Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN.
Thank you.
Chapter #57
*Still Friday May 20th, 2016. Alternate Universe, 12:00a.m. The Argosy Hotel*
Karai stepped into the shower. It had been a long and emotion filled day and right now she just needed to relax.
First came the break out. Her and Hun's plan had worked. Hundreds of ex-foot soldiers had come together and rejoined the clan after learning that their master had been taken away and went undercover both as inmates and as cops in order to help Tatsu escape.
It was tough for her to get over that she left Hun alone once they got Tatsu out. In order for their plans to play out perfectly, then right now only Tatsu could leave.
Stockman was back home and worked along with herself and Hun as all the plans were made months ago, and as long as all his calculations were right, then he and Hun would handle things back in their universe while she and Tatsu completed their portion of the plan here.
She felt a shiver run down her spine as she thought of her lover. It had been months since she had even heard his voice, so she was grateful that this plan included the two of them working together, and only together while in this new world.
Using the gadgets that Kraang had provided her, she and Tatsu were able to escape to this new world with ease, and once they found a cheap hotel to stay at, everything was finally, momentarily, at peace.
Both had quickly tossed all materials to the side of their bed and had rapidly shed their armor, craving the others bare touch.
Just as Karai thought of the man's lips, she then felt them against her neck once more.
"Round two already?" she groaned as she lathered up a cloth to wash herself.
"I missed you to" he teased as he removed the wash cloth from her hands.
She frowned as the man began to gently run the cloth along the women's arms.
"We allowed you to stay there far too long" she said sorely, wrapping her arms around herself in guilt.
"Hey" Tatsu said as he turned the woman around, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "You did everything you could, and from what I saw today, you've been doing a hell of a job. There's only so much that a small group can accomplish. What's important is that we're here, together. It's just the two of us right now."
He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her.
"We're together now and that's all that matters. And once we succeed, we will continue to stay together once we return home."
Karai couldn't help but chuckle. "How can such a blood thirsty man be so kind and gentle?" she questioned as she kissed him along his collarbone.
Tatsu shuddered from the touch and carefully grabbed a fist full of the woman's hair.
"Men can change drastically when they find the woman they want to love till the day they die" he said, pulling her head back so that he could kiss her.
He held onto her as he pinned her back to the wall of the shower. What started as a passionate kiss turned to one of lust within seconds. Smooth glides of hands against skin soon turned into hands grabbing onto the others body. Karai's nails dug down the man's back as he pressed his pelvis against her body and she felt him, hard against her.
Tatsu kissed Karai along her shoulder and once he worked his way up to her ear he whispered "and you complained to me about round 2" before seductively grazing his teeth along her ear lobe.
"Then shut me up" she demanded, lust revealing itself in every word she spoke.
Eventually the two would have to discuss the next part of their plan, but for tonight, it was just them. No allies, no enemies, just the two together. It had been too long since the two had heard each other, touched each other, tasted each other, and tonight was the night to make up for lost time. It didn't matter if the world was falling apart, nothing was going to interrupt what these two had in store for each other.
*4 days later, Tuesday May 24th, 2016. Underground lair/J2's underground lab*
It was easy for Sam to lead herself, Mikey, and her alternate to the secret underground lab where the rest of the group was located. She had brought her bag filled with tech and weapons with her on her journey to this alternate dimension, so she was prepared for almost anything. This included a pen she had with a laser that could knock out camera sensors so that nothing would go off and alert others where her group of three was currently located as they maneuvered their way through the sewers.
Of course, everyone else was mad at Sam for bringing her alternate underground, and they were equally as upset with Mikey who didn't have the back bone to argue with Sam about the matter. Of course, he also had additional motives for not arguing about the subject, that motive being that after spending some time getting to know this alternate, he no longer thought she was such a bad person. While waiting for Sam to return to the apartment, Mikey had gained a chance to get to know S2 better as both shared information about each other to the other, and being the sweet cinnamon roll boi that he was, he decided that they had all gotten off on the wrong foot and that she deserved a chance at redemption. It wasn't like when he and his brothers had met their Sam for the first time that everything went over all peachy keen like either, so it was only fair to give this Sam a second chance just like he had given his now best friend a second chance.
S2 wasn't able to contribute much to all that was going on, but she definitely enjoyed the show that this group of misfits put on for her.
When she first entered this incredibly huge lair space (how could Jay keep all this from her?!) she listened in as the group discussed their plans.
She heard Donnie and Sam explain to the group how they needed to be on the lookout for various energy sources, updated machinery, or other various discoveries in the scientific community that may be of interest to the villains so that they could open a new portal, the assumed motive for arriving in this new dimension.
Each member of the group would contribute in some way by either communicating with connections, researching articles, searching endlessly through social media, and things of the like.
