Inkaliber: Hey guys! It's now the month of November IRL which means this story is officially back in action! We are now on date number 15, halfway into the prescribed dates for the goofy turtle. The time for choosing is not far off, even if the service needed to go on hold for a while. Before we can continue, however, we have some reviews to answer.
duskrider- Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Let's just say they got a lot of attention and some help with not being exposed.
UltimateAvengers- Thanks! I wanted to have Mikey and the group involved to be represented appropriately as well as display the group's ability to deal with invasions like this. He and his family now have some rather strong and capable acquaintances/allies.
IcedShadows- I'm glad you think so. Things will be VERY interesting with the amount of series involved in the universe.
P96822- Interesting guesses. We'll have to see if you're right. I can't tell you who will and won't be having dates with Mikey, lol!
Skully13- Wow. That is a very detailed description of any wounds he did and could have taken. I guess we'll have to see how long he actually takes to recover, whether that be in this story or one of the ones built off of this one.
Guest99- I assume you mean Raph, lol! I guess we'll see what happens if he does.
djinn- Thanks! I had fun with it. Nice guesses there.
Tornado man- It's a month of dates and he's only now on date 15. That means he's got 15 more after this. If I do a Raph dates fic then it would have to be in its own story that's connected to this one, or not depending on how I feel about it.
With all that said, let's begin. I don't own TMNT or any of the series that show up here. I do own original characters, items, concepts, and anything else that pops up unless stated otherwise.
Voices
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"YELLING!"
"Author/Guest/High or demonic entity talking. Also, big twist at the end of a section."
"AUTHOR/GUEST/HIGH OR DEMONIC ENTITY YELLING!"
"Whispering."
"Author/Guest/High or demonic entity whispering."
October 1, 2012
Hamato Household, New York City
The break in the dating service took longer than many users expected, mostly due to the staff having to ensure no one was marked missing on purchased date days and restaurants could refund any money lost from prior planned dates. Not to mention they had to filter through the participants to see if any other cases of malpractice or criminal activity were in play. This left Mikey and his family a decent amount of time to adjust to the new living situation they found themselves in. Donnie could be found relishing in the new space he had to do lab work now that there was more room down below. Raph took time to work on building a motorcycle as well as training his strength. Karai had found herself a room and decided to make it her own. Master Splinter mostly spent time meditating and conversing with someone in secret. And Leo either watched Space Heroes for a majority of the time or took to cleaning up the new living space. There were times where Casey and April would come over to join in on any activities, though April more often than not took excuses to just spend time around Donny.
Mikey himself had a blast with the new set up, especially his new room. Several things he couldn't put up due to the stone walls of the Lair were now able to hang proudly in his room as one could actually see his floor. The upgrade in tech and videogames also led to some extended fun, though he didn't dare slack on training with how strict Splinter could be. The young ninja made noises to follow along with a song he had in his head, repeatedly drumming his fingers in the air as he danced around a bit. He suddenly heard his computer give off a notification, making him turn towards it.
"Is that the new game finishing its download?" questioned Mikey. "Finally! I've been waiting to try… Doomed. Holy chalupa! It's the dating service!"
He sat in his chair, quickly clicking on the link to see what was happening. He grinned as his eyes were as wide as saucers. "'Thank you for your patience. Today marks the continuation of the month of dates.' Alright!"
He quickly moved to his inbox to see that a second notification had arrived. "Time to see who lucky lady fifteen is." He immediately followed the link in the second message, holding his hands together as he watched the page load.
Username: AppleCherryPie04
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 110 lbs.
Star Sign: Gemini
Hometown: Jump City, California
Physical Description: A thin girl with fair skin, big blue eyes, and black eyebrows. Hair is straight, blonde, and waist-length.
Personality: Thoughtful and down-to-earth, but always up for a fun adventure.
Likes and Interests: Cherry and apple pie, hiking, rock climbing, art, reading, music, stargazing, and exploring new places.
Type of Person I'm Looking For: Someone who's genuine, grounded, and open-minded. I appreciate kindness, humor, and patience. Someone who knows what it means to be there for others. I'd love to find someone who's okay with the quiet moments as much as the fun ones and who's up for exploring new things.
Note: Due to residence and/or circumstances, AppleCherryPie04 may be an unregistered non-human. This cannot be confirmed or denied as of this moment. Seeing as each circumstance is different, please try to be respectful and treat her like any other date. If you find any signs of malpractice or anything that would breach the terms of service, notify the service so that proper authorities may be contacted. Please refer to terms of service on how to deal with situations such as this.
Mikey hummed in interest, crossing his arms. "Sounds like an interesting girl. Didn't Casey have a date with a girl from Jump City? Maybe I can ask him about it later. Let's see where she wants to meet."
The boy scrolled down to the set location, tilting his head. "Looks like she'll want to meet at that Jump Pizza that opened up a few months ago." He typed in the search bar, thankful for the heightened internet as he pulled up the details. "Looks like they opened in Brooklyn and are promising some genuine California style pizza, along with foods based on what the Titans of Jump City would always order when it was there. Sounds like a cool place to start a lunch date."
