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#meanwhile raph has another kid to look after
manga-toons · 1 year
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hello idk if you still take suggestions but. maybe some cassandra + turtles or cassandra + casey interactions? her being a chaotic mom? sth along those lines :)
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Super messy and rushed, but here ya go!
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our-happygirl500-fan · 6 months
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Something that I have kind of been thinking about is how Rise having new spins on characters from previous iterations such as Raph being the oldest & the leader to start with and Leo being a middle child instead of the eldest is possibly exploring wants & desires that Leo & Raph have expressed in previous iterations.
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Raph: Look just because you're leader doesn't mean that you have to get into everyones face!
Leo: Don't start on that leader thing again Raph!
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Raph: I'm done taking orders
Throughout the various iterations of TMNT there has kind of been a Leo vs Raph dynamic where though Leo & Raph do unconditionally love & trust each other, still tend to argue with one another. One of their main arguments across iterations seems to be Raph kind of resenting having to follow Leo's orders which leads to Raph sometimes stating that he should be leader instead.
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Leo: I'm tired of being the responsible one, when do I get to have fun?
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Mikey: I think all of you should just lay off the poor guy, I mean it can't be fun, always being the responsible one and we're the ones who really benefit
Meanwhile something that comes up in multiple iterations of TMNT for Leo is how Leo's responsibilities as the eldest brother & the leader of the Turtles means that Leo kind of finds himself unable to relax or have fun the way his brothers seem to & Leo seeming to find himself either unable to enjoy himself & have fun or not allowing himself to as he believes he has to focus on looking after his family & his brothers.
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Raph: I’m the leader. The leader wears the suit.
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Leo: Hot Soup!
And Rise, in a way kind of gives Leo & Raph the chance to experience what other versions of themselves have wanted, Raph gets to be the oldest & the leader and Leo gets to be a middle child & have the chance to mess around & have fun for himself.
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Raph: Why can't I do this..? I'm failing you
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Raph: I only do that because you guys are irresponsible.
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Raph: I'm the oldest here. I'm responsible for keeping us safe and making sure we can handle anything that comes our way
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Leo: There’s no team with just a faceman. I need my brainy guy, and my smashing guy and eats peanut butter with his fingers guy. I’m nothing without them.
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Leo: How come nobody trusts me? None of you guys have any faith in me. Why?
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Leo: This whole time I was sure my family needed me, but the truth is I need them
However even though in Rise, Leo & Raph kind of get to experience things that their other selves have kind of expressed wanting in Rise Leo & Raph still have to deal with the other side of getting those wants granted.
In Rise Raph gets to be the leader & the eldest, he's the biggest & strongest brother who his whole family can rely on but on the other side of things he has to deal with stress of being the eldest & the pressure of being responsible for his his family & having to be responsible for them. Meanwhile in Rise Leo gets the chance to have fun to rely on other to take care of responsibilities for him & to have fun & be a kid but on the other side of that he has to deal with his family sometimes no taking him seriously & without the automatic position of eldest brother & son, Leo struggles to have an identity on who he is & his place in his own family.
Something I kind of wonder about is if this is possibly a coincidence or if the Rise team deliberately took the concept of Raph wanting to be the leader & Leo wanting to not always have to be the responsible one that Raph & Leo have expressed in previous iterations & decided to use Rise to possibly explore the concept.
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callmehere-iwillappear · 10 months
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rec list (last updated: 10/22/23)
aka 'if you liked [cmh] you might also like [insert other really good fic here]' bc there are So Many amazing fics out there good lird
few things. first off if you see a disaster twins bias no you don't. second i tried to find all the authors' tumblrs but there were some i couldn't - if you know any of the ones i missed let me know!
aaand third, there are just. SO many good fics i ended up splitting things up. this is the rec post for multi chapter fics, here's the one shot rec post
Multichapter Fics
Complete
A Twin Thing (@minumi-chan)
Four times Donatello rejects Leo's notion of them being twins, and the once (and future) time he embraces it.
GOD THE TWINS EVER.... funny in parts but also hurts in the best possible way and thankfully has a happy ending to soothe the pain. i literally love them so much
Because We Could Not Stop For Death (@turtleinsoup)
After Leo dies, Donnie builds an android of his twin. After Leo dies, he comes back. He does. And Donnie will not ever let him go again.
very very very very VERY heavy please mind the warnings but god. god. another take on the 'leo dies in the prison dimension' concept that btw WILL make you cry. like a lot. absolutely incredible study of grief. i am never going to be the same person after reading this
coming right on back for you (@taizi)
Rise!Mikey’s portal in the prison dimension takes Leo a little bit farther than he meant for it to. 12!Mikey finds a familiar-looking stranger.
soooo full disclosure i haven't actually watched 2012 tmnt. that said even without that, this fic rules. incredibly soft and heartwarming. i love them
Corrupted Upgrade (@dandylovesturtles)
His brothers think they don't need him anymore? Well, fine. He doesn't need them either. The old Donatello is gone. He'll build a new one. One that will make them regret they ever threw him aside. Building things is what he's good at, after all.
i can't say too much without spoiling the twist, but oh MAN guys it's real good. come get your donnie hurt/comfort juice rn. also for a hurt/comfort fic it has NO RIGHT being so funny so often
Dimensions Apart & Home Again
"Who said I'm hiding?" Leo scoffs. Normally he wouldn't take such a sharp tone, but he's tired and not in the mood for what he feels to be an interrogation in his own bedroom. "You all know where I am. I live here, remember?" “Yeah, very funny. And you know where we live. But nobody's seen you for two weeks.”
ooohhh post movie hurt/comfort my beloved... leo is isolating and donnie kicks his ass. metaphorically. mostly. meanwhile raph and mikey are also having a certified Bad Time but it's okay they all get comfort by the end
Havoc, Thy Name is Donnie
Donnie accidentally turns himself into a child while experimenting with mystic power. It's cute until Donnie gets his hands on his older self's tech and then it's really uncute and Leo and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. are having a heart attack.
child donnie is an absolute MENACE and it's INCREDIBLE. terrorizes leo. terrorizes shelldon. terrorizes some random criminals. terrorizes april. terrorizes draxum. all in the course of a single day. 12/10
how to get very good at juggling (@radishhqueen)
The Krang invasion put a couple of things in perspective for April. One of them was how much she wanted her parents to meet the Hamatos. The only difficult part is…getting her parents to meet the Hamatos.
the turtles meet april's parents! it goes... about as well as can be expected. REALLY good april centric post movie fic
little kid with a big death wish (@remedyturtles)
Leo's mind rebelled against the sensation. The heaviness burst into awareness, body, limbs, lungs, blinking. The middle distance he'd apparently been staring in focused. Leo was awake. Leo was aware. Leo was alive. Being alive wasn't something he thought he'd be.
genuinely don't think i could ever recommend this fic enough. mind the warnings as it does get very heavy but. god. idk how to express how much this fic means to me in just a few sentences but like. you'll understand if you read it (also for. an actual summary: post movie recovery fic with a side of extra leo)
Nothing Haunts Us (like the things we don't say)
The boys learn the hard way that truths can hurt. Well, some of them.
truth spellllll you love to see it! lotta post movie angst + some good comfort at the end + bonus the boys actually being emotionally vulnerable and talking about their issues (even if it's not 100% by choice)
Trial and Error (@apatheticrobots)
Leo ends up in the past. This changes some things.
YES the healing (well. eventually).... big fan of the leos' dynamic in this one. also that One Scene (the one with the animatic. if you know you know) gives me goosebumps EVERY time good god
Unfinished business
When one dies leaving something undone, there's a belief, that they do not go gentle into that good night. They linger on until they've finished what they couldn't while alive. And for four turtles, that business is using the Poltergeist movie as inspiration.
bad future ending but make it HILARIOUS. tldr the future turtles haunt the SHIT out of the krang. that's all i'm giving you because that's all you should need. they fucking rick roll them. please
Use Only For Intended Purpose (me!)
That's probably not how mind melds are supposed to work.
sorry for reccing my own fic do you still love me /j BUT FR if you like post movie disaster twins hurt/comfort with a side of dream sharing. i got u
Where in the World is Neon Leon?
Leo practices portalling on his own. This is not a good idea for many, many reasons.
set over the course of the show + the movie! aka leo trying so so hard to be seen as reliable and getting incredibly fucked up over it. also making new friends
write this down on my headstone (it wasn't what i hoped for) (@bottledovercast)
it’s as he drifts listlessly through the cold-as-shit hellscape that leo’s willing to admit, maybe this wasn’t what raph meant. aka: i do not believe for one second that there were No Problems in between getting leo out of the prison dimension and the final scene of the movie.
i genuinely do not know how to do this one justice with words. it's written impeccably and the hurt/comfort is just. chefs kiss. please read it (+ has a sequel now that's also absolutely incredible!)
In progress
At My Worst (@teainthesnow)
Future Leo ends up back in time, stuck in the body of his younger self, who is still conscious but trapped within his mind.
genuinely LOVE this concept like there's a lot of (really good) future leo goes back in time fics but i'm pretty sure this is the only one i've read with them sharing a body? god the dynamic is. SO good. one of my fave future leo + present leo dynamics ever tbh. just. chefs kiss
I May Be Invisible, But I Still Look Good (@dandylovesturtles)
Leo is cursed by a mystic whatever thingy. But don't worry guys, he's totally got this! Getting back into his body? Easy peasy. (He hopes it will be easy peasy.)
will smith poses fellow ghost(ish) leo fic my beloved! ngl this one kinda has a special place in my heart so i May be biased BUT even aside from that it's just. so good. the premise is so interesting and it's written super well and in character and also i would like to give leo a hug PLEASE GOOD GOD
I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? (@tangledinink)
When Hamato Yoshi is presented with the chance to return to the surface with his sons and give them a 'normal' life as humans, he takes it. He didn't think that they would forget about that whole turtle thing. But it seems kind of too late to tell them now. Surely they won't find out any other way, right?
human au! ... kind of. actually brooches au but they THINK they're human which is fine until, y'know, it's not. currently in the 'not' part of the fic and it's just going really great for everyone! you love to see it
In Which Donnie and Leo Make Themselves Everyone Else's Problem in an NYC That Isn't Even Their Own
It was a huge mistake on the Kraang's part to kidnap the wrong half of the wrong set of brothers and leave behind two very worried twins. And not just any twins. The disaster twins.
another crossover with 12tmnt which. again i have not seen, but like. this fic is just. REALLY good. it's set pre movie so there's not that trauma, it's literally just the twins fucking the 12 kraang up and living up to their nickname while the 12 turtles (and rise mikey and raph) look on in horror
i think i would prefer the prison dimension (@purplecatghostposts)
Leo gets sent to the Kraang Apocalypse Future that he really didn’t want to think about. Future Leo, Mikey, and Donnie are absolutely baffled by him. Nobody is happy.
you've heard of future leo in the present, now get ready for: present leo in the future! he gets dragged into the apocalypse instead of getting pulled out of the prison dimension back to his brothers and boy he is, understandably, Not Thrilled!
Last Grain of Sand in the Hourglass (@last-hourglass)
The one where the Hamato family is freaking the fuck out, Leo is lost in the Prison Dimension, and a very-time-displaced Leonardo refuses to leave his younger self behind. (Oh, and there may be some mystic hauntings afoot. You know, the usual result of messing with the space-time continuum.)
future leo gets saved while present leo stays in the prison dimension! there's A Lot going on in this one and half of it is BIG spoilers but just. oh my god. this shit is SO well written i am eating it
Mikey's Jam-Packed, Guaranteed to Get Donnie's Memory Back, Friendship Tour!
Donnie wakes up without his memory one day and everyone panics. They're just going to have to jog his memory the old-fashioned way! Through the power of friendship! [And a small (I was wrong. A very large) degree of violence and shenanigans]
donnie gets amnesia and SO SO MANY shenanigans ensue. also a tiny bit of angst but it's fine
Minor Interference (@bambiraptorx)
The turtles accept Draxum's offer to train them. Little does he know that they're only going to use it mess with him.
haha draxum accidental dad moments... well okay not entirely just yet but he's getting there! the turtles are PEAK teenager literally just causing problems on purpose and it's incredible
Mutant Ninja Midlife Crisis (@mutantninjamidlifecrisis)
In the midst of attempting to make peace with his death at the hands of the Krang, Master Leonardo is suddenly yeeted over two decades into the past, courtesy of his little brother.
YEAAHHH another future leo fic! mans gets dropped into the past and IMMEDIATELY kidnapped and brainwashed so things are going great (it's fine he gets better. you know how it is)
odd man out (@threestripeslider)
The one where Future!Leo somehow managed to luck out on a one in a million mere millisecond chance of a freak glitch in the space-time continuum that sends him back into the present, where the Invasion has been successfully driven back. And it looks like it was a one-way ticket travel.
DAD FUTURE LEO MY BELOVED.... he really took one look at these kids and said is anyone else gonna give them a third (3) dad and did not wait for an answer. also big fan of casey's high school adventures LMAO
Power Up
Leo also gets healing hands like his 2k12 counterpart. Sadly, they end up backfiring on him. Who needs to know though?
leo taking 'it's not about me' to the extreme. good god please get this kid some therapy and self worth. the AGONIES
The Lemonade Leak (@turtleinsoup)
The one in which Leo can’t sleep without his swords, because there is a monster in his room, pretending to be Donnie.
oh man. oh MAN. legit one of my fave fics out there. i'm not usually a big thriller person but this one GETS ME + the way the author writes the different perspectives is just. chefs kiss. genuinely has me on the edge of my seat every single update
The Neon Void
Five years. It's been five years. Hamato Leonardo was back. But he was no longer who he once was.
krangified leo! ... sort of. absolutely delicious angst and also i want to rattle leo's brothers. TALK TO EACH OTHER
Three-Sided Coin (@leglessstreetlights)
Highly self-indulgent fic where I put Leo, Future!Leo, and TurtleTot!Leo in the same room until they hug
what the description says! room is a bit of a stretch and present leo is fresh out of the prison dimension So There's That. some really sweet moments in this one though. tiny leo my beloved
this year we lost our dear brother leonardo
The aftermath of the Krang, and of pulling Leo out of the portal. 90% comfort and silly banter.
this is a series not a single wip but i'm saying it counts because i love it a lot. hope this helps <3 yeah what it says on the tin. immediately post movie family hours you love to see it
Times Five
Leo gets struck by a mystic beam that splits him into five parts of himself; literally.
god the TWIST. still losing my mind over it. the whole thing honestly. lotta dealing with leo's complicated emotions about the invasion and himself, really really good tbh
Write Me Well, My Love, Write Me Weird
When stories start popping up on various media outlets of the Turtleman, New York Cities own personal cryptid, most of the world shrugged. To the citizens of New York? fear, excitement, adoration for this odd and lovable creature. Everyone is quick to share stories and memories of their encounters, much to lament of Turtleman's older brother.
leo and donnie get spotted by humans (more than once) and said humans post about it on social media, as humans tend to do. raph is Not Thrilled. angst (and eventual comfort) ensues
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dragon-spaghetti · 10 months
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The O'Neil Siblings
RAMBLE POST TIME WITH ART!! Okok so; in this au, Donnie is found by April and her family just after a storm. Splinter was out looking for supplies and was on his way back when the storm suddenly hit, but unfortunately his three remaining children are swept away when the alley kinda floods. A 2/3 year old April spots the squirming little turtle, and she gained a brother from there ✨
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They grow up very close!! Their parents absolutely adore both of them, and they both attend school together (though in different year groups). To prevent as many questions about Donnie, he is just said to have some genetic conditions and wears many layers to hide as much of his skin as possible; hoodies, trousers, gloves, socks, scarves, the iconic purple mask, etc etc:
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He's just a lil guy!! A fun fact that's a tangent for another day is that they were both actually friends w the purple dragons as kids :) but anyways
They've always been close. However, as they learn of the Hidden City etc at ages 14 and 16, things start to become tense as secrets are kept
Again, a tangent for another day, but they meet Mayhem, Draxum, Mikey, and most importantly here Raph all on the same day. Donnie and Raph then keep in contact and, despite knowing April would probs be fine with it, he.. finds himself keeping it a secret. This leads to many a misunderstanding as he starts sneaking around, meeting up with Raph to investigate wtf is happening
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April is irritated by the secrecy, especially because she is not stupid. She can guess who he's hanging out with and what they're doing, and doesn't get why her brother is tryna keep it hush hush. So, tension. She actually meets Splinter after an argument with Donnie 🥲
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It's around the time of Shadow Of Evil that everything kinda comes out, and they reveal everything to each other; Raph, Splinter, how Draxum is the turtles' creator, it's all out in the open finally and they both feel like a weight has been taken off their shoulders; no more secrets. It is from this moment that Splinter also promises to train them, as unbeknownst to the teenagers shit is really about to hit the fan as the Dark Armour is being rebuilt. However in the meantime they're back to being silly lmao
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They aren't keeping things anymore, however there are still problems and fears; most notably, April is worried that Donnie has now found his 'true' family, that he'll leave her and their parents behind. Meanwhile, Donnie's fear of never being quite good enough is hitting harder after Many Unhappy Returns, scared he won't be accepted by Splinter and his brother(s) and also afraid that the family he grew up with will encourage him to leave now that he's found his 'own kind'. It's all paranoia obviously on both their fronts, none of that is an option for even a second, but it is haunting them
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bluepeachstudios · 4 months
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Dunno if this has already been asked but what would happen if Phantom or one of Ghost’s brothers were with him in the evil au.
But they got separated? Like let’s just say Phantom fell into the Rise universe as the same time as Ghost but they fell in different places. Ghost fell in New York and after a few months looking for Raph, eventually decides goes to the Battle Nexus. He gets trapped there and then double kidnapped by Bishop and then triple kidnapped by Baron Draxum.
However meanwhile, Phantom is trying to get to NY, (he landed in somewhere far away like Tahiti something) trying to find Donny. However by the time he does find Donny, he seems…different.
And apparently Phantom’s an Uncle?!
Would Phantom with Splinter? Try to save the kids?
Try to stop Donny/Ghost because he knows his brother and his brother would not act like this without something damaging him emotionally.
Would he feel guilt that he couldn’t get their sooner?
Sorry if this ends up being another au in your roster.
It was these thoughts that held my brain hostage while in the shower. Since I know you have a lot on your plate already you don’t have to respond to this. But hopefully you’ve enjoyed reading this!
Have a good 🍁 autumn 🍂!
Oooohhh I really enjoy this idea...
This is all hinging on the idea that Phantom wouldn't do some pretty desperate stuff to get back to Ghost, though ;) Raphs are not known for being reasonable
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a-random-pillow · 1 year
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The Actual Plot of TMNT The Other Haft AU
I will assume you've read most of the back story so here is where the Crossing Starts
2012 Casey Jones get kidnapped by 2018 Cassandra and is forced to join the Mystic foot.
Topside Turtles search for Casey and start finding hints of the Hidden City
Shredder accidentally finds the hidden city meets up with Lou
Cue uncle Saki and him having to lie about what he has been doing for the past few years.
Shredder meets Draxum and is like “Hey, it’s a human tradition that if you are marrying into a family you have to beat someone up to prove yourself” and Draxum with zero clues about humans and few morals is like “Sounds legit”.
Draxum fights splinter and given that Draxum has magic he wins but before Drax can kill Splinter the topside turtles get to close. So, Shredder says he approves and Draxum thinks he did a good thing but didn’t tell Lou since Shredder said not too.
Meanwhile Casey is getting lots of Ninja training form Cass and has been forcibly added to the mystic foot. Lieutenant actually really likes the kid and decides Casey needs magic powers. Now Casey has green fire that can burn him and he has zero clue on how to control it.
The topside turtles finally find their way into the hidden city and are so confused.
They all get separated due to shenanigans. Donnie gets found by 2018 Raph. Mikey gets found by the courts. Leo is surviving solo. Raphael gets adopted by Warren and Hypno.
Lou finds out about what has been happening the past few years and says, “I knew Saki couldn’t manage his emotions that well!” While Lou and Draxum are trying to figure out the next move Donatello starts learning violence and also becomes the team medic.
The courts are hella confused about this turtle since he has the same name, General personality and colors as one of their most wanted but whatever. Mikey becomes a court warrior and really wants to go home.
Leo has been looking for his brothers with no luck, but he has figured out that there is another group of ninja turtles suspiciously similar to his family.
Raphael is getting angry management training for Hypno while looking for his brothers.
April and Splinter come down to the hidden city since the boys have been gone for two days.
Anyway, the Mystic foot launch an attack on a museum to get a piece of the dark armor.
So Mikey gets sent to check it out by the courts, Leo happens to be in the area, Raphael catch’s it on TV and Donatello comes with the Rise Gang.
Everyone is really angry and confused about Casey’s betrayal but then they meet Cassandra and understand something weird is going on here.
Raphael gets angry and starts yelling at a Casey which causes their minimal control over there fire to fall apart.
The rise gang manages to get everyone out but the museum gets burned down.
They re-group at Lou’s grand hotel and have a small family reunion. Of course, there is lots of confusion about the name situation so form now on the 2012 gang are the full names while 2018 are the nicknames.
The Topsider turtles ask about Cassandra and they get the info that she has been a part of the foot as long as they have known her, and she can kick major ass.
Meanwhile Lieutenant and Brute ask Shredder to join the mystic foot and of course he says yes. Shredder is surprised to see Casey but after being briefed he finds this hilarious.
Cass, Casey and Shred Head get a similar dynamic to Cass and Draxum in Rise. Shredder dose a thing and becomes the new leader of the foot; Casey goes along with this because he has nothing better to do and Cass thinks she can better protect her brother at the top.
Shred dose kinda care about the kids, he is concerned over Casey's inabbity to control his magic. He knows how bad burns hurt and ends up helping Casey care for his new burn scares.
Cass has started to question the foot's teachings because of what Lieutenant did to Casey (Giving him a power that hurts him, and he can't control)
The Aprils become besties and Splinter aplogize for not protecting Lou. Lou doesn't blame him and welcomes his rat brother into the family, as long as he doesn't start perching traditional Hamamoto BS because Lou is doing fine.