Sam and Donnie had the cool jobs (at least in S2's opinion) since they were hacking into security cameras all throughout the city as well as hacking and downloading documents from multiple different companies which they then had others read through and analyze in order to see if the documents held any significance to their search.
S2 was mesmerized by the way this group worked so well together as a team. They took shifts, they made sure that each group member was evenly challenged so that everyone was contributing in a way that was most beneficial to the team. She was also intrigued as she learned about the groups daily habits.
Each morning the group would meet together for a morning sparring session for a couple of hours as a means to continue their training that they would usually complete back at home.
She couldn't help but giggle whenever she heard any of them talking to their father. Apparently the great hogosha known as April took one of their turtle coms with her and gave it to their father named Splinter so that each day they could update him about what was going on and if he had heard any news back at home. Each of them was always so excited and yet so concerned as they talked to their father through the device.
As she observed these group activities, she also began to see each of the groups individual personalities emerge.
While Leo was addicted to tea, his katanas, martial arts, candles and Asian gardening (apparently there were a lot of different types of small Asian trees that one could own and take care of), Raph was addicted to energy drinks, working out, knitting, and sports, Donnie was addicted to coffee (all kinds), pretty much any Asian drink or snack/candy delicacy, technology and organization, and Mikey was addicted to movies, Orange Crush, skateboarding, the arts and apparently literally anything that was colorful or made noises.
S2 found it interesting that the brothers made sure to take shifts keeping him occupied since he could only focus on the assignment at hand for so long and then began wanting to touch more colorful buttons on the incredibly complex computer systems that were set up all along one wall of this lair, as the turtles called it.
What amused S2 the most was that Sam was always the first to volunteer to hang out with Michelangelo whenever he got bored. However, Leo, Raph, or one of the Jay's always cut in before she could move away from her spot at the computer. This was because Sam was the second smartest person in the group and she was needed to work as swiftly and quickly as Donnie could. Of course, the girl needed to take breaks. Unlike the purple bearing turtle who rarely ever left the computer, Sam needed to take breaks and calm her mind after sitting in front a screen for hours.
This was the part that would then would then amuse S2 the most. She enjoyed observing how Sam interacted with each of the four turtle brothers. Even though these guys were mutant turtles, even she had to admit that each of them was muscular as hell and had something going for them in regards to looks.
Leo's and Mikey's blue eyes were god damn gorgeous! Each of the four brothers had large muscles and were plenty tall enough to S2's liking. Leo was definitely the most mature and protective which was very appealing. Raph was definitely the toughest and bared the most muscle which also protruded a sense of safety in knowing that Raph could defend himself and others, and his deeper raspy voice was a plus. Donnie was thin, but still extremely muscular, allowing him to pull off a unique look that most men couldn't. Although S2 was a sucker for blue eyes, Donnie's were equally as gorgeous when he removed his glasses, and the glasses themselves allowed him to pull off a cuter but still handsome and intelligent look. And then there was Mikey who always had a smile on his face, a bright and eye catching one at that, which added onto his toned body.
Honestly, S2 was a bit jealous that Sam was able to hang out with these guys as much as she did. However, these mutants were basically the equivalent to the huge group of guys that she was always hanging out with, both at dance rehearsals and also because of the many male friends that she and Kris had grown up with.
What was extremely different between S2's group of male friends and Sam's relationship with the turtles was how they all acted around each other. The sibling relationship between the girl and the turtles was obviously seen, but then there were unique times where it seemed like things were more than just that. The odd thing was that it wasn't like S2 noticed 'more than friendly' moments between her alternate and one of the turtles, but with all of them.
On Friday night, the very first night they had all met, S2 assumed that there had to have been something more between Mikey and Sam based on the fact that he waited for her to return to the apartment, knowing the girl would be hurt and emotional, and knew exactly what to do and how to treat her once she returned. That same night when everyone was finding places throughout the large lair and its many rooms to crash for the night, S2 happened to see that Sam and Mikey were cuddled up in one of the bedrooms. The sight was nothing sexual, and their embrace seemed much more protective and caring than anything, but to S2 cuddling was cuddling. She wouldn't cuddle anyone other than her boyfriend…and yet the following night, Sam had fallen asleep with Donnie in a DIY hammock (apparently an inside joke between the two from previous events?) Then, the following night, S2 found Sam asleep in Raph's room. While Sam was laying one way in the bed, Raph was lying in a perpendicular direction as his head rested on her thigh, almost like a child. THEN during the previous night (Monday), Sam had fallen asleep in Leo's room, and oddly the positions had changed so that now Sam was lying perpendicular to Leo so that her head lay against his thigh, as if she was now the child.
S2 was baffled. Every time she thought she had figured out who Sam must have been dating (because she had to be dating one of these muscular mutants, right?) she saw something that completely changed her mind.
