Author Note: Hello everyone! It's certainly been a long time since I've posted anything on this site XD. But I'm hoping to at least make this one last for a while.
This story will hopefully answer some questions that people had in my last story 'Rubics Cube' with Mikey and his ribs and will take place most likely between this chapter and the next.
Also, I will be mixing the 2003, 2007, and the 2012 shows together. As in, the characters look like they do in the 2007 movie except with the varying heights like in the 2012, there will be characters and situations from all three, i.e. Klunk from 2003 (sorry no Ice Cream Kitty), Rahzar, and Fishface from 2012, a few of their adventures from each one, evil Bishop from 2003, a mixture of Leatherhead from 2003 and 2012, and the likes. Mainly because I love all three and they all just keep mashing together in my head, so I thought, why not? And considering that my old story was kinda a mash-up of 2003 and the 2007 I thought it was fitting to add in the 2012 since that last story came out before they were a thing and I only just now got caught up with each.
Thanks, everyone for reading! Now onto the show!
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My lips purse as I bat away the throwing knife that one of the Foot soldiers aimed at my head.
"Oye!" I say, pointing at the ninja that threw the knife. "Watch where you're throwing those things. You might hurt someone."
"Uh, Mikey? I think dat's the point," Casey mutters to me as he twirls his bats in each hand. I scoff.
"But why? I'm FAR too pretty to be hit and you're just a little bit too crazy for their tastes."
Casey lifts an eyebrow as he glances from me to the army of Foot soldiers.
"Uh-huh. Keep tellin' yerself dat, Mikey. I somehow don't think dat dere gonna agree with ya."
I roll my eyes as Casey talks. He's just jealous of my good looks. Shaking my head, I return my gaze to the swarm of black and grey around us, warily eyeing the ninjas as I keep my grin in place.
Leo is SO gonna kill us if he finds out.
One of the Foot soldiers points a sword at us, standing up slightly.
"This does not concern you, turtle. Leave now and we will not harm you."
I mean, he makes a good point. I glance back at Casey, hoping to catch the older male's attention. If that's true, that they'll leave us alone, we shouldn't have any issues getting the pizza and heading back to the lair. Neither of us will be hurt and Leo will never know that we ran into the Foot! Or that we decided to check out an alleyway after hearing someone wailing their lungs out. Lowering my weapons, I grin at the Foot soldier.
"Well, I can—"
"No way!" Casey shouts, pointing his bat at the soldier and cutting me off. "We heard someone yellin' over here and we ain't leavin' till we find out who dat was."
I inwardly groan. I really should have seen that coming. Casey and Raph are so similar that it hurts and that's EXACTLY what Raphie would have said if he was here with me. I laugh nervously as more Foot soldiers draw out their weapons.
"Uh, Casey? Maybe we should just listen to them, dude." I eye one soldier with a mean-looking Kaginawa that he's spinning slowly. "I mean, Leo DID say to come straight home and we still haven't gotten our pizza."
Casey's face scrunches up as he shoots me a glance over his shoulder. He opens his mouth only to be cut off as an ear-piercing wail echoes around us. Yelping, I clamp my hands over my ears as the ground shakes around us. Staggering, I narrowly miss getting hit by a Foot soldier as one is suddenly knocked from his perch on the fire escape. Nerves dance in my chest as the wailing stops and I lower my hands from my head.
"Uh, ooookay, what the was that?" I ask, glancing at Casey as he finally gets his bearings as well.
But before Casey can answer, a large shadow flies above the alleyway, blocking out the moon for a brief second. My heart hammers in my chest as ninjas all around me start shouting and yelling as they are either pulled into the darkness or smacked down into the alleyway. I shriek as a loud bang lands behind me and I swiftly spin around, spinning my nunchucks as fast as I can. Only to find a groaning Foot soldier lying there unconscious.
I swallow thickly and a nervous chuckle bubbles from me.
"Well, uh, I think we've overstayed our welcome, don't you, Casey?"
