April and the Ninja Turtles
Chapter 3:
A mutant humanoid rat lay before her, on the verge of death. April stood frozen, as if time had stopped. She was terrified — this creature, straight out of a science fiction movie, was almost twice her size! Her mouth opened and closed in disbelief as she grabbed her work phone and searched her contacts for Dr. Stockman. But just as she was about to hit the "call" button, she stopped abruptly.
The rat in front of her raised its paw toward her and placed it gently on her forearm before she met its cloudy, pleading gaze. Lost in the darkness of his eyes, April couldn't bring herself to press the call button.
Why should she call Stockman? After all, he wasn't someone trustworthy, and he was dealing with clearly dangerous people who had tried to kill this mutant. On the other hand, she was standing in front of a giant rat who could just as well wish her harm — even if deep down, she believed that this "Shredder" must be far more evil. Then April made a crucial decision that would change her life forever.
She had to fix what she had broken.
"I… um… I'm going to help you, Mr. Rat," she said hesitantly, before grabbing him by the arms to drag him toward the alcove that had suffered the least damage — the laboratory.
Clearing the debris off the couch, she gently laid the unconscious mutant down and rummaged through all the cabinets, most of which were filled with scientific equipment. Luckily, she found a first-aid kit and rushed to the rat, whose breathing was shallow and wheezing. She began by cleaning and disinfecting his open wounds and covering them with sterile gauze. But what worried her most were the injuries she couldn't see — if he was suffering from internal bleeding, there wasn't much she could do. Her only option was to wait patiently for any sign of change.
Sitting on an office chair for over an hour, she watched the old rat sleep deeply. As a scientist, she was fascinated by the mutation he had undergone — but as a human, she was scared, keeping her distance. There was something human about him, beyond just his humanoid appearance. He wore a dogi, worn and faded — once purple, she guessed. As she studied him, the hairs on her arms stood on end when he suddenly opened his mouth and spoke with difficulty.
"M-My… s-sons…" he whispered through clenched teeth, wincing in pain.
He spoke?! she thought, shooting up from her chair, eyes wide with shock. She backed away as he turned his pained gaze to her and slowly reached out a paw, as if silently asking her to come closer.
"You helped me… I-I am very grateful," he said.
April was taken aback by the way he spoke. His wise, aged voice almost made her forget to be afraid.
She couldn't find any words. She was facing something her brain couldn't comprehend — a creature that shouldn't exist. What kind of experiments was Stockman running? And why? Why create mutants that were half-man, half-animal?
"You…" she began, blinking and furrowing her brow, stepping carefully closer, struggling to string words together.
"This is… completely insane!" she finally exclaimed, moving toward the rat, feeling no threat coming from him. And in the state he was in, he couldn't really do much anyway.
"Who are you?" she asked, unable to hide her fascination as their eyes met.
"I am just a simple sewer rat. They call me Splinter," he said, placing a paw over his aching abdomen.
"Splinter? Where did you come from?" Now kneeling beside him, she listened intently.
"Once, I was just an ordinary rat. I had a master named Hamato Yoshi, who practiced martial arts. But my master was murdered out of jealous rage by Oroku Saki. That man took me as a trophy, knowing how much Yoshi cared for me. But he didn't stop there — he also took the four baby turtles beloved by Tang Shen, Yoshi's fiancée, who was also killed. He fled to New York with us and met a renowned scientist named Baxter Stockman.
Together, they planned to create a powerful, obedient army using animals and a green fluid called 'Mutagen'. Saki, who had formed his own clan called the Foot, entrusted us to Stockman for his initial experiments. To them, we were nothing but test subjects…"
Splinter paused as a fit of coughing overtook him, anger flashing across his furry face.
"The turtles and I endured terrible suffering in that lab. They were so young… I couldn't let them continue their cruel experiments. So I destroyed the remaining mutagen, took the turtles, and escaped into the sewers. I knew nothing of the world above, but I knew I had to protect them at all costs, to keep those men from ever getting their hands on us again."
Splinter clenched his fist, overcome with emotion as he told his story. April sat beside him, hanging on every word.
"We managed to evade them for a while, which gave me time to teach them Ninjutsu, in honor of my master Yoshi. But Oroku Saki and Baxter Stockman never stopped searching for us, because of the mutagen running through our veins. Then… a week ago, three of my sons were captured," he finished, trying to sit up — but the searing pain immediately forced him back down.
"They took your sons?" April repeated, her face deadly serious as she recalled what she'd seen on her first day on the top floor of the tower — the reinforced doors with special locks down the main hallway.
"Before the explosion, I was here with my remaining son, Donatello. We were working on a plan to infiltrate the T.C.R.I. tower and rescue them. But after the explosion… I remember nothing. Where is he?" the old rat asked, looking around anxiously.