She literally began typing notes about what she noticed from her alternate's interactions with each of the turtles in her phone so that she could reflect back on these notes when determining who she must be dating.
Leo: he was very protective of EVERYONE which had been made very clear. However, he liked to push others to reach their full potential as well. Each time Sam sparred with him (which holy crap this girl could fight even without powers like was she a goddess?!) she was always pushed to new limits, yet he was gentle and careful to make sure that he didn't push too far and prevented Sam from hurting herself. S2 also noticed that while Leo kept everyone on their toes and made sure everyone was doing their part in tracking down where their enemies may be lurking, he was constantly being gentle as well. He made sure that everyone was getting the needed amounts of food and sleep so that they wouldn't collapse and would NEVER took 'no' for an answer. However, a more playful gentle side also came out whenever Sam was around. The turtle was nothing but smiles whenever he was cooking breakfast with his youngest brother and Sam, and S2 couldn't get over all the times she saw the oldest brother covering Sam in blankets, or moving the girl's body on the couch so that she wouldn't awake from her naps in pain.
S2 noticed that Sam had this power over Raphael as well. He groaned about pretty much everything and always seemed ticked off, yet he always did what he was told. S2 assumed this was just his personality and that he didn't mean to be a grump, but that he couldn't help it either. He was also quite protective of his family and displayed so in a variety of ways, yet it was his family that always seemed to aggravate him as well. His brothers would approach him every so often but usually were much gentler when deciding whether it was a time to tease him or not. Sam, however, would literally walk up to the dude and slap him on the back and smile as if it was no big deal. Goosebumps would form on S2's body whenever her alternate did this, assuming the turtle would become ferocious since his body language just generally made him look this way, yet he remained calm (to a certain extent) as he 'clapped back' with some sort of joke or physical movement as if he was about to fight the girl. While a stranger would see this as a fight starting to breakout, S2 learned that the whole charade was a game between the two. The game was to assert dominance over the other and it played out in a variety of ways: a playful physical competition, some type of pranking challenge, or a battle of words, but both knew when it was time to call things quits and knew how to keep the peace while challenging each other as well. S2 also noticed that some of the tough turtle's calmest moments were also with the woman who seemed to challenge him the most. One time S2 heard the guys talking to their father through their t-coms and this had made Raphael quite emotional afterwards. From what S2 had made out (hiding as she listened in on the two's conversation) Raph didn't like knowing that their father was back home without anyone to help defend him in case anyone in the Foot found their new home, which apparently was a never ending worry for the family as a whole. While Raph hid these emotions from his brothers, he confided in Sam to talk to. This was when the softer and gentler side of the grumpy turtle were seen, and S2 found this very interesting.
Then there was Donatello. From what S2 could tell, Donnie was similar to Leo in being rather mature and took his work very seriously to the point where he almost never ate or slept unless someone made him (luckily each of his family members made sure to look out for this, even holding conversations with the turtle in front of them about who saw him eat last). That's where Sam came in. Whenever Donnie needed to rest, Sam would take over. It seemed that she was the only one in the group who could handle the same amount of work that he could, and it seemed that the turtle was grateful that he could place such trust in her hands. It was also extremely evident that he appreciated being able to hold such highly intellectual conversations with the girl that he could not hold with any other. These intellectual conversations always then turned into Sam nerding out with the purple bearing turtle so that he was actually laughing his ass off when he was supposed to be working. However, she did so just enough so that he was taking a mini break in the midst of his work since it was such a battle to make him take an actual break and walk away from his corner of monitors. It seemed that the rest of the brothers knew that this was what was happening as well since they never questioned when Sam made Donnie laugh, yet they would scold Mikey if he was the one making Donnie laugh. It seemed that in general Donnie seemed at ease in front of Sam, as if he could let a serious barrier down and calm himself down and relax while still doing what he needed to do. And then when he actually removed himself from his monitors, he became very silly and was almost similar to his youngest brother, and then that was amplified if Sam was anywhere nearby.
And then there was the baby brother Michelangelo. His strong connection to Sam was evident from the beginning, but when looking closely, their connection was much more than just joking around and knowing how to comfort each other. It was clear that Mikey was a goofball, and while he did say many, many…interesting things, he could be quite intelligent when he put his mind towards something. One could sense that his brothers knew about this, but for a variety of reasons they didn't push Mikey too far in regards to challenging his intellect. One of these reasons was that Mikey was lazy and knew that if he played dumb or purposefully said things to be annoying then his brothers would leave him out of work that he didn't want to do from the start (although this rarely succeed anymore since he brothers caught onto this gimmick very quickly when they were growing up, but every once in a while they would give in and leave him be instead of actually making him do whatever work needed to be done). Another reason was that Mikey had denied himself that he was very smart, which resulted in him not applying himself and proving just what he could truly to help contribute to various family needs. When compared to all of his brothers he definitely knew that he wasn't as smart as the others. Unfortunately as a child, Mikey had a harder time focusing on 'homework' that Splinter provided them (wanting his children to experience a type of schooling just like human kids did, and also wanting to prepare his children for ways, rules, and events occurring in the world). Even though the four were actual quadruplets, Mikey's ability to concentrate was similar to a kindergartener who was the youngest in his class compared to the ones who turned 6 within the first month of the school year. Those mere months made a world of a difference in academic ability for young children, and for some reason this same concept played along with Mikey.
