- Chapter 119 -
The Darkness of Humanity
Down in the lair, everyone was fast asleep when Leo's T-Phone went off. He groaned loudly, fumbling for it.
"H'llo?" he answered groggily.
"Leo, it's me," came the voice of Kara Lewis.
"Kara?" Leo yawned. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Crime doesn't rest," Kara said matter-of-factly. "I've got a weird one. A kidnapping at Manhattan General. Victim is Carter Robinson."
Leo was wide awake in an instant.
"The doctor said that the camera feeds suddenly cut, then everything went dark. Then everything came back online, and the victim was gone. No signs of a struggle, or forced entry."
"We're on it. Just give us a bit and we'll be right there."
"Thanks, Leo. I'll be waiting at the scene. Maybe Don can find something we missed."
Within minutes, the Hamato Clan assembled at Manhattan General, many of them still half-asleep. Some of them had just thrown on jackets over their pajamas.
"Okay," Jade groaned. "What was so damn important that Kara called us to a crime scene at 3 AM?"
"It's Carter," Leo explained. "He's been kidnapped."
Tai perked. "Wait, kidnapped?!"
"WHAT?!" Lily shrieked, wide awake instantly. Jesse was similarly roused from drowsiness, his eyes wide as he bit down on his lower lip, hand reaching into his coat pocket for his stress ball.
"Kara said there was no sign of a struggle or forced entry," Leo went on. "One second he was in bed, the next he just vanished. Poof."
Jesse bit down on his thumb. "No sign of a forced entry…"
Donnie put on a T-Glass, quickly surveying the building. He pressed a few buttons and through the glasses, a faint hologram of a person appeared, walking down the halls to Carter's room.
"Whoever this was, they were seeking out Carter specifically," he reported. "Not sure why, though."
He followed the hologram, the others behind him.
"Awww man…" Lily said, clutching her pendant worriedly. "And today was goin' so well…"
"Don't you worry, Lil," Mikey said. "My bro Donnie, he's a super genius. You just watch, he'll figure out what's goin' on and get your bud back faster than you can say, hokey-pokey."
Lily smiled. "Thanks, Mikey. That means a lot."
"You'd better," Jesse chimed in irritably. "Seeing as you guys put him here in the first place."
"Jesse!" Lily snapped.
"Dude, seriously uncool," Mikey said.
"Yeah, well it's true. If you don't like it, not my problem." His brow furrowed in concentration. "Now keep it down, will you? I need to think."
Mikey grimaced in frustration as Lily sighed in exasperation.
"Jesse, I get you're upset and you have every right to be," Leo said, stepping forward. "But getting angry at us isn't going to bring Carter back faster."
Jesse didn't respond, he just kept muttering something under his breath.
"Went after Carter. Why? Never been here. Racist cops? Possibly. It's New York. Republicans? No, this city is famous for its Democratic leanings. They booed the bastard the minute they saw him. Out of towners? Possibly. They do it for the rallies, so…"
"Jesse? Jesse!" Leo put a hand on Jesse's shoulder, a decision he immediately regretted, as the boy grabbed him by the wrist and bent it back out of place just enough to hurt him without breaking it. Leo grunted in pain as Jesse slowly turned to face him.
"Don't. Touch me," he snarled, his voice dripping with cold contempt, contrasting his eyes, which seemed to burn with rage.
"What the…?" Leo whispered, feeling his spine tingle at the sight.
"What the heck!?" Donnie cried out, snapping everyone back to reality. They had arrived right outside Carter's hospital room, the door hanging open.
"What is it, Donnie?" Vee asked.
"I don't know!" the purple turtle said as he moved about the area. "According to my T-Glass, the perpetrator entered the hospital through the front, made their way to Carter's room, snatched him from his bed, and then they just…vanished! Poof! Gone!"
"Maybe he was abducted by aliens!" Mikey suggested. "Or a mutant with a teleporting power!"
Donnie shook his head. "No, there's not a single trace of extradimensional energy or material. Heck, they didn't even leave so much as a footprint!"
"There's gotta be something!" Lily insisted.
"Calm down, Lily," Donnie insisted. "I'm still looking."
Hisako stepped into the room and almost immediately crumbled to the ground. She went pale and let out a shaky breath, holding herself. The others looked at her in shock as Midnight whined in worry, pressing against Hisako as the psychic struggled to speak.