Then Splinter recognizes Draxum and is terrified and confused. Draxum tries to make it up to him my giving Shredder a cane that can turn into an assortment of different weapons. Splinter accepts it because it is a meaningful gift and it's super cool.
Draxum tells the group about Shredder lying to him to use him to kill Splinter. Lou is pissed at Shredder and then have a falling out soon after.
For a while it's just a cycle of foot steal some dark armor while the turtle try and stop them.
Casey has been gaining more control over his powers and the dark armor is nearly complete.
The final piece is the helmet which is in Splinter's possession. They device a complex security plan, a massive vault located in the middle of Draxum's Mansion. Magically secured, you need to be a Hamato to enter, then a password, then have another Hamato enter a different password and then you can get the Helmet.
Shredder calls Kuri down to the hidden city.
A foot team consisting of Casey 'Zero-Fire Control' Jones, Cassandra 'Zero-Hobbies' Jones, Shredder 'Zero-Sanity', Kuri 'Zero-Chill' + Brute and Lieutenant.
Cassandra and Casey launch a front on assault bringing out Donnie, Leonardo, Ralpheal, Splinter, Draxum and Michelangelo.
Donatello and Mikey are looking for other Foot Cells and find Brute and Lieutenant.
Meanwhile Shredder finds Lou.
Lieutenant and Brute use a BS mugifin to capture Mikey and Donatello to threaten Lou into giving up the passwords.
"You and me aren't so different, we would both give up the world for our family but the big difference it that I am willing to use that to my advantage."
"What do you think releasing that demon will do?"
"Make a world where we can all be happy, no Hamato rules, no difference between Yokai and humans, no warring clans. We will all be a family, like it should have been."
Casey and Cassandra get captured while the rest escape.
Casey happily explains what the foot has been doing and exactly how he got into this situation.
Long Story short Shredder is planning to use the dark amour to make a new world.
How did Casey get here? Got kidnaped by Cassandra, drowned by Lieutenant in a magic river to given him a magic and trained to be a foot ninja.
So Splinter summons the ancestors who are like “you see, magic powers” and everyone is concerned since magic powers has been going horribly for Casey. Splinter insists they follow the ancestors. So this brings into question, who counts as a Hamato ?Of course Splinter and Lou + the turtles but what about Draxum? Apparently, Shredder still counted since he could enter the vault? And Casey’s magic won’t work if he was just human.
In short, the Hamato clan is The Aprils, The Turtles, Lou, Shredder, Splinter, Draxum, that girl Shredder had with him and Casey.
The people lacking magic are just Splinter and his turtle sons because 2012 April has her Kraang Powers, Lou unlocked his in the final fight angist Big Mama, Draxum always had magic, The Hidden City Turtled were born with it.
Donatello can heal people and make force fields.
Micghangelo is the flash
Leonardo can phase through objects.
Ralpheal can summon weapons.
Splinter can teleport to other magical Hamatos. and teleport people with him.
The turtles now have cool magic markings as well.
Cue boss music as the turtles start fighting Dark Armour Shredder
Everyone gets cool moments. Raphael doses some cool magic combos with all his weapons. Mikey runs circles shred head; Donnie uses his force fields as platforms for his brothers to parkour on. Leonardo phases threw shredder to get behind him.
Mess with the flaw, Saki gets thrown out and now they have a much bigger problem.
and I will finish this in another post, this is getting long. See You Soon!
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misteria247 · 1 year
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Idk if you’ve read the Lost Years issue 1 but now all I can imagine is your turtles forever au boys meeting these new kids like DAMN!
The clan lives on!! The littlest boys and girls ahhhhhhh!! Odyn and his ever hungry tummy, Muja and her attitude, Yi wanting to tinker with the other Donnie’s and Uno and his probable routine for training— i love these kidssssss
Ahhhh-! I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet but from what I've seen from your posts and what you'd shown me, I'm absolutely in love with these kids like dude they're so cute-!!! Also OMG I WAS LITERALLY LOWKEY THINKING ABOUT THIS-
Like can you imagine??? The turtles finding these four new turtles, and they're just reeling cuz holy shit they're babies instead of teenagers like them. But they'd all like fall in love with these adorable rugrats cuz how could they not??? And then they learn about how these kids are technically Ronin Mikey's little ones and they all have this wide range of responses cuz holy shit Mikey's got kids?????????!!!!!!!!
Like it'd basically be-
87 Leo, 87 Raph and 87 Donnie would honestly think about it at first surprised but then it'd sink in and they'd be like:
"Honestly that makes sense, Michelangelo's the most likely out of us to have little ones."
While 87 Mikey is just incredibly surprised but honestly excited that a version of him becomes a dad much like his and his brothers own rat dad. 87 Splinter is practically glowing with grandpa pride cuz hell yes while 87 April and 87 Casey think it's hella neat.
07 Leo, 07 Raph and 07 Donnie kinda give their little brother these looks of slight concern cuz 07 Mikey's experience with kids wasn't exactly all that fun. 07 Mikey meanwhile is freaking out and having Vietnam war flashbacks to his old job. He'd get over it eventually but he'd definitely keep his distance for a bit. 07 Splinter meanwhile is just quietly fawning over these little guys and gals cuz it's taking him back to when his boys were young, while 07 April smothers them in affection and 07 Casey just kinda awkwardly interacts with them.
Rise Raph, Rise Leo and Rise Donnie meanwhile are losing their minds cuz it's their baby brother and he's in one timeline a papa?????? Rise Raph definitely lowkey cries much to Rise Mikey's slight embarrassment cuz ohmigosh his little brother has grown so much in the future he needs a minute. Rise Splinter is pretty much in the same mindset while Rise April and Rise Cassandra are absolutely thrilled. Rise Mikey's also thrilled while also on edge due to his own experiences with children (he'll never forget that Mystic Library incident and just how vicious children can be).
12 Leo, 12 Raph and 12 Donnie meanwhile having already dealt with this kind of shock before (Shellshock AU meeting), they're more quick to recover and somewhat tease 12 Mikey who's absolutely beaming, with 12 Leo being an instant mom somewhat much to 12 Mikey's amusement. 12 April is extremely conflicted with the kids, due to one incident where they'd taken one look at the red head, who scarily looks a lot like Ronin April and called her:
"Granny April!"
12 Casey and 12 Raph absolutely had a field day with this little incident and will teasingly call her Granny much to her grievance.
Meanwhile 03 Leo, 03 Raph, 03 Donnie, Bayverse Leo, Bayverse Raph and Bayverse Donnie will be extremely taken aback cuz how the fuck??? Given how absolutely wild and out there 03 Mikey and Bayverse Mikey can be it's extremely hard to picture them as mature fathers in another timeline. Basically their response to this information is Team Fourstar's DBZ Abridged levels. Specifically the scene in the first episode with Bulma and Master Roshi where they go:
'Oh my God he's a parent-'
In a mixture of bafflement and slight dread. They warm up to it eventually after the initial shock. 03 Splinter and Bayverse Splinter meanwhile seem somewhat neutral on this, having full faith in their youngest boys in this endeavor in their possible futures. Bayverse April and 03 April meanwhile think the kids are adorable and proceed to shower them in love and affection while Bayverse Casey and 03 Casey keep a close eye on the little ones.
Future Rise Leo and Future Rise Mikey meanwhile feel a bit bittersweet about it, seeing these adorable turtle tots and thinking about Rise Casey Jr and how he'd grown up in their ruined future. Rise Casey Jr is also feeling bittersweet about it and vows to keep them happy and shielded from any of the horrors that the world has to offer.
But the one who's shaken the most, the one who's unable to believe or understand this is Ronin Mikey. From Ronin Mikey's perspective, he doesn't see himself living long enough to have children. His whole purpose in his life at the moment is to kill Ronin Karai's son who was responsible for his family's murders. Ronin Mikey doesn't plan on surviving his mission, that's his whole vibe and plan. So seeing these four kids, seeing Uno, Yi, Muja and Odyn, his supposed sons and daughters, his descendants, it throws him into a midlife crisis of sorts. He keeps his distance from them, trying to figure out what exactly happened in his future of his world. Ronin Mikey will also keep a close eye on them from a distance and will quickly step in to aid them and take care of them should he need to, after all he's angry but not cruel. Completely unaware of his death and how Ronin April and Ronin Casey Marie are the ones raising them in his stead.
All in all by the time they'd go back home they'd be somewhat spoiled by all the turtles in the 03 lair lol.
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tmnt-obsessed-ace · 8 months
Text
Its 10:45pm time to yap about ANOTHER au (because I cannot be stopped)
So remember that untitled atla x tmnt 2012 au I came up with thats inspired by A Tale Of Spirits?
Well...it has a title now :)
"Before The Summer's End." (Look A Tale Of Spirits is already a really good title but I can't USE it because its already claimed and I've been wanting to yap about this au for so long and couldn't come up with an idea so SUE ME)
So basic premise, the turtles (including my own tmnt 2012 versions of Venus and Jennika because they are my beloveds and its my au I can do whatever I want, plus those two are not in fics often) all get transported to the alta world and separated from each other. (Again like A Tale Of Spirits but that fic has rooted itself into my brain and this au isnt gonna be a carbon copy so its cool)
So key differences from A Tale Of Spirits
Its tmnt 2012 (my beloveds) post season 4 (the turtles are all 20)
It includes Venus and Jennika
It begins at the end of season 1 episode 3 "The Southern Air Temple" unlike A Tale Of Spirits which starts at the beginning of season 2
So already pretty different
And for once Leo ISNT gonna be the main victim of my angst hammer. Its gonna be DONNIE (I have plans for him >:3)
So who exactly ends up with who?
Venus will be the first turtle introduced, landing in the Southern Air Temple and will meet Aang, Katara and Sokka straight away (Venus and Jennika will definitely get the most screentime since I am basically inserting characters that were never in tmnt 2012 and making them fit in with my favorite turtles because the two girlies definitely SHOULD'VE been there Im just saying)
Jennika will land on Kyoshi Island and will join the Gaang soon after they meet. (Girlie gonna have a field day)
Leo meanwhile will land in the ocean close to Prince Zuko's ship, close enough to warrant investigation. (Ok I know that Raph, Jennika, maybe even Mikey would've been better fits for Zuko but I didnt want to take the obvious route plus Zuko becomes "The Blue Spirit" wielding twin swords and later on calls himself "Lee" the joke was right there and I had to take it)
Raph lands in an Earth Kingdom town, very close to the estate of the Beifong family. (Yeah I loved the Raph Toph dynamic in A Tale Of Spirits, bite me)
Donnie ends up in the Northern Air Temple (he aint gonna STAY there because...I have plans for him. He's gonna learn the lesson Leo has already learned. Being the author's favorite is NOT a good thing :3. Donnie's gonna go through it that's all I'll say)
And Mikey is gonna land right in front of Princess Azula, in the heart of Fire Nation territory. (Purely because I am very tired of Mikey being treated as a "fragile weak innocent baby" by fanon. NO MIKEY CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS AS AZULA. Especially if he gets angry)
Its gonna be very fun, especially on multiple occasions that the kids need adult the turtles will realize that THEY are the adults
Hehehehe
("We need an adult...I am the adult")
Almost forgot to post the age order of the turtles oh my god I am tired
Ok so the age order from oldest to youngest is
Leo, Raph, Venus, Donnie, Jennika, Mikey
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miss-andromeda · 7 months
Text
All's Fair in Love and Science
Chapter 7: It's Nice To Have a Friend
~
After Donnie's bo staff breaks, his response is to take a broken Kraangdroid back to the lair for dissection. And upon closer inspection by him and Andi, they decide to cross their plans of making a compact battle mech with the advanced technology of the Kraang.
~
And we're back with probably my favorite chapter so far! Thank you so much for the positive reception that Andi's story has gotten so far - every bit of support just makes my day! Of course, a special thanks to @tinkabelle19 for her endless help and support 🩷
And with that, on with the show!
~
It was just another typical night for the boys. If typical meant fighting the Kraang in an abandoned warehouse.
They were doing their best to avoid the constant barrage of fire from the Kraang; dodging left and right, jumping onto walls, anything to avoid getting hit. But there were two factors that were making it difficult:
There were a lot of droids, and the Kraang just would not. Stop. Shooting. 
As Leo dodged more fire, he decided to inject a hint of inspiration into the others. "Keep moving! Don't let 'em surround you! Failure is not an option!"
Donnie ran alongside him, seemingly to correct him on his choice of an inspirational quote. "Technically, failure is always an option!"
But Raph wasn't in the mood for either motivation or corrections. "You know what else is an option? Slapping you!" Seriously, did Donnie always need to turn every life-and-death situation into a learning experience for them all?
But the chance for banter was interrupted when more Kraangdroids started firing at them, making the two scatter apart. Ducking in a corner, Donnie called out a threat to both himself and Mikey - maybe the latter could take care of the droid and help Donnie get back in the game. "Mikey! On the right!"
But Mikey didn't exactly understand right away. "Your right or my right?" When he saw the droid gearing up to fire at him, though, he understood what Donnie was talking about - his right. Doing a small handspring and diverting the attention away from Donnie, Mikey yelped as the droids continued firing at him. 
Donnie was grateful at the distraction, though. Getting out of his hiding spot, he leaped up and spun the bo around, ready to take out the droid with a single hit, and-
It hit the droid harmlessly in the head. 
What? How was that even possible? Normally the bo worked perfectly fine against them, what changed now?
"Are you kidding me? I hate this thing!"
But before Donnie could think of a plausible explanation (or better yet, be shot at by the Kraang,) Raph launched a sai at the droid and impaled it, before stabbing the head out of its socket and sending it flying. "Nice work." The red-masked turtle remarked sarcastically. "When we're done here, there's a marching band that needs a majorette."
He then ran off to fight more droids while Donnie stared at the bo with contempt - before remembering that he was in the middle of a battle and that standing around was about the most idiotic thing you could do. 
Meanwhile, Leo was dealing with droids effortlessly; jumping off of support beams and using both of his katanas to take care of two droids with as clean of a sweep as possible. Raph was the same way, leaping off another beam and stabbing a droid in both of its shoulders. 
Knowing that things were not going to end up well for them, one droid addressed another to unleash their secret weapon. "Kraang, the present is being a positive time to b the testing of the energy cannon." If this didn't care of the turtles, then surely nothing would. And besides, why not take them out using an awesome cannon?
Two other droids pulled open the doors, revealing a menacing-looking cannon that looked as high-tech as the Kraang's plasma guns. It had the same pink energy as the guns, and it looked to be extremely powerful. 
As Leo and Mikey finished off the last few droids, Raph and Donnie joined them as they stared down the cannon. "Everyone, stand your ground!" The leader ordered, all of them brandishing their weapons. Granted, it probably wouldn't be easy to take down a weapon that seemed to have no weak point, but it probably needed to be controlled by someone else. So they would take the droid down, then Donnie would do his thing and dismantle it, right?
Right?
Well, that was what they thought until the cannon started to charge up. And considering the intensity and volume of its charge, the boys knew they'd be cooked if they got hit with it. So they did the smarter thing:
"On second thought, run!"
Before they could, though, a droid hit the trigger on the cannon, releasing a powerful pink energy beam at them - and making them scatter. Mikey barely dodged it as he flipped over it, Raph jumped off the crate he had landed on when the cannon targeted him next, Leo made the same move as Mikey (with more grace, admittedly,) and Donnie...
While he ducked and successfully avoided the beam, his bo wasn't so lucky. It was broken right down the middle, almost as if someone had snapped it across their knee. This definitely was not helping his waning confidence about the bo that he was dealing with earlier. 
"Oh, come on!" He angrily exclaimed. Not only did he need to replace his bo now, he also needed a new weapon. Maybe now would be a good time to start working on that mech idea with Andi...?
From behind a pile of crates, Mikey decided to point out the obvious - which also answered Donnie's rhetorical question. "Dude, your weapon just exploded!"
Yep, definitely should start working on that battle mech. Along with, you know, getting a new bo staff so he wasn't completely at a loss during battle.
Once again, Donnie remembered that he was still in battle, so after running out of the line of fire from the plasma cannon and hiding behind a large crate, Donnie lamented over the loss of the staff. "How am I supposed to fight advanced alien technology with a stupid STICK?!" He yelled, deciding to toss it aside and fight purely through hand-to-hand combat. He had enough experience with it that he would be fine, right?
Meanwhile, the rest of the boys were fighting just fine. Leo had sliced through one while Raph impaled another, while Mikey had pounced on a third one with the kusarigama's blade (taking the droid's head off in the process) and leaped to take down another, whereas Leo and Raph had taken down two more with ease.
But it seemed to be for nothing, as more droids and the cannon started surrounding them - with the robots still firing and the cannon gearing up to show off more of its firepower. 
This was not going well. 
As Mikey and Donnie joined them (but were now cornered,) they decided to just swallow their pride and keep fighting. 
No way were they going to be taken down by some Kraang scum.
~
As they were further cornered into the wall, one droid addressed the one who was driving the cannon. "Kraang! Destroy those who call themselves the turtles when that which is the signal is the signal given by me!"
However, Leo had a plan - he threw a star at the crutch for a support beam, which ricocheted off the arms of a forklift and hit its controls, making it sputter to life and barrel directly into the Kraang - taking both the droids and the cannon down. The boys watched with relief as both an explosion and a crash occurred; indicating that the cannon had backfired horribly on the Kraang - and now they were lying helplessly on the ground.
Perfect opportunity for them to get out of there. 
They jumped through an open window (with the exception of Donnie, who had decided to stay back, for some weird reason) as Raph decided to comment on Leo's unorthodox way of dealing with the fight. "Dumb luck." He remarked. 
But Leo was quick to shut down such an assumption. "Wasn't luck, my friend. And 'dumb' had nothing to do with it." Judging by the proud look on Raph's face, it was safe to assume that the latter believed him - which was a nice change of pace.
Meanwhile, Donnie had emerged in the window and was struggling to pull something alongside him - along with not falling out of the window. "Hey, give me a hand with this." He requested, to which Leo understandably asked, "A hand with what?"
Judging by the slightly embarrassed look on Donnie's face, it wasn't going to be a fun task. 
~
"We're carrying this thing because...why?" Raph asked as he and Donnie dragged a busted-up Kraangdroid with them back to the lair. Admittedly, the sight was a bit funny to an outsider, but the annoyed look on the red-masked turtle's face made the scene a bit more pathetic than anything.
Donnie, meanwhile, was much more focused on merely carrying the droid home - completely ignoring Raph's slight aggravation. "Don't you want to know how these things work?" Only he would intentionally bring a robot that weighed at minimum 200 pounds in pure metal back to the lair with him and his brothers.
Raph wasn't about to have an intellectual conversation at the moment, though; he was too focused on just getting the stupid droid home. "I know how they work. You hit 'em 'til the brainy toy surprise pops out." While it was a crude way of putting it, he wasn't too far off from reality.
But Donnie's mind was still in "nerd mode" as Mikey opened a manhole cover for him to drop the droid in. "That's your problem, Raph." The purple-masked turtle commented, picking up the droid with a hint of strain. "You never think things through." He finished as he tried to drop the droid into the tunnel.
However, in true irony, it got stuck. 
"Is that supposed to fit?" Raph rhetorically asked, giving Donnie a deadpan stare like 'You really thought that was going to work?'
Not wanting to be outsmarted by such a careless (and admittedly, foolish mistake,) Donnie started to force the droid into the tunnel; kicking it, stomping on it - and yet, nothing. 
This was going to take a while. 
~
After what felt like forever, they were finally back at the lair - Kraangdroid still intact. 
While Mikey was indulging in a slice of pizza, Raph was feeding Spike, Leo was reading a comic and April was working on what looked like a document for a summer class, Andi and Donnie were dissecting the technology in the droid's exoskeleton - and reveling in how sleek and complex it looked. 
"This technology is light-years ahead of anything I've ever seen!" Donnie marveled to Andi, holding up a small gadget with wires sticking out the bottom. It looked vaguely like a miniature control panel for a droid - like that was what the alien hit with their tentacles to make the droid whirr to life. "Do you know what this is?"
Noticing that he was talking to her, Andi set down a piece she was examining (the wires strewn made her question if it was like a bone for the Kraang) and glanced at what he was holding up to her. Immediately, her eyes widened and her smile grew. "No, but it looks awesome! Maybe that's like a heart for them, since the aliens in their abdomens are like their brains?"
"Maybe...ah, I can't wait to find out!" Donnie nearly squealed, making April smile and shake her head in amusement at them as she continued typing. It was always funny (and a little bit comforting) to have Andi be so interested in technology (regardless of what it was,) but when Donnie was added into the equation, the reaction was doubly hilarious. 
Meanwhile, Splinter was carefully holding a new bo for Donnie with the utmost respect, and the serious look on his face told Donnie that he had better not break this one so carelessly as he had during the battle against the Kraang. 
"Look, Spike. Donnie got another stick to break." Raph remarked, carefully balancing Spike on one hand while his other tickled the small tortoise under his chin. 
"With all due respect, sensei, I can't keep fighting alien technology with a six-foot staff." Donnie admitted, sitting himself up so his head was resting about the staff. "I was hoping to upgrade my weapon."
Andi perked up at that; maybe that meant they would finally get around to working on that battle mech. She glanced down at the technology in front of her and started getting ideas...maybe that control panel Donnie had held up earlier could play a part in it?
"Hm. A seven-foot staff. Interesting." Splinter mused as he held the bo at his side, snapping Andi out of her daydream and making her giggle at the obvious joking tone in his voice.
"No, I meant using modern technology." Donnie clarified, subtly referring to the Kraang parts in front of them. 
But, continuing the joke, Splinter spoke in the same tone. "Ah, a solar-powered staff." That made Andi start laughing - while also writing in the notes app on her phone that that was actually a good idea for the future. 
"I'm serious, sensei!" Donnie protested, slightly pouting at Andi as she continued laughing - but he couldn't deny how cute she looked. 
