Two chapters (technically three) in as many days? This never happens anymore! So, just like I did in "Worlds Between Worlds," I did this chapter in different timelines. The entire story will be in the same timeline (2038) after this chapter. This is just a filler for Lilianna's sake. It has been ten years since she was born, and she will be fourteen in this story starting with the next chapter. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons" nor "TMNT." I only own the following characters: Karena, Lilianna, Ryan, Venus, and Athena.

September 4, 2038 – Todayland, North Montana, USA

KARENA'S POV

"Now all you do is aim at the target. Concentrate, and then throw the charge ball. Never hit the top target first because it never works."

Wilbur was teaching me how to fix the charging station for Aunt Billie's 'toy train' using a chargeball glove on this lovely Labor Day weekend. I had the entire weekend off from both school and work. Wilbur, only being a fifteen-year-old teenager, only had to worry about school for the time being and had plenty of downtime. When we both had the time off, we would try to find new things to do together. Charging Aunt Billie's train was one of them.

I did as Wilbur told me. I closed one eye, focusing on one target. Without any hesitation, I threw the charge ball at the target, but it only hit the one. I groaned, feeling discouraged.

"It's okay, Karr," my boyfriend encouraged me. "I didn't get it on the first try either."

"Oh? How long did it take you to hit all three targets?"

"Weeks. Aunt Billie had shown me how to fix her charging station by hand, but as the years went on, it was just easier for me to use the charge ball glove."

I chuckled. Wilbur Robinson had gone from a lazy and irresponsible boy to a hard-working and confident teenager within a year. But he would always be a child at heart, and that was actually what I loved about him the most. Thanks to Wilbur and his child-like heart, I finally healed from eleven years of grief. Wilbur had allowed me to let my inner child out, and with that, I became more mischievous and playful.

"Let me try again," I told the raven-haired boy.

I repeated the process, but this time, I focused on all three targets at once. I aimed my arm at the target on the right, and I threw the charge ball. I grunted as the charge ball only hit the one target.

"Wilbur, I'm never going to get this!"

"Yes, you will, Karr," Wilbur encouraged me. "Like I said, it took me weeks to master this. You don't master everything in a day. You may get a correct answer within a day, but it takes days, weeks, months, years… to master a skill. Not all correct solutions are correct after a day. They change. That's how skill sets are. You're bad at it one day, and suddenly you're an expert. That's how my dad was when he was growing up."

"It takes time," I summarized for him, putting a smile on my face. "What do you suggest we do then?"

"Why don't you teach me something?" Wilbur suggested, his smile turning into a smirk.

"Well, I love art as much as you love chargeball. Why don't I teach you a coloring technique?"

"Okay! Let's go to my room. I still have that sketchpad Dad gave me for Christmas."

"You haven't used it yet?" I asked with shock in my voice.

We approached the travel tube and took it straight to Wilbur's room.

"No. I'm not really the artsy kind of guy. The closest thing I can do with art is taking pictures with my camera. And I mean an actual camera. Not with my phone."

"I am very impressed that you actually know how to use a camera, Wilbur. Not many people do these days."

"There are still professional photographers in the world," Wilbur replied. "They've been around since the Civil War."

"They've been around before that, Wilbur," I corrected him. "The techniques of the camera were invented before Christ was born. The first camera was invented in the 1820s."

Wilbur dropped his jaw.

"What did you do? Google it?"

"I take art classes, too!" I shot back with humor in my voice. "And photography happens to be one of them. I'm good, but I'm much better at drawing and coloring, which I'm going to teach you today."

"You know, I am proud of you!" Wilbur complimented me. "You move to a totally different world and a totally different time and you just totally adapted to everything. It's like you were meant to be here."

"Thanks, but what does that have to do with this?"

"You're going to school to be a music teacher, and you're teaching me right now."

Wilbur paused, giving me a smirk.

"Let's see how good you are as a teacher."

"We'll start with something simple: a rainbow."

We gathered up Wilbur's sketchpads and coloring utensils so that I could demonstrate to him on how to color.

"We're not going to do what small children do and color within the lines. We're going to blend them together."

I paused, taking a deep breath, praying that Wilbur would not be impatient.

