Chapter 25: A Friend of Anger.
Happy New Year everyone!!
My god I did not think it would take another 6 months for a chapter!! Aghhh! :'0
I promise I'll work hard this year to start pumping them back out again as much as possible! I hope you all had a good year!
Also! I have been working on the drabble series if that is something people would like to read? It'll be a collection of short stories from this AU. Like young Daiki growing up in the Foot, Maybe even some younger turtles and any family fluff you guys would wanna see, as I'm open to suggestions!
Now to the reviews:
Musiclover435: Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!! :'0 It means so much to know that people are enjoying this fic still! Thank you for following along! It means alot!
mnop.4: Thank you for your support!! It means so much to me! And fanart? :'''0 That's so nice omg?? I keep getting these weird spam accounts asking me to commision them, so when i saw this comment i was like, oh another, but then i was like WAIT!? Fanart?? If you want to PM me your discord i'd love to see it! Thank you so muchhh!!
Miraaaa: Thank you for the support, honestly!! It means the world! I know my uploads have been dodgy atm, but I promise I'm working on it! Thank you for follwing for so long! :'3
Thank you all how review and Fav this fic! It means alot, and is the biggest encouragement I could ask for! I will contiune to work on this story, so stay tuned! Some big things are coming soon! :)
This is based on the 2k12 series.
WARNING: 'Dyslexic writer lol'.
Chapter 25
Lanterns and street lights glowed softly in the nightfall, cutting through the dense trees, and illuminating the cobblestone path that lead right through the village.
There were also a few candles dancing across the lake, as many lingering fisherman in the night made their way about the docks, while others went back to the water for one final catch.
After their lengthy homeward track from the boy's school, the mother and her son had finally reached the end of their journey.
Together they got to the top of the hill and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief as their eyes met the familiar sight in front of them.
Home.
Multiple unattached homes were spread across the top of the hill, lining the cobblestone path as it jutted out into a T shape. The Morikawa's house, as well as their shop was at the top of the road, and right in centre of said row.
Like many Japanese homes built decades ago, this house was designed to have all of it's main floor walls as shoji panels, with a giant sliding doorway for the entrance. This main part of the home had been retained over the years as the Morikawa's shop. Beside it was an extra room, an extension of the main shop made for forging weapons, lit up only by the bright steel and dying fire.
The outside of the building had a staircase on the right side, leading to a secondary floor which had been built within the last fifty years. To accommodate the ever growing family.
The home was also built to come down quickly, in case a natural disaster were to ever occur, and then be rebuilt again. Something many older homes were built to do. Luckily tsunamis were not that big of a threat in the village, but flooding had occurred a few times when the lake filled over from storms. As well as the occasional earthquake.
Right above the doorway was a worn wooden sign, greeting all who came up the hill to their shop. The sign was old, but also a recent addition, as it had been painted by the boy's grandfather when he was still a child himself.
As the child looked over the sign with a smile, remembering his passed grandfather, his mother ushered him forwards to their home.
The resonating sounds of clanking came from the iron room, as a man working on sharpening up a tantō blade gave the bright metal a few hits with his hammer
The warm and inviting smell of their long anticipated dinner wafted down from the kitchen of the upper story. The women chuckled to herself, noting that the meal smelt like something left in a slow cooker. Clearly her husband was very invested in his work, so much so that he had made dinner quickly, and returned to his workshop minutes later.
She shook her head lovingly, smirking at how easily her husband could get absorbed into his work before turning to her son. "How do you feel about oden for dinner? I can practically smell it cooking from here!"
The boy smiled enthusiastically, with big mahogany eyes lighting up as he gave a sharp nod. "Hai!"
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"Donatello?"
Mahogany eyes flew open as the startled teenager recollected his thoughts. "Huh?"
Master Splinter flashed a small smile at his son's reaction whilst looking up from a sketchbook in his paws, "You were losing your focus again my son."
"Oh. Sorry..." Donatello's sheepish reply came as he looked down to his legs, crossed in the lotus position.
The rat hummed, and continued to work in his book, multitasking as he went. "May I ask what took over your thoughts this time?"
The teen sigh aloud and found the tree ery interesting to look at, "Nothing important... Just multiple thoughts."
Quirking a suspicious brow, Splinter mull over his words, "I see..." He placed his pad and pencil down beside him, and focused on the boy for a while.
This was the fifth time in the last hour that Donatello's thoughts had drifted elsewhere.
But Splinter knew he had to be patience. He was not used to meditation the same way his other children were. In fact, Splinter remembered the first time he had invited Donatello into his room for a private session, the teen had shared with him the Shredder's views on such matters.
From the sound of things, Saki believed it to be a foolish practice enforced by Splinter's father, Yuuta, to make weak ninjas believe they were strong through mental strength. Saki had very much cared for the training of the body, over the mind and spirit. Which was true, even as children.
But to be out of touch with one's spiritual self, and mind was to be out of touch with one's own self. And spiritual refinement was not at all a weak practice.
Splinter cleared his thoughts as his attention went back to his young student in front of him, fiddling with the sling wrapped around his still healing arm.
"Let us try again." He hums his words, and closes his eyes, preparing to guide his son through the process. "Take deep breathes and clear your mind-"
"With all due respect, Sensei?"
Splinter peeled one eye open to see his youngest son still restless before him.
"Why am I doing this?"
"Because it is important for a ninja to meditate, to be at peace with himself, and the world around him. And to be aware of your self in all aspects will also greatly improve your skills."
"Ok... but why am I the only one doing this?"
Donatello says this, because across from the two meditating ninjas under the tree, the other four teens were currently doing a free-for-all match against one another. And would occasionally send smirks at their unfortunate brother. "Surely they should be too?"
If this was any other training, Splinter would have acknowledged how this seemed unfair to his son. However, over these last six months of living with his adopted son, Splinter knew that he cared little for these meditative sessions, and would always paw at any and every reason to get out of them.
Splinter recognised the bored and distant look in his intellectual eyes, and knew that his son was once again trying to skip.
With a knowing smirk, Splinter's eyes showed Donnie that look that parents give their mischievous children, as if to say, 'I know what you are up too'. And he was not going to let his son leave anytime soon.
"Because, Donatello. Your arm is still in a sling." Splinter replied simple with a quick gesture to said injured arm.
"But I can still fight." Donnie argues back with a grumble.
"And that is good, my son. I would expect no less from a ninja, then to be able to stand his own whilst still wounded." Splinter hummed playfully as he watched the groan leave his son's mouth. "But, this is just training. And I will not have you harm yourself more, because you wish to get out of meditation."
Donnie let out a huff, and spun himself back around to fully face Splinter, knowing he wasn't going to get away this time. "I just, I can't do it. No matter what I try."
Stroking his beard in thought, the rat master hummed, "Can you tell me what it is you struggle with?"
The pale teenager went a few shades pinker at the question, rubbing his hand nervously along his slinged arm. "The clearing my mind part...?"
Splinter smiled slightly, and nodded his understanding. Knowing his intellectual son struggled with the concept of stilling his always busy brain. His child was just too grounded inside his rational mind to think outside of it.
In all fairness, all his children had their own challenges while meditating, so Donatello was no different.
Raphael's anger clouded too much of his aura and mind, and he often at times could never focus because of this. Miwa found the exercise to be tedious and repetitive, and after a while, boring. She and her red-clad brother were very much the same in their inability to meditate. They preferred their training to be physical, rather than spiritual.
Only Leonardo and Michelangelo had proven to be able to truly sharpen their minds for meditation. But Michelangelo often got distracted whilst in his mind, causing him to falter in his sessions.
And Leonardo, though the only child of Splinter's to ever truly focus on his teachings and reach a low level of spiritual awakening, was often struggling with his inward battle of balance. He found it hard to balance his role as leader, and his role as a brother as one. This lead to his child not being fully aware of his true innerself, leaving him feeling inadequate, and clouding his once calm mind with fears of doubt.
But even with his children's...difficulties in his training, Splinter was determined to give them every opportunity to better their skills.
"Let us try something else, my son." Splinter held out his paws palm upwards, and awaited for his son to join him.
With a reluctant sigh, Donnie shuffled closer and gave him his hands, the best he could whilst in a sling, and closed his eyes.
"This time, I want you to just focus on calming your mind." He lifted one eyelid to see his sons scrunched up face, trying hard to clear his mind of any thoughts. "You may think, Donatello." Splinter warmly chuckled, and felt at ease once his son's expression relaxed. "But try not to dwell to much on any certain thoughts or details-"
"What are you doing, Leo!? I was going for Mikey?!"
Splinter's calm concentration was snatched away as his irritable son's bellow covered the entirety of the dojo.
Bring his attention back to the four way match on the tatami mats, where his children were still fighting, Splinter's amber eyes lingered mainly on his red-clad son, squaring off to his immediate older brother.
Being only a week since Spike's mutation, the whole family was still healing physically from the events. The turtles managed to bounce back from their injuries, while Miwa and Donnie were more obviously still on the road to a full recovery.
