Here I am towering over the slider mutant turtle-like predator leering over their prey. His fear cascaded his eyes. My knife was an inch close to his Adam's apple. I wasn't planning on killing him. He didn't give me a reason to kill. I'm curious. I could scare him into giving me information. That would work.
"Back off, Halloween Knockoff." A huge shadow cascades us. A glance and an update inform me an alligator snapping turtle is attempting to attack. His body is broad and huge making a comparison I would say the snapping turtle has more muscle mass than the two brutes I encountered. Just like the slender, the buff turtle wears a red bandana however he covers his head with a tear underneath his eye. Big body, little head. He's covered in spikes, shoulders, elbows even his shell. Two bandages overlap as an X on the right side of his plastron. His fist rises coming for my face. His movement is too slow. I calmly step as I retract my knife. It is hysterical seeing his face sluggishly morph to shock as I lift my left leg and kick his plastron. Maybe I should've pulled back a bit since the force I gave the huge turtle impacts one of the metal frames.
"Raph!" the blue-masked slider yelled to his comrade. The slider turns to me with a heated glare. "Talk about uncalled for, dude!" he takes his sword out planning to attack.
"Pick on someone your own size!" my scanners pick up on an ornate box turtle and a spiny soft-shell turtle. I leap away. The box turtle is on my trail. This one is shorter than the slider by two inches. A short orange mask covers his eyes, has a belt and sash like Bluey (I decided to call the slider that), except it's orange, and has stickers on his plastron. My guess is that he's the youngest. Orange loves his flips. Flips here, flip there all while whirling his nun chucks aiming for my face. I roll my eyes. How boring. I grab his wrist and pull him in to headbutt his tiny head. He groans in pain. I use the moment to throw him to Red.
Purple (the soft shell) intrigues me. His choice of weapon is a high-tech bo staff. His purple bandana, like Red, cover his head, however, there were black eyebrows drawn on. What baffles me is how thick they are. Why are they thick? Why drawn them arched, too? He wears 3D goggles or something on his head. This turtle is pack with technology. I'm guessing he's the smart one of the turtle group, even his shell his metallic. "I have questions", he says in fascination, "such as is your hand prosthetic? What can you do with it? Did you input a holographic computer on your wrist? Or perhaps an electric taser onto your fingertips for an evasive maneuver? Or a flamethrower spewing out of your palm? Or –"
"Donnie, stop giving the bad guy ideas!" yell Raph (Red) as he helps Orange stand.
"Donnie's got a boy crush!" Orange teases.
"The man is standing with impressive technology! How can I not gawk?" Donnie – Mr. Purple – argues.
"No", I simply reply and add a smirk, "but I can do this." I lift my uncovered hand, releases itself from my wrist with thrusters, and fly toward Purple. My hand grabs Donnie's neck and lifts him. I initiate it to drag the soft shell and throw him with the two turtles who were already trying to find their footing. They crash together resulting in them falling and landing down below.
"You have my respect, good sir!" Donnie yells with a painful groan escaping him. A shaking arm comes up giving a thumbs up. My hand comes back to its rightful place.
Three down, one to go – I barely escape a swing. I stare at Bluey. "No one messes with my brothers, except me!" he swings his swords, very clumsily I will say. I feel as though he doesn't get enough training. Might as well stop before someone loses an eye. With his next swing, I grab his wrist and twirl his body like a waltz. I make sure his back is against my back. His arms cross over his chest. I grab both wrists trapping him in place. "What's with you and personal space?"
"I'm not the one waving pointy objects without adult supervision."
"How old do you think I am?"
"Basing off your attitude, four."
"Gee, aren't you a comedian?" he lifts his leg and stomps on my foot. I didn't bother stopping him. I'll let him realize it on his own. As soon as he steps on my boot. He yowls in pain dropping his swords in the process. I let him go so he can caress his foot. "Your foot is also metal?" I shrug in response.
"Aw, aren't you adorable?" I see Red making kissy faces at Furball before it scratches his face.
"Hey, back the fuck off", I yell, seeing the creature jump onto a black girl with red hair tied into two puffy pigtails. She has red cat-rimmed glasses. I jump down. I run up to the group. I'm certain Bluey is on my tail. The girl looks me up and down. I can hear the gears grinding in her head. She was probably trying to remember who I am. I don't know the puta. "Hand it over. It had been a long day. I'm planning on leaving as far away from here ASAP."