"Take actual rainbows for example. Imagine it's a rainy day in Todayland and while it's raining, the sun comes out in the East. In the West, a rainbow appears, because that's what happens when sun and rain are together. But you never see black lines in between the colors. The colors are stacked on top of each other. We're going to blend them. You got a red?"

"A red what?" Wilbur asked.

I gave him a blank stare, and he quickly realized what I was talking about. He gave me a red colored pencil.

"Thank you. We're going to make it easy today and just work on one side of the rainbow. We're going to draw a curved line and then thicken it."

I made my demonstration to him, and Wilbur seemed to be doing a fine job at following along so far.

"Now we're going to use the orange. Orange is the transition color between red and yellow."

"Because those two colors together make the color orange," Wilbur finished for me.

"Exactly! Now, notice that I did a faded red at the bottom. The orange is going to start out light where that faded red is, and then thicken the orange line."

We did the same thing for the rest of the colors: yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I included clouds in my drawing while Wilbur just laid back and watched. I suddenly heard the click of a camera and looked up to see him smiling.

"Did you just take a picture of me?" I asked.

"How could I not take a picture of you?" Wilbur replied with a question. "You're beautiful."

I blushed before I looked at Wilbur's drawing.

"Not bad, Wilbur. Not bad at all."

"Is that women's code for 'horrible'?"

"No! I mean that, Wilbur. If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it."

"Well, I'm glad. What could I have done to make it better?"

"You colored just a tad too hard on the transitions. It looks really good other than that!"

"Well, get a load of this one."

Wilbur showed me the picture he took of me on his phone. It looked absolutely perfect. I looked deep in thought as I had colored, but Wilbur had captured the definition of my brown hair, what he could see of my green eyes, and my white face perfectly. I was speechless.

"Wilbur… this is amazing! Have you thought of photographing the entire family?"

"Actually… no. I could ask Laszlo about it. I think we're overdue for family photos anyway."

"So how would you get a picture of yourself?" I asked curiously.

"Just watch."

Wilbur took out a tripod from his nightstand. He positioned his phone on the tripod. I got up, curious as to what he was doing. I got behind the camera and noted he had put his camera in portrait mode. Wilbur put a timer on, and then walked toward the window. He posed, giving me a small smile. I watched as the phone took the picture, and I was amazed just watching the process. I tapped on the photo of him, and it was a perfect portrait, his entire face and hair defined with the background a light blur.

"So who taught you how to take pictures?" I asked. "Whoever taught you is quite the teacher!"

It was Wilbur's turn to blush.

"Actually… I taught myself."

"You are a man of many talents, Wilbur. Photography must have naturally come to you. Did anyone else in your family take pictures?"

"My mom's side is horrible with the camera. It may have come from my dad's biological family, wherever they are. My dad is quite the illustrator, but when it comes to the aperture, exposure, and ISO, my dad doesn't quite understand it fully to apply it himself."

"You mentioned Laszlo," I replied. "Does he do photographs?"

"No, he does paintings. He did all of the paintings in this house and at Robinson Industries. He's even done some for Tallulah's dress shop downtown."

Wilbur paused, looking down at my art.

"You should talk to Laszlo too, you know. I don't know who would win in a competition!"

I laughed.

"I just do my art for fun, though!"

"So does Laszlo! And it's enough for my family to display it! I'm sure they'd love to see your talent too, Karena."

Suddenly, the intercom turned on.

"Wilbur, Karena, it's time for dinner!" Franny, Wilbur's mom, announced.

"We'll be right there!" Wilbur replied loudly before turning back to me. "We should head to the dining room."

We took the travel tube from Wilbur's room to the dining room to greet Franny and Cornelius there.

"Cornelius, you're home!" I exclaimed with surprise.

"It's nice to see you, Karena," Cornelius replied, hugging me like I was his daughter. "Come, sit down!"

I sat in between Wilbur and Franny and waited for the rest of the family to join us. There was Wilbur's grandparents, Bud and Lucille Robinson; his aunts and uncles – Billie and Joe, and Fritz and Petunia; Cornelius's cousins Tallulah and Laszlo; and Franny's brothers Art and Gaston.

"Karena!" Tallulah yelled excitedly, skating over to me and hugging me. "I didn't know you were here! I got something for you in my bedroom."

"It's nice to see you too, Tallie," I replied. "Let's go after dinner. What is for dinner, anyway?"