But the one who was suffering the most, was Raphael. Though not in any physical pain anymore, the mutant sixteen year old had been struggling immensely with the loss of his close friend, and it was showing more and more each day.
The family were walking on eggshells around him, as his temper had rapidly became a ticking time-bomb, waiting to blow from even the smallest of inconveniences.
After the events of that night, he had kept himself, and his mind busy with his siblings company, but even their presence could not fill the hole that was now gapping in his son's heart.
Wanting to offer any and all support, Splinter and his sons had helped Raphael clean his room up the day after. During which, Donatello had mentioned that Raphael was free to use his serum he had created for Timothy, (Which his son had named the 'Sanity Inducing Restorative'. Though Michelangelo had recently dudded it the 'Saneness Serum'. Which stuck better much to his brother's annoyance.) On Slash, in hopes it would set his mind straight. But Raphael declined this offer, saying he hoped a hit on the head, or more so a fall on the head, would be all it took to bring his friend's sense of self back. But he also mentioned that he did not feel right pumping more strange chemicals into the already suffering tortoise.
Splinter felt only the strongest of sympathy for his grieving child, and knew he had to be patience with him and his fluctuating bouts of anger. But he still needed to help keep his son's boiling temper in check. Now more then ever.
He let out a sigh, though it was more of a silent movement then an audible exhalation, and left Donatello alone for a moment to focus back on the free for all match. However he didn't miss that his human son had also taken the opportunity to stop his own training and shuffle away from the tree.
A free for all was an excellent way to shake up his children's training, whilst also teaching them how to deal and strategies against multiple enemies at once.
There was no input on Splinter's behalf about which katas to use, no set teams, or one on one fights, unless the teenagers decided there would be. They were fully independent on this training.
But Splinter had quickly learned that his children, Miwa, Leonardo and Raphael especially, had made this habit of 'taking out the weakest first', which unfortunately was often their easily distracted little brother. When Donatello came into the lair, he too, soon joined his brother in the 'first ones to get out' rank.
At first, Donatello was unsure of how to approach these fights. And Splinter presumed it was a lack of experience in fighting multiples, but as he became more confident with his new family, and found his strength to fight along with them, he was quite in his element and clearly had experience of dealing with multiple enemies at a time.
Splinter was told afterwards by the brunet, that this was how the Shredder's training would usually go. Something about this fact did not sit right with the old rat.
Raphael was one of the first who quickly learnt that Donatello was able to hold his own ground in these matchs, as he pinned the stocky turtle down within seconds of him charging.
With Donatello not singling out individuals like his eldest siblings, Michelangelo now stood a fair chance of actually making it through the match, and sometimes even winning.
But as fate would have it, Donatello was still benched from training due to his injuries. And so it would appear, that old habits indeed stay true.
It seems that just as Raphael had charged across the dojo, intent on getting Michelangelo out first, Leonardo had abandoned his fight with Miwa for a moment, and went swooping in to down his orange clad brother instead.
Leonardo rolled himself into a dive and swung out his legs, taking Michelangelo to the ground with him.
Mikey dropped to the floor with a thud, and groaned as he made contact with the mats. "Aw, man!" He sulked in defeat.
Leo stood over him and flashed a smirk towards his sai wielding brother. "What part of 'Last ninja standing' don't you understand?"
"Distraction, misdirection." Splinter said as he moved closer to the match, "Powerful weapons in a ninja's arsenal." He glanced to his side to see his downed son coping his movements and words. With a fixed glare and head shake set on his son, Mikey sheepishly backed away and crawled over to Donnie for cover.
Annoyed at his older brother's smug act, Raph pulled his sai above his head, and barrelled his way straight into Miwa, catching her wrists in between his blades and flipping her over his body to the floor below.
"Ow!" Miwa snapped, rubbing her still bandaged cheek as she shot her brother a warning glare. "The heck, Raph!"
"Maybe next time, Princess." Raphael taunted, before cracking his neck and eyeing down Leo. "Looks like you've leveled up to the boss fight!"
"Hah!" Leo grinned. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face permanently."
Only seconds after Miwa left the mats had the two turtles lunged at each other.
They both connected in an instant, struggling against each other as katana and sai interlocked in battle.
Raphael slid his sai along Leo's blade, knocking one of his swords away and beside the other siblings.
So, to even out the match, Leo forced his remaining katana at Raph's sai, spiraling his blade in-between the tongs and sending it spinning into the tree.
Both turtles then raced over, as Raph tried to reclaim his weapon. But Leonardo took the upper hand, and using the tree as a launch pad, he delivered a solid knee to Raph's face, knocking him down.
Splinter called an end to the match, as Raphael's body crashed down in front of his siblings. He could see the rise of frustration in Raph's stiff shoulders and thought it best to stop before the worst came about.
"Well, looks like Leo won it this time." Donnie said with little surprise in his voice. Receiving a nod of agreement from Miwa.
But as the oldest turtle took a kneeled position in front of their Sensei, the three other teens could practically hear Raph's teeth as they gritted together in pent up rage.
"Uh-oh. He's awoken the beast!" Mikey quipped in a hushed voice, watching the stocky turtle get on all fours.
Before anyone could warn the poor leader of his incoming fate, Raphael had lunged forwards. He caught his blue-banded brother's wrist in his last sai, and hoisted his arm upwards, he struck out his elbow and landed a heavy blow on Leo's plastron, then with a punch to the jaw, sent Leo sprawling in front of Splinter with a pained wince.
"Raph!!" Miwa interjected loudly, shoving the red masked turtle backwards as Donnie and Mikey rushed to Leo's aid. "What the heck are you doing?!"
Once the quivering anger settled down in Raph's mind, he stared in disbelief at his brother, not truly believing what he had done. "I-I didn't mean to hurt him. It was an accident. Seriously!"
Donnie managed to roll Leo onto his side to check him over, but luckily the leader regained his consciousness and rubbed his throbbing jaw. "Did you guys get the number of that bus?" He groaned to no one in particular.
Splinter sighed out a soft breath as Donatello checked over Leonardo's jaw, and took that as his moment to deal with his other son. "We have spoken about this time and again, Raphael. Anger is a dangerous ally. It clouds your judgment."
As he faulted his third eldest son for his actions, a twinge of guilt hit Splinter when he met the look of Raph's broken eyes. He stopped in his rant to take a calming breath, clearing his mind of any anger towards his hurting son.
"I know your mind has been preoccupied, my son. But that is no excuse to let go of your emotions." Splinter regarded simply. "You need to control your anger, lest it controls you."
"But, Sensei, I wasn't angry! I was just... determined to win!" Raph stated. His three other siblings who weren't currently seeing double, looked to one another with skeptical glances, causing Raph to double down on his argument. "What!? I said I wasn't angry!"
Letting out a frustrated growl, Raphael sheathed his sai and went to pull the other on out of the tree,before storming out of the lair, not waiting for anyone to try and call him back. He soon headed up to the surface to blow off some steam, chucking shurikans at vents and billboard signs as he went.
"This always happens. I'm fine until those guys push my buttons." Raph thought aloud, kicking a vent lid off and across several rooftops. "It's not like I was trying to hurt Leo... They just don't get it!"
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As the night hung over the restless city, a dark bedroom above a barbershop, covered in a multitude of hockey posters, team t-shirts, and framed autographs, was lit up by the soft light of a desk lamp.
Just below the light, was a lone journal and pen, which was currently being written in by a scruffy teenager boy. As the words appeared on the page, the teen also began to monologue in his head. The great tale, of a hero on the rise...
'Mutant monsters and robot ninjas are taking over my city. How long before those freaks hurt somebody close to me like my Dad and my little sister? Or April?' He shook his head with a growl. 'Well, I'm not waiting around to find out.'
'The city has had two silent protectors defending it in the darkness, but even those two ninjas need help. They can't do it alone.'
'All my life, I knew I was meant for something greater. And this is my calling, my destiny! A true warrior has gotta be prepared.'
At that, the teenager ran from his desk, and rummaged through his cupboards and drawers for all his hockey gear, and spray paint.
Within an hour, the teen was decked out in his crime fighting fit.
Hewore a white hockey mask with slight paint marks on it to resemble a skull, and underneath it, he painted his actual face to look the same. He had body padding under every part of his clothes, and a sling across his chest to carry his weapons of choice. Hockey sticks, baseball sticks and lacrosse sticks. He wore his thick hockey gloves, which hid a built-in tazer to shock his opponents. And lastly, he specially designed his shoes to change between sneakers and roller skates, making sure he is ready for any battleground, and a quick get away.
The teenager stood and admired his work in the mirror hanging on his bathroom wall, looking smugly at his reflection as he puffed out his chest and imagined some wanna be villain dressed badly as one of April's ninja friends.