Splinter noticed that as Michelangelo grew older that he was better able to read, write, think strategically and abstractly, think mentally and without written notes, handle electronics and machinery, understand and comprehend more complex conversations, and more. His artistic skills were learned completely on his own. Splinter was mesmerized that his son actually TAUGHT the rest of his brothers how to play instruments. Mikey was able to play any and all instruments as well as Donatello could. However, Donnie had to teach himself to play by watching videos and learning to read sheet music, whereas Mikey just naturally taught himself and to this day could not read a single note. However, if he heard a song, he could learn to play it on ANY instrument within a matter of minutes. Splinter also loved Mikey's artistic creations. While each brother had artistic interests, Mikey excelled in all of them. Drawing, painting, sculpting with various materials, architecture, digital art (the only time Mikey was better than Donnie when using technology), baking and cooking (which it was Mikey who was the main reason the family actually ate healthy food and not just pizza), calligraphy and penmanship, poetry and other written works, tapestry (it was Mikey who taught Raph how to knit!), and so much more. Mikey was a genius when creating his artistic designs. His brothers asked for his help since they recognized these talents, and yet Mikey still did not see himself as intelligent. While his brothers had recognized their baby brother's abilities outside of academics, Mikey assumed that he generally just wasn't smart like the others were.
Splinter had also always been intrigued in Michelangelo's fighting skills. Mikey was just as able to fight as his brothers, he just didn't apply himself unless he truly needed to (either because his life was in danger or because he would otherwise be sent to the Hashi). When he truly fought to the best of his ability, Mikey was truly a skilled fighter. Out of the four brothers, Mikey was actually mere steps behind Leonardo in his quick reflexes and ability to act on his toes. Splinter also recognized that Mikey was the strongest in regards to his emotional intelligence: his abilities to share his feelings, in sympathizing and tending to others, in reading how others felt and knowing what they needed in return, and communicating and creating peace with others. Splinter knew this from the moment the turtles could walk and began to communicate in the same way that infants could, and he knew that one day Mikey would change and save lives because of this.
The turtles had always sensed these things as well, but never said much about it, not realizing or truly understanding why Mikey acted the way he did. They had always assumed that since Mikey knew he was the baby brother that he would purposefully be a dork because that was just his childish personality. Plus, him being the youngest, ALL 3 older brothers had always been protective over him, so they also assumed that Mikey knew he had been slightly coddled and so he playfully took advantage of it.
None of the three knew that the real reason for Mikey playing dumb and turning towards comedy and silly antics was because he felt that he truly wasn't anywhere near as intelligent as the others. While Splinter recognized that his son needed a differentiated education, Mikey himself never realized this and instead just assumed that he was nowhere close to where his brothers were in regards to intellect. Unfortunately, Splinter realized this when it was too late, and Mikey had already zoned in and retaliated to his current goofball antics.
There were times where Mikey was just genuinely hilarious and knew how to throw in a perfect punch line at the right time, but there were other times when he tried and failed, or it just wasn't a time for comedy. Sam, however, was the key in getting Mikey to realize these moments of when to and when not to be silly, and also was able to trick Mikey into challenging himself. While the brothers didn't understand why Mikey acted the way he did, Sam apparently picked up on the reasons for his antics very quickly into their friendship. The reason S2 knew any of this information was because Sam had shared how she helped try to get Mikey realize how truly smart he was. She would talk for hours with her alternate about how when she and Mikey first became friends, she would hold such meaningful conversations with him as he helped her study for her AP exams and she practically taught him everything from her notes and textbooks. She was basically the differentiated education that Michelangelo always needed (Splinters words to her).
Sam also made S2 swear on her life that she wouldn't tell anyone, but Sam constantly was checking out various books on various topics for Mikey to read from the library. Mikey had learned 'a shit ton' (Sam's words) after just reading and holding conversations with her afterwards about the parts he didn't understand. He read an equal mix of fiction and nonfiction which only increased his abilities to do things that his brothers could. These books were why Mikey knew how to help out with the vehicles the group owned, how he could help fix furniture throughout the lair, and why he was able to help Leo tend to his Zen gardens. There were many other skills that Mikey learned and information he understood thanks to Sam that none of his brothers had ever bothered to work with him on and help teach him about.
