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Chapter Text

Bundled in his thick, black trenchcoat and maroon scarf that hid most of his face, Baron Draxum lifted a manhole cover and slipped into the cold sewers. The harsh winter brought very little comfort to the unclean tunnels, but it certainly beat the smoldering hot temperatures that made the smells double in disgust. 

The retired alchemist ran down the tunnels with the bag of ingredients in his hand, and when he arrived at the lair, declared, “Michaelangelo! I am here with the supplies you requi-…” 

But he stopped, seeing - not a dire situation like how his son made it seem over the message - but all four turtles decorating the lair with yellow rubber filled with air and colorful thin paper that hung in curves.

Mikey grinned, having just finished painting a banner at the table, and said, “Great! Thanks! I’ll get to work on the cake while you guys finish decorating!”

“What is going on?” Draxum asked, a little annoyed at how Mikey exaggerated the situation, as he gave the box turtle the bag of ingredients and crossed his arms over his chest.

“It’s our Friendiversary!” Leo explained, taping yellow balloons and silver 7-shaped balloons on corners.

“Yup!” Raph said, walking up to Mikey’s beautiful banner, ready to hang it up. “Seven years ago today we met April and became best friends! She’s coming home from her grandma’s farmhouse today, so we’re surprising her with a party!”

“I see.” Draxum allowed a small smile to decorate his face as he sat in Splinter’s vacant chair. “I do wonder how four mutant turtles met a human girl, and the interaction not only being successful, but leading to a long-lasting friendship.”

Raph grinned and began the storytelling.

It was winter of 2000-something. New York was a buzz with the holidays; caroling, shopping, bright lights, everyone maxing out their credit cards. It was noisy, chaotic, and fun.

The turtle tots weren’t allowed to go up to the surface, especially without Splinter, but that didn’t stop them from running throughout the tunnels and peaking at the huge Christmas trees, shiny toys, and kids playing in the snow.

“My turn, my turn!” Mikey squeaked, waving a raised arm around, the sleeve of his orange sweater sinking down.

“Okay, Mikey gets to seek!” Raph declared. “Count to fifty! Ninja-hide ninja-quick!” And the three older brothers ran and left Mikey to bury his face in the stone wall and count.

Raph snickered behind his red scarf and ran, trying to think of a good place to hide. In one tunnel, some boxes were stacked by a drain, and the shadows fell perfectly so that the top of the stacked boxes were hidden, so Raph grinned and climbed up on the boxes, smiling at himself for his cleverness.

From the snapping turtle’s hiding spot, he could peek out of the drain and into the world above. He watched as a young girl walked by, carrying a bat and tossing a baseball in her gloved hand.

April, all snuggled and dressed warmly in the cold weather, walked up to two boys who were playing catch. “Hey! Can I play with you guys?”

“No!” The boy with red hair and freckles sneered. “I don’t play baseball with girls.”

April frowned, then quipped back, “Really? Your friend’s playing with one.”

Raph covered his mouth with his hand, trying to suppress his gasp. That was really smart and funny!

But the boy didn’t think so. While his friend laughed, the ginger shoved April so hard she fell back on the icy concrete. “C’mon, let’s get outta here before we get cooties.”

April rolled her eyes as they left, rubbing her behind, and muttered, “Good, I don’t wanna catch your stupid.”

Raph watched as the girl stood up, tapped her boot with her bat, looking sad. The turtle was confused. Why wouldn’t anyone wanna play with her? The girl sighed, then threw the ball at the wall, then swung her bat and hit it by the time it got back to her, starting a long, solo game of baseball.

Raph frowned. He wanted to play with her. But that wasn’t allowed. But he looked down at his gloved hands and covered body. Maybe if he kept his hood up, his scarf over his face, and stuck to the shadows…

“Hey. Can I play with you?”

April turned and saw a figure of a kid in the shadows, bundled up for the winter. All that was visible was his silhouette and a pair of kind, smiling eyes under his hood. 

The young girl grinned. “Sure! Wanna play catch?”

“Yeah!”

April dropped her bat, tossed the ball, and the shadow caught it. They tossed the ball back and forth, laughing and enjoying how difficult or cool they could make each throw and catch.

“April! Dinner!”

The girl winced and did not throw the baseball back when it landed in her hand. “I gotta go. Thanks for playing with me!”

“Thanks for letting me play!” Raph called, waving her away, and watching as she ran into the apartment building.

The young turtle smiled, feeling very warm inside after making his first real friend, and he hopped back down into the sewers.

“Found you!” Mikey yelled, running towards him and giving him a hug.

“You weren’t even trying to hide!” Leo said, pointing at the big brother they found just standing in the middle of the tunnel.

“And yet I won!” Raph teased, being the last one found.

“Can we go home now?” Donnie whined, holding his shivering body, and they all started to walk back home.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Mikey interrupted, mixing a bowl and walking into the main room. “That’s not how we met April!”

“It’s how I met April!” Raph corrected.

“Yeah, but I met her first!”

“You did not!”

“Did so!”

“Wait,” Draxum said, holding up a hand to pause the debate. “You met Ms. O’Niel before everyone else did, too?”

“Yeah!” Mikey said with shining eyes, and the storytelling began.

It was winter of 2000-something. New York was a buzz with the holidays; caroling, shopping, bright lights, even at night, but it was different. It was cold, stiff, yet welcoming.

The turtle tots had been so good all season, so well behaved, and it was ideal weather to go topside, using winter clothing as a cover, that Splinter decided that a trip to the surface to watch a light show would be okay. So uptop a building, Splinter juggled four young boys, all impatient for the light show to start, too preoccupied to notice one of his sons climbing down the fire escape.

Mikey sat on the edge and let his legs dangle, holding onto the rails of the fire escape as he watched the city and waited. But then a delicious smell hit him, and he looked down to see a girl sitting on a window with a mug of hot chocolate. It even had marshmallows and a candy cane in it!

April used the candy cane to mix her drink, waiting for the light show to begin. She could sense someone’s presence and looked up at the fire escape above her, seeing a kid staring at her. Well, staring at her hot chocolate, anyway.

Mikey froze like the icicle dangling from his seat, but April smiled and held up the mug to the boy. Mikey grinned, hopped down to the fire escape next to her, and carefully took the mug and drank a teeny tiny sip. It was delicious! One of the best things Mikey had ever tasted! He wanted to drink the whole thing, but that would be mean, so he took another small sip and handed the mug back to the girl.

April took a sip and handed the mug back. Mikey grinned, realizing he had a friend and was sharing, but before he could take a sip, music started to play, and the light show began. The children kept their eyes glued to the show, still sharing the hot chocolate and throwing in some “oo”s and “ah”s at the beautiful Christmas Eve Light Show.

When the show was over and the hot chocolate was gone, Mikey grinned at April and said, “Thanks for the hot chocolate!”

The girl smiled, but a man’s voice from the roof called, “Orange! Boys, where is your brother?!”

Mikey panicked and hurried up to the roof, too scared of being in trouble to even say goodbye. But April still smiled, glad to have made a friend, and she closed her window and went to bed.

“It appears you two have met her on two separate occasions.” Draxum said with a smile, helping tie balloons Raph was filling with air. 

“I guess so.” Raph said after a long breath; he and his brothers had never really discussed how they had met their friend.

“What about you, Donnie?” Mikey asked, mixing the icing for the cake. “Did you ever talk to April before we were friends?”

“As a matter of fact, Michael, I did.” Donnie admitted with a small smile. “I was but a young turtle. I had just perfected the art of eyebrow drawing…”

“Oh boy, here we go.” Leo muttered, knowing his twin was going to tell the story in the most theatrical way possible.

T’was the winter of 2000-something. New York was still a buzz with the holidays; caroling, shopping, bright lights, though the good people were getting a little burned out on the glorious holiday season. 

Leftover turkey was getting dry, Christmas carols were becoming annoying, but New Years typically marked the end of the season, so all the tired folk had to do was wait until the stroke of midnight to be free of the curse of the holiday season.

The young mutants had been so well behaved during the Christmas Eve lights, even with Mikey wandering a little too far away for Splinter’s comfort, that he decided that they were ready for fireworks, and could go to Central Park to enjoy the New Year’s Eve firework show.

Splinter had found a lonesome tree in the back of the clearing many citizens were sitting on, and he gave his boys very clear instructions to stay near the tree. Raph, Mikey, and Leo ran around, playing tag and staying close to the tree, while Donnie sat cross-legged, shivering in his hoodie and coat, his glasses wobbling on his face. Splinter smiled sympathetically and patted his soft shell gently, reassuring his son that he would keep him warm.

“Excuse me, may we sit here?”

Splinter froze and looked up at his right side. A couple stood bundled in winter gear with a young girl, about the same age as his boys. They smiled and seemed nice, and the rat was noticing that free space was non-existent at this point in the night, so he nodded, hoping it was too dark and they were too covered for the humans to notice anything different.

Carol smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Kirby laid down a picnic blanket, they all sat down, and April pulled out fluffy blankets from her mom’s picnic blanket and they all got warm while waiting for the show.

Mikey tackled Leo and Raph laughed, then turned to where his dad and little brother were sitting and called, “Hey Donnie! Come play with us!”

“No!” Donnie yelled. “I’m cold!”

“C’mon, D!” Leo whined. 

“Leave him be, boys,” Splinter chuckled. “He’ll come play when he’s ready.”

“Are those all your children?” Carol O’Niel asked gently.

“Uh, y-yes.” Splinter answered, not quite meeting her eyes.

“My Lord, and I thought we had our hands full with April.” Kirby O’Niel joked, rubbing the top of her daughter’s head.

“Well, they’re absolutely beautiful!” Carol complimented.

“Thank you,” Splinter smiled, allowing himself to believe he could hold a normal conversation with normal parents, if only for a minute.  “You…”

The disguised mutant was interrupted by an exploding firework, and th show began with gasps of admiration and shining eyes.

Leo, Mikey, and Raph plopped down on the grass where they stood, a few feet away from their family, and stared happily at the firework show. Splinter smiled, it being many years since he had been fireworks, and was glad he could introduce this to his sons. April grinned and hugged her knees, excited for the show. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Except for Donnie.

The lights were too bright, the sounds were too loud, he could practically feel the ground shake beneath him. His already rigid body grew even stiffer, his jaw tightening, and he began to tremble, overwhelmed and terrified. But he saw his brothers laughing and his father smiling. He couldn’t ask to go home. That would ruin their fun. So the boy ducked his head into his arms and tried to block everything out until it was over.

No one noticed the boy’s panic. Except for April.

Her mom was a therapist and taught her a few tricks, one of them being on what to do when someone is scared. Make sure they know they’re not alone.

April smiled sympathetically at the boy, slowly reached for his hand, and softly grabbed it and held it.

Donnie looked up with wet eyes, seeing the girl holding his hand. Normally he didn’t like to be touched, but somehow he felt a little bit better, so he allowed it and re-buried his head. Whenever an explosion went off a little too loud, he would squeeze April’s hand, and sometimes April would rub the back of his hand with her thumb. She only let go of him when the show was over and it was time to clap.

“Well, we better get going,” Splinter said nervously, standing up. “Boys! Let’s go!”

“Thanks for letting us sit with you guys.” April said politely as her parents started folding up blankets.

“You’re welcome… Orange! That is not food!” And he took Donnie’s hand and ran to his other sons.

“Wait wait wait!” Draxum injected, a bit startled. “Splinter has met April’s parents?! I thought none of you have met them before?”

“Don’t get excited, Sheep-Man,” Donnie said, rolling his eyes. “They exchanged a few sentences. That hardly counts as an introduction.” He muttered, not at all bitter, as he re-read his playlist before connecting the speakers.

“Hmmm,” Leo dragged, holding his chin in thought. “Yeah, I think I got you and Mikey beat, Donnie. Maybe Raph met her before me…”

“So how did you meet Ms. O’Niel?” Draxum asked the leader of the team.

It was winter of 2000-something. New York was a buzz with the holidays; caroling, shopping, bright lights, and across the city, African-Americans were celebrating their heritage with a special party, meal, and gift exchange. It was noisy, chaotic, and fun.

April’s family was spread across New England. Only she and her parents lived in New York City, but her grandparents lived in Pennsylvania, she had an aunt and uncle in Maine, another aunt and uncle, with some cousins, living in Boston, and one aunt living in Buffalo. All these people, plus family-friends, and basically everyone April’s parents knew, attended a large party in the small apartment.

April had a good time, sure, but soon she was emotionally tired, and being the second-youngest in the family meant she had no one to talk to or relate to, so at one point she went into her room to rest, but found a sleeping baby on her bed. The girl sighed tiredly and sat at her window, opening it and letting the cold, crips air cool off her warm skin.

One of her uncles had gotten her a joke book as a gift. April opened it and began to read. Some of the jokes were good, some were bad. Some were bad and still managed to make her snort. Maybe some of these jokes were better when said out-loud.

Down at the sidewalk before her building, a little boy kicked the pavement, huffy and puffy. It was just a joke, a prank gone too far, and now he was in big trouble. He was going to be on the Naughty List next year, for sure.

Leo just needed some fresh air. He knew what he was doing was wrong, walking around the surface, but it was dark, he was covered, and he needed some alone time. He would be back down in the sewers before anyone noticed he was gone.

In the stiff, silent night, Leo could hear a voice. He looked up, his breath visible, and saw a girl reading out-loud a few floors up. “What did the farmer use to fix his cabbages? A cabbage patch!”

Leo snorted and covered his mouth with a gloved hand.

“Why is dark spelled with a K and not a C? Cuz you can’t see in the dark.”

Leo laughed. Not a small giggle or a tiny, pitiful huff. He full-belly laughed, holding his forehead at the joke.

His laughter reached April, and when she looked down and saw she had an audience, she cleared her throat and read the jokes with a bit more flare. “What do you call a man with a shovel in his head? An ambulance. Immediately.”

Leo laughed at joke after joke, despite all of them being beyond awful, but they made him happy, so he laughed, and April joked. At one point, poor Leo was on his back, his legs kicking in the air while he held his chest.

“H-H-Hey!” Leo called up to the girl. “Wh-What did Mama-corn say to Baby-corn?”

“What?” April called back down to the boy.

“Wh-Where’s Pop-corn?!”

April cackled. And so the jokes were thrown left and right. Even the baby, who had one been sleeping, was giggling over the laughter.

That caught the attention of an aunt. “Oh, Angel! Are you laughing at your silly cousin?”

April closed his window and blushed, ready to go along with her aunt’s assumption that she had been practicing her jokes with the baby.

Leo sighed happily, feeling better, and he made his way for home, ready to face his family and the consequences of his joke gone too far.

Mikey was icing the cooled cake at the table, while the other turtles took turns adding their own messages and signatures to the card. Draxum smiled and said, “Well, I’m assuming the anniversary is today and not on those days for a reason.”

“Yup!” Raph said, finishing signing the card and giving it to Leo. “Today, we all met April together…”

It was January of 2000-something. Thank the pizza supreme in the sky that the holidays were over! Decorations were packed away, carols had stopped playing in malls, and the park was full of people on jogs, trying to start the New Year a little healthier.

The turtles had been running around for half an hour and were getting warm, so their faces were free in the solitude of the sewers. They had just finished a game of hide-and-seek by a drain that leaked in sunshine.

“Great job, guys!”

“So what should we play now?”

“How about hero and villain?”

“Yeah!”

“Can I play, too?”

The turtles were all startled out of their shells at the voice. Raph stood in front of his brothers, arms wide, as a pair of kind eyes peered at them through the drain. The boys stared as she slid down into the sewers and tripped, falling on her butt, but she quickly stood up and dusted herself off, smiling sheepishly, a big grin on her young face.

The turtles stared at the girl. Clearly, they were different. Clearly, they weren’t human. But she didn’t care.

Mikey broke away from his brother’s protective stance and ran to her. “YEAH! Hi, I’m Mikey! Thanks again for sharing your hot chocolate! You, Raph and I can be heroes, and Leo and Donnie can be villains!”

“Okay!” April agreed and took a heroic stance with the box turtle. “Villains! You shall not prevail!”

The boys grinned, and instantly jumped into character. 

“And we’ve been a family ever since.” Leo concluded, sitting the decorated card upright by the cake.

“Aw, that’s a cute story.”

The boys screamed in shock. April had somehow snuck down into the lair without anyone noticing, standing between Leo and Donnie at the table. Her arms were full of wrapped gifts, all of which fell when she was tackled to the ground and embraced in a big family hug.

“HAPPY FRIENDIVERSARY!”

“Thanks, guys!” April laughed, hugging them back. “I’ve missed you like crazy! The place looks awesome! Now c’mon, open your gifts!”

Splinter entered the room with two cups of tea and silently gave Draxum a cup as he sat in his chair to watch the gift exchange. Draxum sipped his hot beverage, smiling at the scene before him: The turtles and the young woman sat in a circle, opening gifts and laughing and hugging.

Draxum’s smile was a mixed bag of emotions, but to summarize, he was happy to see the boys had a sister.

Chapter Text

The cafeteria was dark and abandoned, a creepy, mellow sound echoing off the walls and pots and pans, but the second the lights switched on, in the wee hours of five o’clock in the morning, the kitchen felt alive.

Baron Draxum stood proudly in his uniform - apron, hair net, and all - with Sloppy Joseph by his side. “You ready?”

The mutant squeaked in agreement, Draxum chuckled, and they sprang to work.

Pots bubbled, kettles whistled, whisks beat against bowls, scrambling eggs. It was a beautiful harmony of the kitchen as the sheep and mutant meat prepared breakfast. Lunch was also, simultaneously, being prepped in the back of the kitchen, but with a clear plan for the day ahead of him, and with two years of lunch-ladying under his belt, Draxum was confident that today would be another success.

Right as seven o’clock chimed, breakfast was hot and ready, big trays of eggs, sausage, pancakes, and cups of fruit and yogurt ready for consumption. Draxum wiped his gloved hands with a disinfected towel and smiled at the teachers coming in. 

“Good morning Ms. Wanzik, how did your evaluation go? Whoa, is that a new haircut, Clark? Very nice! Yes, Laura, everything this morning is gluten free. I think I got the gluten-free pancake recipe worthy of serving.”

As the clock ticked forward, the teachers were steadily replaced with early-morning students, the ones who came by bus, or who needed a breakfast they couldn’t get at home. Draxum allowed Vinccent to save an extra orange for later, and when Julia had questions about their chemistry homework, Draxum happily provided assistance.

When the eight o’clock bell rang, the cafeteria emptied quickly, students trying not to be late to class, and the retired alchemist whistled to himself as he tidied the cafeteria. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow moving across his door. He expected the principal, or a tardy student; What he didn’t expect was two small gargoyles flying through the hall.

The sight made Draxum drop his broom. “Oh, no.”

He darted into his kitchen and fished out his communication device from his pocket and hurriedly typed a message to the person he trusted most.

Draxum pressed send, and two seconds later his back door burst open by Mikey’s hand, covered by an orange hoodie, but wearing his round glasses. “Dr. Feelings is in the building!”

“How did you get here so fast?”

“Dr. Feelings reveals nothing.” Mikey stated darkly. “Now, what’s the problem, Draxibald?”

“Shh!” Draxum covered Mikey’s loud mouth and swished him to the cafeteria doors to peer at the hall sneakily. “It’s my old henchmen, loyal, devoted workers for over thirteen years, and the best shoulder-buddies a villain could have asked for… UGH! Did you just lick my hand?!”

“No. Way!” Mikey grinned. “It’s your old gargoyles! What were their names…”

“Huginn and Muninn.”

“That’s it!” Mikey said, snapping his fingers. “But this is great! A fun reunion between boss and henchmen! Let’s go say hi!”

“NO!” Draxum scooped up Mikey, hugging from behind and around the waist, and running back into the sanctuary of the kitchen.

“What? Why not?” Mikey asked as he was put down.

“Listen, Angelo!” Draxum growled, annoyed that the box turtle failed to see the negatives of this situation. “Take a good look at me, what am I?!”

“Ummmm,” Mikey looked up at the alchemist who created him, arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face, all while dressed in a hairnet and apron and gloves. “Really tall?”

“No!” The sheep snapped. “I’m retired ! I’m nowhere near the intimidating warrior these guys know me as! Most of the yokai think I just disappeared off the face of the Earth! I can’t have them knowing I’ve gone…” Baron gagged into his gloved hand, and spat out, “… soft.”

“This is all about your reputation?” Mikey asked, a bit confused and insulted.

“A fake reputation is all a man asks.” Draxum put his hands together and begged, “Please, Michaelangelo! Just help me look intimidating in front of these guys for one day! I’ll do anything!” The second that last sentence left his tongue, the sheep bit his lip. He was going to regret that.

“Anything, huh?” Mikey asked, a big, evil grin spreading over his face. “That is more than something, and just shy of everything. Okay! I’ll do it! How much time do you need?”

“Five minutes.”

“I can give you ten!” And Mikey was out the door, heading for the hall.

Huginn and Muninn flapped their wings tiredly, until poor Munnin rested on top of a water fountain and wiped his sweaty forehead. “You sure this place will have jobs for us?”

“Think about it,” Huginn said, full of optimism and hope. “We’d be perfect janitors! We’re stealthy, we always get the job done, we’d be perfect for cleaning the school without being notice!”

“But would they really hire gargoyles from the Hidden City? Maybe we should try the Academy…”

“And get toasted by the Masters of Barbarianism again? No thanks. C’mon, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Ohmigosh,” Mikey greeted cheerfully, making the gargoyles jump. “It’s my favorite goyal-duo!”

“Oh hey!” Munnin said with a smile and flew to the teenager. “It’s one of our old turtle-jerks! How are you, how are things?”

“Dude!” Huginn joined them, arms wiggling with excitement. “The whole Hidden City is buzzing about how you guys defeated that alien race and saved the world! Very impressive!”

“Is it true you threw a whole building at the enemy?!” Munnin asked, resting on Mikey’s shoulder, on his belly, head propped up by his hands, elbows resting on Mikey’s shoulder.

“I heard you opened a portal to another dimension! Any yokai with the minimum of training can open the Twilight Realm, but to access another dimension! That takes true strength!”

“Oh,” Mikey was distracted from the traumatic memories by being flattered, his freckled cheeks blushing and a smile plastered over his face. “Yeah, I did all of that, but my brothers…”

“NO WAY!” Both gargoyles gasped at the same time.

“That’s gotta make you the most powerful warrior on the planet!” Huginn exclaimed.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to need two assistants for your mystic warrior tasks, would you?” Munnin asked. “We’re… kinda in between jobs…”

“And we split a salary!” Huginn shared, sitting on Mikey’s free shoulder.

“Whoa! Uh… th-thanks guys.” Mikey said. “But I’m not looking for help right now, but I know someone who’d be glad to hire you guys!” He added, very excited about the idea Dr. Feelings was brewing in his head. “Baron…”

The doors for the cafeteria bursted open. When the bright dazzling light dissolved, Mikey and the goyals on his shoulders marveled at the sight of the very model of a warring warrior scientist, back in his old cape and armor, but his mask was long gone, so instead he let his long maroon hair fall on his neck, but some of it was kept up by a small ponytail.

“Baron Draxum could sense the arrival of intruders.” He sneered.

“Wow…” The goyals’ red eyes shined with admiration at the sight of their powerful old boss. “It… It’s good to see you, boss man.” Huginn said.

“Ah, my old henchmen.” Draxum observed. “Glad to see you two aren’t dead.”

“Same to you!” Munnin said with a finger-gun and a wink. “The fact you survived getting your soul sucked by the Dark Armor is pretty impressive.”

“Yes, I am impressive.” He restated, chest puffed out and tone dripping with pride.

“So, what’ve you been up to?” Huginn asked casually. “Still trying to destroy the humans?”

“Erm,” Draxum paused, unsure of which lie to go with, trying to think of what would make him seem the least soft to his old employees. But then he got an idea. “As a matter of fact, I am not.”

Mikey, Huginn, and Muninn gasped.

“I find the humans are too beneath me to bother fraternizing with.” Draxum said darkly, waving his hand, as if swatting the annoying human scum out of his face. “I have required a new target. The fools who banished me, who were not intelligent enough to understand my cause, who took me for granted and casted me aside. The Mighty Heads.”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!” Huginn and Muninn yelled, hugging each other.

“You plan to go after the Mighty Heads?!” Munnin repeated.

“The beings who have ruled the Hidden City for hundreds of years?!” Huginn clarified.

“That is correct.” Draxum stated with a dip of his head. “I will see to it that the Mighty Heads pay for their insolence, and once I overthrow them, I shall lead our people to the surface so they may truly be free, and anyone, yokai, mutant, or human, will tremble at my hooves!” He concluded, sealing his fib with an iconic evil laugh.

“That is the most impressive thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” Huginn complimented.

“You have to have made some progress in your evil plan, sir!” Munnin guessed. “Mind showing us your work?”

“Normally I wouldn’t dare share such knowledge with any soul,” Draxum stated proudly, but then gave them a tiny smile, “But for old henchmen, I will make an exception. This way, please.” And he gestured an arm to the cafeteria and allowed the goyals to take the lead.

Mikey pulled Draxum around the neck with his arm and hissed, “What are you doing?! I thought you just wanted to look intimidating! You can’t lie to your friends!”

“How else did you think I was going to present myself as intimidating to them?”

“I dunno, maybe show them your progress on your chicken nuggets?”

“Michaelangelo, these guys are not going to be impressed by a lunch-man’s successful tactics on budget cuts!” Draxum explained. “I just need them to think I’m the same warring warrior scientist I used to be, then we’ll send them on their way.”

“Barry, you should just tell them the truth.” Mikey pressed. “One way or another, you’ll feel better afterwards.”

The bell above them rang. “Oh no! Second bell! One more bell and lunch begins!” Draxum exclaimed, ripping his armor and cape off to reveal his lunch-uniform. “I have to check on Sloppy Joseph’s progress and prepare the orange chicken. Can you distract Huginn and Muninn?

“What do you want me to do?!”

“You’re smart, figure something out!” And Draxum darted into his kitchen.

Mikey sighed, pulling his face down with annoyance, and sprinted into action.

The next ninety minutes were spent running around, Mikey and Draxum taking turns preparing lunch and impressing Huginn and Muninn. One minute Draxum was making the orange sauce, the next he was back in his armor and proudly showing the gargoyles small, insignificant creations that he managed to pass off as brilliant inventions. One minute Mikey was showing the gargoyles what a toaster was, the next he was helping Sloppy Joseph steam rice.

When the noon bell rang and the swarming mob of teenagers started to fill up the cafeteria, Draxum was forced to change into his lunch-uniform, trusting his son would keep Huginn and Muninn out of the cafeteria until the meal was over and Draxum’s job was completed.

Mikey got an idea, wrapping each gargoyle into an arm, creating a group hug, and suggesting, “You two look like you could stretch your wings. Want a tour of the school?”

“Sure!”

“I hear this place has a bell tower! Can we check it out?”

“Sure, little dude!”

Draxum sighed with relief when he saw Mikey walk the gargoyles out of the cafeteria, and quickly his stress aura melted away, at peace and happy to be doing a job he really enjoyed.

“Julia! How did your chemistry class go?”

“Great! I got my test back today! I got a C+! That’s the best grade I’ve ever gotten in that class!”

“Adequate work! I knew you could do it! Here, take this extra fortune cookie for all your extra studying!” And he used a vine to throw her two cookies instead of one. 

“How’s Sloppy Joseph?” Kevin asked. “Think he can play basketball after school today?”

“Yes, that is fine by me.” Draxum replied, then craned his neck band to yell, “JOSEPH! YOU HAVE A PLAYDATE AFTER SCHOOL! Make sure your station is clean by three o’clock!”

Draxum happily served the orange chicken at the end of the line, letting students serve themselves vegetables, spring rolls, and rice throughout the line. He was humming a tune to himself, glad to see everything was going according to plan, when one student, Luke, stood before him, looking down shamefully with a black eye.

“Luke, what happened to your vision sphere?”

“S’nothing.” He muttered.

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Draxum observed as he dipped a ladle-full of chicken onto his tray. “Did you engage in battle and emerge victorious with your swollen eye as a trophy?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Luke said, shrugging, still not looking at the cook, and walking to an empty table to eat.

Draxum’s lips pursed, unsatisfied with the conversation with the teenager, but he let it go; if his sons have taught him anything, it’s that teenagers can put up some powerful walls if they want to.

A few minutes later and the doors bursted open at the hands of a buff, blonde teenager who looked slightly too old to be in high school. With his hair spiked by too much hair gel, a torn blue jean jacket, and chains in his pockets, his scowl and negative energy made the entire cafeteria drop ten degrees and the common chatter became scared whispers. 

Draxum raised an eyebrow. No one was supposed to intimidate the inhabitants of the cafeteria except for him.

“Emma,” Draxum said to a blue-haired girl who always knew all the gossip. She knew everything about everyone in the high school, and Draxum could always rely on her for facts about new students. “Who is the brooding teenager who is distrusting the peace of my cafeteria?”

Emma followed his eyes and whispered, “That’s Hun. He just transferred here from New Jersey. I heard he’s been expelled from three different schools!”

“Hm, it looks like Leonardo’s assumption about New Jersey is correct.” 

Draxum studied the new threat, watching him as he scowled and took what he wanted with ease, snatching a candy bar from one student’s lunchbox and swiping a soda from another, cracking it open, draining it, then crushing it against his forehead and tossing it on the ground. 

Draxum growled, beyond annoyed already. He was about to demand the boy pick up the litter, but then Hun found Emma, walked over, and leaned against the rails of the line, cocking an eyebrow and trying to come across as cool.

“Hey baby,” He snarled.

Emma groaned and swiped a fortune cookie from the basket. “My name’s Emma.”

“Aw c’mon, sweetheart, don’t be mean.” Hun said, cool as ice, relaxed and confident in himself. “I just think you’re too pretty to be single, that’s all. How about I take you out tonight?”

“No thanks.” Emma rolled her eyes and tried to walk away, but Hun grabbed her arm.

He smiled, but his eyes promised nothing but malice. “I don’t take no for an answer, baby…”

Draxum cleared his throat loudly and obnoxiously, standing on the other side of the counter, arms crossed over his chest, a dark look over his maroon face. “She said no. So collect a meal and leave my line.”

“Hey, cool it, old man, we’re having a conversation.” Hun said, sounding bored, his fingers still around Emma’s arm.

“Emma, do you wish to associate with this gutter trash for another second?” Draxum asked, his orange eyes not leaving the bully. 

“No.” Emma said, trying to wiggle her arm free without losing her lunch, but Hun’s grip tightened.

“Now,” Draxum growled, dark shadows in casing behind him as vines rose from the tile, promising harm to anyone who deserved it. “Release her, or there will be consequences.” He growled.

Hun puffed out some air between pursed lips in disbelief. “Go for it, grandpa.”

And then the scariest thing anyone could imagine happening happened, what sealed Hun’s fate, what told every student in the cafeteria that the new bully was about to get exactly what he deserved.

Draxum smiled.

Mikey, Muninn, and Huginn emerged from the gymnasium. “Man, that was one of the top ten bell towers I’ve ever been to! It’s no Notre Dame, sure, but…”

“I love it here!” Huginn exclaimed, twirling in the air as he hugged himself. “No wonder Boss Man decided to hide out here! This place is awesome!”

Mikey smiled, and suggested, “So you guys wanna see the courtyar-…”

BANG!

A teenager was flung down the wall and hit the opposite wall, but rather than squeal and cry and retreat, he growled and stood, pulling out a switchblade. But it was smacked from his hand thanks to a purple vine.

Draxum stood proudly, in his lunch-lady uniform, vines crawling around him as he bellowed, “No weapons in this learning facility!”