"Huh? Who do you think you are, a ninja? Bring it, punk!" His brooklyn accent resonated around the bathroom before being cut abruptly off by the sounds of an electrical zap, curtesy of his 'hidden weapon'. "Scum-sucking, mutated freaks of the world, prepare to meet Casey Jones."
"Who are you talking too?" The bathroom door opened slightly as a little girl, no more then eight, stood judging him from behind it. When she saw his 'dark and mysterious' outfit she began to laugh at him. "You look like a dork."
"Uh- No one! Get out!" Casey squawked and all but slammed the door in his sister's face.
The girl rolled her eyes and spoke through the keyhole, "And stop talking to yourself in thrid person!"
After he heard his sister walk off, Casey pouted to himself, and slapped his mask back down, "Casey Jones will do what he wants."
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On the rooftops of an apartment building, New York city's newest vigilante surveyed the booming and lively night. He had a pizza box with a few discarded crusts beside him, already being finished off as the long evening dragged on into the night.
As he waited for something to happen, he pulled out his journal hoping to pass time. "My city is infested. A boil, a festering sore. It stinks with pure evil only Casey Jones can face."
Yet, the minutes ticked by, and the city remained in a mundane peace. The hockey obsessed teen flopped his book down heavily beside him, and let out a disappointed sigh. "Actually, crime fighting's pretty boring."
For a moment, Casey debated whether or not this was all worth the hassle, his eyes slowly drooped downward as his lack of motivation gave way to sleep. Until a small chittering beside him made his walnut brown eyes shot wide open in fear.
"Aaah!" Casey cried out, scrambling backwards away from a small rat picking at the leftovers of his pizza. He pulled out his hockey stick, and with heavy breathes, pointed it at the disgusting creature. "I hate those furry little freaks!"
When Casey blew out a sigh at the rat's hurried escape with his pizza crust, he finally spotted some movement from an alleyway across the street.
Casey made his way over in silence, and as soon as he was on the streets he made sure to remain unseen by civilians as he lurked round the alleyways.
"What? What do you want from me- Aah!"
In the alley, the purple dragons were in the process of mugging a poor man, throwing him roughly against a wall, before the leader, Fong, pulled out a butterfly knife with a swishing motion.
The chinese man chuckled wickedly to his two fellow gang members, as he pressed the poor man further to the wall. "Check it out, a walking ATM. Let me make a withdrawal."
The frigthened man hesitantly gave over his wallet to Fong, shaking as the knife came closer to his chest.
"Attaboy!" Sid, the largest of the purple dragons said with a smirk, "The watch too!" Sid let out a laugh as the man fumbled for his watch, only to be knocked down to the floor by a sudden hit to the head.
"Ow! What the-" Sid shot up from his place on the floor to see a hockey puck roll to a stop in front of him.
Taking the distraction, the man being robbed made a break away out of the alley. Leaving behind three seething purple dragons, glaring at the masked, hockey stick welding teen before them.
Giving his stick a good tap against the concrete, Casey smirked under his mask. "You slimeballs picked the wrong night."
"Nice outfit." Fong said, clearly not taking Casey as a serious threat looked to his gang members and snorted. "Who's this clown?"
"I'm the last guy you see before you wake up in the hospital." Stepping out of the darkness, Casey let out a yell as he charged the three dragons. Slamming his stick into Fong's stomach, before slapping him across the face, and to the ground.
With their leader being down, Sid rushed forwards, ready to wail on Casey. But the teen was used to larger guys coming straight for him from his many hockey games. With little to effort, Casey caught Sid's punch with his stick and launched him over his head and into a garbage can nearby, leaving his legs dangling freely as he then took on the last dragon.
Tsoi, a man with a wirey mustache, began spinning and kicking at Casey with the speed of a crane, making Casey resort to jumping up to the fire escape to get away, before dropping back down behind Sid's trash can.
"Choke on it, punk!" The scruffy teen calls as he slams the trash can at Tsoi. It collides with the man, and sends all of the Purple dragons sprawling on the floor beaten.
Above the fight, Raphael had found his way over to the alley by following the sounds of a ruckus, and he was slightly disappointed with what he saw. All three purple dragons had their butts handed to them by some guy in a mask, leaving no fight left for him.
Yet, just as Raphael decided to climb back up the fire escape, he heard the smacking of the hockey stick again, and turned to see the masked guy whacking the dragons as they struggled to get back up.
"That guy's out of control." Raph said, tossing his sais around in his hands and descending the escape. "Time for a little intervention."
Fong pulls himself up from the floor as he see the teenager placing down another puck. "Casey Jones shoots!" The Chinese man runs for his life, only to get immediately slammed down again by Casey's great aim. "He scores!"
The purple dragons, now desperate to get away from the maniac kid, tried to reason with him. "Hey, man, enough. We give up." Sid said with his best surrendering tone. He and Tsoi were trying to make their escape, but the masked guy blocked their only exit, and wasn't planning to let them leave any time soon...
"Well, I ain't finished with you two lowlives yet." Casey remarked with no mercy, as he held his hockey stick up for another hit. At least, that would of been a hit, if his stick hadn't suddenly vanished into thin air. "Wha-"
Something heavy landed on Casey's back, forcing him to tumble forwards as it jumped off of him and into the darkness, hidden in plain sight.
The teenager, realising something was in the alleyway with him, pulled out his bat in self defence, and tried his best not to let the slight quiver in his voice be heard as he point his weapon into the shadowy corner behind him. "W-who's back there? Show yourself!"
His walnut brown eyes were immediately drawn to the fully white ones that blinked into existence from the dark, before they moved upwards and out from behind a dumpster, revealing a kelly green mutant turtle, welding two sais, and wearing a red bandana.
Casey felt his jaw go slack as he stared at the creature, "Another mutant?" Just how many were there?!
"Got a problem with that?" Raph scowled at the comment.
Casey was about to answer back with a snappy reply of his own, only to really notice just what he was gawking at. "Wait. What are you, like, some kind of turtle ninja?" He asked in shocked surprise, and burst into a fit of cackling laughter.
But his laughter only provoked the growling turtle further, and gave the purple dragons an exit to escape.
Stopping his antics, Casey realised that the dragons had fled, and started to take chase after them. "Hey, you filthy scum, I'm not done with you!"
"Let me handle this." Raph tried to reason with the overly aggressive guy, putting a three fingered hand on his shoulder.
Only to get his arm shoved backwards as the masked vigilante made his way out the alley. "Outta my way!"
Raphael glared at him momentarily before following after him. "You know, anger is a dangerous ally." He quoted his Sensei from earlier, but completely contradicted the meaning, by shoving the guy back hard enough that he hit the alley wall. "Why don't you cool off for a while?"
Narrowing his walnut brown eyes, Casey armed himself with his bat and hockey stick, and hit them against the floor as his final warning. "That's it, lizard, I'm done with you."
Screaming out, "Goongalaaaa!" Casey launched himself at Raphael, and a brawl between the two hot heads commenced.
In the heat of the fight, the previously passed out Fong managed to scamper away as Casey and Raph connected weapons. They held each others weight for a moment, grunting and growling, until Raph decided he had had enough.
"I told you to back off!" Raph shot out his foot and struck Casey in the stomach, sending him spinning into the dumpster. With the punk kid down, the turtle grunted with a nod and spun his sai away.
"You let those muggers go!" Raphael pivoted on the spot to see Casey climbing out of the trash, this time, he was the one gritting his teeth in rage. "You're gonna pay for that, freak!"
The roughed up teen charged in an instant, and even managed to slam the bulky turtle against a shutter, before wailing on him with his bat.
Raph blocked the bat the best he could, and reacted even quicker with a dodge when Casey brought out his stick. He flipped away, and threw a handful of shurikans at the human, who blocked them with his hockey glove.
Casey glowered at the weapons, and slid his other hand across his glove to be rid of them. "Gotta admit. Throwing stars are cool. But I've seen cooler ninjas then you, turtle!"
Raph stopped in his tracks, and gave out a snort. Thinking that the hockey punk was referring to the Foot clan only fuelled his determination to put the kid on his ass. "Cooler then me? Then let me show you my sai!"
They charged each other simultaneously, clashing weapons and fists as the fight ensued. It went on for minutes, as each teen got a good few hits in before the other took the win, up until Casey managed to clock Raphael around the face with his bat, sending the short turtle down.
Feeling victorious over the mutants defeat, Casey stood above him with a smug grin, "Hah, ain't turtles supposed to be endangered?"
Raph groaned at the insult and twisted in one fluid movement, "Only the ones that can't do this!" He propelled his foot straight into the masked teens face, and watched as he collided with the concrete.
Picking himself up again, Casey lifted his mask slightly at the side, and spat out the copper taste in his mouth. He grabbed hold of his bat and stick and rushed the mutant once more.
The two ploughed into the street, slamming against cars, and light post in their efforts to seriously maim the other. At one point Raphael managed to flip Casey over a car, only for the human to recover by ejecting hidden skate blades on the bottoms of his sneakers.