He got out of his chair, stretching a bit before cracking his knuckles. "Guess I should let the others know." The turtle sped downstairs, turning human as his orange t-shirt and gray sweatpants reformed around him. In the main area, Raph could be seen playing a game on the TV with Leo competing against him. Donnie opened the front door as it was knocked, grinning as he saw April and Casey.
"April!" cheered the brunette. He hugged the redheaded girl close, earning a giggle as he playfully kissed her cheeks a few times. "Oh, hey Casey. Come on in." The hockey player rolled his eyes as he walked inside, Leo and Raph keeping their eyes on the TV as red and blue cars could be seen racing.
"Hey guys," greeted Leo without looking back. "How was school?" Casey crossed his arms, smirking a bit.
"It was a little boring until Marcy brought out her game during lunch," informed the vigilante. "Anyway, I got some fun news. The service is back on track now. I've got a date tomorrow." Raph glanced back at him, looking annoyed.
"Yeah, yeah," huffed the hothead. "Sounds cool. Now stop distracting me before-" Leo suddenly pulled ahead in the race, his car crossing the finish line before Ralph's as the violent brother slammed his controller on the couch. "Dang it!" Leo smirked at this, bowing his head.
"Good game," stated the leader. "Casey, I'd run if I were you." Casey screamed as he did just that, Raph jumping over the couch as he tackled him to the ground. A scuffle went on for a moment as Casey fought back against the hothead's retribution, only for Raph to get an ear pull that made him stand up. Splinter held onto his ear, Karai leaning on the nearby wall as the rat master sighed.
"Yameru, Raphael," ordered Hamato Yoshi. "Take your losses with grace, not anger." Raph held his hands together, smiling in a pleading fashion.
"Hai, Sensei," accepted the buff teen. "Can I please have my ear back?" He gasped gratefully as the master smirked calmly, Mikey reaching the bottom step as he stepped down to the floor.
"Hey guys!" cheered the blonde. "Oh, hey April. Casey, did you see where the service is sending out dates again? I just got a message about a date with AppleCherryPie04 from Jump City." The vigilante smirked, crossing his arms with a hum.
"Really?" questioned the hockey player. "Jinx came from there but that definitely wasn't her username. She didn't mention any friends being on the server either. Must be just a coincidence." Mikey shrugged at this, shaking his head.
"I don't know, dude. Anyway, I'm meeting her at Jump Pizza in Brooklyn tomorrow." April hummed as she approached, still in Donnie's arms.
"Some guys in school talked about that place earlier today," revealed the redhead girl. "It's pretty cool but some of the toppings there are really weird." Raph huffed a laugh at this, shaking his head.
"I think I saw something online," revealed the hothead. "Mustard is a very weird thing to put on pizza." Karai approached the group, rubbing Leo's head in a way that made him blush.
"In any case, it's good to see you're excited for this date," stated the cool girl. "Do you need someone to play lookout?" Mikey shrugged at this, shaking his head.
"I really don't see a need for turtle power this time," argued the boy. "I can handle myself pretty well and everything in New York has mostly calmed down ever since the Kraang invasion. I know you guys would have my back if I needed it and I can call you up on the T-phone. This just feels like a normal date." Splinter rubbed his chin, humming a bit.
"Do not become so complacent that you deny the possibility of a threat, my son," cautioned the master shinobi. "The Shredder may be wounded and the Kraang inconvenienced but there is always the possibility of other threats arising. The world is full of potential dangers. As we move further into the light, we must never abandon the shadows." Mikey smirked at this, bowing his head.
"I'll be careful, tou-san. Anyway, I've got a lot of preparing to do for tomorrow so I'll be back down for dinner and training later." The speedster quickly ran upstairs, looking through everything he could wear for this date. He quickly settled on a burnt orange undershirt, a black vest, gray cargo pants, and some black sneakers. "Now that looks good."
The turtle looked at his computer as the list of dates he had been on were displayed, humming as he looked over everyone he'd rated so far. "I've been on a lot and this is the halfway point. Making the final choice is gonna be difficult if more than one person chooses me. All I can do is keep being me and hope everything turns out okay." He quickly got to work as he performed some stretches, wondering just what kind of girl AppleCherryPie04 was.
The Next Day
Brooklyn
Brooklyn wasn't too different from the island of Manhattan from a distant view, looking like just another part of the city that had been separated by the water between them. As Mikey zoomed through the area, however, he came to see some rather interesting differences in the streets that he was unfamiliar with. While the tall buildings, busy streets, and even the hotdog stands were the same, the different establishments and buildings also made for an interesting sight to the boy. Truth be told he and his family didn't usually come to Brooklyn so he was the first amongst his brothers to experience it. He came to a stop in an alleyway, Turtle Titan looking around to be sure that the coast was clear.