"You've been in Todayland for over a year and you don't know our schedule?" Carl, the robot of the family, asked in amusement. "Pizza is served!"

I smacked my head. Of course! It's Saturday. It's the weekend. Therefore, the Robinson family eats pizza for dinner that day.

"Today's selections are… meatballs and marinara," Gaston started the announcement.

"Green peppers, red onions, ham, and alfredo," Art continued.

"Pepperoni and sweet sauce," Gaston chimed in.

"And last but not least: meat supreme with a five cheese sauce," Art finished, talking like he was a French chef.

The pizzas were put on trays on Billie's food train that actually looked like a toy train. We all shouted what kind of pizza we wanted. I had sworn that the food train had circled the table five times. I was a sport and decided to try one slice of each. They all sounded absolutely amazing.

I tasted the meatballs and marinara first. I could not go wrong with a classic sauce, and with the addition of meatballs, it reminded me of my favorite Italian dinner: spaghetti. The cheese was absolutely perfect with the meatballs. Then I tried the pepperoni and sweet sauce. I was not as much of a fan of this one, but it made for an interesting combination. The next one I tried was the meat supreme with the five cheese sauce. I enjoyed this one the most out of all of them. There was a variety of meats in this one: pepperoni, ham, bacon, sausage, beef, and it paired perfectly with the multiple cheeses. The last one I tried was the green pepper, red onion, and ham with alfredo. It was a twist. When it came to alfredo sauce, I imagined myself having a fettucine alfredo dinner. I had believed that this particular pizza would have been better off as a pasta, but it was still delicious. Gaston and Art had each received praises for their pizzas.

While we were eating the pizzas, we spoke about our day. Cornelius was always busy, working at Robinson Industries every day, but always made the time on Saturdays and Sundays to spend as much time with family as possible. Franny was a stay-at-home mom who also teaches jazz music to her genetically-enhanced frogs, who provided entertainment at dinner, while Wilbur was at school. While Tallulah was running her own dress shop, her brother Laszlo had his own art studio, painting portraits of various citizens as well as doing paintings for special events in Todayland. Bud, Lucille, and Fritz were retired. Joe could not work due to his condition and spent most of his time 'working out.' Billie was in charge of transportation around the house and around the city. Her train provided transportation for the family, and she also ran the monorail. Gaston worked in an Italian restaurant while Art delivered pizzas to planets in various galaxies.

Usually, dinner had ended in a food fight, but we were all having a fantastic day that a food fight was not necessary. Instead, Carl came in announcing the dessert. Gaston had made a tiramisu cake, which we were all eager to try.

"I've never tried tiramisu cake before," I whispered to Wilbur.

Franny and Wilbur both gasped.

"You've never had my brother's tiramisu?" Franny asked. "How shocking! It's to die for, honey!"

"And we're not just saying that for how much caffeine is in it," Cornelius chimed in. "It really is delicious."

"Wait, isn't tiramisu made of espresso?" Wilbur asked. "And isn't espresso loaded with caffeine?"

"It's Saturday, Wilbur!" Billie said from across. "Give and live a little. If you're concerned, share your slice with your girlfriend."

"No, it's okay," I replied. "We'll each take a slice, please. Unless Wilbur doesn't want to take a chance."

"Hey, if you're willing to, then so am I," Wilbur replied. "And I have. It's delicious."

I took a bite of my cake, and Wilbur was right. It was a sponge cake with just the right blend of chocolate and espresso.

"Uncle Gaston, how long did it take you to master this?" I asked. "This is amazing!"

"Thanks, Karena!" Gaston replied. "It took me about three attempts to make the cake correctly, and another three attempts to make it just right. It's all about the practice."

"Another way of you guys saying 'keep moving forward,' right?" I asked.

"Exactly," Cornelius affirmed. "We all move forward in unique ways. It is not limited to physical failure. You will find, Karena, that the more time you spend with us, the more you realize there is more than one way to move forward. If we keep that mindset embedded in our brains, the possibilities are limitless, and there is no end."

"I'll keep that in mind. Which reminds me: are you looking for new art to display at Robinson Industries?"

"I am always on the lookout for fresh art, Karena," Cornelius answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Wilbur encouraged me to reach out."

"Karena was teaching me how to blend colors today," Wilbur explained. "She is amazing, maybe just as good as Laszlo."