"Something... evil came through here." Hisako shuddered. "Bushido... Not even Shredder gave off such a... an aura of wrongness."
Raph raised an eyebrow. "Someone worse than Shredder? That's impressive."
"Evil like what?" Mikey asked.
"Just... evil," Hisako replied. "Like a culmination of everything wrong in the universe. I just... I can't explain it any better than that."
"Like a devil?" Lily suggested.
"I… Maybe? Or some approximation."
"Only wrong aura I can think of is that Jesse guy." Mikey turned to Jesse as he said this. "No offense."
"Whatever…" Jesse deadpanned as his stress ball let out a pitiful squeal.
At that, Lily pulled a small cross necklace out from under her bandana, kneeling her head and closing her eyes as if in prayer. Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Dammit Lil, that stupid habit of yours isn't gonna do you any good. I can assure you, nobody's listening."
"It keeps my calm, Jesse," Lily said with a scowl. "'Sides, you're the last one to be talking to me about 'stupid habits'."
Jesse was practically crushing his ball.
"Least mine has scientific proof," he snarled.
Hisako glared at him. "Hey, I'm an atheist too, but you don't see me shitting on someone's beliefs."
"I do respect her belief," Jesse clarified. "But I don't see the point in praying when our friend is in danger. It's a waste of time."
Hisako turned away, shaking her head and muttering. "Asshole…" under her breath. Jesse glared at her, but chose to ignore her, focusing on the bigger picture.
"Right... something's kidnapped Carter. Something apparently not human. You guys have apparently been dealing with this kind of stuff longer. Any idea where to start?"
"This evil presence I'm sensing," Hisako spoke up. "Maybe I could trace it. But I think... I'm not the best suited for this task."
Kara stuck her head in at that. "Guys? Remember how I said the video feed was cut?"
"Yeah…" Leo replied. "Why?"
"Well, it seems we were wrong. We got something."
-X-
The group followed Kara to the security room, where some other officers were at the computer.
"What have you got?" Donnie asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Kara replied, bringing up the footage.
The group crowded around the footage as a woman's silhouette walked in. The camera couldn't seem to focus on her, but as the Turtles squinted, they noticed something.
"Is it just me, or does she have… horns?" Vee questioned.
"I think you're right," Leo agreed.
The woman seemed to turn toward the camera, giving a grin that was too wide for her face. As she did, black ooze seemed to drip from her clothes, congealing into tentacles that wrapped around Carter. One then came up, smashing the camera and cutting the feed. Everyone stared at the screen in shocked silence before Jade took a deep breath.
"Okay," she said, eerily calm. "I think I speak for all of us when I say WHAT THE FLYING FUCK WAS THAT?!"
"I think…" Leo began, "I think that was the Devil."
Donnie shook his head vigorously.
"That's impossible, Leo." Despite his conviction, the purple turtle's voice faltered for a moment. "Isn't it?"
"With all the shit we've seen, I'm willing to believe it," Raph answered.
"So... what?" Erika questioned. "The Devil broke into the hospital and dragged Carter off to Hell or something?"
"Maybe?" Donnie replied uncertainly. "I don't know!"
"We've seen weirder," said Vee.
"Mother of mercy…" Lily gasped.
"Then what are we doing standing around here?" Jesse said as he headed for the door.
"Hey, Jesse, where are you going?" Leo demanded.
"What's it look like? I'm going to look for Carter."
"Whoa, hold on a sec!" Vee slid in front of Jesse to try and stop him. "You can't just run off on your own like that!"
"Vee's right, dude," Mikey added. "You don't know your way around here!"
"Just give a few minutes to go over the data," Donnie requested. "As soon as the scan is complete-"
"I don't have a few minutes!" Jesse shouted, slamming his fist into the wall and scaring Vee into taking a few steps back. "One of my friends has been snatched by God-knows-what and I'm going to find him!"
"And how do you plan on doin' that?" Raph asked. "Last I checked, you haven't even been here for…what, a day? A few hours?"
"I'll manage. This isn't the first shithole city I've been to."
"Why you…!" Raph began, only for Lily to stop him.