"I know." Splinter merely replied, dropping the joking tone and going with a more fatherly one. "And yes, you may upgrade your weapon."
But Donnie was already prepared for Splinter to deny such a request. "That's totally unfair! You can't just-" But then he realized he misheard and glanced up at Splinter. "Wait, did you say yes?" That made Andi roll her eyes and snicker under her breath, while also remarking, "Geez, Don, learn to listen once in a while."
He then turned to look at her, raising a nonexistent eyebrow and his lips quirking up ever so slightly. "Okay, whose side are you on?"
Andi merely laughed again, meeting his eyes with a knowing smile. "Master Splinter's, duh. Once again, learn to listen."
Splinter smiled to himself before commencing with the explanation. "Ninjas have improved their arsenal for centuries. We are masters of adaptation."
"That is great!" Donnie cheered, still holding the control panel and standing up. "'Cause with this technology, I will be INVINCIBLE!" His mind immediately started racing with ideas. "What should I make? Electric sais? Multi-shot shuriken? Plasma swords!" He squealed. "I just gave myself goosebumps!"
But then he remembered the mech idea - and grinned at Andi in the process. "Actually, what say we finally get to work on that robot?"
She met his eyes with a bright smile. Finally, they were on the same page. "Let's do it!"
He could've melted with how pretty she looked. 
"But remember, technology is a means, not an end. It is you who must prevail in battle, not your weapon." Splinter added as Donnie and Andi picked up the broken droid and started to drag it toward the lab - clearly not listening to his advice. "Combat is not a video game."
"That's it! We'll turn combat into a video game!" Donnie excitedly told both himself and Andi, with him adding a "thanks, sensei!" and Andi smiling at him over his shoulder and yelling a warm "thank you, Master Splinter!" 
And as they made it to the lab, she grinned at Donnie with a gleam in her eye. "This is gonna be fun."
~
As the sounds of blowtorches, hammers and laughter emerged from the lab, the others resumed their own activities. Mikey was now asleep on the tire swing, Leo and Raph were playing against each other in virtual hockey, and April had retired from working - and was now checking up on a message board that she and Andi had started a few days before. And apparently, someone had sent in a video for her to watch. 
"Hey, guys! Check out this post I got!" April called to the boys, a curious look in her eye. 
"Hang on, April. I just have to destroy Lame-onardo." Raph assured her before reverting his attention back to the game. 
Both of them had regained a sense of focus at that, hands keenly maneuvering their characters around to hit the puck. The game was all tied up at this point - one good power shot would secure either one of them a victory. Their characters moved around at the same time and in the same direction, only raising the stakes-
Until Raph got sick of the stalemate going on and slammed his hand down on the button for a power shot, destroying Leo's character with the puck and getting him the necessary victory point. 
Leo gave him an unimpressed stare as Raph reveled in his victory with a little dance, before giving his brother a proud smirk and shoving him aside, before going to join April on the couch. "So what's up?"
Unbeknownst to him, Leo had followed him and hit him once in the head as penance, before looking to April's computer.
"Andi and I set up a message board to collect unusual sightings around New York." She filled them in. "People send in pics, videos...sometimes we even get stuff that could help us track down the Kraang and find my dad. Like this video of a gas explosion." A video then played, showing clouds of gray, murky smoke - and a single Kraangdroid walking out of it. 
"A Kraangdroid." Leo remarked, admittedly both intrigued and a bit unimpressed (seriously? That was the best the citizens of New York could do?). But upon hearing that ill-fated word, Mikey was startled awake with a "WHERE?!" before yelping in panic as he fell into the wading pool. 
The three glanced at him with a mix of annoyance and unamused, before Leo decided to get them back on track. "We'll check it out tonight."
"Why not now?" April asked, her tone now adopting a hint of impatience. If they waited until nighttime, then that would give the Kraang ample time to either move their location or carry out whatever new plan they had.
Leo's answer was both obvious and simple. "Because it's daytime. We can't let anyone see us."
But April wasn't about to take that as an answer. "Well, I can." She only replied, closing her laptop and standing up, heading directly for the entrance. 
Leo immediately stopped her. "April, think about this. It could be dangerous." While he did respect her tenacity, she didn't have nearly (or really, any) experience with the Kraang as they did. If she wasn't careful, she could easily end up like her father - or worse. 
But speaking of Kirby-
"You know what else could be dangerous? Standing between me and my father." April told him sternly, the look in her eye telling him that she wasn't backing down for any reason. 
Unless...
Almost as if on cue, Andi stepped out of the lab, giggling to herself at a joke Donnie had told her before. "Let me just go to the bathroom first and then I can show you the gun." Her smile was on full display as she caught sight of the Mexican standoff between Leo and April. "What's going on here?"
Leo was about to ask if she could talk some sense into April, but the latter simply told her, "I'm gonna investigate a nearby Kraang base. See if I can pick up on any plans."
Immediately, the color drained from Andi's face and her eyes went wide - and her smile faded instantly. "Wait, what? Are you crazy?!" She rushed over to face April, grabbing her shoulders in a desperate attempt to stop her. "Did you forget that you were nearly another hostage of theirs?! They're probably looking for you! What if they find you?! What if you're taken again?!" She then got even more scared as her green eyes met April's blue ones. "What if they do something worse?"
For a split second, April's determination and confidence faltered. But then she remembered seeing her dad being taken in that helicopter...and the steely look in her eye returned. "I'll be careful, Andi. Nothing's gonna happen to me." She assured her, pulling her into a hug to calm her nerves. 
And while it didn't help her completely, the vague scent of her honey shampoo was enough to make Andi let out a shaky breath. "You'd better be, O'Neil. Or I'll kill you myself." She muttered, making April smile softly at her and pull away. 
"I'll be back before you know it."
She then turned around and left the lair, leaving Andi to watch her and wrap her arms around her own abdomen. 
"Is she always like this?" Leo asked her in an attempt to snap her out of her anxiety. Which kind of worked as Andi sighed and nodded. "Determined? Absolutely."
Donnie had noticed what was going on from the lab and was now standing in the doorway. Seeing Andi like this made him feel like his heart was in his throat, so he resorted to what he tended to do when she was in pain or scared - a strong distraction. "Uh, hey, Andi? Maybe you can show me the gun now?"
She tore herself away from the path April had taken and met his eyes, slightly nodding in agreement. "Yeah, um...sure." She agreed, taking one last glance at the entrance before walking back with Donnie into the lab. 
"She's gonna be okay...you know that, right?" He tried to comfort her, making her give him a weak smile. 
"For both her sake and mine, Don, you'd better be right."
~
As she crouched behind a dumpster, watching a droid walk go up to a locked door with the most advanced keypad in the world, April was having second thoughts for a moment. Maybe Andi was right...maybe this was a stupid idea, and maybe it was tempting fate by sneaking into a Kraang base. 
But then the image of her father in that helicopter flashed through her mind again, and she took a quiet, but deep breath. She could do this, she just had to be stealthy. 
She quickly ran to hide behind a crate directly in front of the door, then watched as the droid inputted the code. "Okay, Kraang creep..." She mumbled to herself, the newfound rush of adrenaline taking over her. 
As soon as the door opened and the droid walked inside, April smiled to herself. "Lead the way."
This was not going to be easy, she could tell. 
But that was fine with her. 
~
Meanwhile, Andi was still in thought as she and Donnie were putting the final touches on the robot. While it didn't distract her from her work, she was still wondering about April - flashes went through her mind of her best friend being discovered..and she sighed at the thought. "She'd better be okay..." She muttered to herself, her grip tightening on the wrench she was using to tighten a few bolts.
And Donnie caught onto that as he put down the blowtorch he was using and turned to face her. "She will be." He tried to comfort her. "You know her better than I do, but I've kind of gathered the idea that April's tough. Not necessarily scrappy, but she's quick-witted and can hold her own."
Andi smiled to herself at the assumption. "You'd be right about that." She quietly said, but sighed as a new thought crept into her mind. "I just...I worry about her. She's the only person that I've ever really considered a best friend, and to lose her...it freaks me out. That's why I had such a knee-jerk reaction before...a-and remember when we met and I started to panic around you?" When Donnie silently nodded, she bit her lip in shame and looked down. "That's, um...that was why."
"Andi, is it okay if I hug you?"
She immediately looked at him. "What?"
"Is it okay if I hug you?"
The fact that he asked that made her heart skip a beat. "Um...sure, okay."
He then put an arm around her, going to rub her shoulder. "I get where you're coming from." He admitted softly. "But you know the cool thing about being a ninja?" He asked, making her raise an eyebrow at him. As a little smile formed on his lips, he decided to make her laugh a bit - even if it meant looking like the biggest idiot on the planet with such reasoning. "You get to save the people you love."
Andi rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face told Donnie it was affectionate. "Same thing with being a superhero, according to the multitude of movies and comics. Your point?"
Donnie couldn't help but smile more; she was starting to feel better. "My point, Miss Rhodes, is that Darwin forbid April is kidnapped, we're gonna save her. Nothing is gonna happen to her - whether that's because she's careful and doesn't get noticed, or because we bust in, beat the Kraang into the ground, and make sure she's safe." He then met her eyes, trying his best not to melt under her gaze. "And considering you've got that awesome new laser gun now, chances are you'd be able to join us."
Andi smiled the same way as him, her focus going towards the straw training dummy with the gaping hole in its chest. "Yeah, don't think the Kraang would be safe from that." She agreed, making Donnie chuckle and nod in agreement. 
"Precisely."
She then looked back at the stocky robot, doing one last once-over to make sure no glaring issues needed to be addressed. When she was satisfied, she nodded and pursed her lips. "You think Engelberger is ready to be presented to the others?"
"Yeah, I think-" Donnie then noticed the name she gave the robot and smiled in understanding. "Yeah. I think Engelberger's ready for battle."
~
As they started to walk the robot around the lab for a brief test, Leo, Raph and Mikey were all in the living room. Mikey was nearly finished with (what was likely) his second pizza of the day, Raph was dangling a piece of lettuce in front of Spike to get him to eat, and Leo was tuning into the latest rerun of "Space Heroes."
Currently, Captain Ryan and his crew were exploring a new planet, but something felt off about it - specifically the lack of life on there. "What do you make of this, Dr. Mindstrong?" He asked the green-skinned intelligence agent. After a brief scanning of the environment by his scanner, Mindstrong appeared confused and slightly disgruntled/ "This is very disturbing, Captain. Er, sensors indicate-"
Before he could explain what the scanner was picking up on, a hot pink moth-like creature latched itself onto Mindstrong's head and put him under mind control, making Mindstrong add (with a more wispy voice, this time,) "Everything is...fine..."
"Great galaxies!" Ryan exclaimed, making his loyal lackey Crankshaw ask (mostly for the sake of the audience watching - like Leo,) "Captain! What's happened?"
Considering "Space Heroes" was the typical Saturday morning cartoon, Ryan exclaimed (or moreso explained,) "Dr. Mindstrong's been taken over by the Cortexicons!"
Leo fed into the cheesy action of the show, letting out a quiet gasp at the revelation. 
In typical Crankshaw fashion, he started to freak out. "What'll we do?! WHAT'LL WE DO?!" He was then met with a slap across the face from Ryan to calm down. 
"There's only one thing we can do." Ryan told him, then turned to the camera in dramatic fashion. "Dr. Mindstrong must be destroyed!"
Leo watched in stunned silence as Ryan's blaster hit Mindstrong - even if he knew Mindstrong would be fine in the next episode, the action and drama never failed to compel him, regardless of how cheesy it was. "What a hero..." He murmured, admittedly wondering if he would need to make that same kind of sacrifice when it came to a future mission with his brothers. 
He hoped not, but the possibility was there. 
His pondering was completely broken at pounding footsteps echoing throughout the lair, making him scowl at the annoyance. Raph was more confused (though he looked just as aggravated as Leo,) while Mikey...well, upon noticing the miniature earthquakes, Mikey quickly closed the box containing the final slice of pizza and held it tightly to his chest, in pure fear of it being destroyed. 
What emerged from the lab was a small, stocky robotic turtle with its hands in front of it. It had a small antenna on the back of its head (so it could be controlled by both Donnie and Andi,) a metallic yellow plastron with wires protruding from its front (that was mostly because they ran out of yellow paint for the scrap metal and decided to leave it as is, deciding it was to look like a belt,) and a yellow stripe across its eyes, like a bandana. It looked like a small robotic ninja turtle. 
And it looked amazing. And it seemed to be able to talk as its mouth opened and a speaker was shown, and Donnie's voice echoed out, "Take me to your leader!" Its mouth promptly closed at that - before opening again as Andi's voice emerged from the speaker. "Good introduction."
Mikey looked to be unamused as he called out, "Leo, it's for you." He told the blue-masked turtle, admittedly a little upset that the introduction to such a cool invention was so...lame. 
Leo promptly answered the call, doing a once-over of the robot with confusion - and a hint of intrigue. "What is this thing?"
Donnie and Andi walked out of the lab, each holding a wireless remote controller. "Gentlemen!" Donnie exclaimed, then giggled when Andi added in a mumble, "And Raphael."
This made Raph glare at her and made Andi smirk in response as Donnie continued the spiel, while she held a hand out to the robot like she was the assistant to a game show host, demonstrating the fabulous prizes the contestants could win. "This is the future of ninjutsu!"
Deciding to get her back for the comment, Raph remarked, "I always thought the future of ninjutsu would be taller. Makes sense that he's taller than Andi, though."
"If I weren't holding this controller, I would smack you."
Raph only smirked at her this time as Mikey 'awwed' at how petite the robot looked. "He's so cute!" He then decided to tickle it under its chin - before immediately regretting it as the robot's endless arsenal was unleashed. Small missiles on its shoulders, lasers on its elbows and knees, a GPS tracking device, red bat wings...if anyone wanted to take this on in a fight, they probably wouldn't come back alive. Mikey stumbled back and yelped in panic as he fell back onto his shell. 
Andi and Donnie shared a proud smirk with each other. "He doesn't like being tickled." The latter simply replied as he pushed a small pressure-sensitive panel on the top of the robot's head to store away the weapons, before lightly patting the top of its head. 
This was going to be fun, indeed.
~
Meanwhile, the Kraang base was just as sterile and cold as April thought it would be. 
Droids were walking through the area and scanning it for any sign of unwanted life, all while chirping to themselves. It created for an incredibly eerie atmosphere - and admittedly, it scared April a bit more. Now that she was in the belly of the beast, so to speak, it felt more intimidating than thrilling. She was starting to understand what Andi meant when she brought up the risk of getting caught. One wrong move and she was history. 
But it was worth it if it meant finding out any plans - or better yet, finding any clues about her father.
As she hid behind a crate and watched a droid walk past her, she silently crawled to her left and started to eavesdrop on a conversation that two other droids were having. It sounded important - and it seemed like they were talking about exactly what she wanted. 
"Is that which is the unstable mutagen ready for using in the experiment that Kraang is being ready to begin?"
Translation: Is the unstable mutagen ready for the experiment?
"The unstable mutagen will be tomorrow unleashing in the water supply."
This went without saying.
April gasped at the prospect, though it was quiet as she curled back into the fetal position. "The water supply? Oh no..." She whispered to herself, but immediately started to weigh her options. She had gotten the information she needed, but the droids were still standing there. But then again, she could make a break for it, if she was careful...
But then the droids continued talking and she stopped thinking, going back to eavesdropping. 
"Many infected humans will mutation. This is being a good way to perfect the mutagen to the point of perfection."
Translation: With the humans becoming mutated creatures, they could use them as experiments to continue honing the mutagen. 
Okay, that was dangerous. 
The second droid then left, and as April tried to get a bit closer (while also maintaining her cover behind the crate,) the fire extinguisher on top of said crate fell with a loud 'clang,' making her cringe and crawl behind an adjacent crate as the droid caught wind of the extinguisher and went to check out what caused the commotion.
This was bad.
~
As the droid picked up the fire extinguisher and went to find the culprit, April immediately started to think of how to get out of there. "Think ninja, think ninja..." She mumbled, frantically searching the room for some way to escape. 
But then she saw the open window panel, and it hit her. 
She gasped in excitement, but quickly covered her mouth and internally cursed herself as the droid heard her, then dropped the extinguisher again and started to walk to where she was. 
Okay, now she had to book it.
And thankfully, as soon as the droid stopped in front of the crate (where she would've been,) she was gone. It walked a little further - mostly wanting to see if the culprit had moved to another part of the base - but when he looked to the right, he saw the fluttering window panel. 
And as it went to go investigate what could've caused it, it didn't notice April running up to it with a lead pipe and hitting it directly in the head with all of her might, hoping to knock it out. 
Unfortunately, it didn't do the trick, and the droid turned around to face her, completely unphased. 
April gasped again, this was just what Andi had warned her about. Now she was about to be taken and never see her, the boys or Splinter again and likely never see her dad again and-
No. Not if she could help it. 
Before the droid could sound any alarms or attack her, she swung the pipe again (this time, with much more force,) and sent the droid flying through the window panel and onto the ground. As she watched the gross alien...thing squirm out of the droid's stomach, she caught her breath for a moment as the adrenaline wore off. 
Dropping the pipe, she ran for the exit before any other droids could spot her. 
Mission accomplished.
~
Back at the lair, Mikey was proceeding to make faces at the robot while Andi watched him with an affectionate smile and roll of the eyes, while Donnie was explaining how they created it to Leo. "Isn't it cool? We reverse-engineered it from the Kraangdroid!" 
"Okay..." Leo asked, more confusion in his tone than amazement. While it was cool, he didn't necessarily understand why they needed a droid to begin with. It wasn't like anyone was injured and the robot could take his place, so why create something like this in the first place? "Why?"
But Andi was quick to reply with a confident (and admittedly, soft) smile. "So he can handle the dangerous stuff while you guys stay out of harm's way. Plus, it's cool to have a robot on your side, don't you think?"
But Raph immediately found a way to make fun of that. "Oh, I get it. This is for wimps too afraid to fight."
While Andi rolled her eyes at the taunt, Donnie decided to play into it. "No, it's for wimps too smart to fight." He then realized how dumb that sounded as he tried to rectify that statement. "I-I mean..." Meanwhile, Andi facepalmed and shook her head, trying her hardest not to laugh. "Good response, Don."
Meanwhile, Mikey was knocking on the top of the robot's head curiously - and an idea hit him. "Ooh, let's call him Metalhead!" 
Andi took her hand away from her face, going to jump in and explain he already had a name. "Uh, actually, he's already-" She then saw Donnie shaking his head at her, his eyes saying 'don't try to change it, Mikey's pretty dead set in his ways with names.' So she nodded, but slightly huffed to herself at having her and Donnie's creation have his name changed right in front of her. 
Ah, well.
"Why you ask?" Mikey asked with a smug smile, completely ignoring Andi's slight annoyance. "Because he's got a head and it's made of-"
Exasperated, Leo facepalmed this time and cut him off. "We get it."
Raph still took fault with the idea of a robot fighting - at all. "I don't need a toaster to fight my battles for me."
Andi's annoyance melted away as she smirked at Raph. "Is that because a toaster is smarter than you?" She couldn't help but giggle as Mikey gave her a high-five and Donnie and Leo snickered, all while Raph was glaring at her - though there was a tinge of affection in his eyes. It was kind of nice being able to hurl insults with someone who could actually respond - and respond well.
But eventually Leo got back on track. "Er, this is ridiculous, guys. It takes the whole point out of being a ninja."
"It's exactly the point of being a ninja!" Donnie told him, a bright smile on his face. "We adapt." He briefly explained, alluding to the message Splinter was giving him earlier.  "Now watch this. Attack the drone! Give it all you've got!"
Andi had to hold back her smile, she knew exactly what was to be expected from this. 
"You're sure? I don't want to break your toy." Leo sarcastically asked, before Raph pushed him aside with seriousness in his eyes. "I do."
He then stepped in front of Metalhead and unsheathed his sais as Donnie pressed a button on his controller to power him up. 
Growling to himself, Raph sprinted forward and jumped, ready to impale Metalhead directly in...well, the head. 
Andi smirked over at Donnie and nodded as if saying, 'Let him have it.' 
And Donnie agreed, flipping two switches and grabbing Raph's wrist before he could get an attack in. Metalhead then swung Raph back and forth like a ragdoll, before throwing him into the wall casually. 
One down, two to go. 
Immediately, Leo and Mikey jumped into the fray and revealed their own weapons, before going into a frenzy trying to get some type of damage on Metalhead. The clanging of blade and iron against metal was palpitating (and even made Andi cover her ears with how loud it was) but nothing was enough. 
Giving a confident (and gap-toothed) smile to her, Donnie flipped the same two switches and grabbed both Leo's katana and Mikey's kusarigama, then slammed them together - causing the brothers to do the same. The distraction gave Metalhead the chance to step on Leo's foot (which likely caused at minimum some broken bones), making him yell in pain and giving the robot the chance to send him flying into Raph - after Donnie grabbed Andi's shoulders and moved them both out of the way. 
Two down, one to go. 
Metalhead immediately turned to Mikey (who jumped in surprise), and with one punch, sent the youngest flying into his older brothers.
Three down, none to go.
"I kicked your shells!" Donnie gloated, giving Andi a high five and a gigantic smile. "And I didn't even have to use the laser cannon!" He added, holding his controller close to his chest with a smile. "And, furthermore, you didn't even get to see the awesome stuff Andi included!"
At hearing that, Andi's smile turned shy as she blushed from embarrassment. It was common to hear someone call her smart, she was used to that. But to hear someone acknowledge her talents in engineering, and to have that someone be as smart and nice as Donnie? She had to admit, it was an amazing feeling.
"Face it, guys, with this thing? We're invincible." 
Slightly bitter about losing to a robot, Raph stood up and brandished a sai. "Oh, yeah?" He asked, loosening Donnie's grip on his controller and sending it onto the floor, making the purple-masked turtle glare at him and Andi snap out of her slight daze at the sound. 
"You know what I mean!" Donnie said exasperatedly as he frantically went to grab the controller. And right as he grabbed it, Splinter appeared in front of him, making him perk up. "Sensei! I was just wondering if Andi and I could take Metalhead for a spin tonight?"