Mikey had taught himself some basics in speaking a few other common languages spoken throughout the world, he could complete some basic coding by himself (but very basic, more so like video editing), he could probably teach a lecture about historical events and concepts, human biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, communication studies, education, geography, some basics of law, basic of linguistics, basics of political sciences, and many other subcategories that relate to these such as religious, cultural, and gender studies, and demography.
Sam knew that Mikey obviously specialized in understanding people since all these categories to extents studied people and how they functioned in one way or another. And yet, he made Sam swear on her life not to tell anyone (although she saw telling her alternate as still talking to herself, so this didn't count) and swear that he would never tell his brothers about the conversations that they held. It was as if he was afraid of his brothers to know that he was actually quite smart when dealing with his fields of expertise. He was dead center in a bell-curve displaying one's intelligence, and in regards to social sciences, Mikey's intellect was rather high, and yet he refused to let others know this about himself. Sam shared with S2 that she had discussed these concerns with Splinter and they both had come to the conclusion that Mikey hid these truths about himself since he assumed his role was the not-smart comedic relief of the family. Mikey had also learned to hide small concerns (moments of anger and upset or moments of physical pain) behind his humor as well. When seriously pained by something he would confide in others, but minor things were hid behind a wall of smiles and laughter. But Sam recognized all of this very early on, and even S2 could sense this just from observations alone.
And from observations alone she could tell that Sam did whatever she could to make Mikey realize that he was capable of much more than he realized, but both women could sense that Mikey would never realize this without one of them literally telling him, and they both feared that he would break from confusion of not falling into the family role he assumed was his.
Leo was the mature and quick thinking strategic leader, Raph was the brave and bold brother with a secret emotional side, Donnie was the hardworking brother who saved the day behind the scenes with his logic, so he played the role of getting everyone to communicate properly, including being a comical dork that would sometimes look like dumb if that's what it took to get everyone else to work together and cooperate. Sam hated that his felt that this was his role, but it never bothered him and he continued to live life with his carefree attitude (the main reason none of this ever bothered him) so she didn't want to risk breaking that down by informing him of how intelligent he truly was.
There was also the fact that Mikey lost focus incredibly fast. For ten minutes Mikey could go 'ham' and get something he was told to complete efficiently…and after those ten minutes he was bored and needed to do something new, or at least much more interesting to him that he could focus on for hours. Usually his brothers knew how to handle these situations, but when their hands were tied it became difficult for them to entertain their brother. Sam somehow always knew how to handle these situations. She either knew what to have him focus on that would keep him occupied, or she was just eager herself to take a break and hang out with the energetic turtle. Of course, one of the other brothers usually retaliated at the latter choice since Sam was needed to help move the mission along since she was the only one who could work at the same pace as Donnie. And yet, she would find a way to get things to work out where she was still conversing with Mikey even though he may be doing something else. This was also where she challenged the turtle, holding conversations that made him think long and hard before providing a response, all the while Sam was still reading over documents and hacking into security systems so that she could hunt for their enemies. Sam and Mikey displayed quite a unique friendship, they both could make each other laugh within a matter of seconds and enjoyed pretty much everything the other one did, but the most important things that S2 picked up on were how to the two supported each other whenever they were upset about something. Whenever Sam thought of her siblings, Mikey always knew what to do to make her feel better, and whenever the boys were rather harsh towards Mikey, Sam always knew how to cheer him up and make him feel better. It was as if the two always knew how to make the other be the best they could be.
After analyzing everything she observed and had been informed of from her alternate, S2 assumed that without a doubt that Mikey and Sam had something going on. But the same way she read Mikey like a book and secretly helped him unlock his true potential, she did the same for the other brothers. Whenever any of the three needed to calm down or relax, she knew what to do. Whenever the other three needed to vent or rant, she knew just what to say. She knew how to make all four brothers let down their protective barriers that sometimes their own brothers didn't know about, leaving S2 dumbfounded about which one she truly had the strongest, and more than friendship type of relationship with.
Just as S2 thought this, she just dodged a punch aimed at her face from her alternate.
"Whoa, you really zoned out there. You good?" Sam asked.
"Uh-huh" S2 said, breathing heavily.
It was now 12 in the afternoon and Sam was taking a mini break to spar with her alternate.
While S2 was able to help in some ways, she knew that she was nothing when it came to defending herself. She begged Sam to teach her how to fight and defend herself, and being the dork she was, Sam loved being seen as such a role model and couldn't deny the girl's request.
She decided to teach some basic moves and techniques in both martial arts and also in self-defense to the girl who had some muscle, but just didn't know how to use them.