"Raph…" She then turned to Jesse. "Jesse, you're smart, but they're right. You don't know nuthin' bout nuthin' with what goes on here. This ain't like Waco or Houston. 'Sides, it'll go a lot faster with their help, and we don't got time to argue."
Jesse grit his teeth, strangling his stress ball as he let out a borderline animalistic growl. Ultimately, he let out a sigh, his posture relaxing.
"Fine…" he said. "But if anything happens to Carter, it's on their heads."
"Thank you, Jesse," Lily said, sighing in relief.
Jesse merely let out an affirmative grunt. "C'mon, we're wasting time. We got a case to solve."
The clan watched as Jesse walked out the door.
"I really don't like this guy," Raph said.
"Ditto," Jade chimed in.
Carter slowly opened his eyes with a groan, finding himself staring down a spotlight.
"Jesse, what the hell! Are you...huh?" He tried to raise his arm to shield his eyes, only to find he couldn't move it. "What the...?"
He looked to see his arms were restrained.
"Oh good, you're awake. I was beginning to think you'd perished in your sleep."
Carter perked, looking up to see a figure in silhouette. All he could make out was a feminine shape… and horns.
"Wh-What...What's going on? Where am I? Who are you?"
"In reverse order..." the woman said as she walked over to a nearby table covered in chemistry equipment. "I am Madame Null. And this, my new test subject, is in my laboratory.
Carter gulped. "And… And what..."
Null smiled evilly. "I'm about to make a very lucrative investment."
Null held up a syringe of glowing, green stuff. Carter looked on in horror as Null drew closer, chuckling evilly…
The Turtles and their allies were on the street, investigating. Airi was on Hisako's back, riding piggyback while in pajamas with a jacket. She yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"I know you're sleepy, little breeze," said Hisako, "but you can see that dark aura we need to find a lot better than I can."
"I know…" Airi said.
"Hey, at least you get to go on a big mission with the big kids, right?" Tai remarked. "That's gotta make it worth it, right?"
"And you're not getting sick from Mr. MacNeil's creepy stink lines of doom," Mikey added.
"Cram it up your cloaca, turtlesquirt," Jesse snapped as he wrote in a notepad. "Alright, let's see…"
He mumbled to himself as he went on. Mikey scowled at him.
"Yeesh, I take it back," Raph remarked. "This guy is worse than we are."
Leo sighed, walking over to Jesse. "Look, Jesse… I get that things got off on the wrong foot between us, and you're upset at us for putting Carter in that position. But if we're gonna find him, we need to… Huh?"
He felt a tap on his shell.
"'Scuse me."
Everyone turned to see a homeless man walk up to them, looking at Donnie.
"Donnie, could you, uh-"
"Sorry, Mick," Donnie said. "I... don't really have any change on me right now."
Karai blinked. "You know this guy?"
"Since Donnie scavenged most of his lab equipment from dumps and junkyards, he's acquainted with most of the bums in the city," Kagome explained. "He trades rare finds for blankets or food."
"Hold it."
Jesse leaned over to Mick, looking over him carefully. The man was getting visibly uncomfortable with Jesse's appraisal. He looked Mick right in the eyes, narrowing his own.
"Ummmm..."
"Oh yeah..."
Jesse reached down, seemingly going for his gun. The others went to interfere, but Hisako held up a hand to stop them, sensing his true intentions.
"Here." Jesse pulled out some bills. "There's twenty dollars there. Get yourself something at McDonald's when they open. I recommend the Big Breakfast."
Mick smiled. "Thank you, stranger."
"One last thing." Jesse pulled out a photo of him, Jamie, Lily, and Carter. He tapped Carter's image specifically. "Have you seen this boy? He's gone missing, possibly kidnapped. From what we can tell, he was snatched by a mutant woman about yay big..." He held his hand up. "Slender build… With two horns on her forehead."
"Oh," Mick stepped back in fear. "Oh... her."
Jesse's eyes widened.
"You know her?" He got closer. "Tell me everything! Who is she? Where does she live? What does she do? Talk!"
"Please... back up a bit and slow down," Mick requested.
Jesse took a breath before doing so.
"I think you're talking about Madame Null. The chick who runs the Null Group."
"The what now?" Jesse asked flatly.
"The Null Group," Kagome cut in. "A big multinational Fortune 100 corporation. Their CEO, Madame Null, is almost as rich as my mom. She has business ventures in everything."