"Let's hope this works like I thought it would," pleaded Mikey. He took a deep breath, his outfit sinking into him as he changed forms. His hero attire was quickly swapped for his chosen date attire, his usual flower sheath and a satchel hanging off his shoulder as he looked himself over. "Yes! I gotta teach the others how to do this later."
He took one more look around before slowly approaching the location, taking in the sight of it. The building stood out with the large sign overhead that literally had "JUMP" in bold letters above an assortment of raised and lowered letters that spelled out "PIZZA", some people walking away with to-go boxes that had the same logo on them. It actually looked like it was meant to be shaped like a pizza, some red umbrellas at the top likely acting like pepperoni as the front area was triangular with a curve pointing towards the road. "Looks like this is the place. All that's left is AppleCherryPie04."
He looked around only for a moment, quickly spotting a girl that matched the description on the profile. She was wearing a dark red long-sleeved sweater, a gray undershirt, blue cargo pants, a gray purse that hung from her right shoulder, a white butterfly pin in her hair, and stylish brown boots that went with the attire. The hidden turtle pulled at his collar a bit, gulping. "Man. She's so beautiful."
He quickly noticed the pin on her sweater as she turned his way, standing up straight as he adjusted his own pin and pulled the flowers from the sheath before approaching. "Hey. AppleCherryPie04?" He once again found himself the subject of a lookover, hoping he wasn't underdressed or anything. The blonde then smiled at him, nodding her head.
"Yeah, that's me," revealed the girl. "Looks like we both got here just in time. I'm Tara Markov, but you can call me Tara. You're MCMikey, right?" The shinobi nodded his head, holding the flowers out gently.
"Yep. I'm Mikey and these are for you." Tara giggled at this, rolling her eyes as she took the flowers.
"Thanks. Let's stop wasting time and head in. I haven't had one of these since the place in Jump City closed down." Mikey offered his hand to the girl, making her smile grow as she held it. He opened the door for her, the two of them entering together as a bored teen could be seen mopping the floors.
"Welcome to Jump Pizza," yawned the teen. "Someone will be with you soon." Mikey nodded his head at this, standing at the kiosk with his date. It sounded like there was a commotion in the upper area, a few excited voices being rather loud. Realizing that this could take a moment, Mikey looked towards his date.
"Hey, Tara," stated the turtle. "Normally I like to start when we sit down but it sounds like it might be a bit. So I read your profile but I like to go more in depth since you can't really fit everything on a profile. I noticed that you like things like hiking and rock climbing, which sounds super cool." Tara hummed at this, tilting her head.
"Yup," acknowledged the blonde. "My friends got me into it when a friend had a party at one of those rock climbing buildings. I kinda feel at home in nature, especially when I can feel the dirt between my toes or stand on a solid foundation. I'm told I like to live dangerously with certain climbs but I always feel safe when rock climbing. It just feels… natural for some reason."
Tara shook her head, smiling at him. "And now I sound like a total weirdo." The blonde boy shook his head, holding his free hand up.
"Nah! It's cool. Everybody's got that one thing that just feels right to them, like me with music or with good food. It's also awesome to see something I've never seen before." Tara smiled brighter at this, holding her bouquet close to her chest.
"At least we share a love for adventure. Speaking of music, that seems to be something else we share. I noticed you put DJing on your profile, which works with your username, and I was wondering what kind of music you're into." Mikey hummed at this, preparing to list on his fingers.
"Pop, rock, jazz, K-pop… Really I like any music as long as it's not too slow or I can't understand any words that are said. Good beats and good vibes are where it's at for me. How about you?" Tara silently requested her hand back, moving some hair out of her face playfully as she leaned a bit on her right foot.
"Don't laugh but ironically rock is on the list. Really anything you can have fun with that doesn't blast off my ears or get too violent is on my list." She looked towards the kiosk, frowning a bit. "They're usually better about service than this." Mikey shrugged at this, looking around.
"Maybe they're understaffed right now. That or there might be a celebrity here that's rather demanding. I don't mind waiting, especially with a beautiful girl, but if they take too long we might have to go somewhere else. I ate light in order to get here on time." Tara looked towards him with wide eyes, putting her hands on her hips.
"You should have said something. I carry a few protein bars in my purse just in case of emergencies. Hang on." She looked through her bag, frowning as she tried to find what she was looking for. Mikey looked towards the outside steps, noticing that one of the staff was on their way.
"Here comes someone now. We can just get an appetizer." The California girl looked up, smiling as nicely as she could as the employee looked a little worn out.
"I am so sorry about the wait," apologized the brunette. "We have a busy day today, on top of having some celebrities who stopped by. I ran over as soon as I saw your pins. The Project Aphrodite table for two, right?" The duo nodded, causing the girl to quickly scrounge up two menus.
She then looked up at them, smiling a bit wider. "I have a table ready for you. We'll try to be as quick as possible while handling the situation. Follow me." The blondes followed her up the stairs, the sound of pictures being taken and people talking being heard.
They were seated at one of the corners of the upstairs area, the floor being yellow to make it actually look like a pizza slice. "Your server will be right over." She then walked towards the small crowd, trying to get people away from whoever was there. Mikey looked towards the crowd, tilting his head. He wasn't able to get a good view at who was sitting at the popular table, narrowing his eyes.