Casey opens his mouth just as another shadow flies above us. Cautiously, I stare upwards as I make my way back over to the blackette. My shoulders tense as a loud CRUNCH of something large and heavy lands just behind me. My eyes widen as a shadow looms over me and I curl into myself as I refuse to turn around. Warm breath hits the back of my neck, right where my jumpsuit ends and a slimy shiver runs down my spine. As if in slow-motion, I turn around, a scream sticking in my throat as I stare up at a large hulking form. Glowing gold eyes stare down at me as I stagger back two steps. The form is still in the shadows and it's nearly large enough to block out the limited amount of moonlight entering into the alley.
"Uh," I say, brain malfunctioning as I try to process if I should run or remain where I'm at. "H-H-Hi? Welcome to the p-p-party?"
A roar is the only answer I get before a large arm swings and backhands me away. A yelp turns into a groan as I smash into a large dumpster, my shell curving a nice indent in the side of it. I wince as I place a hand on my plastron. My ribs burn and my back aches as I roll onto all fours.
Geez, so much for not getting into trouble. Dude, this blows. Wincing, I crack an eye open just as the lights above me are blotted out. Icy fear pulses through my veins as I slowly lift my head, the large hulking form now standing over me. This close I can finally make out more features on the form. Its entire body appears to be made of some sort of marble with its upper body being wider and thicker than its lower body. Its body appears to be covered in some sort of armor sticking out of each limb. Honestly, this dude looks as though someone crafted them to be some sort of tank. My eyes flicker to the pizza-size hands with razor-sharp claws and gulp. Also looks like they spared no expense when it came to certain assets. Shredder, eat your heart out. Golden eyes blaze down at me from under the marble-like helmet, that looks fairly samurai-ish like in those graphic novels that Leo pretends not to have hanging around in his room.
The ground crunches as the figure takes a step closer and I curl into myself as I glance up. It's kinda hard to read a strange being's emotion when all I've got to work with are pupilless eyes and a helmet that covers everything else. I swallow thickly.
Forcing a smile, I keep a protective arm around my middle and slowly inch my way backward.
"H-Hey there, big guy. Think, maybe, we could talk about this?"
The creature roars just as another wail rips through the air. My eyes widen as I take in a glowing golden orb hovering in one of the creature's hands before the figure sweeps an arm out. Instinctively, I raise my arm to cover my face, bracing myself to be thrown further down the alley.
"Mikey!" Casey shouts and I hear him grunting as his bats connect with something solid.
The arm I was bracing for swings wildly over my head, the wind brushing the top of my scalp and I hear multiple dull THUDS to my left and right. Lifting my head, I glance around to find groaning Foot soldiers littering the ground. The creature looks back down at me, my heart leaping into my throat when I realize that it's REACHING OUT for me.
No! Leo's supposed to be the only one getting turtlenapped by crazy monsters! Not me! Ducking, I just barely manage to roll under the outstretched hand when more Foot soldiers land on the creature's back.
My ears ring as the creature roars again, lashing out and swinging wildly as the Foot try slicing and stabbing at the creature's back. My gaze narrows as I realize that they're not only slashing at the creature but reaching for that orb that it has safely in its grasp. A small frown tugs at my lips.
But what would they want with that orb? What does it do?
I yelp when a Foot is thrown in my direction and lands heavily to my left. The ninja groans as he rolls over. I'm torn between reaching out and helping the ninja up and scooting away silently so that he doesn't decide to turn and start attacking ME. I mean, yeah, we have a truce, but they were just about to end that truce just because of some wailing and this creature thing! How do I know that they won't just start attacking me?
The Foot soldier grunts, dragging me from my thoughts and I quickly start spinning my nunchuck again. The other ninja shoots me a glare, or well, I think it's a glare considering that his entire face is covered.
"We do not have time for you, Orenji-iro no kame," the Foot soldier snarls, leaping to his feet once more. "Leave here and we will not follow. This is our fight and our fight alone."
I raise an eyebrow ridge, smirk forming.
"Ooooh, did one of you release Karai's pet or something and now you gotta get it back before she finds out?" I giggle, just barely wincing as it jostles my ribs. "Dude, you're gonna be in some deep shell if she finds out. I soooooo don't envy you right now."
The black and grey ninja snarls something at me in Japanese, something I vaguely recognize but my Japanese is rusty and the roaring and wailing aren't making it much easier. I nearly shriek when a hand lands on my shoulder. Turning, I give Casey my best stink-eye as he holds his hands up in surrender.
