#however i have seen the ending and ughhhhh i wanna get it so badly

[foxstens]

maybe rubicon isnt that bad

[thenerdytomboynewb96]

Samantha Allan Park Ch. #45

Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to “TMNT Out of the Shadows” DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC’s and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. Thank you.

Chapter #45

*The same day, Monday June 8th, 2015. A little after 12:50p.m. in the lair*

The fight had ended at 12:50p.m. The turtles wanted to head straight home, but Sam knew that she couldn’t run from Chief Vincent forever. Her turtle brothers however were not going to allow her to turn herself over so easily. They convinced her to at least return with them to the lair and have a full on discussion with everyone who played a role in the events that had occurred that day.

When the group of 5 returned to the lair, they met up with April, Casey, Jay, and Vern. All three men instantly began talking about how ‘badass’ they were during their fights (after Jay rushed over to hug his sister, while also mildly panicking at her injuries, and then further checking to make sure she was truly okay). Jay and Casey talked about how they teamed up and out-smarted the giant mutants they were up against, and Vern was thrilled to announce that he had taken out a Foot soldier all by himself by jumping down from a large freight shipping crate. While Raph was impressed with what these guys had accomplished, he was getting fed up that Sam kept standing up from her chair and that he had to keep gently pushing her back down to stay seated. She had stood up for the 5th time by the time he was fed up and was ready for the conversation to get back on track.

“Alright already! You guys did great, and we appreciate it, but can we please talk about how we’re going to handle THIS?” he emphasized as he shoved Sam back down into her chair for the 6th time. Sam plopped down and groaned as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Ughhhhh can I please get up so I can use the bathroom?” Raph crossed his arms and looked down at her. “I don’t buy it” he huffed. “Raph, the main bathroom is right around that corner. She’s knows that if she tries to leave that I have access to all the tunnels traps right here” Donnie said gently (but also in a tone so that she knew that even though he was facing Raph he knew Sam would get the hint). “I don’t want to escape, I just wanna pee!” Sam whined, her face literally on the table as she leaned forward in her chair. “Fine” Raph gave in. Sam then quickly scoot back in her chair and rushed to stand up. She made sure to glare at Raph before she practically ran towards the bathroom. “Don’t give me that face!” Raph called after her. “If you don’t like my face then look at my ass!” she retorted. Mikey quickly cupped his hand to his mouth to hide his laughter, but Raph smacked him across the back of the head anyway. “My sister everyone” Jay said as he shook his head and laughed. “So, you guys knew she would have turned herself in back there to, huh?” he asked. The four sighed and slumped down into the remaining chairs at the table. “If we hadn’t boxed her in then she would have walked right over towards Vincent without even thinking about it!” Donnie scream whispered, slamming his pointer finger into the table as a means to emphasize his frustration. “We have to come up with something” Mikey said softly with saddened eyes, “we can’t just let her throw her life away.” “Casey, what are the odds of Vincent meeting with Sam and discussing everything that happened the other night and why she attacked the police the way she did?” Leo asked. Casey bit his lip and rubbed his hands down his neck. “Before tonight I would have said she didn’t have a chance at all for that to happen, but after seeing how you guys saved the city and possibly the entire world, she may give her a chance to explain. I can definitely talk to her, and Jay, April, and Jade can aide me as well. If you’re willing that is” Casey said as he now turned and faced April. The woman began nodding her head as soon as she heard her name. “Of course. She’s been through hell, and Vincent needs to understand that before she makes her final decision in how to deal with Sam.” “So it’s settled,” Raph added, “we keep things down low and avoid telling Sam because who knows what she’ll try to sneak by us. You guys talk to Vincent, we keep her busy down here until the time comes for Sam to meet with the chief.” “She has to rest up anyway. Her shoulder needs to properly heal, and her hands were cut up pretty badly as well” Donnie added. “We’ll use that, and also testing out her powers as reasons as to why we want to keep her down here.” “One more thing” Mikey added. All eyes were now on the youngest in the room. Leo couldn’t explain it, but somehow he knew just what his baby brother was going to say, and he agreed with it wholeheartedly. “Whenever Vincent decides to meet Sam, we HAVE to be allowed to join her. The two don’t meet in any way unless the four of us are right behind her” Mikey demanded, using his hands to speak the same way Donnie had. Donnie and Raph looked at their youngest, and then right towards their oldest brother. They waited for him to state why this was a bad idea, but Leo just shrugged and smiled. “Couldn’t have said it better myself” he chuckled.

