"Can someone tell me why Spider-Boy is here with you?" Raph said, glaring at Mama's Boy. I know how the big guy feels. It took Leo five minutes to get me to calm down before I went into my dark mode. I wanted to pound his fake face against the merry-go-round. I didn't get why Leo would let him talk to us. I was surprised the slider agreed. At least Mama's Boy had the decency to wait for the others to meet up with us at the park. I stood beside Leo making sure the spider yokai didn't pull a fast one and take Leo away while our backs are turned. It didn't take long for the whole gang to come over and judging from their bags they were bulging with candy while ours were empty. I didn't care. Lee and I had a nice time being alone until the unwanted demon decided to ruin it. Like, what the fuck universe! Do you enjoy making it hard for me? I felt a bump beside me. I glanced to see Lee giving me a reassuring smile. It eased my nerves a bit, just not all of it.
What does Mama Boy want?
"Ooooooh, you got a lot of nerve coming up to us and coming between the future Mr. And Mr. Hamato-Ramirez", Mikey said. You could feel the sass radiating off the small box turtle. Lee and I blushed. "It's like you're begging for us to whoop your butt!" Mr. Hamato-Ramirez. Not gonna lie that has a nice ring to it.
'Don't encourage him.'
"Anyone wants to fill us in on the 411?" April asked, laying a hand on her hip. Our human friends were just as confused. Right, they don't know about the whole marriage conspiracy.
"Allow me to explain", Donnie said, pressing a button on his tech-bo. His weapon displayed a holographic projection. "My brothers, Merrill, and I were on a search and capture mission in securing the oozequitoes – those were the oversized insects with the mutagen lodged in their abdomen. There was a swarm of them inside the Grand Nexus Hotel. Yes, the same hotel with a high reputation. We weren't successful; however, we met the owner, Big Mama, and her son, Xander, the man you see before you who by the way are yokai in disguise. Xander was infatuated with Leonardo and gained an enemy out of Merrill. We were bamboozled, hoodwinked, lied upon..."
"Dude, they got it", I told the soft shell.
"Ah, yes. While Big Mama offered us her webs to capture and bring them to her, Nardo stayed to keep Xander entertained which led to his capture and forced him into a marriage. I was certain Merrill died at some point and Leo revived him or I'm merely jumping to a conclusion. Los Tortuga Locas crashed the wedding, our nemesis Baron Draxum came, and those oozequitoes we captured were sent free. Now, any questions." it became quiet in our group. Until...
"Katie, be a dear and hold this", Lydia gave her girlfriend her candy bag.
"Uh sure?" Katie took it, confused.
"Thank you." before we knew it, the sweetest girl in our group pounced on Xander like a lioness. She even let out a roar. The scuffle was a mass of limbs punching and kicking.
April approached the fight. "Yo, Lyds, make some room!" she tapped her elbow and jumped in. "APRIIIILLLL O'NEEEIIILLLLL!"
"Don't forget about me!" Mike said, pulling out his weapon. He had that the whole time?
"Oh yes, I have both verbal and physical things to say to our nemesis", Don joined raising his staff. The two turtles were about to join but were held back by their big brother grabbing their shells and pulling them up.
"Don't even think about it!" Raph told the, which his two younger brothers groaned (Donnie mostly said "defeated groan").
It was sheer chaos. Was it wrong for me to say I wanted to take out my bills and make it rain?
'Yes, yes it does.'
Shows what you know.
'We got to stop this. Xander came to us for something, right? We might as well let him talk.'
Why should we? Have you forgotten you were almost married to that?
'Of course, I didn't! Think about it. If Xander wanted to do something he would've done it by now or when we at least expect it. Instead, he took the initiative and approached us. He even waited until the whole gang was present.'
That asshole waited nearby to intervene. He ruined the fucking moment! I wanted to kiss you! Why is it so hard to get a kiss?
'How should I know?' I could hear the gears turning in his head. 'What?! Y-y-y-you w-w-wanted to k-k-kiss me?' Even with our mental link, Lee's squeak was adorable.
Duh, why do think I'm so pissed? Mama's Boy ruined it!
I looked over at Lee. His face was buried in his hands. 'He wanted to kiss me! He wanted to kiss me! He wanted to kiss me!' he repeated that sentence repeatedly. It was like watching a computer malfunction. Hearing that, Lee peaked between his fingers. I couldn't help myself, so I gave him my signature wink and smirk. I imagined his heart pierced by an arrow and his soul leaving out of his body. Oh yeah, we're back. His face was darkened by a heavy blush.
"Merrill! What did you say to Leo this time?" Raph saw the little exchange.