"Do I sense a little competition?" Gaston asked. "To the cannon range!"

"Wait, why?" I asked.

"I think Uncle Gaston wants to see you and Laszlo compete on who's the better artist," Wilbur explained, shaking his head. "This ought to be fun to watch."

September 4, 2034 – North Hampton, New York, USA

APRIL'S POV

I was so thankful to have Mondays off. I always had Sundays and Mondays off, so I could catch up with cleaning the house and other household chores that I needed to do. Mondays was also the one day that I was able to homeschool my daughter for a few hours while Donnie taped his lessons for his students in his lab. After Donnie did his work for Todayland University, he would take a nap in our bedroom, giving me the opportunity to clean his lab in the barn. He always appreciated it after waking up from his nap and coming down the stairs for lunch. After lunch, I cleaned the kitchen and took out the trash, and then I cleaned the living room. I went upstairs to clean the bedroom and the bathroom, but then I remembered that I needed to clean the bathroom downstairs.

I walked past Lily's room and took a peek inside. It was still a mess! Lily only had a few chores to do every day: clean her bedroom, do the dishes at the end of the day, and vacuum either the kitchen or the living room. Shaking my head that Lily did not clean her room after school, I cleaned it up, making it neater and easier for any of us to get around. After I finished, I went downstairs and went into my husband's lab in the barn to find him working. To my surprise, he was still taping lessons for his students.

"Have a good day, everybody, and I'll see you on Wednesday."

Donatello stopped his video and turned in my direction with a smile on his face.

"Hey April, how's it going?"

I rolled my eyes.

"It would be better if one, Lily cleaned her room, and two, if she would follow my instructions to clean her room."

Donnie let out a sigh.

"She knows never to leave her room a mess," he replied, shaking his head. "I'll talk to her about it. Where is she at?"

"Not in the… house. Donatello, how much do you wanna bet she's in the woods?"

"There's a very high chance of that," Donnie said, putting a stern look on his face. "You sit down and rest. I'll go find her."

DONATELLO'S POV

I armed myself with my bo staff just in case Lily were to get hurt. I gave April a kiss and she kissed me back.

"I'll bring her back."

"You always do," April replied with a smile. "Lily has her lesson with Leo anyway. I hope she knows about that."

"We'll find out."

I left the barn, and I started to sprint around in the woods. I hated it when our daughter just went off in the woods without telling me or her mom, but it also gave me the opportunity to exercise. I was usually the one to discipline our daughter when she broke the rules, and when she wasn't understanding about it or was angry, her mother would be the one to comfort her. When April was working, I would provide comfort as well.

I let out a contented sigh as I continued to sprint, appreciating that it was a glorious day. After some time, I stopped. I could recognize my daughter's scent from anywhere, and she always smelled of cherries. I looked around, and I found Lily high up in a tree, looking out and listening to music on her T-Pod. I let out another sigh, and this time, it was a sigh of annoyance, not only because she ventured off without me or April knowing, but also because I had to shout so she could hear me. I took out my staff and knocked on the bark of the tree.

"Lilianna Mae Hamato!"

I sheathed my bo staff and put my hands on my hips just as Lily looked down to look at me. I watched as she removed her ear buds.

"Yes, Daddy?

I made a 'come here' notion with my left finger, and Lily flipped down from the tree.

"What is it, Daddy?"

Lily looked up at me, and I knelt down to her level.

"What are you doing here by yourself, Lily Mae?" I asked her sternly. "Mom and I have told you many times not to wander off alone."

"But Daddy," Lily whined. "It was fun up there. I could see all the birds and planes fly by. I can identify every single bird now!"

I sighed, smiled very briefly, and then frowned.

"I understand that you like to climb trees and look at all the birds and squirrels and all sorts of wonderful animals, Lily. But it's not safe for you to be out in the woods by yourself. You're only ten years old. You need to let me or Mom know if you want to go off into the woods so that we can go with you. Okay?"

Lily nodded.

"I don't want to find out that you had gone off into the woods alone and that you had gotten kidnapped, okay? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Feeling panicked at the thought of losing my daughter, I took some deep breaths to calm down, and then I let out another sigh.

"There's another thing, Lily. Why didn't you clean your room this morning after school?"

"I didn't want to, Daddy."