The vigilante rolled to a stop, and stood with his hockey stick in hand. Refusing to back down, "Let's go." He said in a deep grunt, not taking his eyes off the heaving turtle.
Raphael practically yelled as the teenager taunted him, making his anger feel like pure fire burning through his veins.
Casey used the many cars littered around the street to his advantage, and jumped on top of them, using them like rails to skate around the turtle. He whacked Raph around the jaw, which caused him to crumble in pain. Only to then persistently slam his stick into the mutants face, arms, shell and legs. He did this over and over again until the turtle was down.
However, what Casey wasn't prepared for, was when Raphael finally snapped.
Raphael's eyes flickered to white as his fury sprung to life. He reached out and yanked the hockey stick, just before it could strike his face, and pulled the punk closer to him. He gripped Casey's hoodie and slam dunked him onto the hood of a car.
Casey groaned at the impact, and held his throbbing chest. "That... hurt..." He wheezed painfully, trying to sit back upright.
A large green foot crashed down onto his chest, keeping him pinned to the hood as the turtle stood above him with rage clear on his face. The red-clad turtle pulled back his sai, and drove it down towards Casey's mask. "Gyah!?"
For a split second, before Casey's face was impaled, Raphael's eyes blinked back to green as he realized he was seeing red. He didn't want to kill this guy! "What am I doing?!" He reprimanded himself and took a few steps back in horror, "God. Maybe I do have anger issues?"
Not taking any chances with the mutant, Casey thrusted his hand out, electrifying Raph with his homemade taser.
As Raphael dropped to the floor convulsing, Casey sprung up from the car hood and grabbed hold of another car zooming unknowingly passed the war zone.
"You ain't seen the last of me, turtle!" Casey yelled out threateningly and held onto the cars brim. Using his skates to make a quick getaway.
"Yeah! You better run... or skitch!" Raphael warned and stared down the teen as he disappeared around the corner. "Whatever!"
Raphael was left breathing heavily in the streets by himself, contemplating what had just happened.
"What's wrong with me!" He groaned and slapped a tired hand over his face.
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On the following day at school, April collected her trigonometry and biology books from her locker, aswell as her help sheet from Donnie for her exam in a few minutes. She turned on the spot and almost jumped backwards into her locker, as Irma stood nose to nose behind her.
After a curt apology from the goth girl, the two began walking to the exam hall. However, as Irma dragged on about her trig notes, April felt a sudden strong feeling she sometimes had around her friend, though she could never quite tell what it was trying to tell her. It also dawned on her how convenient it was that Irma always knew where to find her around school, heck she'd even bumped into her at the store more times then she can count. Yet April just shook this feeling off as she always did, charting it all down to Irma probably having memorised her school planner and going from there, and her increased anxiety since her father's mutation.
"April!"
"Huh?" April shook her head free of her unnecessary worries and realized she had been asked a question. "Sorry, I zoned out there a little?" She said with a apologetic smile.
The goth held a sour look on her face at being ignored, but recovered quickly, "I said we need to hang out more! It's like you've been avoiding me!"
April hoisted her books up into her arms, and stared guiltily at the ground. "Sorry, Irma. You know I've been busy with-"
"Your boyfriend?" She cut off with an eye roll, "All you do since the two of you got back together is ditch me for him!"
"You could always bring him along too?" Irma said, putting on her best pout, "We can all go to the movies? Anything!"
"Uhm, I don't know?..." April explained trying to think of an excuse, "He's been under a lot of stress recently. With his family problems."
April had to make up a fake scenario as to why Donnie couldn't join them out, especially since Irma tried inviting the two of them out with her alot.
She had said that Donnie's family were having a hard time dealing with a family emergency. When in reality, the family problem was hers.
Most days when April visited the lab after school hours, she'd find her boyfriend either passed out at his desk, or running on only a few hours of sleep that were barely lasting him three days. He was exhausted so often, that he truly just didn't have the energy to go on these dates and such.
She loved how he was true to his word, and never gave up on the Retro-mutagen for her father. But she hated seeing him overwork himself so much. So she tried to go round to the lair every night to make sure he had either herself or Mikey as a lab assistant. Just someone else to try and take a plate off his hands.
She may know a thing or two about science, but compared to Donnie, she was still lightyears away from understanding most of what he was doing. But he was thankful for any help the two of them gave. So whether she fully grasped it or not, she was determined to help when and wherever she could.
"Well, surely that's all the more reason to get out and have fun?" Irma's pleading tone cut through the redheads thoughts again. "Hang out with your best friend?"
April thought it over for a minute, thinking of how much Donnie really needed a break. And she weighted the odds in her favour. "You know what, alright." April smirked, leaving the goth grinning in glee. "It might do Donnie some good to leave his lab- um, house, for a while."
If Irma had heard April's slip up, she made no indication of it, as she continued through the hall with a victorious smirk. The two girls were almost to the hall when they spotted a certain scruffy looking hockey player with his head buried deep in his locker.
The redhead rolled her eyes, and scanned over the teen. "Well, well. Casey Jones finally makes it to class. What a surprise!" She snickers with sarcasm. "Ready for the big trig exam?"
"T-trig exam?" Casey exclaimed with a stutter, before awkwardly pulling his head out of the locker. Revealing his bandaged, bruised face and black eye. "Oh, yeah! I was up all night studying...?"
April moved pass the point that he was telling a blatant lie about studying last night, even though she had practically handed him an answer sheet with her own revision.
She squinted at him. "Really? Did your homework punch you in the face?"
The other teen ran a anxious hand through his slick black hair, being mindful of his bandana. "I had, um uh, late-night hockey practice."
Leering at him with disgust, Irma shoved herself in front of Casey, "Isn't the rink closed after dark ever since that mysterious fight broke out there a few weeks back?"
After pointing out the obvious lie, the goth girl slid her glasses further up her nose with a smirk. "So how exactly did you get those bruises, Casey?"
Casey huffed in frustration at the nosy girl. "What are you, Irma? My interrogator?" He made a point to slam his locker closed, "Can I get a second alone with April?"
Irma watched her friend, who nodded for her to give them a moment, then waved her hand with a mixture of a groan and sigh.
Casey glared smugly as the girl moved away from them, before becoming serious. "I saw something crazy last night. As in mutant crazy!"
"What?" April stared in shock, her mind instantly thinking Casey had run into one of the bad kinds of mutants again, or even her poor father. "A-are your sure? What did they look-"
The school bell rang, signalling the end of lunch and the start of the next lesson. But before Casey and April could continue their conversation any further, Irma was reclaiming her place at April's side.
She grabbed hold of the redhead and practically dragged her away from the hockey punk. "Come on, April. We've got our exam, and I will not be late this time."
April threw her head back whilst getting pulled away to see Casey scoffing at her friend and kicking at the floor. She frowned, and made a mental note to ask Casey what he had seen after her training session later with Splinter.
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Once school had finally let out for the day, April made a quick stop at her Aunt's place to drop off her school supplies and grab her tessen, before heading down into the sewers.
As she got passed the turnstiles to the home, the first thing she spotted was Mikey sat on the couch with an enormous bag of popcorn in his lap, chatting a mile away to Miwa who sat beside him wearing a black tank top with sweatpants, and a messy bun atop her head. Both siblings seemed to be fully locked into a deep conversation about the lore of SRMF5.
Though Miwa did take a moment to wave lazily to the red head before resuming her conversation with her brother.
April just shook her head at the two and made her way further in, until she spotted the teenager that happened to appear from the kitchen, holding a large family size bottle of soda.
The moment Donnie caught sight of April waving to him, he beamed and tried to wave back, nearly dropping the almost three litre bottle in the process. "Hey, April! How'd your exam go today?"
She chuckled to herself at his reaction to seeing her, she swore that if Donnie had some sort of tail, it would constantly be wagging when she was around him. "Alot better then I thought. Thanks to your help, of course." She planted a thankful kiss on his cheek, and smiled as she noted his bright eyes were not as burdened with sleeplessness. "It's nice to see you outside your lab."
He rubbed his slinged hand sheepishly down his bottle holding arm at the attention. "I promised Mikey I'd take today off to, 'Bro out, and watch some toons'". He tilted his head towards the pit. "You wanna join?"
She smiled, and inwardly thanked Mikey for being so persistent in their secret plan to get Donnie out of his lab. "I can't, Splinter wants to do meditation and intuition training." She stated with a exhale, she took a second to help him adjust his collar on his purple turtle neck sweater, one which she had brought for him. Before grinning brightly, "Though, he did mention it wouldn't be for long, maybe he wanted to watch a bit of SRMF5 himself?"
Donnie nodded as he remembered how Splinter asked to join his children later, apparently it had been a show that Tang Shen had loved to watch when they were kids themselves. She even collected a few of the figures throughout childhood. And hearing about this, his children were more then welcoming to their father to join in. "I'll save you a seat once your done?"
