Chapter 4: New Developments
Calvin vs the Turtles: Say Goodbye by Divide Music
Review Replies
Shirkahn: Nice update! Eager to see where you go next!
ThermalsniperN7: It took a few months due to other stories, but here's where it goes next.
Dragon Emperor0: That, and planning this was a bit of a nightmare.
IsseixAtalanta777: Can you have Joshua be Leatherhead owner
ThermalsniperN7: No. I doubt Joshua would even be interested in the notion.
Dragon Emperor0: Plus, I think Leatherhead's previous owner was actually Snake when he was a teenager. The kid in the flashbacks looked like him.
-Foot Clan Safehouse, New York-
In a Japanese decored safehouse in a secluded part of New York, one Oroko Saki, aka the Shredder, was having a meeting with his pupil Christopher Bradford and lackey Xever—the former of which having something—or someone—to show the man.
"Master, before I take my leave, I must inform you: I have taken on a student of my own." The martial artist told his master.
"Have you?" The samurai themed man hummed with a small amount of interest.
"Kestis! Present yourself to Master Shredder!" The man barked as someone walked in.
"I couldn't care less who you want me to meet, 'Sensei'." The figure retorted as he stepped into what dim light the room had, revealing what he looked like.
He was a fifteen year old boy with short brown hair, brown eyes, Mediterranean olive skin, an athletic build that implied his shinobi training, as well as a scar on his left eyebrow and a small red tattoo of a T-Rex done in the art style of the Seven Deadly Sins tattoos on the left nape of his neck.
Attire wise he was wearing a Shinobi shozoku with a red sash around his waist, a Kusarigama on his right hip, a wakizashi on the back of his waist, and two Tanto styled pivot Hidden Blades on his wrists. Lastly, his shozoku had an Assassin beaked hood with a red interior.
"Calvin Kestis, Master Shredder. Best student in my New York Dojo." Bradford sighed at his student's attitude. "And self proclaimed science prodigy with a particularly unsettling fascination with genetic engineering and mutations." He amended.
"So this is the famous Saki Oroko, aka the Shredder." Calvin hummed, an unimpressed expression on his face. "How… underwhelming." He said.
"And why is that?" Shredder questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"My sensei talked you up as being intimidating. Had him shaking in his boots." The boy replied, arms folded. "But to be honest? I don't see it." He stated.
"I wouldn't expect you to see such right away." Saki shrugged, not really bothered by that. "But I believe you will after a while." He added.
"I highly doubt that." Cal deadpanned. "Anyway, I'll just say this right now: I'm only joining your little clan to use it and your resources as a means to an end. I don't care about any of your goals or your plans, and have no intention of busting my ass to further them." He stated in a matter of fact tone. "I'm just going to do what I can do to get what I want in return, that's all—bare minimum—at best." He added.
"... I'll give you credit for honesty, at least." The ninja master deadpanned. "But let me also be clear." He stated as he stepped forward, before pinning the boy to the wall, blades in his face. "When it comes to the tasks that further the achievement of my vengeance, you will obey my orders." He stated. "Now you will help Bradford track down Splinter. Do you understand, Kestis?" He hissed.
"Yeah. Doesn't mean I care." Calvin sighed with a blank face.
Shredder pointed his blades even closer this time.
"You best start caring. Or else the consequences will be… Unfortunate." The man warned.
"… Wait, you hear that? I think it might be Splinter… Oh, no wait. It's just a bird." The teen mock gasped, putting a hand to his ear before flipping the man off.
This caused Xever to snort.
"I like this kid. Where'd you find him?" He asked Bradford as Cal deployed his Hidden Blade in the man's face to make Saki back up.
"Just some local High School." Bradford shrugged.
"If you think I'm easily cowed, you'll have a lot of hurdles to overcome before you succeed." Calvin told the Shredder with a firm look.
"Your student may be more trouble than he's worth, Bradford." Shredder stated, stepping away. "I suggest you keep him in line." He continued, before turning back to Cal. "Do what I ask of you and you'll get what you wish. But not before." He added.
"Alright, fine. I'll play ball." Cal nodded.
"Then go. Find Splinter and his disciples, and end them." The man stated.
"Yes, master Shredder." Bradford nodded as he left.
"No promises." Cal shrugged as he left as well.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, in the sewer lair of the turtles three weeks later, Joshua could be seen sparring with Splinter in the dojo.
This was because the boy had requested to be trained by the rat man, in hopes of possibly being able to better defend himself—and idly, to also be able to better protect Artemisia—which Splinter agreed to.
Off to the side, Lavinia and Artemisia were watching. The latter noted that Joshua was more or less okay when it came to defense, but could use some improvement when it came to offense. Not to mention while he did have reach (a thing he got from his height), he was liable to overextending.
When it came to pain tolerance, though, Joshua was pretty good.
With a grunt, Joshua threw a punch that was deflected before Splinter swept his feet out from under him. He moved to get up, but the old rat's cane was pointed at his throat like a sword.
"... Heh. Alright, I yield." Joshua chuckled slightly, prompting Splinter to help him back to his feet.
"You could use some work with your overextension of your reach." Splinter commented. "I believe we can manage this in time." He added.
"Overextending is a curse of being tall." The human teen shrugged with a nod. His arms were longer than most, so it made sense.
"Now, you have been training for the past month, and have shown marked improvement since then." The rat noted. "So, I believe it's time we find you a weapon." He continued as he led Josh over to an armory.