"Wonder who's here. Ah well. That crowd's a little too piled up for my tastes. Besides, I've got a date to focus on." He looked towards Tara, the girl giggling again.
"You're such a goofball," declared the blonde girl. "Would it bother you if we get a supreme pizza with extra anchovies and no mushrooms? It's my favorite kind of pizza and it's hard to find a place that does it just right. I'm fine with anything as long as there aren't any mushrooms." Mikey grinned, giving her a thumbs up.
"I'm cool with it as long as we can get some parmesan pretzels to hold us over. I've never had them before and I've been told they're good. Honestly I can eat almost anything on pizza as long as it doesn't clash with the cheesy goodness. That'd be like adding something savory to a sweet pie, like the Apple and cherry pie you named yourself after." Tara grinned at this, leaning against the table.
"Wow. You actually did read my profile. I totally get what you mean though. Messing with the intended taste of something good by using the opposite flavor can go rather poorly, like pineapple on pizza." A young man in the restaurant's uniform quickly walked over, sighing a bit.
"Sorry about the wait," apologized the server. "Had to make three different pizzas for a picky group. They ordered large too so their server needed extra hands. Anyway, can I start you off with something to drink or do you know what you want to order?" Mikey looked at the menu for a moment before looking towards the guy.
"I'll take a root beer," requested the hidden turtle. "How about you, Tara?" Tara looked towards the server, nodding her head.
"I'll have the same thing," ordered the girl. "We'll need some parmesan pretzels to start off. We'll take a supreme pizza with extra anchovies but hold the mushrooms." The young man nodded his head at this, quickly writing everything down. The server then smiled at them, nodding his head.
"Alright," accepted the guy. "I'll get the order to the kitchen and be back with drinks as soon as possible." He walked off, leaving the daters alone.
"Thanks dude!" cheered the shinobi. He looked towards his date, leaning forwards a bit. "Anyway, what kind of places have you been to? I bet you found some great stargazing spots." Tara grinned at him, nodding her head.
The duo discussed the places they had been, the California girl having been to a lot of places even without the dating service. She'd basically been all over the west coast north to south, the stories going on even as their drinks and pretzels were brought to them. Mikey chewed on a pretzel as his date could be seen looking at her phone, the blonde girl grinning as she turned the screen towards him.
"And this is from the time we went to the Grand Canyon. It's much bigger than the picture makes it look and it was amazing." The local boy quickly swallowed the food, grinning from ear to ear.
"That's awesome! It looks huge! That's definitely going on my list of places to visit. So far I've only been here in New York, Metropolis, and Pennsylvania." Tara smirked at him, shaking her head.
"It's not a competition but the Grand Canyon is a great destination to visit. You just have to get used to there being less moisture there. Either way, I'd be happy to visit with you sometime. This is turning out to be a fun first date." Mikey nodded his head in agreement, the two of them sitting back as the small pizza was set down between them.
"Thanks for your patience," thanked the waiter. "One supreme pizza with extra anchovies and no mushrooms. I'll be back around later to check on you guys. Hopefully things calm down soon." Mikey quickly grabbed a slice as the young man walked off, watching the cheese pull with a whistle.
"Now that's some good cheese," complimented the boy. "That's how you know this is gonna be good pizza." He immediately took a bite, humming in delight as he shivered. He tried not to talk with his mouth full, wiping at the area with a napkin to deal with some of the excess cheese and grease. "Oh. My. Gosh."
Tara finished a bite herself, sending him a teasing smile. "This tastes so good! Not only is the cheese perfect but the veggies are fresh and the meats are just right. The anchovies are also pretty good and add to the flavors perfectly." He earned a full on laugh from his reaction, the girl sparkling a bit to him as the concrete of the building shook in a tiny amount.
"You look so adorable right now." Mikey took the pause to look around for what could have caused the tremor, knowing that there's no way New York is on a fault line. "I could just-" The boy looked towards his date, fearful that he had been caught using his powers. He saw her frowning past him, however, giving him the feeling that something else was bothering her.
"Hey," greeted a voice almost similar to Mikey's. The shinobi looked to his right, his eyes widening slightly as he saw someone who was just as green as him and his brothers. The boy had light green skin, dark green hair, pointy ears, and emerald eyes. He was wearing a black and purple jumpsuit that was completed by gray gloves and black and purple boots, the circular communicator with a "T" on his gray belt seemingly sticking out on the side. Mikey turned towards him a bit more, humming.
"Hey dude," greeted the hidden turtle. "You kinda sound like me. You're Beastboy, right? Guess you're one of the celebrities the staff mentioned." The animal hero looked just as spooked as the shinobi, smirking a bit.
"Whoa! That's kinda cool." The green teen then looked towards Tara, the girl crossing her arms a bit. "Didn't think I'd see you all the way out here in New York, Terra." This caused Mikey's date to huff, glaring at him.