Hisako nodded. "Pete never shuts up about their Null Cola. He always complains about how they don't have a blueberry flavor."
"I don't care about that," Mick insisted. "She's bad news. She offers 'jobs' to some of us street folk, but after that, we're never seen again. Ever. And just going near her headquarters…" He shuddered. "No one and nothing goes near that place."
Jesse froze, his expression unreadable. His hand made a squeezing motion despite the ball not being there.
"Listen, if you kids value your lives, stay way clear of Null and her company," Mick warned.
"But what about Carter!?" Lily pleaded.
"I'm sorry, missy," Mick said with a sympathetic wince. "But if your friend was taken by her, then I'm afraid it's too late. He's gone."
Jesse tensed even more, his breathing growing heavier.
"Uh-oh..." Airi buried her face in Hisako's shoulder.
With a growl, Jesse stomped off.
"Oh no...Jesse!" Lily gave chase.
-X-
Meanwhile...
Jesse ran through the city, cursing up a storm as he dug through his coat pockets. He didn't care about how dark it was or how much noise he was making. There was only one thing he cared about…or three things. Finally, he managed to find what he was looking for, his smartphone.
"Siri...Maps...Directions...Null Group," he ordered.
"Searching..."
"'Dammit..." Jesse tore at his hair in frustration. "Shit...Fuck...Dammit! Not now! Not again!"
Siri beeped. "Null Group Headquarters… 300 W 57th Street, Midtown Manhattan."
"Dammit! That's too far away!" Jesse let out a frustrated growl. "Of all the rotten, lousy, no-good...!"
Jesse went off into another stream of swears, even louder and angrier than before. In his fury, however, he lost complete sight of his surroundings and wound up bumping into someone.
"Hey, asshole! Watch where you're going!" he shouted, only to pause upon seeing he was staring down multiple thugs with purple dragon tattoos.
"Well, lookee, here," the group's leader said with a smug grin. "What's a kid like you doing out at this time of night?"
Jesse grimaced as he got his bearings. This was the last thing he needed. Still, they didn't look that tough, and he was too pissed off and angry to care.
"Could say the same about you..." he said.
"Eh?"
"Most of your guys aren't that much older than me." He motioned to the rest of the gangsters, all of whom appeared to be no older than their early twenties. "Lemme guess, new blood?"
"How about you shut up and give us any valuable shit on you, and we let you walk away?" another thug asked.
Jesse scoffed. "Do I look like I got anything valuable, Barney? I'm some random kid in the middle of the city at night." He pondered for a moment. "Although… While we're still talking, I've got some questions. The Null Group. What do you know about them?"
The boss raised an eyebrow. "That weirdo lady with the horns and red skin she passes off as a condition? What's it to ya?"
"None of your business," Jesse snapped. "Now, do you know anything or do you not? It's 3 AM. I'm tired, I'm pissed, and not in the mood to deal with people. So either tell me or get your wide carcass and fugly mohawk the hell out of my way."
"Just that she seized most of Mirage Industries' assets after the Turtles sent Krang packing," one thug remarked before perking, only just now realizing that Jesse insulted them. "HEY!"
"Kid…" a third thug began, "You have any idea who yer' messin' with?"
"Yeah, a bunch of washed-up, Season 1 bad guy leftovers with nothing better to do." Jesse picked his ear, completely ignoring the furious glares and growls he was getting. "Look, you don't know anything, so it's clear you're morons who deserve no more of my time. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He turned to go. "I need to schedule a walk-in with Madame Null."
Before he could leave, one Dragon grabbed his arm. "Hey, you ain't just walkin' away! Nobody disses the Purple Dragons and walks away without their legs gettin' broke!"
Jesse immediately drew his gun, pointing it at the thug's face. "Get. Your fucking hands. Off me."
The dragon sweated a little, but kept up his tough act.
"Or what? You think I'm scared of that little peashooter? Your mommy get that for you for Christmas, little boy?"
Jesse's eyes widened, his hand trembling as the words "little boy" echoed in his mind.
"I'm warning you..." His eye twitched ominously. "Let go of my arm and walk away."
Seeing his trembling, the dragon twisted Jesse's arm, causing him to drop his gun before throwing him into a pile of junk and garbage. He sat up, his forehead bleeding as the dragon approached him. Slowly, Jesse looked up at him, red creeping across his vision.