"Think he'll go with something to compliment his reach?" Lavinia whispered to her daughter.
"Probably, but he struck me as a sword guy." The teenage shark girl shrugged in reply.
Meanwhile, Joshua had a look around the armory, seeing what weapons there were.
"I definitely need to find a weapon that I can use to make full use of my height and reach advantage." The teen hummed as he looked at the various spears, Bo staffs, Kusarigamas, manrikigusari, and other such implements of war.
Until his gaze met a weapon that he knew would be perfect for him.
The two handed Japanese sword, the Odachi.
Picking it up, he unsheathed the blade and held its handle with both hands. The weight was good, too, and the blade length was just right.
"Yeah. This'll do." He nodded, carefully sheathing the weapon again.
"The Odachi. I must admit, it suits you." Splinter nodded with a hum. "It was a weapon used by only the best Samurai, said to have to be unsheathed by two people." He mused.
"Then it must speak volumes if I can do so on my own, doesn't it?" Joshua hummed as he tied the sheath to his waist.
"Well, you certainly have the arm length." The rat shrugged.
"Certainly suits you, that's for sure." Arty nodded as she and Lavinia rounded the corner. "The guys and I are heading out to do some parkour training, wanna come with?" She asked as the boy walked behind a changing blind and changed into a black leather jumpsuit with single green stripes on the arms and legs.
"Sure. I could use a good workout." He replied. "Who knows? I could outclass you lot in something." He added in a challenging tone as he stepped out from behind the blind.
"Oh, you're on!" Arty grinned toothily in response.
Lavinia and Splinter watched the two leave, causing the shark woman to sigh wistfully.
"Something troubling you, Lavinia?" The rat man questioned.
"I've just been… Having this odd feeling lately." She told him.
"Odd how?" Splinter queried.
"I'm not entirely sure." The shark woman replied as she tried to find the words to describe what she felt. "All I can say is that it's a feeling I've had before." She explained. "When I first met my previous mate, Artemisia's father." She added.
"Hmmm…" The rat hummed in thought.
(Elsewhere)
On the surface, the turtles, one shark and one human were parkouring across the rooftops. Somehow, Joshua was able to keep up despite the enhanced biology of his mutant pals.
"Woo!" Joshua whooped as he jumped from a rooftop onto a water tower, jumped from that and did a flip before landing in a roll and taking off running.
"This is awesome!" Mikey cheered as he did a straw man flip to the next rooftop.
"I hear ya!" Donnie exclaimed as he leaped across the way with a flip of his own and joined him.
Leo, seeing this, scoffed and took a running start before he did a series of flops as he jumped across the gap.
"You guys have no sense of finesse!" Arty called as she performed a running jump that led into several flips worthy of a high dive and ended in a slide.
"Nice!" Joshua called with a grin.
Raph… Just charged and jumped, and ended up crashing into the others like a bowling ball would to pins.
'Raph literally has no grace.' Joshua thought with a sweatdrop.
Deciding to get this over with, he took a few steps back before he rushed forward and jumped, doing a backflip and landing in a crouch. He didn't have as much training as the others, so he did what he felt comfortable doing.
"Let the record show that I don't particularly show off." Josh shrugged, popping his neck right as Arty jumped into his arms.
"You underestimate yourself too much." She smiled, kissing him.
"Get a room, you two!" Raph called, rolling his eyes.
"Oh shut up, Raph!" Joshua retorted, the others snickering at them.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, in a Kraang bunker, scrapped droids, torn apart blasters and claw mark gashed covered the entire area in a tangle of bent and mangled pipes and power conduits—flickering lights just barely illuminating the scene as a Kraang scurried across the ground, squealing like a pig.
Standing in the flickering light was a male figure sporting shark based mutations. It was hard to make out any colors because of the light not really being stable, but the silhouette was large.
"Need… To find… My… Mate…!" He growled before he charged at a door and burst through it.
At the other side was another similarly large male creature, whether it was a mutant was unclear but it was clearly a species of Salamandri, specifically a newt.
The newt looked at its marine based benefactor before it stepped outside its cell and then retrieved what looked like commondeered gear, and then spoke as a translator came online.
"I was once captured too. The aliens here, they imprisoned me, tortured me. I have vowed to never rest, until I've annihilated all of them." He stated, getting the shark man's attention.
"Then let us leave together." The shark man said as he broke the restraints on the prisoner, motioning for him to follow.
The newt gave a nod as he followed his sudden new benefactor a look and then nodded.
After a while, they found a grate that led to the sewers and jumped into it, escaping the facility altogether.
(Elsewhere)
A day later in the lair, it was Saturday, so Joshua and April were free to swing by without any problems. Joshua was chatting with Lavinia and Arty in another room while April was reading a magazine.
"So, why did you want to talk to me right now?" The boy questioned as he and the Shark MILF faced each other.
"Well, after my daughter showed me the journals of your late ex-parents–still disgusted by what I read, by the way…" The woman began, briefly diverting to another thought process before shaking her head. "I decided that, if you're alright with it, that I'd adopt you." She revealed, much to the human boy's surprise.
"Y-You're serious?!" He gasped.
"Dead serious." The shark MILF nodded as she pulled him into a hug. "The way I see it, you'd be my son-in-law at the rate things are going. I'm just going with the flow." She continued. "Plus… I don't want to open old wounds, but do you miss having a mother's love?" She asked gently.
"... Yeah. Yeah I do." Joshua sighed, letting himself lean into the embrace. It felt so warm and cozy.
