Happy New Years everyone! May 2024 be a better year and take care of yourself.
Three days later
New York City is covered with lights and music. Skies are filled with fireworks as they blast in the night sky and explode with colors. The streets are filled with New York citizens holding sparklers and dancing around. It's only ten more minutes till the New Year arrives. Tonight is New Year's Eve, and tomorrow is New Year's Day. So, there is no work till tomorrow, and everyone is staying up till midnight. Even the turtles are staying up past midnight to witness the New Year.
Speaking of the turtles, the girls and Julian are in the living room down in the lair. Ginny and Julian sit on the couch as Nina and Judi sit on the floor. So much has happened in the past four months, but it felt like a year past here with the turtles. They all laughed while sharing their stories and enjoying their time together while the boys searched for EDF locations.
"Wow. The new year has come." Julian smiled. "Feels like it has been years since we've lived here."
Ginny nodded. "I know what you mean. The last months with the turtles have been great." She acknowledged. "I'm starting to feel like I can finally be my age again." She smiled.
"And I am remembering my new memories." Judi grinned happily, lying on the ground on her torso while kicking her legs and placing her head on her arms. "Spending time with Mikey has been the best in my life!" She sighed happily and was lovestruck.
"Sis, I'm still here." Julian cleared his throat, hinting he was still here and would keep looking after her.
"Uh.." Judi blushed in embarrassment. She chuckled nervously. "Sorry, bro."
Julian smiled down at her. "You're alright, sis."
"Nina, how are you feeling?" Ginny asked Nina; she was pretty quiet during the conversation.
Nina huffed out, thinking it over in her mind. "I am going through some emotional anxiety and trying hard not to think of my parents." She answered honestly. Then she softly smiled. "But other than that, I feel pretty good not living in fear."
"Yay! No more Miss Moody Faces!!" Judi cheered. That only made Nina roll her eyes with a smile. Her optimistic energy was quite noticeable.
Julian looked at the med-bay. "You think that girl, Primrose, will wake up this year?" He questioned.
"I sure hope so. She's in that coma for four months." Ginny implied. "I'm surprised she is still breathing, and her heart is still beating."
"Most patients that have been in a coma have woken up over a month or two," Nina explained to them. "Hers is very unusual; it takes a miracle to help her wake up."
"I hope you are right, Nina," Julian frowned.
"I am. And I should know." Nina nodded. Her days spent in the hospital have given her some knowledge of how doctors treat their patients, and she has been around a coma patient once.
Judi then frowned, with something in mind. "So, what are we gonna do for this year?" She asked her question. "Move somewhere else in the sewers?"
Ginny thought it over in her head. The last four months with the turtles have been challenging and great, but they can't stay here forever and take up their space. They would need a place of their own to live, and they aren't much welcome now back on the surface. "Well, I don't mind living here with the boys, but we can't live here forever in the sewers." She gave her answer. "And I know we can't go back to our old life. There are people up there that will kill us if they look at us."
"I'm hearing you." Judi turned around and lay on her shell, staring at the ceiling. "If I had to stay here for a year, I'm gonna get cabin fever."
Nina huffed, arms crossed and in deep thought. "Why not learn how to fight?" She proposed. "Defend yourself against threats? I've been taught martial arts before I became a mutant."
"Oh really?" They heard a voice coming through the entrance. The four turned around and saw Splinter walking in with a smile on his face and his hands behind him.
"Hey there, Splinter." Ginny greeted him. "We were just talking."
"I know." Splinter nodded, smiling still. The smile on his face got the four confused and faced each other. Wondering why he was smiling.
"Why are you smiling?" Judi asked him.
Back on the surface, everyone shouted the countdown as the ball dropped on the clock of Times Square. "Five, four, three, two, one!!" As the ball reached the end, New York cheered loudly, and fireworks went off in the night sky. The New Year is here.
The turtles all landed on top of the Manhattan Bridge. They all look exhausted. Another night of looking for either EDF or looking for some Foot activity around that was planning to ruin the New Year. So far, none again.
"Anything? On the Foot? Or the EDF?" Leo asked the three.
Raph shook his head. "Nope."
"I checked everything around, nothing," Donnie informed him.
"No sign of the Foot or an EDF agent," Mikey added.
Leo sighed. They tried looking for any lead, asking any yokai if they had seen EDF, only to be met with screaming yokai and running for their lives. They need to find them quickly. "We got to hurry. Draxum might not have much time with those monsters."
"We'll find them," Donnie assured him. "And we will get Draxum back." He added.
"Let's take a breather first," Raph suggested, his legs started to get tired. "Been spending all day searching, and Raph needs a break." He sat on the edge, sighing in relief to give his legs a rest.
The rest sat beside him as they looked up at the sky, watching the fireworks go off and exploding. After a year, things had changed so much for them. They are ready to face the new year and with their new friends, too.