"Now then, let's-"
Suddenly, the Dragon felt something blunt hit him in the back of the head. He grunted, stumbling.
"Boss!"
"The hell!?"
"Eat shit..."
The dragons turned to see Jesse standing up ominously.
"Or better yet..." His head snapped up, his face a feral, nightmarish mask of pure, animalistic rage. "DROP DEAD!"
Jesse charged at the boss, punching him in the face and knocking him off his feet. As the Dragons all gaped, Jesse slowly turned to them, pulsing with rage…
-X-
Nearby, the Hamato Clan was searching for Jesse when they heard a feral howl of rage. Lily gasped.
"Oh God, no...
"Lily, what's wrong?" Leo asked.
Airi suddenly cried out, clutching her head. Hisako quickly pulled Airi into her arms properly.
"She's got Jesse's scent, and it..." the blood drained from her face. "Oh Bushido...
"Jesse…" Lily's fists clenched. "C'mon!"
They ran to where they heard the scream, stopping short at the sight before them: Jesse beating up multiple Purple Dragons, screaming like a demon from Hell and consumed by rage. He socked a thug in the gut, then grabbed him by the ears and pulled him right into his knee, breaking and bloodying his nose. Another made to bash his head in with a lead pipe, only to get a knee to the groin, causing him to drop it, which Jesse grabbed and proceeded to smash his kneecaps with. But the worst had to be the poor bastard who managed to trip him up and stomp on his head.
"Ha! Who's Season 1 now, ya little–!?"
His taunting quickly turned to screams when Jesse grabbed him by the ankle and dug his nails into his flesh, drawing blood. This gave him enough time to throw the guy off and pin him to the ground. Everybody watched in horror as he shoved the pipe into the Dragon's mouth before slamming his fist into his jaw, forcing the thug to bite down and break his teeth.
"JESSE!" Lily shrieked.
"Holy Chalupa!" Mikey shouted. "He's lost it!"
"He's a devil…" They turned to see the Dragon boss laying on the ground, a broken, bleeding mess. "That kid… He's a fuck-muthering DEVIL! He's gonna kill us all!"
"The hell he is!" Raph said, dashing forward.
"Raph, no!" Lily called out, but it was too late.
Jesse reeled back, preparing to bring the pipe down on the Dragon's head. Fortunately, Raph managed to reach them in time and tackle him to the ground.
"It's over, MacNeil!" he snapped, putting him in a submission hold. "You're done!"
"GET OFF!" Jesse sank his teeth deep into Raph's arm, drawing blood.
"OW! You son of a-!"
Jesse slipped out before knocking Raph down with the pipe.
"He's lost his mind!" Hana screamed.
Jesse gave Raph no quarter. He tackled the turtle, grabbing him by the neck and furiously shaking him, scowling and roaring like a tiger. Jade came in, getting him in a full nelson and pulling him back.
"Get off him!" she screamed before Jesse grabbed her arm, flipping her. Jade tried to get up, but before she could, Jesse struck again. With an alarming level of quickness, he stomped on Jade's hand. Jade let out a pained grunt before the berserk boy kicked her in the head, knocking her away before pouncing on her. He grabbed her by the head, placing his thumbs right above her eyes.
"Hisako!" Leo cried. "Can you shut him down?!"
"I can try!"
Hisako sent some of her mist toward him and into his head. His gaze was briefly unfocused, signaling that she'd made a connection, only for it to turn a blood-red color, which began rapidly spreading.
"HOLY-!"
Before she could kill the mist, Hisako was flooded with images and voices of several figures. Most of it was an incomprehensible cacophony of angry shouting, but she could make out three voices: a woman, a man, and an older man.
"Praise the Lord, our God!"
"...poisoning our country with their…!"
"A woman's place is...!"
"Keep your mouth shut, boy, before I…!"
"If I see you talkin' with that nigger again, I will-!"
"If it were wrong, God wouldn't want me to crave her young, fertile body."
"Baby lamb! Baby lamb! BABY LAMB!"
"Look what you made me do to Jamie!"
"You're damned!"
"Devil child! DEVIL CHILD!"
