weird things that Jade and Mikey do")
Bonus points to anyone who knows what Jade is quoting.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Please leave a review letting me know what you think! Jesus loves you! Have a wonderful day/night/whenever you read this!