"That'd be great." April smirked, beginning to walk off. But she abruptly turnt round again at a sudden thought, "Oh! BTW! Your coming with me to the movies Friday!"
Caught off guard by her straight forward demand, Donnie blinked with owlish eyes, before a small blush crept onto his face.
"O-oh, yeah that sounds great!"
"Perfect!" April beamed, and kissed him once again. "Also Irma's coming. Bye!!" She quickly dashed off into the dojo, leaving no room for arguments.
"Wait what?!" Donnie's shriek went unheard by his girlfriend, but his older sister noted the horror on his face.
Miwa patted the couch beside her, beckoning her brother to take a seat. All while Mikey shot up and ran into the kitchen with hurry, because he had finished the entire bag of popcorn. "You good, Don?"
"Nope." Donnie said with pure dread lacing his words. He set the bottle down beside him so he could smack his hand over his face. "April's invited me to the movies."
Miwa couldn't help the snort that came out of her, as she watched her little brother, "What's the problem? I thought you liked spending time with April?"
"I do." Donnie quickly recovered, slightly offended that Miwa even suggested that April was the reason for his unease. "It's Irma I'm not thrilled to be around..."
"Oh." Miwa tutted, "That goth girl that kept giving you the weird stare the first time you met?"
"Yup." Donnie said, visibly cringing at the memory of first meeting Irma. April had introduced him to her best friend when the three of them went bowling many months ago. But the whole time they were there, the goth girl's cold, emotionless eyes seemed to just constantly be scanning him and April. The reminder sent an unnerving shiver down his spine.
"Yeesh." Miwa remarked with sympathy, before smacking his back and smirking at her brother's misfortune. "Well good luck with that."
Donnie stared her down for a moment, before a thought sprung to mind. "Hahaha!" He cackled evilly, "Actually! Now that you and April are closer, I'm sure she'd love for you to come along and meet Irma too!"
"What?!" Miwa screeched, wiping the smug look clean off her face, "No! Donnie!!"
"It's too late for your begging." Donnie reprimanded with no feeling, "Good luck." This time it was him that smacked her on the back and smirked at her pain.
However Donnie's own pay back was given in the form of Mikey basically throwing himself down on the couch beside him. Which sent buttered popcorn pieces from a large bag straight onto his human brother.
"Yo! You dudes ready for forty-eight hours of mega-thrusting, evil-fighting, galaxy-saving super sentai action?!?"
To say Michelangelo was thrilled to be spending some time with his siblings, especially his little brother, was a complete understatement.
Since April had come back into their lives, Donnie was certainly a face they were starting to see less off around the lair.
The retro-mutagen took up almost all of his waking hours, and even his sleeping ones too! Mikey swore he went into the lab one time to give Donnie his dinner, only to find the genius fast asleep with his head propped up by his hand. But the other hand was still scribbling away!
But April and her stubbornness had been great at assisting Mikey in his plan to drag Donnie out of the lab every once in a while. They knew that making the retro-mutagen was an important thing that he needed to do, but Donnie didn't know how to balance work and rest well. He also didn't like to ask for help that much, which lead to him sneaking into the lab at unknown hours to work by himself. Until someone found him and pulled him away, that was.
And since April knew all about sciencey stuff, alot more then Mikey did, she quickly became his additional lab partner. With Mikey still helping out whenever he could with the two lovebirds.
Which brings Michelangelo to his overly ecstatic mood he was currently in. He had convinced his brother to spend the night watching a full on movie marathon with his bros, and sis. Quality bonding time where everyone was chilled out and vibing.
Though Donnie's face in that moment, wasn't exactly giving chill vibes. "I was. Until you spilled greasy popcorn all over me!"
"My bad." Mikey smiled guiltily. He saw Donnie's hand go up, and expected a smack round the head like Raph would of gladly done.
But instead Donnie just gently dropped it on the turtle's head with a tired sigh. "Baka."
Mikey giggled to himself and started to pick pieces of popcorn off of Donnie's head.
"Give me some of that too." Miwa came closer with a snicker and started to do the same. And with a mouth full of the sweet treat, she looked behind her to the bedrooms and yelled, "Yo! Dorks, it's starting soon!"
As if on cue, Raphael and Leonardo appeared from their designated rooms, but where the oldest of the two started to make his way to the pit, Raph stopped by his bedroom's doorframe.
He leant against it nonchalantly and tipped his head at the leader. "Hey, Leo. You got a minute?"
Leo paused beside him and pointed his thumb towards the others. "I was gonna check out Super Robo Mecha Force-"
"Cool." The stocky turtle interjected. "So here's the deal..." He began to shuffle on his feet, something that the older saw and took note off.
"See... I- Me...Ahh..." Raph fumbled around with his words, the feeling of them on his tongue just felt like an uncomfortable torture. He huffed out a growl, and whispered as softly as he could. "I'm, um... sorry?"
Leo blinked at his brother, bringing a hand up to his ear, or at least where his ear would have been. "What was that?" He teased carefully, making it sound as if he truly did miss Raphael's words.
"I said I was sorry." Raph mumbled again, trying hard to keep his cool. But as Leo leant even closer in, he just kept increasing his volume until he was near screaming. "Sorry! Okay? Sorry?!"
Across the room, his three other sibling's eyes shot open, and they sent the red clad turtle gobsmacked looks. Mikey even missed his mouth entirely and threw popcorn all over him and Donnie.
"I thought I had my anger under control. Turns out I didn't! But now I do, seriously!" Raph promised aggressively, crossing his arms and hoping to be done with this conversation.
Miwa scoffed at him, "Well, I didn't think that would happen."
"He means for now." Mikey whispered humorously in her ear, "I give him ten more seconds... Nine, eight, seven-"
Leonardo rolled his eyes at Mikey, and turned his attention back to Raphael, who was still lingering uncomfortable beside him. Almost waiting for some sort of confirmation that he was forgiven for his acts, and that he was free to go.
Taking this time to think, Leo decided to ask a question that had been on his mind recently, "What are you saying, Raph? It's not that you are angry, But we make you angry?"
"Six, five, four-"
"I never said that!" Raphael defended his own words swiftly, his eye twitching as Mikey's voice kept getting louder in the background, pounding into his head like an out of beat clock.
"Three... Two... One!" For his final countdown, Mikey was placing down his fingers as he went. As he reached one, he instinctively cover his ear slits and prepared for the-
"SHUT UP!!" Bellowing scream from a very hostile Raphael.
"Bing, bing, bing! We have a winner!!" Mikey chimed with a grin, while Miwa snickered loudly to herself.
Raphael however, was not enjoying the fun at his expense. He heaved, and his shoulders stiffened as he clenched his fist.
When Leonardo saw his brother begin to close in on himself, he placed a good meaning hand on his carapace. Only to get violently shoved off as Raphael storm off towards the turnstiles. "Raph, wait! They were just busting your shell. Come on, hang out."
Raph moves passed the pit, seething to himself as he went.
"Ah, let the big green baby go." Miwa remarked bitterly, fed up with Raph's attitude for the past week. She even smirked and gave Mikey a fist bump when he offered it.
The emerald eyed turtle stopped in his tracks, his eyes turning pure white as he chucked a shurikan over at his sister, who managed to catch it with her Mikey's popcorn bag. The end result was popcorn all over the two Hamatos, as Donnie shook his head beside them.
"You guys deserved that." The human declared smugly, snatching the giant bottle of soda away from Mikey, so it wouldn't be covered in grease.
Raph let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you! At least someone-"
"You know how he is with his anger issues." Donnie continued without listening.
"Oh boy..." Leo said nervously, as he backed away from the soon to be 'bomb', fleeing into the kitchen.
Even Miwa had noticed the mistake before Donatello did, and tried to get up before it was too late. But the fallout out was immediate.
Raphael had thrown another star at the Donatello, or more accurately, the soda bottle in Donnie's hands.
The instant the star connected, a families worth size of cheap brand soda was spraying the entire pit, coating the couch and the three teens on it.
The bottle clattered to the floor as the teens tried to run, but the soda wasn't finished with them yet. Taking on a new tactic, it began to spin uncontrollable fast, making it impossible to stop it's rain of terror. And orange flavoured liquid.
Mikey and Donnie let out girlish screams and ran for cover, as Miwa began chucking pillows and weapons at it in hope of stopping it.
And within the chaos, Raphael managed to sprint silently away to the tunnels. Normally he'd be cackling like a mad lunatic at his stunt, but this time, he only felt irritated and upset. "Those guys make me loopy." He groaned aloud, rubbing his hands down his face. "They just don't get it... Not like-"
He stopped himself as he thought of his best friend, and not for the first time that week, he felt that rush of anger overtake him as the events played out over in his head again.
He drove his fist into the tunnel wall and sped up his escape. Hopeful that punching his anger out onto something would keep the memories away...
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Finding himself alone on the rooftops once again, Casey decided to update to journal, narrating the words in his head as he wrote.