Mikey let out a lovestruck sigh; his face had a droopy grin, and his eyes were filled with hearts. He placed his cheek against his palm while watching the fireworks.
"What's with that look?" Donnie asked, noticing it, and looked annoyed.
"Oh. Just thinking about my Buttercup." Mikey sighed lovingly. "She's the most amazing person in the whole world. Every time I see a smile on her face, I know she is peaceful and safe." He finished.
Leo fakes a gag, holding his stomach and leaning forward. "Oh, come on." He rolled his eyes, pulling himself up.
"Oh yeah?" Raph raised an eyebrow. "You sure didn't act like that when Ginny was around." He stated. "You were practically falling apart around her."
Leo got a massive blush on his cheeks. "It does not mean I am in love with her!!" He denied it. "Ginny is a friend, and I enjoy her company."
"Are you sure?" Mikey smirked, wiggling his brows. "Denial is a river, and you are drowning, boy."
"I am not in denial!!" Leo shouted, blushing red, making his face red.
"You're in love." Raph's voice sang along as he was chuckling along with Mikey. Leo is in love with Ginny, and he got it bad.
Leo stammered, trying to come up with an argument to avoid revealing his true feelings. His focus turned to Donnie, who was looking at his phone. "What about Donnie?! This guy had been attached to Nina since she got better!!" He pointed at Donnie.
Donnie groaned in annoyance, getting sick of this. "Because, unlike you loud animals, I am the only person she is very comfortable with." He testified, putting his phone down. "This does not mean I am in love with her. Love is nothing but hormone chemicals in your brain." He explained his theories. He refuses to let himself give in to the growing seed of love and proves that his feelings for Nina are based on friendship and trust.
"Said you!" Mikey glared, arms crossed and pouting. "My love for Judi is much more real than some silly hormones!!"
"Whatever you say, Romeo." Leo rolled his eyes.
Raph rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, Donnie. Is there any word about Primrose?" He asked him.
Donnie sighed. "Other than she is still in her coma?" He stated before getting back to the question. "Her reading said she is still alive, but it is hard to tell when she might wake up." He answered.
"I was afraid of that…" Raph frowned sadly. He is worried she might not make it through half of the new year.
Donnie stands up, approaching Raph as he side-hugs him. "Don't worry, big guy. I'll do anything in my power to get her awake." He told him. "But that would be up to her."
"Got it." Raph nodded.
The fireworks slowly die down, and some are heading back home to get some sleep for the morning. The streets have gradually decreased into smaller groups; the shops are all closing, and everything sparklers are picked up and thrown into the trash.
Leo stood up and pulled out his katana. "Time to head back to the lair." He activates a portal, leading them back to the sewers.
The three stood up as well, and one by one, they jumped in the portal as Leo went in last. The portal disappears, leaving the bridge empty.
The portal appeared in their hangout spot, and the turtles entered and landed on the floor. "We're home!" Leo announced, entering last while the portal behind them disappeared.
They expect to hear the sound of the girls talking and Julian speaking with his sister, only to find silence in the lair. The lair was as quiet as a graveyard. Leo and Donnie split up and headed in different directions, leaving Mikey and Raph alone.
Mikey rushed to Judi and Julian's room, looking inside. "Buttercup? Are you here?" He called out. "Julian?"
"Nina isn't in her room," Donnie stated.
"Ginny isn't in hers or the kitchen," Leo added.
The worry in them started to emerge as they feared they might have left the lair, or EDF might have come here while they were gone. They started searching the lair, trying to find them. Leo looked in the game room, as Donnie looked at the cameras of the sewers, while Raph and Mikey looked in the living room and Splinter's room. Raph checked the med bay; no one but Primrose was still lying in her bed. But the girls and Julian, none. They weren't anywhere. They meet back in their hangout spot.
"I looked everywhere. None." Raph reported.
"Same." Leo nodded. "I've looked everywhere but..the Dojo!!" They searched everywhere but their dojo.
The turtles enter inside the dojo. And to their relief, the girls and Julian are there. Safe and unharmed. Yet they are doing punches in the air, all in sync.
Splinter was standing while watching them. He turned his head and found his sons entering inside. Just in time, he thought with a smile. "Welcome back, my sons." He greeted them.
"Oh, thank god." Leo sighed in relief. "We thought they had left."
"Not yet." Splinter shook his head.
Mikey blinked. Hearing him saying, 'Not yet.' "What do you mean?" He asked him.
Splinter approaches them, hands behind his back. "You see. Since they will be living with us, I figure it's time we have new members in our clan." He informed them. The four all looked surprised. New members? They will be part of their team?
"You mean?" Leo guessed.
"We will be having a band of Kunoichis, and Julian will be your new ninja." Splinter nodded. The girls will become the Hamato Clan's Kunoichis, and Julian will be their new team member.
Leo smiled huge. "Are you serious? They're going to fight with us?" With them fighting together, they will be a stronger team and strong enough against powerful enemies.