"You may."
"That's totally unfair!" Donnie argued again as Andi walked over to help him up. "You can't just-wait, what?" Once again, Andi snickered under her breath, her grip nearly loosening on his arm. "0 for 2, Don." She muttered, making him playfully glare at her. 
Smiling again at their banter, Splinter walked over to the robot to examine it more closely. "You have created this new weapon, we must see how it works." He explained, lightly patting the top of his head.
"That's great!" Both Donnie and Andi said at the same time, making them look at each other with a confused look on their faces - while Donnie appeared to be...blushing, much like Andi was before. To divert from his embarrassment, he managed a sheepish, but well-meaning "thank you, sensei."
Splinter turned around to acknowledge them, the embarrassed look on Donnie's face making him smile once more. "But it is a test only. Do not take it into combat." He added, making both of them nod in agreement. 
"No problem, sensei." "Of course, Master Splinter."
Satisfied with their answers, Splinter retreated back to the dojo - and out of earshot from Andi and the boys. 
And immediately after he left, Raph asked the obvious question. "You're taking it into combat, aren't you?"
"Totally!" Donnie giggled to himself, holding the controller to his chest. As he grinned at Andi, though, he noticed for a second that she looked unhappy. "You okay?"
She was about to say 'fine,' but relented and shook her head. "Just...I'm still worried about April, it's been over two hours and she still hasn't come back yet. Plus, is Engelberger really ready for a battle now?"
He smiled and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "He'll be okay. And as far as April goes, if you want, we can search for her as we're testing him out. We'll just do a scan of the city, chances are she's on the street or she's back at her apartment." He suggested, watching her visibly relax and smile at the suggestion. 
"Yeah, I'd like that."
~
And there they were in the quiet and brisk night, running across rooftops and perching themselves on the edge of one, overlooking a Kraang base. Leo was first to make it, then Mikey (as he took a makeshift zipline over,) then Raph as he rolled onto the rooftop, then Andi as she ran up, laser gun in hand. She had decided to go with them mostly to get a good look at Metalhead in the field, but a bonus was that she wanted to find April and ensure she was okay.
Though speaking of Metalhead...his footsteps could be heard from Texas as he took the same path as Leo and Andi; crossing rooftops and causing some damage to the roof as he jumped down, then ran over to the four of them. 
Mikey and Andi were cringing (him at the lack of stealth, her for the noise,) while Raph and Leo were completely unimpressed - with the latter throwing in a facepalm for good measure.
And as a small amount of steam blew out of the sides of Metalhead's cranium to avoid overheating, Andi checked him over to make sure nothing was damaged while Leo decided to rub salt in the wound about how much he was failing. "Should we double back? I think there's a car alarm he didn't set off."
Raph decided to continue the teasing. "I kinda like it. It goes nicely with all the sirens and cries for help."
Andi rolled her eyes as she stood back up, brushing off any debris from her dress. "Oh, will you guys just can it?" She asked sharply, resting her elbow against Metalhead. 
And Donnie agreed with her through the headset he was wearing in the lair. "Yeah, seriously. You guys are just jealous 'cause you're out there in the cold and I'm here eating Mikey's pizza." He then decided to rub it in further, much like his older brothers were doing before. "Don't worry, I'm saving a slice for Andi as well." That made Andi snicker and smile. "Appreciated."
"Hey!" Unfortunately, it wasn't appreciated by Mikey as he shot her a glare and punched Metalhead in the arm - before realizing how bad of a mistake that was. "Ow!" 
But it was immediately interrupted as a familiar voice called out from below, "Hello?"
"Guys, quiet! Somebody's coming!" Leo told them, making them all crouch over the edge of the building, just in case they didn't recognize who it was. And they were not about to be spotted again by someone else - first Vic, then Bradford, then Stockman. What next, the Shredder himself?
But then again, Metalhead didn't help with how loud he was when getting into a crouching position - many whirring sounds and even a beep here and there.
"Andi! Guys! It's me!" 
At her name being called, Andi leaned in to get a better view of who it was - and she nearly burst into tears at who it was. 
"April!"
She practically lunged for the nearest fire escape as she jumped onto the ground - and the second she hit the asphalt, she ran into April's arms, squeezing her so tightly she was afraid she was going to break the girl's ribs. "By Copernicus, I'm so glad you're okay!" She exclaimed, pulling away to frantically check her over. "Wait, are you okay? Broken bones, internal bleeding, any bruising?"
"Andi, I'm fine." April giggled and lightly pried her off, before holding out her arms and spinning slowly to demonstrate. "See? I'm okay."
Satisfied, Andi nodded and sighed in relief. "I know, I-I'm sorry." She explained, trying to calm herself down. "I just...I didn't hear from you, so I got worried and started thinking the Kraang had gotten you and..." But before she could continue, she sighed again and pulled April into one more hug. "Moral of the story, I worry about you."
April smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm okay." She confirmed, though her smile was replaced with a calm sigh as she saw the boys still on the roof. "Oh, good. The boys are here." She waved for them to come down - mostly so she could share the Kraang's plans with all of them. "Guys! I was just looking for you!"
Unfortunately, none of them were expecting the idea that Metalhead would be right behind them, and before Andi could explain the robot to her, the whistling could be heard as he landed right in a dumpster, making both girls yelp at the sound. 
And as he struggled to free himself from the dumpster, Leo gave him another facepalm as Andi opened the lid so he could get out more easily. Until finally he was out, and his stocky self was present and standing in front of the others.
"Still, he's stealthier than the real Donatello." Raph remarked, but April looked at the robot in confusion. "What the heck is that?"
"It's Andi and Donnie's latest creation, Metalhead." Leo briefly explained as April then turned to look at her best friend like 'You did this?' 
"Catchy name, huh? My idea." Mikey added proudly as he leaned his elbow against Metalhead.
"Yeah." Andi briskly added, gesturing to the bulky droid. "He's meant to be a weapon for battle, allowing the user to stay out of harm's way while still contributing to the fighting." She then leaned in to whisper to April so Mikey couldn't hear, "His actual name is Engelberger, but Mikey wanted to call him Metalhead so that's just his nickname." That made April smile and roll her eyes, only Andi would gatekeep something so dumb as a name. 
"Sorry, girls, still getting used to the controls." Donnie explained the commotion before as the megaphone was exposed from Metalhead's mouth, creating an unnecessary loudness in Donnie's voice and an obnoxious ringing that made everyone cover their ears - and even made Andi wince at the sound. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to install that in the first place. But thankfully, the controls were fixed as Metalhead's mouth closed and Donnie sheepishly explained again, "Megaphone button got stuck."
Andi smiled softly at him before turning back to April. "So did you find any news about the Kraang?"
"Oh, right!" April's expression then turned stormy. "It's serious, they're gonna poison the city's water supply with mutagen!" 
Immediately, the boys and Andi started to get concerned. "The whole city will become a disaster area!" And Donnie (through Metalhead) added, "There'll be mutants everywhere!"
Andi started to picture it immediately - mutated citizens roaming the streets, them being used as experiments by the Kraang...it'd be terrible. And maybe they could use these mutants to kidnap the people who weren't affected by the mutagen? The thought alone made her shudder. 
However, Mikey saw the positives in it. "Wow! Think of all the friends we could make!" He suggested, subconsciously throwing his arms around Metalhead. But when the rest of them gave him a disapproving look (like 'what is wrong with you,') Mikey tried to justify it. "Excuse me for being a glass-half-full kind of guy."
Deciding not to berate Mikey at the moment, Leo gestured for the others to follow him. "Let's go!" 
Metalhead immediately went to follow him, with Donnie adding, "Yeah, the Kraang don't stand a chance!" But he was immediately stopped by Leo - making both Donnie and Andi confused. "What?"
"Donnie, I need you to hang back. Metalhead is just too clumsy, it'll get in our way." Leo reasoned with him, making Donnie stumble over his words at such a ludicrous accusation, as well as Andi scowl at the blue-masked turtle, taking slight offense. 
"Are you kidding me, Leo? He may not be the most graceful, but he can still fight! He's got the range that you guys don't have; a flamethrower, lasers, a plasma fist, he can do stuff you guys can't!"
Leo shook his head, unconvinced. "Andi, it's just too clumsy. If we allow it to go with us, we'll get our shells handed to us." He sternly told her, only earning a glare from her. 
His point was only proven when Metalhead knocked his arm into a handful of trash cans, startling April. Though, because it was Donnie, he immediately tried to rectify his argument. "I did that on purpose to emphasize my point."
"You're not coming, Donnie." Leo simply told him, then followed Raph and Mikey as they ran for the Kraang base.
As Metalhead stood there with his head down and Andi had her arms crossed and was scowling at the ground, April decided to comfort both of them by putting her hand on the robot's shoulder and squeezing Andi's hand reassuringly. "You guys can come up to the roof with me to watch the fight?" She offered, making Andi visibly soften and Donnie smile to himself, though he knew the girls couldn't see it. 
"Sure. That'd be good, April."
~
And as Leo, Raph and Mikey left to storm the base, the girls and Donnie were left on the edge of the roof with a perfect view of the fight.
As April and Andi exchanged a concerned look, the latter let out a soft sigh as she looked up at the sky, trying to calm her nerves. She knew the boys would be able to hold their own in a fight, especially against the Kraang, but there was always a hint of irrational fear in her mind. It especially didn't help that she was so close to the action - the first time that this was the case. 
Moving Metalhead to glance at her, Donnie's heart started to crack a bit as he saw how scared she looked. If he were there, he would do what he did before when she was scared about April; put an arm around her and help her calm down. But considering it would be a bit unorthodox to hug a teenage girl as a robot, he decided on another method, mostly in an attempt to get her mind off it. 
"So..." Donnie intentionally played up the awkwardness in his tone as he spoke to the two of them. "...you guys like heavy metal?"
That got a chuckle and an affectionate eye roll from April and a little smile from Andi, which made Donnie beam from behind the screen. 
It was definitely a start. 
~
The trio had finally made it inside the Kraang base and were perched on a beam in the rafters - and the sight was an all-too-familiar one. There were at least 20 to 30 droids down there, and chances are there were more either outside or ones that had left the base to tend to other tasks. 
Long story short (and as Leo put it,) "It looks like a Kraang picnic down there."
Raph immediately started to hype himself up - and did the same with his brothers. "Ready to bash some bots?"
Continuing the alliteration, Leo agreed with a confident smile, "Destroy some droids?"
"Clean some closets?" Mikey added with a bright smile - but he quickly realized his error as Leo and Raph stared him down. "Uh...I meant to say, 'crush some Kraang?'"
Without responding, Leo jumped from the beam and Raph followed, the two of them taking down two droids almost instantaneously. And to ensure that the second droid was completely finished, Raph stabbed his sai into the droid's face and ripped off the external face, showing a purple control panel that must've controlled its eyes and speaker. 
"Booyakasha!"
Mikey was right behind them, landing on top of two more droids and punching them with all of his might, nuts and bolts flying everywhere as he continued to ensure that they were really dead. It wasn't until Raph picked him up by his shell and dragged him away from the unmoving droids did he stop. 
Hiding behind another beam, the trio looked around to see if they find any more droids (or better yet, the device they'd be using to inject the mutagen into the city's water supply) and then rolled to the left behind a set of waste barrels to meet even more droids, some with mutagen canisters while others were holding their plasma guns - in case they caught any unwanted visitors. 
However, what gave them away was another Kraang droid that fell behind them, cursing at them in its native tongue (which just sounded like robotic gibberish) before becoming unresponsive and laying on the ground.
The boys winced at that - but as they turned around, the same group of droids they were spying on were staring directly at them - and were charging up their guns.
And almost immediately, they were being fired on, making the trio yell in fear and retreat behind a set of waste barrels.
Between a rock and a hard place. Great.
~
Meanwhile, the girls and Metalhead were still on the rooftop - and the soft silence as they watched the fight was both comfortable and a bit nerve-wracking. 
Andi's nerves had calmed down as she rested her head on April's shoulder and squeezed her hand, but she was still silent as she looked back up at the sky, smiling to herself as she could see her constellation. Her other hand unintentionally went to her necklace, making her smile at Metalhead before going back to watching the chaos in the building.
The robot turned to face her and Donnie's eyes caught sight of her, making a lovestruck smile form on his face. Immediately, he muted the speaker (and made sure Andi couldn't hear him by asking 'can you hear me now?,' then took her silence as an affirmation,) then dreamily sighed as he admired her. She looked so pretty in the moonlight...and the fact that she was wearing the necklace that he made her made his face turn bright pink.
"Look at her...oh, she's so beautiful. So radiant...and by Darwin's beard, I've never met anyone so smart." While he still admired her, his smile started to turn a bit sad - though it was still there. "But I know that she'd never go for something like me...who could love a mutant?" He put the controller down and put his hands over his face, rubbing the sides of his face carefully.
"Gah, if only she could love someone like me!" He exclaimed, then sighed to himself as he calmed down. "She'd make me the happiest turtle this side of the Atlantic...and I'd do everything to make her the happiest girl, no questions asked..." Out of instinct, he picked up the controller again, his gaze averting to it. "But, to be fair, Donatello, your feelings for her aren't gonna change the fact that she's always gonna be a friend to you. You know darn well that at the end of the day, even if she never loves you back, she's still gonna be your lab partner and especially your friend."
He then went back to look at Andi - and at this point, April had taken notice of his prolonged staring and smirked at him, making him chuckle nervously, but still continue his monologue. "Because there's just something about her. Whatever it is, I want to be there for her, no matter our relationship. Friends, boyfriend and girlfriend-" He giggled like a child at that image. "-er, whatever it is, I'm gonna be by her side no matter what."
Noticing April was smirking at Metalhead, Andi followed her gaze and chuckled at him. "Don, what are you doing?"
Immediately, Donnie snapped out of his daze and unmuted himself. "Uh, nothing." He quickly replied with another nervous laugh, before adding to himself, "Thank Darwin she didn't hear that..." 
That made Andi raise an eyebrow and smile at him. "Hear what?"
April snickered at that, while Donnie immediately replied with, "Uh, nothing! We're good, everything's good!" To divert from embarrassing himself even further, he decided to look back at the building. "So, um, how do you think the fight's going?"
Ironically, the second he asked that, a massive laser beam struck the corner of the roof they were resting on (missing Andi by only a few inches) and making them all fall back in fear.
Once the shock wore off, Andi glanced at the robot with a terrified look in her eye. "Not great?" She asked, her tone taking on a higher register, then bit her lip as an idea came to her. "I think that's a sign that you need to join your brothers."
"Right." Donnie agreed - and right as he was about to leave, he turned Metalhead to look at the girls. "I'll see you guys on the other side." He said, almost ruefully, though a  smile could be heard in his tone. When they waved back, he turned back around and jumped onto the adjacent roof, going to look for a viable way inside. 
"Be careful!" Andi called out to him, then turned to April once he was out of earshot. "So why'd you think he was staring at me earlier?"
April only smirked at her as she started to lead her back to the fire escape so they could go back to the lair. 
"No idea, Andi."
~
Before Metalhead could reach them, though, the trio found themselves overrun by fire - and it was becoming more apparent, especially to Raph that they couldn't keep running. "Leo! We're running out of-" He was cut short by them scrambling behind a set of crates and barrels - which was basically a dead end if the wall had anything to say about it. 
"-room."
"We're trapped!" Leo agreed, lightly cursing to himself at such a dumb mistake. 
Mikey, however, tried to spin the situation more positively. "Or maybe they're the ones who are trapped, hm?" But when he poked his head over the barrel he was hiding behind and was met by a plasma beam narrowly missing his head, he realized it was pointless arguing with Leo. "No, it's us."
Great. Hiding behind debris and being met with continuous fire - and no way to counteract it. Unless something big happened in the next ten seconds, the boys were likely toast. 
Thankfully, that big something happened, as the sound of a window breaking could be heard from a mile away and Donnie's excited cheer followed as Metalhead jumped through the window, landing directly on a group of Kraangdroids - but the pose he was in made the entire moment seem less triumphant and more ridiculous. 
"What are you doing? What is wrong with your arms?" Leo scolded him, referring to Metalhead's arms being splayed on either side of him. Rather than a hero, he looked like a child that was struggling to keep his balance. 
Donnie, of course, wasn't aware until Leo pointed it out to him. "My...hands aren't on my hips?" Leo only responded with a stern "no!" while Raph facepalmed at the sheer absurdity of it. Thankfully, Donnie realized his mistake and sheepishly explained, "Sorry, forgot to press B." After pressing the right button, Metalhead's arms went to his hips, making him look much more like the hero he was trying to be. 
Unfortunately, the Kraang were not interested. Immediately, they powered up their laser guns and aimed directly at him. 
~
The trio exchanged looks with each other (like 'is this seriously going to work?') all while Metalhead continued to stand directly in front of the fire, taking every hit with no real fightback. It was almost like Donnie had stopped controlling him - or more likely, his cockiness was starting to get the better of him because he knew Metalhead could withstand a lot of fire. 
Almost definitely the latter.
And that was only proven further when the Kraang stopped firing (seeing it was doing absolutely no damage) and in a surprisingly brazen move for Donnie, he exclaimed, "Now it's my turn!" He then equipped the laser cannon he was hinting at earlier and boldly proclaimed, "Eat hot laser!"
Immediately, droids were being mowed down left and right - and from Donnie's end, he was excitedly pressing every button on the controller like he was playing a first-person shooter. It was thrilling, a video game come to life. He laughed with glee as he taunted the droids and cheered himself on, and then as he pressed another button, the plasma fist Andi referred to earlier was unleashed, hitting droids with as much force as a freight train and leaving no prisoners behind. 
It was amazing - and Donnie got so caught up in the rush that he didn't notice Andi walking back into the lair (April had decided to go back to her apartment so as not to worry her aunt) and smiling at his inane nerdiness. The fact that the robot was working as well as they expected it to was amazing too...but there was something about seeing Donnie this happy that just made her feel giddy. 
And once the plasma fist came back to Metalhead's arm socket, Donnie felt the need to gloat. "Hey, Raph! How's it feel to be shown up by a toaster?" He called out to his brother, making Raph grumble at him, Andi facepalm (and making Donnie jump,) and Mikey yell out, "Burn!" 
Once he calmed down from Andi lightly scaring him, Donnie addressed what he assumed was a compliment from Mikey. "Yeah, I thought that was a good one."
However, Mikey was referring to the flamethrower Metalhead had equipped as well. "No, burn!" He yelled, pointing to the group of droids sneaking up behind Metalhead. 
"Oh, right." Donnie quickly remembered and muted his mic, then switched Metalhead's hand from the laser cannon to the flamethrower, before incinerating each droid he saw. At the same time, he threw an embarrassed smile towards Andi. "You...heard all that?"
She only laughed and nodded. "It's fine. Kind of cute when you're so excited like that."
Donnie only blushed crimson as he smiled goofily - before unmuting his mic. 
A fallen droid, however, had started to notice something. The design on Metalhead's cranium... was Kraang technology, was it not? "That thing which does violence at Kraang used to do violence for Kraang!" And then it powered down, leaving the small alien in its abdomen to crawl out and start to scheme.
In other words, they had caught on that the boys (or rather, one of them and their friend) had been using stolen Kraang technology. 
Not good. 
Meanwhile, Donnie had switched back to the laser cannon and was starting to fire more recklessly - accidentally firing at the trio still in hiding. "Dude!" Mikey yelled in fear, making Andi cringe and Donnie sheepishly apologize, while Leo chastised him by saying, "Donnie, watch the friendly fire!"
Taking that seriously, Donnie started to be more cautious in his aim again - and once he was back in his element, he started to taunt the droids he was firing at like they were generic enemies in a video game. "Here's some for you! And some for you! And oh, yeah, I saved a little for you too! How'd that taste?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Andi roll her eyes and shake her head - which he couldn't deny made him giggle a bit. "What?"
She only smirked at him. "You're just a dork, is all." That made Donnie only giggle again - and his cheeks turn pink. "I've been told that on quite a few occasions." Andi's smirk only grew further as she decided to continue the charade. "Have you now?"
Overhearing what was obviously flirting, Leo and Raph shared a smirk (they were totally going to use that against him later) while Mikey let out a quiet and prolonged 'aww.'
However, that 'aww' caught Donnie's ear and he snapped out of talking to her, going back to fighting the Kraang - which seemed to be going like a dream, until he accidentally hit a supply of gasoline tanks, making them explode and Metalhead go flying, crashing into a nearby support beam.
And what was worse - the antenna on his head chipped off.
"No, Engelberger!" Andi exclaimed with concern, while Donnie gasped at the text that appeared on screen: 'LOST SIGNAL.' "We lost the control signal!" He frantically tried hitting buttons in a vain attempt to get Metalhead back under their control - before Andi smacked him nervously on the shoulder and pointed his chin to the screen - which normally would've made him turn a thousand shades of red, but right now he was too bothered (and even a little bit stunned) to notice.
"What's that Kraang doing?" They both asked as the alien from before climbed atop Metalhead's chest. 
Unbeknownst to them, it was connecting itself to the control panel on Metalhead's flat cranium - and while it did get an intense electric shock from it at first, it was still able to connect itself to the mainframe. Instead of his eyes being electric blue, they became a dangerous pink. 
Not good squared.
"Uh, oh...guys?" Donnie called out to his brothers, desperately trying to get their attention. "If you can hear me, you might want to run!"
Andi gave him a look like 'Seriously?' and grabbed the unused second headset that Donnie had set up for her. "Might want to is an understatement, run like there's someone chasing you with a taser!"
Before they could take their advice, though, the trio looked up at what they were dealing with. 
Purple flames enveloped the new Kraang-ified Metalhead, and his mouth was bright purple as well as he spoke. "The ones that which are called turtles will now be called turtles that are DESTROYED!" At 'destroyed,' the speaker in Metalhead's mouth was exposed, only adding to his newly-established intimidation factor. 