'It's been two days, and I'm still bruised and sore. My body still feels like a punching bag! That turtle's a worthy opponent, I'll give him that.'
Underneath the paragraph he just wrote, Casey drew himself as an incredibly buff and dope looking hockey vigilante. Standing strong and undefeated above a knocked out mutant ninja turtle. 'But a dangerous one, at that.'
'If there's a fake ninja running around the city, it could cause trouble for that ninja chick and her friend." He even added a few sketches of Donnie and said kunoichi around the page, the odd drawing here and there. Casey couldn't get them out of his head...
"Only Casey Jones can deal with this." He said with determination.
A crash from the alley beside him took his attention away from his journal. He snatched up his hockey stick and ran to the edge.
Not aware of a metallic thud dropping down across from him.
As Jones glanced down with a gasp, he saw the turtle mutant trashing the place. Yelling and venting as he kicked over a dumpster, and threw shurikans and kunai at bags and cans. "Anger issues? Who's got anger issues!?" The turtle rambled.
Casey descended the fire escape quietly, hoping to catch the ranting mutant off guard. But as he got closer to investigate, Raphael bent down and tugged off the lid to a man hole.
"I don't have anger issues! Maybe they have anger issues!" He continued to work out his verbal aggression as he disappeared down the hole, until all that could be heard was distant mumbling anger echoing in the darkness.
Casey decided that he couldn't let this chance get away, and slipped down the manhole to follow after the sounds of Raphael. Unknowingly leading a Foot-bot right to the lair with him.
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Back down in the lair, the Hamato teens were currently halfway through their movie marathon. The Super Robo Mecha Force headquarters had just been infiltrated by their greatest enemy, Cyberoid X. The robot villain used a laser on them, trapping the team in impenetrable bubbles.
This plot twist clearly annoyed the leader in blue, as he let out an annoyed groan. "Oh, come on! How can one guy infiltrate Super Robo Mecha headquarters?"
"Quite easily, apparently." Miwa said, cramming a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
"He used his laser tentacle to shut down the defense systems. Duh?" Mikey explained to his older siblings with an 'isn't it obvious' look.
"You guys watch so much TV, your brains are gonna rot." Raph's snide comment came from behind as he forced his way through the turnstiles.
"Yay, Raph's back." Donnie said with little enthusiasm in his voice. Him and Miwa still had wet hair from where they had to take showers to wash out the exploded fizzy drink. Even the couch had been stripped for washing, and towels were placed on top of the cushions
Raphael rolled his eyes, and made his way into the lair, oblivious to the human that had silently followed him home, stalking him from the turnstiles shadow.
Peeking inside of the lair, Casey was completely stunned to see more mutants. "There's... three of 'em?" He whispered in amazement.
His walnut brown eyes then zoned in on the other occupants in the sewer lair. There were humans here!
As Casey studied the two obviously injured people, he noted how they both seemed vaguely familiar. But from this angle, he couldn't quite put his finger on where he had seen them before...
With a quiet groan, he mentally slapped himself for getting sidetracked, there were humans here! Which meant the turtles were holding them hostage!
"You cool off yet, man?" Leo asked as the temperamental turtle approached him.
To which, Raph scoffed in reply, "I'm always cool." He jumped down the couch and kicked the leader's leg slightly, "Move over." Taking a seat beside Leo, he paid half attention as Mikey started to fill him in on all he had missed earlier.
Casey couldn't hear what exactly the turtle mutants were discussing, but he guessed it was along the lines of all the ways they were planning on torturing their human captives. He thought this mainly because of the way the humans wore clearly annoyed expressions as they glared at their kidnappers.
As the turtles talked amongst themselves, the scrawny teen took this opportunity to try and get closer. He slunk down low and crouched towards the entrance, but without realising, his hockey stick got caught on some discarded pizza boxes on top of the turnstiles. The boxes began to fall down, but swiftly, he leapt forwards to grab them. And managed to get them all. Except for a singular unseen fork, which toppled to the floor with a loud 'tink!'. Immediately alerting all five of the occupants in the room...
"An intruder!" Donnie yelled, and all five teens jumped up from the couches.
Casey couldn't for the life of him understand why the human had sold him out, but that didn't matter right now, with three large mutant turtles now aware of him being there, he realised he was screwed, "Oh, man!"
"You again!?" The red-clad turtle snapped, and along with his siblings, charged their intruder.
Casey tried to make a break for it, but was quickly ceased by his weapons pack and pinned to the ground. Miwa and Mikey grabbed his arms and pulled him upwards. Struggling to hold him as he frantically tried to fight back. He thrashed about in the ninjas grip one last time, trying to escape, "Get your stinking hands, and paws! Offa me!"
Grunting through her teeth, Miwa pulled the guy's arm down, getting him to be face to face with her. "You know this guy, Raph?" She inquired and stared into the eye holes of the hockey mask with a piecing gaze.
Casey gulped under the Asian girl's golden amber eyes penetrating his own walnut brown. With her two toned Raven black hair falling over her shoulders and around her slender tanned face, Casey couldn't help the small flush that graced his cheeks. She was beautiful, in a terrifying way... and those eyes, slitted and ready for the attack like a serpent, they reminded him of-
Casey couldn't help the strong rushing feeling of nostalgia hitting him. From just a few weeks ago when the ninja chick helped him deal with the robots at the ice rink. Those fiery amber eyes...
Before any more words could be exchanged, Leonardo grabbed hold of Casey's mask and pulled it off, revealing a snarling teenager with a black and white skull painted badly on his face.
All five of the teens yelped and took a few steps back, beside Miwa and Mikey.
"It's face paint!" Shouted Leo in annoyance, "He's just a kid!"
His bout of nostalgia was swiftly forgotten, as the eighteen year old took offence to the fact that a mutant turtle that seemed a few years younger then him had just called him a kid. He pressed on with his rebellious ranting, determined to get away from these freaks and their strange, if not slightly charming human captive. "Let me go, you stupid reptiles! Or I'll-"
"Wait a minute!" Donatello yelled in realisation, after a few seconds of looking the other human over with a scrutinising eye, he confirmed that he had in fact seen the teenager before. "Casey?!"
At the shout of the boy's name, Miwa then also went wide eyed and slack jawed. "Hockey boy?!"
Casey shot up straight in his captured position, and glanced at the two humans more closely now, "I knew it!" He snapped, staring at the girl slightly longer, "It was you two!"
"You guys know him?" Leo questions, his eyes still trained on the stranger.
To which the brunet sighs, "It's a long story-"
"Remember that guy Donnie smoke bombed when Chromedome was after April?" Miwa happily filled in with a devious smirk. Loving the way her youngest brother turned with a dangerous look.
"That was him?" Raph repeated, pointing at the roughed up teen and laughing, "Hah!"
"Wait...Hey! You smoke bombed me dude!" Casey glowered leaning towards the genius teen, who shrugged sheepishly back.
It was at this perfectly timed moment, that April and Splinter had concluded their late night meditation, unknowingly walking into the brawl about to happen in their living area.
"Always trust your instincts, April. A well-honed intuition can be sharper than your eyes." Splinter hummed in pride at his newest pupil. Her lesson today, and all her others, were always a joy for Splinter to teach. April concentrated fully during their lessons, and actually took what he said to heart, what more could a father of five teenagers ask for?
Yet, just as he finished his praise, Splinter's ears flicked upright at the sound of a struggle across from them, and he became aware of the situation unfolding.
"Yes, Sensei." April answered, slowly following her Master's line of sight with growing unsureness. "I'll- Casey?"
April caught sight of a scruffed up teenager in the middle of the lair charging at Donatello, only to be grabbed by said brunet and pinned to the floor in the same second. For a guy with one arm in a sling, he managed to flip the taller teen over surprisingly easy.
"Gah! Ow!?" Jones howled as his shoulder was smashed against the concrete. And in the back of the crowd, Raphael's cackle of laughter could be heard.
The last thing she expected however, was for said face painted guy to turn out to be Casey Jones of all people.
"Casey?!" April practically squawked, leaving the ninja master by the dojo and running into the middle of the one-sided brawl. She grabbed hold of Donnie's slinged elbow and tugged, "Donnie, don't hurt him!"
As she scolded her boyfriend for his rough treatment, the brunet removed his sneaker from the hockey teens back with a slight blush to his face, earning a few chuckles from Miwa and Mikey in the process.
"April! You know these guys?" Casey exclaimed with a grunt, picking himself up and glaring at the sling wearing teen.
April made quick work to get inbetween the Hamatos and Casey, in the hopes of avoiding another scrap. "Casey, what are you doing here?
Spitting out an offended scoff, Casey buffered on the fact that April had not only ignored his question, but then placed herself as a defence for the giant man eating turtles, and their jerk captives. "A better question is, how do you know these freaks?"
"Hey, Punk!" Miwa snapped with an accusingly tone, pushing passed April and shoving the taller, scrawny teen backwards. "They are not freaks! They're my brothers!"
