#she would see donnie trying so hard to act like hes better then draxum and she would be like

[liquidjapanesetit]

I will forever mourn how we couldnt have an episode around draxum and donnie because i know it would be the most embarrasing battle of wits in the world because one of the participants is a 1 million year old failure of a man and the other is the world's most annoying 14 year old both of them are arch nemesis and none of them have anything better to do

[orange-meringue]

Lost And Found Q & A

(The Q&A is here! Yeah, I’m not sure exactly how many of you ended up coming over from AO3, but I’ve decided to do the Q&A for my fic here -sorry to those of you who are uninterested in my writing life, I’ve been really invested in Lost And Found lately. 

The first question was submitted here on Tumblr, and the rest are all from AO3. I hope you’re satisfied with my answers, and if you have any more questions after this or just want some elaboration, please feel free to ask! I’ll add them on in a reblog! 

Anyway, enjoy! I’ll put everything beneath the cut) 

How does Donnie adjust to physical touch/affection in the future?

-Donnie is definitely touch-starved. No way around it. As mentioned in the fic, Draxum, Huginn, and Muninn never really gave him more than a few one-sided hugs, fist-bumps or handshakes. He’d never been fully hugged or held until he met his brothers, and it’s still very weird and new to him. But obviously his brothers (as well as April and Splinter, once you get to know them) are pretty touchy, but a few of them are better at picking up on Donnie’s thing with touch than others. Overtime I feel like they would be able to get him more and more acquainted with things like casual hugs and friendly touch, and the more he gets used to these things, the less they startle him every time. Though I do imagine he has a few relapses in the future (which I do plan to write about) where touch goes back to being startling and scary, and it takes him a day or so to warm back up to it. Mostly good things, though! Donnie truly does love the familial affection, though he’s not likely to admit it

When did the boys prepare Donnie’s room?

I imagine they made his room during the last chapter, after Splinter’s apology and after April and Mayhem left, when everyone began to split up to do their own things. The timeline is a little questionable, but I like to think they had a good hour in there, and most of the materials were already there and ready -the room was likely empty, too, and was acting as some sort of storage room that they never knew what to do with. I tried to make it obvious that they’d been pressed for time and hadn’t been able to do much, hence the hastily made bed frame and why there were only two other pieces of furniture

Will Donnie ever feel comfortable enough to remove his tech around the lair in the future?

I feel that, much like canon Donnie, wearing his tech is a bit of a habitual thing. He doesn’t really see a reason to take it off, even if he’s technically safe in the lair, especially because it was ingrained in him via Draxum that his tech is everything keeping him safe. His tech is his armor and his safety blanket, and even if he knows, logically, he’s not going to be ambushed in the middle of the lair, it’s hard to take it off. Eventually, though, I feel like his brothers help with that. At one point Raph probably starts trying to train him to build strength and muscle on his own so he doesn’t have to rely on his limb clamps, and, as Donnie gets more comfortable with his brothers, he starts feeling relaxed enough to remove his battle shell when lounging around with them

Would Splinter try to bond with Donnie and attempt to form a better connection with him?

Splinter really does love his son and wants to spend time with him! But...uh...as of the story’s ending...he doesn’t know very much about him. He knows he was raised by Draxum to be a soldier and is very good with technology, but other than that...next to nothing. But it’s a great motivator! Splinter 100% wants to know Donnie as well as he knows his other boys, so he pulls out every stop to try and bond with him, making sure not to rush him despite his curiosity and family-oriented nature, because Donnie is currently pretty skeptical of adults (even Splinter) for...obvious reasons. But he wants to get to know Splinter, too, and, yeah, he’s willing to sit through his 5+ hour Lou Jitsu monologues to let that happen

How does Donnie feel about the boys’ future plans to capture oozesquitos and sabotage Draxum? Does he still have conflicted feelings about humans?