"Nothing. Lee and I had an inside joke", I simply said.
"Just give me a hand here", I lifted my hands attempting to clap, "Don't even think about it." I shrugged. It was funny.
Alex went to Leo's side. "Help Raphael. I will be next to Leany Beany."
So, with my help, we got everyone to calm down. It took six probably eight minutes to get everyone to settle, especially Lyds who was secured in Katie's arms. Xander was repairing himself. His clothes were ripped, and his hair was a mess. It baffled me that Xander didn't put up a fight, not once. Either he didn't come to fight us, or he wanted to gain our trust and assumed he was harmless, I won't let my guard down. I'm certain the guys are just as on edge as I was.
"I believe you all finish releasing your pent-up aggression", Xander said, dusting his clothes.
"Believe me we haven't scratched the surface of our aggression", Donnie glared.
"Can I please say why I needed to find you?"
"No, you may not."
"Donnie! Let him speak!" Leo ordered with high authority, and I'm certain Raph was the leader. Man, that sounded hot. Leo cleared his throat. "We're not getting anywhere if we all focus on strangling him throughout the night. There's very little time before Halloween is over." Everyone was reluctant at the logic, even me, but he's got a point. Discussion now, vendetta later.
Xander sighed in relief. "Thank you, Leonardo. Might I say you look positively radiant tonight?" I growled. Can this dipshit not take a clue?
Leo narrowed his eyes. "Don't push it. You should count yourself lucky I'm letting you talk after what you have me went through. If it were up to me, I would've let Merrill tear you to pieces." I smirked, feeling proud and honored that my little turtle thought I could take the spider on with my dark powers.
The yokai didn't remark on that statement or bother to correct it. Instead, he asked, "Have any of you know about the Halloween Murderer?" I raised a skeptical eyebrow. Cuddles showed me the paper on that subject. Alright fisherman, call me a fish 'cause I've taken your bait.
"My parents were warning me to stay safe", Lydia said.
"I heard about it on the news", Katie added.
"The Mad Dogs heard of it", Raph said, "but we took a vote and let the human authorities handle it." Really?
'It was unanimous.'
Xander tied his hair back. "It's a siren in disguise."
"Oh no!" Mikey screeched; then, he paused. "Donnie, what's a siren?"
"In mythology, sirens are known as sea creatures in comparison to mermaids. They lured sailors to their watery graves by luring them with their heavenly voices. In some myths, they can hide their appearance by becoming as beautiful as a goddess or the person they hold cherished. However, would this siren be considered a yokai?"
"She is a foreigner, Donatello. She is one of our hotel regulars but never stays for long. She had stayed in New York City for five years luring her prey and feeding them." I cringed. The only other time I've seen mermaids being carnivorous was from the Pirates of the Caribbean; damn, Captain Jack Sparrow can ride my boat any day. Leo elbowed my side. What? He's hotter than Will Turner. "She managed to not only evade the human authorities, but also the mystic police. If she does not stop, then New York City will be her private buffet."
Alex bravely approached Xander. "If what you say is true, Mr. Xannie, then why is this siren only targets civilians during Halloween?"
"I do not know. Perhaps she wants to save her energy and whatnot. She goes on a killing spree on this night alone. Who's to say what her reason is? The good news is there is one of her." So, we have a siren-slash-mermaid walking around the streets being whomever they please.
"Bad news, we don't know what she looks like", I finished, "Well, this is a pain in my ass. Can't you give us any clues, or do you assume we have some tricks up in our imaginary sleeves?"
"I was hoping Donatello's intelligence could be the answer we seek; otherwise, we would be walking right into the siren's hands", the spider answered, glaring at me. "We must stay in a group to capture the siren."
"I say we split up. Sirens are owned for their hypnotic voices, right? Then, we need to have our ears covered. Problem solved."
"Ah, a simplistic answer. The typical response for a human." I felt a vein pop above my right eye.
"Says the dipshit who thinks the answer lies within Donnie."
"At least it is plausible than searching blindly for our target."
"We got to divide and conquer before the siren is aware that we're tracking her."
"We are stronger in numbers."
"Might I have a say in this", Donnie came between us.
"Stay out of this!" We both yelled, causing the soft shell to retreat. I didn't realize Xander and I was inches apart from each other until Leo went between us and pushed our chests apart.
"Alright! Pull back the testosterone! We get it! You both want to show who's better!" Leo said, making us look at the red-eared slider in the middle.
"Lee, tell this gigolo to fuck off!"
"Leonardo, tell your pet to bite his tongue."
"Wanna say that to my face!"
"I believe I already have."
We grew close again, scowling and growling for dominance.