"Then I can give you that. If you let me." Lavinia told him softly, one of her hands rubbing his hair.
"... Thank you… Mom." Joshua sighed, smiling softly as he accepted the love of his new mother.
Off to the side, Artemisia smiled fondly as she watched her love interest recover a bit from the betrayal of his old parents. She liked seeing Joshua smile like he was now.
As the old adage goes: Nothing replaces the yearning for a mother's love.
"Hey, Josh." April called.
"What's up, April?" The boy called back.
"You might need to explain something to Mikey here, he thinks he might be able to make friends with Chris Bradford." Raph chimed in, jabbing a thumb at Mikey who was on Donny's laptop.
"Oh jeez…" Joshua groaned in exasperation. "I better go deal with that." He told his new sharky mom.
"Yeah, you should." Lavinia nodded in agreement as she released her new son from her embrace and let him head over to where Mikey was sitting.
"Okay, Mikey, what's this I'm hearing about you trying to make friends with Chris Bradford?" He questioned as he sat next to the youngest turtle in the Lair.
"I'm trying to prove we can be friends with humans!" Mikey exclaimed before noticing the raised eyebrow Joshua had.
"You guys are already friends with me and April. What, are we not good enough for you?" He questioned in mock offense.
"No no, you are!" Mikey yelped in response. "I just wanna see new people is all." He added with a sigh.
"Oh you sweet summer child…" Lavinia sighed with a chuckle.
"It's not that easy, Mikey." Josh told him. "I mean, until recently, I only had one friend in total, and that was before everything went to shit." He explained.
"Oh yeah? And who's that?" Mikey questioned, skeptical.
"A kid I've known since middle school, Calvin Kestis. We met online and eventually met in person when we figured out that we went to the same school." Josh explained. "He's a science prodigy, really into paleontology, genetic engineering, mutation, hybridization and cloning." He continued. "He's who I first heard about mutagen from, apparently he's been working with it a lot lately." He added.
"Where's he getting it from?" Donnie questioned.
"No idea right now. He's actually being somewhat tight lipped about it." Joshua replied. "If it's part of a supply deal that has a non-disclosure agreement, then that I could understand." He mused.
"What's he even doing with it?" Leo questioned.
"He thinks he can extract Dinosaur DNA from amber-preserved mosquitoes and crystallized lampreys, then combine it with the DNA of different kids in our school and recreate the Dinaurians—dinosaur people—from our personal favorite video game: Fossil Fighters." The boy explained.
"You can't be serious…" April uttered in disbelief.
"I am serious, and don't forget, he's basically a mad scientist. With the right tech at his disposal and a supply of mutagen and DNA? He could actually pull it off." Joshua told her in response.
"Forgive my ignorance, Joshua." Splinter hummed, stroking his beard. "But why would your friend wish to create such creatures other than curiosity's sake?" He asked.
"As anti-climactic as it may sound, he's… Had no luck in getting a girlfriend." Joshua replied, hesitating a bit. "He's doing all this to try and make his dream girl." He added with a sigh.
"… So just like Victor Frankenstein." April pointed out.
"Wow that's… That's just pathetic." Raph uttered.
"I dunno if I should talk with him or not…" Donnie muttered.
"Yeah, I've told him that he'll find someone eventually, but he seems dead set on all this." Joshua stated.
"A daimyo in the sixteenth century once said that the heart can become desperate for love when deprived of it for too long, like a fish who must swim through mud to get to water." Splinter hummed thoughtfully. "Your friend does not sound insane at all, I think he is simply so alone, that he thinks he must have a partner of his own making to fill the hole in his heart." He nodded.
"Wow, that's actually really sad." Mikey whimpered.
"Yeah… I'm…Concerned about him." Joshua nodded. "But back to the topic at hand; You gotta choose your friends carefully. There's a risk of them being fake friends." He told the orange masked turtle.
"Especially the celebrity ones!" April chimed in.
"That doesn't mean the risk is always gonna be there!" Mikey protested as he typed away on Donnie's laptop and friended Chris Bradford.
"Well, they don't always respond–" The ginger haired girl tried to say before the martial artist, surprisingly, responded. "But sometimes they do." She amended with a blink.
"Well, I know Sabaton responds to some comments on their content, so that's true." Joshua shrugged.
"I just hope this doesn't go poorly…" Arty sighed.
(Later)
It was later that night and the guys were doing another run on the rooftops with Josh and Arty, but none of them seemed to notice that they were being watched.
As they reached the roof of a more medium-sized building, a hooded figure was perched above them on the taller roof ledge of the building next to them—before the figure lined themselves up and leapt off the roof, deploying two Hidden Blades on their wrists…
And jumped right at Joshua and Arty.
The moment he did, though, the instinct of the shark girl flared and made her tense.
"Move!" She barked, leaping at Joshua and tackling him out of the way just in time for their assailant to land where they were.
The figure slowly stood up and Joshua immediately took notice of the fact that it was a guy their age in what looked like an Assassin's Creed themed ninja outfit, complete with tanto Hidden Blades and main weapons—with his mouth covered.
"The hell…?" Joshua muttered as he and Arty got back to their feet.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Raph questioned as the guys drew their weapons.
The boy didn't say anything, he just deployed his wrist blades and pivoted them into a reverse and front grip in his left hand and right hand.
"Guess we're doin' this." Joshua muttered.
The guys attacked first, Raph attempting to stab the guy with a front jab, but it was easily blocked by the unknown ninja, who followed it with a slash to the turtle's torso—luckily only getting his shell.