Another sigh came out, and it was an angry sigh this time.

"Just because you don't want to do something doesn't make it right to disregard your mother," I sternly told my daughter. "When you keep your room clean, you don't fall and hurt yourself while walking around, and neither will Mom and I."

I took out my T-Phone and glanced at the time.

"For goodness sakes, we gotta go back to the house so we can take you to your ninjutsu lesson. But Lilianna, do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yes, Daddy. I'm sorry."

Lily looked down in shame. I put a frown on my face. I hated disciplining my daughter sometimes, but it needed to be done. I put my left hand on Lily's shoulder, and I replaced my frown with a smile.

"Hey, Lily, I love you very much. That's why Mom and I tell you these things, okay?"

Lily nodded her head while her blue eyes looked into my amber ones. I rang my fingers through her red hair, and I was amazed at how much she looked like her mom. At the same time, I was amazed at how she inherited genes and traits from me, but then I shook my head, remembering why I sprinted into the woods in the first place.

"Thank you for the apology, Lily, but unfortunately I'll have to take your T-Pod away until tomorrow morning."

I held out my hand and Lily, while looking down, handed me her T-Pod.

"Donnie? Lily?"

We both looked up toward April's voice.

"We need to go," I beckoned my daughter. "Can you hold my hand, please?"

Lily held my hand and I led her back to her mother and my wife. April blew a sigh of relief when we returned.

"I was worried you weren't coming back," April said with a grin, which disappeared when she glanced at Lily. "Did Daddy talk to you about not cleaning your room and wandering off?"

"Yes, Mom, he did," Lily answered, looking down. "I don't think I wanna go to my ninja lesson anymore."

"Lily, honey, what's wrong?" April asked with concern in her voice.

"Maybe we can talk about it in the car," I suggested, glancing at my T-Phone. "We really need to go."

The three of us got into the Party Wagon, and we were off to the city. April drove while I sat in the back with Lily. Despite mutants being able to live freely in the city, I still maintained caution.

"Daddy, I'd rather not go to my ninja lesson than not have my T-Pod," Lily finally spoke after an hour of driving.

"Lily Mae, I'd rather not take anything away from you," I replied, putting on a sad face. "I hate taking things away from you. But I wouldn't be doing my job as your daddy if I never took anything away from you and disciplined you. I discipline you today so that you make wise choices tomorrow and in your future as an adult. And when you become an adult, you will realize without me or Mom telling you that every action has a consequence. It can either hurt you, or if you make the best choice, it will help you in the long run."

I smiled fondly at my daughter, a perfect mix of me and April.

"I love you, Lily Mae, and that's why Mom and I are teaching you everything we know. And we want you to succeed and be your own person."

"Your daddy's right, you know," April chimed in, and I saw a smile on her face. "Having things taken away is a part of life. I've had things taken away by Grandpa O'Neil when I was your age, and I'm sure Daddy had things taken away too by Grandpa Splinter."

"You did, Daddy?" Lily asked.

"I sure did," I answered with a chuckle. "It happens to every kid, Lily. It may not feel very nice, but in your case, I really hope you've learned something from this."

"Yes, Daddy. I've learned to always clean my room, to do what you or Mom tell me to do, and to not wander off alone. I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"With an apology like that, how could I say no?" I replied with a bigger smile. "Of course I forgive you, Lily Mae. And I'll forgive your ears for not listening. And I'll forgive your tummy for telling you to wander off."

I tickled Lily in the tummy and she laughed with glee. I laughed along with her, and I heard some laughs from April also. We stopped laughing and simply smiled at each other.

"Are you feeling all better?" I asked.

"Yeah, I want to go to my ninja lesson now," Lily replied. "But Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"My tummy tells me when I'm hungry. It doesn't tell me to go into the forest. My brain does that!"

April cracked up laughing in the driver's seat.

"Like father, like daughter!" April said.

"As far as smarts go, missy," I replied playfully. "It's more like this saying: like mother, like daughter. She has your sass!"

"You're sassy too, Donatello," April playfully replied.

Lily laughed a lot, and then she smiled.

"Daddy? Why don't I get to call you Donatello or Donnie?"

I smiled and kissed her on her red hair.

"Because the only person who calls me Daddy is you, my sweet princess. And I absolutely love being called Daddy. It is the best gift in the world."