“Just who do you think you are?! You’re just a lame…” Hun was grabbed by a vine, hooked by his shirt, and pulled towards the returned alchemist, who he could address the bully in the eye.

“I am Baron Draxum.” He growled protectively. “This is my school, my cafeteria, and my students. And as long as I am here, nothing will harm them! I’ve protected these young minds from aliens from another dimension! I have no problem decimating a poorly-dressed disappointment in order to keep their physical and mental well-beings in fact.”

Draxum flicked his wrist, and the vines shot towards Hun, making him turn upside down, and finally pinning him against the wall. He wiggled and groaned, finally yelling, “Wait until my mother hears about this!”

“I look forward to meeting her.” He quipped sarcastically, then turned to the crowd of students watching in admiration. 

Most of them had been there when the Kraang had attacked, and had witnessed first hand what Draxum could do, and was willing to do for them, but some had not, and were astounded to find the rumors to be true.

“Emma, are you alright? How’s your arm?” Draxum checked.

“I’m fine, Barry.” She said, rubbing the sore part of her arm, but smiled. “Thanks.”

“Uh, boss?”

Draxum winced. He knew what was behind him. Well, it was nice being respected while it lasted.

As students resumed their meal, their time before class limited, Mikey watched as Huginn and Muninn flew towards him, stunned over what they just watched.

“Did you just… protect some humans?” Huginn clarified.

“And is this really your cafeteria?” Munnin asked. “Like, what, are you a lunch-lady now?”

Draxum sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, and admitted with his eyes downcasted, “Yes. I’m not here plotting a way to overthrow the Mighty Heads. I’ve been head of this cafeteria, feeding the upcoming generation morning and mid-day meals. As much as I hate to admit it, I enjoy this job and the company that comes with it. And…” He groaned, then spat out, “I’m sorry I lied to you both.”

Huginn and Muninn hovered in front of the sheep for a moment, but then Munnin landed softly on his left shoulder, and asked, “Draxum, are you happy?”

“What?” He asked, completely thrown off by the question.

Huginn joined them, resting on Draxum’s free shoulder, and asked, “Are you happy?”

Draxum gave it some thought. Thinking about the teachers and students he would call his friends, thinking about his apartment and how much nicer he’s made it since moving in, thinking about his sons and the family they have together, how could he not smile and answer with, “Yes. I am happy.”

Suddenly Draxum’s cheeks were smushed by two gargoyles, hugging him and nuzzling their faces against his cheeks.

“Then we’re happy for you!” They said at the same time.

“I’ve never seen you smile this much, boss!” Huginn admitted. “Not even when you were leader of the Foot Clan!”

“Who cares what you’re doing, as long as it makes you happy.” Munnin said with a shrug. “If you’re happy, then we’re happy for you!”

“And the fact you managed a full redemption arc all on your own,” Huginn added, winking. “That’s very impressive.”

Draxum’s face felt uncomfortably hot. “Well, not entirely on my own.” He admitted, his eyes moving to Mikey, who was crying happy tears as he held his hands by his face, lip puckered and his sparkling eyes wet.

“Well then,” Draxum said, clearing his throat. “If you two are interested, I have a job for you both that comes with room and board. And a dog bed.”

The cafeteria was dark and abandoned, a creepy, mellow sound echoing off the walls and pots and pans, but the second the lights switched on, in the wee hours of five o’clock in the morning, the kitchen felt alive.

Baron Draxum stood proudly in his uniform - apron, hair net, and all - with Sloppy Joseph by his side, and two gargoyles on his shoulders, who also wore hairnets. “You ready?”

The meat-mutant squeaked in agreement, and Huginn and Muninn said in unison, “Let's do this!” 

Draxum chuckled, very happy and at peace, and they sprang to work.

Chapter Text

In the winding streets of the Hidden City, a limo passed under street lamps, moving at a steady pace towards its location. The driver, a hired yokai, was bouncing his head along to the music that played in the driver’s section of the car.

Behind the barrier that separated the driver from the passengers, two mutants are huddled around a small screen.

“Ok, remember the plan?” Raph asked, zooming in on the map on his phone. There is a small icon of a toaster on it, with five different arrows pointing to it. When he touches the icon, several crying emojis of Donnie pop up around it.

Beside him, Mikey slapped a headband with an old timey doctor’s head mirror on over his mask. The elastic smacks against his skin and he winced slightly. “Don’t worry about it, Raph, it’s going to be fine. We go in, get Donnie’s black-hole-toaster-thing, then get out. Easy peasy.”

Mikey’s dismissive tone set a small frown on Raph’s face. His littlest brother had been like that for a while now, short with his responses and a bit distant. It was bothering Raph greatly, but he didn’t know what the problem was. What if he was the problem?

Just the thought of it made his stomach churn unhappily, but suddenly Mikey was handing him the headpiece for his disguise. He shook his head as he took the costume. Raph couldn’t worry about this right now. They had a mission to finish.

The limo stopped in front of a beautiful wedding hall, with high towers and stained glass windows that seemed to glow in the dim light, illuminating the tombstones that filled the front lawn. Two fiery chupacabra spirits sporting bow ties were standing in front of the entrance, but apart from them, everyone else was already inside.

Raph took a deep breath as their driver stopped the car and got out. “Ready?” He asked.

“I’m always ready, baby!” Mikey grinned, straightening the lapels of his coat.

Outside, the limo driver sighed heavily as he approached the passengers’ door. Once this job was done, he could go home and sleep. He opened the door and bowed slightly as his passengers exited. “Enjoy your night, sirs.” He ignored the bright costumes they were wearing.

Raph hit the ground first, his figure now covered in a bright red onesie, covered in maroon dots. On his head was a red bandana, also covered in dots, with two antennas bouncing on top and a pair of circular sunglasses.

At his side, Mikey strode forward, his chest puffed out. He was wearing a burnt orange, button up and slacks, under a white lab coat. A stethoscope hung around his neck, and the head mirror shone from the middle of his forehead. A mask covered the bottom half of his face, designed to look like sharp teeth.

“Look out!” Mikey crowed, as pigeons flew behind them, bewildering their driver. “Shadybug and Dr. Rude are on the scene!”

“Ohhh yeah!” said Raph as Mikey threw more birds out from under his coat, “Remember! We have a mission, we gotta keep a low profile.” He continued his strides forward, eyes focused on the entrance. He didn’t want to badger his brother but… “And I’m only saying so cuz… well sometimes you get a little carried away.”

“Carried away!? I never get carried away!”

Raph spun around, incredulous. “Mikey, you already have henchmen.”

He had no idea where the three little, red…hedgehogs? had appeared from, wearing matching lab coats and head mirrors.

Mikey beamed at him, and Raph couldn’t fight back the twitch in his eye as the doctor threw a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. “It’s good to be rude, baby!” Mikey grinned as his henchmen also put on shades and he marched past Raph.

“Mikey!” He groaned, staring after his brother as he made his way to the fiery chupacabras.

“Excuse me, young sir, are you on the guest list?” One asked, raising a clipboard.

Mikey moved past him, followed by his henchmen. “Nope! Stay fresh, cheese bags.”

Raph’s anxiety spiked and he raced forward, attempting to dust off the chupacabra’s shoulders with a nervous chuckle, but the fire threatened to burn his hands, so he settled for blowing some dirt off his shoulders instead. “Heh, excuse my friend. He’s rude.” He started backing away, “We’re totally not heroes dressed as fake villains! Thanks, bye!” And Raph darted after Mikey. 

Behind him, he could hear a vaguely familiar voice talking about dancing, but he wasn’t sure where he knew the speaker from.

Raph’s mouth dropped when he entered the hall. The ceiling was draped with brilliantly colored decorations, the light from the chandeliers making the bright streamers and balloons pop against the stone of the building. He was standing on a small balcony, overlooking the rest of the hall. Below him, in the pews, was a large crowd of yokai and mutants, mingling around.

“I always imagined Ghost Bear getting married on an iceberg in Hawaii! But this works.” Raph’s eyes darted from the crowd, to the elaborate wedding cake, to the table on the back, covered with presents. He zeroed in on a simple toaster, wrapped with a red and purple ribbon. “Bingo! Now we just have to grab the black-hole toaster without drawing too much attention to ourselves.”

“Set aside, posers!” 

Raph’s face dropped.

Mikey and his gang of – seriously what were they, badgers? – henchmen were marching down the center aisle. “Make way for the biggest!” Dr. Rude jabbed his fingers towards a guest, poking them in the eye, “Baddest!” He stole some drinks from a server and threw them at another guest, “Villain in this place.” With a spin, Mikey slapped a sign on the back of Alberto and dropped to pull the robot’s pants to the floor. His henchmen followed close behind, snickering.

Raph’s teeth ground together. “You’re gonna blow our cover, Dr. Carried-Away!” He hissed, even though Mikey couldn’t hear him. Running a hand over his face, the snapper sighed. “Okay, Shadybug, you got this,” He told himself, “All you gotta do is stay focused and – GHOSTBEAR!?”

His attention was immediately drawn to the figure that had just appeared in the middle of the room. Adoration in his eyes, he stared down at his hero, all memory of the mission flying out of his head.

Looking around frantically, Raph launched himself from the banister. “Wait! Ghostbear! I should be your best man!”

Raph’s attempts to swim through the air were futile and he hit one of the food tables with a crash.

Blinking food from his eyes, Raph grinned sheepishly up at the wrestler. “Aha, sorry about the table. Mr. Bear.”

“Ay! Another problema !” Ghostbear said sadly, not a hint of rage on his face, just exhaustion. He turned. “Nothing is going right today!”

Raph frowned as he watched his hero walk away.

“Way to stay on mission, Raph.” Shadybug turned to see Dr. Rude standing over him, arms crossed and shaking his head. His henchmen appeared around him, copying his pose.

Annoyance swelled up in Raph’s chest. “What!? You’re the one getting carried away!” He snapped, shaking food from his arms.

“Says the guy who just jumped off a balcony to see his idol!”

Raph growled, meeting Mikey head-on as his frustration swirled inside him. What was Mikey’s problem? He had always been Raph’s “guy”, his biggest supporter. Why was he fighting against him now?

Angrily, Raph stamped down his urge to argue. “Fine! We both made some mistakes, but from here on out, we stay on mission.” He offered a fist bump and was relieved to see Mikey reciprocate.

Until his little brother moved his hand out of the way, slowly sliding his palm over his head.

“Wha–”

“I’m deep in character now, baby!”

“Okay, that’s it!” With a roar, Raph grabbed Mikey, trapping him within his arms. Mikey’s henchmen immediately started leaping around him, squeaking furiously. (Seriously, were they hamsters?)

A sound caused him to look up.

At the front of the hall was Ghostbear and a pretty chupacabra yokai, dressed in a bright Luchador outfit. Raph recognized her as Ghostpepper, Ghostbear’s fiancée.

“Uh, hey.” Raph said as Ghostbear disappeared into the floor, Ghostpepper watching him go, sadly. “Looks like the happy couple isn’t so happy. Think it’d be rude to ask what’s wrong?”

“Why, yes it would!” Mikey said gleefully. And before Raph could stop him, his little brother had squeezed himself out of Raph’s arms and followed Ghostpepper to the back of the building.

Ghostpepper sighed within her changing room, looking sadly at her wedding outfit.

Dr. Rude was never one to beat around the bush. “Knock, knock!” He popped his head out from the changing screen, ripping the paper, “I know it’s rude to interrupt – which is why I did it. Is there something wrong? You can tell me! I’m a doctor.” He inclined his head and wiggled his brow ridge.

Relief and frustration spread over Ghostpepper’s face. “Hmph! You’re the only person who noticed! You’re the only one of THESE LOCOS, who seems to care!”

Grinning behind his mask, Mikey fell backwards, leaning against the wall and crossing his ankles. Pulling a comic book from his coat, Dr. Rude settled in. “Yeah, I’m not listening, but please continue.”

Ghostpepper recoiled and gasped, “So rude! I love it!” She sighed again and looked down at her hands. “My beloved thinks that the wedding is ruined because Meat Sweats didn’t show up! And he was supposed to be best man–”

“Wait…”

“–that chicharrón !” She hit her fist against the divider and Mikey had to leap into the air to avoid the blast of fire that burst through the thin barrier. The fire blast carried on to blow a hole through the walls behind him.

He stuck his head back through the divider to stare at Ghostpepper. “Meat Sweats and Ghostbear are amigos !?” Dr. Rude cried, incredulously. This changes everything he knew.

“Best amigos ,” Ghostpepper said, looking at a picture of her, Ghostbear, and Meat Sweats that hung on her mirror, “But Meat Sweats must have been faking just to learn my family’s famous recipe for picadillo coraz –”

Poking her, Dr. Rude cut Ghostpepper off. “Ah ah ah, stop talking, lady. I’m gonna rudely jump to my conclusion: Meat Sweats flaked! So you need a replacement best man! Right?”

“ ¡Sí! ”

Mikey cradled his chin, grinning under his mask.

A missing best man, a need for distraction, and an older brother who was being slightly overbearing and needed to loosen up? He loved it when a plan came together.

“Lucky for you, I know the perfect guy to fill in for ol’ What’s-His-Sweats.”

“Mission accomplished!” Raph said, grabbing Donnie’s toaster. “Now that I got the black-hole generator, I can stay for cake!”

Music began to swell behind him and he gasped as the lights began to turn off.

A single light remained on, right above the stage, where Ghostbear was standing, in a tuxedo. For some reason, Todd was standing at a podium right behind him.

“Who’s ready to feel the love?” Todd shouted as the crowd cheered. Raph tried to force his way into several seats, eventually snagging one in the front row where he had a perfect view of Ghostbear’s nervous face.

He didn’t see Mikey. The worry that was bubbling in his gut was almost overpowered by annoyance. They were on a mission. Where was he?

A band of mariachi skulls lined the aisles, playing a triumphant tune as the doors at the back of the wedding hall burst open.

Ghostpepper slid into the room to a roar of cheers as sparklers lit up the back wall with her and Ghostbear’s initials. “ ¡Hola, mi familia! ” Leaping into the air, Ghostpepper spun, fire igniting as she hit the ground, creating a fire tornado. She landed triumphantly, dressed in a shining white outfit, confetti descending around her as the crowd exploded into more cheers.

On the steps, Ghostbear’s eyes watered as a lovestruck grin spread across his face.

“ ¡Hola! Thank – oh!” One of the guests threw a goat at Ghostpepper, which the chupacabra easily caught. With a quick inhale, she sucked up the goat’s lifeforce and threw it over her shoulder. As another explosion went off behind her, Ghostpepper lunged forward, flipping through the air until she reached her fiancé.

After several complicated twists and flips around him, she landed and sparklers went off along the aisle.

Raph blinked away the soot in his eyes as the building fell silent after the explosions. Then the crowd burst into cheers.

Raph was so busy clapping and shouting that he didn’t realize Mikey was beside him until he was jabbed into the side by a pointy elbow. “OW! Mikey? What’s–”

“Shhhhh!” Mikey smacked a hand over Raph’s mouth before grabbing the toaster out of his hands. “Listen to the Doctor, Shadybug. I got some important info!”

At the podium, Todd was beginning to speak. As the rest of the guests sat down, Raph dragged Mikey into the seat next to him. “Important info?” He hissed, “Mikey, the wedding is literally starting right now! I got the toaster, so let’s just stay low, eat some cake, then leave.” He patted Mikey’s shoulder and took the toaster back. “Don’t worry, bud, we finished the mission!”

With a glare, Mikey threw off his hand. “It’s ‘Dr. Rude’ to you! And stop being so condescending!”

Flinching back, Raph quickly shushed him as a few guests looked over.

“And what’s so important is that Meat Sweats was Ghostbear’s best man!”

“What!?”

Mikey rolled his eyes, “Oh now you think it’s important information!”

“Mikey, that’s important because Meat Sweats is one of our biggest enemies!”

“So is Ghostbear! But he’s your ‘idol’ so it doesn’t matter, right? And no! It’s important because Meat Sweats is missing, and Ghostbear needs a best man!”

He snatched the toaster away and shoved a small white box into Raph’s hands. Then, with a quick kick, shoved him out of his seat.

Stumbling forward, Raph caught his balance at the bottom of the steps leading up to the aisle, just as Todd gestured with his hand. “May I please have the rings?”

All the blood drained from Raph’s face as the attention of everyone in the building was suddenly turned to him.

Ghostpepper was nodding very slowly and deliberately at him, as Ghostbear watched him in confusion.

“Uh, yes!” He quickly hurried up the steps, mentally screaming at Mikey and out of excitement. “Here you go, Mr. Bear!”

“ Gracias, amigo …” Ghostbear said with a hesitant, but sincere smile. Raph beamed back.

Hurrying down the steps, Raph sank into his seat. Mikey was looking forward, glaring slightly.

“I… I’m the best man?” Raph asked quietly as Todd took the ring box from Ghostbear. Mikey’s hands tightened around the toaster.

“Ghostpepper told me that Meat Sweats was missing and I suggested that you stand in to give them the rings. I told her that you were one of Ghostbear’s biggest fans and wanted his wedding to be a success. I was trying to find you before the wedding started, but the toaster was missing and I was worried that someone else took it. But I guess you had already completed the mission.” He shook the appliance slightly. 

Raph felt his heart sink. “Mikey…”

“Repeat after me. ‘With this ring–’”

“With this– ¿¡qué!? ” Their attention shot up at Ghostbear’s shout.

The mutant was staring at the open ring box in his hand. Instead of two wedding rings sitting on a silk pillow, there was a small, glowing black hole that popped out of existence.

Mikey and Raph dropped their gaze down to the toaster in Mikey’s lap. The buttons were illuminated and the bread rack was glowing a dark purple instead of the usual red.

“Uh oh.”

“ ¡Los anillos ¡Los anillos se han ido! ” Ghostbear cried, the crowd gasping as Todd tried to calm them.  “You!” Ghostbear turned a furious gaze toward Raph. 

The turtle gulped. 

“Shadybug! ¡Extraño! What did you do with the rings?” Ghostpepper was advancing alongside her fiancé, her fists igniting dangerously.  “Dr. Rude! You told me that your friend could be my beloved’s best man! You lied!” 

Backing up, Mikey and Raph bumped shoulders.

“No! We didn’t do anything with the rings!” Raph pleaded. “I’ll find them, I swear!”

“Raph, distract them! I’ll find the rings!”

“Mikey, wait–”

“MINIONS. TO ME!”

With a roar, Mikey’s pack of henchmen drove through the crowd, shoving people over. It gave Mikey just enough time to dodge between Ghostbear and Ghostpepper, leaving Raph alone.

“Ha ha… Ghostbear… I’m a big fan – AY!” Ducking under Ghostbear’s fist, Raph was dragged into a fight.

The wedding hall was in utter chaos.

Guests were throwing fists and money left and right, either participating in the brawl or putting bets on it.

Raph, panicked as he was, couldn’t help but grin as he wrestled Ghostbear (his idol!) and Ghostpepper (his idol’s almost-wife!).

Every so often, when a punch would send him spinning or when he would throw Ghostpepper far enough away to give himself time to breath, he would see Mikey diving in and out of the crowd, always closely followed by his henchmen.

He just watched Mikey climb onto a balcony when a muscular arm wrapped around his neck. He hit the ground, Ghostbear holding him in a headlock and Ghostpepper gnawing on his leg. The pain in his face didn’t stop him from pulling out his phone and snapping a picture.

The flash went off and air rushed into his lungs as Ghostbear stepped away.

With a squeal, Raph turned to look at the wrestler. His elated smile disappeared at the sight of furious tears in Ghostbear’s eyes.

“ Tortuga …” Ghostbear said furiously. Raph suddenly realized that the sunglasses and antenna of his costume were missing, and that his bandana had lost most of its spots.

Tears streaming down his face, Ghostbear raised a fist above his head, his knuckles igniting with a ghostly blue flame. “You, and Meat Sweats, ruined the happiest day of my life!”

Raph flinched, turning his head away.

“YO! HAPPY COUPLE!”

A warm chain wrapped around Raph’s wrist and with a jolt, he suddenly flew out from underneath Ghostbear and Ghostpepper.

He landed atop one of the chandeliers, next to Mikey. His little brother had the black-hole toaster tucked underneath one arm. In his other hand, he held two rings. “The doctor is in! And he has a present for you!”

One of Dr. Rude’s henchmen grabbed the rings and flipped onto the ground. Squeaking happily, it hurried over to the couple and handed the precious items to them.

Raph winced when Mikey nudged him. His younger brother was removing Dr. Rude’s mask and headband and was watching him expectantly.

“Well?” Mikey said, “You’re the best man, aren’t you? Give your speech!”

What Raph really wanted to do was apologize and talk things over with his baby brother. But there was still a sea of villain wedding guests below them and he should probably calm things down before they could leave.

He took a deep breath.

“Ghostbear, Ghostpepper. Today is your big day…” He said slowly. He looked at Mikey who was nodding, “As you have probably seen today, life can be… rough. And messy. And very much doesn’t go to plan sometimes.

“I’m a hero. And you're a villain. Something I learned about villains today, thanks to Dr. Rude,” He clasped Mikey’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, “Is that villains have guys. Their henchmen. You have guys to order around if your schemes don’t go to plan. You have guys to pick up where you fail. You have guys to support you! But, I think today, a better word for henchmen, is fans. Today, we came here not as villains, but as fans!” He gestured to the crowd. “And fans, we have our guy.”

He sniffled. Weddings always did make him cry. “And, you’re my guy, Ghostbear! ¡Número uno! ”

Relief flooded his veins at the sight of Ghostbear’s happy tears.

“No matter how much we fight, you and me, are forever bound together by the love of wrestling!” His voice broke as he pointed at Ghostbear and Ghostpepper. “And if you love each other half as much as I love you, then this wedding isn’t ruined at all!”

Below them, the crowd burst into cheers. Raph swiped a hand over his eyes as he beamed at Mikey. He smiled back.

Then the chandelier’s chain broke.

“Ow…” Groaning, Mikey rolled off of Raph’s stomach, the toaster held protectively in his arms. Raph spit a piece of ceiling out of his mouth, hissing at the pain in his ribs.

He froze when a shadow moved over him.

Ghostbear was standing in front of him, Ghostpepper tucked against his side.

“Ah ha…sorry?” Raph chuckled nervously.

With a sigh, Ghostbear offered Raph his hand.

Trying not to explode in excitement, Raph let himself be pulled to his feet as Ghostpepper dusted off Mikey’s shoulders.

“ Tortuga ,” Ghostbear growled, “I do not know why you originally came here. But… gracias , for trying to save my wedding.”

Raph couldn’t help the squeal that escaped his lips. “Does this mean we can stay for the rest of it!?”

“Haha. No.” Ghostpepper grinned toothily. 

Raph deflated.

Raph groaned as he collapsed into the backseat of the limo.

The driver that Donnie had hired didn’t even blink at the sight of Raph’s injuries or at the fact that they were escorted from the wedding hall by members of the Makers of Brutality.

Sliding in beside him, Mikey carefully strapped the black-hole generator into another seat before sinking into his own.

They sat in silence as the limo began driving away.

They were a few streets away from the wedding hall when Mikey hummed. “I’ll tell Donnie that we got his toaster back.”

Raph nodded, slowly forcing himself upright as Mikey began typing on his phone. He watched his little brother carefully. “Hey…Mikey?”

“Hm?”

“Can we…talk?”

Mikey’s thumbs stilled in their typing for a moment, before continuing. Raph’s heart was suddenly squeezed with dread. “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

“I…” Raph suddenly felt his throat close up.

What did he want to talk about? He wanted to apologize for arguing during the wedding, he knew that. He probably would apologize for the whole mission. It felt like the whole time, he and Mikey were at each other’s throats. He just… He didn’t know why. And that’s why he wanted to talk. But how do you talk about something you don’t know how to say or even address or even describe? How can you even say “Hey, it feels like I’m losing my little brother”?

“Raph, breathe!”

Mikey smacked his hand against Raph’s plastron and the impact forced air into Raph’s lungs. He took a few deep breaths before carefully looking at Mikey.

His baby brother was watching him with worried, but focused eyes that scanned over his whole body. Once Raph was breathing normally, Mikey nodded.

“Raph. What’s wrong?” Short. No nonsense. Just like all their conversations recently.

Tears filled Raph’s eyes and he ducked his head. “I just… I dunno,” He started slowly, playing with the edge of his costume. “I feel like you’ve just been far away from me and I… Did I do something wrong?”

“Raph, no!” Mikey’s shocked tone should have made Raph feel better, but it didn’t. He looked up angrily.

“But, Mikey! I know you were just being Dr. Rude today, but I feel like some things were a little personal, y’know?” Raph sniffed, hating how his vision didn’t stop being blurry. “I just wanna make sure I didn’t do something to upset you.”

“Raph, of course you didn’t upset me! It’s just…” Mikey’s voice trailed off and he sighed.

Unbuckling himself, the box turtle moved to sit next to the snapper. Wiping away some tears, Raph watched Mikey trace one of the faint scars on his palm.

“Look,” He muttered, “I know I’m the youngest and I know that you want to protect me. I always know that you and Donnie, Leo, and April are there to have my back! But,” His voice shook for a moment before hardening. “I’m not a baby anymore, Raph. I’m sixteen and for a while, especially after the invasion, I’ve just felt that I want - no, I need some time to figure out… me, you know?”

Raph met Mikey’s gaze and sucked in a little air. There was a fire in Mikey’s eyes that was both familiar and new. It burned brightly, promising warmth and power.

It was beautiful and a little scary.

Mikey chuckled, “It’s weird enough being a turtle who’s also a ninja and a mutant, but add crazy mystic powers on top of it and now I got a nephew from the future!? It’s…a lot…” Mikey’s shoulders sagged, and while the fire in his eyes didn’t dim, Raph’s littlest brother suddenly looked tired beyond his years. “And I love you, but I need to figure some stuff out on my own, without you or Donnie or Leo or April offering suggestions.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t need you! I’m always gonna need my biggest brother! Ghostbear might be your idol, but you’re my hero, Raph.” His voice shook with sincerity. “But you got a lot going on too, with helping Casey adjust and guiding Leo with leading. You… I… ugh, I guess I’m trying to say, you don’t need to worry about me so much! I’m still gonna come to you when I have problems or just to annoy you,” Despite the tears in his eyes, he winked playfully, “But I wanna be me, and let you be you. Do… Do you understand?”

While his voice had been strong throughout his speech, it trailed off at the end and Mikey hunched his shoulders. He looked like Raph might reject his request.

Raph wiped away a tear and looked at Mikey with shining eyes. When did his littlest brother start growing up?

“Yeah, Mikey. I get it.” A dazzling smile spread across Mikey’s face. “I’m sorry if I was ever too bossy or overbearing.”

“It’s okay, Raphie. You’re my big brother, I get it. I’m sorry that I’ve been so rude lately.” He chuckled slightly. Then, his smile softened and he opened his arms. “I love you, Raph.”

Raph dragged Mikey into his arms.

“Love you too, bud.”

Donnie’s phone buzzed as he received a text from his little brother that the black-hole-generator had been retrieved safely and they were on their way home, but it was completely ignored.

The softshell stared at his prized creation, almost completed, all he needed to do was load the files from his computer. But Donnie just stared at the completed model of Sheldon 2.0, his hands folded by his mouth, his elbows on his knees, his shell hunched over, and his eyes dark.

After the defeat of Shredder, they had gone back to the old lair to retrieve as many items as they could. Many of the more personal items like action figures, stuffed toys, and belongings that were located in the bedrooms were intact, but the kitchen, garage, arcade, and lab were completely destroyed.

Overturning rubble in the softshell’s lab, it was there that Donnie and Raph found the sad remains of Sheldon.

Donnie had fallen to his knees, cradling the broken skull of his greatest invention, and Raph had patted his battle shell gently. “I’m… so sorry Donnie. C-Can you fix him?”

He didn’t have the strength to answer.

Of course Donnie was smart enough to have backups of Sheldon’s files saved, just in case. But for reasons he didn’t understand, he kept delaying the project.

First he had to relocate and focus on helping to rebuild a home. Then he had a dozen ideas on how to keep them safe, like communicators and escape pods. It was his drill all over again, his brain forcing him to focus on other things.

Dr. Feelings had once asked him about it. “Is it… too painful?”

Donnie snapped and looked down at his little brother with strained eyes. “Too painful? To do what? Rebuild an AI, a robot, a glorified futuristic home device?! Don’t be stupid, Michael! It was just a drone! I can rebuild it any time I want! I just don’t want to!”

Donnie backed off when he saw the tears in Mikey’s eyes. Emotions were high, it only being two weeks since the Kraang, and while Mikey might have deserved the outburst for bringing up a painful subject, but that didn’t mean Donnie liked to yell at his brother.

“That’s not true, Donnie!” Mikey yelled, holding back tears. “You loved him, I know you did! We all did.” And he felt him alone.

Now it had been a few months since the Kraang, and little by little Donnie had been rebuilding the robot, finding parts at the junkyard and crafting and wielding them to beperfect. The more he spent on the project, the more focused he was. What started as a few minutes here and there turned into his only project for a month, until today.

The scientist didn’t hesitate because he was worried it wouldn’t work; he knew it would work. He hesitated because he didn’t know if he could handle seeing him again.

But he had to. Sheldon deserved that much.

With a deep breath, Donnie clicked a button, and watched as Sheldon’s files were uploaded into his mind through the cable.

A minute later, a ping sounded, and Sheldon slowly blinked his eyes opened.

Donnie sat up in his chair and smiled, watching the timid turtle look around and become aware of his surroundings. “Sheldon,” He sighed, glad he could say that name again without it hurting his chest.

Sheldon’s eyes landed on his creator. “I’m… I’m back?” He asked, unable to believe someone cared enough about him to give him life a second time.

Donnie smiled through watery eyes, which he blinked away. “Y-Yeah. Welcome back.”

The softshell didn’t think he could be happier with the outcome of his success, but then Sheldon smiled and zoomed into his chest, and Donnie laughed as they hugged it out. “Da-… Donnie! I missed you, dude!”

“I’ve missed you, too!”

“Hey Donnie, we… IS THAT SHELDON?!” Raph yelled, back with Mikey and the dangerous toaster, pointing at the robot in Donnie’s arms.

“MY WITTLE NEPHEW!” Mikey screamed and ran to the droid and pulled him into a hug, leaving Donnie to sit in his chair peacefully.

“Aw, we missed you, Shelly-Baby!” Raph said, rubbing the robot’s head.

Leo peeked into the lab. “Whoa, you brought Sheldon back! Thanks, Donnie!” And he joined Mikey in the hug, leaving Raph to wrap his family in his arms.

Donnie smiled at his brothers hugging his greatest creation; All of his information, all of his knowledge, and he had failed to hypothesize the joy he would feel in his chest in having Sheldon back and seeing him with his family again. But he was so glad the joy was still there.

Chapter Text

April readjusted the backpack on her shoulders and took in a deep breath before entering the building. Her family had been living here her entire life: it was home, it was familiar and comforting. So why was it so scary to journey up to their apartment?

Kirby sat by the old 1940s radio, which ironically played 90s pop songs, since that was his wife’s favorite genre of music. Kirby O’Niel was a tall man with strong arms, buzzed black hair, and kind, black-beetle eyes. He wore a mustard-yellow shirt with blue jeans and dark-orange suspenders. He re-read Little Cabin in the Forest with Mayhem purring on his lap, while Carol finished cooking dinner, giving the jambalaya a stir and pulling the cornbread out of the oven. Carol O’Niel was a beautiful woman with red curls that hid her eyes from view. She wore turquoise earrings, a orange-yellow button-up, and army green leggings with dark-red high heeled boots.

April came in and Mayhem perked up and leaped into her arms, instantly making her feel better. “Aw, hey little guy!”