Leo tried to swing his katanas at him, but he was simply dodged and kicked back. Donnie tried to capitalize, but was blocked.
Mikey took this as his cue to jump in, but the ninja disappeared as he dropped a smoke bomb to cover his disappearance.
"What the-?! Where'd he go?!" Raph questioned as the four of them gathered around…
Right before their assailant appeared out of nowhere at blinding speed—and Lotus kicked all four of them into the air—before appearing behind them in mid air—and then using his Kusarigama to bind the four of them together, and started swinging them around while still in the air.
"Secret Kata: PRIMARY LOTUS!" The ninja yelled as he suddenly snapped his chained weapon with a 'crack' causing the four turtles to be hurled downward.
Upon impact, the four turtles were dazed while Joshua and Arty were shocked by how quick that went.
"... I guess that's our cue." The shark girl sighed, getting her rope dart ready.
"Yeah it is." Joshua sighed as he drew his odachi.
The ninja landed seconds later and stood with his Kusarigama ready, swinging it in a circle, waiting to use it.
"So, you two going to cut your losses and run? Or are we doing this the hard way?" The assailing teen questioned, still twirling his chain weapon.
"Our weapons are already drawn. Take a guess." Joshua deadpanned in response as he got into a stance for odachi use.
"Bold. And stupid." The ninja deadpanned as he swung his chain hook to try and chain them from behind so he could take them out with the sickle.
But this tactic was thwarted when Arty threw her rope dart at the sickle and wrapped it around the weapon to tangle them.
"GET OVER HERE!" She yelled, pulling him in like a fish on a line.
The assailant yelped in surprise as he was yanked toward his two opponents, and Joshua seized the opening and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs and sending him back a bit.
Right as he recovered, he suddenly had to dodge a swing from Joshua's odachi, the long blade making fighting at close quarters difficult.
The ninja then swung his sickle around in a wide circle—causing Josh to bend back to avoid the blade—causing him to fall flat on his back, before recovering and catching the sickle as it was swung again.
Then it was yanked back, causing Joshua to hiss a bit when his palm was scratched by the blade.
The taller teen then rushed the hooded teen, swinging his sword down but missed when his opponent dodged, then swiped to the side, which was again dodged—and another overhead cleave was blocked by the sickle's chain, wrapped and then rolled—allowing his opponent to get behind him and then slash Josh on the back of the leg.
"Fuck!" The teen cursed as he was forced to one knee. Yeah, he could take pain, but this was rather hindering.
The hooded ninja then hit Josh with an uppercut, before wrapping his cord around his arm and then yanked the teen's Odachi out of his hand and then leapt onto his shoulders and started choking the taller boy with the chain of his weapon.
"Oh hell no!" Arty barked as she swung her rope dart and nailed her love interest's assailant in the head, causing him to be distracted long enough for Joshua to forcibly remove him from his shoulders and throw him away.
This caused the hooded ninja to shake off the initial shock of the attack before he started chuckling.
"Yep, you guys are definitely gonna be worth more alive than dead." The teen chuckled, wiping the blood from his lip. "Got an odd choice in women there pal. But then again, who am I to judge?" He admitted with another chuckle as the guys started waking up. "Be seeing you." He grinned as he performed a leap of faith off the building.
"Ugh…" Joshua groaned, holding his neck as he coughed a bit from the choking earlier. "Damn, he laid our asses out." He coughed.
"Yeah, I could barely get a hit in edgewise, he's fast." Arty nodded.
"I swear I recognized his voice, though." The tall human sighed as he picked up his odachi and put it back in its sheath. "Let's get back to the lair and get ourselves patched up. Practice time is canceled." He added, limping a bit since he could still feel pain in his wounded leg.
"Yeah, let's get the guys." Arty nodded, helping him walk.
(Elsewhere)
"That was a good showing, Calvin." Bradford noted as his student rejoined him on the higher roof.
Calvin didn't respond as he uncovered his mouth, just flipping the man off.
"Blow it out your ass, 'sensei'. You did not say anything about my best friend being a part of this." He spat.
"I genuinely had no idea he'd even be there." The man told his student honestly. "Regardless, if he's an ally of Hamato Yoshi, that means he's our—." He started.
"Don't even try to finish that sentence." The boy snapped. "If any of this endangers my friends? I'm sitting this out. Remember, I can just as easily say screw this and leave. So I suggest you not try that with me." He added.
"And I suggest you realize that we aren't here to make friends." Bradford stated.
"You're not. That has nothing to do with me." He stated as he got up and walked away. "Tell Shredder whatever you want. I'm outta here." He added, disappearing.
'This may very well be a problem.' Chris thought with a frown.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, the gang limped their way back to the lair, and when Splinter and Lavinia saw their state, they became concerned.
"What happened?!" Splinter questioned as the teens all got themselves situated on the couch.
"Some guy around our age ambushed us and laid us out." Raph replied, groaning as he held his head.
"What makes this more confusing is I know who it is based on his voice." Joshua grunted as he felt his leg wound throb. "That friend I mentioned before? That was him back there." He added as Lavinia got the first aid kit ready.
"That was him?!" Mikey questioned as groaned as he flopped on the couch, groaning in pain. "Ooh my aching shell…" He groaned.
"Are you okay, Donnie? What's hurt?" April questioned.
"Just my pride… and my internal organs!" The turtle whined.
"Was your friend always this good at fighting?" Leo questioned Joshua with a groan.