Mikey put a calming hand out to Miwa, his eyes silently telling her that it was ok. She scowled and looked away from Casey, taking Mikey's hand in hers and backing up.
"These are the other friends I told you about, Casey." April explained gently, "The ones that I had the falling out with?"
Casey squinted and wore a confused frown. "You said that the other friends were those two?" He pointed accusingly to both the human teens, who shared looks of irritation.
"Um, other other friends?" April recovered with a shy smile.
Casey glanced over April's friends again, but still felt lingering doubt about all of this. "So... they're not the bad guys?"
"No way!" She snapped defensively, "These five have been saving New York countless times over the last year-"
"Yeah!" Mikey butt in swiftly, "Remember that whole technodrome thing?"
"That was you guys?!" Casey shot the smallest turtle a shocked, and kinda of amazed expression.
Sighing to herself, April stepped forwards again for a round of proper introductions. "Casey Jones, meet Miwa," She points to the two toned raven haired girl, who simply tilted her head upwards in response. She then moves to the other human, "Donatello, my-"
"Boyfriend." Donnie says rather quickly, making his siblings snicker at his protectiveness of April.
She shakes her head with a smile, "As you've gathered, they're the two ninjas you met a few weeks ago."
"And these are their brothers." She then moves over to the three turtles, pointing respectively to each. "Leonardo, Michelangelo-"
"What up?" Mikey slurred out with a awkward peace sign, earning himself a smack round the head from his immediate older brother.
Rolling her eyes, April finished off the roll call. "And the one and only Raphael."
Casey stared for a moment, then a moment longer, taking in all he had learnt and adding it to what he already knew. "This is... confusing."
"So your all Italian?" Casey squinted at said mutants, before glancing to the humans again. "Apart from you two. But if they're your brothers... somehow... are you two like half...Italian or something?"
"Why is that the part your focused on?" Miwa mused to herself.
The Hamato siblings all laughed at the poor boy's misfortune, all while April struggled to find a way to explain it simply.
Luckily for all, their Sensei and Father decided to step up beside Casey, having just been in the dojo retrieving his precious Renaissance artist book he had treasured since childhood. "It is a confusing story, indeed."
"But, none of my children are Italian. I simply named all my boys after my favorite painters and sculptors of the Italian renaissance." He smiled and held up the worn book. "Oh, All apart from Donatello."
"Yeah! I named him!" Mikey beamed proudly from his father's side.
The minute Splinter came into the hockey players view, Casey's breath was sucked back into his lungs, and his eyes shrunk to the size of pins. "AGHGHH!!" With a sudden gasp and scream, Casey pointed at the man sized rat in fear, before passing out soon after, falling flat on his back.
Bouts of laughter broke out from the siblings at his reaction, all while Splinter cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"Casey?" April crouched beside him and shook him repeatedly like a ragdoll. But with no indication of waking up, she decided a good slap to the face would work. "Casey, wake up!" Which it did.
Blinking awake, Casey once again saw the giant furred mutant before him, and while holding in a rather unmanly scream, he scooted away on the floor, and grabbed April by the shoulder for support.
"This is Master Splinter, Casey. Their father." She explained calmly, peering up to her Sensei with a warm smile, as even she had learnt to see the old rat as a sort of fatherly figure in her life. "He's cool."
Splinter nodded to the startled teen, doing his best to seem unthreatening. "You do not have to fear me, my friend. Rest assured, I do not bite."
Stunned to near silence, Casey slowly rose off the floor and backed away a few feet. "He's a giant t-t-talking rat!?"
"Huh, weird. Donnie had the same reaction?" Mikey said scratching his head, earning a playful head shake from his big sister. "Maybe we should bring humans round more often?"
Casey gave the other mentioned teenager a questioning look, who guiltily nodded back as he recalled waking in the infirmary all those months ago, clinging to Mikey as Splinter approached him.
Their shared look was broken off the minute Raphael's snorting laugh filled the air. "Hah! The big bad vigilante's afraid of rats!"
For being an obnoxious hypocrite, Miwa smirked and scooped up a bug beside her, allowing it to crawl along her index finger and towards her 'mean and tough' red-clad brother. She and the others watched as said turtle's face paled significantly.
"GYAHH!?" Letting out a panicked scream, Raph's fight or flight kicked in at the sight of the insect, and he tucked himself away, into the safety of his shell.
Miwa took that moment to scoff at her little brother, and flick the roach away.
"Hah!" Mikey laughed and hung off of Miwa's shoulder. "Just like you and cockroaches, huh, Raph?"
"Hah!" Casey pointed at the shell on the floor, taking his own minute to make fun of the turtle.
However as the commotion in the lair started to die down, April felt a sudden urge in her mind, like a strange tapping on her brain, telling her something was amiss.
She closed her eyes, and focused on the feeling, just as Splinter had been teaching her.
"What is it, April?" Splinter asked from beside her, gaining the attention of the others in the room. They watched as April's eyelids creased in focus, and she listened to her surroundings.
Then, with a sudden gasp, her eyes flew open in fear. "Sensei, we're not alone..."
In mere seconds, multiple red eyes shone from above the pit. Hidden and weaved between the pipes, were countless Foot-bots stalking them.
The bots jumped down and began their assault, hoping to get the upper hand on their enemies since they entered their lair unsuspected, but the Hamato teens acted fast, and ran for their weapons scattered around the corners of the pit.
"Raph, you led the enemy right to our lair!" Leo scolded his younger brother as he impaled a bot in the chest.
Raph sent his sai into a bots head, and throw the offending hunk of metal at the hockey obsessed teenager behind him. "It's the kid's fault! He was following me!"
With a scoff, Casey knocked the head away, "My fault?" But before he could say much else, even more bots descended from the pipes, practically spilling into he lair.
"Booyakashaaa!" Mikey charged through the bickering teens with Miwa, Donnie, April and Splinter hot on his tail.
The Hamatos started to fight back, making sure every bot in their path was disposed off, Leo and Miwa hacked away at the multitude of the bots, while Donnie and Mikey took out the ones trying to run to separate parts of the lair.
At one point Donatello had lunged his bō into the chest of a Foot-bot too deep, and giving he was one arm short, he had no way to block as another slammed a mace against his back. Sending him across the room, where Splinter caught him with ease.
He settled his son beside him and shot forwards with such accuracy and sped that one could of missed the fact that he had taken off the heads of several in bots in those seconds and retrieved his son's staff in another.
April threw her tessen around and manged to claim a few bots herself, before having Miwa come to her aid as five more surrounded her. Both girls worked together to take down a number of robots, and they even stopped a few trying to leave the lair.
By this point, Raph and Casey had accidentally backed themselves against each other by the turnstiles. Fighting side by side, while also 'fighting' side by side.
"You're the one who did this!" Raph barked over the commotion, kicking a bot away in the process.
Casey shot him a quick glare and rammed his bat into another. "They followed you too, dude!"
"Don't "dude" me, dude!" Raph retorted with a mocking tone.
He and Casey were preoccupied with their argument that they missed the Foot-bot jumping down from above them. Luckily for them, Splinter slammed his bare fist into the robots chest, shattering it into pieces before it reached the boy's.
He then took down a dozen more, using only his hands to smash and take down the bots with singular punches. Once he had finished with those last few, he heard the quietly impressed, 'Whoa's!' From his children and April near him.
Splinter took a moment to nod to his kids, before readying himself and addressing all. "Stay alert. More are coming."
Just as he said, another horde of Foot-bots appeared at the turnstiles, with even more coming from behind. But as the teens and Splinter prepared for the next round, Donatello caught sight of one in particular.
One that stood on top of the turnstiles and seemed to slowly look over the lair.
As the revelation hit him, Donnie let out a short gasp, "Oh no!" At his cry, the others looked to the robot he was now pointing too, "It's scanning the lair! It'll give away our location!"
Splinter recognised the urgency of this and rushed forwards to take down the bot. Yet as he took one down in his path, two more would take away his window of opportunity. With no way of getting to it, he turned to the teenagers with a serious tone. "Do not let that robot escape!"
All the teens tried to also rush forwards, but were blocked in their way, all except Casey who managed to weave between two bots, and swing back to take off there heads.
As he made it to a clearing in the room, the robot saw him coming, and hastened his getaway.
With a smirk, the hockey teen bowled forwards, "Casey Jones is on it-"
Though Raph was determined not to let him, knocking him away as he jumped the turnstiles and bolted down the tunnels. "Tell Casey Jones, we don't need his help!"
The robot scampered away as fast as it could with both the hot headed teens right on it's tail.
At one point, Raphael almost grabbed hold of it's waist with his grappling hook, only for Casey to try and tackle the retreating metal, and get lassoed on his weapons pack.
"Yah!" Casey yelled as he was thrown backwards, "What are you doing?"
Raph dismissed him as he ran ahead, scoffing, "Me? You got in my way!"