“Hey there, sugar plum.” Mr. O’Niel greeted, holding up his reading glasses and putting them in the drawer of the end table by the couch. “How was your day?”

“Pretty good.” She said with a shrug. “Had that exam today, but I think it went pretty well.”

“That’s my girl.” Kirby said proudly, gently punching her arm as she smiled. 

“How was your day, Dad?”

“Pretty good! Business was a little slow, but someone bought that old piano today! They’ll need it delivered on Thursday. Something about a surprise for a husband.”

“A piano? Dang, Daddy. You need help with that?”

“Nah, I’m gonna see if Gary or his boys will help for a free meal.”

April immediately thought of Raph, and how if he knew about this he would leap at the chance to help. Heck, all of the turtles would. April daydreamed his father patting Raph on the top of the head, and how big Raph’s smile would be.

“Dinner.” Carol called from the kitchen, pulling April from her daydream, and the two joined her at the small table.

Carol took one look at her daughter; It didn’t take a therapist to know that something was off. “April, honey, you okay?”

Kirby followed his wife’s eyes and added after swallowing a mouth full of jambalaya, “Yeah, you look like a flower that’s been without rain for some time. Everything alright?”

April continually played with her food, a fist on her cheek. 

For seven years she had been friends with the best people in the whole wide world. She had a family, was part of the Hamato Clan, had fought ninjas, mutants and yokai, and even aliens, with the people she loved more than anything. And her parents didn’t have a clue. 

April sighed. “Actually…”

She wanted to tell them. She wanted to introduce everyone and to end the secrets and lies, but the possibility of dire consequences scared her too much. It petrified her and sent a shiver down her spine.

So she took in a deep breath and said, “… I just don’t feel that great. Kinda stressed about my portfolio coming up at the end of the semester.”

Her parents were sympathetic.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sugar plum.”

“You’ll do amazing.” Carol insisted, covering April’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “You have until May to have it completed, and when you do I know you’ll blow the board’s minds.”

“Thanks guys.” April said with a smile and forced herself to eat a bite.

The hot meal and good company helped chase the anxiety in her gut away, but as she prepared for bed, shame stepped into her skin.

She wanted to tell them. She loved her parents and wanted to be honest with them. But how do you tell your parents your best friends were four mutant turtles, a rat, a sheep, a hyperactive ninja, and a time traveler from a nightmare of an apocalypse?

You can’t. So you don’t.

“And you swear nothing here is secretly evil or anyone evil secretly wants it?”

“Hermano, you have my word.” Piel vowed, dipping his head and placing a fleshy hand over his chest.

Leo swung an arm over Hueso’s shoulders. “C’mon, Boneman, what did we talk about?”

The skeleton pinched his nasal bone and groaned. “Fine, fine. But I’m not responsible for anything that goes haywire!”

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Leo asked, gesturing to the yard sale taking place outside of Run of the Mill Pizza.

Piel, now a retired pirate, had his long locks tied into a loose ponytail and wore an old puffy white shirt, his hook and hat being sold in the yard sale. In fact, everything Piel no longer needed, some of Hueso’s old belongings, and some odds and ends from yokai doing some spring cleaning, was cluttered on tables and on the floor, customers eyeing items and ready to bargain.

April, Sunita, and the turtles were all shopping as well. Mikey eyed an old pirate flag, thought of a way to turn it into a pillow for Casey, and ran over to Piel to pay for it. April was with Donnie, who scrolled through his phone, and they walked around, until April’s eyes landed on a bronze box.

She picked it up and opened it, and music played as a crane and gears turned. A few notes from the song were missing, and the tune was stiff.  The inside showed a rusty jeweled flower spinning on top; it looked like a lily. April could tell this box had been through the mill, but she knew someone who would like it and give it the love and care it deserved.

“Aw, what a pretty music box.” April commented, and closed it. “I think I’ll get it for my dad.”

“Your dad?” Raph asked, then gasped and yelled, “Shoot, is Father’s Day coming up already?!”

The turtles all gasped and yelled, freaking out that they had not prepared anything for their own father, but April yelled over them, “NO! I just thought he’d like it, that’s all. Hey, Hueso! You take human money, right?”

“¡Si!”

“¡Bueno!” And April dug around her jacket-pocket for some cash.

“Oh, okay!” Raph said, calmed down and smiling.

“Oh yeah!” Sunita agreed, holding the music box. “I bet Kirby could clean it up and resell it.”

“Maybe. Dad’s weird about old junk.” April commented fondly, walking up to Hueso and giving him a ten dollar bill for it. “He might keep it.”

“Doesn’t your dad own an antique shop?” Raph asked.

“Yeah, 2nd Time Around. He’s always fixing and selling stuff.”

“When do we get to meet him, anyway?” Mikey asked, the pirate flag draped over his arm. “And your mom? I’d love to make my risotto for them some time!”

April’s face dropped. She rubbed her arm and said, “Well… I want to…”

“Wait, really?” Leo asked.

“YES!” Raph cheered. “Raph impresses parents like a boss! They’re gonna love us!”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” April stopped them. “I want you guys to meet them, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Raph questioned.

“Do you want me to list the reasons alphabetically or increasing levels of obvious?” Donnie quipped.

“Look, guys,” April said, backing away from them. “I love you all so much, and I’m sure my parents would too, but let’s hold off on any introductions, okay?”

“Well, sure.” Raph said slowly. “But, what? You really think your folks would call the police on us?”

“Or have us experimented on?” Donnie added.

“Or check themselves into a mental hospital?” Mikey asked.

“Cuz if they’re anything like you,” Leo said reassuringly. “I don’t think they would.”

April smiled at her brothers and said, “Thanks guys. I promise, I’ll think of a way to introduce you to them, I just need some time.”

“Hey, we’ve waited seven years!” Raph reminded her with a wave of his hand. “We can wait a little longer.”

That was supposed to be comforting, but the reminder that the secret had been going on for so long only made April feel a little more worse, so she smiled weakly and started the walk back to the human world.

“Hey, you still down to hang out?” Sunita asked, pressing her broach and disguising herself as a human.

“Yeah, sure.”

“See ya guys!” Sunita waved goodbye, walking backwards.

The turtles watched as the girls walked away, silently, until Mikey said, “I’ll give her a week.”

“I’ll give her eleven minutes.” Donnie countered. 

Since April wanted to see her father, they arrived home at the antique shop. Kirby politely chatted with an old man about a box of records he was selling, waved him away, then grinned at the teenagers.

“Welcome home, ladies. Good to see you, Sunita! Staying for dinner? I’m makin’ Granny’s chicken n’ dumplin’s as a treat for Carol.”

“Yes, please!”

April walked up to the counter and placed the music box on the counter. “Look what I found for you, Dad!”

“My my my,” Kirby grabbed a magnifying glass and looked at the music box, reminding April of how Donnie studies things with his goggles. “This here a beauty! I’d say by the carvin’s here it was a Victorian art piece. Maybe 1910s?” He opened it, and the out-of-tune melody began to play.

“Think you can fix it?”

“Oh, I know I can. My goodness, I’ll have to keep it here on my counter!” Kirby smiled at his daughter. “Thanks, sugar plum.”

April grinned, proud her father had a fun new art project to work on. “Is Mom home?”

“Not yet, she’ll get off work in about an hour.”

“Okay, we’ll be in my room if you need us.”

“Have fun!”

The yard sale was finished, and Piel was boxing up the leftovers. Maybe another yard sale, or maybe he should just give the stuff to Repo Mantis to add to his junkyard.

Years of pirating and sneaking around heightened his senses, so he knew an attack was coming and managed to dodge out of the way of a shooting tongue, sliding on the concrete on his knees.

“Excusez-moi, Capitaine,” A heavy voice sneered. “But you have something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“Whatever it is you want, you may have it, but I’d appreciate not to lose any limbs over it!” Piel jeered. He reached to his hip for his sword, but he had completely forgotten he had left it hanging on his wall at home, for sentimental reasons.

Groaning in frustration, Piel dodged attacks from tongue and daggers alike. He noticed a shadow rummaging through the half put-away yard sale, but was too busy not dying to do anything about it. He grabbed a long tongue, yanked, and punched the oncoming victim.

Piel was shoved against the wall of his brother’s restaurant, and a dagger was placed to his throat. “Now, I’ll only ask once. Where is Esmerelda’s Box?”

“I don’t know.” Piel growled. “I’ve collected a lot of junk over the years.” He smirked proudly.

“Oh, Fleshy here’s funny.” The frog croaked. “You look sleepy, why not take a quick nap?”

Piel struggled and winced as the cloaked frog expanded his throat, forming an air bubble, and began croaking a peaceful lullaby. Within seconds he was snoozing against the brick wall. 

Rasputin let Piel’s sleeping form fall, and he pinched his webbed fingers on top of Piel’s head, and pulled what appeared to be a glowing white string, but it was so much more. The frog let the dream float in the air, his eyes glowing as he read the retired pirate’s memories.

The slim frog with dreadlocks tied back by an orange bandana joined the cloaked frog. “It’s not here.”

“Ah, no worries, Attlia, I’ve got it.” Rasputin assured, his eyes no longer glowing, and the thread returned to Piel’s head. “Capitaine, we need to go upstairs.”

“Excellente,” Napoleon said, brushing the large feather on top of his is hat to the side, a grin across his warty face. “The humans shall be the first to whiteness the power of Esmeralda’s Box, a warning to any yokai that stand in our way.”

Genghis twirled his duel axes maliciously and licked his lips. “We’ll be eating good tonight!”

Attila rolled their eyes. “You’re gross.” And the hopped away, leaving Piel to sleep soundly against Run of the Mill Pizza.

Sunita was looking over April’s collection of nail polish, trying to decide what color she wanted, when a loud bang went off in the building, make the floor rattle.

“What was that?!” April yelled; explosions in the lair were almost normal, but here at home was unheard of.

She and Sunita raced down the stairs, green bat in April’s hands, and the human threw the back door of the antique shop open. They watched in horror as Kirby grabbed a large yokai-frog by the neck, pinned it to the ground, punched it in the eye, and kicked a charging frog.

“Whoa,” Sunita awed. “I didn’t know your dad could fight.”

“Me neither.” April awed.

She was entangled by a large, gross tongue and pulled away from Sunita. The frog wore a tattered brown cloak, with daggers around his waist. He held a dagger to April’s throat, and muttered through his open mouth, “Where de music box, ooman?”

“UGH! Gross! So slimy!” April whined. 

“It no’ slime! It mucus.” Rasputin explained in a dignified manner.

POW! Kirby delivered a fierce left-hook to the frog, freeing his daughter, who he helped up to her feet. “April, you okay, darlin’?”

“I’m fine- LOOK OUT!” April swung her bat at flying daggers, and Kirby dove them both behind the counter.

Sunita ran to them, crouched down, and asked, “Is everyone okay?!”

“We’re fine,” April said.

“April, listen, get yourself and Sunita outta here.”

“Wh- no! We’re staying with you!” April countered.

“You’ve done beautifully.” Kirby complimented, patting April’s shoulder. “Now lemme take it from here.”

BANG! An axe was thrown over their heads, landing in a close wardrobe. “Come on out, humans!”

“GO!” Kirby grabbed the thrown axe and charged into battle. 

Two frogs fought with the human, one with daggers, the other with an axe. April and Sunita were at the door, April watching her father fight the frogs. A little rusty, but not bad for a man who relied on his muscles and determination to protect his family.

“April,” Sunita turned April to face her by gently cupping her cheek. “It may be time to call reinforcements.”

The human bit her lip, but then nodded. She tapped her wristband and called, “Guys! Guys! I need your help!”

“April?” Raph’s voice rang as her band glowed. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s my dad-…”

The front door to the antique shop flew open as all four turtles, in hoodies, had their weapons ready.

“Whoa, is that a new record, boys?” April asked.

“Jumping Jack Flash!” Raph gasped. “Are those frogs?!”

“I think they’re after the music box I got for Dad!” April explained, grabbing the sides of her head. “This is all my fault…”

“Hey hey, no it’s not.” Raph reassured quickly. “Let’s just get these punks outta your dad’s shop.”

“Whip-O-Rama!” Mikey exclaimed, using his nunchucks to trap Genghis and throw him out of the shop, and onto the street to fight.

A frog with a spiked staff, a halberd, attacked Donnie, who was only happy to partake in a staff versus staff battle.

Raph’s eyes widened as he caught the horrid sight of a frog with a pirate captain’s hat aiming a pistol at Kirby’s back. Right as the bullet was shot, however, Raph was between them and used his sais to create a shield, saving Mr. O’Niel’s life.

“Argh, hand over the music box, tortue !” He growled. “Or be put to sleep by Captain Napoleon!”

“How about you take a cat nap!” Raph retaliated, trying to punch the frog, who was quick and dodged the attacks, but was suddenly pinned from behind by Kirby, and Raph punched the frog in the throat, making him fall to the floor in pain.

“Well done, son.” Kirby complimented.

Raph’s face turned as red as his mask and he lifted the neck of his hoodie up in an attempt to better cover his face. “Uh, th-thank you.” He muttered in a deeper voice.

The men were distracted by flying daggers, and the two worked together to fight Rasputin.

Napoleon growled from the floor, watching Leo and Mikey defeating Genghis outside the shop, Raph and Kirby cornering Rasputin, and Donnie, April, and Sunita dueling Attila. Sensing defeat, Napoleon got to his feet, puffed out his chest, inflated his neck, and let out a loud, low croak.

The non-frogs paused their fighting, covering their ears; the turtles were shaken to their shells, reminded of a low rumble Kraang had used to seal their mystic powers away, but this tune was different. Unlike the song that put Piel to sleep, this sounded almost like a war horn, a call for help.

Raph’s eyes flew open. “Oh, no.”

A dozen more yokai-frogs hopped towards the antique shop from the streets, coming to aid their crew.

“ Salut, mes amis !” Napoleon greeted his crew. “Esmerelda’s Box is near! Kill the land-lovers, while I search.”

Raph was thrown to the ground by a raging frog, shielding himself from a club with his sais. Kirby slipped on two old brass knuckles and was forced to back away as two frogs with swords came towards him, and the street and store was flooded with attacking frogs.

Donnie helped April and Sunita sneak into a wardrobe as Mikey distracted some frogs with his mad skills. Peaking through the cracked doors, Donnie lowered his goggles, using his mystic crystal to try to find the music box before the frog did.

“There! The box!”

“Go get it, D!” April ordered. “We’ll cover your shell!”

Donnie nodded, they barolled out of the wardrobe, and the softshell ninja-hid in the clutter of the antiques while April and Sunita battled frogs.

One frog looked ready to bite April from behind, but Sunita saw the attack coming, frowned, and pressed her broach to get rid of her human disguise, so she could use her green goo of an arm to trap the frog against the wall, cemented in lime.

“Uh,”

The girls froze as they noticed that Mr. O’Niel was right behind them having witnessed the whole thing and looking at a Googlyschmootz.

“Did Sunita just change color?”

Sunita rubbed the back of her neck nervously while April gritted her teeth, extremely panicked. “Um, kinda…”

Donnie dove for the music box and held it close to his chest. Smiling at his little victory, he was suddenly greeted by Napoleon, a pistol pointed at his forehead. “Give it to me.”

Chains suddenly swiped the pistol from the frog’s webbed hand, all thanks to Mikey seeing what was going on through the window, but then Genghis pounced on Mikey, regaining his attention, and Donnie was left to fight Napoleon alone, using his tech-bo to knock him to his feet, but Napoleon used his tongue to trap Donnie and hold him up in the air.

“UGH!” Donnie screeched, shivers going down his spine at the wet tongue all around his body. “I think I’m gonna be sick…” He mumbled, his face paling.

Napoleon took advantage of Donnie’s query stomach and swiped the treasure from his hand. “Finally! Esmerelda’s Box is ours! With this, we can send our enemies to an eternal slumber! The Hidden City will soon be ours!” He announced courageously, his back to the door, light shining and illuminating his victory.

The frog crew cheered and roared in merriment. Each turtle tried to break free to Napoleon, but the amphibians did a good job of keeping the reptiles at bay.

But Mikey noticed someone approaching Napoleon from behind, taking off her heeled boot as she walked.

CRUNCH! 

Carol wailed on Napoleon with her high heeled boot, beating him black and blue with a fire her daughter had inherited. Her eyes were hidden by her hair, this might have been a blessing, because if looks could kill…

The turtles all stared, mouths wide open, as Carol beat the captain of the frogs until he was a trembling, swollen, beaten mess on her husband’s floor.

Carol huffed and puffed, grabbing the music box, and panted, “April, aren’t you going to introduce us to your friends?”

April blushed, her father giving her a complicated look. It was gentle, he didn’t appear to be mad, but somewhere in his eyes, there was a plea to be honest with him.

The fight erupted back, the captain defeated, but the crew more determined now to win.

Donnie shielded April from an attacking frog with his tech-bo, giving her a chance to swing her bat at a frog trying to entangle Carol in its tongue.

“April, are these friends of yours?” Carol asked plainly, as if they weren’t in the middle of fighting French pirate frogs.

“No! W-Well, not the frogs!” April answered as she swung her bat and gave a frog a black eye. “But…”

“WATCH OUT!” Mikey used his chains to stop a halberd from slicing April’s head open, threw the weapon out of Attila’s hands, and used his other chain to trap the frog and throw them away, landing on one knee in front of the women.

“Oh, hi Mrs. O’Niel!” Mikey said politely, standing up and waving. “I’m Mikey!” And he held out a three-fingered hand to shake.

Carol smiled, ducked to avoid a thrown axe, and took Mikey’s hand and shook it. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you, Mikey! My goodness, you’re a sweet little thing, aren’t you?”

Mikey blushed, giggling, and swatted the compliment away bashfully. “Oh,”

Carol scowled, threw her boot at a charging frog with a sword, then scolded as she approached the fallen frog for vengeance, “It’s not nice to try to stab children !” And she wailed on the poor frog like it was a naughty child, making April and Mikey wince and hug each other.

Leo was portaling left and right, tricking the frogs into attacking each other, making himself laugh. He caught sight of Kirby punching a frog, who had ditched his weapon and was also throwing left and right hooks, but when it looked like Kirby was cornered when three more came, Leo used his mystic powers to portal Kirby on top of the frogs, and he pounced on them.

“Nice adjustment, Mr O’Niel!” Leo complimented, giving him a thumbs-up.

Kirby smiled back and called, “Thank you for the portal, son!” And their exchange was interrupted at dodging Genghis’s axes.

“I don’t understand, April,” Kirby shared, reunited with his family as they battled frogs, back to back to back. “Why haven’t you introduced us to your friends sooner? They seem nice.”

April gave her parents a bewildered look. “Wh- They are! But… Isn’t this weird for you guys? Being saved from giant frogs by four ninja turtles with mystic powers?!”

Kirby shrugged. “I’ve seen weirder in New Jersey.”

“See, I told you NJ is weird!” Leo yelled.

“Leo! Not helping!” His brothers yelled, trying to give the O’Niel family room to talk.

“April, honey,” Carol said as she wiped some sweat from her cheek. “What your father is trying to say is, we don’t care what your friends are. They’re your friends. That’s what’s important to us.”

“But…” April squeezed her burning eyes shut, and trusted her friends to keep her face as she turned away from the fight so she could face her parents. “I’ve kept this a secret from you guys for seven years! My whole life! All this time, my best friends, my family, have been these guys! They’re my whole world… and I kept that from you. Aren’t you mad at me for keeping them from you?”

Kirby and Carol stared at their daughter. “No!”

“No, sugar plum, we’re not mad.” Kirby said softly, placing a hand on April’s shoulder.

“We’re just… Did we say or do something that made you think you couldn’t talk to us?” Carol asked, the therapist in her kicking in, racking her brain for anything that would make her only child think she couldn’t trust her. “I understand there are some things you don’t feel comfortable telling your parents, Lord knows I didn’t tell my parents anything…”

“But, sweetie,” Kirby cut in. “We want you to know we love you, and you can tell us anything, whenever you are ready.”

A small explosion went off behind the humans, making their clothes and hair ruffle in the wind, but it was ignored.

“I know,” April whined, rubbing her arm and trying to open up to her parents. “It’s not just the fact they’re mutants. It’s just… the more I thought about it, the more sure I was that you guys wouldn’t freak out or think they’re monsters. I knew you’d like them! But I feel so bad that I kept this a secret from you guys for so long, and that I thought at one point that it wasn’t okay to tell you, that telling you now would… it was just easier to keep it a secret.”

Leo leaped over their heads, confidently puffing out a “Oh, ho, yeah!” as he pounced on some bruised frogs and portaled them to New Orleans.

“I love you guys.” April said, eyes stinging with unfallen tears. “And I don’t wanna keep secrets from you anymore.”

“We love you, too, April.” Carol replied. “C’mere.”

Carol, Kirby, and April embraced themselves in a hug. Leo finished portaling the frogs away, leaving the antique shop free of pirates.

Mikey and Raph hugged, admiring the heart-warming scene before them, while Donnie kicked a fallen piece of wood. The shop was a mess, but nothing they couldn’t fix.

“Aaaaaaaaaaawwww.”

“Soooo,” Leo dragged, pocketing his swords and stepping up to the humans, who were untangling themselves from the hug. “You guys are cool with… this whole situation?” He asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

Kirby smiled, stepped forward, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Lemme ask you some questions… erm…”

“Leo,” He introduced himself.

“Right, Leo,” Kirby said with a smile, engraving the name into his mind forever. “How long have you been friends with our April?”

“Seven years.” Leo answered nonchalantly.

Kirby looked at his wife, who was smiling as well, and then he asked, “Okay, and, humor an old man… Does she make you happy?”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Uh…?”

“Does April make you happy?” Kirby repeated, his tone warm and welcoming, promising an explanation in exchange for Leo’s honesty.

Leo looked at the woman he considered a big sister. Like everyone else in his family, a life without April was a life Leo never wanted to know. He smiled, and nodded at Mr. O’Niel. “Yes, sir. She’s like family to us. We’ve never been happier than when she was our friend.”

Carol hugged her daughter from the side, biting her lip with joy, and Kirby was practically beaming. He held out a hand to shake, which Leo took, and Kirby said, “My boy, we owe you our lives.”

“When April was born,” Carol shared with the turtles. “We only had one wish for her: that she would be healthy and happy. We may not have known why, but we saw the change in our daughter seven years ago. We saw her come out of her shell - no pun intended…”

Mikey snorted and scrubbed his eye with his knuckles.

“We’ve never seen April happier.” Kirby finished for his wife. “And you… all of you… Do you have any idea what it feels like to have someone make a wish come true? Because you did that for us.”

“Aw, Mr. and Mrs. O’Niel!” Raph sobbed, holding a tissue to his face, Mikey clinging to his big brother, Leo’s grip on Mr. O’Niel’s hand tightening as his eyes filled with tears, even Donnie’s lip was quivering.

“Goodness, c’mere, boys!” Carol invited with open arms, and she, April, and Kirby were tackled into one large dog pile of a hug.

Splinter tugged at the collar of his yellow sweater. The last time he was dressed like this in this apartment building with his famous green bean casserole, he was tricked into an awkward family dinner with his mortal enemy. As excited as he was, as thrilled as he was to have his long-awaited day come, he was still a little nervous.

Mikey was bouncing where he stood, a big pot of risotto in his arms, he and his brothers also dressed nicely. Leo did the honors of knocking on the door, and soon it was opened by Mrs. O’Niel. “Oh! Welcome! Welcome! Thanks for agreeing to come to dinner!”

“And thank you for having us, Mrs. O’Niel.” Splinter greeted with a dip as they entered. “It is an honor to share a meal with you!”

“April! Look who’s here!” Carol called as she walked with Mikey into the kitchen, taking the casserole from Splinter.

April was sitting on the couch with Kirby and Draxum, Huginn and Munnin receiving pets from Kirby who had each picked a knee to lay on. April grinned and hurried to her family, giving hugs and high-fives. “Hey guys! How’s it feel to come through the front door and not through my window?”

“A little weird,” Leo admitted, his shoulders shivering. “But I like it!”

“Me too,” Raph said, putting a hand on April’s shoulder. “We know this wasn’t easy for you, but thanks.”

“For what?” April asked.

“Thanks for letting us be a part of your family.” Raph answered honestly, smiling softly down at his big sister.

April’s eyes shined and sparkled as she smiled. She hugged Raph and told him and his brothers, “You were always part of my family.”

“Alright, everyone take a seat, dinner’s ready!” Carol announced, setting a large, smoking pot roast on the set table, making everyone awe at the beauty of the meal.

April had only seen this in her dreams, in her best what-if scenarios, but seeing Donnie gush about his latest inventions to her dad, her mom gossiping with Splinter and Draxum about a soap opera she and Draxum both liked to watch, and Kirby later agreeing to Raph’s help moving a piano in exchange for homemade pie, April grinned to herself as she ate Mikey’s risotto with her mom’s roast, beyond happy to see the people she loved most in the world in the same room together.

Chapter Text

Casey opened the fridge to decide on what to get for a snack. He quickly found out that he did not like soda (the carbonation was too uncomfortable for him), but he did like juice and chocolate milk, so Cassandra, his mom, kept a case of juice boxes and chocolate milk bottles in there just for him. There were also apples, oranges, and a jar of pickles that looked good, but he decided on an apple juice.

After his talk with Raph, and the Hamatos celebrating the reveal of a new family member, Casey had been spending the last two weeks with his mom, rekindling their relationship and getting used to the human world. He had a bedroom, both at Cass’s apartment and the lair, and Casey planned to spend equal amount of time at both places, but for now, it was nice to enjoy the quiet and try to get used to the human stuff he missed out on thanks to being born in the middle of an alien apocalypse.

Casey watched from the tiny kitchen as Raph and Cass chatted, Cass sitting criss-cross on the couch and Raph occupying a large beanbag the young adult owned instead of a boring armchair. Casey resumed his seat on the couch, between the two, with his juice in hand.

He looked at the snapping turtle beside him, who smiled, silently assuring him that everything would be okay, so Casey took in a deep breath and said, “Actually, Mom… There’s something I should tell you.”

Cass sat up straight, no longer resting her cheek on her knuckles. “Sure, CJJ, what’s up?”

“Well, first… H-Have you ever wondered who my dad is?”

Cass blinked and then snorted, her cheeks turning pink. “Uh, a little. But I couldn’t think of who it would be, so…” And she let the sentence dangle.

“Well…” Casey looked at Raph, who patted his shoulder kindly, and the men smiled at each other.

Cass’s face dropped. “Wait… really?!”

“Really really,” Raph answered. “Apparently, in the future,” He said as Casey peeled on his right glove and started to unwrap his wrappings. “I’m his dad, blood and all.”

Cass looked down at Casey’s exposed hand and lower arm and could finally see the green skin that matched Raph’s, and when Casey uncovered his other arm, it was clear it was the same. He still had human-shaped fingers and hands, but his skin was green, freckling into peach skin just before his elbows.

Cassandra slowly reached over to take her son’s hand, and when she held it she found it felt as normal as it could be. Maybe a little dry, but the teenager probably just needed some lotion. 

“Okay,” Cass said and she held Casey’s hand. “So… you’re half-mutant?”

“A hybrid, yeah.” Casey explained with a small smile on his face. “Don’t worry, I don’t have any special powers or anything. I came out mostly human, except my arms and legs are green, and I kinda got a shell…”

“Can I see?”

“Sure,” Casey pulled off his black t-shirt with a skull on it and turned so both of his parents could get a good look. His chest and sides were normal enough, a scar or two decorating his skin from a lifetime of war, but his back was fascinating to say the least.

It wasn’t like the turtles where their shell hugged their bodies and protected them from the elements. Underneath Casey’s skin was an extension of his spine, a half-formed shell, but rather than it being made of carapace, like his father and his uncles, it was made of keratin, closely resembling fingernails. Clearly Casey’s shell was about as useful as Donnie’s, but it was very clear who made up the other half of Casey’s genetics.

“Does… Does it hurt?” Cass asked curiously.

Casey laughed. “Nah, I can’t even feel it. Professor Donatello hypothesized that I might have back problems when I’m in my fifties, but what old person doesn’t have back problems.”

Raph snorted and added, “If you’re Splinter’s grandson, you’re definitely gonna have back problems.” 

Cass chuckled. “Right. So… wow! Okay! You’re a Hamato! That’s great!”

“And you’re cool with it?” Casey asked as he slipped his t-shirt back on.

“What’s not to be cool about?” Cass asked. “This is already weird enough as it is, having a kid who’s only a year younger than you…” Cass bursted into a fit of laughter and pointed at the two boys. “Ha! You’re the same age!”

Raph laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Bottom line, none of that matters.” Cass said firmly and placed a hand on Casey’s knee. “What matters is how you feel and what you want to do about this.”

“I’m with your mom on this.” Raph agreed. “So how ‘bout it, Casey Jones? What do you want?”

Casey stared at his parents, his young, inexperienced parents. They hadn’t gone through an apocalypse, they hadn’t lost their family members one by one, they hadn’t gotten together and had a kid, and yet that didn’t matter to them. They were willing to do whatever their kid needed them to do.

They had a choice. He had a choice. And Casey knew exactly what he wanted.

“I just want you guys back in my life.” Casey said with a smile.

Raph and Cass grinned and sandwiched him into a big hug. “We’ll always be here for you, son.” Raph promised.

“Yeah, and we’ll destroy anyone who dares to touch a hair on your head! ”

“Cass, remember…”

“Murder is wrong, I know.” Cass said with a groan and an eye roll, all the while Casey was smiling and squeezing his parents.

The turtles hopped across buildings and rooftops until they reached the apartment building Cass lived in. Donnie pressed a button on his wristband, and a huge air horn came up from his battle-shell and honked loudly.

“Yo, Casey!” Leo called, waving his arms excitedly. “C’mon, it’s Mission Time!”

Casey opened the apartment’s window, gear on and his mask on his forehead, and called over his shoulder, “See ya, Cass!”

“Love you, Junior!”

Casey used his grappling hook to swing down to the lower rooftop and join the turtles. “Hey guys!”

“This is gonna be great!” Mikey, hugging Casey around the neck from behind. “Our nephew’s first patrol!”

“What about our patrol last month? When I took down those crab-jerks?” Casey reminded Mikey with a brow raised.

“Yeah, but that was before we knew you were our kid!”

“Well, yeah, but I’m still…”

A loud coughing noise came from the top of Cassandra’s apartment building, and the five boys looked up to see Cass with a megaphone in hand. “You gotta say ‘I love you’ back.”

“Mom, are you serious?!”

“I wanna hear it!”

“You wanna hear me…”

“Say it!”

“We’re trying to leave!”

“‘I love you, Mom!’”

“Cass!”

“‘I love you, Mom!’”

Casey sighed, choosing to ignore the snickering and laughter behind him, coming from the immature ninjas. But Casey smiled and yelled with all his might, “MOOOOOOOOOM! I LOVE YOU!”

“That’s a copy!” Cass replied. “You coming home tonight, or spending the night in the lair?”

“Lair!”

“Okay! Have fun!” And Cass went back inside.

Casey chuckled, shaking his head, and then lowered his mask. “Let’s move!”

The turtles all agreed and led the way across rooftops.

After a few minutes, they stopped so Donnie could scan the perimeter and listen to the police’s radio. Casey sat on the edge of a building, admiring the view of New York City he got to enjoy, but he was suddenly picked up by his hips, like a cat, and carried away from the edge.

“Casey, you shouldn’t sit on the edge like that, you could fall.” Raph scolded lightly, setting Casey down on his feet and dusting him off. 

“Raph! Dude, I can handle myself!” Casey argued.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Raph said with his hands up. “You’re completely capable of taking care of yourself.” 