"Really?" Lily asked in astonishment. "Does that mean I'll be called Mommy someday?"

"You just might," April answered. "But don't go thinking that far yet. Daddy and I still want you to be our little girl while you're still little!"

Another two hours passed and we found ourselves in the lair in New York City. We heard a loud gasp from the lair.

"Is that my favorite niece?" I heard Mikey ask with excitement as we entered the lair.

"Hi, Uncle Mikey!" Lily greeted him excitedly.

"Aww, look at you!" Mikey yelled.

He ran towards us, lifted Lily off the ground and twirled her around. Lily squealed with delight while April and I held each other in our arms.

"You get prettier and prettier every time I see you," Mikey told our daughter, putting her down.

"Is that Donnie?" I heard Raph ask from his room.

"Yes, Raph!" I shouted in reply.

Raph showed up at the door to his bedroom.

"Uncle Raph!" Lily yelled excitedly.

She ran up to him, and it was Raph's turn to lift her off the ground.

"You're getting heavy!" Raph said with a proud smile. "You keep on growing up and I won't be able to lift you up anymore!"

"I'm getting bigger, Uncle Raph!" Lily replied excitedly.

"Hello, Lilianna," Mona Lisa greeted her, coming out of Raph's room.

"Hi, Auntie Mona. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you for asking. You are just as polite as your father."

I smiled, appreciating the compliment. Mona walked up and hugged me and April.

"It's good to see you, Donatello and April."

"It's nice to see you too, Mona," April replied. "Where is everyone else?"

"Leonardo, Karai, and Ryan are waiting for you in the dojo."

"I take it Athena and Venus are in there also?" I asked, excited to see my nieces and nephew.

"Yes, they're all waiting for you. This way."

"Come on, Lily," Raph encouraged his niece. "Let's go see Uncle Leo and Auntie Karai."

"And Ryan, Athena, and Venus?" Lily asked with a smile.

"Yep, you'll get to see your cousins, too."

The six of us walked into the dojo to greet the other five members of the family.

"Kon'nichiwa, sensei," Lily greeted her uncle. "Hi, cousins!"

"Kon'nichiwa, Lilianna," Leo greeted in return. "Thank you for coming. Let us start with our katas."

All of us except for Renet and Mona Lisa joined in for the katas. Leo would eventually motion for the adults to stand back so that the kids can finish theirs.

"Ya me!" Leo yelled sharply, and then smiled. "Very good. Let's go grab our weapons now."

I watched as the children walked to the wall to grab their weapons. Lily, the oldest of her four cousins wearing a white mask, retrieved her jo staff, which was a four-foot staff without the blade. Ryan, Leo and Karai's son who was born the following January and wearing a black mask, was chosen to bear the yari, the spear. Venus, Raph and Mona's daughter born in the fiery month of August the following year and wearing a baby blue mask, retrieved her sais. Lastly, Athena, the youngest cousin and daughter of Mikey and Renet who was born right after Venus at the end of September and wearing a teal mask, grabbed her yuma, the bow and arrows.

"Remember to be resourceful, children," Leo reminded them. "Remember to do no harm and to simply disarm your opponents. If you scratch one of your cousins, you are immediately out of the competition. The last student standing wins. Brothers, you may encourage one tip to your child. Hajime!"

"Wait, sensei!" Lily yelled out.

Ryan quickly charged her with his spear, and Lily reacted quickly.

"Whoa, Ryan! I just had a question for your dad!"

"Your question can wait, Lily!" Ryan shot back, trying to strike a blow to her.

"Ryan, you're swinging too hard!" Lily whined.

"Sensei never said anything about how hard to strike," Ryan replied smugly.

Lily now had to block attacks from Athena's arrows. She screamed, twirling her jo staff in defense. Suddenly, Venus came up in front of Athena and disarmed her using only her feet.

"Aww," Athena pouted.

"Fight without thinking, Athena," Mikey told her as she knelt to the side. "And be mindful of your surroundings."

"That's two tips, Uncle Mikey!" Lily yelled while still defending herself from Ryan.

"Teacher's pet!" Ryan shouted.

"Shut up, Ryan!" Lily shot back.

"Lilianna Mae, use your words to disarm your opponent," I yelled sternly. "Do not use them to emotionally harm him."