"I… I haven't seen anyone else," April replied, rising from her crouched position to look around.
"They took him too?" the rat's trembling voice tugged at her heart.
"I'll find him. I promise you," she assured him with determination, raising a hand to calm him. He relaxed slightly, sighing with difficulty before continuing in a more composed voice.
"What is your name?" Splinter asked, stopping her just as she was about to leave the lab.
"April O'Neil," she answered with a small smile, then began her search.
This was all her fault. She had just handed them the final blow, just because she was so eager to prove herself to the city's greatest scientist — to follow in her father's footsteps…
Looking devastated, April searched through the rubble for the missing turtle, though she had no idea what one would even look like.
A mutant turtle… what does that even look like? she wondered, stumbling a little as she refocused on her search. Time was running out.
The place was huge and almost completely buried under debris from the fragmentation bomb, which had done massive damage in the confined space. Chunks of concrete still fell occasionally, echoing ominously as they hit the ground. Though she was in the sewers, the stench wasn't as bad in this abandoned lair.
She paused when she saw a katana stuck between bricks, then leaned over a hole in the floor to see if someone was trapped inside. She lifted a cabinet to check underneath when the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
She felt a threatening presence behind her — but before she could react, a staff shot past her and yanked her back hard against something solid. The force was overwhelming, and she couldn't fight it. Her hands gripped the staff, trying in vain to break free and breathe. She could hear her attacker's ragged breathing, and when she glanced down the length of the staff, she was stunned to see green, three-fingered hands, covered in wounds.
"D-Donatello," she whispered, eyes wide.
But then she heard him groan behind her before his grip loosened, and he collapsed to the floor. Still gasping for air, April instinctively clutched her throat, coughing. Swallowing hard, she hesitated to turn around, afraid of what she might see.
Finally, she slowly turned and looked down at the unconscious figure on the ground. Two arms, two legs, a head… and a shell. Her heart skipped a beat as she took in the mutant lying before her — he was much larger than either her or the rat.
Wearing worn-out pants, the turtle was equipped with various electronic gadgets, straps across his shoulders, suspenders holding up his pants, and a car seatbelt fashioned into a normal belt. But the detail that caught April's attention was the purple bandana tied behind his goggles.
Her hands trembling, April snapped out of her daze and cautiously approached him to assess his injuries. His right arm was bloody, and so was his face. But what worried her most was his cracked plastron, from which blood was trickling.
"Oh no," she whispered, standing up and brushing strands of hair from her forehead.
In that condition, she couldn't move him. She had to stop the bleeding first — and time was running out. April ran as fast as she could back to the lab and searched frantically for anything to treat him with, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
"April? What's happening?" Splinter asked worriedly, watching her panic.
"I… I found Donatello. I need to help him — fast!" she stammered, finally finding another well-stocked first aid kit.
"Take me to him!" Splinter tried to get up again, gritting his teeth through the pain — his son's life was at stake.
"You're in no condition to move. Stay here and… trust me," she said, pausing to meet his eyes, her hand raised to silently ask him to stay.
"I know it won't be easy, but you have to trust me on this." She waited until the rat nodded in agreement before racing off in the other direction with the kit.
Back at Donatello's side, she knelt down and focused on the wound in his plastron. Hesitating, she gently touched his surprisingly warm shell. Swallowing, she cleaned the wound with a sterile solution, then held the cracked shell in place with her hand to prevent further movement.
She grabbed a needle and thread, ready to stitch — but stopped when she realized it wouldn't help. How do you even stitch a shell?!
Tossing the needle aside, she searched for another solution, panicking more as the bleeding worsened.
April grabbed a roll of bandages and pressed them against the wound, wrapping them around his torso to hold the gauze in place. She slipped her arm under his shell and pulled the bandage through with difficulty due to his size, setting aside her fear of this surreal creature.
With care and precision, she managed to wrap his torso securely, stabilizing the cracked shell and stopping the hemorrhage.
Breathing a sigh of relief once she was done, she could finally move him to the lab. Looking around for a way to transport him without worsening his injuries, she spotted a large tray and slid it underneath him. Positioning herself at his head, she carefully grabbed his arms and dragged him back.
Splinter's heart nearly stopped when he saw his son — bloodied and unconscious. Choking up, he slipped from the couch to crawl to his side and placed a comforting paw on his forehead, tears streaming from his dark eyes.
"No… My son, what have they done to you?" he wept, under the guilty gaze of the human girl who bit her lip, holding back tears of her own.
How would she ever explain to them that she was the reason this assassination attempt had happened?
…
To be continued…