"No. I have no clue how he got this good, but I'd like to know that, myself." Joshua replied, hissing as Lavinia applied some disinfectant to the wound on his leg.
"I noticed a symbol on the sash he was wearing." Arty—who was the least injured—noted as she started drawing. "This look familiar at all?" She asked, showing it to Splinter.
"... The symbol of the Foot clan, our enemies." Splinter nodded, narrowing his eyes at the symbol on the paper.
"What the? Why would my best friend be with the Foot Clan?" Joshua questioned before yelping again. "Ow!" He yelped.
"I am unsure, but if I know the Shredder, he's likely decided to use your friend's desire to achieve his goal of creating a perfect partner against him." Splinter mused, stroking his beard ruefully.
"That, or Cal's using the Foot Clan for his own personal gain. The Foot's goals–whatever they are–won't be his cup of tea." Joshua chimed in, holding back a wince as bandages started being applied. "Once he's done with them, he'll probably just jump ship and carry on." He added.
"Well, silver lining, I guess." Leo coughed. "Oooh… That move he used was brutal." He groaned.
"Think he learned it from his teacher?" Raph wondered. "Cuz it feels like he did…" He added with a groan.
"No idea." Josh sighed as he lied down. "All I know is: It wasn't a fair fight in his direction, and he still whooped our asses." He whined.
"Is fairness what you seek in every fight?" Splinter questioned. "You should be seeking victory, not fairness." He added.
"Ain't that a principle of combat…" Joshua sighed as Arty let him use her lap as a pillow and Lavinia put ice packs on everyone's heads.
(Timeskip)
"Why do I get the feeling that you're about to slug me?" Calvin Kestis questioned as his best friend Joshua Landers stood at his apartment door with an irate expression on his face.
"Probably because of this." Joshua responded as he stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him before…
BAM!
He punched him in the face.
"What the hell, man?!" Joshua hissed with a glare. "What in the actual fuck possessed you to attack me and my friends like that?! Don't even get me started on the cut on my leg!" He barked.
"1. I didn't realize it was you until I was halfway through the fight. 2. My sensei was watching so I had to keep up appearances or else I'd be in a jam. 3. I wasn't even hurting you guys that bad!" His friend barked back, staggering to the ground.
"You could've at least had the decency to avoid drawing my blood!" The taller teen snapped indignantly. "Seriously, it's gonna take a week for my leg to heal because of that!" He added.
"Ah come on, it wasn't that deep." Cal stated as he got back up.
"... Alright fine, but if you had cut deep enough to leave a scar, then I'd have nailed you in the nuts." Joshua conceded with a sigh.
"Low blow? Seriously?" The boy groaned as he crashed on his couch.
"It's not like somebody can tell me the "correct" response to that scenario." The taller teen shot back as he sat next to him. "How the hell'd you get so good at martial arts, anyway? Some of that shit looked way too advanced." He wondered.
"Urg, a dojo here in town. Why?" The boy questioned.
"I was under the impression it was something else, given how you're more into science as opposed to martial arts normally." Joshua replied.
"Says the guy who happens to have long enough arms to draw an odachi solo." Cal retorted. "But yeah, I get it." He amended. "… Who's the shark chick?" He questioned.
"Artemisia Hamato, we call her Arty. She's my girlfriend." Josh replied.
"... You're shitting me." Calvin uttered in disbelief.
"I am not." Joshua retorted. "Well… Maybe not entirely. We're on a trial basis right now." He amended.
"Trial basis? Really?" The teen muttered. "Dude. I saw you two out there. She's obviously head over heels for you, putting her on a trial basis is just torturing the poor girl." He stated.
"Oi, I'm still new to dating, okay? I don't know what the fuck's what." Joshua groaned in reply.
"Okay, fine, but make your move, man. You only have so long before something goes wrong." His friend told him. "Or before she loses interest." He added.
"Yeah, I know…" Joshua sighed.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Arty was having one of her evening swims and as she floated on her back in the water, her thoughts drifted to Joshua, and how she wasn't content with their "trial period".
She was starting to feel restless, and it was irritating. Sure, she knew Joshua wasn't going to have the same stance on this as her for a myriad of reasons, but that didn't make things better.
"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice questioned, causing the girl to look and see her mother and—most surprisingly—Harley.
"Joshua… I don't know if I want to slam him against a wall, or if I want him to slam me against one…" She said to them with a sigh.
"I know it's gotta be a pain in the ass, but Joshua's always been a thinker." Harley told her. "He doesn't do this on purpose, he's… How do I say this?" She continued before thinking for a moment. "Oh, he's just trying to consider what he can while being careful about it." She finished.
"Call me impatient, but I wish he'd hurry up." Arty sighed. "Joshua's like his blade if you ask me." She sighed, getting out of the water and sitting on the edge. "Cold, hard, and in desperate need of a good grinding." She added.
"Or just a good clock in the head and a push to get him going." Lavinia chimed with a shrug.
"That too." Her daughter nodded. "What are you doing down here, by the way?" She questioned, looking at her love interest's aunt.
"Oh, Joshua filled me in on Lavinia's home situation and I decided to help out." The squid woman replied.
Contrary to before, Lavinia didn't have any luck finding a home before. There were little to no ideal spots in the sewers of New York, and the Lair was the only place she knew of that felt the most like a home. So, when she turned up no ideal home spots, she was forced to go back there.
"Oh. OK." The girl nodded.
"I heard you and your brothers got your asses beat." Harley chimed in.