Just then Sam had exited the bathroom. She looked up and could tell that everyone was purposefully making sure to avoid eye contact with her, which obviously meant that they had all been talking about her. She rolled her eyes as she continued to walk towards the table. “Geez, you use the bathroom once and you turn into Medusa” she stated as she walked back and slumped down into her chair. “Well then you should be honored to see yourself as such a lovely lady” Mikey said cheerfully, thinking he was complimenting his friend. Sam squinted her eyes and formed an odd smile as she turned towards her friend. “Mikey, who’s Medusa?” she asked. He shrugged. “I dunno, some goddess right?” Sam nodded. “If that’s all you know, then I’ll take what you just said as a compliment” Sam said with a smile. “Exactly!” Mikey announced, crossing his arms with pride.

“Well we don’t want you turning men into stone so you’re going to relax down here” Jay said as he pat his sister on the shoulder and stood up. “Saw that coming” Sam mumbled. “And hey look at this” Donnie said as he held the girls hand to her face, “you’re also injured! And this isn’t your only injury either! So that means you get to head over to the med lab. Looks like you were staying here anyway” he said with too much enthusiasm as he pulled Sam along with him, even if she was groaning all the way.

With that, the turtles gave Donnie space to check on Sam (who ended up nerding out as Donnie tested some of his latest medical tech on her). Each of the remaining brothers went off on their own for a while. Meanwhile, their human friends up above were working towards arranging that meeting like they discussed. Sam had no idea this was in the works, and that’s just how they wanted it to be. Jade and Casey talked to Vincent first and provided evidence (with Jay sharing his own personal stories as well) as to how Sam ended up in her current situation. He included details of how they grew up and the tragedies they faced and how that led her to the turtles who had continued to help straighten her out. April also joined in and explained the turtles back story (after gaining permission from the turtles and Splinter to do so) and helped fill in missing details about what had happened that the turtles cared for Sam so much, why they were working together to break into headquarters that night, and why Sam had reacted the way that she did. After 4 days of discussions and research on the events that had occurred recently, Vincent finally decided that she would meet with Sam with the turtles behind her.

*4 days later, Friday June 12th, 2015 at 9p.m. at Police Headquarters. The hallway right outside the chiefs office*

The group of 5 were updated that Vincent was willing to meet with Sam and that she was kind enough to let the turtles accompany her. However, the turtles needed to remain silent and let Sam do the talking on her own. If they wanted to remain in the room with her, then they needed to remain calm. She wanted to meet with them in a private location where she could record the conversation, so she made arrangements for the group to meet her in her office once the sun would be going down. She sent the majority of her officer’s home so that the group would have the walk of the building without exposure of being seen by new faces. So here they were. Sam was sitting calmly outside the office. The brothers…not so much.

Raph was pacing as he always did, crunching a hand weight as he did so. Leo kept tapping his feet. Donnie was holding a small cellular device in his hand which he kept tapping against the palm of his other hand. Mikey was constantly twiddling his thumbs together. Sam was about to say something to them, but Jade had interrupted her thoughts as she carefully exited the office. “The chief is ready to see you now” she stated. The four boys shot right up and got into their typical formation: two brothers in front of Sam, two brothers behind.

The group entered the office. The boys stood a little further towards the back while Sam took a seat in the front. She was hooked up with patches and wires in order to conduct a lie detector test. The man reviewing the results was a member of the NYFS who had already seen the turtles before and had sworn long ago never to reveal a bit of information about them to anyone. Chief Vincent smiled as she noticed how the boys were respecting her wishes. “The four of you may sit down as well. I said you couldn’t talk over top of her, I didn’t say you had to hide yourselves.” The four nodded and then assumed their same positions. Mikey sat on Sam’s left and Leo on her right. Raph sat behind Mikey, and Donnie right behind Leo.   “So,” the chief said as she stared right at Sam’s eyes, “I’m going to run through things from the very beginning, and I’m going to ask you some questions to see if they match what other voices have told me.” Sam was silent, but she nodded to show she understood. “What happened July 28th 2010?” Sam pursed her lips together before she spoke. “I lost everything, everything except for my brother.” “How?” “The Foot. They killed everyone.” “Who-” “My siblings, my family” Sam cut in. Vincent nodded her head. “I see. And you were 12 at the time. I can see how that would lead you to lash out and commit the crimes that you did” Vincent said as she held her hands together on her desk. “I see you’ve been looking at my record” Sam stated. “You have a record?” Mikey asked, slight shock in his voice. His eyes went wide and he then turned towards the chief. “Oh, I’m so sorry-” “It’s okay. Obviously your friend never told you about her criminal days. I’d advise you explain your thought process now.” Sam gulped and sighed. “You know how I bring you guys with me to explore the city? Well, it took me a few tries before I became good at it.” “Oh” the chief said with wide eyes, “you’ve included them in your breaking and entering?” Now Sam was starting to get pissed. She responded with more sass and attitude than she had meant to. “Yes. Because my family was dead, my brother was never around because he was being manipulated to work for the Foot, and every friend or anything close I ever had completed abandoned me because they knew why my family died but decided to hide the truth from me until it almost ruined my life even further. So yes, when you have nothing to look forward to, you find something that makes you feel alive again, something risky that makes you feel like you’re fighting back even though you don’t know what you’re fighting for, something that-” Just then she felt a hand from each brother on either her arm or her shoulder. She closed her eyes and didn’t open them until she had calmed herself down. “Yes. I snuck into places because I had nothing, and that’s what gave me purpose, like I was looking for any type of sign. Eventually that lead me to these guys, and for once I had something to look forward to.” “And that was?” Sam looked the chief right in the eye. “Living life to the fullest with my family.” Vincent couldn’t help but notice the small smiles that were being fought to be kept hidden away from the brothers as they listened to the girl talk. “Well, it seems these four have helped keep you out of trouble at least since after those 4 incidents of us catching you breaking into various buildings, the only things we have left on your record are all your different therapy sessions. Besides for medical and academic records, nothing comes back up under your name until last summer when you apparently joined the Foot clan. Explain that to me.” Leo and Mikey sensed Sam clenching her fists under the table. She was obviously growing frustrated from having to discuss some of the most depressing and most difficult times of her life all at this one very moment. “My brother told me to leave the city and run away because Shredder wanted me as a recruit. But I knew that leaving would lead to Jay’s death, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.” Chief Vincent tilted her head to the side. “Why exactly did Shredder want you of all people?” “Look at who’s sitting around me” Sam said matter of factly. She felt a light nudge by Leo, meaning she needed to politely answer the question again. “Shredder found out I was friends with these guys, so he demanded that I either come work for him, or Jay and I both perish. At the time plans were already being made for a rebellion to occur within the Foot clan, so I joined thinking I would be in and out quickly. Unfortunately I was in there for an entire month before the plans were put into action.”