"I think we should get a move on, man," Casey says as quietly as Casey can. "We still gotta get the pizza and I know we're reaching the 40-minute mark. Leo's gonna go ape-shit if he has'ta call us, ya know?"
Boy, do I know. I wince as I straighten, the Foot soldier already gone and back into the fray with his fellow ninjas. I flinch as four more Foot soldiers are thrown and crash into the surrounding walls with a sickening CRUNCH! I quickly turn back to Casey and nod my head.
"Don't have to tell me twice, dude. Let's get—"
The words catch in my throat when something solid slams into my side. Grunting, I vaguely hear Casey shouting for me as I open my eyes. Vision blurry, I glance from left to right and force myself up. I grimace and shove the cause of my fall, a Foot soldier, off of me. The ninja falls heavily to the ground, unconscious, and his hand falls away from his body. My mouth falls open as I watch as the golden orb rolls out of the fallen ninja's grasp, pulsing softly in the darken alleyway.
The noise around me seems to all but fade away as the pulsing of the orb steadily grows faster and stronger. A small tickle in the back of my mind holds my attention, beating in time with the orb almost as if the orb is beaconing me to it.
Without thinking, I reach my hand out and brush the orb. The reaction is immediate. The moment my finger brushes the smooth surface of the strange orb, the pulsing light intensifies and attempts to blind everyone around. My eyes widen behind the safety of my arm as I snatch my hand back, a voice sounding strangely like Donnie's screaming at me about how reckless can I be? Along with some other large words that I'm still not sure the meaning of.
Shaking my head, my focus returns back to the now hovering orb and I watch in equal parts horror and fascination as it bobs up and down like it's in water. I, once again, have this strange urge to touch it, to grab it, to hold it close to my chest, and never let go. However, before I so much as even twitch, the orb shoots forward, slamming squarely into my chest. Air catches in my throat as my lungs struggle to remember how to function and my back hits the wall behind me. A whimper slips from me as a strange warmth spreads from my chest and out to my limbs and head.
Oh, shell, Donnie's always telling me not to touch strange objects, I think as I try to remember all of Master Splinter's breathing exercises. In. Out. In. Out. Oh, I don't feel too hot. Or, well, I actually DO feel hot. Bah, focus, Mikey, focus.
Rubbing my chest, I stare down at my plastron, half expecting to see a large bruise or even a scorch mark marring the usual yellow color. But nothing. Just all black. I momentarily panic. Oh, shell! Did I just crisp my entire plastron?! Donnie's not gonna be the only brother who's gonna flip his lid! I press my hand against my chest, testing the tenderness only to realize that, while tender, my plastron feels rather rubbery, not crispy.
I nearly faint.
How can I be stupid enough to forget that I'm wearing a jumpsuit?! Man, maybe all those times Raphie's smacked me are starting to wear on my brain. Maybe I should ask Donnie about that?
Shaking my head, I shakingly stand just as Casey makes it to my side once more. He catches my elbow as I stagger, his face contorts with concern as he scans me. Casey opens his mouth but an angry roar cuts him off and Casey tugs me closer to him. Looking over my shoulder, a spike of fear (hello old friend, I certainly didn't miss you) stabs at me.
All of the Foot soldiers, and even the creature, are staring at Casey and me. No. Scratch that. They are staring right at ME. Gulping, I glance down at my chest and back up at all the eyes. I mean, I love attention. My brothers, Sensei, Leatherhead, Casey, and April will ALL agree to that. But this kind of attention? Nah uh. No thanks. I'm supposed to be one of the background turtles, ya know? Leo or Raph are usually the ones taking this kind of attention. And, like, I prefer the nice attention. The attention where I'm making a joke and everyone's laughing or that angry but affection attention that Raph throws my way when I prank him or annoy him too much. But this attention? I can live without, thank you very much.
Casey tugs on my arm.
"Dude, Mike, I think it's time we scat."
I nod stiffly and start backing up in time with Casey. My arm stays close to my plastron, nunchucks clutched tightly in my fists, just in case. We barely make it to the corner when the large hulking creature roars and all the Foot soldiers leap at once.