"Don't get your boots in a bunch, Dark and Gruesome", the girl sass, "he or she likes me. Don't be jelling. What kind of dog or cat is this?"
"Some sort of nuclear Saint Bernard", Donnie theorizes as he inspects the small vial strap around the creature's neck. I lift an eyebrow. Why haven't I noticed it before? The vial has light green liquid inside. My scanners aren't being precise. I need to get Furball and split.
Then, my scanners pick up signatures of familiar bodybuilders. "Shit", I curse.
Lightning and thunder suddenly come out of nowhere on a nice day with the two thugs making their entrance.
The turtles hide behind their human friend. "Plan H, guys." They reappear with their teeth overlapping their lips. "Can you direct us to the local science fiction convention that we are currently dressed for?" Blue says in a nasally, geeky voice.
"Snazzy turtle outfits, huh?" Orange follows suit.
"We are just typical, normal humans who got lost in the middle of our normal, everyday human lives. Nailed it." And Purple fails in his delivery. Only an idiot would believe their lie. The whole exchange is ridiculous.
"You do not intimidate us, with or without your fake nerd voices", the blue lug says.
"That was actually my real voice", Donnie points out.
I can't take it. I walk forward. "Hey Twindle Ass and Twindle Dick. You're not getting Furball not without going through me first. Let's skip the pleasantries and get down to the nitty gritty, shall we?" I crack my knuckles.
"What's wrong with my voice?" Softshell couldn't let it go.
"Friends of yours?" I see Blue beside me with a raised eye.
"We've crossed paths. Objective, keep the muscle heads from taking the little guy."
The two guys raise their fists. Purple energy emits their hands and surrounds them. They move in sync. With each move, their bodies reshape, and even the dogs change. Their transformations ended and revealed to be two insect-like dark knights riding sabretooth-sized hunting hounds. One carrying a broad sword and the other a staff.
"So... you guys from Jersey?" Bluey jokes. I raised an eyebrow. Really?
"Really, Leo?" Thank you for voicing my thoughts, Orange. On another note, Blue is Leo. Got it. I'm just missing a sassy girl and a box turtle.
This is stupid. "Initiate Battle Protocol: Iron Fists", I say, slamming my fists together and running to the monsters, picking the knight with the spear. My fists equip with more armor. I flip to him kicking his head causing him to leave his ride unoccupied. The mutt charges. I punch it hard. It crashes onto a pile of bricks. That made the riders very pissed. I hear battle noises behind. My guess: the turtles are going to lose. Playing my life allowance on it.
"You just had to ruin cannonball day?" Leo mocks, his sword laying on his shoulders in a cocky gesture.
"Don't get cocky", I tell him, "They're packing heat."
"Hey, if you can take one down, how hard can they be." Leo flashes with such speed aiming for my opponent. His swords come down until they break. Leo notices the sudden light weight of his weapon. Cujo made a quick recovery. It bit the blades like twigs and throws it over its head. Leo sweats nervously. I sigh. Idiot. I warned him. In haste, he throws the hilt at the monster. "Who needs weapons when you got mad skills?" he dodges his attacks. I would have been impressed if he wasn't showboating. The slider leaps off the cement mixing truck with a spin... and crashes face first. The monster raises his weapon. I activate quick speed and carry Leo away fireman style. My legs released used steam. My legs are overheating. I blow my bang out of my face. I hear a sigh.
I look at Leo. "You have such beautiful eyes", Blue says, fluttering his dark eyes. I feel a vein twitching above my right eyebrow. Aye, Dios Mio. I drop him. He groans in pain. He stands, "Are you always this rude!"
I shrug. "Maybe you were too heavy for me. Can you blame me? Try losing some weight why don't you."
Blue gasps, dramatically. "I have you know I'm very slim for my species!"
"Could've fooled me." A blast hits me. The energy was intense that I went offline. I couldn't move. I couldn't see.
"Goth boy!"
I black out. All I heard were struggles and yells here and there. My parents will kill me if they see me right now. Who am I kidding? They weren't fully murdering me. I'll end up having weeks of no freedom or sunlight beyond the end's meet. I put Project Prodigy to shame, so they will say.
All I wanted was a smoke. Is that too hard to ask?