I continued to watch as Venus approached Ryan and Lily, and Venus started to strike Lily. My daughter, having quite the reflexes, was able to block both of them for as long as she could. Ryan ended up breaking Lily's staff in half. However, Lily put a determined smirk on her face. She continued fighting with her two halves. Using only the ends of her weapons, she was able to disarm Venus.

"Holy crap," Venus breathed out. "YIKES!"

Venus had to somersault out of the way as Lily and Ryan dueled.

"Do not hesitate, Venus," Raph told his daughter. "You gave Lily the advantage of disarming you."

"You know, Ryan, you may be Uncle Leonardo's son," Lily spoke as she fought. "But you fight like Uncle Raphael."

"Quiet, Lily!" Ryan shot back.

"Is it because you are the second oldest cousin, like Uncle Raphael is second oldest of his brothers?" Lily taunted him.

"I said, quiet!"

"What is it, Ryan? Are you afraid you're going to get beaten by a girl? Are you scared?"

Ryan screamed, charging at Lily. Lily prepared herself, once again using the ends of her weapons to fight. Once she was done defending herself, she placed her feet behind Ryan's spear and disarmed him, kicking the spear away from him. All Ryan could do was sit there in disbelief while Lily stood in disbelief.

"Ryan, be careful," Leo warned his son. "Anger—"

"—is a dangerous ally, I know," Ryan interrupted him. "It cost me."

"Do not let Lily's words get to your core. Let them wash over you like a river over stone."

Leo then walked over to Lily and bowed to her. Lily bowed in return.

"Well done, Lilianna. You took your father's words to heart. And you also understood one of the most important lessons of being a ninja: anything can be a weapon. You took your broken weapon and made it into two deadly ones."

"Hai, sensei," Lily replied. "But I still made Ryan angry."

"Ryan made the choice to be angry by himself, and that was the way of the Shredder. The Shredder let his anger take control, and with that he took away Splinter's family. Use those words against your enemies, Lily, but do not use them against your own family. When the time comes, they won't be fighting against you. They'll be fighting for you."

"Hai, sensei. Arigatou."

September 5, 2038 – Todayland, North Montana, USA

WILBUR'S POV

I got into bed at my normal bedtime despite it not being a school night due to Labor Day the following morning. I tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep, but I couldn't. I got out of bed in my blue starry pajamas. I grabbed my sketchpad from my nightstand as well as some colored pencils, and I walked over to the window where I saw a majestic view of the city at night. The city was lit up in all the beautiful neon my dad had made, and surrounding the city were a whole bunch of stars.

I sat by the window, trying to sketch everything that I saw possible. Taking a picture was not an option because phones have not been updated enough times to create a clear photograph of the night sky. I first drew the city the best I can, and then I just put some white dots on paper to represent the stars. At the bottom of the page, I drew a stick figure, supposedly representing me. I set the sketchpad down, and I took a look at myself. I was most certainly a stick figure despite all the muscle in my body.

I got back into bed and tried again to go to sleep. I tossed and turned again, but still failed. After letting out a loud grunt, I hopped off the bed and got on the levitation platform that took me to the bottom floor. I walked out of my room, down the hall, through the living room, and into the downstairs kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and poured myself a glass of milk. I took a sip and I smiled with satisfaction.

"Who's in the kitchen?" Carl asked over the intercom.

"It's me, Carl," I replied in a normal tone.

"I'm coming."

I waited for Carl to join me at the counter, and I eventually felt him sitting down next to me.

"Are you alright, little buddy?" Carl asked.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Well, if you can't sleep, then something is on your mind that's not letting you rest."

"It's Karena," I replied. "She makes everything sound so easy. Why can't my teachers do that for me?"

"Because you're one of the smartest students in the class?" Carl hypothesized.

I chuckled.

"Possibly. I think my teachers want to make my work harder. But I want to take it easy, Carl. I want to learn at the same pace as everyone else, you know? And besides, I know I'll pass with all A's. I have Karena, the valedictorian at her high school, at my side."

"Don't you do any extracurricular activities too?" Carl asked.

"Band, student council, color guard and charge ball," I answered. "Color guard tryouts for the winter season aren't until November, so I have time."

"Don't you sing, too?" Carl asked teasingly.

"Have you heard me sing, Carl? I'm a horrible singer."