Not necessarily understanding the gravity of the situation, Mikey let out a sigh of relief. "I was really afraid of the beginning of the sentence, but then I sort of just lost interest towards-" 
But he was cut off by Metalhead pointing the laser cannon directly at him. "-okay, now I'm afraid again."
His scream pierced through both Andi's and Donnie's headsets, making her cover her mouth in fear and him frantically search for a way to gain some level of control back. "Come on, maybe if I override-"
"Donatello!" 
Splinter's booming voice appeared behind them as he placed his hand on Donnie's shoulder. "The time for games is over."
With a sigh, Andi agreed and slipped off the headset, watching with a heavy heart as Donnie let the controller fall to the ground. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
"You're right. My brothers need me." 
He gave Andi an apologetic nod (which was replaced by a soft smile as she gave him a sad, yet supportive one at his decision) and was about to leave before Splinter yelled for him to stop. When Donnie turned around, the wise master tossed him his bo - everything was coming full circle.
With a grateful bow, Donnie was about to head out again - but this time, Andi stopped him. 
Running up to him, she gave him a mischievous smile. "When you see the Kraang again, tell them this for messing with Engelberger." She then whispered something into his ear - making him look at her with confusion. "What does that even mean?"
"Just trust me, yell that to the Kraang for messing with us and our creation. I'll explain it when you get back."
Still confused, Donnie nodded before turning back and finally getting on his way.
Time to finish what he started.
~
Unbeknownst to him, the trio had started to attack Metalhead - unleashing any type of strike they could get on him. Mikey had even swung a nunchuck at the laser cannon to stop it from firing, but it didn't seem to work as the robot only tossed it aside and aimed the cannon again.
"Give him everything you've got!" Leo urged them as he and Raph lunged to attack - and eventually Mikey joined in, hitting Metalhead with as much force as they could muster. But the sounds of iron and weight against metal were telling as he looked completely unscathed by such a frenzy - just like before, there was hardly anything the boys could do to even get an attack in. 
Urgh, why did Donnie and Andi have to make the thing so durable?
"He's got to have a weak spot!" Leo added, still continuing to slice at Metalhead with the katanas, almost like he was desperately trying to break the invisible shield around him. Of course, to no avail. 
But Mikey thought of a brilliant idea. "This always works!" He remembered and kicked Metalhead directly...in the groin.
But he remembered that he was a robot, not a human, and the orange-masked turtle winced in pain. That likely caused a few broken toes. "Well...usually."
With that brilliant idea being a bust, Metalhead saw the opportunity to deliver a swift punch to Mikey's abdomen, sending him flying into the support beam...just like before.  He then turned his attention to Leo, punching him directly in the head - and doing the exact same to Raph, sending both of them onto the floor next to Mikey. 
Oh no cubed. 
And as Metalhead and the other droids cornered them, the stocky robot decided to give them one last chance to plead their case, so to speak. "Now Kraang will destroy you. Which one wants to be the first to be destroyed by Kraang?"
But a familiar voice was heard from the ceiling of the building. "Me!"
Doing a front flip from the broken window, Donnie had his bo staff by his side as he stared down the droids, a newfound sense of adrenaline (and warranted anger) surging through his body. To see what the Kraang had done to not just his brothers, but also Engelberger...
Deep down, he knew the Kraang should've been lucky that Andi wasn't by his side.
"Donnie!" Mikey's voice broke through his anger - but along with being happy to see him, the orange-masked turtle also appreciated the flair Donnie delivered in arriving. "Bangin' entrance, dude!"
However, Donnie's priorities were still on the Kraang. "You guys deal with the droids. I'll handle Metalhead."
No arguments came from the trio as they immediately went to deal with the other Kraangdroids - while the Kraang-controlled robot addressed Donnie. "It is the maker of the tech which was the tech that was of the Kraang!" And as the droid and Donnie stared each other down, both prepared their weapons - Metalhead with the laser cannon and Donnie with the exact opposite - a wooden bo staff. 
"Come on, give me your best-" But his taunt fell by the wayside as he immediately fled from the homing plasma fist - until he used the staff as a bat and rerouted the fist to hit Metalhead directly in the cranium. He then followed it up with some direct hits from the staff - but metal against wood sounded almost as bad as metal against iron.
Like all of the other hits, though, it did absolutely nothing. It was like Metalhead grew entirely bored of the whole charade and started aiming the laser cannon directly at Donnie - and started firing immediately after, causing him to flee again.
His movements in avoiding the fire were nothing short of graceful. Careful dodging, flipping, using the staff as a vault - and yet Metalhead was still locked in on attacking him before anything else. 
And then a stray beam broke the staff clean - again.
"Not again..." Donnie nervously told himself, immediately looking for a viable replacement. He made a note to himself: 'Look into making a weighted staff. Or at least surround your new one with some type of metal coating so this doesn't happen again.'
However, Metalhead wasn't interested in mourning the staff; immediately, small orbs emerged from his eye sockets and locked onto Donnie, making him gasp and leap to a safe hiding place immediately - being involved in the explosion that followed would have been catastrophic. Agh, why did he insist that they include such a thing?
He made another note to himself; 'Tell Andi she was right about the exploding eyeballs. Knowing her, she'll probably like hearing she was right.' 
While the thought of her made Donnie smile for a second, the image of her faded immediately when he was met by a loud metallic 'clang' - the intensity of the exploding eyeballs was too much for Metalhead, as he fell over. 
Emerging from the waste barrel he was hiding behind, Donnie caught a glimpse of the now decaying support beam - and coincidentally enough, it was right above Metalhead. Ideas started flowing into his mind. 
"That might work..." He mumbled to himself. All he needed was a distraction. 
And what better way to distract them was to use the insult that Andi had requested he say? "Hey, Kraang!"
Immediately, he was met by gunfire - but emerged unscathed as he stood facing them. And now to "avenge" Andi:
"The one who is called your mother wears the boots that are made for combat!"
The Kraang, however, didn't get the joke - or maybe they did and were just majorly offended. "The comment that is made by you shows ignorance by Kraang! The ones known by you as mothers-"
After getting that out, though, Donnie was ready to take them down once and for all. "Just come get me!"
Metalhead understood that completely clearly, though, as he launched a multitude of exploding orbs towards Donnie - and instead of running away, he ran towards them and leaped over the robot (while at the same time, dodging a heavy barrage of fire from the laser cannon) - and causing the robot to dismantle the support beam. 
It creaked and groaned, but as Donnie landed right behind Metalhead and held out the broken staff, he let out a soft, fearful whimper as the beam came crashing down.
But instead of it crushing him (or allowing Metalhead to destroy him,) it bent the stocky robot forward, allowing the staff to impale it directly in the chest. 
He did it.
"Booyakasha!" Donnie cheered as a victory - just as the others finished picking off the other droids, and Leo was getting the final one off of his katana.
"Sounds weird when he says it." Mikey commented lightheartedly - but Raph decided to let Donnie have his moment by merely replying, "Sounds weird when you say it."
Though, the Kraang weren't entirely done with the boys just yet. "That which is the revenge will be had on those who are calling themselves the turtles." As if to specify what kind of revenge (and to get back at Donnie for destroying the robot,) the alien made the robot power down and then leaped onto Donnie's face, making him scream and then crawl away, as if disgusted by what he just had to witness.
But the shock wore off as a smiling Leo, excited Mikey, and unamused Raph stood over him. "Nice job, bro!" Mikey cheered, and Leo agreed with a "Way to go, Donnie."
Once the purple-masked turtle stood up with a smile growing, Raph decided to knock his happiness down a peg - even if it wasn't entirely meant as malicious. "Yeah, not bad. Except for that part where you and Andi built the thing in the first place. And the part where it broke. And the part where it tried to kill us! And the part-"
"Okay, I get it!" Donnie cut him off, his good mood now faltering. He and Andi were so happy about having a robot mech as a weapon, it was going to revolutionize combat forever...
Ah, well. Back to the drawing board, he supposed.
~
Things had seemed to go back to normal in the lair, as Leo and Raph were roughhousing at the arcade machine - while Mikey was a bemused spectator to it all. Currently, Raph was in the middle of playing, but Leo was teasing him about his score. "Ah, so close to my high score! Aww!" The two then proceeded to muscle each other out of the way of the game - Raph so he could beat Leo's score, and Leo so he could avoid that from happening. 
Donnie and Andi, meanwhile, were lamenting over the loss of Metalhead - he was using the soldering iron they had used to weld him together on a small metal beam, while she was quietly watching him. "So...I guess Engelberger's gone, huh?" She mumbled, making him nod sadly. 
"It was for the best though. We may have been a little too overconfident in his abilities that we didn't factor in the prospect of the Kraang taking over his mainframe."
She only nodded back - and the silence encompassed them again until Splinter noticed them and walked over. "Donatello? Andromeda? What troubles you?"
Donnie let out a sigh as he set down the metal beam. "This was our fault, sensei." 
And Splinter seemed to agree with them at first. "You are responsible, yes."
"Yeah..." Donnie sighed as Andi moved a bit closer to him, resting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. 
"Responsible for destroying the mutagen. Responsible for saving the people of this city. Responsible for defeating advanced technology using only ingenuity, bravery-" He then gestured for Andi to interrupt him, making her smile gratefully at him as she squeezed Donnie's shoulder. 
"-and a stick."
He gave them a touched smile as he tried not to revel in her touching his shoulder - and he already missed her warmth when she removed it. "Thanks, sensei. Maybe you're right."
Splinter only gave him a proud smile. "I am."
"I guess with proper training, there's nothing better than a wooden stick."
Satisfied with such an answer, Splinter left them be, checking to make sure the trio hadn't beat each other up at the arcade machine yet before heading towards his room to rest for the evening. 
"Oh, I just remembered!" Donnie exclaimed as he sat back down next to Andi. "What did that line mean? You know, the one you asked that I tell the Kraang?"
Her smile then melted into a smirk as she leaned in to whisper what it was - and while he did turn a deep scarlet, he also cackled at the absurdity. "That's what I said?" When she only shrugged innocently, he laughed again and threw an arm over his eyes. "Oh, that's a new one." He then gave her a playful grin. "Do you mind if I steal it?" 
She only giggled in response and nodded. "Definitely." Her eyes then lazily drifted over to the rocket-like missile prototype he had built days before - and another smirk formed on her face. "You know, now that you're without a weapon for a little while, since Master Splinter needs some time to fix the staff, what say we start brainstorming ideas for a new one?"
Donnie eagerly nodded - and when he caught sight of the prototype she was looking at, he grinned like a mad scientist. "Like a laser-guided, missile-launching wooden stick?"
He then proceeded to demonstrate what it could look like (mostly through spinning it around) and making her laugh - but that faded when it hit the ground and... activated. 
Oh no to the fourth power.
The boys' roughhousing (which had actually devolved into Raph choking out Leo and Mikey serving as unofficial mediator) ceased instantaneously - and their faces melted into panic. 
"It's not supposed to do that! RUN!" Donnie screamed as he pushed Andi over to the trio, making her yell one more thing as the boys covered her to make sure she wouldn't get hit by the blast:
"THAT'S HOW YOU YELL AT SOMEONE TO RUN, DON!"
~
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Friendly Competition
Request:  Now I can’t get the image of Mikey and Leo prancing around the lair to try to impress Y/N and Raph and Donnie just exchanging glances like wth in response to this X,D Wait, are you open to requests? Because then I’d totally request if you could do the idea of Leo and Mikey trying to impress Y/N in outdoing each other…
Characters: Leonardo (Pining)/Reader/Michelangelo (Pining)
Content Warnings: Swearing, really brief reference to The Walking Dead (Season 4). 
Word Count: 1946 
“Carl, Carl! Oh my god, dude,” Mikey squeals, clinging tightly to Raph’s side. Any other day, you might have laughed a little at his reaction - once a little brother, always a little brother - but you’re not in much better standing this time. The boy on TV backs slowly away from the zombies a little overconfidently for your liking, and you can’t suppress the rush of anxiety that courses through you. He’s a TV character, sure, but you’ve watched him grow up! He can’t die now, right? 
And when the third walker appears, grabbing onto the young boy and pulling him down, you could have sworn the whole lair screamed. The room is filled with the “no’s” and various swears of your friends as the kid fights for his life, and you press yourself further into the couch to try and put some distance between you and the TV. You flinch at the sound of gunshots as he pushes the walkers away, barely managing to stay alive, when suddenly the room is pierced with a noise that’s somehow even more jarring and terrifying. 
Battle alarm. Of course. Some yokai...alien… whatever it is... had to terrorize New York City now, of all times? 
"Couldn't this have been an email or something? Really, the nerve of some people. Interrupting The Walking Dead now, of all times," You groan jokingly, pausing the show for the boys as they rise to their feet. 
“If you unpause it while we’re gone, I will take you as a prisoner of war and treat the Geneva Convention as a to-do-list,” Donatello snarks. 
You stick your tongue out at him, but you can’t help but giggle. “Noted, D. Hurry back guys, stay safe!” 
“We will!” Raphael calls, waving to you with a smile before stopping at the exit of the lair, waiting for his brothers to catch up. Donatello walks right past him, balancing his tech bō over the expanse of his shoulders. You smile and wave back at Raph, but soon after, you’re met with the excited cheers of Mikey. He takes a running start at one of the nearby guard rails, grinning as he lines himself up at an angle. He jumps, grabbing the bar and spinning himself around it with ease to face you. In the brief second where your eyes lock, he shoots you a wink and a grin, before spinning himself back around and walking off. I mean, you know he’s a ninja and all, but has he always been that smooth with his parkour? Or like, that smooth in general? 
He waves quickly at you with a smile and walks straight past Raph and into the tunnels of the sewer system. “Later, angel!” He chirps. 
Leo boos before taking a running start of his own. Not to be outdone, he avoids the bar completely, instead choosing to flip over it entirely. He clears the bar with ease, landing on one leg and sweeping the other under him to perform a small rotation towards the ground. As he regains his balance, he pushes himself up with one hand and removes his feet from the ground to do another rotation before planting them once more and performing an angled flip. His movements are quick and fluid, as though such acrobatic feats were innate to his nature. As he lands he grins and shoots you a pair of fingerguns - which you laugh at softly - before backing out of the lair. “Later, sweetheart,” he coos, and turns around to walk out properly. You chuckle again once you hear Mikey’s voice echo from the sewers. 
“Show-off.” 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You swish the warm drink around in your mug and take a sip. You practically purr at the heat as it hits your tongue: it’s been far too cold for your liking lately. Or, maybe you’re spending too much time in the sewers. Maybe you should invest in some space heaters, if you’re gonna be down here all the time. You twiddle a pencil between your fingers as you fill out the tattered crossword in a vain attempt to wake your brain up a little. Who was Aphrodite’s son again? Did she even have a son? You suppose you’ll get back to that one. 
Raphael stumbles into the kitchen with a groan, fumbling around for a fresh mug. “Good mornin’, Y/N.” 
“Good morning, Raph,” you reply. 
He finally manages to find a mug, pouring some coffee and creamer and pulling up a chair next to you. He leans his head in his hands, clearly not awake yet. You chuckle. “Sleepy?”
He hums affirmatively and takes a sip of his coffee. You pat his shell gently and return to your crossword. You’ve never felt more like an adult, you think sarcastically. It’s like some scene out of a Lifetime movie. 
Out of nowhere, there comes a loud thump from the common area, followed by the quiet swears of Leo. You damn-near jump out of your seat at the sudden noise, barely managing to keep your drink in your mug. It sloshes around the rim, and you quickly put your hand up to steady it. Raph, meanwhile, stays glued to his seat, seemingly unbothered by the loud noise. “Good morning,” he repeats. You snort. “Good morning, indeed,” you reply. 
After a moment of thought, you set down your cup and rise to your feet. You might as well check out the noise and make sure everything is okay. You pat Raph’s head one last time before walking out into the living room, only to find Mikey and Leo whispering loudly at one another. Their voices are so hushed that it’s difficult to decipher what exactly they’re saying, although you can certainly hear them. But judging by the force behind the indecipherable words - and the overexaggerated hand motions - it clearly isn’t a friendly discussion. You clear your throat and wave gently at them, which catches their attention. 
“Everything okay?” You venture. 
“Yeah-” says Mikey. 
“Yeah- It’s- Everything’s all good,” Leo stumbles, only to be cut off by his brother.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” He elbows Leo harshly, emphasizing some point to his brother that you’re clearly missing. 
“Hunky-dorey.” 
“Peachy-keen”
“Perfect.” 
The two keep stuttering and stammering, occasionally elbowing the other without warning. You raise an eyebrow at the strange behavior, and decide to intervene. “Okay,” you drawl, “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t just hear… whatever that was. For your guys’ sake.” You joke lightly, attempting to lighten the mood a little and divert the attention away from that… trainwreck of an interaction. And the boys seem all-too-happy for the excuse, as Leo quickly jumps in with a quick question. 
“Hey, now that you’re here, could you do us a huge favor? We’re having a little…” he pauses, “brotherly competition, and we need someone unbiased to judge.” 
“Oh, that sounds fun!” You chirp, “What kind of competition is it?” 
“It’s-” 
“It’s a parkour competition!” Mikey interjects. 
The tension between the two turtles is thick, and you certainly don’t want to be the one to address it. Perhaps if you ignore it, it’ll go away on its own? Maybe they both woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, or maybe this competition has high stakes? You sigh internally: it’s too early to be thinking this hard. “Sweet! I’m ready to be impressed,” you jest. “Who’s going first?” 
“Me!” 
“I will!” 
They reply in unison, cutting each other off for the umpteenth time today. You chuckle and roll your eyes, which catches their attention. You don’t miss the way their eyes light up… or the way Mikey begins to smirk. He looks almost devious, although you suppose such a mischievous look isn’t an uncommon sight with him. 
“Leo,” he starts, “How about you go first?” 
He takes the bait with a grin, clearly unaware of whatever plan Michelangelo’s formed. “Why certainly!” He rolls his wrist around in an overexaggerated motion, beaming with absolute confidence. “As the eldest brother in the room, I’d be happy to show you how it’s done.” 
And with that, he’s off. His movements are as smooth as silk as he runs towards the nearest crate, grabbing it at an angle to flip himself over once. He lands on his feet with a loud “thump” against the concrete, but he doesn’t waste a moment as he runs towards the nearest wall. He runs up its length the moment he’s in range, this time using his body weight to spin himself during his flip. He’s fluid in his movements, years of practice and training shining through in this brief moment. This time he lands straight up on both feet, although he doesn’t take any reprieve. Instead, he kicks himself up and over, sweeping the leg to enter a combative stance. A final flourish in his display, you assume. And just like that, it’s over. The show only lasted a matter of seconds, but it’s still enough to leave you starry-eyed and in awe. 
“That was fucking badass, Leo!” You clap. 
“Really?” He smiles, “Uh, I mean, yeah! Thanks!” He fumbles with his hands for a moment before finding a spot for them. He rests them behind his head, shifting side to side on his feet. God, that’s so fucking cute. 
You beam: You can’t wait to see what Mikey does! “Think you can top that, Mikey?” 
He returns your excitement wholeheartedly, shining back with something that seems like… so much more than his typical positivity. In most situations, he radiates so much positivity that one could liken it to a lighthouse for the hopeful. But his attitude seems different from that usual beacon of light. He’s excited, positive, and confident, but that’s not what’s throwing you off. Sure, they’re competitive, but what’s the motivator this time? Ah, you suppose you’ll find out soon enough. You’re brought out of your thoughts by his cheers. “Easy!” 
And god, Mikey’s movements are so graceful that he makes Leo’s look inexperienced, like a giraffe crossing a tightrope. He moves like a swan through water, scaling walls effortlessly and flying through the air like it’s his second home. He starts his routine off strong, leaping at the first waist-high object he could lay his eyes on, performing an impromptu 720 rotation and landing on the concrete protrusion hands-first. He leaps off it as quickly as he landed, using his momentum to propel himself onto a nearby set of steel bars. He throws himself from one to the other with ease, spinning and adding his own flair to each and every movement. You can’t seem to take your eyes off of him while he leaps his way to victory. He uses any ledge possible to propel himself higher and higher, and his movements are so light and quick that they hardly make a sound. And before you know it, he’s standing at the topmost bit of the lair. He plops himself down, dangling his legs off of the precipice and swinging them back and forth. From this far away, you can barely see the way his grin stretches across his face, but you know it’s there. He raises one hand to wave at you and Leo, and the way he wiggles his fingers signals that he knows he’s won. And to be fair, he has. You giggle at the way Leo mutters “show-off” under his breath - where have you heard that one before? - before signaling for Mikey that he’s won and to head on down. And god, the descent is just as impressive. He laughs as he kicks and spins his way down, and despite the competition being over, he continues to shine and demonstrate his skills flawlessly. 
“One and one, baby!”
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The Case File – Mice and Murder Ep 1
The Case of the The Pernicious Party  
Hello, hello, hello! It’s been a hot second but your resident D20 recapper is back to tackle the newest season: Mice and Murder! Y’all had to know I wasn’t gonna sit out the murder mystery, are you kidding me???
I might be playing around with the format a bit in the coming weeks to make sure I have the best possible system for keeping track of possible clues, suspects, and theories as we untangle whatever web Brennan weaves for us this season so don’t be surprised if things change a little. 
Anyway, without further ado, onto our mystery!
Summary
In case you missed it, this season takes place in an alternate, Zootopia/Wind in the Willows-esque universe where all the characters are animals but history seems to have happened in more or less the same way--for example there was still a King Charles but he was a King Charles Spaniel (cute Brennan). Our story specifically takes place in the English village of Tufting Meadows.  
We start with Katie’s character--Gangie Green (Weasel/Thief Rogue) in the graveyard of the Anglican Chapel (Our Lady of Prayerful Paws). Gangie, we learn, is an orphan who was kicked out of the orphanage at some point for thievery. Obviously, he’s not reformed of the habit because he is here to do some graverobbing. On a nat 20 (that Katie hilariously doesn’t notice even though her total is like a 29) Gangie can see through the window of the rectory that there is a weeping window inside--Catherine McCabbage who is being (dubiously) tended to by Raph’s character, Vicar Ian Prescott (Owl/Bard, College of Eloquence). 