After the initial adrenaline and shock of everything subsides, I feel like it was Donnie’s idea to go after the oozesquitos. He probably wakes up in a cold sweat one night remembering oh yeah, Draxum and I unleashed a swarm of carrier bugs upon New York that are set on turning people into mutants and immediately feels the need to remedy his past mistake. So he builds a device to track the oozesquitos, which leads the boys to Big Mama’s hotel, and the rest is history (though slightly different than it was in canon, considering Donnie’s knowledge of Big Mama’s schemes and the Battle Nexus). But in terms of Draxum, Donnie would definitely be far more hesitant about trying to sabotage him. Donnie is still afraid of Draxum, after all -a small part of him feels like everything with his brothers is only temporary, and eventually he’s going to be stuck with Draxum again, and the further on his bad side he gets now, the worse it’s going to be when that does happen. He never directly challenges or fights Draxum whenever they run into him, and if there’s a way to avoid clashing with him altogether, he’ll take it

As for humans, Donnie’s definitely still conflicted about them. It’s been ingrained in him his whole life that humans are evil and selfish- that they forced his whole race underground and that’s the reason they now live in secrecy. And honestly, not even Splinter actually knows if that’s true. So Donnie remains skeptical, but overtime he’s able to do a lot more things around the city without fear of humans. They’re not actually that dangerous, he discovers, and maybe -just maybe- they’re alright. But there’s only one human Donnie grows to fully trust, and that’s April. In his eyes, she’s already proved her loyalty and compassion and, y’know, desire not to out him and his brothers to all of human-kind, not to mention she’s super badass and someone Donnie does not want on his bad side again. She’s a good friend, he realizes. He can definitely understand why she’s part of the family

How much does Donnie know about the Hidden City? Does he know about Big Mama and her hotel? How would the boys’ interactions with Big Mama change with this version of Donnie?

Considering he was raised with Draxum (who is apparently a well-known public figure in the Hidden City) he definitely has a fair amount of knowledge about the place, as well as a few ins and yōkai to go to when he needs something done. He’s very well-known himself, and actually has a reputation as a very intimidating soldier. He’s also well-versed in Big Mama’s tricks, because she and Draxum have done business before and she’s 100% tried to kidnap him for the Battle Nexus (emphasis on tried). Harking back to the question about Donnie’s oozesquito-capturing plan, the episode would definitely go differently with him there. It would be a great Leo and Donnie bonding episode, because neither of them trust Big Mama in the slightest, and Raph and Mikey would be far more cautious around her, though still intrigued by the concept of a mutant hotel and her apparent interest in helping them. But I think Donnie would manage to slip out with Leo before their brothers are captured, then it would be a race with a hilarious amount of arguing until they rescue Raph and Mikey, then everything would likely proceed as normal for the rest of the episode

Is Donnie jealous that April gets to attend school? What would his relationships with the Purple Dragons be like?

Donnie has no idea what school is. He’s heard mention of it in shows he’s pirated, but it isn’t until April comes to him one day complaining about her workload that he asks what she’s talking about. Once she explains it, he’s ecstatic! A place you can go to learn about math, science, history, and any other subject you could ever want? How much does it cost? ...It’s free?! He’s begging April to smuggle him in. She absolutely does not want to deal with that, but Donnie did make her a whole laptop and upgrade her phone a whole bunch, so how can she say no? She agrees to take him the next day, but it doesn’t fully occur to Donnie that the school is crowded with humans until he gets there. He’s on-edge the entire day, and it doesn’t help that he’s a weird green-skinned new kid no one’s ever seen before. I imagine it would be a great chapter for some good old fashioned Donnie and April bonding, and I’m 100% going to write it now, so anything else would be considered a spoiler

As for the Purple Dragons, I imagine their relationship wouldn’t be too different. The Purple Jacket episode would go relatively the same way, though I imagine Donnie would be a little more reluctant to actually join the Dragons, and way more irritating throughout the rest of the episode. But the plot and their feelings toward each other would likely remain the same

Does Donnie still eat bugs?