“And that’s where these four come in, right? You became closer to them because they helped save you and everyone else.” The room was silent as everyone waited for a remark from Sam. Without moving their entire bodies, the four brothers slightly turned so they could look at Sam, confused and worried at her long pause. Finally, she figured out how she wanted to respond. “It…it was a lot more than them just showing up to save me…” she muttered. She then looked up and saw that based on the chief’s expression, she was obviously waiting for Sam to elaborate on that response. This was all really beginning to stress her out. Every dark turn her life had ever faced was being relived right now, right in this moment, and it was beginning to pull her into a brand new dark hole in itself from the upsetting emotions she was experiencing. She then felt Mikey place his leg right next to hers, and even this gentlest type of physical contact brought her back to reality. “I had just gained their trust, they had just started seeing me as family. And what happens? They see me working with the Foot clan. They felt betrayed, I felt like an idiot, I got into a fist fight with one of them and could have possibly killed him, and then the rest told me to leave.” All four brothers looked off to the side, remembering these dark days and regretting so much about how everything was handled. “All in all, I betrayed my family and once again I felt like I had lost everything. So when they showed up unexpectedly, it changed everything.” Sam then looked back up at the chief, hoping she had said enough to answer the chiefs question, and she could tell by Vincent’s expression that she had done so. “Alright. So explain to me how you gained these powers then. What caused them?” “A mix of Shredder’s experiments and also me dying” Sam said straightforward. This caught the chief off guard. “Excuse me?” “Oh, you didn’t know? Shredder was constantly testing mutagenic chemicals on humans and-” “Not that. You, you died?” “Oh yeah. Saving this one” she said, shaking her hand with her thumb pointed towards Mikey, who looked embarrassed as he was being pointed at. “But it’s okay because he used a special type of mutagen that brought me back to life. It gave me powers in regards to controlling and manipulating wind while also giving me enhanced strength. And yes, that’s what you saw at headquarters the other night, an example of what those powers can do-” “Objection!” Donnie interrupted, the thoughts in his head overriding his actions. His brothers were all staring at him with wide eyes, hoping that whatever he had to say wouldn’t get them or Sam in trouble. Sam however was smirking as she turned around to face Donnie. “Objection?” she asked. “Um, I just had something to add, if that’s allowed” Donnie stated, attempting to sound confident as he first looked at Sam and then at the chief. The chief nodded. “Alright, go on.”

“Sam gained her powers because of the mutagen that was injected into her body due to circumstances involving her time with the Foot, but we’ve been monitoring them as best as we can. We’ve learned a great deal about how they work and what she is able to do with them, but we also just recently learned that this mutagen zones in on the users temporal lobe in the brain, meaning it can affect memories and emotions. So when she attacked the other night at headquarters-” “It was out of her control” the chief interrupted. “It’s obvious she has an emotional connection to all of you, so based on what you just said, when her family was threatened she took action.” “Couldn’t control the action at the time” Sam mumbled, “but I can now. I would never harm anybody like that on purpose.” “How do you know your emotional senses are now stable?” the chief asked. “She controlled herself during our fight with Krang” Leo added. “Mikey got caught, but Sam controlled herself and helped us save him, rather than letting her protective emotions take over and just act without thinking.” ‘So she was with them’ the chief thought to herself. She was still curious and a bit worried about what risks the girl in front of her could cause to the city, but it seemed she was with a crowd that could maintain control of her. This played a major role in the chief making her final decisions about what to do with Sam.