It feels like hours until my focus comes back online. "Hey, are you okay?" my vision and scanners see Leo staring over me in concern. My head was on his lap.
Standing up, I groan pain returning to my head. "What happens?" I gasp. "Where's Furball and the girl?" I frantically look around me.
"Oh look, Sleeping Beauty is awake", Donnie says not taking his eyes out of his computer wrist.
"Our friend, April, went after those creeps when they got their hands on the dog thingy." April, girl, got it.
"Mikey don't tell him! We don't know which side he's on!" Raph lectures, inspecting a brick wall for some clue. Lovely. I got the whole gang memorized.
"Clearly not their side, whoever they are", I retort as I stand dusting myself.
"The bad guys opened a portal and walked through taking the dog thingy", Leo summarizes, "April follows them. We tried to go after her, but the gate closes before catching up to her." Right...
"Nope, I'm out! Peace." I make my exit with a peace out salute until Blue whose name is Leo blocks my path.
"Seriously? You're just gonna bounce, after all, that spiel about protecting the little guy?" He's angry with me? Why? Besides being part cyborg, I'm just an average guy... more or less. "You went through the trouble of protecting it and now you're going to bail just like that?" The fact they heard me say those things to Furball means they were watching for a while.
"News flash, Blue", I say with such venom in my tone, "I don't know what I witnessed, but in my eyes, I'm not equipped for this magical, supernatural BS. I'm a guy with prosthetics trying to go about his day. Obviously, you need a key. I don't have it and it's damn clear you and your brothers don't have one either. Wake up and smell the coffee! You're not going to Wonderland. Find a new human friend 'cuz you lost her."
Leo clenches his fist. He glares with anger. "You are such an asshole! How can you stand there and say such things? I bet if one of your friends were kidnapped and pulls them to some different dimension, you would go crazy and do whatever it takes to save them." He has the nerve to poke me in my chest. If it were anyone else, their wrist would be fractured and have a broken nose.
Instead, I grab his wrist and yank hard. It was sudden. He did not expect that. I pull him close enough so I can whisper in his earlobe. "Why would I be stirring crazy if I don't have any friends?" after my comment, I release him and walk around. I could feel anger bubbling in my chest, which is odd because I wasn't angry at all. A Spanish yell stops my walk.
"Eres un cabron solitario! Tal vez por eso no tienes amigos!" I glance back to see the slider huffing. I'm amazed by his Spanish. It was fluent with good pronunciation. I flip him off and walk without another look. I quicken my pace when I reach the exit.
I'm doing the right thing. I was over my head helping the furball, meeting mutants, and fighting mystic soldiers. I'm not trained for this. They can handle the rescue party without me. You did the right thing, Merrill. It's okay to walk away. It's not your fight. I need a smoke. I pull out a cigarette and my lighter. I stick my cig. I flick the lighter. No light. I flick again. I flick a few times more. Fucking lighter doesn't want to light. I growl. Fan-fucking-tastic! I click the tap down. I stare at my reflection on the silver surface.
"Merrill", I hear Ricardo's voice echoing in my mind, "you're a good kid. Just 'cause you're different doesn't make you terrible. You should stop seeing yourself as the bad guy for once."
Leo's face appears on the lighter. "How can you stand there and say such things? I bet if one of your friends were kidnapped and pulls them to some different dimension, you would go crazy and do whatever it takes to save them."
My jaw clenched. I need to smoke – no, I need to hit something. No, no. I need to smoke. Punch. Smoke. Punch – smoke. Punch. SMOKE! PUNCH!!! I punch the building leaving a fist-size crater. A woman strolling with her baby runs in the other direction.
Why am I angry? It's not my problem! I'm not getting involved! I'm going home, taking a long ass shower, and watching Stranger Things on Netflix. That's it!
Leo's angry face comes to my mind. Who cares? I'm not going! I'm sure they'll find a way! They don't need me! I punch the wall again. The crater has gotten bigger. Stop showing me Leo, brain. I said I'm not going and that's final! My chest tightens. Am I having a stroke? For what? Seeing Bluey get all emotional. I don't care! My brain decides to remind me of my first encounter. His eyes were full of fear. He was petrified. Good, he should fear me. Then, I see him being relaxed in my arms before I dropped him.
I don't care... I don't... I don't care...
Damn it.
I need to restock.