Ian comes from a line of men of the cloth but he’s not exactly the best speaker despite his subclass. He’s doing his best though! The widow’s husband (Conor McCabbage) died at the local mill in what has been declared an accident but she suspects foul play. She’s been hearing his voice on the wind and wants Ian’s professional opinion on whether this could be a sign from God or if her husband might be speaking to her from beyond the grave or something like that. Ian gives a very muddled and not very comforting answer but seems pretty sure that something sketchy did in fact happen. Then, he sees a crack of lightning outside which illuminates the graveyard where he gets a glimpse of Gangie. 
He goes to check it out (and Gangie fully has an elderly goat he’s dug up slung over his shoulder) but “gravedigger” is his legit job so Ian decides to assume whatever’s going on is legit and not ask too many questions. He goes back to the widow (who, before she leaves, says that maybe sometimes people need to work on God’s behalf) while Gangie takes the body Loam Hall (a massive manor, built into a hill).
We cut to the next day and our next two characters! 
At 22B Hamsted Street in a pretty well appointed home are Ally and Grant’s characters. First up, we have Lars Vandenchomp (Huge ass Doberman/Battlemaster Fighter) who is so tough looking but also so Swedish sounding--it’s A Lot (so, incredibly on brand for Ally). Lars is security for Grant’s character Sylvester Cross (Fox/Inquisitive Rogue) who is a kinda (to use Grant’s word) “foppish” Sherlock Holmes type. He was hired by Squire William Thornwall Brockhollow to figure out what happened with Conor McCabbage (and clear him of negligence in running the mill) but he couldn’t find any evidence of any funny business, making this the only case he’s never cracked. He’s not as young or popular as he once was so this is, understandably, bumming him out. He’s even more bummed out when he realizes that William has invited him to his 60th birthday party that’s happening that night (as kind of a prop to show that he did his part in trying to solve the mystery) and Lars has already RSVP’d yes. He grudgingly agrees to go as it’s one of those asks that’s really more of a veiled demand but decides to pull the money he was paid from the bank first so he can return it and really stick it to the guy.
Finally, we cut to our last set of PCs who are on their way to Tufting Meadows via a very luxurious train. Inside are Sam and Rekha’s characters! Sam is Buckster $ Boyd (Peccary which is like a small boar/Mastermind Rouge) a Texan Oil Tycoon who acts exactly how you’d expect a Texan Oil Pig to act. Yes, you pronounce the dollar sign as “dollar sign” (even though as we find out later his middle name is Cassius so it’s like Cash which I think is super cool). With him is Rekha’s character, Daisy D'umpstaire (Raccoon/Assassin (???) Rogue another American (from South Carolina) though it seems she’s My Fair Lady’d herself into an upper class socialite (her last name was previously Dumpster). They’re traveling with their accountant, an Armadillo named Armond who seems kinda skittish and concerned about their travel expenses but Buck tells him that to make money you gotta spend money and they’re gonna make a *ton* of money on this trip. They’re also so so mean to him for absolutely no reason. 
When the train stops, they’re greeted by Templeton Padhop (a frog, natch) who is the chauffeur of Loan Hall, sent to fetch them. A wheel on his car is broken so he joins in on the Armond abuse immediately and has Armond roll into an Armadillo ball and replace it. Poor guy. When they show up they're greeted by a footman--a pug in a bowler hat named Milo Snout.
Meanwhile, Lars and Sly (Oh, Sly fox, I see what you did there Grant) are similarly greeted by another footman--a lizard named Basil Baskins. On a 23 perception check, Lars sees that Jeremy “Jez” Brockhollow is inside (the son of William who is a badger btw) and also clocks Gangie (who they know as a career criminal who disappeared like a year ago). Gangie doesn’t notice Lars though. 
Ian, who is also invited, shows up at about the same time as Sly but very quickly, the conversation is taken over by Lucretia “Lucy” Brockhollow, William’s older, eccentric sister who immediately gets into it with Lars about astrology and the occult (she thinks bad stuff is happening because of a curse let loose when Sly’s old rival--a rabbit named Fletcher Cottonbottom who is the son of his former employer--opened an Egyptian tomb). They’re thick as thieves right away because Ally is a nonsense magnet. And not like a regular magnet, one of those big electromagnets. 
Daisy and Buck spot William’s kids--the aforementioned Jez and his older sister Constance--along with their husbands Dr. Corbin Magpie (Constance’s and obv a magpie and a doctor) and Osmond Sheffield (Jez’s who is a Ram and a lawyer). Daisy is too stuck in her conversation with a truly unhinged squirrel (Lady Eugenia Bristlebrush who clearly does not know she’s in a murder mystery because she just keeps talking about how much she hates and wants to kill everyone) to hear what’s going on but she indicates the conversation to Buck who is able to eavesdrop and hear that they’re lamenting that Catherine--the widow--RSVP’d no which is gonna look really bad, like they didn’t invite her (bad PR). 
Buck, introducing himself as a business partner of William, eases into a conversation with the husbands which their respective spouses also join into and we learn that Buck's dad was British and a friend of Willian’s. Buck bonds with Jez (who is a bit of a dilettante) really quickly since Buck is ready to go drinks-wise immediately (and there’s a stellar pun about the “American [Drinking] Constitution''). Through the window, Buck notices Gangie outside getting his attention. 
At the same time, Ian is going from party guest to party guest, giving out the penances he forgot to earlier at church (as one does). We see him talking to the Lord and Lady Bramble (a cow and hedgehog, respectively) and while she wants to pray her way out of situations without doing any legwork, he wants to buy his way out and gives Ian 250 pounds. A frustrating but financially lucrative conversation.  
Buck goes outside to talk to Gangie who has a list of names of the bodies he’s been collecting. We’re not told what Buck is doing but it seems that this list is extremely valuable to him in some way. Gangie (who Buck keeps calling Gangly, to his annoyance) pays him handsomely (like, with a 50% tip) for the list (and Gangie gives him the real list, despite Brennan saying he didn’t have to). We also learn that Gangie has allegedly been getting the orders from someone in Loa Hall and they flow from William himself.
Matilda Molesly (a mole and the head maid) invites Gangie to come in from the rain--she’s the only person who’s been consistently nice to him and he agrees to come in for tea and scones. 
Everyone is ushered together by the butler (because of course there’s a butler--he’s quite literally a fancy rat named Thomas Gilfoyle) and William gives a speech where he wishes Conor well and kinda highlights that he did hire Sly to solve the case in a “Hey, I did my bit don’t blame me” kind of way. He also makes a 150k pound donation to the church (and Ian thought 250 was good) and tells his daughter not to read the praise he got for it from the cardinal when she mentions it (I wonder if that was choreographed). Sly interrupts the speech to “magnanimously” give his money back, to William’s annoyance. Buck notices that Lawrence Longfoot (a nouveau rich, rabbit photographer) takes a pic of the scene but with Sly in the foreground and William in the background. 
Then, a few things happen at once (in a very cinematic way):
As the camera flashes, Mrs. Molesly drops her tray, eyes hurt by the light. Lady Calliope Fawnbrooke (Deer, Matron of the Arts) helps her up.
In the moment of dark, after the flash goes away, the butler disappears. 
Buck thinks he sees a shape through the window, out in the rain. 
A cheer goes up for Sly for returning the money but all Sly can focus on is one figure he recognizes in the back of the room. Daisy, who is downing her drink and not cheering for him. He downs his as well, and looks at her until she breaks the stare and leaves the room. 
And this episode doesn’t end with a dead body like I thought, but with a flashback to a younger Sylvester, 12 years ago when he first met Daisy.
PC INTERPERSONAL DRAMA Y’ALL!!! Get HYPED! 
Case Notes
Here is a compilation of all the characters (PCs and NPCs introduced in this episode). 
Sly mentions that Ignatius Cottonbottom faked his own death as a part of some scheme which seems like a backstory point that might come back later--we now know that there exists a way to convincingly fake your own death in this world. 
Sly walks with a walking stick because of some “mysterious accident” but we’re jumping into a flashback next week so it looks like we might find out about it pretty soon. 
Sly also mentions he used to be the personal physician to the elder Cottonbottom so those are skills he has. I wonder if that’ll be useful to this healer-less party. I wonder if cleric was even an option in this world which seems to be low to no magic. It would explain by Ian is a bad and not a cleric. 
Lars has a military background which I wanted to mention in case it becomes relevant later. 
And Dr. Magpie grew up poor and still acts it a bit even though he married a very rich woman. Brennan uses the very good line, “He forces his body into the shape of an apology”
This might be a really deep cut reference but did anyone else here was the old Britcom “Keeping Up Appearances”? Cause I was getting serious Bouquet/Bucket energy from Daisy. 
This is an all College Humor season and it shows. The energy of 6 (7 if you count Brennan) top notch comedians sparking off of each other, trying to one up each other is off the charts. Some of the best bits this episode:
“When God closes every door but one, you go through the door that is open.” followed by “I’m an owl by the way.”
“Time is money, here’s both” from Buck re his inscribed gold pocket watch--everyone at the table loved that so much and they’re right. 
Armond going from being a third to a fourth wheel. 
And the names--I already shouted out a ton on the main recap but also a rat butler (like Rhett Butler) and naming the mouse Cat(therine). Can’t forget Gangie Green/gangrene from Katie. Also points to Ally for the data stealing Eel Musk which broke Brennan a little. 
I know we just went through this with Crown of Candy but what are these animals eating? Like, in Zootopia there were only mammals so we can assume the carnivores are eating like birds and fish but there are sentient birds here. I know this isn’t important. I’m not trying to do a CinemaSins gotcha. I just wonder, you know?
Y’all were waiting for all the lights to go out during that speech and then come back on and there’d be a body too, right?
If Brennan makes the bad guy a chicken or a duck or something so he can make a “fowl play” joke, he is cordially invited to catch these hands. 
I have been waiting for Raph and Katie to do D20 forever. Their specific brand of nonsense on Rank Room was always amazing. 
I love love love that Grant and Rekha are the PCs that have ~a past~ because they are so funny together. If you haven’t seen their episode of Game Changers, you absolutely must (it’s also a murder mystery actually!). 
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popculturebuffet · 3 years
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 Review: Still Possesses Turtle Power After All These Years
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Cowabunga all you happy people! I freaking love the Teenage Ninja Turtles. I grew up with it from Turtles in Time, which was my first video game, to the 2003 cartoon, which I covered the first three episodes of last month, and on to present day as I re-read the idw comics after finally reading the original eastman and laird run of mirage, and impatiently waiting for Shredder’s Revenge to come out after a LONG drout of no good TMNT games. I”m a fan of these heroes four, their dynamic as a family, the endless possiblities that come from it’s long history and ablitlity to go anywhere in any genre, and the wonderful goofy shit that happens when you have a franchise about mutant turtles learning ninjitsu from a rat and fighting a dude covered in knife covered samurai armor. 
So with me finally covering the guys after almost a year last month and with a new movie set to debut at some point this year, I had the bright idea to revisit the FIRST TMNT movie after way too many years of not watching it. This movie is anear and dear to my heart: When I first started getting into the boys big as a kid with the 2003 cartoon, I badly wanted more turtles. But back then it wasn’t nearly as easy to glom onto some more of the sewer shock pizza kings: Streaming sites with all the cartoons on them weren’t all that accesable, dvd’s were expensive for the 87 cartoon, Mirage wasn’t reprinting the comics in any meaningful way and my local comic shop didn’t have any at all and I could only play the SNES when my brother had it set up on occasion like at our Grandma’s farm. 
As you probably guessed though there was one exception: the original 1990 movie, which I got at Walmart for 5 bucks and haven’t let go of since. It was one of my first dvds and is still one of my most precious. Said film hit the spot just right as like my beloved 2003 series, it was a mildly goofy but still fucking cool adaptation that stuck closer to the mirage comics, even more than the 2003 series would, while taking a few queues from the 87 series. This film is as precious to me as the 2003 series and a with a brand new movie coming up, I figured it was the exact right time to dig into this classic: what makes it still good to this day, what’s fun to point and laugh at, and how the heck Jim Henson got involved in this. So join me under the cut as I take a look at my boys first theatrical outing and why I still love watching a turtle. 
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No One Wanted To Make This: Before we get into the film itself some background. As usual I struggled a bit, but thankfully found some help in the form of this Hollywood Reporter article.  It’s a fascinating read worth your time, providing an oral history of the film from the people who worked on it. 
The film was the baby of Gary Propper, a surfer dude and road manager for the prop comic Gallagher, aka that guy who used to smash watermelons but now has instead opted to smash what little’s left of his career by being a homophobic douchenozzle. He found an ally in Showtime producer Kim Dawson who’d produced Gallagher’s special. I don’t think there will be more of an 80′s sentence than “Gallagher’s surfer dude agent wanted to make a teenage mutant ninja turtles movie”. Propper was a huge fan of the comics, and with Dawson’s help convinced Laird and Eastman to let them option it to studios. 
It may come as a shock to you but the road agent for a homophobic watermelon man and a producer at a niche cable channel wanting to make a movie based on an underground comic book about masked turtles at a time when the two most recent comic book movies were Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Howard the Duck, did not go well. Every door in Hollywood got slammed in their face, even Fox> Even the eventual backer of the film, Golden Harvest, a hong kong action film studio, took months to convince to actually back the film. 
Things did not get easier from there: The films writer Bobby Herbeck had trouble getting a story agreed on because Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s working relationship had deteroiated horribly from the stress so naturally the two could not agree on a damn thing and argued with each other. Peter Laird  made a tense siutation even worse by constnatly sniping at Herbeck and feeling he was a “Hollywood outsider infringing on his vision and characters”
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Granted the script was apparently not great... but Pete still comes off as a pretnetious ass who views his weird indie comic as THE HIGHEST OF HIGH CALLINGS HOW DARE YOU SOIL IT. And continued to be kind of a prick like this throughout the rest of his time with the property. 
Thankfully the film found i’ts voice, vision and director in Steve Barron. Barron was a music video guy who knew the producers and while reluctant, eventually dove into the project rightfully thinking the film would need to be a mix of the mirage comics and 87 cartoon, keeping aprils’ reporter job, the turtles lvoe of pizza and their iconic color coding from the cartoon but adapting several stories from the comics as the backbone of the film. The guys liked barron MUCH better and things ran smoother. 
Barron also brought in one of the film’s biggest selling points and it’s most valuable asset: it’s triumphantly awesome Jim Henson costumes. Barron had worked with good old Jim on the music videos for Labyrinth, and while it took some convincing since the comics were violent as hell and that wasn’t Jim’s style, Barron eventually got him on board. This naturally doubled the budget, but given Henson’s costumes STILL hold up today and look better than the cgi used in the platinum dunes films... it was a good call. And this was brand new tech for jim, having to invent tons of new ideas and mechanisms just to make the things work, and said things still were absolute hell on the actors. Jim later ended up not liking the film for being too violent... which I find hilarious given how many muppets got eaten or blowed up real good on his show but regardless, I thank this legendary and wonderful man as without him this film WOULD NOT have worked. The costumes here look great, feel realistic, and you can’t tell the actors were dubbed much less horribly suffering in those suits. Much like Disney Land. 
The film would get picked up for distribution by New Line, and despite i’ts weird as hell origins and the long shot it had.. the film was a MASSIVE hit at the box office, owing to a combination of Batman 89 the previous year having proved comic book movies can work for audiences, the cartoon’s runaway sucess, and a massive marketing campaign. The film made it’s mark. So now we know how we got here let’s get into the film itself. 
What’s the Story Morning Glory?:
So the story for this one is largely cobbled together from some of the more notable arcs Eastman and Laird did before handing off the book to others full time as the stress of the company and the mounting tension with each other made it near impossible to work together on the book itself. 
To Save time i’m just going through what hte movie takes from the comics plot wise now to save me the trouble later:The movie takes elements from the first issue (The Turtles, Splinter and Shredder’s backstories, Shredder being fully human and the main antagonist, Shredder’s design and the final rooftop showdown that results in Shredder’s death), second and third, (April’s apartment over her dad’s old store and the turtles moving in when their home is ransacked and splinter has gone missing), the rapheal micro series (A tounge in cheek way of cashing in on the Mini-Series craze of the 80s, a one shot by modern standards and something that’s tragically been underused as an idea as only TMNT and MLP have used the idea at IDW, Raph meeting casey and their fight with one another), the return of shredder arc (One of the turtles being ambushed and mobbed by the foot and then thrown though a sky light (Leo in the comic and Raph here), the turtles being horribly outnumbered by them, Casey coming ot the rescue and metting the non-raph turtles for the first time, and them being forced to escape when the place goes up in flames), their exile to northampton (April writing in a journal, casey working on a car with one of the guys and one of hte guys looking over hteir injured brother), and finally, their triumphant return which was very loosely adapted as there are no deformed shredder clones and shredder not being dead yet in this version was not brought back by a colony of super science worms. 
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So as for how this all comes together: Our story takes place in New York: A crimewave is high with muggings mysterious. There are a ton of phantom thefts going around and at most people have been seeing teens responsibile. And the police.. are at about this level of useful:
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The only person doing something is April O’Neil, played by Judith Hoag. Hoag is easily the standout of the film, giving us a strong, confident woman with a wonderful sense of humor. She honestly might be my faviorite April O Neil, and given we’ve had some great ones with 2003, 2012 and Rise, that’s not something I say lightly. I honestly wish I’d recognized her in more stuff as she was both on Nashville and the mom in the Halloween Town films, and most recently was on the ScFy show the magicians. She’s a talented lady and i’m glad she’s still goin. 
April is a reporter for Channel 3 like the cartoon, though for some weird reason her boss from the cartoon is replaced by Charles Pennigton, played by Jay Patterson, whose currently dealing with his troubled son Danny, played by Micheal Turney. Pennington is horribly useless at both jobs: At work he tries to ease April off calling out Chief Sterns, who refuses to listen to April’s evidence gathered from japanese immigrants that the crimes resemble similar ones in japan in favor of trying to get charles to shut her up. Danny meanwhile is a member of the foot becase his dad thinks shouting out him and talking about him like he’s not there and generally being a dipstick will actually do anything to help him. 
I love the concept for the foot here. In addition to being a Ninja Violence Gang as always, they now recruit new members by finding kids without families or with troubled family lives and giving them a sense of family with the foot, and sweeting the bargin with a giant cave filled with arcade machines, a skate ramp and general late 80′s early 90′s kids goodies. Is it rediculous? Yes. Is it also clever as it gives Shredder an easy army of plausably deniable theives that he can pick the best out of to put in his elite that will be tirelessly loyal to him and him alone? Also yes. 
So April being public about this stuff gets her attacked, which naturally leads to our heroes coming in, first in the shadows and later directly when April wont’ give up on the case and Shredder sends some ninjas to go shut her up.. which he does weirdly as the guy jsut slaps her and tells her to cut it out like he’s on a domestically abusive episode of Full House. Raph saves her, and we get the turtles origin.. though weirdly they cut it in half. We get the ooze portion but Splinter’s past with Saki, Saki’s murder of his master and his master’s partern Tang Shen is left for later in the film and the fact Shredder’s saki is treated as a big twist despite the fact the biggest audience for the film would be kids... and kids would’ve been familiar with the cartoon where the giant brain monster routinely screeches out saki at the shredder. Maybe Barron just thought he was an alcoholic I don’t know. It just would’ve made more sense to have it all at once and let the audeince put it together. 
April becomes good friends with the turtles over a night of frozen pizza and camradrie, but the Splinters return home to find it ransacked, Splinter kidnapped by the foot, and are forced to Stay with april. Charles meanwhile tries to get April to backoff because he made a deal with the police to clear Danny’s record, without TELLING her any of this mind you, but I will save my rage on that little plot point for in a bit as Danny who he drug along sees the turtles and tells the Shredder. 
So we get the return of the shredder arc as Raph goes through a window, our heroes fight valiantly, and Raph’s friend Casey who he met earlier shows up, the two having bonded as all true friends do.. by beating the shit out of each other ending with raph shouting DAMNNNNNNN really big and dramatically into the sky for some reason. The Turtles and friends escape with an injured raph from April’s burning second hand store. She had a second hand store it was poorly established and only there because she had it in the comics. 
Our heroes retreat to a farm April’s grandma owned in Northampton, Massachutes, where Mirage was located at the time the original comics where they were exiled to the place were written and a location that has been a staple of the turtles ever since. The turtles slowly recover, lick their wounds, talk about who hooked up with who on gilligans island etc, before Leo connects with Splinter via meditation, who tells them to come back. Splinter also starts to connect with Danny and convinces him to swtich sides.. or at the very least squat in the boys old home. 
The boys return home, find danny, and prepare, Danny goes back and ends up giving away the Turtles are home.. but the turtles are ready and in an awesome sequence kick the fuck out of the foot squad sent for them with some well prepared steam vents. Casey goes to get splinter since Danny told them and with Danny’s help, finds him, since Danny found out they were gonna kill him. Casey beats up Tatsu, shredder’s right hand man, and they get him out. 
We get our final fight which is awesome up until the climax.. which is splinter casually tripping shredder with nunchucks and thier bloody history being kind of rushed and unsatsifying. Casey crushes shredder with a garbage truck, April gets her job back, more on that in a moment, she and casey hook up, and we end with the fucking awesome song T-U-R-T-L-E Power by partners in cryme. Seriously check it out it’s fucking triumphant. 
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The song is just good.. cheesy? Sure but that’s half the fun. It’s the gold standard for movie theme songs for them and stacks up handily with the various animated series themes.. all of which slap. Okay... ALMOST all of which slap. Fast Forwards is aggressively medicore, which is doubly suprising to me since 4kids was REALLY damn good with theme songs. It was one of the three things they were best at along with finding VERY talented voice actors and setting japan based works in america because merica dammit.  