Casey started to walk away, but Raph stood in front of him and shielded him with his arms. “WATCH OUT!”

“What?! What is it?!” Casey asked, pulling out his hockey-stick.

“Oh, I thought I saw a spider, but you’re fine.” Raph said, patting his shoulder, oblivious to the scowl on Casey’s face.

“Everything’s pretty quiet tonight,” Donnie observed, lifting his goggles back up th is forehead. 

“Sweet! Wanna try to break the pizza box stack record, Jones?” Leo asked, throwing an arm over Casey’s shoulder.

“Totally!”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Raph said, stepping in front of the pair with his arms crossed over his chest. “Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous?”

“What’s dangerous about walking across a tightrope on the tallest bridge in New York City while balancing one-hundred-twenty-six boxes on your head?” Leo asked.

A crash came from down in an alleyway. The five boys peered down in a family pile and watched quietly as three robbers in black sweats emerged from a jewelry store with sacks full of stolen goods.

“Piece of cake,” Leo sneered, standing up.

“Wait, can I go first?” Casey asked, wielding his hockey-stick. “I wanna try a new catchphrase.”

“Sure! Go for it!” Leo said, patting his shoulder, and the hybrid leaped down.

He landed right in front of the robbers, on the sidewalk, and the masked teenager snarled, “Excuse me, boys, I think you forgot to pay for that. But don’t worry, I accept cash, card, or teeth.” And he clenched a gloved-fist, popping some knuckles.

The robbers gasped as voices from above alerted them of more unwelcome visitors. 

“Menacing, I like it!” Leo called.

“I’m proud of you, son!” Raph hollered, giving him a thumbs up.

“Seems a little long to be a catchphrase.” Mikey suggested nicely.

“What, did you write that down beforehand?” Donnie asked.

“Actually, yes,” The vigilante said, pulling out a stack of notecards. “Hold up… what about…” Casey leaped in the air, dodging a running robber, and smacked him on the back of the head with his hockey-stick. “Pucking some punks!”

“On brand, I like it!” Raph encouraged.

“Eh,” Leo said, rocking his hand back and forth while his other brothers didn’t seem to like that catchphrase.

“What about using your name like April does?” Mikey suggested.

“What, you mean like…” Casey pocketed his hockey-stick and did hand-to-hand combat with one robber, delivering a fierce left-hook to the face with a proud, “Casey Jones!”

Casey shrugged as the bad guy fell unconscious. “Meh, doesn’t feel right.”

“Relax, it’ll come to you.” Leo advised as Casey continued to fight the other two robbers. “‘You’ve been portal-chopped’ just came to me while on a mission.”

“And it took me awhile to find ‘like a boss!’” Raph added.

Casey dusted his hands, all the bad guys defeated at his feet, and asked, “Hey, Mikey, wanna wrap this up?”

“Sure!” And Mikey used a spare chain to tie them all up and hang them from a light post.

Casey and the turtles then left the crime scene, leaping from building to building, until they stopped and Casey popped his shoulders. “So what next?”

BANG!

The five boys came together in a family pile and watched as a large mutant cat-mantis leaped across buildings and roared, showing sharp teeth and snarling at a human.

“EY! You owe me money!” The mantis with the bad haircut snarled from atop the cat, and the human shakingly reached into their pocket for their wallet and gave it to the mutant.

“Repo Stinkin’ Mantis!” Mikey growled.

“Who?” Casey asked.

“Some repo-jerk who owns the dump.” Raph explained. “He’s always stealing a quick buck from humans and yokai. Looks like he finally trained his cat-mantis, Miss. Nubbins.”

“Cool!” Casey admired, watching the huge cat pounce away. “Let’s go!”

“Hold up, Junior.” Leo said, grabbing the neck of his cloak before he could jump off the building. “We can’t just attack Repo fo- is he robbing a cat orphanage?!”

“They were orphans for a reason, you old hag, now hand over the loot!” They could hear Repo Mantis yelling.

Donnie ignored his brothers’ narrowing eyes and readied his jet pack. 

“Okay, le’go!” Leo said, cartwheeling into a portal, and his family were right behind him.

Repo Mantis leaped off of his noble green steed with a duffel bag full of money on his shoulder, letting Miss. Nubbins lick some of the milk they also repoed from the cat orphanage.

“Not bad, not bad, my wittle cutie.” The mantis cooed as he counted his cash.

“Wait wait wait, I think I got one!”

“Really? Okay, go for it!”

Repo Mantis turned at the group of teenagers standing on the next building over, and the human one cleared his throat and declared, “Okay, Munk Man! Hand over the cash, or your kitty goes to the pound!”

Mikey snorted, and the turtles laughed. “Munk Man?!”

“What? Cuz he works with trash?” Casey asked, face turning red as he lowered his hockey-stick. 

“Looks like you and I need private lessons on bad-guy banter.” Leo said, patting his shoulder as Casey scowled and pouted. “For now, Mad Dogs! Ahoy!”

“Argh, not you, too!” Donnie groaned as his brothers leaped into action.

Repo Mantis danced with Mikey, who battled him with his nunchuck, while the rest tried to take down the huge cat.

Miss. Nubbins snarled and hissed, tail flicking angrily, and swiped a claw at Casey, who smiled and was ready to leap out of the way and then swing his hockey-stick, but before he could even bend his knees, a huge turtle dove on top of him and pushed him out of the way.

“Wh- DUDE!” Casey yelled, extremely annoyed.

“I gotcha!” Raph said, arm around Casey as he stood over him, his sharp shell keeping them safe while Leo and Donnie battled the cat. “You’re safe!”

“Get off me!” Casey gritted his teeth, laid on his back, and kicked the snapping turtle off of him and leaped to his feet, running into battle and ignoring how Raph rubbed his sore chest.

Casey leaped into the air, Leo using his portal to transport Donnie away from a swinging claw, and Casey swung his chainsaw, almost hitting the cat on the nose, but she pulled her head back and snapped her teeth, almost biting Casey in the ribs, but he slid underneath Miss. Nubbins and stood by her flicking tail, which he grabbed and pulled with a smug look on his face.

Miss. Nubbins yowled and turned and snarled at Casey, who had a plan, and he bent his knees to leap over her head, hoping to backflip onto her back, but once again, Raph squandered his plan and got between them, shell to Casey, and he used his sais to create a shield.

“RUN!”

“Wh- I’m not running!” Casey yelled.

Raph punched the cat in the nose, making her back off, and once again the Disaster Twins had her, this time working together to trap her in one of Donnie’s large nets.

“Casey, are you hurt?” Raph checked, turning back to face him, now his back to the fight.

Casey groaned and grabbed his long black hair. His patience was running out. “UGH! Why can’t you just LEAVE ME ALONE?!” He screamed, tears pricking his eyes.

Raph was taken back by his yell, but the time-traveler wasn’t done.

“I’m NOT a child! I grew up faster than any of you! I lost both my parents before I lost my first tooth! I don’t need your protection, I don’t need your help! I survived in a GOD-FORSAKEN APOCALYPSE FOR SIXTEEN YEARS WITHOUT YOU!”

“RAPH KNOWS THAT!” Raph yelled back, tears decorating his eyes as he looked down at the hybrid teenager before him. “And I hate myself for that, Case!”

Casey stared at Raph, who allowed a tear to roll down his face. He dropped his sais, letting them clatter against the concrete.

“I should’ve been there for you.” Raph whimpered, wiping his cheek dry, but his eyes were still wet with emotion. “I should’ve never left you alone. I’m so… so sorry I sucked as a dad last time, but… I…” The snapper swallowed a sob and looked at the teenager again. “I just wanna be there for you.”

Casey looked down, ashamed of his outburst, but he knew wallowing in it wouldn’t solve anything, so he swallowed, looked up, and decided it was time to share a story.

“Did you know… you were there for my first steps?”

Raph blinked, leftover tears streaming down his cheeks. “I-I was?”

“Yeah. We were alone - everyone was out on missions - and I walked to you. Master Leonardo said he never saw you more proud.”

Raph cleared his throat and dried his face with his knuckles. “W-Wow… Wow…”

“And you were there for my first word, too. You, and Master Leonardo and Master Michaelangelo.”

“I was?!” Raph checked, grinning. “What was your first word?”

Casey smiled slyly. “Leo.”

“Aw, what?!” Raph groaned.

“HA! In your face, big guy!” Leo called from behind the touching scene, the cat-mantis still fighting, but Donnie shot her with a tranquilizer dart.

Casey chuckled. “Look, Dad…”

Raph stared at Casey’s choice of name for him at that moment; He was okay with Casey not calling him Dad all the time, but every time he did it made his heart soar.

“… You’re here now, and that’s what’s important.” Casey stated. “But I need you to trust me and take me seriously.” He added firmly. “I know this is all super weird, but don’t forget that I’m your age! I’m not a little kid! I can handle more than you think.”

Raph sighed, understanding where he messed up. “I know you can. You’re a Jones and a Hamato!” He chuckled. “I’m sorry. I promise, Raph’s gonna work on not being so overprotective.”

“Hey,” Leo called, the large cat asleep. “If it makes you feel any better, Raph had to go through the exact same thing with us.”

“Wait, he stopped being overprotective?” Mikey quipped, still fighting Repo Mantis.

When Repo saw that his pet was knocked out, he growled, kicked Mikey to the side, and started to make a run for it.

“Aw, ain’t that cute, he’s trying to get away.” Raph said, arms crossed over his chest, and he gave his son a proud smile. “Wanna get him?”

“Heck yeah I do!” Casey grinned slyly, readied his grappling hook, and raced for the escaping mantis, leaping across buildings, until he was right on top of the thief and yelled, “GOONGALA!”

Repo Mantis, while running, was suddenly ensnared by rope, pulled back, and soon was dangling by a laundry line, his duffel bag of money by his head.

Casey stood heroically and shoulder on the bag. “I’ll take this, thank you.”

“Whoa, Casey!” Leo was by his side, and he rested an arm on his shoulder. “You found your catchphrase!”

“Goongala?” Mikey repeated. “I love it! It’s wild and crazy and raw, just like you!”

Raph patted his back. “Great job! I’m proud of you.”

Donnie pulled out his phone. “Yeah, whatever they said. Now lemme archive this…”

“Aw, you softie.”

“For my archives, Nardo.” Donnie said in a dull tone, and he and his family took a selfie with a sleeping cat and a very angry mantis.

Chapter Text

Clunk

“Nope!”

Clunk

“Nada!”

Clunk

The rustle of metal filled the purple luminescent lab as Mikey pulled out another sheet of metal, nested away in a big box Donnie had graciously let him look through. 

“Mmm…NOPE!” Mikey threw the metal behind him with a loud groan.

On the other side of the lab, Donnie sat and watched his brother with a raised brow. “You know, Angelo, I do like my place spotless and you are literally making it messy.” The scientist quipped, motioning to the pieces of scrap metal that are laid about.

Mikey raised his head and turned to Donnie. He gave a deadpanned look as he motioned around the lab, cords everywhere like vines and pieces of metal jutted out so far that Raph had definitely bonked his head on every now and then when he came in.

“...Touche.” Donnie sighed with a slump of his shoulders.

Mikey dropped a small piece of metal back in the box and groaned, throwing his head back. “So much for wanting to start a new art project.” 

Mikey was in a tiff of sorts, if he even could call it that; The dreaded beast that was a creativity block had reared its ugly head once more. Mikey wanted to try something new and he had wanted to try it before but due to certain circumstances and incidents, he didn’t have the time to do it. He wanted to create a painting or a graffiti work on a sheet of metal, turn something old and maybe rusty into something bright and bold. He had begged and pleaded, definitely didn’t threaten to black mail, Donnie to get or let Mikey have scraps of metal. After a week, Donnie finally brought him a big box of scrap metal from repo’s junkyard. 

Now, the only issue was once he dropped down in front of the box and started to look through, creativity took a swan dive to the point the scraps had to be perfect. It infuriated Mikey to the point he could feel boredom gnawing on the back of his skull.

The box turtle stood up, placing his hands on his hips and tapped his foot on the floor. None of this gave Mikey any creative ideas. He stared really hard into the box, as if it would spit out the answers the artist so desperately craved. He went to turn away when something in the box caught his eye. 

He knelt back down and reached in, shifting the metals and wires around until he had a good hold of the object. It felt like metal but also plastic against his fingers. He pulled it out and it was spherical shaped. It was around yet oval like an egg shape, if Mikey had to put it in simple words. He gasped softly, big bold words saying ‘T-HEX’ blaring out at him. 

He pulled the egg to his chest and whipped his head around, eyes locking on Donnie. The softshell had turned away awhile ago, goggles shoved over his eyes and a piece of machinery in front of him that had his full attention. Mikey turned to his backpack quickly, shoved the circular object into it, and threw the pack over his shoulder.

“Okay! I found what I wanted, thanks, Dee!” Mikey said, standing trying not to race out of the lab like a bat out of hell.

Donnie looked up, lifting his goggles, and raised his brows at him. “Huh, inspiration hit? Good for you, I suppose. Now, shoo shoo, I’m busy.” He said, making a ‘shoo shoo’ motion at Mikey.

“You got it, BYE!” And he zipped out of the lab.

Mikey quickly made his way across the lair, sticking to the shadows and avoiding the living room at all costs. He couldn’t afford to be seen by his dad or his brothers. He soon made it to his room and kicked the door open, stepping in and using his foot again to slam the door shut. He set his backpack on his hammock and looked around, making sure nobody was watching, then reached for the zipper. He zipped the bag open and grinned wide, pulling out the round object. He turned it about, finding a small post note on it.

“‘Give your T-Hex a hug, and it’ll hatch’!” Mikey read, almost jumping for joy.

He pulled the egg to his chest and hummed, hugging it as happily as he could. A small cracking sound came about, small crack lines slicing through the surface of the egg. 

Mikey pulled it back just as the top busted open, his eyes widening as he was met with the sight of a metal thing in his hands. 

It reminded the turtle of a T-Rex, just smaller and cuter and made of metal with big sharp jaws. Mikey’s heart sang at the absolute adorableness of it. 

He set it down and looked around, perking up as he spotted one of his Jupiter Jim action figures. He quickly got up and snatched the items off the shelf, skittering back down to the T-Hex. He grinned and held out the figure, waving it around.

“Are you hungry, little buddy?” He cooed, the T-Hex making a thrilling sound in response.

The T-Hex nuzzled the toy with its beak, then excitedly jumped around and clamping its jaws forward and around the little figure man. Mikey giggled as the T-Hex had the toy swiftly exit in the back of the body, the mechanical animal dropping onto its clawed feet and making another churring-like sound. 

Mikey smiled, and after carefully peeling off his blue lightning bolt sticker, he bestowed it between his pet’s eyes and it chirped happily.

“Aaaaaaaaaww!” Mikey patted its head. He then made a quizzical look as he thought, “Hmm… What to call you?”

“ORANGE!” Splinter’s voice boomed out, making the box turtle jump. “WHY ARE MY ‘NO PETS ALLOWED’ SENSES TINGLING!! PURPLE, WE HAVE A CODE P.E.T.!” Splinter hollered.

Mikey jumped up quickly, grabbing T-Hex and shoved him under an empty box. “Stay!” He whispered.

He jumped onto his hammock and quickly fished out a comic. He situated himself into his usual reading position just as his door busted open. Splinter stood behind Donnie, who had the most maniacal grin on his face that it almost scared Mikey, with his tech-bo in hand. The sound of a chainsaw filled the air for a moment as Donnie’s tech-bo shifted back to its usual form. Mikey slowly brought down the comic book and put on the most normal act of his life.

“Hello gentlemen.” Mikey greeted in a British and posh accent.

Splinter huffed and crossed his arms while Donnie searched around the room. “Do not play coy, my son. You brought home a pet, didn’t you?!” The rat accused with an arched brow.

Mikey blew a raspberry and waved his hand off. “PFFFT no! I would never !” He declared, crossing his arms and mimicking his father’s posture.

Mikey looked at Donnie and nearly had a heart attack as the suspicious scientist flipped the hiding spot over. But nothing was there, which should have worried Mikey, but he was too distracted as Donnie snapped back up. His goggles flicked up and he stood straight like an insane soldier.

“He’s clean! A little too clean if you ask me.” Donnie said, quickly getting into Mikey’s space. The brothers blinked at each other for a moment before the softshell backed up with narrowed eyes.

Splinter hummed and nodded. “Good. We do not need any animals.” He stated flatly, ignoring the irony of that phrase. “Come along, Purple.”

He turned and started to make his way out. Donnie followed after, facing Mikey and making a ‘I’m watching you’ motion. Mikey only gave a big grin and wave, his motions smooth but his bones felt stiff, like cracking sticks. 

Donnie narrowed his gaze before turning away fully. Mikey’s gaze watched him, his eyes locking onto his brother’s battle shell, and never in his life had he had to bite his knuckles so hard not to scream. 

Right there, sharp little jaws on Donnie’s battle shell was the T-Hex. Donnie grew closer to the door, the T-Hex unlatched its jaw and dropped to the floor just as the soft shell left and landed safely in the bedroom, chirping with pride.

“You clever little dino!” Mikey congratulated and backflipped off his hammock to hug his pet. “That was amazing!” He said with a wide and relieved grin. He really thought they were a goner there. “So, what do you wanna do? Want me to read you a story?” He asked.

The T-Hex squeaked happily, and Mikey carried his robot back to his hammock and read his comic out-loud to it as it snuggled into his lap.

Mikey managed to leave his new pet snoozing on his hammock while he cooked and ate dinner with his brothers, and after a movie and a bath, Mikey made several lengthy fake yawns and made it clear that he was going to bed and wasn’t being suspicious at all. He peeked into his room and found the T-Hex wide awake and chirping out to Mikey. He grinned and quickly ran over to his hammock to the little guy.

He situated himself on his plastron next to the T-Hex, who munched on some bolts Mikey had borrowed from the lab on his way here, the artist had opened a book he had all about the original Michaelangelo, hoping to get some inspiration for a name for his new pet.

“Dad calls us all colors, which is cool, but it was actually my idea to name us all after artists, cuz we’re all great pieces of art.” Mikey shared with his observant dinosaur. “So I called myself Michaelangelo, just cuz it felt right, and when I told my bros my new name, they decided they wanted one, too, and they picked their new names from a book on Renaissance artists I found in the sewer.

“So, since I’m Michaelangelo, or you can call me Dada, whatever you want,” Mikey explained, rubbing the big beak of his pet. “What if I named you after a piece of art the real Michaelangelo made? Like… aw, I could call you Angel.”

The T-Hex shook his head.

“Hm… okay, what about… Adam? Madonna? Uh… Bacchus?”

The T-Hex gave Mikey a complex look, a mixture of confusion and annoyance, which made the turtle giggle.

“Yeah, doesn’t sound like it really fits you.” Mikey yawned into his hand; all that fake yawning must have gotten to him. “Well, your name’s gonna come to you soon, little buddy.”

He closed the book and brought his T-Hex into his arms as he rolled to his side. “Mmm! I love you.” He said sleepily, giving the little guy a kiss between his eyes, and Mikey allowed himself to drift off into sleep.

The T-Hex laid patiently, waiting for the turtle’s heart-rate to slow down and the snoring to begin. Once the machine was confident the organism was asleep, it was time to begin his mission.

The robot scooted out of Mikey’s arms and hopped down, using his big jaws to chew through the metal door silently and squeeze out of the subway car the turtle called his bedroom. Using thermal scans, the T-Hex knew that everyone was asleep, except for one person in the lab, but that was manageable.

Like a ghost, the robot journeyed across the lair, silently giving Donnie undetected company. The T-Hex peered into the lab; the organism was at the desk, back to the robot, and Sheldon was charging, deactivated for a few hours. 

Using completely sound-absorbent claws to travel, the T-Hex locked eyes on the tech-bo he heard whitenesses earlier, and using a three-clawed hand that was extended an arm from his back, he locked into the tech-bo’s mechanisms, and just as Donnie detected movement and glanced his goggle-covered eyes to his right, the tech-bo shot a tranquilizer dart at his shoulder.

“Ow! What… the…” Donnie slumped forward, face landed smack against his desk, goggles cracking from the impact.

The T-Hex hopped onto his back, using the turtle as a step-ladder for the desk, and he extended cables to the computers, eyes blank and processing information.

Miles away, from inside a jail cell, a chuckling pre-teen clicked a button on his wrist, activating stray robots and silent eggs from all over New York City.

With defenses deactivated and the T-Hex’s location shared with its siblings, dozens of small robots stormed the sewers and approached the lair.

The insomniac red-eared slider yawned into his hand, in his Scrooge pajamas, and was ready to make himself something hot to drink, but he was alerted by beeping and chirping noises coming from outside the lair. 

“Donnie? Santa?” He joked to himself, but the laughter in his chest died as he saw dozens of red-glowing eyes approaching.

“MAD DOGS!” Leo yelled, running into his room to grab his swords, but as he approached, he was bitten in the ankles by a few robots. “Ow! OUCH! Quit that!”

Casey was the first one to respond, hair a mess and hockey-stick in hand, already wielding his chainsaw and ready to slice and dice. Raph emerged from his cave-like bedroom, in mouth gear and onesie, sais in hand. 

“Weewo, what’s goin’ on?!” Raph yelled, making a shield for himself and Casey as little robots launched at them.

“I don’t know! Donnie’s defenses didn’t work or even tell us we had company!” Leo yelled, portaling robots away, but dozens more kept coming from the main tunnel. “Where’s Donnie?!”

“I’ll alert him, sensei!” Casey said, flipping over the crowd of biting robots and racing into the lab. 

Mikey emerged from his bedroom, rubbing a tired eye, and asking sleepily, “Hey, gu- what the…?!”

Casey ran into the lab, which was already swarming with T-Hexes, swatting some off of his path. He placed a hand on Donnie’s shoulder and saw the dart. “Oh no…”

He finally noticed the T-Hex with a sticker on it, pushing buttons and connecting wires to the computer. “Hey! Stop that!” Casey demanded, raising his weapon, but the robot snarled at him and some other robots launched at his face, making Casey back off.

“Ow! Uh… little help!” He screeched as his face was clawed and bitten.

Raph raced into the lab, dodging cables and the clutter his brother had created, and he punched the robots off Casey’s face. 

The hybrid held his chin and licked some blood off his lips. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Raph lisped with a smile, but then pointed behind Casey. “‘Ook out!” He dove on top of Casey and used his shell to shield him as a dozen robots raced into the lab and started chomping on Raph’s pajama-covered back. “Ow!”

“Hot soup!” Splinter yelled as he ran in and used his tail to smack robots off his son and grandson, followed by Leo and Mikey.

Leo chopped robots that dared to try to launch at him, but they were eating smarter and seemed to be going for his feet, making him back up to his family. “Hey guys, do these things look familiar to you?” Leo asked as Raph and Casey stood up.

Mikey broke into a sweat and chuckled nervously. “Wh-What? No! Never seen these things before in my life!”

“Really, cuz they look just like…”

Mikey’s T-Hex gave a ringing sound from Donnie’s desk and chomped down on a cable. The largest screen made static, and then a face they hadn’t seen in months appeared.

“Oh, mutants!” The boy in glasses laughed, his voice significantly lower than the last time he had spoken to his enemies. “You’ve bested my microbots before, but thanks to some new friends, my inventions have been seriously upgraded!”

“Baxter Stockboy!” The turtles yelled, staring at the screen.

“It’s Baxter Stock man now!” The pre-teen corrected proudly. “You freaks are the reason I’m in juve! This place is a nightmare!”

A voice called out from behind a door. “Hey there, best friend! Wanna join us for kickball tomorrow?” The voice of one of the juvie kids, Willy, asked.

“I have finger painting at the same time!” Baxter snapped, Willy blowing a raspberry back in response before leaving, then turned his attention back to his enemies. “You took my home from me, so now I will take your home from you! I’ve had eggs planted all over the city for months, posing as robot-pets, knowing one of you fools would bring one home, and you did!” He cackled.

Mikey stared at the dinosaur sitting on the desk, a blue lightning bolt sticker on its beak. “L-Little buddy…” He muttered sadly, his pet frozen with blank eyes, too busy helping its creator to be affected by the betrayal.

“This is why I have a no pet rule, Orange!” Splinter scolded, putting the puzzle-pieces together.

“Behold the spectacle that is the destruction of your home base!” Baxter laughed evilly, and the robots started creeping closer towards the family, as dozens more started to chomp away at the lab and the lair.

As the turtles, Casey, and Splinter battled robots and destroyed them left and right, Mikey kept his eyes on his little buddy, sitting safely on the desk by the unconscious softshell. Compelled by his love for his pet, he did a few backflips, tying up robots in mystic chains as he went, trapping the enemies for his brothers to deal with, until Mikey was standing in front of the desk and his T-Hex cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy.

“Little buddy, it’s me!” He reached out carefully for his Dino. “It’s Dada! C’mere, let’s get you somewhere safe.” He didn’t sense any danger, so he brought his hands closer, but then the T-Hex tried to bite his fingers and snarled, then backed away.

Baxter laughed at the pitiful encounter. “Stupid freak! My microbots are programmed to be loyal to me! Did you really think you got a new friend?!”

Mikey scowled, ready to snap back, but then Casey launched at the computer screen and bashed it in with his hockey stick, splintering glass everywhere as he roared “GOONGALA!” and destroyed Donnie’s computer, making the turtles and the rat wince.

“Oh boy,” Leo winced with a tiny smile. “Donnie’s not gonna be happy.”

Casey huffed and puffed, standing on the desk before the smoking computer screen. “I’ll help fix it later.”

Casey was knocked back to the floor by a robot, and the battle resumed, the team dodging enemies (and Donnie’s clutter of a lab). Mikey ducked at some flailing robots Raph had punched, and he sadly watched his pet. 

Maybe he was being hopeful. Maybe it was wishful thinking. But Mikey swore on his favorite bandana that the T-Hex looked conflicted. The dino watched the battle, not making any effort to engage, and its eyes sagged.

Mikey slowly approached the desk, hands on his knees, and he said quietly, “Hey little buddy… y-you okay?”

The T-Hex stepped back, rattling and appearing scared.

“Oh, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.” Mikey cooed, holding out a hand to the robot. “I’m not mad at you, either. You made a mistake. I know someone who made a mistake… and between the two of us…” And Mikey looked behind his shoulder, watching Leo portal-chop a microbot. “… he still feels really really bad about it.

“But that’s okay.” Mikey assured, looking back at the T-Hex. “Cuz, if you want us to be, we’ll be your family, and we’ll love you no matter what. I already do.”

The T-Hex chirped nervously, and Mikey smiled. The robot pet slowly stepped closer, and when its beak touched Mikey’s palm, it closed its eyes and leaned into the warm touch. 

Mikey smiled with tears in his eyes.

The T-Hex opened his eyes, and suddenly hissed and launched at Mikey’s shoulder. The box turtle yelled and ducked, but saw that his little buddy had attacked a sneaky robot and stopped it from hurting Mikey. “You clever little dino!”

As the battle continued, Mikey and his T-Hex working together, Donnie started to wake up from his tranquilizer dart, slowly lifting his head up and pooping his goggles back onto his forehead. “Ugh… what… aw, oh!” He whined, aware of the chaos raging inside his lab. “Newton’s Apple, what’s going on?! MIKEY!”

“What?! Why do you always assume it’s me?!” Mikey asked, busy using his nunchucks to knock some robots into one of Leo’s portals.

“Fine… LEO!”

“It wasn’t me, Don-Tron!”

“Then it was Mikey!” Donnie reasoned, grabbing his tech-bo and hopping onto his desk, standing with his knees bent like he was a frog as he typed away at his gadgets. “Everyone get onto higher ground! I’m initiating protocol H20-518!”

“What?” Splinter, Leo, Mikey, and Raph asked, while Casey hopped on top of a stack of boxes.

“Just play The Floor Is Lava!” Donnie yelled, exasperated, and the rest of the men climbed up onto various places in the lair.

With one last click of a button, a small pipe was opened and some water leaked onto the floor. Not enough to cause a flood, but enough that the entire floor was coated in an inch-deep blanket of water. With an evil smile, Donnie readied his tech-bo, taser at the end, and he plunged his stick onto the ground, electrifying all the robots, including Mikey’s T-Hex.

“NOOOOOO!” Mikey screamed, trying to get down onto the wet floor with tears in his eyes, but Raph hugged him tightly and kept him safe.

Donnie stopped the taser once he registered how upset his little brother was over the event. The softshell leaped onto the wet floor first, calmly observing all the broken robots and immediately thinking of ways to recycle the extra parts. 

Casey, Leo, and Splinter also jumped down. Raph slowly let Mikey go, and the box turtle fell onto his knees, crying softly as he scooped up the scorched and limp robot. The lightning bolt was wet and dulled with color now, like Mikey’s heart as he wept over the small robotic body.

“L-L-Little b-buddy…” Mikey cried, hugging the deactivated robot close to his chin and letting his tears fall onto the cold metal.

Raph got on one knee behind him and rubbed his shell. “Aw… I’m really sorry, Mikey.” He apologized quietly.

“H-H-He was… m-m-my friend…” Mikey moaned. “He was my l-l-little b-buddy… H-H-He even t-tried to help us…” He whimpered as he shoved his face tighter against the cold, wet metal.

The box turtle sucked in some air when a claw touched his shoulder. He huffed, the tears still flowing freely against his will, and steadied his breathing before looking up at his father. He prepared himself mentally for a gentle scolding or even a hard lecture from his dad. Being told it was for the best or something hurtful like that. 

But all that Mikey saw was the sad look on Splinter’s face instead. It was jarring to say the least. “I’m so sorry, my little orange.” He spoke with a quiet and soothing tone. He turned and looked up to the purple-banded turtle and sighed with a resigned face. “Donatello, can you…?” He asked, motioning his hand to the little bot, Mikey turning and continuing to cry over it.

Donnie’s face scrunched up in confusion. “But Dad, what about your rule?” 

Splinter shrugged and wiped a tear away from Mikey’s cheek, cupping his face gently. “Some things are made to be broken, but hearts are not one of them.” He whispered, his own heart breaking at the sight of his son in pain.

Donnie gritted his teeth and clenched his tech-bo, but then let out an agitated breath and sighed. “Fine.” 

He held out a hand for the broken robot, and Mikey hesitantly handed the bot over with a resigned look.

Mikey was still upset, the echo of the microbots’ screech still rattling in his head and the image of his pet being in trouble wouldn’t leave him. 

He missed his little buddy already, his pal. They had so much planned together (even if most of those plans Mikey made up by himself). But he did feel a little better as he was surrounded by his family, watching a Lou Jitsu movie and sipping hot chocolate; It distracted him a little bit.

Raph had been incredibly sympathetic, giving Mikey plenty of snuggles and being the one to suggest a movie and a midnight snack instead of going to bed. Mikey would always be grateful to have such an amazing big brother, but this was one of those moments that he was forced to remember how much of a softie the snapper was. 

Mikey liked it, he didn’t want to be alone right now. He needed his family.

A few hours pass, long after Splinter fell asleep in his armchair as per usual, the doors to Donnie’s lab opened. 

Mikey looked up, guessing Donnie was ready to join the family on their sleepy Lou Jitsu marathon. But that didn’t seem to be the case, as Mikey’s eyes widened at the sight of the scientist exiting his lab with a refurbished, but still deactivated, T-Hex within his arms.

Mikey’s heart felt like it had stopped, maybe almost hopeful. He stood up, ignoring Raph’s snort as he fell to the side due to using Mikey as a leaning rest, and ran over. 

Donnie's jaw was set and his eyes refused to look at Mikey as he slowly moved his arms forward and held the small robot out to the box turtle. “H-Hug your pet, Michael. To activate him.” Donnie muttered.