"Seriously, who are you talking about?" questioned the California girl. "Whoever you think I am, I'm not her. My name is Tara. T-A-R-A. Can I eat in peace now or are you gonna throw mud in my face again?" The hidden turtle shot the fellow green teen a scowl, only for a whistle to be heard.
"Yo, BB!" cried a voice from the table. "Your pizza's getting cold!" Mikey looked back at the table, his eyes widening further as he saw a man who was mostly blue and white tech save for his red eye lens and the dark skin on the right side of his head. He was a rather bulky guy, the hero known as Cyborg, It wasn't just the big guy at the table, however.
The first person that stuck out to the shinobi was a teen boy with pale skin and black hair that was spiked back almost cartoonishly. He wore green tights with black ankle-high steel-toed boots, green elbow-high gloves, a short-sleeve green t-shirt underneath a red armored vest with a yellow letter "R" inside a black circle over his left pectoral muscle, a yellow utility belt, and a black cape that has a yellow interior. This was Robin, a former sidekick who had formed the group that was at the table. He was trained by Batman himself, something that had Mikey double his efforts to appear normal in almost the blink of an eye.
The next was a tall girl with bright orange skin, large green eyes with light-green scleras, and small rounded eyebrows. She had straight, shiny, waist-length, fiery-red hair with short bangs and a widow's peak. Her uniform consisted of a sleeveless violet crop top, a violet miniskirt, a silver belt, and thigh-high violet boots with silver soles and bands at the top. For armor, she wore a silver gorget with a round green gem embedded into it, silver bracers with green gems over the backs of her hands, and a silver armband on her upper right arm. This was Starfire, the one who was physically the strongest of the group.
The last one was a very slender girl with pale, grayish-white skin; violet eyes; and somewhat thick eyebrows. She had straight, asymmetrical angled, violet hair and a prominent widow's peak that framed a red gemstone with a black outline that was in the center of her forehead. She wore a hooded navy-blue cloak decorated with a crimson jewel that kept it shut, matching ruffled ankle-boots with grayish-black soles, a long-sleeve dark navy-blue legless leotard with regular navy-blue cuffs, a thin, gold belt with decorated with several of the same type of jewel as the one that held her cloak. She was Raven, the reported magic user of the group… and the one who was looking right at Mikey. Beastboy looked towards his group, pointing at Tara.
"Look Cy, it's Terra just like I said! She's acting like she doesn't know me." Tara pushed up from her seat, looking annoyed.
"Mikey, why don't we go somewhere else?" requested the blonde girl. "I just lost my appetite." Mikey slowly nodded his head, standing up.
"I'm cool with that," agreed the shinobi. "I'm leaving a tip real quick." He dropped some cash on the table as his date moved to walk away, Beastboy holding out his arm without fully reaching for her.
"Hey, wait!" pleaded the green boy. "I-" Mikey got between the known hero and the girl, taking her hand carefully and walking with her. "Terra!" The duo walked as quickly as possible, Tara taking deep breaths as she rubbed her temples.
"I'm sorry," apologized the blonde girl. "I thought he'd stopped bothering me with that Terra stuff a long time back." Mikey smiled at her, shaking his head.
"Don't worry about it," reassured the local boy. "He was bothering you so we left. Nothing wrong with that. I'm willing to hear you out if you need to talk but there's no reason to push it further." Tara smiled at him, looking a bit pained.
"Thanks. Every time he brings it up or I have to think about it my head hurts. Maybe I look like someone he knows but I can't be her. I'm not gonna go around lying to myself just to satisfy some boy." Mikey nodded his head, pointing towards the sky like Splinter would.
"A relationship built off of lies really doesn't work out. Sure everybody has their secrets but if you go into something lying for no good reason then it just leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouths like bad pizza." This earned him a giggle, Tara walking a bit closer to him.
He took the moment of her looking down to glance back, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as he processed everything at high speed. He had a feeling they were being tailed, his eyes looking around everywhere in an attempt to pinpoint the source. Unable to spot the source at the moment, he made a note to keep an eye out as he smiled at his date.
"How about we walk around Brooklyn? I haven't had a lot of time to explore this part of New York so there's likely a lot of new experiences we can both have." He looked around again, feeling the unknown presence a bit stronger than before. Before Tara could respond, he walked with her quickly to stay amongst the crowd in the streets. The hardened look on his face spooked a few people they passed, his date sharing their expression a bit.
"Mikey, what's wrong? You look tense." The teen boy heard her in slow motion as he saw something jump between banisters and across rooftops, the figure being humanoid but too far up for him to have a good view.
"I think we're being tailed. Just follow my lead and act natural." He carefully held her close as they walked, keeping his eyes out as they began to reach a park area. 'Why is it that most of my dates end up with some kind of fight? I'd like to have more normal dates, please and thank you.'
The shinobi moved on instinct, picking Tara up in his arms as he jumped towards the park. This had him avoid small bombs that seemed to release pressure more than cause destruction. Men in black attire with orange masks suddenly landed, people running for cover as cries of fear rang out. "Either the Foot upgraded their drip or New York has a ninja convention today. Stay close."