S2 was nowhere near as strong as Sam was even when Sam wasn't using her powers, but the girl still danced professionally and did carry some muscle with her. Unfortunately, she just had no idea how to properly use this muscle to keep herself safe.
Sam was currently teaching her how to properly hold and throw a punch, and then how to follow through so that it would affect the opponent as much as possible, and along with this skill, how to block and dodge punches.
Luckily she taught both skills simultaneously since she almost nailed her opponent in the face.
"What stole you from me like that?" Sam asked.
"The same thing as yesterday" the girl said with a smirk.
Sam rolled her eyes. She quickly turned around to make sure that no one was within close enough range to hear this conversation.
This lair was similar to that of the one back home, but this one spread out in all different directions from its round center. Donnie compiled all the major monitors into one main corner, there was a small water way in the middle of the room (although this was more like a peaceful pond since it was much smaller than the flowing water that entered the lair back home).
Right now Sam and her alternate were sparring in the mini workout gym that was located on the left of the room. On the left was where one of the many labs was set up. J2 was currently working there, but he had headphones on since he was someone who needed lyric-less music to help him focus. On the left of that was a garage space where cars could park, but there were also extra workspaces in there (honestly everything was a work space, the group had just shifted some materials around so that the area was comfortable for sleeping and relaxing when the time called for it). To the left of that was where a bunch of screens and monitors were located. There also happened to be a couch here, which was where Jay had happened to doze off during his shift to relax some.
To the left of that was an entry way to a kitchen which was where Michelangelo was located as he continued to complete his readings on a tablet while simultaneously making himself a snack.
Then there were the multiple rooms on the floor above. Again, they were all designed as labs and workspaces, but included beds so that the original team of scientists that worked with J2 had a place to sleep when working long hours. Both Leo and Raph were in rooms they deemed their own as they completed their work.
Once Sam had made sure that no one could hear, she turned back towards her alternate.
"Look sis, I already told you that I'm not dating any of them. They're just friends, practically family."
"But they're not blood, so anything can happen" S2 said, crossing her arms and looking at her companion delightfully, dipping her head down to tease Sam with the look she displayed.
"Why do women always assume that men and women can't be just friends and that they must date?" Sam groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Oh come on!" S2 said as she threw a punch at Sam, to which she received a nod of approval that she had thrown the punch correctly. "You can't tell me you don't find any of them attractive."
"Alright unless you're my thong then don't be up my ass and just drop it" Sam said sternly as she threw a punch as the girl, nodding as her counterpart properly blocked and dodged the punch.
"Do you just lack the confidence to say something to him?" S2 asked, throwing another punch, although this time she didn't receive the nod she was waiting for.
"Wait, what?" Sam asked in confusion.
"Well you obviously don't know how to dress like a girl" S2 stated bluntly. "All you know how to wear are t-shirts and baggy long sleeve shirts and form fitting pants and lose shorts. And all you wear are Converse, Vans, or Adidas shoes. You need to show off some pearly toes every once in a while girl!" S2 said in such a relaxed way that left Sam baffled.
Sam placed her hand on her hip as she looked down at her outfit. It perfectly matched the girl's description: she currently wore a gray t-shirt that was actually a hand me down from J2 and was wearing black athletic joggers with black Adidas running shoes. And what was her counterpart wearing? A white crop top Adidas shirt that revealed her tummy (and also allowed a viewer to get a glimpse of the rather revealing sports bra underneath), and the rather skimpy (in Sam's opinion of course) red running shorts the girl was wearing. The only thing Sam liked about her outfit were the white tennis shoes she was wearing.
"Okay, so I didn't realize you were an expert on how I am supposed to live my life. Should I be taking notes?"
"God I love you but you're so frustrating" S2 said as she rolled her eyes. "I get the whole wanting a guy to love you for you thing, but you need to show off that sexy body of yours a little bit" she said as she gently nudged her elbow into Sam's side. "I mean they stare at you enough that you might as well give them a little something more to look at.
Sam opened her mouth to talk, and then completely froze. "Come again?"
S2 paused before a huge smirk appeared on her face. "You must be joking. There's no way you haven't noticed the way they all stare at you."
"And how exactly do they stare at me?" Sam asked, taking a sip from her water bottle so that she could hide the blush beginning to appear on her face.
"Don't worry, none of it is predatory. I can tell they're all gentlemen, but they still take glimpses at you every now and then. The glimpses last a little longer whenever you're wearing leggings though, that or when you change your shirt in front of them and only have a sports bra covering your top half. Oh! Or when you're changing pants and are only wearing spandex underneath as your putting on new pants or shorts."
"Psh" Sam chuckled, "that's probably just them making sure I'm okay. Apparently I have a habit of having clothing blunders" she said, pursing her lips as she remembered that she already flashed herself in a bra to two of the turtles.