Hisako recoiled in shock and horror, blood coming out of her eyes and nose before falling over. Midnight rushed to her side, covering the girl with her body while growling at Jesse. However, the volatile young man wasn't in any position to do much. Whatever the mist had done to Hisake was a two-way street.
Jesse screamed as his mind was flooded with images and voices as well. The word "Oracle" echoing viciously, along with machines and bloody pain, as well as screams and childish begging. Lily saw her chance and took it. She brought up a dart gun, putting a round right into Jesse's arm. He grunted, stiffening and giving Jade an opening to kick him away before he dropped.
Lily then turned and did the same for Hisako, who promptly collapsed as well. Everyone got their bearings, breathing hard as they took in the carnage…
Back at Canal Street, Jesse had been chained to a wall as Lily found herself in an argument with the rest of the clan.
"What in the seven Hells was that?!" Mizuki demanded.
Erika was tending to Hisako, Raph, and Jade. "You said he... polluted Hisako's telepathic mist? How could anyone even pull that off?"
"Lily, what the hell?!" Mikey cried. "You didn't tell us Jesse was a freaking psycho!"
"I did mention his anger issues…" she said guiltily.
"Hey, there's a fine line between having anger issues and being batshit insane!" Raph snapped. "He should be in a straitjacket!"
"He was scary..." Airi shivered. "And he made Hisako's void get bigger…"
Jade shook her head. "He's gotta go. He's out of his mind. The last thing we need is a maniac like him under our roof."
"What's going on?"
Everyone turned to see Jamie wheel into the room, rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy.
"I heard screaming. Is...?" She saw Jamie chained to the wall, gasping. "JESSE!"
"Jamie… I..." Leo began.
"What's going on?" Jamie demanded. "Why is Jesse tied to the wall!?"
"Your deranged brother beat a bunch of Purple Dragons half to death and tried to kill us," Jade said bluntly.
"Jade! " Hana admonished.
"What?!" Jade snapped. "You saw what he did, Hana! He's fucking crazy!"
Jamie looked horrified. "Oh no...not again..."
The others looked shocked.
"Wait...again!?" Raph demanded,
"Well, that explains why Lily happened to have a tranquilizer gun ready to knock him out," Makoto remarked.
"Who did he hurt?" Jamie questioned nervously. "Was it an innocent person?"
"A bunch of Purple Dragons," Mizuki explained. "Local thugs."
"He beat them with a pipe," Raph added. "Pulled off a curb stomp with one. And you're serious? It's not the first time this has happened?"
"Uh-huh..." Jamie rolled over to her brother, putting a hand on his head.
"I'm not kidding, you guys," Jade said firmly. "He's dangerous. We can't let him stay here. Next time he snaps, it might be one of us."
Jamie shook her head. "No, it won't. That's why I'm here."
"Jesse only attacked you cuz you attacked him first," Lily included. "Even when he's...like that, he'd never harm an innocent."
"We were trying to stop him from killing the Purple Dragons," Leo pointed out. "Calm him down."
"You freakin' tackled him!"
"He had a pipe in a dude's mouth and made him bust his teeth on it!" Mikey objected. "They were already down!"
Lily grimaced. "I know..."
"He almost gouged my goddamn eyes out!" Jade shouted.
"Oh, and let's not forget the fact that he did... whatever the fuck he did to our sister!" Vee chimed in. "She had a fucking aneurysm!"
"That was her own damn fault..."
Jesse slowly woke up, his head still hanging low. Everyone was immediately on edge, both Miko and Midnight growling as the latter got between Jesse and Hisako.
"Trying to mindjack a berserker…" He shook his head slowly. "What the hell was she thinking?"
"She has this trick where she can get people to sleep," Leo replied.
Mikey sighed. "Okay, elephant in the room. I'll say it. What the hell's your problem, dude? What's your beef with the whole world?"
Jamie looked down. "It's my fault…"
At that, Jesse looked up, his expression one of panic.
"Jamie, no!" Jesse shook his head. "You didn't do anything!"
"But you're only like this because of me…"
"NO! Those bastards were gonna…" He swallowed, shuddering in terror. "They would've done something horrible no matter what. I just made it happen sooner."
"Hold on. Slow down." Seiko held up a hand. "What are you talking about?"
Jesse grimaced, sighing.
"Question. How much do you follow politics?"