He reached into his vest as one of the enemies approached, suddenly tossing out his chain and sickle as he made the warrior jump away to avoid the hit. He then capitalized on the move, spinning his weapon in front of him like a shield as some more warriors jumped down. Taking a moment, he spun the weapon over his head as soon as the enemies leapt at him. One of them got hit by the blade, sparking as the machine revealed its nature and fell to the ground. "Looks like it's robot ninjas, meaning I don't have to feel bad about this."
He then aimed his spin more carefully, now slicing at the enemies. One grabbed the chain, only to be wrapped in said metal as Mikey jumped into the air and spun the connecting links around it. He then spun the enemy like a top, sending it crashing into a few others that tried to grab it. He was quickly back to Tara's side, relieving one of the machines of its torso as he swiped at it three times. "For the record, this usually only happens at night and is rather new around here compared to supervillain stuff."
He then felt his instincts kick in, grabbing Terra again as he used just a bit of his speed to dodge a blade strike. He looked back as a man stood where they once were, having a black suit similar to the robots as his helmet revealed a singular eye and was only half orange. The man looked rather serious, Mikey keeping himself between the man and his date as the enemy looked right at him.
"You'll find I'm not like the costumed children running around and causing terror, boy," stated the man. "Now, hand over the girl. This doesn't have to be difficult. You have skill, but you're not ready for someone like me." The shinobi held his weapon tightly, lowering into a stance that seemed to peak his enemy's interest.
"Trust me, I've faced someone more dangerous than you. Even if I just hold you off, that'll be enough." He glanced back as he felt a shift, seeing a look of terror on Tara's face.
"I-it's the man in my nightmares," gasped the girl. "H-He can't be real." Mikey looked forward again, gritting his teeth as the masked man chuckled.
"I can assure you, Terra, that I'm very real," stated the man. "The last time we saw each other, you killed me. Thanks to unforeseen events, I've returned to the land of the living. It's time to come back, my-" The man jumped back, Mikey's sickle scraping across the ground as it spun.
"Tara, get out of here and find some place safe," ordered the shinobi. "Go find those Titan guys." The blonde then disappeared from view, making his enemy's eye narrow as he heard the sound of electricity. He crossed his arms in a block, huffing as a kick sent him flying back into one of the trees. Mikey shifted into his shinobi gear and true form, spinning his weapon as his skin was mostly obscured.
"Follow the girl. The boy is mine." A few machines tried to jump past Mikey, only for a few of them to break apart as the boy bounced between them. Some were still able to slip past him and chase after Tara, the boy almost running after them before he cartwheeled backwards to avoid a slashing strike. He moved at high speed again, watching his enemy closely as the man had a faster reaction speed than most.
'First rule of a fight, judge what your enemy can do.' He played into the man's block, striking at him a few times as he elicited grunts. He then blocked the enemy's sword with his sickle, stepping back intentionally to make the villain step into a loop created by his chain. He pulled the metal tight, the masked man jumping back to avoid his leg being strangled. 'He's skilled, like Master Splinter and Shredder type of skilled.'
He spun his weapon again, stepping back a bit as he watched the man run at him. He stopped spinning his weapon and jumped back, spinning in the air as the enemy threw throwing stars at him. He crossed his arms as soon as he landed, blocking a kick from his adversary.
"You've been trained well. I haven't seen someone effectively use a chain and sickle in years." The enemy jumped back to avoid any potential attacks, studying the boy's weapon. "Its craft is unique, almost unreal. You've also taken care of it."
The boy never took his eye off the man, lowering into his stance again as he firmly held his grip. "Still, I think playtime is over." Mikey blocked as fast as he could, surprised at how fast the man tried to strike and kick at him from. He dodged another blade strike, only to wince as a kick landed on his cheek. He spun around to lessen the damage he'd take, using swift movements to enter a dodging state.
He took another hit, only to return fire as he punched his enemy square in the gut. The two of them jumped away from each other, Mikey throwing out a few shuriken that the man blocked with his sword. "I have to say I'm quite disappointed. You have strength and speed but your skills are clearly lacking aside from perfection of the basics." Mikey pulled out one of the egg smoke bombs, keeping it close to him.
"Learning's part of the process. Just remember that we're always learning." He dropped the egg, the man leaping at him as the smoke took effect. His enemy sliced at nothing, the boy being gone. He looked for signs of departure, seeing some scorch marks on some obscure places.
Mikey zoomed through the city, looking around as he tried to find Tara. He spotted them almost immediately, two of the machines holding the girl down as another had a needle of some kind. The blonde girl looked exceptionally frightened, the turtle scowling as lightning spewed from his eyes. "Leave her alone!" He tucked into his shell as he spun in place, dashing forward as he tore through the one with the needle.
"HELP!" cried Tara. "G-GET THEM OFF OF ME!" One of the ones holding her down raised its fist, her eyes glowing yellow as her emotions ran high. "GET. OFF!"