Mikey’s eyes shined with wonder as he carefully accepted the silent and still robot. He pulled the machine to his chest and hummed, hugging it as happily as he could.  

The eyes flickered on, and against Mikey’s plastron, he chirped happily.

Mikey gasped and held him out for the whole family to see, and the T-Hex churred gleefully. “You’re okay!” Mikey squealed, jumping up and down. “Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Dee!” Mikey wailed happily, jumping forward and pulling his brother into a bear hug.

Donnie grunted, eyes wide for a moment. He looked down at Mikey and softened, smiling as he lifted his slightly pinned arms up and patted Mikey’s back. “Of course, Angelo.” Donnie hummed.

Mikey pulled away as the T-Hex chirped, nuzzling Mikey’s jaw happily. He hugged his pet once more, vowing silently to never not hug his dino ever again, as Leo, Raph, and Casey “aw”ed and Splinter watched with a peaceful smile on his face. 

Donnie coughed into his fist and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t think it was cute. Far from it, he just liked helping. That was all, for sure.

“Thank you so so much!” He thanked again, tears welling up in his eyes.

Donnie shrugged. “Eh, I got lots of parts from his siblings.” He said, almost grinning maniacally at the prospect of taking them apart. Mikey was going to store that away for later, Dr. Feelings didn’t have time to unpack that at the moment.

Mikey looked at Splinter and sniffled. “You’re okay with this?” He asked, almost worried.

Splinter gave a soft smile. He walked up, placing his hand on Mikey’s knee and gave a soft pat. “I can make an exception for this one. I do not like to see my sons upset, and if this little robot brings you joy, I shall allow it.” He said with a thoughtful hum.

Mikey’s smile grew wider and he nodded happily, his heart warming and feeling as if he was on the moon. “Thanks, Dad.” He sniffled.

“You’re welcome, Orange.” Splinter said. “Now, what is his name?” He asked with a wave of his hand.

Mikey’s eyes widened. He grinned and held his pet up in the air. “Everyone, say ch’ello to the newest member of our family… Chompy Picasso!” He announced.

A collective “aw” filled the room, Splinter smiling at all of this. Then he started to see the tell tale sign of want and groaned inwardly.

“Don’t get any funny ideas, boys.” Splinter said warningly to Casey, Leo, and Raph. “This is the only exception. No more pets!” The rat vowed, nodding his head as if conforming to his own order.

Raph grinned and saluted his father. “No more pets! Got it! Okie dokie, bedtime! G’night!” And he backed into his bedroom totally not suspicious at all.

The family looked at each other in confusion, giving each other shrugs at Raph’s weird behavior and continued on with Mikey and Chompy Picasso. 

Meanwhile, the alligator snapping turtle huffed out a breath through his head gear as he slowed down, the sadness of the event seeping into his shell and making him wish to spend time with someone special. 

He turned to his bed and grinned, seeing a small lump under the blankets. Raph walked up and knelt down before the bed, giddy as ever as his hands patted his knees excitedly. He pulled back a blanket on his bed, revealing a sleeping hairless cat, who purred peacefully. 

The cat awoke, his bleary eyes blinking and mewling up to Raph before giving a yawn.

Raph’s heart swelled as he gushed over the cat. “Aw, who’s a good boy, Klunk? Who’s a good boy?” He cooed as he petted his kitty. “We’ll just keep you a secret a little longer, okay?” He asked, earning a meow in reply that made the giant turtle giggle.

Chapter Text

“… Byyyyyyyyee!” Casey dragged out his call as he backed away from the entrance of the lair, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders. “I’ll see you guys on Monday!”

“See you later! Love you!” Raph called back. ”And be careful!”

“I will!” Casey hollered, rolling away on his new skates, and happily zooming to the ladder that led to a manhole cover.

Back in the humans’ world, Casey skated down the sidewalk as the sun started to set on the cold, winter’s day. The smell of pizza captured his senses, a normal smell in New York, but it made him hungry and planted the idea of bringing some pizza home to his mom for dinner.

“Hm,” Casey paused at a crosswalk and held his point chin. “Hueso’s, or Lou-Mike-Tony-Toney’s?” Then he snorted and leaned against a crosswalk pole as he waited for the chance to skate towards the Run of the Mill pizza place. “Like I even need to ask.”

Casey liked most human food, and he definitely liked normal human pizza, but ever since Leo introduced him to Señor Hueso and his yokai pizza, he found he enjoyed yokai toppings more than human toppings. So he could order a meat lovers with olives for his mom, and maybe a Super Creepy Supreme for himself.

After crossing a few more streets on his skates and rubbing his fingers together, he entered the half-full pizza joint and skated up to the to-go desk, where Hueso was standing at the register.

The skeleton grinned. “¡Hey, Chamaco! No pepinos with you today?”

“¡Buenos tardes, Señor! Nah, just me. I need a to-go order. A meat lovers and a Super Creepy Supreme, pl- erm, por favor.” He requested with a blush.

Hueso smiled, flattered the young man was trying to learn his first language, and repeated in Spanish, “Un amante de la carne y una pizza Siniestra Suprema. ¡Un momento, chamaco!” And Hueso gave the order to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Hueso and Casey waved each other goodbye, and Casey skated out of the pizza place, taking the yokai exit and not the hidden human one, remembering there was a Hidden City entrance only a block away from Cassandra’s apartment building. Casey decided it sounded more fun to skate a few blocks across the Hidden City, rather than New York City.

Casey was humming a heavy metal song to himself, and he almost put on the ear buds Mikey gave him and played the song from his phone, but a distant crash and some panicked voices caught his attention, and he decided he needed his ears for this.

He was in the middle of a yokai market. Most yokai went off to do their own thing, making a point to not get involved. Casey pushed down his frustration and quietly rolled around the corner, spying on a music shop that was being robbed by a huge green brute, a rodent in a purple suit, a lizard with a bad haircut, and an eel covered in orange.

“My friend here isn’t a music lover,” The leader in blue sneered as he shook his head, arms crossed over his chest, relaxed in this hostile situation, seeing how he was the one in charge. “Now give us the money, or…”

And the large green brute growled, his muscles expanding warningly.

“Or else what, jerk?” Casey called, the punks turning their attention away from the frail lamb, who retreated inside and slammed the door.

The Mud Dogs laughed mockingly, holding their sides and snickering at the sight of a human on skates, holding pizzas and wearing a backpack. 

“Clearly, you’re new to the Hidden City,” Dastardly Danny chuckled, pointing a long claw at the teenager. “So I’m gonna give you some friendly, neighborly advice. This is our turf, and you do not wanna mess with us.”

“Yeah,” Malicious Mickey hissed, slithering past his buddy and grinning, his fins together, excited to electrocute the kid. “Or we’ll put you in the hospital.”

“You’re the ones who’s gonna need a hospital,” Casey retaliated with a smile. “And I hope there’s one nearby for you.”

“Just who do you think you are?” Loathsome Lenoard sneered, whipping out his pocket-knife.

“Why don’t you come and find out?” Casey offered, popping his gloved knuckles, setting his pizzas on a nearby booth so his hands were free.

Mickey hissed and shot himself at Casey like a python, but Casey was quick, dodged him, and grabbed Mickey by his tail, swung him down, kick him in the stomach, and used all of his strength to throw the eel away as he yelled.

Danny growled and ran to Casey, using his tail as a weapon, but Casey had trained with his Pop-Pop Splinter enough times to know what to do against an angry tail. Casey pulled out the tiny handle of his hockey-stick from his pocket and pressed a button. It expanded into his weapon of choice, and he used the hockey-stick to smack the rodent in the gut and then the face, and then whacked him away like he was a puck on the ice.

“Goal!” Casey laughed victoriously.

Lenoard growled in his throat and attacked with his pocket-knife, but Casey used his chainsaw to cut the pocket-knife in half, barely missing Lenoard’s hand, which startled him enough to buy Casey some time and he round-kicked his enemy and then delivered the knock-out blow to the top of the head with the hockey-stick, hitting nature’s snooze button.

Heinous Green roared with anger and landed on all fours in front of the vigilante. Casey watched as he flexed his muscles and tripled in size, no longer a few inches taller than Raph, now the size of many of the houses surrounding them. But Casey smiled smugly and reached into his backpack.

“GOONGALA!” He yelled, and let his brand new hockey pucks drop as he swung them, a little bit of gunpowder in each of them, so when they hit the giant yokai, they exploded and injured the beast.

This, however, proved to only make Heinous Green mad, so Casey snatched up his pizzas and skated away, hoping to pull the beast away from the other yokai so no one would get hurt, meanwhile thinking of a plan to somehow trap the giant.

Out in the open field, reaching the strange forest, Casey skated as fast as he could, but with Heinous Green being much bigger and running on all fours, Casey was beginning to think he bit off more than he could chew as the yokai criminal was slowly catching up to him.

Casey kept his eyes locked forward, remembering what Master Leonardo had taught him when running from the Kraang. “Don’t ever look back!”

Casey saw the distant trees and decided hiding there was his best chance of living to see another day. The teenager swerved from side to side, dodging slamming fists, but right before he could slip away, Heinous Green slammed down both fists, making the ground below crumble and ripple.

Casey tripped, fell on his face, rolled, and slammed into a tree.

Everything went black as a sharp ringing clouded his ears.

“… oh, no no no, boys, this simply will not do.”

“With all due respect, Big Mama, the only reason we don’t have a cut for you is because we have nothing to cut. But, we caught the punk responsible for the loss of your money.”

A low growl.

“Okay okay, Heinous Green caught the punk responsible for the loss of your money.”

Casey forced his eyes open. He was tied up, hands behind his back and legs stuck together, and he was over the shoulder of the big brute, who threw him down on the floor harshly.

“Hm…” A vaguely familiar voice sounded, making Casey’s eyes widen. “Scrumdiffy-doo, a human?”

Casey looked up to see a beautiful purple-skinned yokai with glasses, a fancy suit with a skirt, silky white hair, and glossy lips and eyes.

The teenager grinned at the sight of Big Mama, which made her raise an eyebrow.

There were a few people Casey had never met due to their deaths, either on the day the Kraang invaded, or before he was born or when he was a baby, like Splinter, Repo Matis, and Raph; but there were many people he knew well, like Warren and Hypno, Baron Draxum, and of course Big Mama.

Big Mama was a huge asset to the rebellion; she let Master Leonardo remain in charge, mostly because he was more successful in battle and the troops responded to him well, but Big Mama had connections all over the world. She was the one who helped Professor Donatello communicate with the other yokai cities and human sanctuaries scattered throughout the world.

But most importantly, Big Mama had a soft spot for Casey Jones. Ever since he was born she doted on him and showered him with hugs and kisses and cute nicknames. She even insisted he call her Grandmama, and Casey loved Big Mama as if she was family, because in his eyes she was.

So, to see Big Mama, even if she was in her human disguise (her cloaking broach had been shattered in battle when Casey was eight-years-old, so he was more familiar with her true form), Casey grinned up at her and let tears prick his eyes, once again flooded with a huge sense of relief at seeing a loved one again.

“Grandmama! It’s so good to see you!”

Big Mama made a face, scrunching up her lips as her eyes widened and her nostrils flared. “Grandmama? Oh, child, if you’re trying to call me old, you will meet Death far before I do…”

“What? No no no!” Casey shook his head, still smiling up at her. 

He hesitated for a moment, but Mikey’s disappointed voice rang in his head. “Why didn’t you tell us? Are you… ashamed of us?”

Casey was not ashamed of who he was. He was very proud of who he was. So he decided that honesty was the best policy, and that he had no reason to hide who he was.

“Listen to me, we’ve met before, but not yet! In the future! I’m from the future!”

Big Mama snorted, meanwhile the Mud Dogs cackled at the pathetic story, clearly made up in order to save his life.

“My word, Heinous, you really must be more gentle when thrashing your enemies brains in.” Big Mama purred.

“I’m not crazy!” Casey pressed. “It’s the truth! I know this sounds really weird, but I need you to believe me! My name is Hamato Casey Jones! I’m Raph’s son from the future! I’m Hamato Yoshi’s grandson!”

Big Mama’s eyes widened and her lips parted ever so slightly. The Mud Dogs ceased their laughing as Big Mama stepped a little bit closer to the hopeful prisoner, the criminals excited to see Big Mama murder the teenager.

But Casey smiled, sensing that Big Mama was gentle and slowly taking this in.

She bent down, looking at him carefully, and she noticed his pointy chin, his ears, and thin frame. “My word… you look so much like him.”

Casey grinned with pride and relief. He can remember how she used to say that to him countless times.

“Are you really a descendant of my champion?” Big Mama muttered.

“Yeah,” Casey breathed, smiling up at her. “Yeah, I am!”

The business woman curled a wicked smile, and she stood up straight. “Oh, Gus~” She sang.

Casey curiously watched as a big yokai dog bursted through the door of her office, growling. Casey grinned - remembering the yokai from when he was a kid, until he was lost to a Kraang infection - and Big Mama purred, “Take my new champion to the Battle Nexus’s Chambers. He’ll make me a lot of money when I have him fight our fiercest monsters.”

Casey’s face dropped as Gus took his ropes by the teeth and started to drag him away from Big Mama. “What?! But we’re family!”

“And Lou was to be my fiancée.” Big Mama said, her hands behind her back. “I didn’t get where I am now by not utilizing those around me, sweetie-pie. To be successful, you use your tools wisely, rather than letting them gather dust on a shelf. Now, be a good boy for your… what was it you called me? Grandmama, that’s right.” Big Mama giggled maliciously.

Casey squirmed and tried to fight, tears in the corners of his eyes, as Gus pulled him into the hall and away from the last bit of New York City he would ever see again. “No! NOOOO!”

Raph opened his eyes and raised his head off his knuckles. He had fallen asleep on the armchair, surrounded by his brothers, Donnie sitting in the beanbag on his left, Leo sitting on the right arm of the big chair, and Mikey sitting criss-cross on his lap. The big snapping turtle had dozed off while they watched a Jupiter Jim movie; he groaned as he pinched his casem.

“You okay, big bro?” Leo asked as the movie concluded on the projector.

Raph thought for a moment, hesitant to say it, because he knew what his family would say, but he couldn’t think of a good lie, so he chose honestly. “My overprotective-father-senses are tingling.”

Leo cocked a brow at him. “Raaaaaaaph, what did we just talk about this week?”

“I know, I know.” Raph said, punching his forehead lightly to try to focus. “I promised to quit being so overbearing, but… Raph’s gut is saying that something’s wrong.” He pulled out his phone and checked to see if Casey had texted him, but his phone hadn’t received a message.

“Raph, Leo’s right. You need to trust Casey.” Mikey eased, rubbing Raph’s arm comfortingly.

“It’s not Casey I don’t trust, it’s the whole dang city.” Raph sent a quick, “Hey, just checking in and seeing if you’re having fun with your mom!” text and pocketed his phone, hoping the message didn’t sound too overbearing.

“Donnie, have you put a tracker on Casey yet?” Raph asked.

“I have not.” Donnie said, not looking up from his phone. “Cuz your son keeps waking up and putting me in a chokehold every time I try.”

“Well maybe you should just ask if it’s okay for you to put a tracker on him and do it when he’s conscious.” Mikey suggested coldly, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

“Maybe you should be grateful I didn’t do that with you guys, cuz it saved your lives.” Donnie quipped back. “What can I say except you’re welcome.”

Raph rolled his eyes and tried not to look at his phone (he can remember Mikey once saying a watched pot never boils), but he couldn’t help but glance at the small device, waiting for a ping or ding or buzz. But nothing. He checked the time, and it was only a little past midnight, so he instead texted Cass.

“Hey, Cass! Just checking in and seeing if you and Casey are having fun!”

Raph let his brothers disperse as the movie-credits rolled, Donnie strolling back to his lab, Mikey into the kitchen, and Leo into his room, but Raph still anxiously waited for a text. He busied himself by scrolling through the internet, but by the time it hit five minutes without a response, Raph couldn’t take it anymore.

He called Cass and brought the phone up to his head.

“WHAAAAT?!” A shrill voice yelled, making the snapping turtle wince and hold the phone away from his head.

“Uh, h-hey Cass. It’s Raph.”

“Oh.” Cass cleared her throat. “Uh… s-sorry. I was asleep.”

Raph’s face felt warm and he rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, sorry, I thought you’d still be up…”

“It’s okay. What’s up?”

“I just… uh…” No point in trying to hide his concern. He took in a deep breath through his snout and admitted, “Raph just wanted to check in and see how Casey was doing, s’all.”

There was a short pause, probably Cass waking up and gathering her thoughts, but then what she said made Raph’s heart stop. “Uh, is he not with you guys?”

“… No.” Raph’s voice was as dry as a dead plant, his body stiff as a board. “H-He was supposed to spend the weekend with you, remember?”

“I know, but he never showed up, so I assumed he wanted to hang out with you guys tonight and would show up in the morning instead.”

It’s a good thing Raph was sitting, because if it wasn’t, he would have fainted. “Cass, we’re coming over right now.” Raph hung up and stood, then screamed to the top of his lungs, “MAD DOGS! WE GOTTA MOVE!”

All three brothers poked their heads out of their designated spots. “Why? What’s wrong?” They said in unison.

“Casey’s missing!” Raph yelled, tears in his eyes.

Wasting no time, they grabbed their weapons and ran for the Turtle Tank, then sped to Cassandra’s apartment building.

“This is awful! This is all my fault!” Cass said, holding her head as the turtles piled into her apartment through the open window. “I should’ve called or something! I should've known…”

“Hey hey,” Raph consulted and took a hand and squeezed it, his free arm wrapping around her shoulders. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Do I need to remind the court that he survived for seventeen years in an alien apocalypse?” Donnie asked the room as he scanned the apartment with his tech-bo, looking for clues.

Leo stood on the coffee table and took charge. “Donnie’s right. We’re gonna find Casey and either help him or ground him for life. Or both. Our best chance of finding him without a tracker is to split up. Raph, take Cass with you in the Turtle Tank and check the streets. Donnie, try to hack into security cameras with your awesome app and fly above with your jet pack. Mikey, you’re coming with me; we’ll check Run of the Mill and ask around the Hidden City.”

Everyone nodded and followed their leader’s orders, searching all night for their missing family member.

Casey was thrown into his cell, untied, like it mattered. The teenager ran to the locked door and banged it with his fists, the pounds echoing in his empty cell loudly and making his ears ring, but he had to try to get out. He couldn't just sit and do nothing.

“Let me go! Please!” He yelled, punching and kicking the door, but it was bolted shut.

Casey looked around his dark cell. The only light was coming from the hall, a tiny barred window on the door, but no other windows were in the cell. No bench to sit or sleep on, no items. Nothing.

The hybrid took in several deep breaths and sank to the floor, sitting with his back against the door. He held his hands and tried to think, but all he could do was stew on how Big Mama locked him away so quickly. 

It was a little stupid to be so upset over something like this, but with nothing else to do, Casey allowed himself to wallow in his sorrow and digest the betrayal.

He understood that people were different in the past and future. Time changes people. Some can disagree with that statement, but Casey firmly believed that; his life proved that people were not only capable of change, but it was inevitable for people to change.

Master Leonardo and Leo might as well be two different people: Master Leonardo was his master, his sensei, the closest thing to a father he had in his memory. But Leo was more like a fun brother. Both gave a shoulder to cry on and both never failed to make Casey laugh, but they were different.

Master Michaelangelo and Mikey were different, too. And so was Commander O’Niel and April. Honestly, it was easier for Casey Jones to think of the future and past as two completely different sets of people, a parallel dimension. It helped him with his grief and homesickness, and also helped him adjust to his new home and family.

So why did he allow himself to get so excited over seeing Grandmama again that he forgot to do the same to Big Mama?

During the apocalypse, something had changed in her. Maybe she had already changed before the Kraang invaded and all she needed was an excuse to show it. Regardless, the Big Mama from the bedtime stories Master Leonardo and Master Michaelangelo would tell was different from the Grandmama Casey grew up with.

Grandmama was cold and firm, sure, but so was Baba Draxum. Grandmama loved her people and was willing to do anything for them. And she loved Casey. She constantly told him how proud she was of him, showered him with love, and would even tell stories about his grandfather.

“You look so much like him, my cutesy snugglebug. He would be so proud of you, as am I.”

Casey bit his lip and buried his head in his folded arms, his arms resting on his knees. He missed his Grandmama, which in turn made him miss Commander O’Niel, Professor Donatello, Todd, Baba Draxum, Master Michaelangelo, Master Leonardo… All the people he lost thanks to the Kraang. 

“The last time I had a champion this valuable in my grasp, two gargoyles managed to steal him from Big Mama.” A soft British voice brought Casey back to his senses. “So you will guard him until his debut match.”

Casey had fallen asleep against the door, but he was an extremely light sleeper and could regain his senses very quickly. He was a few inches too short to see out the window, so he hopped up and grabbed the bars, then hoisted himself up.

A masked warrior was standing in the hall with Big Mama. The mask reminded Casey of his skull-mask, but the eyes and mouth were painted red. A dark hood paired with the mask, two small turtle shells sat on the left shoulder, and dark wraps around the arms and dark pants kept this warrior a mystery. Casey noted the pouches on their hips and the golden claws on their hands, and he predicted this was a soldier who preferred smaller weapons that could pack a punch.

“Never underestimate your opponent, Jones.” That was another lesson Master Leonardo taught him well. “Learn what you can, but be careful not to judge a book by its cover. Cuz when you make assumptions only on what you see, you lose sight of everything.”

So Casey studied the warrior with his guard up; he wasn’t going to allow his walls to crumble so easily this time.

Big Mama’s assistant nodded, and the spider crawled away.

Instantly, when alone, the assistant turned their head to the door, red eyes on Casey.

The hybrid was surprised, but was able to play it cool. “Sup?”

The assistant turned their back and stood guard in front of the door, hands behind their back, silently.

“What’s the matter?” Casey asked slyly, taking a leaf out of Leo’s book. “Oh, doing that no-talking, honorable-guard thingy, huh? Fair enough.”

Casey let go of the window and sat back down with his back to the door. 

“So, you work for Big Mama.” Casey said, content with doing all the talking. “I bet you get some exciting missions. I used to work for the greatest ninja the world had ever seen. He wouldn’t let me leave the base too often, but the older I got and the more I proved I could handle it, he’d let me do supply-runs and stealth-missions and stuff like that. Do you get to do anything cool like that?”

There was nothing but silence.

“Do I at least get to know your name?” Casey asked casually. As much as he would like to have someone to talk to - because he was so bored! - he was content with doing all the talking. “Do you even have one?”

More silence.

Casey held his gloved hand in thought. “My mom was once part of a clan where they took your name as soon as you were a member. They said it was cuz you were a part of something much bigger and more important, and that there was no reason to have an identity outside of the clan. But I think it was about control. You take away someone’s name, and it’s a lot easier to use them.”

More silence.

“You’re a good soldier.” Casey complimented. “My professor would’ve liked you.” He snorted. “He liked the quiet.”

The time-traveler smiled as he remembered all the times Professor Donatello would chase a floating Master Michaelangelo out of the lab and demand for silence so he could work in peace, but Casey Jones was always the exception to his demands.

“You know what’s the worst thing about traveling twenty-four years into the past?” Casey asked. 

This was probably very stupid and reckless and could probably get him killed, but in this very moment he was slowly realizing that Big Mama’s assistant was the one person in the entire world he could talk to about this without feeling like a jerk.

“I miss all the people I used to know and love.” Casey admitted, holding his knees. “I mean, most of them are here and right in front of me, but they’re different… Nothing is the same. Everyone is different. And what’s worse, I always feel like a big jerk for missing my old family, cuz I got a new family - who, by the way, will kick your butt once they find me.” Casey joked, but then his smile slowly died.

“The point is, my head always hurts and my stomach always aches.” The teenager sighed, holding his head and combing his long black hair with his gloved hand. “I mean, how can you miss someone who’s right in front of you?”

Big Mama’s assistant didn’t say a word.

Casey didn’t expect them to. He was content with being alone with his thoughts, meditating on his situation and trying to remind himself that his family was definitely on the way to rescue him.

Leo made Mikey sit at a breakfast bar in the Hidden City and he ordered himself a coffee, Mikey an orange juice, and two breakfast burritos and a stack of pancakes. Sandwiched between a huge slug and a bearded dragon in a business suit, Leo rubbed Mikey’s shell as his brother sat with his face planted against the bar.

“How’re we gonna find Casey?” Mikey whined, feeling hopeless. “We’ve been searching all night and didn’t find a single clue.”

The leader in blue sipped his coffee. He turned a little to the left, viewing the street as he gave it some thought, and he saw Run of the Mill. “Señor Hueso’s gonna be here in a few minutes to unlock the doors for his cooks.” Leo said. “So we can ask him if he’s been Casey later.”

Mikey sighed and nodded his head, tired from the sleepless night, but this wouldn’t be his first all-nighter, and everyone was willing to do whatever it took to find Casey, so Mikey gulped down some orange juice and ate his breakfast when it was placed in front of of him.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Señor Hueso walked up to his beloved restaurant with keys in his boney hand. Leo shoved the last of his burrito in his mouth, slammed down some coins, and grabbed Mikey’s wrist and ran over.

“Señor Hueso!”

“Pepino, you know we cannot prepare pizza for at least another hour.” The skeleton said with an eye roll as he unlocked the door.

“No, not that.” Leo said, “Have you seen Casey Jones? He never made it to his mom’s last night.”

Hueso’s dark eyes widened. “He’s missing? Dios mio… Sí, he came by last night and picked up some pizza. Then he went that way.” And he pointed in the direction he saw the boy go from inside the restaurant and through the windows.

“Looks like he decided to cut through the market for Cass’s place.” Leo observed. “There’s a Hidden City entrance not too far from her apartment. Gracias, Hueso!” And he and Mikey hurried down the street.

Luckily, this was the time of day when shop ventures and booths were opening up, so Leo and Mikey had lots of yokai to ask questions. They both showed a picture of Casey on their phone and asked if they had seen him, and all of them shook their heads or apologized and said they hadn’t seen him.

That is, until a little lamb sweeping their doorstep nodded and told the turtles, “Yeah, that nice young man stopped the Mud Dogs from tearing my shop in half. Sweet boy.” 

“Did you see where he went?!” Mikey asked.

“Heinous Green chased him into the forest.” 

“We better find the Mud Dogs fast.” Leo commented.

“And I know just how to do it!” Mikey said, having a brilliant idea.

Using cardboard and spare wood that was lying in a dump, Mikey and Leo worked together to build a fake fruit cart and mustaches for themselves, posing as new salesmen in the neighborhood.

“Ah, the ole reliable fake-shop bit, I love it!” Leo said behind the fake bowl of cardboard bananas.

“The Mud Dogs run this terf, right?” Mikey clarified with his brother, who knew a lot about the Hidden City. “So we’ll just wait for them to show up, and then BAM! We bring out Dr. Delicate Touch!”

“Great plan, little brother, but let’s save Dr. Delicate Touch for when they won’t talk.” Leo suggested, patting his shoulder. “We need them conscious if we wanna find Casey.”

“Good point.”

The two scrolled through their phones, talked, and played with fidget toys Leo kept in his pouch while waiting for the Mud Dogs. Luckily they only had to wait an hour or so for Dastardly Danny, Malicious Mickey, and Loathsome Lenoard to come scrolling down the market.

“Kinda nice Heinous Green wanted to sleep in.” The rodent admitted with his hands in his pockets. “Just the three of us, like the good ole days, uh boys?”

“Yeah, I like the guy and all,” Mickey said, slithering between the two and wrapping a fin around their necks. “But you heartless crooks will always be my bros.”

“Okay, this is getting too wholesome for my liking.” Lenoard sneered and shoved the other two away. His eyes then landed on the bait and he grinned. He leaned against the fake fruit cart on his elbow, Mikey and Leo pretending to be distracted, and the crook asked, “Didn’t your mama ever teach you boys to check out a neighborhood before moving in?”

Mikey lifted his cardboard mustache off his face and grinned mischievously. “Didn’t your mama teach you to watch out for Whip-O-Ramas !” And Mikey used his mystic nunchucks to tangle the crooks in chains and hang them upside down from a lamppost, faster than the speed of light.

“Hey! Let us go, pipsqueak!” Mickey yelled as he wiggled.

“Ugh! Gross! Togetherness!” Danny complained, wincing at Mickey’s slimy body and Lenoard’s bad hair.

“Relax, buds,” Leo said calmly, flipping over the fake fruit stand and walking up to the upside-down crooks. “We just wanna know what happened to Casey Jones. Human-looking teen, black hair, kinda skinny, likes to wear gloves and rollerskate.”

“Maybe we’ve seen him,” Leonard quipped. “Maybe we haven’t, but we’re not telling you losers anything!”

Leo glanced over at his little brother, who was calm and patient, but the red-eared slider knew the box turtle well enough to know that an unmatchable amount of rage was roaring behind his round eyes. Leo was starting to become more aware of the time they were losing, so he smiled cunningly.

“Mikey,” He waited for his brother to look at him, then said, “I think it’s time for Dr. Delicate Touch.” 

Mikey grinned maliciously.

They really didn’t want to stop driving and looking for Casey, but Raph was getting tired and their stomachs were empty, so the snapper in red parked in a dark alleyway and they walked to a sandwich shop for lunch and sat on an outside table, the mutant cloaked in gray sweats to appear human.

Raph gulped down an energy drink and let out a long sigh. Cass played with the lettuce poking out from her sandwich, her thoughts elsewhere. Raph had a good idea of where her head was.

“Hey,” He waited for her to look up at him. “This isn’t your fault. We’re gonna find him, and everything will be okay.”

Cass managed to form a timid smile. “Thank you, Raphael.” She took a small bite of her sandwich and admitted quietly, “I’m just not sure if I’m cut out for this.”

“Cut out for finding Casey? You were always good at finding pieces of the Dark Armor. I’m sure…”

“No,” Cass interpreted. “I’m not cut out to be a mother, or really any part of a family.” She said, eyes shut as she stated what was, in her mind, cold hard facts. “I think, after today, it would be in Casey’s best interest if he lived with you permanently.”

“What?” Raph gasped quietly and put his sandwich down on the table between them. “But I thought you wanted to be part of his life!”

“Of course I do! There is nothing in the world I want more! But Casey would be better off without me…”

“That is not true.” Raph said firmly.

Cass winced and turned away in her chair, holding her knees. “Why would you even want me around? After everything I’ve done to you?! To your clan, your family?!”

Raph watched as his friend rested her forehead on her knees, shielding her face from the world in shame. He was unsure if what he was going to do would help her, but he had to try.

He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t care about any of that. You’re still my friend, Cass. You betrayed the Shredder and risked your life for us. And heck, you even gave me another family member to love!”

Cass looked back up at Raph, the noon sun sparkling down on him, and he said sincerely, “You’re one of the coolest people I know! A totally awesome ninja, loyal and dedicated and loud and crazy and super fun to be around! I’m sorry you feel crummy about yourself, but for what it’s worth, Raph wants you around. And so does Casey.”

Cass swallowed and gave a small nod. “Th-Thank you.”

Raph chuckled sweetly as he saw the tears and he held out a napkin for her, and she blew her nose loudly and dried her eyes, making the snapper smile.

“We’re gonna find our kid and bring him home. Together.” He promised, a smile on his face that Cass couldn’t help but copy.

His wrist pinged and glowed as Leo’s voice came out of it. “Mad Dogs, meet back at the lair immediately. Hey, another book word! Guess Pyball’s book club is really paying off!”

“What’s up, Leo?” Raph asked, bringing his wrist up closer to his mouth to talk better. “Did you find Casey?”

“No, but we know where he is.”

“Okay okay okay MERCYYYYY!” A noise screamed from a distance.