“Alright, so here’s the deal” the chief began, “we have records of Sam, and we have records of you. Sam’s were already on file, but all my information about the four of you is pretty new. I’ve seen video files that were hidden away from the night the Foot fell, and many ex Foot in the NYFS told stories of how they were stopped because of you guys and how if it weren’t for you, Shredder would have gotten away with a lot worse in the past. As for you” she said as she now stared directly at Sam, “while you have a record, you’ve experienced things that no person should ever have to go through, let alone a child. I’m not saying that makes your early actions okay, but I see where your mind was. That and the fact that your brother eventually convinced you to clean up your act and you’re now in programs that positively represent our city, it’s obvious you’re no longer into regular criminal activity. I’m not exactly thrilled to hear you sneak into buildings after dark, but it also sounds like you’re also doing so with these four who obviously have an incredible impact on you. Oh, I read all the letters people sent to the four of you, and if you’re ever interested we’ll make sure you see them” she said with a small smile. “SO, because of your improving records and emotionally reasonable life decisions you’ve made in the past, and because of the good work your friends have done to keep this city safe, I’m letting you off with a warning.” All 5 sets of eyes were now staring wide at the chief. She smirked. “Even though you broke many obvious laws in regards to harming officers, you yourself have helped keep this city safe by taking tremendous risks to your body that aided you in stopping Shredder when you probably could work towards taking over the city yourself. So, as long as you follow my rules, then you’re safe.” “And, what exactly are your rules?” Sam asked cautiously.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the NYPD and the NYFS are officially partners now, so anytime you hear anything about this Krang or Shredder or god knows what else will come for us, you ALL need to report your findings to us. In order for our parties to respect each other, we have to trust each other and work together.” The group nodded, assuming this wasn’t such a bad rule. “I’m going to turn a blind eye to your group sneaking into places since from what I’ve understood none of you have ever stolen anything anywhere you’ve gone. As the cities heroes that hide in the shadows, we’ll pretend we don’t know anything as long as you don’t break any rules outside of sneaking in.” Again, the group nodded their heads. “My final rule, you all need to send updates to the NYFS about Sam’s powers and any progress you make in better understanding them.” The chief could sense the tension in the room once she stated her final rule. “Look,” she said as she made sure to face each person in the room at least once as she spoke, “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but if for whatever reason something goes wrong I need to know so that I can keep the people within this city safe. I have no idea what exactly could go wrong, but that’s also because I don’t know anything about these powers except for what you told me seconds ago. I’m fine with you conducting whatever tests you’re planning since the other day you made it clear that you have enough tech to do so, but we need those records after you’ve collected them. If that fails to happen, then any tests deemed important will be conducted by the NYFS. Plus, this allows the rest of us to understand what’s going on in case, somehow, Sam seems off to certain extents. The way I’m explaining it sounds horrible, but I hope you all can understand what I’m getting at.”

Leo nodded his head. “We get what you’re saying. Donnie?” he asked since this last rule would affect him the most out of his brothers. “I get it. Message received loud and clear” Donnie stated. He wasn’t thrilled with basically having to share information about what type of tech he had or would be using since this would be revealed in the tests that would be completed, but if it meant keeping Sam safe then these reveals would be worth it. “Alright” the chief said as she stood up with a smile, “in that case you’re all free to go. Oh, and I assume we’ll see you all tomorrow at this same time down around Battery Park.” The boys looked back and forth at each other in confusion. “Battery Park, ma’am?” Leo asked. Her face scrunched as she stared back at him. “Well yes, it’s one of the few places you can go in order to reach the Statue of Liberty. That’s where your ceremony is being held.” “Our ceremony?” Raph questioned. “Yes, where you’re all getting your keys to the city. Did you not tell them?” the chief asked as she looked down at Sam. Sam was trying her best not to laugh at the shocked expressions on the boys faces. “Heh, no” she stated bluntly, playfully curling up in her chair as a chorus of ‘SAMMMM!’ ‘Aw come on!’ and other claims were made aloud. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Leo asked in a mix of frustration and excitement. “Because your reactions are priceless. I wanted to see if I could go all the way up until tomorrow night before you realized. But this reveal is just as awesome” she said as all the brothers started nudging her. “We’ll be there and ready right at 9” Leo reassured to the chief. “Excellent.” “Oh, just to be sure-” “The only ones that will be there are your immediate human family and the officers who helped you enter the building” the chief said with a smile, knowing what Leo was thinking before he could speak. “Anything else I can answer for you before you go?” she asked. Leo paused, and then a huge smile grew on his face. “Can we bring our dad?”