The plot is very solid: It skilfully packed half of eastman and laird’s run on TMNT into 90 mintues while adding things like April’s job at channel 9, the way the foot recurited kids etc. The plot flows well for hte most part and apart from one annoying subplot we’ll get to never has a moment that feel unecessary or dosen’t pay off later. And the stellar plot and fun pacing of it helps boilster the characters that do work... and help paper over the ones that are so thin the’yd fall down a grate...
Our Heroes, Villains and Annoying Middle Aged Guys:
Yeahhhh character is hit and miss here. Some are rather strong, others are the bare basics for the character their adapting and most are just to serve the plot but some work some don’t,  So let’s talk about it starting with our boys:
Raph is the most fleshed out of the turtles, being the main focus of the first 2/3 of the film, and having his anger be part of what SHOULD be a character arc, learning to temper it. And while granted MOST TMNT properties do this, to the point that Rise Raph is so loveable in part because his boisterous bruiser big bro attitude is a refreshing break from the usual grumpus we get. But at the time this hadn’t been done in every version but the 87 cartoon, so exploring it was valid.. but despite saying this should be a thing htey just forget about it and the most plot relevance he gets is going thorugh a window. He dosen’t really get a resolution.. his arc just kind of stops dead for the final half and it’s one of the film’s weaker points, one I only just now noticed on this rewatch. He’s still the most entertaining. 
Leo is the weakest of the turtles. He really lacks a personality here mostly just being leader and while his spirtual side is touched on, it’s  mostly a plot device. He’s just kinda the leader because he was in the comics to the point Partners in Cryme called Raph the leader. His role in getting taken out by the foot was taken by Raph, so he just has.. nothing to do for most of the film other than gripe at raph ocasionally and say orders. He’s probably the worst Leo i’ve seen outside of Next Mutation. I prefice that because after watching Phelous’ review it’s VERY clear those four are the worst versions of the characters, and no personality is still better than either having your team do nothing or yelling at them as your personality. I chalk this up to the Mirage Leo, and the mirage turtles to a poit being kind of bland. Not TERRIBLE characters, especially for the time, but not nearly as fleshed out or individualized as they woudl be in other adpatations, and with most traits LEo DID have, like his badassery flat out gone, he’s just.. nothing here. 
Mikey and Donnie are a double act here with both sharing a brain. Interestingly instead of his normal genius character, Donnie is Mikey’s best friend and the two simply trade jokes and schtick together. The two are interchangable.. but easily the best part of the film and a lot of the most memorable gags and lines, from Ninja Kick the Damn Rabbit! to “Do you like Penicllin on your pizza”, are from them. Thier there almost entirely as comic relief but it works, with both clealry being more modled ont he 87 cartoon turtles, a move that helps lighten the mood in darker moments. Their just genuinely charming and it’s intresting to see such a diffrent version of Donnie, and other incarnations, specifically the 2003 and Rise versions, would retain the sarcastic edge. 
Splinter is splinter. That’s about it, he’s peformed well and the puppet is amazing but he gets kidnapped a half an hour in and outside of influcencing Denny, more on that in a moment, and finishing Shredder he dosen’t do much but spout exposition. He’s not bad or anything, but he’s essentially a rodent shaped plot device. He was also puppeted by Kevin CLash, aka the guy who does Elmo. So there you go. 
April on the other hand.. is truly excellent. This might be my faviorite April. Judith’s april nicely blends the cartoon and mirage versions: She has the cartoons energy and job, but the comics sheer will and casual nature. Judith just oozes personality and her April is just a joy to watch, from her breezy chemistry filled interactions with the guys to her confrntation with Chief Sterns, knowing she’ll get thrown out by the asshole. She’s confident, and even when afraid dosen’t back down to her attackers and even helps out during the sewer ambush. I mean it’s a pot on the head but still it’s neat. She’s easily the best part of the flim and the most fleshed out of the cast. The worst I can say is they kinda shove her store from the comics, Second Time Around, in there for no other reason than it was in the comics: It dosen’t come up until it’s needed for the foot’s assault on her place. But overall.. she’s just fantastic to watch. 
Speaking of fantastic to watch, Elias Koteas is fantastic as Casey. Seriously he’s only second to the 2003 version in my eyes, getting the concept of a testorone filled average guy who decided to just go out and hit people with sports equipment after watching too much A-Team.. I mean that part of it’s not in this version but it’s implied, just right. Like judith, Elias is just really funny to watch and his big scenes, showing up just in time during the foot assault on april’s place and his fight with Tatsu are some of the best parts of the film, the former taken directly from the comics. This version isn’t without problems: His friendship with Raph, his most endearing aspect and one that has been carried throughout eveyr version Casey’s important, with the only exception so far being rise and we have a movie to fix that, is absent here. HE does save the guy, but they don’t really bond or anything. In fact he disappears for about half an hour after his big fight with Raph. But... again he’s just so damn entertaining, down to his JOSEEEEEEEEEEE Conseco bats (There was a two for one sale!).
Shredder is just a LITTLE better than splinter, if only because his actor projects a true aura of menace and I feel this version had some influence on the pants crappingly terrifying 2003 version. And the idea of the foot recurting teenagers like I said is a good one: He gives them home and a cause, they give him plausably deniable backup. And his fight with the boys in the climax is really awesome... the conclusion sucks but otherwise h’es okay. Not the deepest villian, but he has enough presence to be enjoyable.
His right hand man Tatsu, whose been adapted ocasionally since this and reimaigned as Natsu in the IDW comics, a female version, is also fine. He’s your standard grimacing goon but has enough presence to work. 
So that brings us to the penningtons. Charles, april’s boss at the station and his son Danny who’s joined the foot as he feels his dad dosen’t love him. Charles..is about as interesting and likeable as a dog turd and is the worst aspect of the film. No debate there, he just sucks. He sucks so hard he’s classified as a black hole.  The film wants you to see him as a put upon wokring dad whose frustrated with his son’s increased moodiness, skipping school and crminal undertakings and just wants to help him and loves him deep down. The problem is his actor’s delivery instead of concerned.. is just pissed. He just seems pissy and upset about the whole thing and comes off like he’s only mad about Danny doing this because he’s embarassing him and not because you know, it’s bad. When confronting Danny about stealing, he dosen’t consider MAYBE he’s part of a gang or needs help, but just wonders “Why are you stealing when I give you stuff”. Because, Dipshit, sometimes kids do crimes not because they need the stuff but because they WANT to, and because they want to act the fuck out. 
The most he does for the kid is agree to try and get April to back off the police when Cheif Sterns offers to let Danny go and not put him on record in exchange for it. The problem.. is this makes him even MORE unsympathetic. While I do get wanting to help your child, I do and it’s a sucky position... he again should be sympathetic.. but he handles the thing so badly it sucks. He just tells april to ease off, with no reason given, then fires her when she SHOCKINGLY dosen’t give up taking the guy whose refusing to take her hard work seriously or actually solve the crime wave problem to task for his shitty behavior as ANY person facing a shitty, corrput cop would. She just wants to hold him acountable and get him to actually do something. He clearly knows her on a personal level too as he talks about his issues with his son freely with her, something you don’t do with an employee unless their also a friend on some level. 
He could have TOLD april what was going on. She’d be furious at Stern’s naked corrpution and prioritizing shutting her up over actually solving crimes.. and thus put at least some of that energy into shutting him down or finding a way around it, going to the papers or something like that. Even in 1990 pre-internet, there were ways to get around Sterns blackmail and expose him so someone who’d actually do the job could get the job. Instead he just comes off as a selfish coward who rather than try and fight the guy blatantly abusing his power and using Charles own son as  barganing chip, goes along with it because it’s the easier option to simply bow to him instead of TRY and stop this. And it’s not like he’s even going after a beloved public figure or someone who could hide behind his rep: Sterns was blatantly failing a crime wave, April had called him out on his failrues and coverups multiple times. The public was against sterns.. finding out he tried to blackmail the media into shutting up about him would PROBABLY end him... I only say probably not because the public wouldn’t skewer him, but because police tend to escape consequences for blatantly murdering someone on a daily basis and Andrew Cumo is STILl mayor over in new york, the same city this movie takes place, 31 years later, depsite EVERYONE asking him to resign over a long history of sexual harassment and a more recent but still horrible history of hiding death numbers. I don’t doubt people being stupid enough to ignore this or the bilaws with cops being stacked enough for him to get away with it, but just because someone gets away with a crime dosen’t mean you shoudln’t try and go after them in the first place. Fuck. Charles. Pennington. 
Danny on the other hand is FAR more interesting and I think gets way too much flack when it comes to this subplot. Unlike his dad, whose dead weight, Danny is intresting: He provides a POV character for the foot’s MO in the film of taking in wayward teens, and his character arc is pretty engaging, slowly realizing the foot dosen’t care and that hte turtles are the good guys. HIs actor does a great job and while not the biggest presence, he’s not a bad addition to clan hamaoto and I wish other adaptations would find a way to use him. The pull between doing the right thing and his found family is a good struggle. My only real issue with his plot is the moviies flawed aseop about family. It tries to contrast shredder and his using the kids blatnatly with Splinter and Charles really loving their sons. And it works with Splinter and the kids because despite being a tad strict, Splinter clearly loves his sons and works with them to help them. The problem is ENTIRELY with Charles and Danny. As I said Charles love comes off as transasctional: He either thinks he can buy it or just expects it because he shot a bunch of goop into Danny’s mom after two minutes of disapointment. It dosen’t work with them because neither option is good for Danny. His father is neglectful, chooses throwing his jounralistic integrity out the window over talking to his son or his best friend about another way, and abrasive. Danny is no saint, he does do crimes, but it’s clearly a result of a shitty upbringing and the shredder and co actually offeirng him the love he desperatly craves. Danny goes to the foot because his dad is bad at his job but the film never adresses that and just expects Danny to go back to his dad because the plot says so. Danny would HONESTLY be better off with Splinter. No really. Sure he’d have to live in the sewers.. but he did so for a few weeks in the course of the movie. He’s fine down there. Splitner actually cares about him and took an intrest to him and knows how to raise a child. Let him become the fifth turtle. An aseop about family is not a bad thing: Loaded subject that it can be given how many outright abusive families exist, i’m one of the lucky ones who dosen’t have that issue, family is an important thing and can be a source of comfort and support. But this film tells you you should love and respect someone who does not love, respect or value you because he spent a minute in your mom’s vagina and that’s not how family should work and is outright dangerous to kids in an abusive situation. Love the film otherwise but fuck this aseop skyhigh. 
Final thoughts:
Overall though.. the film is bodacious. It’s funny, well paced, has an awesome cast, and outside of a certain bald asswipe... it’s a really good superhero film. Is it the best i’ve seen? Nope. Not even close and character wise most of them are as thin as a wet paper bag covered in ranch dressing. But it’s still a fun as hell with awesome corepgraphy, a killer soundtrack, seriously the soundtrack is damn excellent and only didn’t get it’s own section because I didn’t have enough to say and some of the best effects work i’ve seen in a film in the turtle suits. If you haven’t seen it I urge you to check it out: it’s a breezy 90 minutes, it’s on hbo max and it’s a shell of a time. Will I do the next film? 
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We’ll see how this one does like wise and such, but I will be doing the rise film whenever it comes out this year. So look for that and keep possesing turtle power my dudes. If you liked this review subscirbe for more, join my patreon to keep this blog a chugging, comission a review if you have more turtle stuff you want me to cover, and comment on this. What do you think of the movie, what are your thoughts on the review, what can I do better, what other turtle stuff would you like me to cover/ Let me know and i’ll see you at hte next rainbow. 
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askdani · 3 years
Text
Tales of Dani - Chapter 1 - Newtralized! (Part 4)
“Uh, guys,” Dani says, “we’ve got company.” The three warriors see that the Turtles have entered the building through the roof. Casey has a rough landing, but steadies himself and takes a stance. “Whoa,” Michelangelo says, ”it’s the Newtralizer! I totally named that guy!” “Actually I named him,” Donatello says, correcting his brother, only to get mocked. "Hit em’ hard and fast,” Leonardo instructs. “Except for you, Casey,” Raphael adds, looking at his friend. “You hold back.”
The Turtles dash forward and attack. Michelangelo and Leonardo attack Newtralizer, only for him to knock them down fast. Raphael tries to strike the Salamandrian down with his sais, but is thrown to the bottom floor. While the red masked turtle stands back up, Dani lands in front of him, sword at hand. “What part of ‘stay out of our way’ don’t you understand?” she asks, charging towards the turtle. Raphael blocks her sword, and with a smirk, he says, “Bet you think you’re good at making friends with two psychos, huh, princess?” She doesn’t answer back. Blades hit very hard, and Dani starts to fight him aggressively.
Donatello lands onto Slash’s shell as he tries to swing him off. He then punches him in the face and raises his mace, ready to strike him down. “Eager for another beatdown, Donatello?!” Slash snaps. Hockey pucks suddenly hit the tortoise right in the face. He turns and sees Casey skating his way toward him. “Leave him alone!” he shouts. But before he could hit him, Slash grabs Casey’s hockey stick and starts swinging him.
Raphael sees this and runs toward the mutant tortoise after he throws his friend to the side. Before he could do anything, Slash taps on his teleportation device and disappears. Raphael tries to see where he went, only to get hit from behind. Newtralizer throws a disc above the Turtles and Casey and laughs. Dani hears the disc beep and her eyes widen in shock. “Wait, what are you doing?!” she asks. “We gotta move!” Slash says. He, Dani, and Newtralizer then teleport away, leaving the warehouse.
The disc starts to beep faster. Donatello realizes that it was a bomb. “Holy mackerel!” he shouts. “Run!” The Turtles quickly run to the nearest window and jump out. Casey gets stuck momentarily, but before Raphael could run back to help him, he manages to get out, one second before the bomb explodes. Debris fell from the roof. Raphael tackles Casey out of the way before he could get hit.
“You guys alright?” Leonardo asks, walking over to his brother and the vigilante. Casey lifted his mask up and said, “Yeah, we’re cool.” “Cool?!” Raphael snaps. “You would’ve been flattened if it wasn’t for me!” Casey snaps back, “I’ve done the same for you, Raph!” “Oh, yeah? When was that?” he asks. Casey pauses to think for a second. “Like, dozens of times,” he said.
“If you didn’t slow us down, they would’ve never gotten away,” Raphael argues. Casey stared at him, angry. “Are you kidding me?!” he exclaimed. “Why?” Raphael asks. “You think this is a joke?” He and Casey then stare at each other, growling. Finally, Casey shoved past Raphael and stormed off. “You know what, Raph? Forget this! I’m out of here!” “Good. Just go,” he waves off. “Good! I’m going!”
“Casey, wait! Hold on!” Leonardo calls, only to watch him disappear out of sight. He, Donatello, and Michelangelo start to glare at their hot-headed brother. “What?” he asks. “If he’s gonna act like a baby, then I don’t want his help.” “Not cool, Raph!” Michelangelo states. “People have feelings, dude. Real squishy feelings.” “Well, I’m not people,” Raphael responds.
(Meanwhile)
Slash and Newtralizer were inside a garage looking at Kraang weapons while Dani stayed outside, watching for Kraang droids or the Turtles. He was unaware that one of Donatello’s spy roaches was on top of his shell. “The Kraang orb revealed a new weapon,” Newtralizer spoke. “They’re testing it on the docks at midnight. We can use it to wipe out the Kraang once and for all. We can destroy this whole stinking city.”
Slash immediately realizes what this also meant. “And every innocent human with it!” he concludes. “Are you crazy?! I’m here to take out Kraang, not people.” “Why should I care?” Newtralizer snaps. “I’m not people!” “What about Danielle?” Slash asks in concern. There was nothing but silence, until Newtralizer responds with his answer very coldly, “If it comes down to it, I won’t take any chances, brother.” Slash was about to argue further, but then he kept quiet. Nothing he could say would change the Salamandrian’s mind. Slash was starting to have second thoughts.
(On the rooftops)
Donatello switched off his T-Phone. That was all they needed to hear. “Okay, this just got real,” Leonardo comments. Raphael nods. “Let’s end this!” he says, pulling his sais out.
(Back at the garage)
Dani stood outside the garage and was in deep thought. It was nice to help the two fight the Kraang, but something didn’t feel right. Newtralizer blew up the warehouse while the Turtles and Casey were inside. Someone could’ve gotten hurt. He didn’t show any signs of regret when they left. It was something she did not like. She started to remember what Raphael said to her during the fight. Maybe she did team up with a psycho...
She then thought of Slash. He was concerned as she was when Newtralizer told them that he came for the orb. Ever since she met him, Dani could tell that there was good inside the tortoise. Maybe she could convince him to leave the newt somehow.
She suddenly hears the garage door open and instantly knew that only Slash stepped out. He almost looked... sad. “What did he say?” she asks. Slash didn’t say anything. Seeing the look on his face, Dani asked, “Slash, is everything okay?” 
After what seemed like a moment, Slash finally responded. “The Kraang are testing a weapon at the docks,” he says. “He wants to use it to destroy the city.” “What?!” Dani asks, outraged to hear what was said. Slash continues, “I tried to talk him out of it, but-” “I came here to help fight the Kraang, not become some super-villain!” Dani interrupts, “I can’t believe that I was foolish enough to- ” She then remembered what she wanted to say to the tortoise. ‘Tell him before it’s too late!’ she thought. “Come with me,” Dani says softly. “What?” Slash asks. “Come with me, Slash,” she repeated. “It’s not too late to leave him. We can fight crime together. We don’t even have to worry about risking the safety of others. What do you say, brother?” she asks with a smile, reaching her hand towards him.
Slash was shocked. He didn’t know what to say. Before he could respond, Newtralizer came out to tell them that it was time to go.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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thecomicsnexus · 5 years
Text
The Unmentionables
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TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #14 MAY 1988 BY KEVIN EASTMAN AND ERIC TALBOT
SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA)
Casey Jones is patrolling the sleepy streets of Northampton, Massachusetts looking for some crimes to prevent. Northampton is nothing like New York City, however, so the mighty Casey is occupying his spare time as a vigilante by narrating events as if he were Mike Hammer. Jones is a little homesick for the Big Apple, but he's also reminiscing about the good times he had in this town as a kid with his cousin Sid. As Casey walks familiar ground, he passes by Louie's Variety store and is stunned by what he sees... the brass cow that once served as a rooftop landmark for the business has been stolen! Jones is enraged and gets to work on the case right away.
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As Casey interviews Louie for details, a local cop walks in and assures the shopkeeper that the theft was probably just a college prank and that the cow will show up soon. Casey gets angry about the police officer's blase attitude, which only angers the cop, who tells Jones to "Butt out—pronto!" Casey storms off, vowing to find the cow.
The following morning, we find April frantically getting ready for work and asking where Casey is. Just then Casey walks through the door, icicles hanging from his hat and chin. Jones moans that he's been out all night looking for "the great cow" and collapses. Fortunately it's nothing serious, and Casey tries to explain about the theft, but April is running late and hurries off to work.
Cut to the Blue Bonnet Diner, where April is waiting tables. As Ms. O'Neil is going through her stubs, she overhears two men plotting something about a cow. One of the men slaps the other and tells him that if he has any info he should leave it at the front desk of Hotel Northampton, room 213. April is suspicious and tries to remember where she heard about a cow earlier in the day when she sees the newspaper headlines—the top story is about the missing cow!
Back at the farm house, Casey is trying to get the disinterested Turtles to help him when April calls. O'Neil tells Jones about the conversation she overheard, but unfortunately the man who slapped his partner overhears April's phone conversation and becomes alarmed. Casey takes down the hotel information and slams the phone down in his excitement over having a lead. April is unhappy because she wanted to go along.
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Casey gets to the hotel and tries to get the woman at the front desk to tell him who's in room 213, but all he manages to do is get thrown out of the joint. As Jones sits on the stoop outside wondering what to do next, April arrives. April thinks she can have better luck getting the information, and she goes inside. As Fate would have it, just as O'Neil gets into the lobby, the slapping man (whose name is Howard) walks through with another fellow. April overhears the two making plans. Apparently Howard works for the older Texan man and they're making elaborate plans for a graduation party.
Later that night, April, Casey and the turtles arrive at the parking lot of the Hotel Northampton. Casey has asked the turtles to search room 213, and while the guys aren't happy about doing it, they agree. Jones and O'Neil crash the posh graduation party inside.
The Turtles find a bunch of paperwork and photographs of the Texan, Howard and the Brass Cow—however, they also discover they're in room 215—the wrong place!
As April is prowling the party looking for clues, she's spotted by Howard. O'Neil darts out into the lobby, where she's accosted by three men, Mikal Smengie and his brothers Luka and Luka. Unfortunately April has stumbled into a rendezvous between the Smengie Brothers and the Texan... a ten million dollar meeting that they all want to keep secret. Howard gags April and tells the Brothers to take her with them. Howard also give Mikal a briefcase full of money and an address. The Texan complains about loose ends and Howard says that he'll take care of things.
Back in the hotel room, the turtles decide that this case is too complicated and the police need to be notified. As they head out, they see April being kidnapped. The guys scramble down to the parking lot, but they're too late to stop the van holding their friend from escaping. The Turtles pile into their truck and head off to chase the van.
Casey goes into a rest room inside the hotel to gather his thoughts. He sits on top of a toilet in an empty stall as two guys come in. Jones overhears the two talking about a "prize cow" at Norman Whitty's place on Route 116. After the men leave, Casey dashes out to the parking lot to get his truck so he can investigate... except the truck is gone! Undaunted, Casey hails a cab.
Meanwhile the Turtles have followed the van to an old garage in the woods. Inside are the three brothers carrying weapons, a bound April and a well wrapped cow. As April berates her captors and warns them that she has friends, the Turtles burst in and kick the shell outta the Smengies. Once the Brothers are tied to a post, the Turtles interrogate them. The men talk to one another in Slovakian, which angers Raph and he threatens them. Under duress, Mikal explains that the brass cow was stolen from his family by their other brother Louie before the revolution. They've returned to steal the brass cow back and to sell it to Mr. Cudworth, who collects antique cows. April finds the story dubious, as ten million dollars is involved. Raph gets even angrier and decides to bash the cow to bits. Mikal then panics and exclaims that the cow is solid gold, and that they had stolen it before the revolution so that the new dictator wouldn't be able to use its wealth. They now want to sell it and share the wealth with their people.