"I dabble," said Kagome.
"Okay then…" Jesse thought for a moment. "How familiar are you with the stuff going on in the southern states? Specifically all the crap going on in the churches?"
"Uh... not much."
"Probably for the best. Simply put, over the past few years they've gone from a bunch of Bible-thumping, racist, sexist, fundamentalist jackoffs into something...unspeakable. They wanna take over America and turn it into a Christo-fascist hellhole. Think Nazi Germany meets The Handmaid's Tale."
Vee cringed. "Ugh. I hate that book."
"And what does this have to do with you and your sister?" Raph questioned.
"Our sperm donor and incubator were among those caught up in it, that's how."
Everyone paused at that.
"Your...Your parents?" Leo asked.
Jesse's face darkened. "No. Parents are kind. Parents protect you; they did the opposite. They acted normal and nice at first. But then-"
"Stop…" Hisako was sitting up on the couch, pale and shaky. "They don't… they don't need to hear that part."
Jesse looked at Hisako, letting out a sigh.
"Right… Anyway… Long story short, we tried to get out of there, tried to run away from home. But we got caught. Things got...ugly. And then... then…"
Jamie looked away, fists clenching on her legs. That was when it hit them.
"That's why Jamie's in the wheelchair..." Donnie managed.
Jesse nodded. "My dad pulled a gun on me. I tried to stop it and…" Jamie pulled up her nightshirt, revealing a scar on her belly. "Lily's mom heard the shot. She and her dad got us out, took us in."
"My God…" Hana let out.
Jesse scowled in rage.
"No… no God. No man in the sky intervened to save me and Jamie from Daddy's fists and abominations," He stood, getting increasingly angry. "If He's really all-powerful and benevolent, answer me this: Where was His help when those aliens took over New York? Where was His help when that damned movement twisted His word in their name? And while I'm at it, where was my help when my old man shot Jamie and crippled her for life?! WHERE?!"
"Same place he was when I was being tortured for the first ten years of my life," Hisako said, her voice emotionless and empty. Midnight approached her, placing a paw on her lap and receiving a pet in return. "When my parents were murdered in cold blood…"
"Exactly," Jesse hissed. "Either He doesn't exist… or doesn't care."
"Look," Lily cut in. "Everything happens for a reason. I'm sure He-"
"You have your opinions and beliefs, so let me tell you mine," Hisako said, not unkindly. "There is no higher power. There's no God. There's just chaos and violence and random, unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds."
Lily blinked. Hisako's tone was far from malicious or intolerant, simply matter of fact as she went on and maintained that empty, emotionless monotone.
"Look, Lily, I'm not trying to shit on your beliefs. Your God taught you that everything happens for a reason, that it's all part of the 'divine plan'. Me... I learned a different lesson. I learned that no one is safe when my parents were gunned down on the streets. I learned that nobody was looking out for me when I was left to suffer at the hands of Krang for a decade. If you want life to make sense, to have meaning, you need to find it yourself. Jesse, he got lucky, 'cause he has Jamie. Something to keep him from fully spiraling. Me, I have my family and Bushido. God wasn't there for us."
"Even still, what happened there was..." Leo shuddered.
"Seriously, the dude should be getting help!" Mikey declared. "How could you let him get this bad!?"
Lily gave him a deadpan look. "Do we look like we can afford a good therapist?"
"Well, we're gonna have to work on that," said Makoto. "In the meantime, if what that bum said is true, we gotta get Carter out of the Null Group."
"Yeah...we can swap tragic backstories later..." Jesse strained against his cuffs. "Right now… We got a...case to...solve!"
"You think we're gonna let you out of here after what you pulled?" Raph questioned. "Yeah, forget it. You're staying here."
"The fuck I am!" Jesse spat. "Carter's one of the only people in this damned world I care about! I'm getting him out of there!"
Raph drew his weapons. "I got two sai that say otherwise."
"How'd that work last time, turtlesquirt?"
"You…"
"Okay, enough!" Leo snapped. "Let us handle it. Jesse, we'll get him out of there. Do you trust me?"
"No," Jesse shook his head. "Not in the slightest."
"Then trust me instead," Lily said.
"Lily..."
"I'll get Carter back. You stay here."
"I'll watch over him," Hisako assured, Midnight barking in agreement.