*The next night, Saturday June 12th, 2015. 9p.m. at the Statue of Liberty monument*

And that was exactly where the group was now. Donnie had driven the truck and followed Jay and Casey’s cars all the way towards Battery Park where the group then boarded a ferry that took them over to the Statue of Liberty monument site. There the four were given their keys to the city as a small ceremony was held to congratulate and thank the turtles for their hard work. Chief Vincent stood and spoke from a speaking stand as she gave a short speech about who the turtles were and all that they had done for the city. All the participating officers stood in rows in front of the small stage where the turtles were now standing tall and proud. In the crowd stood Vern, and on his right Jade, and then Jay, Sam, April, and Casey on the far end. Splinter had also joined the group and was currently attending the event, but he could sense that multiple female officers were a bit ‘freaked out’ by his appearance as a giant rat, so in respect to them he decided to find a comfortable spot where he could bask in the warmth from the lights above and made it his own. He was still in clear and close eye sight of his boys, and that’s all that mattered. As the brothers stood on the stage, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey were all facing towards the chief as she spoke while Raph was currently facing outwards at the crowd of people who were here congratulating him and his brothers, something he never thought would ever happen. Chief Vincent was now coming towards the end of her speech. He then began to smirk as he saw Sam keep wiping at her eyes. Man she was more emotional than she allowed people to know and realize about her.

“For your incredible valor within this community, and for your uncompromising cooperation with this agency, I present to you the keys to the city. A symbol of our appreciation, respect, and for our continued partnership. To you, brothers: Leonardo” Leo had been staring out towards his father. Knowing that his dad was here to see the progress that he and his brothers had made in keeping the city safe, and in working together as a team based on everything their father had ever taught them, this was one of the greatest honors he could ever truly receive. He then looked up at the chief as he heard her announce his name and he shot her an appreciative smile, displaying how thankful he truly was for this experience. “Raphael” Raph shot a similar smile towards the chief and then shone this smile towards the crowd, specifically his human family. It all started with April, and then Vern came along and helped them (no matter how ‘macho’ he tried to be) and then came Sam and Jay, and now even Casey seemed to care and want to help lookout for the group, and Raph would be a total liar if he said he didn’t feel any type of bromance with the hockey maniac that had joined their group.   “Donatello” Donnie had been watching his brothers as their names were called and was grateful just to see the two of them calm and at peace for once. While he was excited to receive this honor, right now it was his brothers that were all on his mind. Family always came first, and to see his oldest brothers so happy meant more to him than any key to the city ever could. He then turned in time to see his youngest brother have his name called, and he chuckled at the way his baby brother reacted. “Michelangelo” Mikey had been staring at all his oldest brothers the way Donnie had. As a younger brother, all he could ever want was for his oldest 3 brothers to feel happy and at peace, so seeing their reactions made his heart happier than anything else. However, he was still the baby brother, so of course his reaction was still very comical compared to Donnie’s more mature and nonchalant glanced smile to the crowd. Mikey heard his name and he whipped his body forward and his hand shot up to give a quick wave to the all those watching.

“Uh, last names?” the chief whispered to the brothers. Each of their faces went blank as they realized they had never EVER thought of this, and they also began to wonder how the heck they had never once thought of this. Donnie was about to make a comment when they all heard someone coughing, and possibly trying to speak from the crowd. “cough, cough, ama, cough, toe” Sam coughed. “I’m sorry?” the chief questioned. “Ahem” Sam said, lightly beating her hand to her chest to make it seem like she was actually coughing. “I said their last name is Hamato” she said as she held her arms down below in front of her waist and twiddled her thumbs. She then turned towards Splinters direction, as if gaining his approval. “Right Sensei?” Splinter stroked his furred beard between his claws. “Hmmm Hamato, as in the great ninja Hamato Yoshi…yes, that seems like a nice last name for our family. It blends together quite well.” He then noticed Sam giving him a thumbs up with a large smile on her face, and the old rat couldn’t help but laugh as he shot her a thumbs up in return.