The bot continued to run for it's mechanical life down the tunnel, until it came up to a part where it knew it had reinforcements waiting. And on cue, as the Foot-bot stopped in front of Casey and Raph, several more jumped down from the pipes above, cleverly hiding the robot with the lairs location as it ran for the edge of the tunnel.
"Where'd he go?" Casey squinted at the bots, before he and Raph lunged to take them out.
"If that bot gets back to Tigerclaw and gives away our hideout, you answer to Splinter!" Raphael warned the human, ramming his sai multiple times into one robots head to really drive his point.
"The rat?!" Casey squawked in fear, only to look over at the perfect time to see the wanted bot shimmying across the far wall.
Reaching behind him, Casey pulled out a yellow spray can and shook it. He waited until it was at the right angle before lobbing it at the robot, coating it's black ninja gi in yellow paint.
"Yes!" Casey cheered as he successfully targeted the running bot, he even held his hand out for a fist bump.
But Raph saved his celebrations as he ran after the bot. "Next time, tag it with a real grenade!"
"You think if I had a grenade I wouldn't of used it by now?!" Casey exclaimed with a pout, and followed after the turtle, who was now thinking of ways he could convince his little brother to make him his own grenades.
TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT
Meanwhile, back at the lair, Mikey and Donnie had cornered a few robots trying to retreat through the lab.
Donnie managed to get his groove back, and fended off a handful of robots.
All while Mikey gladly used the wheelie chairs and movable cabinets to his advantage as he jumped around the laboratory, knocking Foot-bots flying across the room.
At one point, he even sent one straight into Donnie and April's latest Retro-mutagen samples. But as the liquid inside the spilt beakers made contact with the metal robot, they ignited a spark and made a small explosion in the corner.
"Stop messing around, you'll blow us to Philadelphia!" Donnie scolded his brother, as yet another bot went flying passed his head.
Mikey winced at the mess, "Sorry, D!" And watched nervously as Metalhead also let out a sequence of 'tsking' like beeps from his hiding place underneath the desk.
TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT
Raph and Casey continued their chase down the tunnel, but it seemed the closer they got, the faster the robot fled.
Losing speed and quick, Casey decided to pull out his roller skates in an attempt to catch up to the bot.
Landing on the rails, he began riding against the metal and soon overtook Raph in speed. "Faster, man! Move your shell!"
If Raph had not been trying to go faster, he sure as shell was now, as the sounds of an incoming train scared both teens into fleeing for their lives.
As Casey started to get ahead of the train he realised that the turtle was not going to make it, no matter how fast he ran. So without any hesitation, Casey threw himself at the mutant, knocking them both off the tracks and under the ledge at the side of the tunnel, just as the train screeched passed them.
Casey got up fast, and pulled Raph up soon after, looking him over with worry. "You okay?" He asked.
Raph held his arm where he had landed, and watched as the tires of the train continued by. His hardened eyes softened, and he muttered out a appreciative, "Thanks."
The Foot-bot took their moment of bonding to make it's getaway, jumping onto the moving train in hopes that they didn't notice him-
"There he is!" Raph pointed at the bot, and both teens looked to each other with a knowing look, the kind of look that Leo would never condone. The two nodded and without another thought between them, they jumped to the roof of the train.
The Foot-bot tracked across the roof carefully, until it's sensors warned it of unwanted company. Realising there was no way of escape with the two on it's tail, the robot produced two more arms, and held them out to the gushing winds around it.
It flew abruptly at Raph and Casey, before spinning round and pulling out a saw, multiple blades and sickles to take them down with.
The two hotheads fought in sync with one another as if they had known the other for years, each time Raph sent a kick to the robots head, Casey was there to rally it back to the mutant.
They slammed the bot round until it managed to get an opening for itself. It used its arm to slam Casey's stomach, sending him tripping backwards to get away and rolling over the roof, and even over the edge.
The masked teen let out a short scream before a grappling hook wrapped around his waist, and hoisted him upwards and away from the sparking rails.
"Thanks, Raph." Casey thanked breathlessly as he tried to stand again.
"Now we're even." Raph nodded, and pulled the teen up, for they weren't done yet.
The Foot-bot crashed it's way inside the main train station, only for Casey to leap in with it, starting up another round of chase after the robot as Raph joined in further down the station.
"Outta my way!" Raph yelled as he bulldozed after the robot with his sai intent on making it's mark. He managed to slam into it, and knock it down a flight of stairs.
"I can take this robot down myself!" Casey shot passed Raph and rode the rails down to the bottom, hoping to smash the robots head in as the landed.
However the bot dodged, and darted away towards a pillar. It turned round to see both teens back to the chase, as well as a sai shooting towards it. The blade impaled the Foot-bot against the pillar through it's shoulder, where it struggled for a moment to release itself. But the five foot tall turtle bounding it's way was incentive enough to rip it's arm from the socket and make its break away to the surface.
"He's going for the street!" Casey pointed out as the two got to the stairs.
Raph grunted, "We can't let him get away!" He knew he and Casey weren't quick enough to run up after it, and in mere moments, it would disappear into the shadows of the city. The two of them had to act fast.
Which they did.
With a shared nod, Raphael grabbed hold of Casey's arm and spun him around, launching him up the stairway where the scruffy teenager slammed his sparking glove into the bots chest. Electrocuting it, and sending it's fired body crashing down the stairs, where a sai was waiting to finish it off.
"That was too close." Casey remarked with a sigh of relief.
"You're a pretty good fighter, Jones." Raph huffs out in thought. "Sure, you're raw, unfocused, dangerous, crazy!" He turns to the human and flashes him a shark-like grin. "But not bad."
Casey holds out his hand, and Raph gladly accepts it, arm wrestling for a moment with the mutant. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." He struggles for a bit, before regaining his strength and evening out the wrestle. "For an amphibian."
The two threw a few punches at each other, and whooped at their success for the entire way back home.
TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT
Back at lair, the teens had just about finished off the last of the bots, save for a few that Leonardo was chopping up.
He disposed of them with ease, and looked around at the mountains of robot corpses. "Is that all of them?"
A sudden blade appeared beside his head, prompting him to turn and see his sister behind him with a smug look on her face, and her tantō buried in a bots chest.
Splinter flicked his ears to listen for anymore, and in hearing nothing, he confirmed the safety of their home for his children. "Yes. That is all." The teens all practically flopped onto the couches at that.
"So what happened to Raph and Casey?" April asked from her spot on the floor. She glanced over to Donnie and Mikey who shared the same quizzical look before shrugging.
As if on cue, Raph and Casey arrived at the entrance, still feeling the rush of their victory.
Raph flipped over the turnstiles, and grinned wildly, "Dude, the way we chased that thing down!"
"And what about when I shocked it with my stunner?" Casey added with a wicked toothless smile, "How cool was that?"
Raph punched his shoulder playfully, "Hey, don't forget the subway chase. That was the awesomest part!" The two teenagers had now become aware of the others watching them, as well as the masses of Foot-bots sprawled around the lair.
"Aww, what's up? No more robots left for me and Raph?" Casey said almost sadly, as he allowed Raph to lean against his shoulder.
"Whoa! Okay... What's up with you two?" Mikey questioned aloud, though everyone else was thinking it also. "You're like best friends forever now or something?"
At this new discovery, Splinter stepped towards his red-clad son, smiling as Casey took a couple of steps back behind the turtle. "I see you have found a new ally, Raphael." He studied Casey with a look, before returning to his child. "And a friend."
"Yeah, Casey's cool." Raph said nonchalantly. But inside he was just as happy as Splinter was. After everything that had happened with Spike, it felt nice to have someone to rely on, someone who truly understood him.
Splinter hummed, and placed a proud paw on his son's shoulder, before turning his attention to the human crouched behind him. "Thank you, for helping my family."
Casey was stunned for a couple seconds, before he found his voice again, albeit wavering with slight fear. "N-no problem, rat dude. Wasn't a bad warm-up." He pushed passed Raph with boisterous energy and slammed his hands against his plastron. "But now it's time to clean the scum off the streets!"
Raphael pushed him back harder, "Let's do this!"
The two knuckleheads smashed their foreheads together, and growled out, "Yeah!!" Before frantically laughing and bolting towards the exit as if they hadn't just been fighting for their lives all night.
"Great...You know what this means, right?" Donnie said with a slight waver to his voice, the realisation he had made had clearly been a horrifying one.
"Now we have two Raphael's!" He all but yelled, April even put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, though she nodded along, understanding this new fear.
"Dear Kami...'God...'" Miwa muttered as well, Mikey and Leo also felt a sense of dread wash over them at that.
Splinter on the other hand, dropped his ears and shook his head in hopelessness. Turning to kitchen for some well earnt tea, he mumbled to himself, "Teenagers..."
That's it for this chapter!
I hope it was ok after that wait haha! And I'll be back soon with the next one!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a review! I love to see people's thoughts and opinions on this fic!
Till next time! 3 \(•v•)/