Leo pulled us apart again, but more forcefully. "ENOUGH!" I sighed. God. This was getting us nowhere. I looked over at the group and saw them munching on their candy, fascinated by the reality drama before them. How fucking wonderful! "Donnie, what's your idea before these two decides to have a bloodbath in public."
The tech turtle chewed on his pretzel stick. "Both Merrill and Xander both have valid points. As Xander stated, I do have the technology to oversee the glamor of anything mystical; if the siren were to be in disguise, my goggles would be able to pick them up in an instant. On Merrill's side, splitting up does sound like a steady, but risky plan. I have the equipment, but the rest of you don't which will be like playing Russian Roulette; it's a dangerous game of change. However, the decision lies with our leader. Raph, what do you think?"
The big guy crossed his arms and hummed in thought. "I hate to say this, but we gotta split up. We can't go into a group if those two won't go for five seconds without killing each other or if all of us wanted to kill him as a group. We go in pairs. If we have our cells in hand and encounter something out of the ordinary, we'll call everyone to meet up with us." I could tell there were a lot of flaws to that plan. Anyway, if it's in pairs, I knew you I'm going with."
"I'll go with Leo/Leonardo", me and Xander both spoke at the same time. We glared at each other again. I heard Leo sigh.
~Lady Ai~
In the end, we pulled straws and guessed who was paired with Mama's Boy. Fantastic... this was the worst pairing ever. We were supposed to avoid killing each other but ended up being paired as a group. I felt like I'm on the receiving end of a bad joke. On the bright side, Leo's paired with Alex.
"What awful luck", I heard him complain as I was lighting my cigarette, "I must endure the one mortal I cannot cooperate with. The gods must be having a field day."
I put my lighter away. I inhaled a long drag. "The feeling's mutual, Mama's Boy. I would rather be paired with a skunk."
"I would rather be with my sweet Leonardo. He must be devastated not to be paired with me." I rolled my eyes. Clearly, he didn't learn his lesson. "So delicate and pure. In need of comfort. Wait for me, my beloved."
My eyebrow twitched. "Alright. You obviously are high on drugs if you think Leo is as delicate as you claimed him to be. He's tough. He's a trained ninja..." so to speak... "if anything, he's tough as nails." I tapped the cig dumping the extract.
"And yet, you cannot protect him when you yourself cannot harness your power." I dropped my cigarette in shock, staring at him as he walked ahead.
"What did you say?"
Xander turned around in a casual manner. "Did I stutter? I said you can't protect Leonardo without grasping your ability."
I gritted my teeth. "I heard you the first time, cabron! What makes you think I can't control my power?"
The yokai tilted his hips, placing one hand on his lower side and raising the other as if explaining a simple math problem to a kindergarten. "Anyone with spiritual awareness can sense the novice mystic user you're displaying. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you had a sudden outburst of your power, no?" I grimaced, looking away. The fact that the one person I want to beat up was on point. "Mh hm, on the mark. And judging how overprotective you are, your power consumed you telling you it can grant your greatest desire." I remembered seeing Leo's memories. I wanted Leo all to myself. I was willing to do anything. I called myself the Shadow King.
"So? What's your point?"
"My point, you arrogant human, is that you need to train yourself. What I gather is your darkness reacts to your emotions. It wouldn't surprise me if your friends were aware of it as well. You should seek a professional trainer." Xander walked away. Did he give me advice? "I wonder... who is more terrifying? You or Leonardo?"
I blinked. "What?"
"Don't be coy. If you are the darkness, then Leonardo is light. I could tell by his aura. It's strong. He's close to awakening. Let's hope it won't be destructive."
"You're not making sense, Xander! You're saying Leo would be dangerous as soon as he awakened?"
"Picture this: you are the black hole, consuming everything in absolute darkness; Leonardo is the supernova, a destructive astral bomb in his wake. Small as his aura is, I could sense the power streaming through him. It will be a matter of time before he snaps. All it takes is one little tug."
Talk about a scary thought. Leo mentioned something like that at the park before we danced. I didn't really think about it until Xander pointed it out. I need to make sure that will never happen!
My phone rang. I took it out and saw Donnie's Caller ID (yeah, I saved it). I answered. "What's up?"
"The sky, but onto the matter at hand", I rolled my eyes at that remark, "My scanners picked up a sound frequency Northwest of your position." sound frequency?
"The siren?"
"Possibly. I'm 92.5% certain. Let me get a better reading... oh no..."
"What?"
"Merrill, you and Xander need to run now!"
"What? Who's the siren targeting? Is it us?"
"Leo and Alex are in danger!"
I dropped my phone.