“In that case, to the Hamato brothers, congratulations” the chief announced as a round of applause pursued for the brothers. People then began to disperse and talk amongst each other. Sam was smiling and watching over the brothers, who were now excitedly talking amongst each other, as she felt a light nudge in her right side. “Well, looks like someone had to copy me, huh?” April teased. “Psh, you named all of them, it’s only fair that I get to give them one last name to share” she said as she nudged the woman back. “She’s got a point” Casey added. April then teasingly shot him a confused look. “Okay, who’s side are you on?” she asked. Sam noticed the obvious fliting going on between these two, so she turned to talk to Jay, only to notice that he was talking to Jade and Vern, so she decided it was time to move forward and congratulate her brothers. She took a few steps forward and hopped up onto the small stage. She then paused for a moment before deciding which brother to stand by and from which direction, trying not to obviously walk right over towards him first. She then shook her head, deciding that it didn’t matter if she walked towards him or any other brother, they were all family and that’s what mattered. “Wooooooooooow” she said as she leaned in close towards Leo’s chest, “these things really shine.” Leo gently pushed her back as he laughed. “Thank you for respecting me by not touching the key, but you’re invading my personal space.” “Dude, personal space doesn’t exist within this family” Sam teased. Leo shrugged. “Fair enough” he said as he threw his arm around her, although he did so in a way where Sam now had an arm basically covering her head so that she couldn’t stand up, similar to what he’d do if he were wrestling Mikey. “Okay! Okay I get it!” she said through laughs. Leo turned to face her once he let go. “Hamato Leonardo. I like it. It rolls off the tongue well” he said with a smile. “Right?! Like they all sound good when pronounced it the English format-” “English format?” Mikey questioned. “Yeah, like first name then last. Michelangelo Hamato. It sounds good right. But when said like how names are pronounced in Japan, last name then first, so Hamato Michelangelo-” “That sounds badass!” Mikey stated with wide excited eyes. Sam snapped her fingers and then pointed at him. “Exactly!” “What made you choose that name?” Donnie asked. “What, you don’t like it?” She groaned as a means to tease him. He chuckled in response. “Actually, I love it. It sounds perfect. I’m just curious why seaside.” “Why what?” Raph asked. “That’s what Hamato is known to stand for” Sam responded. “But I chose it more so because of who the name belonged to rather than its meaning. The Hamato clan was known to defend and protect each other until their final breath. They were true warriors who honored the codes of the ninja, but also strongly believed in protecting one another. They lived in the shadows, but they made sure the rest of their clan was their waiting for them when they came back. They didn’t go behind each other’s back and they didn’t betray each other. They were a true family” she said with pride. “Awww look at you getting all mushy” Raph said as he ruffled the girl’s hair, in which she playfully scowled at him in response.

“Oh that’s Sam alright” Jay said as he hopped up onto the small stage. “She has more emotions bottled up in here than she lets on” he said as he rubbed his knuckle against the top of her head. He then faced the four brothers. “Alright so I have three comments and questions for the four of you. First of all, congratulations Mr, Mr, Mr, and Mr. Hamato” he said as he waved his arm in front of him and then bowed. “Second. I wanted to ask this in front of all of you so that no one is keeping secrets from anyone, but this mostly pertains to you” he said as he now pointed straight at Donnie. “Me?” Donnie asked, pointing to himself. “Yes. So, there’s a project that various scientists in the NYFS are working on and we were curious to know if you’d be willing to join us. Now that the Mutanimals live in the sewers they’ve been exploring and found an awesome underground space that we can use for this project. Don’t worry, it’s nowhere near your lair, and the few guys working on this project have already seen all of you before and have sworn to keep their mouths shut. What do you guys think?” Leo paused for a second. He wanted to trust and assume this would all be safe, but he also needed to take precautions both as leader and also as the ‘always worried older brother,’ Leo looked at Jay and then back towards the rest of his brothers. “We all go and check it out the first time to see what precautions you’re taking and to meet the people you’re working with, and also to learn more about what this project is. That will determine whether he officially participates or not.” Leo then turned and faced Donatello. “Fair?” he questioned cautiously. Donnie nodded with a smile. “Fair.” Jay clapped and rubbed his hands together in excitement. “Awwww this is gonna be awesome! Alright, final comment. PLEASEEEEEE RSVP as soon as possible whether you guys are attending or not. We’re still trying to figure out how much food we need and we don’t know whether or not we’ll be sending plates up to you guys or not so once you know for sure please contact me” he said, holding his hands in front of him as if he was praying for their cooperation. Leo chuckled but shot him a puzzled look. “Um, sure. But what are we RSVPing for exactly?” Then the brothers paused as they began to realize what Jay was talking about. “Wait, you don’t mean what I think you mean!” Mikey exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. “But, how? No way!” Raph stated. Jay’s eyes were wide and his jaw dropped low. “Wait, are you guys serious?” he asked as he looked at the mix of puzzled and thrilled faces in front of him. “SAM!” While Jay had been talking to the boys, Sam had momentarily gone over and talked to Casey and Jade, but she was now returning to the stage as she heard her brother shout her name and then frantically wave her over. “What’s up?” Jay stood there with one arm crossed over his stomach and the opposite knuckle resting on his chin. He then stood in front of Sam so that she was turned so that her back was to the guys as he spoke to her. “Sam, you told the guys they’re invited to the wedding, right?” Because Sam was facing Jay she couldn’t see the jumping Michelangelo, the jaw dropped older duo, and the smiling-arms behind his head Donatello. “Of course I did!” Sam stated, waving her brother away. “Really? Tell me how they reacted” Jay said. “Well…they…huh” Sam said with her arms crossed as she looked up towards the sky as she tried to remember what she told the turtles…only to realize that she had not, and that meant they were all reacting right now behind her. Her eyes widened as she spun around and stared at the now calm brothers after getting their excitement out. “Awwwwww you boob you did that on purpose! You didn’t even record their reactions for me” she pouted. “Well that’s what you get for keeping us in the dark!” Donnie teased as he slapped his hands down on her pouting shoulders as he stood behind her. “I didn’t mean to” she mumbled, “I’ve just been very busy lately.” “So, what else haven’t you told us?” Raph asked. “Oh! Did she tell you she got accepted to Blair?” Mikey asked. This time Sam was able to see the boys animated reactions. Of course, right after they decided to tease her as much as possible. “Great, so that means we’re stuck with you for the next four years?” Raph asked. “Oh you’re stuck with me way longer than that!” Sam exclaimed. “Right, I keep forgetting you’re the headache that just keeps coming back over, and over, and over again” he said, rolling his wrist. “Exactly! Now even the strongest pill can get rid of me” Sam said with a beaming smile. “Man you suck at updating people on important info” Leo mocked. Sam opened her mouth to defend herself, but then gritted her teeth together. “It’s definitely not my strongest quality” she said, scooting back a bit in embarrassment. “Soooooo we’re going right?” Mikey asked his brothers. “How exactly will all of that work?” Donnie asked. “So we have two way mirrors that will cover the top pews, that way you guys can sneak in and no one can see you, and then the church we’re holding the wedding at has this huge back room where we’re holding the reception” Jay informed them. “We’ll have the few people who have actually met you guys keeping you up to date on what’s happening, and yes we’ll feed you” he said as he stared straight at Mikey. “Yeah, exactly as I told all of you” Sam said, before she was playfully shoved by all four brothers. “We’ll be there” Leo said to Jay. “WE WILL?!” Mikey basically shrieked. “Yes, we will. But only if you behave” Leo said as he now pointed his finger at his youngest brother. “What? I’m always…uhhh never mind” he backed off as he saw the glares from his three older brothers.