Leo is suspicious, but he wants to see how things will play out before calling the police. In particular, Leonardo is interested in the Texan's role in these events. Leo hatches a plan that will allow them to get the real story.
Back at the hotel, the Texan receives a phone call from Leonardo, who tells the rich man that the deal goes down tonight and that they want an additional 5 million dollars. This does not please the Texan but he gathers up his forces and heads out.
Meanwhile, Casey has arrived at Norman's place on Route 116 in the taxi. Casey is jubilant about finding the cow and heads into the barn with glee—only to discover that the cow inside is real! Just then, Norman shows up with a shotgun and yells at Casey to get away from his prize winning heifer. Jones fast talks his way out of things and piles back into the cab, ordering the very unhappy driver to take him back to the hotel.
Back at the Smengie garage, the Turtles are all decked out in trench coats and firearms, awaiting their meeting with the Texan. The men show up and the Turtles demand the money. Howard asks where the Smengie Brothers are and the Texan demands to see the cow. Mike unwraps the cow only to reveal that it's a fake! As tempers flare, the Smengies crash through the garage door in a flatbed truck, with the real "brass" cow chained to the bed. A short fire fight erupts between the Texan's men and the Turtles, but the millionaire and his henchmen take off to chase the Smengies. The turtles pile into their own truck and bolt out in hot pursuit.
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As the Smengie's truck barrels down the road, they pass Casey's cab. Jones grabs the wheel of the car and spins it around. The driver is scared to death and Casey screams at him to "follow that cow!" The cab gains on the truck and Casey jumps out onto the hood of the taxi and leaps onto the cow. Jones causes Mikal to crash the vehicle into a ditch and shouts, "You pukes are under arrest!"
Just then the Texan shows up, and Howard yells, "Correction! You're all under arrest!" As the millionaire wonders what's going on, Howard explains that he's an undercover secret service agent. It turns out that the Texan (whose name isn't Cudworth, it's actually Emil Bruzeniak) is in the business of buying and selling stolen national treasures. Howard has been working for Bruzeniak for two years, waiting to build enough evidence to bust him. Howard calls in his backup and two helicopters appear. The turtles and April arrive on the scene. The turtles bail out of the truck as April drives up to see what's going on.
When April arrives, Howard wants to hear why she and Casey are involved in the case. Jones explains everything in long detail and Howard demands to talk to the four men who helped April escape. April tells the secret agent that her allies wish to remain anonymous and pleads that they all be let go, as everything turned out fine. The agent begrudgingly admits that Casey and April helped solve the case and agrees to forget about their friends' involvement, filing it under "unmentionables." Casey and April walk off arm in arm as the criminals are lead off in handcuffs.
The turtles have witnessed everything from the safety of the woods.
REVIEW
This may not feel like a TMNT story for the most part, but it has been kind of adapted into TV. Because the story is centered around Casey and April, the Turtles are once more, on the side of the story.
On the other hand, April and Casey have been on the side themselves as well since they left New York, so it is nice to explore these characters. And it’s only one issue, no one will be hurt.
I now appreciate (absent) Laird’s rounded style, but I cannot complain, as the art is stunningly good. It even feels a bit experimental at times. And there is something about Eastman drawing cities... I just love them. He makes cities look real and cartooney at the same time.
I give the issue a score of 7
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mama-ghostie-61542 · 6 years
Text
Awakening  Ch. 4
Rated M for Mature
If ya recognize it, it ain't mine.
Chapter 4
Dons POV
It was quite late when I heard the scuffle, having heard it long before I exited the lab. I had the extreme pleasure of hearing everything in stereo so I knew that it was Raph and Doc getting into a shouting match over something, but exactly what, Doc was shielding me from. It drives me crazy when she does that.
I followed the sounds to the dojo and found my twin flame squaring off against my older brother while Mikey held the baby and was trying to calm her down.
“For fuck’s sake, Red, she’s just a little girl. She just learned to walk not too long ago!”
“But she’s strong and smart, Doc! She’s old enough to start with the basics!”
“She’s two! When I deem her old enough she will learn, but not before she is ready.”
Mikey noticed the glow around her right fist before I did. He shoved the baby at me; I then handed her off to Leo, who took the baby out of the dojo and went to go play with her and the boys. Meanwhile, Mikey tried to get in between Raph and Doc. Raph just threw him out of the way, which was about as smart at throwing C4 into a roaring inferno.
If I know one thing, inside out, upside down, and backwards; it’s her, it’s Wolf. After he threw Mikey, Raph had no more than turned to Doc, his nictitating membranes over his eyes when she tossed a small wad of energy at the dead center of his chest.
Then, she walked away, yelling, “Bedtime!”
His knees hit the floor a split second before his extra eyelids rolled back. His hand went to his chest where it hit him. Then he grunted as he hauled himself off of the floor.
I stepped forward to help him up, but he shook me off.
“I’m fine,” he growled as he started to walk away from me and toward his room.    
I grabbed his arm. “I learned a long time ago NEVER get on her bad side; that it’s better to stay in Wolf’s good graces; it’s not so painful. By the way, that is gonna sting for a good long while, but once it stops stinging, you’ll be fine. You are lucky it was her and not me. For Christ sake, Raph, Rae is only 2. Ask next time,” I ended as I pushed him away.
With that I stalked away to help put the kids down for the night.
Raph POV
I managed to make it to my room and close my door before I teared up. Wowzers that hurt. Don was right; it stung. It was like getting hit by Bruce Lee’s ‘One Inch Punch’ a dozen times. I looked down to see a small circular bruise starting to color up. Ow.
Then I slowed down enough to think about it. She had hit me with an orb of energy from three to six inches away.  I could only imagine what it would do if it had more power behind it and was from rage rather than just P.O.’d. I did a full body shudder. Then, the stinging in my chest started to ease. Wow. Note to self; no more pissin’ her off. For a girl, she can hit really hard. Ouch.
Dons POV
           After the kids were asleep, I turned my attention to my Wolf. She had soaked up too much energy to fit in that one small orb and she needed to get the rest of it out. I had an idea or three on how to help her. I grabbed her hand and my skin instantly started tingling. A delicious feeling to be sure but it also imparted a sense of urgency. I threw her over my shoulder and headed for the lab. Part of me wanted to get some readings on the amount of power she could handle, but another part of me, the older part, pushed me to diffuse it quickly. I instinctively knew that if I didn’t, she would be a ticking time bomb.
           After I locked the door, I found myself against the wall, her lips on mine and her tugging on my suspenders. My hands settled on her hips. Suddenly, my suspenders were off and she was gently chewing my bottom lip. I gave in, moaning as her tongue gently danced along mine. I moved my hands to cup her head and pull her closer to me.
           I hissed and shivered as she raked her nails along my sides. I returned the favor by sliding my right hand under her shirt and gently raking my own down her back. My reward was her moaning against my lips.
           Suddenly, she pushed away and  started to stalk back toward the back corner of my lab, where I had made a nest of pillows and blankets the night before. As she started off, that t-shirt was whipped off over her head, giving me a perfect view of her back and the three scratches I had just left on her. Before the night was through, she would be mine. I followed, shucking off my pants and gear so I only wore my glasses and my boxers. I could smell her arousal halfway across my lab. The heady honeyed aroma made my mouth water, my head spin and my heart race.
           As I turned the corner into my little nest, there was my goddess, in nothing but white cotton bikini’s with purple lacy elastic and a smile. I could see the shadow of the little jade dragon with the royal purple wings on the left cheek of her perfect ass. I wondered if I bit it, would it bite me back? The leaves and vines of her rank were also visible. I am damned proud of my very sexy little General.
           Her back was to me as she glanced over her shoulder. I dropped to my knees right behind her and started to run my tongue along the bright pink trails I had left on her back. She moaned for me.
“Uh-huh,” I moaned as I started licking the welts, and occasionally nipping at them while growling and snarling.  As I toyed with her back, my hands were busy kneading her breasts and flicking or pinching her nipples. She kept moaning for me, it was setting me on fire. I was close to losing control.
           “Don’t tease, Hawk; not right now,” she whispered as she arched into me.
           That did it. I grabbed her undies and gave them a slight twist, “Get ‘em off,” I snarled against her back.
           She shivered and slid them down over her hips to let them fall to the floor. I got a good look at the tattoo on her ass. Then, I gently bit it. I was slightly disappointed when it didn’t bite me back; damned defective Ghost tat. When her undies hit the floor, I caught the full brunt of her sweet smell. I knew she wouldn’t need much more to take all 12 and a half inches of my rod in one go.
           The feel of her skin against mine was making her already very wet folds drip and run down her thighs. She shifted her hips and pulled me down where she wanted me with one hand and jerked my boxers down with the other.
           I chuckled, “Yes, Boss,” and proceeded to remove my boxers and line myself up.
           In seconds, my throbbing cock was buried in her hot, tight, and very wet pussy. It felt like coming home as her pussy swallowed every inch of me. I couldn’t stop my hands; I wanted to touch every inch of her sweet, soft skin. After the initial slow and deep thrusts, I lost all control, I started thrusting hard and deep, hitting a spot just past her cervix and making her tremble around me. When I got my bearings again, she was trying so hard not to cum until I was ready.
           “Cum for me, my Wolf,” I snarled against her skin as I sped up, hitting her end with wild abandon. Her pitchy moans grew louder and louder.  I would never admit it to anyone else but there was more than just sex involved. I knew, somehow, what button to push when, and she just knew mine, too.    
           She came so quietly that had I not felt her muscles clench and the rush, I wouldn’t have been certain she had. It was somewhere between a soft moan and a purr. Either way my old name was on her lips. It didn’t take much more for me to blow my load, she just felt too good. We were both covered in a fine sheen of sweat.
I rolled us to our side and held her close to me. I will readily admit that not one woman I have slept with in the past holds a candle to this woman. Not one has held my attention for nearly as long as this one has.
We laid there for the longest time, just talking, our voices near cooing. Mostly we spoke of how it felt to finally be home. Our hands caressed each other in the manner most loving. It was perfect. Eventually, we fell asleep in each other’s arms. That night, I dreamt of waking up to her.
I admit, I was afraid to fall asleep and waking up to find it had been yet another bittersweet dream. I held on to awake as long as I could, just watching her breathe; watching the subtle rise and fall of her side, feeling her breath on my arm, as her head rested in the crook of my arm.
In fact, that is what woke me up the next morning, her gentle breath on my neck from where she had cuddled closer to me in the night, her arm resting on my shell, her leg thrown over my hip. I caressed her back, unable to stop myself.
I heard her wake, but her eyes stayed closed.
“I don’t wanna wakeup,” she grumbled.
“Why,” I cooed in return, just kissing the top of her head.
“Because this is a dream and I don’t wanna cry,” she replied, her voice growing thick.
It was all I could do to reassure her that I was indeed there. “Wolf, I promise you, here and now, I am no dream,” I whispered. Then, my lips claimed hers. I didn’t care that she tasted like sleep, mostly because I did, too.
About that time, we heard Mikey banging on the lab door and screaming for Doc.    
A/N--Exact same thing on ffn.
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vixenninjaturtle · 7 years
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TMNT Leo x Female Reader(2016) Ch. 4
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TMNT Leo x Reader(2016) Ch. 4
The following evening, you managed to close up the shop early for the day and already made it back to the apartment to get ready for the meet and greet with Leo’s father Master Splinter. After you have taken your shower, you decided to wear this beautiful modern day Japanese style dress w/ cherry blossoms going around it in a flowing pattern. You bought that while you were still studying martial arts in Japan, and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to wear it.  As you were getting ready, your phone suddenly goes off and you hear tapping on your window. Checking to see who just contacted you, it was a text from Leo letting you know that he was there. You texted him back telling him that the window was open and that he can come in.
“Hey (y/n) are you ready?” Leo asked as he climbed through the window.
“Hey Leo… I’m almost ready just make yourself comfortable and I’ll be out shortly.” You called out from the bedroom.
Once Leo was inside, he set blades down by the window and decided to give himself a little tour around the place. While looking around Leo noticed a few photos of you and April as kids and teens, some family photos mostly of your dad. He even noticed a nice sized bookshelf containing some poetry books, romance novels and supernatural fiction novels. Which pretty much told him you really loved to read. As Leo continued to look around, what he saw next really caught his eye. Right next to the bookshelf was a glass cabinet case that held 4 katanas. But there was one of the four that stood out the most. Upon closer inspections of the sword, Leo noticed something engraved on the sheath.
“Hmmm… I wonder what that says?” Leo whispered as he tried to get a closer look.
“It says ‘ For every dark night, There’s a brighter day.’”
Nearly jumping out of his green skin, Leo immediately turned around and saw you in your beautiful blue dress. Already he could feel his face heating up as his heart rate started to speed up alittle.
“My father gave that to me on my 16th birthday… It’s last thing I have to remember him by.” You stated as you stood next to Leo staring at the katana.
“It’s a beautiful sword.”
“Thanks… I think so too. So are you ready to go?”
“Y-yeah I’m ready… By the way you look… Really lovely tonight (y/n).” Leo commented while looking at you.
“Awww thank you Leo…. You sure this isn’t to much?”
You spun around a bit modeling the dress for Leo as you waited for his opinion.
“Oh… N-no not at all… In fact it looks really… Really good on you.” He chimed in a loving way as he continued to stare at you.
“Why don’t you take a picture? It sure lasts longer.” you mused while winking at him, before getting your keys.
Leo stood there flabbergasted for a moment, before hurrying to the window to hold it open for you, like a true gentleman. You nodded as a note of thanks before waiting for him, so you could lock the door. As you both were walking along the sewer tunnels, Leo lead the way while also making sure you were close by. The last thing he wanted was for you to get lost down there. While following him, you mentally and physically took notes of which tunnel to take, which turns to make so you can remember how to get there on your own.
“Wow you guys made sure your home was well hidden huh?” You panted as you stopped to catch your breath.
“Huh? Oh yeah sorry about that… We had to make sure our home was very well hidden and untraceable this time so no one could find us.” Leo explained as he stop to wait for you.
“This time? What do you mean ‘this time’?”
Leo went ahead and explained how the Shredder and his foot were able to track him and his brothers down by using April without her knowing it. Ever since then, Donnie had upgrade their security system and make it so that nothing can ever track them down again. When you finally made it to the lair, you were quite amazed by how big the place is. For a bunch of mutants that live underground, their home was truly an awesome sight.
“Welcome to my home.” Leo smiled as he led you inside.
“Whoa…. This place is amazing.” You gasped in awe
“Thanks… We think so too. Would you like a tour before you meet Splinter?” Leo asked hopefully
“ Oh absolutely.” You replied still awe-struck
But before Leo could even get a chance to show you around, you both suddenly heard an explosion and shouting coming from Donnie’s lab.
“MIIIKEEEY!!!…. LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!!!!!” Donnie screamed in anger.
“Oops…. My bad D.” Mikey tried to apologized
“Uh-oh that doesn’t sound good.” You said quite unsure what to do now
“You have no idea.” Leo mumbled sarcastically while rolling his eyes.
You continue to hear Donatello screaming and yelling at Mikey for all the damage he caused. He was cussing at him (which is something he didn’t normally do), saying how he has to start the experiment all over again, and how many hours he spent working on it.
“Should we you know… See if everything’s alright?” You suggested feeling a little concerned.
“We could, but I guess it would be better to not enter the lab. Who knows what Mikey blew up in there…” Leo mumbled but changed his mind when he saw concern written all over your face. “But we could check up on them.” he told you before slowly moving towards Donnie’s lab, just in case.
You followed close behind Leo, preparing yourself for everything that might wait behind that door. With a fast beating heart, because of your closeness, Leo opened the door a bit, to make sure that nothing harmful would wait on the other side, before opening the door fully so you could see for yourself what had happened. As you and Leo peeked inside, a big puff of smoke blew right past you and Donnie using a fire extinguisher putting out whatever it was that exploded.
“Hey what happened in here?” Leo asked fanning the smoke away.
“As usual Lord of Destruction over there came in here to annoy the hell outta me and ended up destroying yet another one of my experiments that took me months to work on!” Donnie screamed in rage as he glared at the young turtle.
“I said I was sorry D… Cut ya bro some slack here will ya?” Mikey apologized again as he hid behind his oldest brother.
“Sorry?! No no no sorry isn’t gonna cut it this time Mikey, you always… Always do this and I’m sick of it!”
Leo and Mikey have never seen Donnie this angry before. Sure he would frustrated when things don’t work out the way he plans. But seeing him this angry was almost as scary as Raph’s angry and that is terrifying. Mikey tried to shield himself from the nerdy terrapin, when he noticed you standing there next to him.
“Hey it’s you… Ummm (y/n) right?” Mikey blurted out trying to confirm your name.
Smiling when he recognized you, you just nodded your head.
“Yes Mikey it’s me and it’s nice to see you again.”
“Wait… (Y/N) is here? Aww man… Please pardon the mess if I had known we were gonna have company I would’ve tidied up a little more.”
“No it’s ok Donnie don’t worry about it. I actually came to meet Master Splinter.”
“Speaking of which, we better head over to his chambers and let him know that you’re here.” Leo suggested before taking your hand and walking out.
Mikey was just about to walk out with them, when Donnie suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder preventing him from going any further.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Donnie asked with a dark tone in his voice.
“Oh well… I was just going to ya… Go play videogames.” Mikey stuttered as he tried to get away.
“I don’t think so Mikey… You created this mess and now… It’s going to be you that’s going to help me re-do it. And I don’t care how long it takes or how much you sleep you lose you will repay me for months of work.”
Mikey started sweating nervously and swallowed a large dry lump in his throat because he knew what that meant. And there was nothing he could say or do that could possibly get him out of it. Meanwhile, Leo took you over to Splinters room and gently knocked on the door.
“Enter.” A deep elderly spoke from the other side of the door.
“Excuse me father… But I brought (y/n), the girl I told you about over to meet you.”  Leo informed as he walked in with you close behind him.
“Ah yes come in… Please have a seat Ms. (Y/N). Would you like a cup of tea?” he asked with a japanese Teapot already in his hand.
“I’d love to have some tea.” you bowed slightly before sitting down in front of the old and worn Kotatsu.
It wasn’t that cold so the traditional blankets were removed. It has been some time since you last had some nice green tea and you were surprised that Master Splinter actually owned a traditional handpainted tea set. It seemed so wrong in a place like this, yet it felt so right. You closed your eyes a moment while savouring the strong yet gentle aroma of the tea, it sure has been some time when you last enjoyed a tea this well made.
“The tea is delicious, Master Splinter.” you sighed before placing the cup on the table.
“Please, child. You can call me sensei or father if you’d like. It is kind of special when my son Leonardo brings home a girl he chooses worthy of meeting his father.” Master Splinter announced while stroking his beard thoughtfully.
You couldn’t help but blush before looking over to Leo, who seemed to be shocked by his father’s words.
So Leonardo has told me that you’ve studied martial arts…. Tell me child where have you been studying?” Master Splinter asked while taking a small sip from his tea.
“Oh well… I studied for six years total, in two different countries. Three years in Japan and three years in China. I’ve learned quite a lot from both of them.” You explained before taking another sip of your green tea.
“That is very impressive, my dear…. I think you could teach my sons a few techniques, if you want to. Heaven knows, I have done everything I could to teach them. Maybe you know some techniques even I haven’t heard of, since I have been taught in Japan only.” Master Splinter explained.
“I’m always open to learn new techniques, sensei.” Leo protested to point out that he wasn’t the one slacking off.
“I know my son, I wish I could say the same about your brothers.” Master Splinter sighed.
 “Well to be honest, Sensei… I’m not sure I’d be a good teacher. I have never really taught anyone anything… Well except for tattoos and even that can be challenging.” you confessed, feeling a little bit uneasy thinking about teaching them.
“I think you would make an excellent teacher (y/n)… I mean you taught me some really cool moves during our sparring sessions.” Leo chimed in before Master Splinter was able to accept your thoughts on that matter.
“Well…” you began but was interrupted by Leo again.
You listened while Leo talked about how amazing you would be as a Sensei to his brothers and himself. Although you were flattered, you still thought you weren’t cut out to be a martial arts teacher.
“Thank you but I think I’m gonna have to pass. I’m having a hard time teaching my apprentices how to tattoo a straight line. However, I would love to train with you guys from time to time.” You offered before taking another sip of your tea.
“Really? That sounds like an amazing idea to me… I mean uhh…. W-hat do you think dad?” Leo asked excited over the possibility to train with you regularly and spending more time with you in long run but in the end regained his composure.
“I agree, my son. That sounds like a wonderful idea. It would be refreshing to have another beautiful, friendly face in our presence. Especially the one my eldest son has become quite fascinated with and learned to care about .” Master Splinter expressed with a knowing smirk.
You instantly blushed apple red before looking over at Leo, who was also blushing while looking at you. You both looked away from each other, when you caught each other staring. Master Splinter chuckled before finishing his tea. Within a few hours of hanging out with Leo and the boys, It was getting pretty late and it was time for you to head back home. You said goodbye to everyone and gave Master Splinter a hug before heading out with Leo, who wanted to make sure you got home safe. Once you two made it back to your apartment, like almost every night lately. You stayed outside a little longer enjoying the starry night sky and the view of the city.
“I really enjoyed meeting your family, Leo. They are so much fun to be around and Master Splinter is so nice, too.” you muttered while leaning closer to Leo, making you shoulder bump lightly into his, catching him off guard.
Leo could help but chuckle before giving your shoulder a light nudge back.
“I’m glad you like them. I hope you’ll find your way back to visit us whenever you c.. want.” he corrected. He was just about to tell you to visit him as often as you can. That wouldn’t have been right. He doesn’t want to seem persistent. You had realised what he meant to say and chuckled while telling him, you’d be coming over as often as you could. You enjoyed some moments of silence together before bidding each other good night.
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