"Urg, handed to us on a pizza platter is more accurate." Arty sighed.
"Yeah… And how it was by his own best friend." The hidden squid woman nodded with a sigh. "I checked with him on that a short while before I came down here, and he said that he slugged him in the face." She told her.
"Heh, nice." Arty snorted with a small grin. Why shouldn't she respond like that? Sure, it was Joshua's friend, but he still kicked their asses.
"But back to the main topic." Lavinia interjected before anything else off topic could be said. "I know you're frustrated by how long Joshua is taking to make up his mind, but good things–" She started to say before her daughter picked up.
"Come to those who wait." The shark teen finished with a sigh. "Yeah… I'll… I'll be as patient as I can, but it's not easy." She told her mom.
"Oh trust me, I'm familiar." Harley sighed sympathetically. Every teenager was often impatient in numerous ways. "Also… Joshua let slip that you adopted him." She continued, turning her gaze to Lavinia. "Care to explain?" She prompted with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, if–and hopefully when– Joshua and Arty hook up, he'll be my son-in-law anyway. That's one reason." The shark MILF began, getting a nod from Harley. "And the other… Well, after reading his old mom's journal, I feel compelled to succeed where she failed and be the mom she stopped being. He deserves a mother's love, as far as I'm concerned." She continued.
"All valid points." The squid woman nodded in acceptance. "It helps that I can see the mom energy coming off of you, so I think I can trust you with Joshua's well being." She added.
There was a moment of silence before Harley spoke again, looking at Arty, who she noticed had been naked the entire time.
"Do you always sit around naked?" She asked.
"... Only when I'm swimming!" The girl replied before quickly diving underwater in embarrassment.
Beat…
"You did that on purpose." Lavinia chuckled.
"Not my fault she made it too easy." The blonde mutant snickered in response as they shared a high five.
These two were clearly gonna get along swimmingly…
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Mikey was in the middle of trying to get close to Chris Bradford as he left his Dojo, but he was unintentionally spotted by Calvin who was also leaving said Dojo.
Deciding that since the turtle probably didn't know who he was, he decided to make sure that he kept Bradford's identity hidden when he called the mutant out.
"Oi!" He called, getting Mikey's attention.
"What the–?! How'd you see me?!" He yelped in surprise, falling on his face.
"You're a giant turtle, how could I not?" The kid deadpanned.
"Uh… Okay, fair." The younger turtle tried to say something to that, but couldn't. "But do you know Chris Bradford?" He asked somewhat excitedly.
"I'm his student. Of course I know him." Calvin chuckled in reply. "Hey! Somebody's here to see ya!" He called out to his sensei.
"Hm?" The man hummed before his eyes widened upon seeing Mikey. "Whoa!" He exclaimed as he started throwing ninja stars, only for Calvin to catch them.
"Ease up on the heat, sensei! He means no harm!" Calvin exclaimed as he defended the turtle. "It's the turtle from earlier." He whispered.
"Ohhh." Bradford nodded, now realizing that he could use this to his advantage.
Cal, meanwhile, was just ready to make another friend, so already things were not working out.
(Later)
The three were now having some pizza together and Mikey was asking if he could try and learn the Death Dragon.
"You know, sensei, I'm a little curious about how he'd perform the Death Dragon." Calvin mused with a hum.
"Tell you what." Bradford hummed. "You introduce me to your other brothers, and I'll teach it to you." He said.
"Uh, not sure they'll agree to that. They're not very trusting." Mikey replied awkwardly. "But I'll try." He smiled.
"That's all I ask." The man nodded.
Cal rolled his eyes, knowing his teacher had ulterior motives. He, meanwhile, laid an arm on the turtle's shoulder as Bradford left.
"Ya know Mikey, I like you. You're probably one of the only honest guys I've met." He nodded, enjoying his pizza.
"What, have you not found anyone else like that?" The orange masked turtle questioned.
"Everyone is just concerned with appearances these days, no one's ever just… themselves. Ya know what I mean?" The teen questioned, popping the cap off a pair of soda bottles, handing one to the turtle.
"I have heard of that being a thing, but I never really paid much attention to it." Mikey shrugged as he accepted the soda. "Then again, me and my brothers still don't know much about the surface." He added.
"Trust me, you're better off not knowing." Calvin told him, getting up as they finished their pizza. "We should do this again sometime." He added.
"Yeah." Mikey nodded. "You're pretty cool too, Cal." He continued. "You keep your head up. There's probably someone out there for you somewhere." He added.
Cal had told him his nickname, but luckily Mikey didn't realize he was talking to the same guy who kicked his ass the previous night.
"Maybe even closer than I think." The human teen hummed as the two parted ways.
(Timeskip)
A day later, Mikey had gone to hang out with Chris and Calvin again, having tried and failed to get his brothers and sister to join him. Joshua and Arty couldn't help but think that something was off with the whole thing, both feeling their instincts warning them about something.
There was also a chance they could be paranoid, but still…
He'd soon realize that his family's instincts would be proven to be correct.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Arty, she was at her swimming spot again, trying to get herself to relax after how much her mother and her lover's aunt had been teasing her—so much so that she didn't notice that Joshua was watching her as she burst out of the water like Ariel in the little mermaid—her breasts bouncing freely as she came out of the pool, water dripping off her and making her skin shine in a very… Erotic fashion.
Joshua was honestly wondering why he was hesitating.
"Hey." He said, getting the shark girl's attention as she blushed and covered herself in embarrassment.