"Move! Move! Move!" Casey shouts as we both sprint for his bike. I leap on behind him and just barely get my helmet back on when Casey's speeding down the alleyway.
Another roar echoes out behind us, the strange warmth inside of me feels as though it pulses. Wincing, I cling closer to Casey as I shoot a terrified look over my shoulder just in time to watch the Foot vanish up top. A small deep part of me wishes that they just gave up or went back to report to Karai that they lost whatever that orb-thingy was. Is? But I know wishful thinking can only go so far, no matter how far I want it to go. It's when the creature comes barreling around the corner do I turn back around.
"Uh, Casey? We've got a problem," I shout over the wind as my arms tighten around Casey's waist. He revs his engine, urging the motorcycle on faster as we take another corner, down a smaller and more narrow alleyway.
"I see 'em," Casey calls back. "But he's gotta catch us first."
My shoulders hunch as the tires on Casey's motorcycle squeal as he takes a hard left and my ribs protest each harsh movement I make. I tense when I feel my Shell Cell vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I grin.
"Dude! The pizzas are ready!"
I yelp when Casey veers hard to the right, wincing as I curl against his back.
"Uh, Mike, we kinda have bigger problems den gettin' the pizzas right now."
Another roar echoes through the air and Casey swerves just in time to miss 3 throwing knives to his tires.
"Dude, we gotta get those pizzas," I say frantically. "If we don't come home with them, Leo will definitely know that we ran into trouble and never let me topside by myself again! And then he'll go all 'I'm to blame' and 'I should have been stronger' again and I can't let him do that! Casey!"
I shriek as the creature suddenly lands in front of us, causing Casey to curse, and the two of us just barely swerving around the large body as it makes a swipe at us.
"Watch where yer goin'!" Casey hollers over his shoulder as we finally exit the alleyway and are back on the main street. "Geez, da people in dis city."
I gnaw on my bottom lip.
"Casey, please," I plead. "We gotta get those pizzas."
Casey nods, shifting in my hold.
"I got ya, Mikey. We'll get dose pizzas. It's meh fault we went down dat alleyway, anyways. Raph'll kill meh if he knows we almost started somedin' with da Foot. And Leo, yikes." Casey shudders fearfully and I really don't blame him. Not when Raph just told Leo he'd have first dibs on kicking Casey's butt if anything went wrong. An angry roar reaches my ears but the few people who are out around us barely even flinch. My lips twitch. Good ol' New York City. Nothing seems to phase the folks here anymore.
I mean, who can blame them? 6 months ago, the city really WAS full of monsters. And for all they know, a new movie could be in town filming with cool effects. Biting my lip harder, I risk a glance behind me. My heart soars. Nothing but a few cars and people walking by.
"Casey! I think we're in the clear, dude."
I feel Casey shoot a glance over his shoulder and he huffs out a laugh.
"See? Nothin' ta worry 'bout. Nobody can catch us while we're on dis ol' girl." Casey throws me what I'm sure is a smirk under his helmet. "We'll grab da pizzas and be home and nobody will be any da wiser."
Nodding, I nearly sag in relief. Thank Silver Sentry, this night was almost a disaster! And to think, all I wanted to do was come topside with Case-Man and get our food. I didn't want us to find those Foot soldiers chasing down that scary armored monster thing. Or accidentally absorb that weird orb-thing that the creature was holding. My hand rests on my chest as another warm pulse shifts under my hands.
What was that orb-thing anyways? Why did it glow? Why did it go inside of my chest? Should I be worried? I mean, I don't feel any different, just a little warm. But that thing had been glowing, giving off a light of sorts, and light can make you warm, right? Didn't Donnie say that it could? Something about excess energy or something like that?
I pale.
But…. What if this causes the truce between us and the Foot to end? I didn't MEAN to absorb the orb-thingy! How was I supposed to know that me touching it would cause a reaction like that? Everyone knows that when something shiny is in front of me that I have to touch it! It's just in my nature! And, like, I'm pretty sure it was calling out to me. All Sleeping Beauty style, like when the Maleficent ball of light is saying 'Aurora' but isn't actually saying 'Aurora' type of scenario. But, like, this time it was all like 'Mik-Ey' 'Mik-Ey!' Instead of the 'Aurora' stuff.