“Dr. Delicate Touch knows no mercy!”

“Aw, snack-cakes.” Raph swore. 

“Well if you know where he is, why aren’t we going there right now?!” Cass demanded, leaning over the table.

“It’s not that simple, Cass.” Leo’s voice said seriously.

Raph’s eyes widened. “Oh no…”

“Yeah, you got it, big bro. Casey’s been taken to the Battle Nexus.”

Casey had finally removed himself from the door, deciding it would be easier to watch it from another wall, so he sat to the left of it. 

He really wished he had some music or something to do, because he was definitely very bored at this point. He entertained himself by humming a heavy metal song he had in his head.

A tiny window at the bottom of the door opened, just big enough for a tray of food to slide through.

Casey lifted an eyebrow to see a gourmet meal of sushi, rice, a bowl of soup, and an orange on the tray. He looked up at the window and saw that the masked assistant was still there, back to the door and silent.

Maybe this was what Big Mama wanted her new champion to eat. Casey shrugged. “Thanks.” And he sat criss-cross and ate, not realizing how hungry he was until he started to eat.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to going without food for days at a time; Old habits die hard. But he was still appreciative of the meal.

“Okay,” Leo stood over a hologram layout of the Battle Nexus in Donnie’s lab. “Big Mama’s already advertising a brand new champion debut battle tonight. That will be our best chance to sneak in and rescue Casey. So what’ve we got, feam?”

Donnie spun around in his chair, elbows resting on the armrests, and fingers interlocked as he rested his chin against his joined hands, a clever look on his eyebrows. “I may or may not have a new invention we can use to help us storm the Battle Nexus.”

Then he clicked his wristband and a blueprint of a blimp appeared on the dozens of screens behind him. “I call it the Turtle Blimp! Fully armed, and no, it is not in beta!”

“Whoa!” Leo admired, holding his chin. “Very nice, Donald! But it might be a bit obvious that we’re coming if Big Mama sees a turtle-looking blimp above her arena. We can definitely use that for escape, but we need a way to sneak inside without being caught.”

“That’s why I called two pros at breaking into the Battle Nexus!” Mikey announced, and Huginn and Muninn came flying in, followed by Splinter and Draxum.

“Hey, good to see you guys again!” Raph greeted, given them each a fist-bump as they zoomed around.

“Thanks, turtle-jerk!” Munnin joked with a wink.

“Blue, is it true Big Mama kidnapped Casey?” Splinter asked, clearly upset.

Leo looked down at his father, a bit surprised to see him upset, but Leo knew better than anyone how the irony must sting for the rat. “Yeah. Sorry, Dad.”

Draxum patted Splinter’s shoulder as he looked at their sons with a stoic face. “The boy will be fine.”

Splinter responded with a short nod, but he still looked conflicted and stuck inside his bad memories. 

“Right, last time we broke in, all we had to do was pretend to be the new champion. Then everyone was too distracted by another fight to notice us.” Huginn shared.

“Yeah, but Big Mama knows who we are now.” Munnin added. “So…” And he blew a raspberry.

“But, you guys know what the cells look like, right?” Leo asked, arms crossed over his chest.

“Sure do, boss!” They both said.

“Okay, then how’s this for a plan? Huginn, Muninn, I’ll go with you guys to the cells to try to track down Casey. Raph, you, Cass, and Mikey sneak into the audience. Make sure you sit at opposite ends of the stadium. Donnie, can you make a ninja smoke bomb big enough for the Battle Nexus, and put a camouflage-mode on the blimp by tonight?”

“Like you even need to ask.” Donnie said, already setting his drones and robots to work, with Sheldon in charge.

“Great! Then if Huginn and Muninn and I can’t make it to Casey in time for his match, I’ll give the signal. That’s when you drop the smoke bomb over the arena, and we all dive in, get Casey, and get out and escape on the blimp!”

“Oh! Then can we get tamales afterwards?” Huginn asked.

“What, why?”

“Tamales always make me feel warm inside after a rescue mission.”

“I like the way you think, amigo!” Leo said as Huginn rested on top of his head. “Okay! And we’ll get tamales afterwards!”

Casey stood still, looking at the three-way mirror as the tentacle yokai with a bat-like face made some adjustments to the costume. Big Mama’s assistant never left his side, keeping a careful eye on him.

“Am I allowed to request a skull somewhere on my outfit?” Casey asked, but no one responded.

Soft giggling echoed, and in the reflection, Casey could see the huge spider approach him from behind.

“My my my, this takes me back. You look so much like him in that outfit, huggy-poo.”

Casey became stoic and solemn over her presence. “If this is how you treated your fiancée, no wonder you’re still single.”

Big Mama snorted. 

“Well, I know you’ll find love someday.” Casey said calmly as the seamstress sewed on a skull on the collar, rather than a golden fist.

“What if I don’t want a partner and the restrictions that come with it?” Big Mama snarled with a smile on her face.

“Who said anything about a partner? I was taught that love comes in all shapes and sizes, Big Mama. I just hate to see you push every chance of getting love away. Even self-love. But I know you’ll figure it out one day.”

Big Mama hummed frustratingly. “Hm… you’ve certainly inherited his skill with words. Now let’s see if you have his fighting spirit.” She turned to her masked assistant and said, “Take him directly to the gates. See to it he enters that arena.” And the spider crawled away. “Be sure to put on a good show for us!”

Casey adjusted the sleeves of his new outfit. It did resemble Lou Jitsu’s iconic outfit, except the baby-blue was more turquoise this time, and the collar sported a skull. Casey did wish the collar wasn’t so low, he felt exposed and uncomfortable, but it would have to do for now.

Big Mama’s assistant gave Casey a nod and led the way. The prisoner didn’t bother to try to escape. As the sounds of fighting rang through the halls, he was nervous, sure, and of course he didn’t want to do this, but he repeatedly told himself that his family was coming. Whether they would be there in five minutes or five days or five years, it didn’t matter. They were coming, so all he had to do was be brave and be strong.

Meanwhile, Huginn and Muninn flew in the shadows, leading a sneaky turtle down the halls.

“There,” Huginn hissed, pointing at a doorway that led to a bunch of cells. “That’s where they would be keeping him.”

The three split up, peeking into all the tiny windows and whispering Casey’s name.

“He isn’t here, boss.” Munnin said quietly.

“Then we know where he is.” Leo whispered, and talked into his wrist. “Guys, Casey’s match…”

“They’re announcing it now.” Donnie shared, watching the Battle Nexus from above in his invisible blimp.

“Is everyone in position?” Leo asked.

“We’re all set!” Raph’s voice responded.

“Then we’re heading to the entrance.” Leo shared as he and gargoyles slipped down the hall. “I’m gonna portal us into the blimp. Everyone be ready to ambush the arena and stay close.”

Big Mama’s assistant stayed in the shadows as the large gate opened before Casey.

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” The announcer’s voice boomed over the cheering. “You’re new champion, the descendant of Lou Jitsu, Lee Jitsu!”

Casey winced at the stage name, wondering how many brain cells it took to put that together, but he slowly entered the arena, ready to face the giant Sphinx that roared.

From among the crowd, Raph’s eyes widened under his dark hood, wearing a black cloak. “They know who he is?!” He hissed to himself.

“On my mark, Mad Dogs.” Donnie’s voice said over the commutators, a hand on the switch that would drop the large smoke bomb. “One…”

The gate behind Casey’s lowered.

“Two…”

The hybrid readied himself to fight. He might not have weapons, but he believed in his training and he knew all he had to do was survive. He could do that. Right?

“Three!” And Donnie pulled the twitch as he evil laughed like a mad scientist.

No one saw it coming, and when the big bomb reached the arena, it was too late to stop it. Dust clouded the entire arena, and chaos ensued.

The Sphinx did not like the dust at all; it howled and growled and started swiping its claws at guards and assistants that tried to restrain it. Casey instantly tried to find a way out, thinking of climbing up the wall, but someone kicked him in the ribs and made him tumble back.

Casey shook his head and ditched the cheesy sunglasses. Standing above him was Big Mama’s masked assistant, who stood above him with bombs in their claws, ready for a fight.

Casey stood up slowly. “So you’re really just gonna keep me trapped here? I’m not an idiot. I know what happens to fighters in here.”

The assistant was silent, but did not attack. Probably only because Casey didn’t engage in a battle.

“I thought you were better than that, but I guess I was wrong.” Casey said coldly. “You’ll always be Big Mama’s nameless guard.”

The two remained still as the battle around them continued, but nothing was available to the naked eye.

Casey didn’t expect his words to impact the soldier at all. But he must have said something that impressed them. Or maybe they just wanted to prove Casey wrong, because they sighed, lifted their mask up to the top of their head, below their hood, and muttered, “My name is Venus.”

Casey stared at the beautiful face before him. A pistachio-green turtle face with black freckles and almond-shaped eyes looked at him solemnly. 

The plastron-like armor and three fingers suddenly made more sense. She was a turtle.

Casey was snapped out of his staring as a large claw swiped at Venus and made her backflip away. She secured her mask back on her face, and rather than try to keep Casey where he was, focused on fighting the Sphinx with her bombs, and eventually capturing it in a bubble-like cage.

A large hand was placed on Casey’s shoulder as the battle in dust continued. Casey turned and was ready to fight, but he grinned at the sight of Raph. “Dad!”

“Casey! You’re okay!” Raph brought him into a hug as Cass and Mikey ran to them. “Thank the pizza supreme in the sky!”

“Leo!” Cass yelled, grabbing Raph’s wrist and using his communicator. “We got him!”

“Right behind you!” Leo called, doing a cartwheel from up in the audience, landing in front of his family, and he portaled them all into the blimp in one swift motion of his dual swords.

Seeing his family safely in his blimp, Donnie pulled a lever and started to drive them away. “Fibonacci!” He called out victoriously as the blimp drove away.

“Oh, Casey! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!” Cass cried out, hugging him and checking his body for injuries.

“I’m okay, Mom, I promise.” Casey said with a small smile. “Wow, great timing, guys! I didn’t even get a chance to fight or yell out ‘Hot Soup’!”

“Whoa, nice costume, Lee Jitsu!” Leo said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and giving him a smile.

Casey winced. “Ugh, please don’t call me that…”

“Right, sorry, bud.” Leo apologized, rubbing the top of his head affectionately. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Splinter paced up and down the main room of the lair while Draxum sat in the armchair and scrolled through the TV aimlessly. The rat dwelled on his thoughts, furious and betrayed that Big Mama would kidnap his own grandson, but at the same time not very surprised and very disappointed. Not to mention getting a sickening feeling of deja vu from the events.

Draxum turned off the TV when Splinter’s ear flickered. Soon the garage door opened and all the teenagers came home, with Casey wearing a Lou Jitsu costume.

“My boys! You made it!” Splinter said, hurrying to them as Draxum stood.

“Are you harmed, Jones? Do you require medical attention?” He asked.

Casey smiled and rested his hands on his hips proudly. “I’m fine, Draxum. These guys got me out of there right before the match! Big Mama’s not gonna be happy about losing her new champion!” He laughed confidently.

“Hey, we can handle anything that old spider has in store for us.” Leo assured as he patted his back.

“Yeah! Totally!” Casey agreed.

Splinter approached the hybrid and took his gloved hand. Casey looked down at him curiously. “But… are you alright, my grandson?”

Casey was pleasantly surprised to be greeted like this, but he smiled nonetheless. “Sure I am, Pop-Pop! I’m a lot tougher than I look! Not a scratch on me! I’m fine! I…” He couldn’t stop his eyes from stinging. Ignoring the pressure in his chest was not making it go away. If anything, it was getting worse.

Looking down at his grandfather and seeing the look on his face, Casey knew that Splinter understood. 

The time-traveler fell on his knees and squeezed Splinter’s hand. “I… I thought she loved me…”

Splinter engulfed him in a hug as Casey’s walls came crashing down. “I know, mago, I know.”

Casey thought he was over the shock of how different things were, how different she was, but apparently not. Splinter combed his long black hair as Casey hugged him and cried on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry.” The rat croaked.

“Aw, c’mere.” Raph choked, rested on his knees, and pulled Cass into his arms, and engulfed her, their son, and his dad in a big bear hug.

“Group hug, fam!” Mikey announced, climbing on Raph’s shell and hugged him. Leo pulled Donnie into the hug with him, completing the circle on the other side of Raph, keeping Casey and Splinter in the center of the hug, and Draxum settled for standing beside them and petting the top of Casey’s head.

Casey smiled through his tears; his parents, his grandads, and uncles all around him and seeping all their love into his very skin. He already felt much better, and it made him remember a very old lesson Master Michaelangelo had told him a very long time ago, a few weeks after he lost his mom to the Kraang.

“Sure, sweetie, you lost your mom… but you haven't lost her love for you. Love’s a form of energy that swirls all around us, and even if she’s gone from this plane of existence, her love’s still inside your heart and reborn in the form of new love.”

Casey grinned at himself. That was the lesson he had forgotten! That was what he needed! His old family might be gone, but their love for him wasn’t. And his new family was here to remind him that, every single day.

Proud of himself and excited for the future and overcome with so much happiness, he croaked out, “I love you guys.”

The masked assistant entered the private room. Big Mama sat at her bench, in her human-like form, her back to the invited visitor.

“Venus~” She sang. “You let him go.”

The turtle lifted the mask up to the top of her head so she could speak clearly. “That’s not true, Mama, he escaped.”

“I find that very hard to believe, my dear.”

“Didn’t your other champion escape from you…” The Diamondback Terrapin fell silent at the look of Big Mama’s side eye. She bowed her head.

Big Mama’s heels clicked as she approached. Venus was still and silent, anticipating whatever nasty punishment she deserved. But Big Mama placed a soft hand on her right shoulder, the shoulder free of small turtle shells.

“I know you can do better, my starshine.” She said as Venus met her eyes, the turtle being only a few inches taller than the spider. “Do not let me down.”

“I won’t. I promise. This won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Big Mama removed her hand and placed both hands behind her back in a posh stance. “Now, go up to your room. I’ll have another assignment for you in the morning.”

Venus bowed. “Goodnight, Mama.”

Big Mama smiled as the turtle exited. “Goodnight, my daughter.”

Chapter Text

Cassandra peered down at Julia’s weaving, the scout using a cardboard stencil to weave yarn, and smiled. “Nice work! Good job!” She complimented, patting the beret on top of her blonde hair. She glanced over at another girl’s work and said, “Oh, what beautiful colors, Amanda!”

The room was full of girls trying to earn their Weaving Badges before recess and snacks. While yes, brownies were their primary fundraiser, and lots of badges could be earned through the selling of desserts, ever since Cass decided not to try to take over the world anymore, she has strived to be a better leader and guide the girls to a bright future. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but the girls seemed much happier striving for their own personal goals rather than world domination.

Cass nodded along to the hip-hop rap music playing over the radio, but was distracted by a knock from the back door. Expecting a parent here to pick a child up early, she opened it and was pleasantly surprised to find Raph standing in his gray sweats and holding Casey’s favorite black hoodie.

He smiled at her. “Hey, Cass!”

Cass swallowed a lump in her throat that had magically appeared and started to choke on air. “R-Raphael! Ah! Y-Y-Yes! What a pleasant surprise! U-Um… wh-what can I do for you?”

Raph held out the jacket as he walked in. “Casey left his hoodie at the lair and he’s not answering his phone. I know he’s fine, but…”

Cass smiled. It had been almost a month since Casey was kidnapped by Big Mama, and though Raph had done a good job of keeping his promise and not hovering over him, of course he would still be nervous sometimes and let his anxiety get the better of him, but then again that was with any family member.

“Yeah, he’s seeing a movie with April.” Cass said as she accepted the hoodie. “We’re gonna meet at my place for Chinese and board games.”

Raph blinked and smiled, his aura less tense and even his shell seemed to sag in relaxation. “Oh. Okay! Great!” The snapper leaned against the wall behind him, arms crossed loosely over his chest, and he smiled at her, his snaggletooth sparkling. “So how have you been? Doing good?”

Cass’s face suddenly felt very hot. She blinked like a deer in headlights and smiled nervously. “Y-Yes! I’m doing well! Keeping busy with helping the girls earn their badges.”

Her eyes widened. Speaking of girls, every since girl scout had left their seat and was staring up at Cass and Raph with shining eyes. The kunoichi frowned, sensing nothing but trouble, but Raph smiled and rested his hands on his knees so he could be more eye-level with the children.

“And who are these pretty young ladies?” He asked politely. 

Cass’s cheeks turned rosy as she watched how Raph dotted on the girls, shaking hands and ruffling hair as each one introduced themselves excitedly. “These are my girls.”

“We’re working on our weaving!” One shared and grabbed Raph’s hand. “Wanna see?”

“Sure do!” He said, and joyfully sat criss-cross on the floor between small chairs and let the girls show him their work and even teach him how to weave, leaving Cass to daydream and watch with a dopey smile.

These girls had already met a mutant rat and helped fight against aliens, so a mutant turtle hardly phased them, so Raph allowed his hood to fall as he played with the girls.

After each girl earned a Weaving Badge, it was recess. Wrapped in coats and warm clothing, Cass coached some girls through a game of basketball while Raph pushed a row of swings for the kids, running up and down the swing-set and laughing.

All the kids adored Raph, sharing everything under the sun and talking to him, and he actually listened. Everything they said he took to heart and he paid attention and remembered all their names and interests. 

When it was time to go back inside for hot chocolate and snacks, Raph sat on the floor once more as girls offered him brownies while he braided their hair.

“Wanna try a brownie, Raphie?”

“Sure! What kind you got?”

“We have original, ganache, peanut butter, mint, and cherry.”

“Hm… original, please. Can’t have peanuts, I’m allergic.” He shared casually as he took a brownie from the original box.

A loud honking noise rang through the facility as a red light flashed.

“What, did I say the secret password?” Raph muttered as he munched on his delicious brownie.

“RED ALERT! RED ALERT! ALL SCOUTS AT THE READY!” Cassandra screamed to the top of her lungs, and all the girls sprang up and started running all over the place, except for the girl in Raph’s lap, who was content with letting him continue to braid her hair.

“Cass, what’s going on?!” Raph asked as he shoved the last bit of dessert in his cheeks and resumed his work on the girl’s hair.

“NO ONE RESTS UNTIL THIS BUILDING IS CLEANSED OF PEANUT-BASED PRODUCTS!” Cass yelled, directing girls as they threw away boxes of jarred peanut butter and peanut butter brownies, and also scrubbed the facility clean. “ALL PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES ARE DISCONTINUED!”

“Yes, Grandma CJ!” The girls all called out in unison as they worked.

“Cass!” Raph scolded in the exact same tone he uses on Leo. “You don’t have to stop selling peanut butter brownies! I’m fine as long as I don’t eat one.”

“GIRLS! WHAT DO WE DO IF RAPHAEL STARTS TO EXPERIENCE AN ALLERGIC REACTION?!” Cass quizzed the scouts.

“Stab him with his epinephrine shot and call 911!” Julia answered with a hand raised as she used a bat to beat up a box of peanut butter brownies, as if it had insulted Raph’s dads.

“Excellent!” Cass replied, then turned to the snapping turtle. “Where do you keep your epipen?”

Raph’s cheeks turned pink as he looked down at the hair he was braiding. “Uh… in my nightstand drawer?”

“YOU DON’T KEEP YOUR EPIPEN WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES ?!” Cass screamed in panic while Raph bit his lip, trying not to laugh over her and the scouts’ reaction. “That tears it! GIRLS! BE READY TO ATTACK THE PEANUT FACTORY IN FIVE MINUTES!”

“Yes, Grandma CJ!” The scouts all called out in unison as they pulled out their weapons and giggled with red eyes and sharp teeth.

“Cassandra!” Raph scolded as he finished tying up the girl’s braid, who smiled admirably before pulling out knives and running off his lap.

Cass stood proudly on a table and pulled out a flamethrower. “WE SHALL DESTROY EVERY LAST PEANUT ON THIS PLANET UNTIL MY- I mean, our - RAPHAEL IS SAFE!”

“YEAH!” All the girls screamed. 

“I’ve only known Raphael for an hour and a half, but if anything happened to him, I’d kill everyone in this room, and then myself! ” Julia declared, followed by cheers of agreements from the other girls.

“Girls! No!” Raph scolded, standing between Cass and the scouts. “No committing arson!”

The girls all sagged and whined as they lowered their weapons, including Cass.

“Raphael, this is a good chance for the girls to earn their Firemen Badges.”

“YEAH!”

“NO!” Raph yelled.

The clock above them chimed, and like magic, everyone relaxed and cleaned up.

“Oh, five o’clock.” Cass hopped down from the table as scouts tidied up the facility and gathered their belongings. “Parents will be here soon to pick their girls up.”

“Guess I’d better go.” Raph said, pulling his hood up. “Thanks for letting me hang out!”

“Aaaaaaww!” The girls whined and gave Raph a big group-hug. “We’ll miss you, Raphie! Come and visit us, okay!”

Raph grinned and hugged them, resting on one knee. “Aw! Raphie loves you girls, too! I’ll be back soon!”

“Yay!”

Cass got an idea that made her whole face turn red. She hesitated, watching as Raph said goodbye to each and every kid, slowly standing back up. She doubted if he would want to do this, but she really wanted him there, and he really liked the girls, so…

“A-Actually,” Cass stuttered, rubbing her forearm as Raph looked at her with a puzzled look. “Um… The girls are working on their Hockey Badges this month. To earn it, they have to complete a whole season of hockey games.”

“Sounds like fun!” Raph commented with a smile. “You like hockey, right? I’m sure you’d make a great coach!”

Cass smiled blushingly. “Yeah, th-thanks. Um… I… I was wondering… um…” She squeezed her eyes shut, and yelled in one breath with her head up high, “DOYOUWANTTOATTENDTHEIRFIRSTMATCHTOMORROWNIGHT?!”

Raph blinked, his ears ringing a little, but once he digested what the kunoichi had said, he grinned. “Yeah! Raph would love to come! Just text me the time and place, k’?”

Cass blinked her eyes open, and grinned. “Y-Yes! Of course! W-We look forward to seeing you, Raphael!”

“See ya, Cass!” Raph said, heading to the back door so parents wouldn’t see him. “Bye girls!”

“Byyyyyyyyyyyeee!”

Cass waved Raph goodbye a few seconds after the door had shut, dozingly smiling at where her eyes were last graced with his presence. She was so enraptured by her own happiness, that she almost didn't catch the crowd of girls staring at her with sly smiles. Almost.

She snickered at her scouts. “What?”

Julia bit her lip, then dragged annoyingly, “You like Raphie…”

“WHAT?!” Cass yelled. “I do not!”

“Yes you do!” All the scouts said in unison, then started to sing as they swayed back and forth. “CJ and Raphie, sitting in a tree! K. I. S. S. I. N.-“

“Okay, enough!” Cass chuckled, gently pushing Julia away as parents started arriving to pick up their daughters. “You girls are drawing dramatic conclusions! I simply think Raphael is a good friend. It’s not like I lie awake at night thinking about him.”

Cass lay on her back in bed, staring up at the ceiling hours after lying down, but her eyes were blind to the architecture that kept her dry at night and warm in the winter. Instead, her mind was elsewhere, her eyes seeing something entirely different, and her stomach aflutter and her heart racing despite being completely still.

“Uh, oh.” She muttered to herself.

“Gather around, niñas, vamenos.” A low voice growled as the giant bear put on his baseball hat and let a whistle fall around his neck. “Tonight is your first game! This is very exciting, and I know you will all do well! Just remember, the most important thing, is to destroy your opponent!” Ghost Bear roared, then calmed down and added, “And have fun!”

“We will, Tio Espectro!” One fiery sprite chimed, holding her hockey-stick.

Ghost Bear smiled proudly at his wife’s young niece. “¡Ándele, ándele!” He chuckled as he guided the group of young girls out of the large house, ready for their big game.

Cass checked her phone again, and was again disappointed by the lack of messages she had received. 

She had texted Raph the time and place that morning, and he had replied, but since then he had been silent. Not that he was obligated to keep her updated on his whereabouts, it’s not like she asked… Maybe she should ask? Cass sighed, deciding she didn’t want to sound desperate, so instead she pocketed her phone and focused on her girl scouts.

The ice rink was full of girls skating and practicing shooting pucks. Unfortunately, the stands were next to empty. Most parents of the scouts enrolled their kids into the program because they were busy and needed to distract (and get rid of) their daughters for a few hours every day. So it really didn’t surprise Cassandra that no one came to support the kids. Except for a granny who was already asleep in her chair.

Cass blew her whistle. “Come here, girls! Time for the world’s greatest pep talk!”

The kunoichi waited for all the girls to skate back to the dugout, then cleared her throat.

“Okay, this is what we’ve been practicing for! Remember, to earn your badges, you must complete one whole season of hockey! Which means the next few Tuesday and Thursday nights are going to be out there on the ice, either practicing or playing a game! So, just remember to always dominate your enemies!” Cass screamed, then calmed down and added, “And have fun!”

“YEAH!” The girls screamed.

“We shall destroy our enemies!” Julia declared, twirling her hockey-stick.

“With fun!” Amanda called out.

Cass’s phone buzzed. She glanced at it and made a whole smile when she read the text, “We’re here!”

She looked up at the stands, and sure enough, six teenagers situated themselves into their seats, wearing coats and hoodies to beat the cold, but every single one of them had painted their faces to look like a skull and wore berets, resembling the team’s symbol. Even the turtles had taken off their masks so they could properly paint their faces. Not only that, but they wore black and white foam fingers and carried handmade banners that read, “Go Brownie Scouts!” and “CJ for the Win!”

Cass smiled and waved at the turtles, April, and Casey. She had initially invited only Raph and didn’t really expect anyone else to come (had even hoped only he would come, so maybe she could horseshoe in an ice cream date after the game or something), but seeing her son and her new friends support her and her girls meant so much to Cass.

Raph waved back, grinning, and he and the Mad Dogs started to cheer loudly.

A burst of fire erupted from the opposite dugout, and several fiery chupacabras cartwheeled and skated onto the ice, who were followed by a prideful white-furred bear.

“GHOST-BEAR?!” Both Cass and Raph gasped from their respective places in the rink.

“Ugh, this guy?” Leo groaned, smacking his forehead.

Ghost Bear looked around the arena, and of course he recognized his enemies, even with their face paint and French hats. “Tortugas! How dare you intrude on partido de hockey de la sobrina!”

Donnie raised an eyebrow. “Eh… Qué?”

Leo rolled his eyes and translated. “He’s mad cuz we’re here at his niece’s hockey game.”

“His niece?!” Raph gasped, and realized he recognized one of the little fiery spirits as one of the flower girls at the wedding. “Oh! That’s Ghostpepper’s sister’s daughter! How cute!”

“¡Sí! And she will obliterate your team!” Ghost Bear laughed as he turned to his opposing coach and her team.

Cass scowled at her opposing coach. “Girls! Helmets on!”

“Yes, Grandma CJ!” And they slipped on their skull-decorated helmets and slid onto the ice.

“¡Órale, niñas!” Ghost Bear called.

“¡Sí, Tio Espectro!”

Cass skated to the center of the rink, as well as Ghost Bear. The mutant tossed the puck to the kunoichi. “Ladies first.”

Cass snickered as she caught the puck. “I always thought the Invincible Annihilation was the better wrestler.”

Ghost Bear roared with wide, furious eyes, and Cass dropped the puck and blew her whistle.

Mikey munched on popcorn excitedly and Casey sipped on his juice box loudly as the whole family cheered and Leo even blew an air horn obnoxiously. The two girls teams were so high-energy and ferocious that no one was sitting in their seats, Raph ripping his coat in half to reveal a homemade “I’m proud of my girls” t-shirt and April screamed and cheered at the top of her lungs.

After the first twenty minutes, the teams took a five minute break. The fiery chupacabras were cold and low on fire, and the scouts were hot and sweaty. The score was tied with six points each.

“You’re doing great, girls!” Cass coached, handing out bottles of water.

“¡Muey bueno, niñas!” Ghost Bear praised, handing out spice peppers to munch on for fuel. “But the game is not over yet!”

“We still have forty minutes left, but I believe in you!”

“I know you can do this!”

“So get out there, and kick that sorry team’s butt!” Both coaches yelled, pumping their hyper girls up, and the game continued.

While Donnie scrolled through his phone, with loud music blasting in his noise canceling headphones, the chupacabras had a streak of luck and scored three more points, meanwhile the Brownie Scouts were at a stand-still.

Ghost Bear laughed evilly over his niece’s victory. “We shall ruin your precious game of hockey, human!”

Cass scowled as she threw her cap down on the ice. “This isn’t over you… you… walking-one-dimensional-petty-overrated-OLD-MAN!”

Ghost Bear gasped horribly and grabbed his chest. “OLD MAN?! That tears it!” He blew his whistle when the second twenty minutes ended. “¡Niñas! Dugout! Now!”

Cass’s girl scouts gloomily sat on the bench and some threw down their helmets. 

“Boss, we’re gonna lose at this rate!” Julia whined. “We’ll never get our badges! We’re all failures!”

Cass relaxed, her temper calming down, and she got on one knee and with a hand on Julia’s shoulder. “Girls, you are not failures. And what are you talking about, of course you’ll get your badges!”

“But if we lose…”

“You get your Hockey Badges by completing a hockey season.” Cass restated. “Not winning every single game.” The coach stood on a folding chair and said, “Listen, three weeks ago most of you couldn’t even skate, but now look at you! You’re skating like professionals and playing a difficult sport! This is what being a scout is all about, trying new things and having fun! Win or lose, I’m very proud of each and every one of you.”

Cass’s phone rang. She smiled and put it on speaker.

“Hey girls! How’s it going?”

“Raphie!”

Raph could be heard chuckling from the other line. “Listen, I know things don’t look great right now, but I’m proud of all of you! You’re doing great!”

Cass bit her lip, her heart racing. How in the world did she get so lucky to have such a sweet, kind, big-hearted guy for a friend?

“But no one knows Ghost Bear better than Raph does.”

“He’s not joking. The guy knows what shampoo he uses.” Leo’s voice snuck in, sounding very annoyed.

“Coconut!”

“I can’t tell you how creepy and upsetting that is, big bro.”

“The point is!” Raph continued. “If you girls really wanna get under his fur, even if you lose, listen carefully…”

And Cass grinned wickedly as Raph shared his secret with the girls.

Both teams skated onto the ice, refueled and ready to go one more time. With twenty minutes on the clock, the game began.

The Brownie Scouts actually managed to catch up, scoring until twice, then the chupacabras scored, then the scouts scored twice again. This went on, until when there were only five minutes left of the game, they were tied at thirty-one points per team.

“You got this!” Raph yelled. “Raphie believes in you!”

“SCOUTS! SCOUTS! SCOUTS!” The Mad Dogs all cheered in unison.

“Go Mom!” Casey called, whistling with his fingers so loudly everyone covered their ears and winced.

“That’s my boy!” Cass shouted, proud, then dropped the puck.

The Brownie Scouts gave it everything they had, and between one chupacabra’s legs, the puck slid into the correct goal. The Brownie Scouts were winning by one point, but then the chupacabras worked quickly, and they scored twice, right before the time ran out.

Ghost Bear laughed maliciously as the chupacabras high-fived each other and skated in spins, celebrating their victory. “Ha ha! We have done it! You lose! You are shamed for all eternity! You will never set foot on the ice again!”

But his face dropped when he saw the Brownie Scouts celebrating among themselves.

“Wow, Chelsey! You did great!”

“Thanks! Great shot back there!”

“Guys! I lost a tooth!”

“Cool!”

Cass high-fived them and gave hugs. “‘Great game, girls! Good play!”

Ghost Bear watched in horror as the losers still seemed happy. “Wh-What is this?! What is this?! You’re supposed to be miserable! You lost! We won!”