"Are either of you going to do anything today?" Raph grunted as he exited from his room on the second floor, carrying a tablet with him.
Sam peered over her shoulder in the direction where the turtle was walking.
"We are training, that is considered doing something" she said matter of factly.
"Looks like you're just running your mouths while the rest of us are busting our asses" he huffed.
"Look, you have your entire life to be a jerk, why not take some time off?" Sam hissed, a wicked grin forming on her face.
S2 bit her lip in order to prevent herself from laughing when she looked up and saw Raph display the same devilish grin. And so the battle of words began.
"You know you would be much more likeable if it wasn't for that hole in your mouth that noise comes out of" he bit back.
"Hey, if I wanted to listen to an asshole then I would just fart!"
"Remember that time you shut the fuck up? No? Me neither!"
"You know what's funny? Not you, so shut up!"
"You know the only time you sound sexy? When you're not talking!"
"Keep your dick in your pants and out of your personality!"
"WELL I WAS SLEEPING!" Jay roared as he groggily sat up on the couch.
Raph and Sam both cringed, guilt washing over them from making the man awake from his needed sleep.
"My bad" Raph said with an apologetic smile.
"Is there at least a reason this all began?" Jay groaned.
"Oh yeah. Where's Donnie?" Raph asked Sam. He then handed her the tablet he had been reading. "I think I found something that Karai might be after."
Sam quickly skimmed the digital document.
"Is this a new article? Or research data that's not even published yet?" Sam asked.
"Ummmm I think new notes that have not published yet. Leo and Mikey were looking through the recently published stuff that's already in the media. I think I got the hacked notes and papers from labs this time" he mentioned as he read the document from over her shoulder.
S2 just stood there in astonishment. One minute they were barking at each other, and now they were working side by side.
'How does one fight with all their might and make it a joke the entire time?' the girl thought to herself.
"Hey D! I think we got something!" Sam called out.
The two walked, S2 trailing behind them, as they headed into the other room where Donnie was sitting in front of multiple different monitors.
"Ugh give me a sec" he said as he scrambled to pause all the various videos he had playing while he had simultaneously been reading through online articles.
"Man I don't know how you can focus on so many things at once" Raph groaned, rubbing his head at the thought of having to analyze and comprehend the details from so many different sources.
"It all depends on what one's prefrontal cortex allows them to think and what their posterior prefrontal cortex allows them to physically do at the same time" he said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, whatever. Read this" Raph said as he shoved the tablet towards his know it all brother who was currently smirking since he knew his 'complicated' talk always messed with Raph as he tried his best to understand what the heck his brother had just said (something he loved to do as a comeback for the teasing he received from his brothers).
Donnie quickly read over the document and before he could even say anything, Sam and Raph dashed out of the room to retrieve everyone else in the lair. Just the change in Donnie's expression alone informed them that this was an important find and that he would soon be ranting about what exactly the new discovery was.
A few days prior, April and Casey had been able to sneak into Stockman's old and abandoned lab and when they searched for files on information Stockman would have created about the portal, not a single thing was found. No flash drives, no notepads, no digital files, not even a single post-it note with some scribbles about the project. This informed Donatello that at some point Karai had retrieved any and all notes Stockman had about the portal and brought them back to him so that he could pick up where he left off, meaning that his suspicions that Karai and whoever else had entered this new dimension in hopes of finding a new energy source for the portal pieces back in their home dimension.
Within a minute of Donnie's wandering thoughts, everyone had entered the room.
"Whatcha find?" Leo asked, striding into the room with confidence, awaiting orders as to what the group would be heading after.
"Ever heard of Tanzanite?" Donnie asked.
"It's a pretty blue" Mikey said with a sparkle in his eye.
"What about it?" Raph grunted.
"Oh! I've heard about this!" J2 interrupted. "I recently heard at work that scientists were testing different crystals in radiation experiments to see if they could be used as energy sources. But, the scientists were just completing trial runs."
"Well the trial runs have been completed, and they were successful. Look here" Donnie said as he plugged an altered USB chord that connected the tablet and to his watch. A touch screen then appeared in a large holographic format for everyone in the group to see.
"According to this section of the document" Donnie said as he highlighted some sentences, "the trial runs were most successful with Tanzanite, a rare type of gemstone. They began using smaller amounts to power smaller devices, but the more they added and the more radioactive the gemstones became, the more powerful they became. So far they've been able to power electric cars using these radioactive gemstones."
Sam gulped. "You think Karai might go after this? Do you think that if Stockman found out about this at home he could use it to power the portal?"
Donnie bit his lip. "There's a good chance that Karai and whoever she brought with her will try to steal this here and now so that it's easier for Stockman to get to work. That way they won't have to worry about taking the time to find the materials and test it out back home. Where was this tested?" Donnie asked to no one in particular as he continued to skim the article.