I wince.
Okay, maybe Donnie's right, maybe I DO have a tendency to ramble, even in my own head. But, like, can't anyone really blame me? After all the weird stuff we've been through, I have a right to be a little stressed about what transpired here tonight. And, it's not like I can even tell my brothers about this. If I tell Donnie, he'll want to start doing experiments on me and stuff and then that would lead to him needing needles which will lead to me screaming which will lead to Leo and Raph finding out because Donnie will be all like 'I must EXPERIMENT' and Leo will want to know why and then he'll get angry about us running into the Foot and—
"Geez, Mikey, you okay?"
I blink as a hand waves in front of my face and I realize that Casey and I aren't moving. Blinking a few times more, I glance around before spotting the sign Antonio's in bright neon letters above me. I bite my lip.
"Uh, what?"
Casey pulls his helmet off, throwing me a concerned look over his shoulder.
"You okay, kid? You were twitchin' pretty bad back dere and didn't even say anytin' 'bout pizza when we pulled up." Casey's blue eyes narrow as he studies me the best he can. "You ain't hurt, are ya?"
My shoulders tense for a split second before laughing nervously.
"What? Nah, Casey, my man, you know nothin' can touch this pretty face of mine."
Casey snorts and twists in my arms, which I quickly drop, smiling sheepishly behind my dark visor, even though I know the older male can't see it.
"Yeah, and I'm da tooth fairy. Spill it, Mikey. I saw ya get thrown into dat dumpster. Is it yer back?" Casey's eyes widen. "You didn't crack yer shell, did ya?"
Pushing up my visor, I level my best Donnie stare on him.
"No, no cracked shell this time," I state, rolling my eyes. "Just bruised my ribs or something. It's not a big deal, we deal with them all the time. Or, well, we did. Still, kinda do?" I take a moment's pause. Since the 'Incident-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named', we've started going back on our nightly patrol runs again, but they now mainly deal with chasing off Purple Dragon goons who think they can just terrorize anyone they lay eyes on. They don't really deal much damage like the Foot used to do, but they tend to play dirtier than the slightly more honor-bound ninjas of the Foot clan. Bruised ribs from a well-aimed kick or baseball bat or even pipe happen from time to time. Mainly to me or Donnie, since we're a little rustier on the fighting end. Not by much! I mean, I had to keep my reflexes up around those kids. Kids are terrifying and there's nothing you can do to defend yourself except curl away.
I jump when fingers snap in my face and I offer Casey another sheepish smile, this one he CAN actually see. His dark eyebrows hang low over his eyes as he stares at me, frowning.
"Yer sure yer not hurt, Mike?"
I shake my head, a little touched that Casey is actually concerned about my well-being and not just because of Raph killing him if I came back injured. (Okay, so it might be a little bit because he knows Raph will kill him if I return home injured but it's surprisingly sweet. Usually, April is the only one to harp on me without the worry of my brothers providing death threats about my injuries.)
"Nah, Case-Man, I'm fine. Nothing a good soak in the tub and some pizza won't cure. And, uh, could we maybe GET said pizza?" I shoot a nervous look over my shoulder. "I don't wanna be out here anymore, ya know? I feel like everything is watching us."
At that, Casey does a sweep of the street behind me, his frown deepening when his gaze lands on me once more.
"Yeah, I'm gettin' dat feelin', too. Here." Casey leans forward and pushes my visor back down. "Yer gonna come inside with meh and help meh with dez pizzas. I don't wanna leave ya out here, just in case. You can watch da bike while I grab the stuff. Sound good?"
I beam up at Casey, nodding and throwing him two thumbs up when I remember that he can't see my face. And here we all thought Casey was all brawn and no brain. Giggling to myself, I follow Casey inside, rubbing at my chest when it starts to feel warm once more.
Just a little while longer and Casey and I will be back home, eatin' and playin' videos. And all of this will be just a thing in the past…. I hope.
I shoot one last look over my shoulder as the door swings closed behind me before shaking my head and hurrying after Casey.