Just then Chief Vincent returned back to the stage to talk to the brothers. Sam and Jay walked back over towards the small crowd and continued to mingle with familiar faces. Of course, Sam was eavesdropping as best as she could even from the further away distance where she was currently standing. “I think you should give people more credit” the chief said, “they’ll accept you now.” ‘They already did, it’s your guys who didn’t’ Sam thought to herself. “You’re probably right” said Raph’s voice, “but uh, I think we’ll stick to the arrangement that we already had.” Sam smiled to herself, happy to hear that she would still get her quality time with the brothers. But then her face became more sunken and serious. ‘Wait…why am I so happy to hear that? I want them to be able to share their uniqueness and quirky abilities with others someday. What the hell?’ Sam thought to herself. “If you ever need us, April knows where to find us” Leo stated calmly. Sam didn’t know it, but the reason Leo had only mentioned April’s name was because he wanted to keep Sam away from having to talk to the cops (unless she was in danger of course) as much as possible based on everything that had recently happened. “Really? You could live a normal life, like the rest of us” the chief stated with enthusiasm. This made Sam role her eyes. Of course she wanted the turtles to experience all that life had to offer, but she also loved how different they were. But then she heard Raph say: “Normal? What fun is that?”

Sam then turned around when she heard this and stared at the brothers, but she did so at an angle so that she could see them as she stared through the crowd of people, but from their angles they could not see her (or so she thought, since one of them wearing orange had been keeping his eyes on her in secret the entire time without her knowing). The chief chuckled. “Well based on what I already know, you four have had some interesting adventures. So I can understand and respect you choosing your lifestyle over ours. Besides, it seems you found some great family members even if you do spend most of your time underground.” The boys smiled as they each looked out in the same direction that the chief now was at the family they had within the crowd. Mikey however was the only one that noticed Sam spin around once she saw the brothers gaze wash over the crowd. He chuckled. “Yeah, our extended family is pretty great” he said in a relaxed tone. The chief stared back at the turtles one final time. “Any last requests for the night before we all head home?” she asked. The brothers looked at each other and noticed that Leo kept looking back at the towering monument behind them. “You’re allowed up there you know” the chief stated with a smile. Leo whipped back around. “We are?” She nodded. “I just have to tell the officers that guard this monument so that they know not to leave until you come back down.” “Whoaaaaaaa. Thanks!” Mikey said enthusiastically. The chief laughed. “My pleasure. I’ll be right back.”