“Okay, everyone line up!” Cass coached and blew her whistle, and both teams lined up and skated past each other, high-diving and saying “Good game!” to each other politely.

Cass even skated over to the growling bear and held out a gloved hand. “Good game, coach.”

Ghost Bear puffed some air out of his nose. “Estoy casado.”

Cass’s smile dropped. “What?”

“No point trying to get my hand to kiss your hand. I’m married.” Ghost Bear restated, his arms still tightly crossed over his chest.

Cass snorted a laugh. “Y’know what, Ghosty, your niece is very talented.”

Ghost Bear snorted with a smile. “I know that.”

“But so are my girls.” Cass finished with a genuine smile. “Win or lose.”

Cass turned and watched as Raph and Casey ran onto the ice, tripping and slipping, but they happily hugged the scouts and congratulated them on their game.

“You all did so good! Raph’s real proud of you!” The snapping turtle cheered, hoisting Julia up on his shoulders. “How about some ice cream?”

“Yeah!”

“Sounds awesome, Spike.” Cass said, skating over. “C’mon girls!”

“Let’s do some research first and make sure there’s a peanut-free ice cream parlor first!”

“Good idea, Amanda!”

Raph chuckled and shook his head. “Girls…”

“Finally!” Leo called, sliding on his knees to the girls with Mikey, Donnie, and April slowly walking behind him. “Some more eyes on this lovable lug! You kids wanna help me bully him into carrying his epipen with him?”

“YEAH!”

“Actually,” Raph said slowly, and pulled his pen out of his coat’s pocket and twirled it between his fingers proudly.

“YAY!”

“Extra sprinkles for everybody!” Cass declared.

“¡Aye aye aye!” Ghost Bear whined. “No, you’re supposed to be miserable!”

“¡Tio Espectro!” Ghost Bear’s niece said, holding him by his furry arm and grinning up at him. “Can we get some churros, por favor?”

Instantly, his frustrations melted away and the mutant wrestler was full of pride. “¡Sí! I’m very proud of you, niña! All of you!”

And that was how Cass found herself in an ice cream shop, sitting next to Raph, the Mad Dogs and the Brownie Scouts having a great time eating ice cream and laughing and cracking jokes.

Cass, normally the loudest one in the room, was content listening to Raph tell the girls the story of how he and Leo first beat Ghost Bear and stole his belt. She listened intently, lost in his story, so much so she occasionally missed her mouth with the spoon full of chocolate ice cream and had to wipe her face clean.

She felt someone watching her, and she looked to her left and saw that Julia was grinning at her mischievously, her eyes telling Cass, “You like Raphie, don’t you?”

Cass sighed and winked at her girl scout, which made Julia squeal with joy and then shove her mouth full of ice cream.

Maybe someday Cass will get a chance to ask Raph on a date, but not today. Today, she was beyond happy to be his friend and watch him hang out with her most favorite girls in the whole world.

Chapter Text

Carol sat on the couch and started to scratch Mayhem between his big ears, which made the sleepy yokai purr. She smiled and turned on the TV, hoping something somewhat entertaining would be on to watch.

There was a knock, which made Carol groan, the need for standing unappreciated, but once she peeked through the peeky hole and saw who it was, she grinned and all her annoyances withered away.

“Leo!” She greeted warmly and quickly ushered the hooded turtle inside her home. “Welcome! You know you don’t have to knock, sweetie, you can just come in.”

“I know, but it’s kinda nice not having to sneak in anymore.” Leo admitted as he slipped off his jacket. “Is April here? We’re gonna go to the baseball park.”

“I’m sorry, she’s still at college, but she should be home in a few minutes.” Carol said, glancing at the refurbished grandfather clock her husband kept in the living room.

Leo yawned into his hand and smiled at his best friend’s mother. “Oh. Okay, well, I can wait on the roof…”

“Nonsense, sweetie, you and your family are always welcome here.” Carol said and gestured for Leo to sit on the couch. “Would you like a snack or something to drink? Water, coffee, hot chocolate…?”

Leo shrugged. “Do you have tea?”

Carol smiled. “I love tea! You got it, blueberry.”

Leo blushed at the new nickname and watched as Carol went into the kitchen, the little window giving him a clear view of the hostess, as she heated up two mugs of water and added tea bags. 

“Honey or sugar?” She called as Leo sat.

“Some sugar, please.”

Carol hummed to herself as she fixed the tea, and Leo busied his hand by petting Mayhem.

Carol picked up an empty casserole dish and placed it on the window. “Gotta remember to give this back to Barry.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Oh, Draxum cooked for you guys?”

“Yeah, he’s quite the chef! We share dinners a lot, actually. You should’ve seen him at the neighborhood potluck last month! Everyone loved his apple crumble!” Carol shared as she brought Leo a cup of tea and sat beside him on the couch.

“Hm, good for him.” Leo muttered with a tired smile. Despite his many snide comments about being thrown off roofs, the water was mostly under the bridge, especially after seeing how Draxum helped them defeat the Shredder, and his reaction when he came to the lair shortly after they defeated the Kraang.

Truth be told, he had never seen the sheep so worried and frantic and concerned for Leo or his brothers’ well being. Maybe Baron Draxum really had changed.

Leo yawned again before sipping his tea. “Mm! Thanks for the tea, Mrs. O’Niel.”

“Please, call me Carol, sweetie. And you’re welcome.” She said, sipping her tea. The yawning was fine, but the bags under his eyes and the way his shell seemed to sag told Carol that this young man wasn’t well rested. “Having trouble sleeping?”

Leo blinked, then smiled nervously as his cheeks turned pink. “Eh, I’m fine. Just couldn’t get to sleep last night. Like that’s anything new.” He muttered into his tea cup before sipping.

Carol studied the teenager before her. “Hm. Is this something that happens often?”

“Nah, it’s no big deal.” Leo said, waving a hand in order to dismiss the concern. “What’s a few hours of sleep, anyway?”

“Teenagers do have a miraculous ability to not only survive, but thrive, off of only a few hours of sleep.” Carol shared fondly. “I’ve also met some that need twelve hours of sleep just to form sentences.”

Leo snorted with laughter. “That’s Dad for you.”

“Well, you’re not alone. Lots of people struggle with settling down at night, especially given the fact that we live in a world overrun with cellphones and technology that keep our brain hot-wired. I recommend the use of red light at night and maybe reading books or comics instead of scrolling on your phone.”

Leo grimaced. He heard very similar stuff from Mikey and Donnie. “No. No, that’s not it.” Then he winced. He didn’t want to tell her. He didn’t want her to worry. He wanted her to believe that he was a stupid teenager who just made poor choices and that’s why he couldn’t sleep. Which was still very true in an ironic sense.

Carol placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Then what is it?” She asked gently.

Leo sipped his tea to give him something to do. He tried not to look at her.

But then again, Carol O’Niel was a therapist. And truth be told, Leo wanted to talk about it, but he knew talking about it with his brothers would only make them feel bad, which was the last thing he wanted. Maybe talking to Carol would help.

Leo looked up at her and saw a warm mother who just wanted to help. Her eyes might have been covered by her curls, but her smile was soft and comforting, and when she pleaded gently, “Trust me,” Leo would feel his walls crumbling.

He took a deep breath, and started to talk to Carol about his nightmares and how he felt like he let his family down.

April hadn’t meant to be so late, but she had some questions for a professor, and that accidentally led to a very long, yet informative, talk. Any other time April wouldn’t have minded, but she was late for meeting Leo at her place so they could play baseball. She had texted him an apology and an explanation, but he hadn’t read it. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t bored.

April came home and opened the door, calling out. “Mom, is…” But she was shushed urgently by her mother.

The college student looked at the couch in front of the TV and was very spruced to find a red-eared slider asleep on top of her mother. It looked as if he had fallen asleep while hugging, and Carol certainly didn’t want to move him, so she draped a blanket over them and turned on the TV. April smiled, reminded of when she would fall asleep on her mom’s chest when she was very little.

“Everything okay?” April whispered.

“All good, sugar plum.” Carol whispered, petting the top of Leo’s head. “But maybe you should reschedule your baseball game.”

April nodded, agreeing, and she sat on the floor in front of the couch, stealing her sleepy yokai and putting Mayhem on her lap, and she joined her mother in watching the 90s sitcom.

Carol twirled her pen between her fingers out of habit, studying the giant turtle mutant in her office.

After her talk with Leo, it was becoming more and more apparent to her that these teenagers had been through a lot in such a short amount of time. So one night when the turtles had come by to pick up April, Carol re-emphasized the offer to come to her office whenever they wanted, with or without a scheduled appointment, for anything.

The boys had thanked her and assured her they were fine, but sure enough, three days later, after a scheduled appointment had left, Carol turned back to her office and found a red-sporting snapping turtle by her window; it was no wonder they were ninjas.

“Uh… h-hey M- Carol.” Raph muttered nervously, tapping his fingers and looking down at the carpet. “Sorry if I scared you…”

“Oh, no!” Carol smiled and approached. “I’m just so glad to see you! How are you?”

Raph smiled timidly. “I’m okay. Uh… if you’re not busy, c-can we talk?”

Carol nodded. “Of course! I don’t have any other appointments today, so unless I have a walk-in, I’m all yours. And Gregory will let me know if I have a visitor.” She added, pointing to the intercom at her desk.

Raph smiled and sat on the couch. “Okay! Thanks.”

Carol sat in her armchair and opened a black mini fridge, full of bottled waters, ginger ales, juice boxes, chocolate milk, and string cheeses and fruits. “Would you like something?” She offered, grabbing herself a water bottle.

“Water’s fine, thanks.” Raph said, and Carol tossed him a bottle.

After a moment of peaceful silence and some sips of water, the therapist asked casually, “So, what’s on your mind, dear?”

Raph sat his bottled drink politely on the end table, making sure to use a coaster, and held his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees. There was so much inside his brain, so much on his shell, that he had no idea where to start. “Everything.”

And so they slowly started a conversation, which led to Raph monologuing and sharing how he was feeling, all of his worries and concerns leaking out of him like a hole in a bucket.

Carol wasn’t necessarily a rule-follower. Maybe to an extent, because there were always exceptions to rules. As a therapist, it was her job to diagnose what approach to problems would best help her patients. Not all methods work for everybody, and sometimes you have to be unorthodox in order to best help people. Carol has gone as far as letting her patients burn t-shirts and letters in her garbage can, shared a bottle of wine a deceased family member left behind, and hugged someone as they cried out their woes onto her shoulder.

Carol was more than fine with hugs and other forms of physical touch, but was also extremely aware of how uncomfortable that made some people, so she reserved hugs and cuddles for family, unless a patient directly asked for a hug or some form of physical touch.

As Raph talked, feeling like he was being heard and already feeling better, Carol noted his posture and habits and facial expressions; everything about this young man screamed that all he wanted was to be touched, given physical confirmation that everything was okay.

Carol hesitated, a bit doubtful of herself, but she firmly reminded herself that this boy was as good as family, and the mother in her pushed away any doubt and made sure she did whatever Raph needed her to do, the same way she did whatever she had to do for Leo.

When Raph paused and gulped down some water, Carol cleared her throat and asked softly, “Raphael, would you like for me to join you on the couch?”

Raph’s eyes widened and his lips quivered as they curled upward into a smile. “Yes please.”

Carol smiled and moved from her armchair and onto the couch beside Raph. He politely moved to the other side of the couch to give her plenty of space, understanding that he was quite large and took up half the couch. He smiled, glad the gap between them was a bit smaller (already his shell felt a little bit lighter), but his smile dropped when Carol patted her lap and smiled up at him.

Raph bit his lip, doubtful if she was what she wanted, but he was so happy and relieved over the very thought of cuddles that he decided not to question it. He laid on his side, shell to the back of the couch and knees bent so he could fit, and he carefully rested his head in Carol’s lap, who petted the top of his head and invited him to continue what he was saying.

The eldest brother choked out a sob, tears leaving his eyes and rolling down his face onto Carol’s knees, but he smiled as he talked.

Eventually, words failed him, but he had said what he wanted to say. He waited for Carol to urge him off of her lap, or to conclude their time together, but Carol continued to pet his head and sit with him, letting him dry his tears and snuggle, nuzzling his cheek against her warm lap.

Carol was taken back to a simpler time, when April was a child and would lay her head on her lap like this. It filled the therapist with nostalgia and gratitude that she could do this with her new son. It 

She was broken from her thoughts when a strange noise could be heard. It didn’t frighten her, though it did make her heart face with glee and her smile widen. Now, she couldn’t be sure, but due to her good hearing and the vibration coming from Raph’s plastron, Carol swore on her life that Raph was chirping.

A small beep came from her desk. “Mrs. O’Niel, it’s after five. Burning the midnight oil?”

Raph opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but Carol had a firm hand on his head, and she pulled out a little remote from her pocket and clicked a button, making sure to put a finger to her lips to let Raph know to stay quiet. “Just filing some paperwork, Gregory. You can go and I’ll lock up in a few minutes.”

“Sounds good. Don’t work too hard, doc.”

Raph grinned as Carol pocketed her little remote for the intercom. His chirping even grew in volume and in rhythm, which made Carol chuckle quietly. 

Raph smiled bashfully. 

Leo started coming every Monday afternoon, and Raph every Wednesday afternoon. It was something nice to look forward to, an hour or sometimes only half-an-hour at the end of her long day of talking to her daughter’s best friends and helping them with their feelings. Some sessions were heavy, some were simply talking, all were more than fine with Carol.

Today was definitely a hard day for Leo, who was pacing around the room as he talked to Mrs. O’Niel about his most recurring nightmare.

“It just doesn’t matter what I do… it doesn’t matter how long I meditate before bed, what I eat, what music or sounds I listen to, I just can’t sleep! I’m too scared to! Cuz when I do sleep, all I see is Raph’s face when I let him get stabbed !” He screeched, and kicked the extra armchair so hard it fell over with a bang.

Carol watched with concern as Leo held his head and took in several deep breaths. She was proud of him, trying to get his breathing under control, and she watched him carefully as he worked through his trauma.

“It was all my fault! He risked his life to save me! He could have died, and it would’ve been all my fault!” Leo laughed crudely at himself as he let his head go, and he added, “And even if he’s alive, now he’s gotta live the rest of his life with a hole in his shell because of me! A fucking hole!” The red-eared slider gagged and started to hyperventilate again. “I can’t even look at my own brother anymore! I just can’t do it! What kind of asshole can’t even look at their own brother?!”

“Leo…”

Leo swallowed, his breathing not improving, but he made himself lower his voice and stand up straighter. “S-Sorry…” And he shamefully made his way to the kicked-over armchair.

“Son,” Carol said firmly, which made Leo stop in his tracks and look at her. “I don’t care about the chair, I care about you. C’mere and catch your breath, okay?”

Leo bit his lip, tears strolling down his cheeks, and he ran and slid onto his knees, content with hugging Carol around her waist and resting his face into her lap, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down and his fingers gripped her tightly.

Carol hugged him back, rubbing circles onto his shell; it was fascinating to pet his shell; Carol had read somewhere that turtles like to be petted and scratched and brushed on their shells, so she hoped the gesture would bring some comfort to the traumatized teenager.

“Leonardo, the guilt you feel is completely natural, and of course you are completely in the right to feel what you feel.” Carol stated calmly. “But I’m sure that if Raphael were in this room right now, he would tell you that he loves you and forgives you.”

Leo groaned into her lap. “I know.”

“Have you tried talking to him about this?”

“No, and I don’t want to.” He said firmly, making it very clear the idea was out of the question.

But if Carol didn’t ask questions, she wouldn’t be doing her job. “Why not?”

“Cuz I know he’ll forgive me and I don’t deserve it!” Leo wailed, hugging Carol so tightly it had to have hurt her ribs, but she only continued to hug him back and rub his shell.

“Leo, it’s okay. It’ll be okay.” Carol cooed as his sobs filled the room. “I may not know much about you and your family, but it’s clear to me that you all love each other very much. Surely, if the tables were turned, you would forgive Raph, and I know that you know that he would deserve it.

“So please, don’t sell yourself short, sweetheart. Talk to your brother. Even if all you say is that you’re sorry and all he says is that he forgives you, you’ll feel much better. You may not be able to repair the hole in his shell, but I promise you can still repair the hole in your heart.”

Leo approached the garage, which was empty apart from his brother lifting weights above his head, lying on his shell. He was instantly aware of the blue-bandanna bearing turtle, and greeted, “Hey, Leo! How was Carol’s?”

“Fine.” Leo muttered, arms crossed over his chest. “Hey, can we talk?”

Raph hoisted his weights on their stilts and sat up, using a spare towel to wipe himself clean, a concerned look on his face and all his attention on his little brother. “Sure.”

Leo took a step forward, not quite meeting Raph’s gaze, and said, “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.”

He let the words echo in the garage for a bit; he already felt a little bit better.

Leo ignored his brother’s puzzled look, and finally made himself look up at Raph, and the chipped hole by his shoulder. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry you got hurt cuz of me. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for that, but that’s okay, I’m cool with that, but I… I just need you to know how sorry I am that I did that to you,” He croaked, and brought his arm up to his eyes and wiped them dry, then turned away, refusing to look at his brother for a second longer. “Anyway, that’s what I wanted to say.”

Leo started to leave the garage, ready to cry by himself in his room, starting to feel way better, but he was captured and brought into a tight bear hug, Raph’s strong arms shielding him from the world and cradling his little brother, his face by his dreaded left shoulder and Leo’s eyes, unfortunately, directly on his chipped shell.

“Gah, Leo…” Raph moaned, crying. “I forgive you. I love you too much not to forgive you. You’re my little brother. I don’t care wh-… I… I just love you, man!” He howled.

Leo cried and buried his face in his big brother’s muscles, shutting his eyes and his tears dampened his skin. “I love you too, big bro.”

Mikey licked his lips as he pulled out a new chicken parmesan skillet recipe, fresh bread and salad on the table, Leo and Raph patiently waiting and grinning at the sight.

“Wow, that looks awesome, little dude!” Leo complimented, taking the spatula to it and scooping himself out a chicken breast.

“Thanks!” Mikey said, grinning.

Just then Donnie walked in, smiling, and hey, “Gentlemen! What’s the haps? Oh boy, chicken parm! Thanks, Michael!”

“No problem, D.” Mikey said, handing his brother a plate.

“How was your day?” Raph asked, making conversation.

“Eh, it’s been productive.” Donnie answered with a shrug in his seat. “Organized some blueprints before lunch. But the biggest accomplishment is that I saw Mrs. O’Niel today!” He said proudly.

“Hey, good for you, bud!” Leo said, gently elbowing his twin. “How’d it go?”

“It went really well! We chatted for a while, but she helped me do some research on sensory exercises and breathing techniques form when my shell bothers me.” Donnie admitted.

Raph raised a brow. “Your shell? What, are you hurt?”

“No no no,” Donnie explained calmly. “I… Well…” He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to share, but he had already shared so much, so he summarized with, “My shell is just really sensitive sometimes and that bothers me. But Mrs. O’Niel really helped me, and look what she gave me!”

And he pulled out a rolled-up lavender-colored weighted blanket and placed it on the table.

“Whoa!” Leo and Raph gasped.

“She said she got it for me because she thought it would help.” Donnie shared as he unrolled it and threw it over his shoulders. “This thing is amazing! I thought about buying one, but never got around to it, but I love it!”

“Super cool, Donnie!” Raph congratulated. “I’m glad she was able to help you. She’s really helped me out, it’s just been nice to talk to her.”

“Same! I’ve been sleeping way better lately.” Leo shared. “We should do something nice for her… maybe we should surprise her with flowers!”

“Aw, that’d be nice!” Raph agreed. “Or maybe April can tell us some of her favorite things.”

“Already on it,” Donnie said, on his phone. “April says she loves baseball and her favorite flowers are orchids.”

“Does she like cake?” Leo asked. “What if we made her a cake and decorated it like a baseball?”

“Yeah! She’d love that!” Raph then looked at his youngest brother, who had been quiet. “What do you think, Mikey? Wanna bake a cake?”

But his face dropped. Leo and Donnie also turned their attention to Mikey, who was picking at his dinner and looking grumpy. 

It was only visible for a second; the moment Raph spoke to him, Mikey lit up like the sun and smiled. “Shell yeah, baby! I can help with that!”

“You okay, big man?” Raph asked. “You looked… kinda mad.”

Mikey laughed, but it wasn’t a cheerful laugh; it sounded too much like a laugh Dr. Delicate Touch would make. “Mad? Why would I be mad? My brothers are getting the help they need! Everything’s great!”

Leo winced. “Y’know… you can talk to her, too. She…”

“I don’t need her help. I’m fine.” Mikey said with a fake smile as he shoved some food into his mouth.

“Ah yes, we are all convinced.” Donnie said sarcastically, earning him a gentle smack from Raph.

“Hey, buddy, just cuz you’re Dr. Feelings doesn’t mean you don’t need help sometimes.” Leo said calmly.

“Yeah, that’s right. I am Dr. Feelings.” Mikey reminded them bitterly. “So why couldn't you tell me all of this? What could you possibly tell April’s mom but not your own brother?!”

The three brothers exchanged looks.

“Mikey, are you… I-It’s not that we don’t wanna talk to you, it was just nice to talk to her. She was nice to us.” Leo said cautiously.

“What? Don’t think I can handle it? I opened a portal that saved your life, in case you forgot! I can handle a couple of bad thoughts! I’m not a baby!” Mikey yelled.

“We know that.” Raph said, Leo silent and sinking on himself at being reminded of what Mikey did to save him. “But…”

Mikey slammed his fork and knife down on his plate, creating a loud clatter, and he stood up. “I’m going to bed.”

And he was gone, leaving his brothers alone in the gloomy atmosphere.

Carol was sitting at her desk, organizing paperwork. It was a quiet, rainy Thursday. No one had come in and she had no scheduled appointments, so she was content with spending her day doing some cleaning, hoping she could close her office half an hour early.

But then her window was slammed open and closed harshly, and a sopping wet hooded turtle stood strong and lowered his hood. “We need to talk.”

Carol blinked at the young box turtle, the ray of sunshine that was wearing a mean scowl and seemed to be covered in clouds. She knew better than anyone that sometimes the happiest people are the most miserable, so she stood and stopped what she was doing immediately.

“Of course. What’s the matter?”

“You’re the matter!” Mikey yelled, pointing at the lady. “I’m the family therapist, not you! My brothers used to come to me before we met you! I’m glad April came clean about us, and I’m glad we’re all cool, but I’m not cool with you thinking you get to do what I’ve been doing all our lives!”

Carol stepped out from behind her desk. “You’re mad at me.”

“YES!” Mikey yelled, exasperated.

“I’m sorry, Michaelangelo.” Carol said sincerely. “That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to help you and your brothers feel better.”

“I appreciate that,” Mikey said darkly. “But that’s my job! It’s the one thing I got, okay, so please just let me have that!”

“I don’t understand.” Carol admitted, going to her chair and sitting. “The one thing you’ve got? From what April tells me, you’re an amazing cook and artist. And I remember your risotto, it was delicious!”

“Thanks,” Mikey said bitterly as Carol opened her fridge and got herself a water bottle. She left it open invitingly, but the turtle held up a hand to say “no” and she closed the mini fridge. “But that’s not what I mean! Being Dr. Feelings is the most important thing I do for the team, and I don’t appreciate you stomping all over that.”

Carol nodded. “I understand. I’m very sorry I offended you, Mikey.”

The box turtle studied the woman, looking for a sign of a condescending tone, a ploy just to make him happy, a white lie an adult would tell a whiny child, but found nothing but sincerity and understanding. Mikey’s angry facade dropped, and he sat in the opposite armchair and buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on his knee pads. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You’re just helping my brothers.”

“It’s alright.” Carol sipped her water, then offered gingerly, “I’d like to help you, too, sweetheart.”

“I don’t need help.” Mikey said flatly, looking up at her. “I’m Dr. Feelings. If I can’t help myself through my mind-junk, how can I help my family?”

Carol dipped her head, understanding Mikey’s logic, even if she disagreed with it. “Perhaps. However, would you expect a surgeon to perform surgery on themselves? A dentist to perform their own operations?”

Mikey thought about it, biting his lip and looking away, until eventually he was defeated and shook his head. 

“So, let’s just talk, therapist to therapist.” Carol invited, smiling, and reluctantly, Mikey began to talk.

Carol yawned into her hand, her other hand holding her cup of coffee, and then she dug into her purse for her keys to unlock her office. She didn’t have an appointment for two hours, but her door opened in ten minutes, so she had to be ready in case she had a walk-in.

The moment she opened the door, however, she was met with four smiling turtles, Mikey holding a cake that was decorated to look like a baseball, and Leo holding a large bouquet of orchids. Carol gasped and grinned, closing the door behind her, and once they were in the privacy of closed windows and doors, the boys cheered, “Thank you, Carol!”

“Aw, you darlings!” She cooed and hugged her new sons, accepting the orchids and even sneaking a kiss on a few cheeks. “Thank you, thank you! How beautiful! I hope you brought plates so we can share this cake.”

Donnie smiled, using a mechanical arm to show a shopping bag with plates, napkins, and forks. “Way ahead of you.”

Carol was then soon eating the best chocolate cake with vanilla icing she had ever had, chatting and laughing with the four turtles that sat around her office and made her life so much better.

Chapter Text

Raph slammed the book shut and groaned. Nope, he couldn’t do it.

The snapping turtle turned and flopped plastron-first onto his bed, no longer sitting criss-cross, and he hugged his pillow and rested his eyes.

New Year’s Resolutions were stupid and did nothing but lower your confidence, but Raph thought a good one would be to finish one book to the end. He loved his comics, but for some reason he could never finish a book; the story would get boring, or he would get scared or mad at the plot, or he would reach a point that was a good ending for him and stop reading.

It shouldn’t be this hard to finish a book, millions of people his age have to do it for school, but this was his third book he tried to read through, and the more he read, the more his mind wandered and wasn’t paying attention, and the more this felt like this was a form of self-torture. 

Now Raph was bored and needed a distraction. Lifting weights? He did that this morning, but there was nothing wrong with two workouts if he was that desperate for something to do. Hang out with Mikey? Oh no, wait, he and Casey were out on a mission, covering racist and homophobic graffiti with colorful paintings. So no hanging out with Casey, either. 

He had been hanging out with Leo a lot, so no offense to his little brother, but he needed a break, and he knew Donnie was working on the blimp today, so he wasn’t going to bother trying to hang out with him.

But then Raph opened his eyes, reached for his phone, and checked the time. It was after five. He smiled, and slicked the button to video-call Cassandra.

Raph patiently waited a minute or two, unaware that across the city, being interrupted from her walk home, Cass was scrambling for her phone, freaking out when she saw the caller ID, and composing herself and trying her best to appear normal before answering the call.

“Greetings, Raphael.” She said in a calm voice and mellow smile.

“Hey, Cass! Whatcha doin’?”

“Oh, just walking home from work.” Cass said as she continued to her journey, ignoring the blush rising in her cheeks. “Wh-What are you up to?”

“Bored out of my mind!” Raph groaned with laughter in his throat, which made Cass smile. “Tried to finish this stupid book, but it’s so hard!”

“Oh. Well, if you’re trying to find a good book, I think I know one you’d enjoy. Would you like me to come over and switch reading material? I’ll lend you a good book if you show me a good comic to read.”

Raph grinned and sat up in his bed. “Okay! I know just the comic you’d like!”

“Okay, I’ll see you in half an hour.”

“See ya!” And Raph hung up, then moved to his bookcase full of comics and manga and skimmed over his collection until he found the first issue of a comic series he really liked and thought Cass would enjoy, too.

Like she said, Cass came by with a book in her coat, and she and Raph hung out in the bedroom, sitting on the bed and reading each other’s recommended literature, with the hairless cat, Klunk, purring in Raph’s lap.

“So she’s the princess of an entire planet?!” Cass gasped as she read the comic. “Cool!”

“Yup! And she also pilot’s the robot’s left-leg! She’s awesome!” Raph shared as he scratched Klunk’s ears. “But that scientist built the robot, with metal he found in…”

“Ah ah ah! No spoilers!” Cass interrupted, nose pressed against the comic as she read on.

Raph chuckled and continued to read his book, which was starting off strong. He peered down at the words before him, only taking his eyes off them when he felt Klunk leave his lap and sit on the bed, stretching and making little biscuits on the plush material.

Cass also smiled down at the cat, and she held out a patient hand to him and clicked her tongue. Klunk stepped closer, sniffed her hand, and as if he had never smelt anything so amazing, Klunk purred against her hand and nuzzled close, until he was sitting against her crossed legs and using her as a pillow.

“Aaaaaaaww.” The two cooed quietly with sparkling eyes.

“He really likes you.” Raph stated, scratching him under his chin. “Good boy, Klunk.”

“How did you manage to obtain him?” Cass asked as she petted the bald kitty. 

“I was out on patrol by myself.” Raph shared. “A little Red Angel of Preventing Harm action. Nothing was really happening, so I took a break and sat on this air vent, and suddenly this guy was rubbing up against my leg. I thought he lived in one of the apartments, so I tried to shoo him away and get him to go home, but he kept following me, and when I leaped off the building, thinking he’d get bored and finally go home, he meowed and cried and begged for me to come back.”

“Aaaaaaaaawww!”

“Yeah, Raph thought so, too.” The turtle chuckled. “So I hopped back over, scooped him up, put him in my poncho, and took him home. Dad was upset when he finally caught Klunk in the kitchen, but he’s cool with it now. Mikey’s just glad Chompy has a cousin to play with.”

“Well, he’s beautiful!” Cass declared and decided to torture the cat a little, slowly picking him up with her hands under his arms, and let Klunk dangle in front of her as she talked to him. “Who’s a good boy, who’s a good boy? Is it you, is it you?” Cass kissed Klunk’s pink nose a few times, the cat closing his eyes at the touch, but he did not wiggle or hiss or appear too upset by the affection.

Raph rested his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his knuckles, watching his best friend play and bond with his kitty. It was a surreal moment that he didn’t want to see end.

The pet-owner reached into a box under his bed and pulled out a feather wand. “Wanna play with him?” He offered.

“Oh, lookie, my little warrior!” Cass cooed to the kitty as she sat him down on the bed and took the toy. “Wanna play? Huh? Who wants to play?”

Raph watched as Cass dangled the toy in front of Klunk and he curiously tried to grab the feathers with his claws. The turtle eventually slunked off the bed and sat on the floor on his knees, resting his folded arms on the bed, giving the kunoichi and the cat plenty of room to play. 

Cass laughed as Klunk did cartwheels nod ran back and forth on the bed, chasing the feather wand and both parties having fun.

Raph peeled his eyes off his baby boy and onto the woman causing so much joy. The way her nose scrunched up as she laughed, her beautiful voice, and her beautiful body as she sat on her knees and took every opportunity she could to pet Klunk, giving him breaks and letting him chew on the feather from time to time. Raph’s eyes shined like stars, happy and content, and his heart fluttered with affection.

Cass only paused the game when there was a knock on the bedroom door.

“C’min,” Raph called, turning around and resting an arm on the bed.

Casey opened the door, dirty and his clothes splattered with spray paint, and he smiled. “Hey Mom! I didn’t know you were coming over today.”

“Just hanging out, sweetheart. How was it with Mikey?”

“So much fun! We ran into these goons mid-graffiti and we made them hang upside down from the Grand Central Station!” Casey laughed, which made Cass grin with pride and Raph wince.

“That’s my boy!”

“Okay, but maybe don’t leave people hanging from high buildings for them to fall and break their necks.” Raph suggested nervously.

“Anyway, you staying for dinner, Mom?” Casey asked his mother.