She cried out as the earth trembled, Mikey having to brace himself as the street cracked and a stone spike jutted out to spear the two machines that were on the girl. She then screamed more, grabbing her head as the area continued to quake. "MAKE IT STOP! IT HURTS!" Mikey quickly ran to her, holding her close as his body vibrated.
"TARA! I'M HERE! THEY'RE GONE!" He shifted before she could look at him, the boy looking her straight in the eye. "Just calm down and breathe!"
He didn't let go of her, feeling her scrape her fingernails against his back as the shaking began to slow down. "I've got you." He held her closer as he stood up, his eyes sparking a bit as he saw more of the machines move into view. "Ah sewer apples." Before the enemies could reach him, the sound of an elephant crying out filled the air.
A huge green mammoth barreled through the machines, spearing a few of them on its tusks before tossing them around. Sparks and machine pieces went flying as it suddenly turned into a huge green T-Rex, roaring as it stomped down on a few enemies. Robin ran into view, bashing another enemy with his collapsible staff.
"Titans, GO!" ordered the teen. He threw bird shaped boomerangs, hitting a few of the enemies before spinning his staff defensively. He fended off a few of them, dodging to reveal Cyborg as the mechanical man's hand was replaced by an energy canon. He fired the blast, tearing through the machines in his path. Starfire and Raven also flew into the area, Mikey taking the opportunity to swap the now sluggish Tara into a bridal style position.
"Looks like they have this covered. Let's get you somewhere safe until this whole thing blows over." He zipped off quickly, soon reaching the edge he arrived from. He ran across the water, moving as carefully as he could to avoid falling in or running into anything. Once on the other side, he opened a manhole cover and carefully carried her down into the sewers.
He took a few deep breaths, holding the blonde close as he looked around. "Hope this doesn't count as kidnapping but I don't know what else to do right now." He zipped through the tunnels, following the routes he knew by heart. As this was happening, Donnie could be seen humming to himself in his lab as he worked on an unknown machine. He picked up the gun-like object, judging its weight carefully.
"I think it's almost done," sighed the genius. "Maybe now getting around will be much easier." Before he could test it out, he heard the zips of Mikey's superspeed and quickly hid the invention away. "Hey Mikey! I didn't think your date would end so-"
He walked out of the lab, only to drop the tool he was still holding as he saw Tara in the boy's arms. "MIKEY WHAT THE SHELL!?" The boy held his date close, sighing a bit.
"It's a long story but she needs help. I promise I'll explain but we need to get her a room, one preferably up above and not here in the sewers." Donnie nodded his head, pressing in one of the bricks nearby as an elevator to the building above opened. Not even a few moments later, Tara was in Karai's bed with an ice pack on her head. She shivered in her slumber, Mikey standing straight as his family stood on the other side of him.
"Let's see if I've got this right," began Leo. "You met this girl, got attacked, and didn't even try to contact us. Then she shook the earth while panicking and nearly destroyed Brooklyn. Only when another group who could have seen you showed up to fight the enemies did you try running away with her instead of doing that before engaging the enemy." Mikey sighed, nodding his head.
"Yeah. I said I'd contact you but everything happened so fast. The guy who showed up WOULD have gotten a bad hit on one of us if I tried to run. The only thing I could think to do was buy time until I could get away to meet back up with her. I know I fought Shredder until Master Splinter took over but that was because he was underestimating me and I caught him by surprise."
He rubbed his arm as he looked away. "This guy was way above my level and was toying with me to figure out what I could do just like I was watching him during the fight. If he took me seriously for a second sooner I'd be more cooked than a burnt pizza. I acted on what I knew to do and if I didn't have my superspeed I probably wouldn't be explaining myself right now." Master Splinter rubbed him atop his head, sighing a bit.
"There is not much we can do about it now," stated the man. "At the very least you acted accordingly to the threat and weren't foolish enough to continue a fight you weren't ready to win. Still, this girl does worry me. That kind of power is something many would seek to obtain for themselves, much like your unknown assailant." Donnie checked her over, in his human form as he rubbed a finger over her wrist.
"She's still stable and just tired," assessed the genius. "She should be waking up any-" Tara gasped awake, her eyes wide as she seemed to be having a panic attack.
"I CAN'T GO BACK!" cried the girl. "I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK IN THE STONE!" She shivered again, tears rolling down her face as the scent of incense filled the room.
"Just breathe," suggested Leo. "No one's taking you anywhere." The girl looked around the room, taking in everything as she spotted Mikey.
"We're at my place," explained the boy. "It was the only place I could think of where there wouldn't be a lot of questions from the wrong people." Tara took a deep breath, the scents in the air slowing her heartbeat to a healthy amount.
"T-That was all real," began the California girl. "All of it. The man from my nightmares, the robot ninjas… and you. You were that ninja clad guy with the huge shell suit… Or was it an actual shell?"
She groaned, rubbing her temples as Mikey shrugged at his brothers' glares. "Everything happened so fast and my head hurts… Slade… That was his name. He… he trained me."