At that moment, Splinter joined the boys on stage. “My sons, I’m so proud of each and every one of you” he said with a heartwarming smile. “I’m so happy, yet so sad to see each of you grow and mature the way you are” he said genuinely. Mikey shot him a confused look. “Why would you be sad dad?” The old rat chuckled. “Simple. This means you are no longer the baby boys that I have watched over all these years” he said as he placed his hand on his youngest sons shoulder. The four brothers smiled. “Dad, you know we’re always gonna be around no matter how old we get, right?” Leo reassured with a smile. “I know, but all parents feel this way as they see their children grow over time. BUT, tonight is a time for all of you to celebrate together. I on the other hand am going to head home. Don’t do anything crazy now” he said with a playful glare towards his sons. “Pffff what, us?” Raph teased. “As if.” “Wait, who are you leaving with? You’re not heading home by yourself” Donnie stated. Splinter shook his head. “Do not worry my son, I’m heading home with our human companions since it seems they’re all leaving now as well.” The group looked over and saw their human friends walking over to say their final goodbyes. While April, Casey, Vern, Jay, and Jade all said goodbye to the oldest three brothers, Mikey pulled Sam away from the group to talk to her. “Okay what’s happening?” Sam asked a little more awkwardly than she meant to. “You’re leaving?” he asked as if he had just been punched in the gut. “Only for 8 years.” “WHAT?!” “I’m kidding!” she laughed as she pushed his shoulder. “I’m just heading home with Jay so I can help him and Brenda plan their upcoming wedding since important planning was put on hold due to this crazy alien invasion that happened a few days ago. You should have been there for it, it was all over the news!-” “Why are you heading home?” Mikey said, interrupting her teasing. She shot him a confused look. “I just told you, to help with wedding-” “But you can do that any day. Why tonight?” he asked timidly. Sam could sense that her friend felt hurt, as if she was ditching him to go hangout with someone else and like she was avoiding them. She smiled and began to talk in a more serious tone. “Look, when I still had my siblings, there were times where we would all hang out as a family while also inviting all are friends that were as close as family, but there were also times where we wanted people to respect our need to hang out with those that were just family. Sometimes siblings have to just focus on each other. That doesn’t mean I’m going away, it means I’m respecting that you guys need time where it’s just you. Plus, I know I’m the greatest tomboy out there, but brothers still need times to just be themselves. Just like how there were times I wanted to be alone with my sisters, no matter how different Amber and I were from the other two” she said with a light laugh. Mikey shot her a genuine smile. “You look out for us too much” he teased, although this type of teasing had sincerity to it. Sam looked him right in the eye and smiled. “Well that’s what happens when you have four new younger brothers that take over your life.” As she spoke, Mikey could sense from the sparkle in her eyes alone how much he and his brothers truly meant to Sam. He hoped that she realized that they all felt the same way about her. “Now come on” she said as she spun him around and began to pull on his arm, “let’s get back to the group before they start getting suspicious.” “Heh, okay” he said, although in his mind he was thinking ‘suspicious of what?’

Once the two joined the rest of the group Sam updated them that she would be heading home with Jay and Jade (who was also involved in the wedding) to help with wedding planning. The remaining three brothers teased her some, but they didn’t need her to go into full details about why she was truly leaving. They all knew her well enough to know where her mindset was at.

With that, the human group began to head out. Splinter went with April, Casey, and Vern, and Sam went with her older brother and Jade. As the group was beginning to board the ferry to head back to Battery Park, they all turned around to see the four boys cheering from the top of the statue of liberty. “Man they’re fast” Jade said with a smile. “They’re also just insane” Jay teased, knowing his Sensei could hear him. “I’d defend them, but they all have their interesting moments. But you didn’t hear that from me” the old rat teased. Sam laughed and then looked back up at her four turtle brothers. She was happy to see them united as a group once again, and although she had just stated to Mikey that she knew they needed time to hangout by themselves, she’d be a liar if she wasn’t hoping that the time she would get to hang out with them again would come by soon. ‘Then again, a small, extremely short break from these guys wouldn’t be horrible, especially after those weird random thoughts I had about him the other night’ she thought to herself with a shudder (to which she informed a suspicious Jay that it was just the breeze from the cold night’s air). Minutes later the group arrived back at the port where Sam decided that once she met back up with her brothers, everything would be back to normal…she hoped.

  Random info: so I listen to a wide variety of music and many times I listen to songs that motivate me to plan out and come up with ideas for future and current events throughout the series. If anyone is interested, I would highly recommend listening to the song Beautiful Creatures by Illenium. Like if you listen to the lyrics you can twist them so that it fits the lives and goals of the turtles, at least those are the images I’ve been picturing as I listen to that song (that and the vocals and more techno instrumental sound is insanely addicting). But seriously I could see this song being a perfect way to end a TMNT film as the credits come up. Kind of like how at the end of Out of the Shadows they had a new remixed version of the 80’s theme playing while those cartoon images of the cast were played along the with the cast’s names, I could see this song being used for something like that and being the perfect end to a TMNT movie.