Splinter nodded, smiling.
Till Raph stepped in. "Pop, I don't mean any disrespect, and I am happy they will join us." He started. "But what if they got hurt or worse? They don't have the experience we had growing up." Unlike Leo, who is excited about this news, Raph is greatly concerned for them.
"That's why I am making you their new teachers," Splinter told them.
"What?!!!" The four all shouted. Them?! As teachers!? They never thought of being teachers; they can hardly teach Cassandra about skateboarding. They don't think they are ready to be masters and be their sensei.
"It is time for you to train the next generation." Splinter smiled at them.
"But we never consider ourselves ninja masters, and we don't know a thing about training newbies." Mikey testified.
"You have been learning quite a few without my teaching. I know you boys will be teaching them all you've learned." Splinter assured them. They have been growing so much on their own and improving their skills. "I trust you all."
They all faced each other; he trusted them enough to teach the girls and Julian to become their new Kunoichis and ninja. Leo stepped in. "We won't let you down, father." He bowed to him; the rest followed suit as they all bowed to him.
Splinter bowed to them. He resumed his position and faced them. "I will be watching you training them," he informed them. "Best of luck, my sons." He leaves the dojo, leaving the four alone with the girls and Julian.
Mikey faced Leo, doubtful of this. "Are you sure we are ready for this?" He asked.
"What choice do we have?" Leo insisted. "These teens don't deserve to be stuck here in isolation. And if we let them go, they stand no chance alone." He added. He doesn't want to let Ginny go but knows he can't get in her way and be her wall.
"Leo is right." Donnie agreed with his twin brother. "Our teaching rests in Splinter's hand and their fate." Nina must learn to blend in the shadows and avoid the EDF if she leaves.
Raph huffed. He crossed his arms, not entirely happy with it. But he knew it was the right thing to do. "Let's get started. Training starts now." He decreed.
The three nodded. It is a new year for them, along with new students as well. This will be a challenging start for them.
Back in TCRI, things look pretty grim. The chemists have pumped the amount of chemicals inside the mutagen fixed tube. Some did a few tests on it, recording it to check for any improvement later. It took almost months to get it done, but the mutagen is back, at least not what Eric wanted it to be.
Speaking of Eric, he watched the chemists working on the mutagen through the entrance, with Rockwell behind him, holding a clipboard. The two walked away from the mutagen room and walked down the hallway of their underground lab.
Rockwell cleared his throat, fighting his nervousness. "The team said it may take time getting the ooze perfect again, but they can't be sure if it is the correct ooze you wanted." He informed him.
"It just needs something, I know it," Eric replied, growling at the end like the alligator he mutated.
Rockwell gulped. He is getting worried and scared for him. "Eric, I fear that your mutation is slowly turning you into a monster." He told him. "Maybe we should get Bishop involved in this? He can help you." He suggested.
Eric growled angrily. He yelled at his face. "Never!! He turned his back on me!! He will suffer like everyone once my hazard gas is finished." He narrowed his eyes; rage consumed him. "Starting with that brat that changed me!" He roared, furious over what Nina had done and how she had caused this whole mess in the first place.
Rockwell backed away from him, scared of drawing too close to the line. "B-but sir, no one knows where she is now. The police had given up looking for her and the others." He informed him. "The FBI seems to have lost track of them." He added. He is gravely worried about Ginny. She worked too hard for her family, and her family blamed him for not protecting her.
Eric let out a loud roar that shook the labs, shattering a lab window with Sister Krang inside as she flinched from the impact. "How!? How can five dumb teenagers vanish out of sight!?" He snarled furiously. He doesn't understand how five teens can disappear without a trance.
"I believe I know who does." Sister Krang spoke.
Eric heard her, facing her. Seeing the smirk on her face, she knew just who was responsible for it. "Go on." He motioned her to continue talking.
Sister Krang chuckled evilly. "There are four mutant turtles who defect me and my brothers." She explained. "I bet that's who took them."
"Ginny.." Rockwell whispered. He hoped she was still alive and well.
"So you're telling me four mutant turtles stopped you two years ago?" Eric approaches her, taking this information in.
"The very same one." She nodded.
Eric turned his back on her, taking it all in. So the city has mutants that were the ones that stopped their new experiment test subject. "And that Arianina brat is with them." He muttered. "She'll tell them of my plans, and they'll try to stop me." He growled angrily. She knows his plans and that he will create his hazard gas. He can't let that happen when he is so close to his goals.
"Falco!" He roared. Falco arrived quickly and was panting from running from his lab. "Put a pause on the gas and have them finish making the ooze." He ordered him.
"Yes, sir." Falco nodded, facing him, confused by the sudden change of plan. "But we have been working on it for years. Why pause it?" He questioned him.
Eric glared at him, teeth snarling and sharp. "We can't let the turtle get in my way." He told him. Then he opened his hand, revealing his alligator claws. "So the solution? Kill them."