Her hand was now on the side of her head, the girl working through what was streaming through her mind. "He taught me how to control my powers, made a suit to amplify them. Then he betrayed me, convinced me to turn on my friends just because I was mad at Beastboy for thinking he told the others… Oh no."
She hugged herself close, rocking a bit. "I-I killed myself and Slade… and forgot everything when the rock shell broke. Beastboy was trying to help me but I couldn't remember a thing. Thinking about it just hurt so much that I defaulted to not thinking about it." Splinter slowly approached, being in his human form as he sat at the side of the bed.
"Repressed memories caused by trauma," stated the man. "I may not be a man of science, but I have seen it before in my youth. Sometimes the best medicine is to be open and process what must be remembered. Nothing that is said will ever leave this room unless necessary or you deem it so." Tara took a few more breaths, resting her hands in her lap.
"...I turned away from the world because of my powers. I destroyed the house my family was staying in and ended up getting my parents killed in the avalanche. I ran to the desert where I couldn't hurt anyone, trying to learn to control my powers. Then Beastboy found me and brought me back to Titans Tower."
The girl began to cry, Mikey rubbing her shoulder gently. "He showed me love and gave me a new home, a new family. Then I betrayed all of them after Robin said he knew about my troubles in controlling my powers, going right back to Slade and becoming his apprentice. I caused so much pain and trouble for everyone and deserve what happened to me. I can't do anything right." Splinter pulled her into a hug, hushing her as he rubbed her head.
"Hush now," calmly ordered the master shinobi. "You have been hurt by circumstances and pain. While your choices were malicious and harmful, you were manipulated into making them. Where you should have been helped and nurtured, this man led you astray and caused you pain. In time, you can mend the bridges that have been broken."
He rubbed her head, cooing her gently. "Leave us." The group bowed respectfully to the man, fanning out of the room. A few minutes later, the group could be found sitting on the couch with Mikey looking somber. He looked down, sighing.
"I have a feeling this one isn't gonna work out," stated the boy. "The way she talked about that other guy, he's her choice. If this happened after a relationship started between us, she'd choose him still." His brothers looked at each other, trying to think of what to say. Raph huffed, crossing his arms.
"Talk about a rough first date back on the service," stated the hothead. "These California girls keep coming in with some kind of baggage." He yelped as Leo bonked him lightly on the head, the leader looking towards his brother.
"There will be other dates, Mikey," reassured Leo. "At least you're mature enough to admit when something might not work out. You've had some good dates already and I'm kinda proud of you for sticking with this to feel things out. All we can do right now is help Tara as best as we can." Mikey smiled as Karai rubbed his arm, smirking playfully.
"Of course we could always go plan b and make someone like you," joked the daughter of Splinter. "I know a friend who specializes in things like this." Mikey cried out, standing up and shivering a bit.
"Why is violence and sneaky stuff always what this family goes for?!" cried the blonde boy. "I just want a real relationship, not one where the girl is scared by Raph's scary face or tricked into it." He cried out again as Raph tackled him, giving him a noogie with a grin.
"How's this for scary, huh!?" barked the redhead. "Let's do the old fashioned thing. Say it! Don't tell me you've forgotten." He licked his finger, preparing to poke his brother with it.
"Raphael is the coolest, most awesomest turtle ever! He's better than me in every way!" Leo rolled his eyes as Karai giggled, knowing that this was gonna be a long day.
-To be Continued-
Next time on The Many Dates of a Ninja Turtle
A Quiet Date with Noodles
That's another chapter out of the way! I had planned for Date 15 to be a good date for Mikey but things kinda spiraled out of control and this was where things went. My original plan was to use Raven as the date but then I heard Terra would be a better option for the date. You can kinda see where that went. Things are a bit too far along now for me to turn back.
Special Guest Zemrocku: Yeah. Raven wouldn't have been the best option and look you got a fun chapter. Ink wanted help with making sure characters stayed in character so I helped.
Inkaliber: Shout out to Zem for helping me work through this. I might call on his help again at times depending on what happens.
Zemrocku: Ya and it's funny. This is the first time I even looked at this story, mostly because I've not been interested. Sorry bud but it was fun.
Inkaliber: All good man! Hopefully you'll give the story a chance at some time but no one's forcing ya. Now, time to end the chapter.
What did you guys think? Did you like how the date went before the craziness began again? What will Mikey rate this date as and who do you think is next up? Let me know what you think down below and let me know who you think Mikey's next date will be. This is Inkaliber, signing off.
Date Ratings:
Miyako Gotokuji (Bubbles): 9
Marcy Wu: 10
Mabel Pines: 8
DeeDee: 1 (Canceled)
Star Butterfly: 10
Jubilation Lee: 8
Katie Holt (Pidge): 9
Shinigami: 3
Cassandra Sandsmark (Cassie): 9
Mavis Dracula: 8
Haley Long: 10
Ring Ring: 1 (Pending Suspension)
Ester: 8
Mina Ashido: 9
Tara Markov (Terra): ?