"You'd be surprised to hear yourself once your voice changes."

"Yeah, I think my voice is done changing, Carl. It changed last year and I've sounded like this since."

"Then don't knock it out until you try it."

"If there is anyone I would be willing to sing to, it's Karena. I do not ever want to sing in front of an entire community of people."

I finished my milk and turned to face Carl.

"Thank you for talking with me, Carl. You're a true friend."

"Any time, little buddy."

I woke up the next day feeling refreshed. I also felt relieved because I didn't have to go to school. Karena, on the other hand, had classes all day, so I could not call her. I decided to use the off day to my advantage and come up with ideas for homecoming.

I had become one of the most popular kids in the school over the course of last year, so when the school year began, I was elected as the student council representative of my class. And with that came responsibilities for the school dances. The student council was in charge of the homecoming festivities, so my focus was on that today. I struggled with this. I was creative, but not as creative as Karena. I needed her help.

"Well, what if there was someone in this family who had been in my shoes before?" I asked out loud. "It's worth asking around."

The only people who were not home at the moment were my dad and his cousins. I could not ask Uncle Joe since he was mute. I started on the second floor at my grandparents' room.

"Hi Grandma, may I speak to you?"

"Sure, honey!" Grandma Lucille replied happily. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm on the student council this year and it's my responsibility to help come up with ideas for the dances this year. Homecoming is coming up in October."

"Well, congratulations, Wilbur! Cornelius Robinson's son is already going to the top."

"I'd rather be known for my intelligence, thank you. But can you help me? Have you had any experience with this before?"

"Honey, none of us have ever been on the student council before when we were your age. Grandpa Bud was made fun of for his clothes being on backwards, but he never cared about how people felt. Most of us weren't elected to be part of the student council because of our quirks. All of us, except for Tallulah and Laszlo, were focused on winning science fairs and making the world a better place to live in."

We both gasped.

"Tallulah and Laszlo!" I exclaimed happily. "They're both into some sort of art."

"Your mom can help you too. She was not popular in school but that doesn't mean she wasn't creative. She always has brilliant ideas. Ask your girlfriend too, Wilbur."

"I certainly will. Thanks, Grandma!"

I went down to the music room since that's where Mom would be. I found her practicing a jazz song with her frogs, and she was singing along to it.

"You're sitting there and wondering what it's all about," Mom sang in her 1920s voice. "If you ain't got no money, they will put you out. Why don't you do right like some other men do? Get out of here and get me some money too."

I cleared my throat, and my mom stopped the music.

"Oh, Wilbur! Hi! We were just practicing for the annual Halloween bash."

"Going as Jessica Rabbit, Mom?" I asked with a smirk. "You sound the part."

"But I don't have the look," Mom replied. "The practice is for the frogs. But… maybe you can help me."

"Gladly! I need help too."

"Oh! Well, you go first. My problems are small compared to yours."

"Well, I'm part of the student council this year and we're in charge of all the dances, as in decorating, the music, everything. Homecoming is coming up in October. Karena's going to school and working today, so I figured I'd work on it. I know you weren't part of the student council when you were my age, but would you have any suggestions?"

"These dances always have to have a theme, Wilbur. The theme gets the kids excited about going to them. Once you have the theme, then you can think about decorations and the music."

"So what would be considered a good theme?"

"Most teenage girls always enjoy the fairytale dream. I don't think the guys care. Do you care, Wilbur?"

"Of course I care! I want my classmates to have a good time!"

"I mean, honey, say you were going to the dance with Karena. Would you care what the theme is?"

"No."

"There you go."

"I understand what you mean. Think about what girls like."

"That's right. All the boys want to do is have a good time with their dates."

"Thanks, Mom. Now what did you need help with?"

"Who do you think would best fit the Jessica Rabbit part?" Mom asked with a grin.

"Well, Karena does have a beautiful voice, and she does have green eyes. And she's got the build to match. All Karena would need to do is wear a wig."

My mom screamed happily as she hugged me.

"Thank you, Wilbur! I'll ask her the next time I see her. Maybe Tallulah can make her a costume."

My mom kissed me on the cheek with a little too much enthusiasm. I shrugged as the frogs continued playing their song.

"If you had prepared twenty years ago, you wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door. Why don't you do right, like some other men do?"