"H-How long w-w-were you watching?" She stuttered as he walked up to her.
"Long enough for you to pull a scene right out of The Little Mermaid." Joshua replied as he stopped in front of her. "After some thinking, I know what I want to happen between us." He told her.
"A-And that is?" She asked, her breath shaking as she hoped it wasn't a breakup.
Her fears were unfounded as Joshua wrapped his arms around her waist, completely ignoring her soaked skin as he held her close.
"Trial period's over. I want us together for real." He declared, kissing her firmly on the lips.
Arty moaned as she kissed him back while wrapping her arms around his neck, happy tears running down her face as she squeezed him tighter.
"I love you." The shark girl whimpered, refusing to let go.
"I love you, too, my beautiful sea wolf." Joshua sighed in reply, smiling softly as he cupped her face. His new official girlfriend couldn't help but lean into his touch.
It was then she remembered her state of dress, but she decided to do something different from before.
"Like what you see?" She teased as she did a little spin, giggling when she spotted Joshua's blush.
The boy didn't so much answer verbally as he just started slowly taking off his clothes, layer by layer, slamming her against a wall and sucking on her neck as he kept discarding his clothing.
The shark girl moaned as she held Joshua's head where it was on her neck, loving the way this felt while her instincts spurred her on further.
"Joshua…" She breathed as the last of her lover's clothes vanished from his person and she felt something hard between his legs started grinding against her womanhood.
"Yes…?" Her human lover responded.
"Do you… Want to breed with me?" She whispered with a gasp of bliss as she felt his manhood grind against her nether regions between her thighs.
"What I want, my dear, is to make sweet, precious love to you." Joshua whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver at how he sounded.
"Yes!" The shark girl whimpered as he laid her on the ground and she spread her legs, submitting to him. "Please… Give me your pups!" She gasped, almost like she was begging him as her tail shivered.
Joshua gave her what she wanted, and soon, the moans and screams they made echoed all around the tunnels, but were ultimately unheard.
(Later)
About an hour later, the newly officially minted couple returned to the lair holding each other's hands, which Lavinia was quick to spot since she was in front of the entrance.
"Oh, did something happen, you two~?" The shark MILF questioned with a teasing look on her face.
Arty only smiled as she nuzzled herself into her newly acquired mate's chest.
"You could say that, yeah." Joshua nodded.
"Well, I just hope you realize…" The woman smiled as she dropped down to a whisper. "That means I'll be expecting some grandchildren when Arty goes into heat." She told the boy as her daughter purred happily at hearing that.
"Oh shut up, mom!" Joshua hissed quietly with a blush, causing his sharky mother-in-law to snicker in amusement at his response.
Then the three headed to the dojo where they saw the turtles minus Mikey practicing a new kata.
"What kata is that?" Joshua asked, looking at his lover, who shrugged in response.
"So that's the Death Dragon." Leo nodded.
As Raph and Donnie practiced the kata in question, Splinter walked in and, upon seeing it, his eyes widened in alarm.
"Where did you learn that?!" He demanded.
"Uh, Mikey taught us." Leo replied, not seeing the big deal.
"Apparently he learned the Kata from a celebrity, which is really kinda weird from various angles." Raph added.
"That kata is something only my enemies know, and if this celebrity knows it, then he is a student of the enemy." Splinter told them seriously.
"Wait… If Chris Bradford is a student of…" Joshua trailed off as his eyes widened. "Oh crap…!" He hissed.
"Oh great, everything makes sense again." Raph sighed in relief. "… Mikey's in trouble!" He exclaimed.
"LET'S MOVE, BOYS!" Arty yelled, startling the boys into getting ready quickly.
(Later)
The five parkoured their way across the rooftops, keeping an eye out as they headed to Chris Bradford's dojo. Seeing that things were clear for now, Donnie spat out a wad of gum he'd been chewing and used it to complete a kitbashed circle cutter. Then he used it to cut a hole in the glass window roof so he could get it open.
Looking inside, they saw that there were Foot Clan ninjas inside. They were definitely guarding Mikey.
Without so much as a peep, they got to work and knocked them all out, working like a coordinated team. Then they found Mikey all tied up.
"That was–!" He started to say before Joshua put a hand on his mouth.
"We're supposed to be quiet, Mikey." He told him as he gestured for Raph to cut the ropes tying up the youngest turtle.
"Let's move." Artemisia told them, prompting everyone to get out of the dojo the same way they got in.
They were (seemingly) unaware they were being watched by Chris, Calvin and Xever along with another squad of Foot Ninjas.
"So that's where they're living." Chris hummed as he lowered his binoculars.
"How in the world do they put up with that stink?" Calvin couldn't help but wonder.
"I don't think it really matters, personally. Now we just gotta catch up with them." Xever commented.
"… I'm gonna hate this." Cal groaned in a dreading tone.
(Later)
The group of Foot Clan warriors were now stalking through the sewer system, searching for any sign of their quarry. There was just one problem, though…
The tunnels were riddled with numerous ambush spots that allowed the six teenage ninjas to silently drag in and knock out the various grunts that made up the squad. By the time Chris, Calvin and Xever noticed what was up, it was just the three of them that were visible.
"… Well. I think that's my cue to leave." Calvin nodded, seeing the writing on the wall. "Later gents!" He added, throwing a smoke bomb and disappearing.
"What the–?! Hey!" Xever exclaimed as he reached through the smoke, only to grab air. "Great…" He groaned.