A moment passed before Jesse reluctantly nodded, sitting back and relaxing. As everyone went to gear up, Airi stood up, slowly approaching and placing a gentle hand on his arm.
"For what it's worth, Jesse…" she said gently, "I'm sorry that happened to you."
Jesse's expression softened before looking away.
"Save it..." he said quietly. "I don't want your pity."
The clan came out, weapons and gear ready.
"We'll be back with Carter," Lily assured. "I promise."
They nodded.
"Good luck, everyone!" Jamie called.
They headed out, leaving Jesse alone with Hisako, Airi, and Jamie.
"So..." Jesse piped up after a minute. "What do you do for fun around here?"
"Well, we've got some DVDs and tapes we can watch," Hisako replied, pulling Midnight into her lap. "Airi, you mind?"
Airi stood up, going through the collection of movies. "Let's see... Space Heroes... Super Robo Mecha Force Five... Crognard the Barbarian... Chris Bradford's 2 Ruff Krew… oh wait, this is Mikey's collection. How'd these get here?"
"Actually, Space Heroes is Leo's. Mikey must've mixed 'em up." Hisako gestured to the other side. "But I think I see some kid movies over there."
"Oooh, Pooh's Heffalump Movie!" Airi cheered as she held up a softly colored DVD case.
As soon as he saw it, Jesse went pale. "Oh no...please, no!"
"What?" Airi asked. "You don't like Winnie-the-Pooh?"
"No!" Jesse frantically shook his head. "It's evil! Pure, sugary, saccharine evil!"
Airi gasped. "Blasphemy!"
"How about we put it to a vote?" Hisako asked. "Who wants Heffalump?"
She raised her hand, as did Airi and Jamie.
"Me!" both girls declared.
"Jamie!" Jesse cried. "WHY!?"
"Sorry Jesse," Hisako grinned. "Life's not fair."
"I told you to be nice." Jamie pointed out.
Jesse hung his head in defeat. "Fuuuuuck…."
Meanwhile…
Madame Null fiddled away at her computer, chuckling to herself as she sang a tune.
"What is this… That stands before me? Figure in black… Pointing at...?"
Just then, her phone went off. She sighed in irritation before answering.
"Yes, yes, what is it, Lindsey?"
"I-I'm sorry, Madame Null, Ma'am! B-But the drones have detected something...interesting."
Null sighed irritably, massaging her temples. "Lindsey, I'm about to put the finishing touches on an experiment I've been waiting a very long time to complete. What could possibly be more interesting than...?"
Some data showed up on Null's screen. Her interest peaked, as she checked.
"Well, hello, what do we have here?" She looked, seeing the Shellraiser and Party Wagon driving out toward her building. "Those are some rather large vehicles heading in the direction of my building. I wonder, whatever could they be doing?"
"It's probably the Ninja Turtles, ma'am," Lindsey replied. "I did warn you that..."
"Rhetorical question, Lindsey!" the shadowy woman shouted. "I thought you were a genius! Don't you know what a rhetorical question is?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am! I..."
"Don't answer that! That was a rhetorical question!"
"Yes, Madame! Sorry, Madame!"
"As you should be. Now, get back to your work."
Lindsey hung up. Null tented her fingers, smirking.
"So... the famous Ninja Turtles are paying me a visit," she chuckled evilly. "Well, I should start making arrangements to make sure they're most unwelcome."
Author's Note:
Well… that was some heavy shit. Will the gang save Carter? Stay tuned.
Null is from the Archie and IDW TMNT continuities; using the latter. Who she spoke to on the phone, Lindsey Baker, is also from IDW.
* Null - Susanne Blakeslee (Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, the Evil Queen, & Lady Tremaine in Disney, Wanda & Mrs. Turner in The Fairly OddParents!, Gaia in God of War III)
* Lindsey - Kate Micucci (Stephanie Gooch in Scrubs, Ally in 'Til Death, Shelley in Raising Hope, Lucy in The Big Bang Theory, Sadie Miller in Steven Universe, Sara Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law, Kelly in Hamster and Gretel, Daisy in Nature Cat, Clayface in The Lego Batman Movie, Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo since 2015, Webby Vanderquack in DuckTales 2017, Stacey in Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, Dr. Fox in Unikitty!)
Please R&R. Until next time!