Cass shrugged, glancing at Raph, who was looking at her and was smiling gently, a silent request to stay a little longer. “Sure, I’ll stay.”

“Great! Mikey’s ordering pizza. Meat lovers with olives?”

“Yup!”

“Sounds good to me!” Raph said, always happy to munch on a meaty pizza, and Casey left the bedroom for them to continue playing with Klunk, the book and comic sitting forgotten on the nightstand. 

An hour later, the Mad Dogs sat around the huge table in the kitchen and ate pizza as Chompy and Klunk snuggled under the table. Mikey grinned with tears in his eyes, taking pictures. Luckily his senses weren’t too captured, meaning he was able to hear the conversation occurring next to him.

“What, don’t like olives?” Cass asked, watching Raph pick the black olives off his slice of meat lovers.

He shrugged. “Eh, not really.”

“Sorry, we could have ordered a normal meat lovers, I just really like olives…”

“No no no! If you like olives, we’ll always get meat lovers with olives! Here, you can have mine, s’all good!”

Mikey banged his head on the table, trying to get up too quickly. Luckily no one paid too much attention to him, meaning he was free to eye his big brother and the mother of his nephew. Cass started tossing olives up into the air and catching them in her mouth as Raph watched and cheered her on.

Dr. Feelings watched carefully and bit his lip. He always wondered if this was going to happen, knowing what happened during the apocalypse and caused the existence of Casey Jones, but Mikey had made himself forget about it, much like Casey and not wanting to force anything to happen. But seeing them smile, and ohmigosh, the olive theory!

After dinner, Cass said she had to go home since she had work in the morning. She hugged Casey goodbye and wished everyone a goodnight, but then Raph stood and said, “Wait wait wait, your comic!”

“Oh yeah, thanks!” And they went back into Raph’s bedroom to retrieve her lended comic.

“And there’s, like, one-hundred-twenty-seven issues after this one, so if you like this one you can borrow more.” Raph informed while Cass scooped up the comic and slipped on her winter coat.

“Great, thanks!” Cass replied, watching Raph lean against his bedroom wall, arms folded and hands behind his neck. She started to feel herself blush, an idea screaming in her head to be let out. She hugged the comic like it was a teddy bear and looked away. “Actually… um…”

Rah raised a brow curiously, but he was patient and let her talk in her own time.

“I… uh… I was hoping… i-i-if you want… w-w-w-would you, p-p-please…”

“Whoa, are you okay?” Raph asked, standing up straight and putting his hands out, Cass’s stuttering getting worse with every word and her skin getting pale.

“I AM FINE!” She screamed, then made herself look at him and she yelled, “WOULD YOU PLEASE GO ON A PICNIC WITH ME TOMORROW NIGHT?!”

Raph blinked at her loud voice, his ears ringing, but he smiled and nodded, “Sure! Sounds like fun!”

Cass breathed easier, and she shakingly smiled, unable to believe that Raph wanted to hang out with her. “R-Really?”

“Yeah, Raph’s always down to hang out with friends!”

Cass’s heart broke like glass, but she kept up a brave face. “Ha ha, y-yes! O-Okay! Um… do you wanna come to my place at six?”

“Sounds good! Can’t wait.” Raph said sincerely, opening the door for Cass and waving her away as she hurried home.

The snapper didn’t immediately notice the wide-mouthed box turtle standing by his door, but when he did, he raised an eyebrow. “Uh… you good, big man?”

“You,” Mikey growled, pinching between his eyes. “Are an idiot.”

Raph raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Excuse me?”

Mikey looked up at him and asked in a voice that hinted that Dr. Delicate Touch may be in the room, “Raphael, why do you think she invited you out tomorrow night? Alone? In the woods? Alone? Just the two of you?”

Raph shrugged. “We’re friends. So she wants to hang out alone in the woods and have a picnic. What’s the big deal?”

Mikey widened his eyes and stared at him for a whole sixty seconds. Raph waited for an answer, but then it suddenly came to him and his face fell.

“Oh. Ooooooohhh…”

“Yup, there it is.” Mikey said darkly.

“She… she asked me out… on a date?” Raph asked quietly, tapping his fingers together.

“YES!” Mikey yelled.

Raph swallowed and shook his head. “No no no, we’re just friends. Just friends! There is no way anyone that cool and amazing and pretty and… and s-smart, and fun…” The snapper noticed the star-struck look on his little brother’s face and cleared his throat. “There’s no way she likes me like that.” He growled firmly and looked down at his three-fingered hands gloomily.

Mikey softened and took both of Raph’s hands into his own. “Whoa, hold on there, big daddy. Don’t think like that. She doesn’t care, she really really likes you! Listen, do you like this woman?”

Raph swallowed, giving it some serious thought, and he was powerless to keep the tiny small at bay. “Y-Yes.”

Mikey grinned. “You wanna hold her?”

“Yes?”

“ Please her?!”

“I… I think so!” Raph yelled, both brothers grinning and showing all their teeth. 

“Then you gotta-gotta try a little tenderness~!” Mikey sang. “Go out on that date with her tomorrow, have fun, and get your girl!”

“Yeah! I will!”

“Yeah you will!” Mikey said, backflipping onto Raph’s shoulders and pulling his mask-tails like he was steering a horse. “Now let’s get you ready for that date!”

Lightning cracked behind a giant mansion on the outskirts of the woods. The angry doctor passed his office, perfect teeth gritting and his lips curled in anger. An invitation to a gala was open and on his desk. A week from now, dentists from all over the country would be showing off their accomplishments, and Dr. Noe was expected to once again wow his colleagues with a new finding of rare and exotic teeth.

But he had nothing new to offer. And the idea of presenting old findings made him growl and throw a syringe at a framed photo of himself shaking the president’s hand. “What a year it’s been! Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”

Dr. Noe breathed heavily and slumped back to his desk. He pulled out a bottle of gin and poured himself a small drink, swirling the glass as his mind wandered.

“Hm…” He opened a drawer and picked up the cracked frame that held the photograph of the alligator snapping turtle that stole his Sasquatch. “Oh that snaggletooth…” He said dreamily.

Dr. Noe smiled, his year-old scars glistening in the dim light, and he was now more determined than ever to find the specimen and obtain that tooth.

“I will have it.”

Mikey stood beside the big mirror, hands clasped together by his quivering smile. He wiped a tear out of his eye. “Aw, Cassandra’s a very lucky woman!”

Raph adjusted the collar of his white jacket and moved his mask-tails so they rested on his left shoulder rather than down his back. Mikey managed to find a perfect replica of the brother-approved outfit he tried on in Hypno’s magic trap. A snazzy white blazer and shoes with a pink shirt that left his plastron well exploded and with plenty of room to breathe.

“Say what you want about Hypno, but he’s got great sense of style!” Mikey commented.

“You sure this is okay for a first date?” Raph asked, unsure of his appearance, eyes down at his green hands and tongue over his freshly cleaned snaggletooth.

“Raph, I promise, you look great!” Mikey praised and handed him the bouquet of red roses with tiny white baby’s breath.

Raph sighed and accepted the flowers. “Okay… I’m ready!”

“Yeah you are! Go have fun!” And he slapped Raph’s back and guided him out of the lair.

Using his ninja skills to sneakily run on rooftops, Raph arrived at Cass’s apartment in no time. After knocking on the door, he stood nervously, his heart pounding hard against his plastron and his hands becoming very sweaty.

Cass opened the door, putting on an earring, and she smiled at him. Raph’s face dropped, full of wonder as he looked at his date.

Cassandra wore ripped jeans, a black blouse with flowing sleeves, and matching high-heeled boots that only passed her ankles. Her make-up was done very pretty and she wore silver hoops for the occasion.

“Hey,” She said with a smile.

“H-Hey,” Raph stuttered. He swallowed and grinned at her. “W-W-Wow! You look… wow!”

Cass snorted. “Thanks.”

“Uh, h-here. Thanks for asking me out.” Raph said sincerely, holding out the roses to her.

“Aw, thank you!” Cass accepted the roses and admired them, sat them down, and grabbed a picnic basket and a black leather jacket to wear. “Ready?”

“Yup!” Raph said and held out an arm like they do in the movies.

“Oh, fancy.” She teased, and they chuckled as they walked down the stairs for Cass’s motorcycle.

An hour later they were sitting in the woods, at an overlook of New York City, sipping some of Todd’s famous lemonade and munching on sandwiches and strawberry shortcake, discussing their borrowed reading material.

“I just can’t get over that stupid book! I haven’t been able to put it down!” Raph shared. “It just keeps going and going!”

“I know right?! That’s what I love about it! The second book is a little bit slower, but the third one really picks up!”

“Nice.” Raph said and gulped down some lemonade. “So what’d you think of Robo Mega Team?”

“I love it! The style is intriguing and the plot is engaging! Did you bring the second issue?”

Raph reached into his jacket and pulled it out. “Boom!”

“Yes! Thank you!” Cass squealed and opened the comic. “Oh! They fight a Kraken?!”

“A space Kraken!”

“Awesome!”

As they laughed and gushed about their reading, a dentist readied his crossbow that shot numbing darts, silently in the trees.

“So, I gotta ask,” Raph said after finishing his slice of cake. “What made you wanna ask me out?”

Cass’s cheeks turned pink. “I… I’ve wanted to for a long time…” She said hoarsely, holding her knees and looking out toward the city.

Raph stared at her. “Really? Since when?”

“It’s stupid…”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Raph said gently and put a hand on her shoulder. “Nothing you think is stupid, Raph promises. C’mon.”

Cass sighed with a smile. “Okay… you remember when you met the girls and played with them?”

“And they showed me their weaving?” Raph chuckled. 

“Yeah, I think that’s when I decided I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible, cuz… cuz you make me happy.” She mumbled, unable to hide her smile.

Raph stared at her and smiled, scooting closer to her and giving her a big side-hug, which she happily returned by wrapping her arms over his big arm over her chest. “Cass, I…”

They both heard it, but Raph was faster. At the sound of something being shot at them, Raph scooped Cass in his arms and leaped off the picnic blanket, the spot they had been mere seconds ago now speared by a large numbing dart.

“What the-?!” Raph gasped, holding Cass close as she growled in her throat.

A shadowed figure leaped down and approached them, heavily armored with weapons, a scar of a claw over his face shimmering in the city’s nightlight. “Finally! After all this time… your snaggletooth will be mine!”

“Oh he-…!” Cass started to screech, but Raph ran as fast as he could with his date in his arms bridal-style.

“Raphael, put me down!” Cass ordered. “We can take him!”

“Probably, but we need to ambush him!” Raph informed. “He’s got- OW!”

Cass’s eyes widened as a dart was poking out of his shell, wedged in his jacket and caught between some spikes. 

“… numbing darts.” Raph growled as he darted through some trees.

Dr. Noe followed them into the darkness, cackling wickedly as he hunted for his prey. “Oh macrochelys temminckii~!” The dentist sang. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

A big looming shadow caught his eye and he shot a numbing dart, but it was only a white blazer strung between some branches.

High in the trees, only in his white pants and pink shirt, Raph let Cass crouch on her own and she pulled knives out from her leather jacket’s numerous pockets. “I’m gonna kill him…”

“No no no!” Raph whispered, patting her back. “Shh shh, we got this, okay?”

Cass sighed and managed to form a soft smile. “Okay. So what’s the plan, Big Red?”

Raph grinned, pulled out a sai from his back pocket, and started to scratch a plan into the bark of the tree. “We’ll need ten zebras, a truck-load of flour, some socks…”

Cass was holding her chin, nodding, when Dr. Noe pulled out a gas bomb, ripped the ring out with his teeth, and threw the bomb into the air, hitting a tree, and a huge cloud of gas covered the woods.

Raph and Cass stared as squirrels and birds fell to the ground, and Raph instantly grabbed Cass, pulled her against his chest, and kept a hand on the back of her head to try to keep her from breathing in the gas. He then held his breath, but it was too late. 

The snapper started to giggle, making Cass stare at him, and he coughed as he laughed and felt woozy, his grip on the kunoichi loosening and he shook his head to try to stay awake.

“R-R-Raphael…” Cass coughed and started to laugh alongside him. “Wh-What’s so f-f-funny?!” She cackled.

Raph laughed and held his forehead. “We’re gonna die!” And Cass howled with laughter alongside him.

“No one can resist my Nitrous Oxide bomb.” Dr. Noe growled proudly, the laughter echoing loudly through the forest and making it easier to find the turtle.

Through his laughing and relaxing body, Raph willed his mind to stay focused. He pulled out a grappling hook, wrapped his laughing date around the tree, and tied her with a loose knot, so she wouldn’t fall when she fell asleep. 

“St-St-Stay s-s-s-safe!” Raph laughed, and he allowed himself to fall from the tree and land on all fours, dizzy and sleepy.

Dr. Noe turned a corner and marveled at the large turtle slowly rising to his feet, snickering and giggling, but after shooting his knees with numbing darts, Raph fell on his face, chuckling as he fell asleep.

“R-R-Raphael…” Cass giggled as her eyelids became more and more heavy. 

Cass’s eyebrows twitched before her eyes flew open and she screamed, “RAPHAEL!”

She pulled the knot loose, freeing herself from the tree, and Cass landed carefully onto the forest floor, looking around for any sign of her date or her enemy, but she was alone. 

“NO!” She yelled and pulled out her phone, doing some quick research of dentists in New York, and it didn’t take long to find an article about exotic teeth and a picture of her date’s kidnapper.

Scowling, the kunoichi ran through the forest for the mansion.

Raph was cozy and felt like he was taking a good nap, a little groggy and finding difficulty at pulling himself from his sleep, but once he remembered why he was asleep, he was wide awake.

He was in a large dentist chair and tied down with thick belts, a dentist’s napkin pinned around his neck. Unlike the Tooth Fairies’s campsite, this place was clean and all white, a in-house dentist space for private jobs. With a huge wall of captured teeth and trophies looming over Raph, he turned at the sound of humming and found Dr. Noe calmly washing his hands.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” The dentist said as he dried his hands. “These are much more fun when my victims… I mean, patients, are conscious enough to respond.”

Raph struggled and pulled, testing the strength to the belts, but they were too tight. He saw where the belt around his waist belt was tucked under a spike, so maybe if he moved his hips he could saw himself free, but too soon Dr. Noe stood over him, gloves and mask on, his yellow shades hiding his eyes in the bright lamp over his head.

“Say ‘ah’.” The doctor said sweetly.

Raph locked his jaw in tightly, making sure his precious snaggletooth was hidden behind his lips.

“Oh come now, dear child, say ‘ah,’ and I’ll let you pick a toy from the toy chest.” And he gestured his bald head to the toy chest full of sharp dentist tools that looked like they were made in the medieval ages.

Raph shook his head and trusted his strong snapping turtle jaw would save him.

Dr. Noe shrugged and grinned evilly as he pulled out a numbing dart and thrusted it into Raph’s chin.

“OW!”

Raph choked on his voice as his mouth was kept open by a large, old set of pliers, and Dr. Noe held a smaller, sharper set of pliers for stealing the sharp snaggletooth that sparkled and shined in the lamplight.

“Oh my, you’ve got quite the wisdom teeth that need to go, too!” The dentist said gleefully. “And who knew all your teeth were so massive and sharp! They put my tiger shark teeth to shame! Oh, what of it! I’ll just take them all!” And he cackled evilly, standing over the trembling, trapped turtle.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Dr. Noe cooed. “This will only hurt a lot!”

Raph yelled in his throat and wiggled, but he was helpless as the cold pliers took hold of his handsome snaggletooth.

CRASH!

Dr. Noe growled and slammed both pliers down on his little table, allowing Raph to breath heavily with relief, tears pricking his eyes.

“My window!” Dr. Noe yelled.

“You cowardly, ugly, fowl, son of a-…!”

Raph stared as his date let out a long list of cusses and bad words that normally would make him pass out, but as Cass swore, she proceeded to not only kick Dr. Noe’s butt, but also traumatize him ten times more than he traumatized Raph.

With a pop, the snapping turtle cut through the belt around his waist, but before he could do anything else, Cass was by his side and cutting his arms and legs loose with her knives.

“Oh, Raphael!” She gasped, suddenly very soft and gently, cupping his cheek and running a thumb over the small dot of blood on his chin from the numbing dart, her eyes swimming with concern. “Baby, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Raph’s cheeks suddenly felt hot and he cleared his throat. He nodded, and he tried to speak, but his chin still felt funny, so all he could say was, “‘Aff’s a’ ‘oo’.”

Cass let him sit up, but she couldn’t restrain herself any longer and she leaped into his lap, hugging him and cradling the back of his head in her palm, nuzzling her cheek against his strong shoulder. Raph blinked, startled by her touch, but he squeezed his eyes shut, his anxiety still high, and he hugged her back tightly, shielding her from the world with his strong arms.

“I dunno what I would’ve done…” Cass croaked, and swallowed to try to get rid of the lump in her throat.

Raph smiled, flattered by her concern, as much as it hurt his heart. He looked past Cass’s shoulder and saw the sad pile of flesh that was a numb Dr. Noe, pinned to the floor by Cass’ knives, and injured by a dozen numbing darts and bruises and cuts all over his body and face.

“I’m sorry,” Cass mumbled. “I’m so, so sorry. This is all my fault.”

Raph was still having difficulty speaking, but thanks to his strong alligator snapping turtle jaw, the effects of the dart were steadily losing its toll. He shook his head and held Cass by the shoulders so he could look at her.

“Ee n yoo f’lt.” He mumbled, which made Cass smile through tear-decorated eyes. “Aff’d do it all ober ‘gain for ‘nother da’.”

Cass looked at him, wanting to kiss his lips or even his poor chin, but she wanted Raph to be able to feel the first kiss she gave him, so she settled for kissing his knuckles, then taking his hand and pulling him off the chair. “I’ll take you home.”

And Cass walked Raph out of the mansion, but not without pausing to kick Dr. Noe in the groin.

The entire ride home the two were quiet, with Raph hugging Cass gently and rested his cheek on the top of her helmet. Cass let guilt bubble in her gut; it wasn’t fair. She just wanted to go on a nice date with him, but instead he got kidnapped and nearly lost his teeth all thanks to her. It just wasn’t fair.

The motorcycle slowed to a stop in the sewers, right outside the lair’s entrance, but Raph did not get up, but continued to hug her.

Cass shut off the bike and put a hand over his. “I’m so sorry.”

Raph shook his head, glad he could still his jaw now and could talk clearly. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m still glad I went out with you. Maybe next time we’ll just have pizza and watch a movie at your place or something.”

The kunoichi blinked at the words “next time,” and she smiled, full of hope. “Y-Yeah. Sure. Next time.”

Raph smiled, but it was still hard to let her go. After what he had been through tonight, he wasn’t ready to be alone just yet. He sucked in some air, then asked nervously, “C-Can we snuggle before you go? Please?”

Cass turned in her seat letting Raph continue to hug her from the front rather than the back. She hugged him back and nodded. “Of course.”

She could feel the breath leave his chest, released over her answer. Cass smiled, kissed where the dart had pricked his chin, and Raph stared at her in amazement as she got off the motorcycle and held out a hand to him. “Lead the way, big guy.”

Raph smiled, took her hand, and they walked into the lair and into his bedroom, where they snuggled quietly until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Chapter Text

Big Mama’s masked assistant stood in the elevator tall and strong, silent and ignoring the bird. With a ding, the doors opened, the soldier walked in, and they closed. It was only then that Venus took off her mask and spoke. “You called for me, Mama?”

The purple-skinned lady turned in her chair, smiled, and said airily, “Happy Birthday, my darling.”

Venus smiled and hurried to her. Big Mama opened her arms and they hugged, the women giggling over their love for each other.

“My little sunshine,” Big Mama marveled as Venus sat on her desk, cross-legged and her beautiful turquoise face smiling at her mother. “Eighteen years old… where has the time gone?”

Venus shrugged.

The elevator opened again, this time bringing Gus, who ran in on all fours as the doors shut, a wrapped box in his mouth. “Happy Birthday, sis!” 

“Thanks, Gus.” Venus said, accepting the box. She pulled the ribbon and ripped the paper apart, and she awed at the pair of books about crystals and gemstones in the box. “Whoa, these are perfect! Thank you!”

“So, do you have any plans for your special day, my cutesy noodle?” Big Mama asked.

Venus smiled and rubbed the back of her neck. “I dunno… Think I’ll just hang out in town, maybe skate… Al says she has a surprise for me, wants me to come by for dinner.”

“Sounds like fun, my dear!”

“We’re still doing our Gotcha Day dinner on Saturday, right?” Venus checked.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Big Mama assured.

“Tell the story, Mama!” Gus begged, resting his big head on Venus’s lap, his tail wagging.

“Gus, I have told the story many times…”

“Please, Mama.” Venus begged, the two making matching puppy-dog eyes. “For my birthday…”

Big Mama giggled. “Very well. It all started fourteen years ago, the day my precious champion was stolen from me…”

“Precious little creatures…” Lou muttered, looking down at the drastically different turtles than the ones he first saw in the purple box. He scooped them up and declared, “I will save you little turtles!”

Seeing the howling, roaring animals in trouble, and detecting that he had enough time to save them, too, Lou smashed a button and freed them all, unaware of also opening a crate in the very back of the lab that held a turtle hatchling, a northern diamondback terrapin that was four years old, according to the zoo Draxum stole her from.

The tiny terrapin blinked her tiny eyes up at her hero and smiled. She stepped closer and rubbed her cheek against his exposed ankle, but the action star was too distracted by the bite his rat friend gave him to notice her or her affection.

“Why you little-!”

Ooze started to drip from the on-fire lab. The man and the toddler turtle were splashed, and while Lou painfully turned into a rat, the turtle doubled in size and her limbs expanded.

“NO!” Draxum’s voice echoed as the lab exploded and debris fell.

The poor turtle didn’t have hard-working gargoyles to carry her to safety, or a loving father to save her. Instead, a large slab of concrete fell and cracked her shell, but the concrete fell on two rocks before it could fully crush her. Hurt and scared, the four-year-old stayed hidden, until there was nothing but ash and silence.

The terrapin slowly crawled from out of her tiny cave, her shell aching from her crack, but luckily nothing was exposed and the fire had died. 

The child looked around. There were cliffs, and there was a mystic forest made of mushrooms. The turtle sensed the mushrooms were the safest, so she crawled out from the ashes and began her slow, painful journey.

Three days after Big Mama’s rage over her Battle Nexus subdued, she sat in her office coldly, looking over her city, wondering where her precious champion could be.

Gus laid his big head in her lap, his eyes up at her, hoping to help. Big mama rested a hand on the top of his head, between his floppy ears.

Gus lightly kicked a bone to her high heels, whimpering quietly.

Big Mama smiled at her loyal dog picked up the bone. “Let’s go for a walk.”

The spider yokai had to admit that it was nice to forget her troubles and leave her empire behind for a little bit, in the mushroom forest as she threw the bone as far as she could and watched Gus retrieve it and bring it to her feet. Big Mama smiled as her hound ran over some hills, searching for the bone, but he did not instantly come back.

While searching, he found a weak, sleeping, hurt turtle by a tree. He whimpered and licked it, but it did not respond. Gus stepped back, picked up the bone, and ran to Big Mama and placed the bone at her feet. “Mama! There’s a hurt kappa!”

Big Mama raised a brow. “Show me.”

Gus led the way to the tree and Big Mama awed and rested on her knees before the terrapin.

“Oh, you poor dear.” She cooed, hands hovering over the injured and starving turtle. 

“Is it dead?”

“No, Gus, it’s alive, but it needs help.” Big Mama carefully touched the turtle, feeling her dry skin, and she carefully scooped her up. “My my, she’s no bigger than my hand. We shall take her home and call the doctor. Take us home, Gus, quickly!”

The tiny terrapin laid on her belly so the doctor could work on her shell, giving her bandages and medicine to fight her infection.

“She’s lucky.” The doctor said. “She’s a fighter. She’s dehydrated, malnourished, and has a fever thanks to her infection, but with enough medicine and food and water, I think she’ll pull through. It’s a good thing you found her when you did.” She added, petting Gus’s head.

“I’ve never seen a turtle yokai quite like her before.” Big Mama muttered, adjusting her glasses. “Any idea where she came from? The aquatic clans? The swamp? The mountains?”

“Hard to say, ma’am.” The goat said, petting her long beard in thought. “I could run a few tests on her blood for you and see if I can find a match. She definitely has some subtle differences between herself and your average kappa, but she may just be special.”

“She’s definitely special.” Big Mama giggled. “Very well, take what you need to learn all you can.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And the goat readied a small needle to take a sample of the turtle’s blood.

Big Mama sat in her rocking chair, cradling the recovering toddler. She had grown quickly in the last two weeks. Now she acted more like a baby, crying and laughing and eating. Despite her nickname, Big Mama never saw herself having children - all the yokai were her children and her’s to look after and control - but having such a strong, beautiful little girl in her arms, snuggling close and depending on her to survive…

The walkie-talkie buzzed. “The doctor wishes to call you, Mum.”

Big Mama clicked the button. “Put her through.”

There was silence, and then the phone rang. Big Mama propped it between her cheek and shoulder as she rocked the healing turtle. “This is Big Mama.”

“Hello, ma’am, i just wanted to give you my report on the terrapin’s blood.”

“Go ahead.”

“It’s quite astonishing. She’s not quite like the other kappa samples we have on file. Similar, yes, but there’s something different. I know this will sound crazy, but your turtle appears to be ever so slightly more human.”

“Really?” Big Mama asked, looking down at the sleeping terrapin in her arms, doing some thinking.

“Yes. She’s definitely a northern diamondback terrapin, will most likely grow to be your height, and her shell seems to be healing very well. She’ll probably have a scar, but nothing more there. I’d be happy to give her a check up tomorrow to make sure her infection is gone, if it pleases you.”

“It would, thank you. I also have another request.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Compare her blood to the sample you have of Lou Jitsu.”

“E-Excuse me?”

“You still have the blood sample of Lou Jitsu, do you not?”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Then compare her to Lou,” Big Mama said coldly. “Then give me an answer when you come tomorrow.”

“Uh… yes, ma’am. I will see you tomorrow.”

And Big Mama hung up. 

The days lined up. It was a very long shot, but there had to be no coincidence that the same day Lou disappeared, Draxum’s lab was destroyed, and this turtle was injured.

Big Mama had heard about Draxum’s lab the day it happened. That was what helped fuel her rage during her three-day tantrum, believing her rival had stolen her champion and was responsible for his demise.

Was it possible that the turtle in her arms was the only thing that remained of her precious champion?

“I don’t know how you knew, but you were right!” The goat doctor marveled. “She’s a direct descendant of Lou Jitsu! Their DNA has too many similarities! It’s incredible! She’s his d-…”

“Don’t.” Big Mama growled. “She is not his daughter.”

The doctor cowered slightly over her coldness, the woman holding the toddler closer to her hip. “She is my daughter.”

“Oh. Oh, I see!” The goat cleared her throat. “C-Congratulations. Well, if you should need my assistance again…” And the doctor excused herself.

Big Mama looked down at the terrapin, who was looking up at her with shining eyes.

The spider yokai smiled. “You are mine to care for now, my daughter. And I shall call you… Venus, for you shine as bright as the sun in the darkest places.”

“You were so strong, my little warrior.” Big Mama cooed, concluding her story. “As sorry as I am that you had to overcome so much so early in life, I couldn’t have been more proud of you. You’ve proven that you can handle any challenges that come your way, and that you are my most prized possession.”

Venus smiled as Big Mama cupped her cheek. “Thank you, Mama. I love you, and I will do whatever I can to make you proud.”

“I know you will.” Big Mama sighed and rested her hands in her lap. “Alright, now go have fun, birthday girl.”

Venus bowed, put on her mask, and left the office.

Big Mama sat at her desk, looking at her monitors that covered her windows, when the doors opened and closed. 

“You called.”

Big Mama smiled at the familiar voice. “Draxy, how good to see you again.”

“I wish I could say the same thing.” The masked alchemist said sarcastically. “Now what is it you want?”

“Oh, where’s your bimbly manners?”

“I’ll find them after I find the f-…”

“Mama! Mama!” A small door to the right opened and a little turtle girl came running out, wearing a pink dress and holding a tulip. “Lookie what I found!”

Draxum stared at the turtle who hopped up onto Big Mama’s lap and showed her the flower. The tulip then showed its tongue, and it and Venus blew raspberries to the tune of a song.

Big Mama giggled and gave her daughter a squeeze. “Oh, what a silly billy. Now, you know not to bother your mother when she’s in her office~.”

“I know, I’m sorry, but I thought it’d make you laugh. It made me laugh!” And Venus blew raspberries with the tulip again and giggled.

Big Mama smiled and pinched Venus’s cheek sharply, making the child wince. “It did, but now it’s time to go. And please, do not come into Mama’s office unless called. I’ll see you soon, alright, dear?”

“Okay.” Venus slunk off Big Mama’s lap and went to the door, just before leaving, she said sadly, “I love you.”

“I love you more.” Big Mama replied, and Venus smiled and left.

Draxum crossed his arms over his chest, his eye twitching with anger. “Congratulations.” He said bitterly.

Big Mama giggled as she turned into her true form. “Oh, is itsy bitsy Draxy mad?”

“That warrior is mine…”

“Ah ah ah, Lou was mine.” Big Mama said, shaking a finger at him before narrowing her numerous red eyes at him. “And you stole him from me.”

Draxum growled. “Is that why you called me here? To show off your new prize and to kill me?”

“Heavens no.” Big Mama corrected. “I have eyes and ears all over the city, old friend, and I couldn’t help but overhear your plan to create warriors, ferocious beasts that would always win it’s battles… how do you plan to manage that?”

“Do I even want to know why you care?”

“Because, if your plan peaks my interest, I can perhaps look into funding your research and help you rebuild your lab… for a price, of course.”

“You can take your funds and shove it.” Draxum snapped. “If you wanted warriors for your pathetic Battle Nexus show, you could have had your chance when I asked you to lend me your champion. But you were too slow and too foolish to see my potential. Personally, I think Big Mama’s losing her touch.”

The spider hissed at the sheep.

“I will continue my work on my own.” Draxum said, turning and letting his cape flap by his hooves. “And consider my only living specimen a fair trade for your precious champion.”

“You cannot keep your secrets forever, Draxy.” Big Mama warned.

The alchemist ignored the spider and entered the elevator, staring coldly at Big Mama until the doors shut.

“Happy Mutation Day, boys!” Splinter called, holding out a birthday cake with four candles.

Moved into their new lair, situation and at home, no one was going to pass up the chance to celebrate the anniversary of their family being born. Everyone had their own birthdays to celebrate, but after the reveal of how the turtles and Splinter were created, the rat thought it would be a good idea to finally acknowledge the day and celebrate it; it was his way of trying to tell the boys how grateful he was that they were all made.

“Happy Mutation Day!” The turtles said and blew out their candles.

“Ah yes, fourteen years ago today, my greatest creations were formed…” Draxum tried to say, but then Leo interrupted him.

“… and then you got your butt kicked by a rat.”

“Technically he wasn’t a rat when he kicked my butt.” Draxum mumbled.

“Mm, mm! This cake is goo-oo-d!” Mikey sang as he ate his slice.

“Thank you, Orange.” Splinter said. “Who says your dad can’t bake?”

“Says the price tags on this box.” Donnie said sarcastically, holding up the cake box that made it clear the dessert was bought at a grocery store.

“Shut up and eat, Purple.”

The family laughed as they ate the cake, enjoying the fun new tradition.

Draxum looked down at his slice of cake, his ears drooping in thought. Was now a good time to tell them? No, he had just now made his way onto good terms with the boys, and he still had a long way to go. Maybe after some time… or maybe this was one secret to take to the grave.