"Kid's getting to be more trouble than he's worth." Bradford sighed.
Xever took out a flare and lit it, and when he looked up… The unconscious Foot Clan ninjas were dangling, tied up by ropes.
"Okay, maybe the kid had the right idea…" The criminal gulped.
"Do tell." Joshua said curtly as he and the others came out of the shadows, weapons drawn.
"Sic 'em!" Arty hissed, prompting everyone to spring into action.
"Booyahkasha!" Mikey yelled as he came to attack the two of them, sending Xever flying.
Leo, Arty and Joshua engaged Chris, and the man was proving to be a formidable adversary. He was blocking the attacks of Leo and Artty (the latter of the two using her tanto), but he seemed to struggle a bit with Joshua's odachi attacks.
At least, it seemed that way. He was defending himself rather well against the weapon's blade.
Luckily for them, their goal was to just drive them back. So, he quickly ducked away to allow Mikey a chance to fly in and blindside Bradford.
Thankfully, it worked and the disciple of the Shredder was knocked back into some large pipes. Mikey, who was on the other side, made some faces to get him to attack, and was met with success in that endeavor. As a result, he was able to grab his arms and hold them while Donnie came and knocked his legs out.
This gave the nunchuk using turtle an opening to nail Chris in the face, sending him flying back.
Meanwhile, Arty and Joshua teamed up with Raph to give Xever hell, and they were killing it. The criminal was not used to weapons like Arty's rope dart or Joshua's odachi, so he was on the defensive the whole time.
And once they were in position…
"Hit it!" Mikey called, prompting the guys to turn on a valve—causing the two men to be sent flying by a stream of raw sewage.
They both let out disgusted cries as they were swept down a drainage pipe to who knows where in the sewer system.
"Ha! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Arty exclaimed with a grin as she put her rope dart away.
"Yeah. Definitely a far cry from what happened before." Joshua nodded, sheathing his odachi.
"This didn't feel very fair." Raph commented.
"Sounds good to me." Leo nodded.
(Later)
It was later on in the lair and the gang was enjoying a small celebration of their victory over their new enemies.
Splinter, however, seemed troubled.
"Is something wrong, Splinter?" Joshua questioned, spotting his expression.
"Yes. I fear we are celebrating too soon." The old rat replied grimly.
"Too soon? The bad guys just got swept away by a pressurized stream of raw sewage. In my opinion that makes it the perfect time to celebrate." Raph stated.
"He is right, though. This could be the start of something bad." Arty chimed with a frown as she sat in Joshua's lap.
"Things are just beginning." Splinter nodded.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, at the Smithsonian museum of natural history, a hooded figure could be seen making their way to a skylight window.
Said figure was in fact Calvin, who had need of an amber mosquito that was on display at the Smithsonian.
"Here we go." He breathed as he used a kaginawa grappling hook to lower himself over the display case—before he used a circle cutter to get into the case, grab the amber, and then climb out.
He didn't even trigger a single alarm.
"Okay… Now to get some mutagen." The teen said to himself as he left the Smithsonian.
(Later)
The assassin ninja was now standing next to a gargoyle on a church as he saw a van make its way to a warehouse, where several disguised Kraang droids stepped out, some carrying mutagen.
'Bingo.' He thought, doing a leap of faith into a pile of leaves that was conveniently positioned where he leapt from.
Hopping out of the pile, he took his Hidden Blades and used the pivot function to allow himself the ability to stab them all in the jugular, back and other vital spots before he reached the one who had the mutagen—pointing what looked to be a Hidden Gun at the robot.
"Heard you guys know a lot about this mutagen stuff." The teen noted. "That's good." He mused, taking the cylinder from the stunned robot. "Cuz you're going to help me with it." He added.
"What do you require?" The Kraang inquired, the voice monotonous but careful.
"Just one thing." Cal replied, holding up the amber. "How can I use this, and this." He continued, holding up the mutagen. "To create a life form." He added, an ever so slightly excited grin spreading across his face.
Dragon Emperor0: First the Foot, now the Kraang. This new kid is certainly getting around all on his own pretty well.
ThermalsniperN7: Indeed he is. He knows how to fight, too, if the way he did so against our protags says anything. Speaking of which, yes, Joshua got some ninja training so he can fight alongside them. Seriously, he knows a family's worth of ninja, so it was going to happen. And I know the Odachi was supposed to take two people to draw, but I think in the hands of someone whose arms are longer than most, it could be done solo. It seemed like a good fit. Also, apologies if we confused you guys with Lavinia's living situation. This whole thing regarding it didn't occur to us until later.
Dragon Emperor0: We'll resolve that next chapter most likely. Also, as you guys can probably see, we've introduced Arty's father into the story. Everyone, meet Bartolomeo, and from the looks of things, he seems to have joined forces with the Newtralizer.
ThermalsniperN7: I wonder what that'll spell out later. Eh, we'll find out when it's time. Anyway, It may not seem like it, but more than a month has passed with Joshua and Artemisia, both of them having had a few get togethers in that time, so their bond has gotten stronger, enough for them to get together for real. As for why so soon… Be honest: Do you have the patience to wait a huge-ass amount of time to see two people get together?
Dragon Emperor0: Anyway. This took us a while to plan and write so more than likely another chapter won't come along for a good bit so this one will have to hold you until then.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah, sorry about that, but that's how it is. It's made doubly true when you have a dozen other stories to worry about. This is something I'm sure every author understands. Anyway, see you next time.