July 11, 2014
It was late.
The boys, Mona Lisa, and Karai had gone to a midnight showing of the extended edition of an old Space Heroes movie.
Splinter was sound asleep in his room.
A fact April was rejoicing in as she stumbled into the lair. Glancing at her watch, she knew she made it back a little later than curfew. Even with the rift that had developed between her and her family, she tried to earn back some trust… that way they'd believe her when she lied to them again.
April quietly made her way to her room. She cursed to herself when she couldn't find the light switch near the door. The girl stifled a shriek as the light next to her bed flared to life.
Turns out, not everyone had gone to the movie.
"Good grief, Donatello!" April hoped that the turtle was distracted enough to not notice the smell of alcohol on her breath. "Lurk much?"
He just blinked. "Why were you at a bar?"
April scoffed. "Come on, Donnie. I wasn't at a bar! You know I had a girl's night at Sunita's tonight."
Her blood ran cold as Donnie held up his phone. The map clearly showed her path from the Lair, to the Hidden City, to a bar in a shady part of the Pirate Bazaar.
"Try again."
"You TRACKED my PHONE?" She growled. "That's NOT cool, Dee!" April took a step back as Donnie shot to his feet. It was the first time she noticed the dark circles beneath the turtle's eyes.
"No, you know what's not 'cool', April? You sneaking out, lying to everyone, having me cover for you…" He took a deep breath. "I've stayed quiet for months, praying that you'd come to your senses. But April… you're clearly in a self-destructive spiral! Now, before I go and tell Dad everything for your own good, tell me what is going on with you and that crystal! Please! You owe me that much."
It was Donnie's turn to step back as April's countenance changed. Gone was the tipsy, lying red-head. A cool, calculating, teal-eyed being remained.
"I don't owe you anything, Donatello." She responded, eerily calm. The girl spun on her heel, leaving the room.
What April didn't expect was for Donnie to catch up to her so quickly and toss her over his shoulder.
The boy struggled to maintain his hold on the girl as she thrashed about, almost like a wild animal. As soon as they made it to his lab, he shut the door and let her scrabble out of his arms.
"Seriously, April? Did you bite me?" Donnie held a hand against the stinging sensation on his neck. I haven't seen her this feral since her first night here…
"Only because you assaulted me!" She all but screeched.
Donnie held his face in his hands as he paced in front of the doors, letting loose a groan of frustration. "This is not an 'assault', April. I still have too much respect for you to do anything like that to you. No, this -" He gestured at the distance between them. "THIS is an intervention. One I should've had a while ago." The boy sighed, risking a step closer. "April… you've changed. Not just over the last couple of months. Looking back on everything, you started changing after you got that crystal. And whether you'd like to admit it or not, you're addicted to it."
April scoffed, feeling power thrumming through her fingertips. "I'm not addicted. You've spent too much time on Web M.D." She held her ground as Donnie inched closer.
"Remember when you were abducted by the Kraang during the Invasion? Through our bond, I was able to briefly tap into your powers to help get you out of there. That shouldn't have been possible." His eyes flicked down to the crystal. "I could feel how much you needed that crystal back after the Kraang took it. It felt like… like we would shrivel up without it." Donnie slowly extended his hand.
"Sweetheart, please…" He pleaded. "YOU can break the power this thing seems to have over you. You don't have to put on an act anymore. Let me help you!"
"He doesn't want an act anymore, does he? Then let's give the boy a SHOW!" Zee purred.
What happened next to April could only be described as when an eye doctor adjusts the lenses over your eye until you can see things clearly. However, what April saw wasn't clarity…
From her point of view, April and Donnie were now standing on a grand Broadway stage.
From Donnie's point of view, all he saw was something that wasn't April. It was a being that looked like his April but with glowing teal eyes. Various objects, including the bulk of April's hair, began to swirl within an invisible wind.
Through April's vision, Donnie began to sing as he approached her.
"This has to stop now, whatever it is that you're going through. We'll fix it together, me and you, just like we've always done…"
April stomped forward, also singing. "NO! This has to stop now - this thing where you think you always know best. Your science mind is above the rest, but magic's not for you!"
It took Donnie a moment to wrap his head around the fact that April was now angrily singing at him. He shook his head.
"Okay, you're right. I'm the 'science guy'. I don't fully understand magic, psychic powers or whatever…" He gestured to the objects swirling around the girl. "This whole situation is. That is all you, April. But be honest: do you feel completely in control right now?" Donnie's heart swelled as the teal glow dimmed to allow a sliver of April's steel blue eyes to peek through.
"No… I…" She pressed a hand to her head. "I've been hearing… a-a voice… Donnie… my h-head h-hurts…" April whimpered, the glow dimming further.
Donnie's heart broke for his best friend, but also had hope for bringing her back.
"O-okay. We don't want that, do we? April… would you like me to help you?"
April nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Good, good." The turtle breathed a sigh of relief. "How about we head down to the Hidden City to see if anyone knows how to deal with this thing? Until we get there, we can put your crystal in this box here; just for safekeeping." Donnie reached over to his desk to retrieve a small metal-lined box.
"Take off my crystal?" The implication made April stiffen. She assumed a fighting stance, the teal glow returning in full force. "NO."
The girl raised her hand, blasting Donnie halfway across the lab.
Donnie quickly rolled to his feet. He flipped over a nearby workbench as April threw beakers full of various chemicals. The air was driven from the boy's lungs as the workbench was shoved against his chest. Donnie scrambled out of the vice before the couch collided with where he had just been pinned.
The turtle panted, struggling to keep up with everything April was throwing at him. With all of the training the two had done together, April knew how to tire Donnie out the quickest.
His eyes widened as April drew Mikey's old baseball bat from a hidden hidey hole. She infused it with her teal psychic energy. The malevolent energy radiating from the girl now pulled a worn out Donnie closer to her face.
"You can't fix it this time, Donatello."
April threw the boy to the ground before sending the bat to attack him. The psychic bat was relentless. The blows just kept coming. It was all Donnie could do to protect his face.
With a snap of her fingers, the bat dropped at April's command. Donnie groaned as he felt every inch of his body ache. With the last of his energy, Donnie lifted his head to see April prying open the lab door. She glanced back once more, her eyes still glowing.
"And for us if we're over that's fine!" She sang. "I'm crossing the line."
Unable to hold his head up any longer, Donnie collapsed and darkness enveloped him.
It felt like hours. It could've been a few minutes.
All Donnie knew was that everything hurt. He struggled to open his eyes. Blinking against the sparking overhead lights, he took in his ruined lab.
His heart constricted as everything came rushing back. Tears flowed freely as the boy wept for the loss of his love.
"A-april…" He sobbed. "P-please.. come b-back…"
"Donatello!"
Splinter ran into the lab, looking rather beat up himself. The rat perked up at the sight of his son breathing.
"My son, how extensive are your injuries?"
Donnie sniffed, wiping away his tears. The time for tears was over. He had work to do. With Splinter's help, he leaned against the upturned couch.
"I'll be fine. What happened to you?"
"I came across April in the living room and attempted to talk some sense into her."
The boy winced, grabbing his side. "By the look of things, that talk didn't go well. Check the cameras, Dad. See where she went."
Splinter left his son leaning against the couch to check the cracked monitor that had managed to escape April's wrath. He clacked a couple of keys before the monitor flickered to life.
"It looks like she has left the Lair. Your cameras lose her after she flys out of the main sewer access." Splinter sighed, holding a hand over his eyes. The gray around the rat's temple stood out against the flickering lights of the lab. "She possesses a power none of us have ever seen before. I fear she can no longer control it. From the look of everything, that being is not our dear April."
He paused. "Her mother… she said something just before she passed. I've… not thought of her last words in some time…" Splinter trailed off, becoming lost in his memory.
"Dad," Donnie ground his teeth at the pain in his side. "We don't have a lot of time here!"
That brought Splinter back from the past. "She said that April had the capability to destroy the world. Perhaps this is what she meant…" His hand came up to his mouth as the rat choked back a sob. "I-I have failed her…"
Those words shocked Donatello to his core. Even when April had been kidnapped by the Kraang, he'd never seen his father this broken. He hobbled over to his father, resting his hand on Splinter's shoulder.
"You once told us that 'there's no such thing as failure until you give up.' Are you giving up?"
Splinter shook his head, steadying his breathing. "No, my son. I am not giving up. Thank you for the reminder."
Donnie nodded, turning back towards the door. "I've got to get that crystal away from her and destroy it somehow…"
"Yes! Let us prepare for our departure."
"No, Dad." Donnie tightened his hold on his father's shoulder. "I know you love April, but like you said," He pointed to the looping video on the screen. "That is not April."
Another tear snaked down Splinter's cheek. "Donatello… I-I must do something to save my daughter." As Donnie grasped both of his father's shoulders, Splinter realized that the boy was now taller than him by several inches. He has not been a boy for sometime now… Splinter thought to himself.
"You want to help April? Then pray. Meditate. Whatever it is you do when we're on a mission. Maybe you can reach her mind somehow; help her spiritually while I'm trying to help her physically."
Splinter nodded, finally accepting the situation. "Very well, Donatello. I can hear the wisdom in your words. Please, be careful, my son." He grasped Donnie's arm as it still held his shoulder. "Bring our April home."
Donnie strode towards the door, flipping his tech-bō into its sheath on his shell. The turtle would need all the help he could get. He turned back for a last look at his father. "I can get through to her, Dad. I know I can." He ran to the turnstiles, pulling out his phone.
"Leo! I know you guys are on your way back, but I need your help." He took a shaky breath. "Something happened with April…"