"There" Leo said as he pointed to a sentence on the holographic screen. "OneLife Science."
"Ever heard of it?" Jay asked his alternate.
"Yes. The companies building is a decent ways away from here, but traveling underground will get us their sooner. Does anyone know if-"
"I've been watching the cameras and up until the time we all met up there was nothing stated about break-ins or thefts" Mikey interjected.
"Nice, bro" Raph said, lightly nudging his baby brothers side.
While Donnie could read a million things at once (and then continue to complete physical tasks at the same time), Mikey could watch and listen. Each day his job had included watching surveillance footage from highly known research facilities and also from police stations throughout the city in order to let everyone else know when there might be a current robbery taking place. That way, the group could drop what they were doing and prepare to hunt down Karai immediately.
"That means that right now we have the upper hand, but we'll need to move quickly. This document was updated a mere 4 hours ago. That means that if Karai has access to this buildings data, thanks to any tips and tricks Stockman may have taught her, then she'll know about this soon. And that's if she's the only one in her group of however many doing the same research that we've been completing."
"Gear up guys, we need to move fast. We'll discuss our plan as we head out" Leo ordered. "Mikey, grab the tech Donnie gave you earlier. You'll continue to lookout for any thefts while we're heading over there. Sam, bring as much tech that you can in order to help Donnie with any hacking he may need to do when we get there, that or in case we need to split up into teams. Jay and J2, you guys head to the building above ground. You'll be our eyes on the streets in case you spot either Karai or any other suspicious characters. Raph, help me figure out the quickest way to reach the OneLife Science building from the sewers."
Everyone nodded and did as they were told, following the natural born leaders instructions. Everyone except for S2 that is. She was still standing in front of Leo with an excited smile on her face.
"What's my job boss?" she asked in anticipation.
"Hmmmmm" Leo hummed as he pondered on what job to give their newest recruit in their band of misfits. He knew better than to just shut her out (something he knew Raph would bluntly do) since that would just set her off in an angered frenzy, and nobody needed to experience that again. He needed to think of a task to keep her occupied that could still be beneficial to the group. If it was obvious that he was just giving her busy work then he knew she would get pissy and freak out about the task.
"We'll need you to stay here and continue watching over the monitors and police scanners."
S2 crossed her arms and frowned.
"But that means I would have to stay here by myself" she said in a cross tone.
"Well you didn't think you were going to join us, did you?" J2 asked.
"But!-"
"It's for everyone's safety. We need to focus on the mission and we need you to stay safe" Leo reassured. "Plus, if you catch that Karai is heading someplace else, then you telling us so that we can change our course of action would be incredibly helpful. If Karai is heading somewhere else then we'll need to know immediately, meaning that someone would have had to have stayed back either way. You being that person is a huge help for the rest of us."
The girl still sensed that it was busy work to keep her off the 'battle field,' but the leader in blue did make it sound pretty exciting and as if she would truly be helping he group out, so she caved.
"Fine" she sighed. "Teach me what to do and how to communicate" she said with a smile.
"Guys! It's on the news!" Mikey shouted as he rushed back into the room. "Look!"
Mikey turned to one of Donnie monitors and pulled up an online video of a familiar woman but now with red hair and glasses who was informing a reporter of what her team had recently completed in the past few weeks.
"April?" Leo questioned.
"Oh, you know her?" S2 asked. "Man you guys are lucky. She's one of the greatest scientists in our dimension. Wish I could meet her."
"Scientist?" Raph asked. "She's supposed to be a reporter."
"Really? Guess there's more dimensional changes that exist than we thought" S2 chuckled.
"We need our April. Now!" Leo demanded.
Donnie nodded and pulled out his t-com.
"Guys April?" he asked in rush.
"I'm here." She replied instantly.
"Oh, April! That was fast."
"You didn't think I was going to go about my daily life as if you guys weren't away in a different dimension now did you?" she teased through the communication line.
"April!" Leo called out. "We need you here. Think you can handle some undercover work for us?" he asked.
"Oh your timing couldn't be any more perfect. Vincent just left. I'll be there in a minute!"
And just like the woman said, she arrived exactly in a minute's time through a portal that dropped her from the ceiling (luckily being caught by Leo himself).
As he carefully placed her down, she looked up at him and with a confident smile said "catch me up and tell me what I need to do."
Yay! Character Development! Backstory! References to the comics and the 203 series! WOOHOO!
Hope you're all having as much fun as I am :D
Also 'guest' on Fanfiction, thank you for your kind words :3 I'm thrilled that my story plays out like a movie for you and I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations! :D
Especially since the next chapter is going to be filled with action hehe.