The whole thing with the bugs is basically...Draxum didn’t know what to feed Donnie as a baby, so he went to a local animal expert who recommended things like fruits, veggies, bugs, etc. So, considering that Draxum’s main priority was rebuilding his lab and he didn’t really have the resources to get food for anyone but himself (and maybe Huginn and Muninn- though they probably stuck to dumpster diving), Donnie’s appetite ended up consisting completely of typical turtle food, and only when he got older did Draxum started adding in things like nutrient bars and protein shakes, just to help him build more strength and muscle. So Donnie never really had anything else before he met his brothers, and it feels weird to him to jump straight from turtle to human food, so he slowly incorporates more of the latter into his diet overtime. He does still eat bugs, though. Splinter started getting him things like bug chips and seasoned bugs to make it less unsettling, but now he just eats those all the time and none of the others care for it. If a live bug happens to get in his way, he definitely won’t hesitate to eat it, and, yeah, sometimes it’s startling and almost made Leo throw up once, but it’s also really helpful if there’s a bug in the lair and none of the others want to deal with it. Donnie has eaten a spider before. The others just pretend it never happened

[rottmntquotes]

Petition Episode (Joke Script Part 1)

(Screen opens up on Donnie; He is sitting in his lab, working on his Self-Cleaning Toothpick, and whistling the show’s theme song. A beat or two passes before Leo races into the lab, and the camera focuses on Leo as he scrambles around, constantly falling onto his face. In an attempt to get Leo to leave, Donnie turns in his swivel chair to face Leo.)

Donnie: Leon, what do you want?

Leo: DONNIE! You have to see this!

Donnie: See what, exactly?

(Leo shoves his phone in Donnie’s face, smiling with enough force to split his face in half. With surprise clear on his face, Donnie slowly takes the phone, raising a brow and turning his focus to the commercial playing on the screen.)

Announcer #1: Hello, hello, hello! Are you a bored soul? A lonely pony? A group or duo who has nothing better to do than sit around at home and work on meaningless inventions?

Donnie: Hold on, wha-

Leo: SHhhhHHHhhHHH!

(Donnie glares at Leo briefly, sighing heavily before looking back at the phone screen.)

Announcer #1: If you answered yes to one, two, or all of those questions, then you may be eligible to try out for a new show filmed down here in the Hidden City!

(Donnie’s eyes widen slightly; He looks at Leo, silently asking for an explanation.)

Leo: It’s a commercial Draxum showed me! He managed to pass through a mystic wall that allows me to get news and stuff from the Hidden City!

(Donnie hums, handing the phone to Leo and thinking intensely. Leo waits as patiently as possible, glancing around and reaching for Donnie’s Self-Cleaning Toothpick. Donnie slaps Leo’s hand away, coming to a conclusion.)

Donnie: I assume there is a reason behind you showing me this commercial?

Leo: Yeah there is! (He jumps up onto Donnie’s desktop to sit next to Donnie) I wanna do it!

Donnie: How does that affect me?

Leo: Because I wanna do it with you, doofus! We rarely do anything together anymore!

Donnie: We went to get ice cream together just two days ago.

Leo: Okay, but-

Donnie: And the day before that we played six rounds of cards.

Leo: Don-

Donnie: And two days before that we watched a marathon of your favorite Jupiter Jim movies.

(Leo scoffs, throwing one leg over the other and sighing dramatically.)

Leo: Fine! Be that way! I guess it is too much to ask!

(Donnie lifts a brow, smirking lightly.)

Leo: It’s not like I want to spend more time with my favorite big brother anyways! Oh, woe is me to have my brotherhood left in twain!

Donnie: Are you done?

Leo: Hold up, not yet. (He leaps up to stand on the desktop, leaning back and placing the back of his right hand on his forehead, and pouting) I cannot believe what my life has come to! Whatever shall I do without the love of my entire family?! I feel myself withering away! Oh! Ancestors, is that you?

(Donnie shakes his head, now smiling widely.)

Donnie: Nardo, if I agree to go, will you stop?

(Leo drops his act, nodding rapidly. Donnie sighs, reluctantly agreeing.)

Leo: Heck yeah! Let’s go participate in a Hidden City game!

(The screen switches to the Hidden City, where the boys are following a map given to them by Hueso to find the studio of the game. Leo is constantly making near contact with random Yokai, and Donnie tries his damndest to keep this from happening to his best ability.)

Leo: Okay, acording to the map, the studio should be right-

(A Fox Yokai interrupts Leo with a loud cheer. She is dressed in a red dress with purple highlights, and her tail and head tuft are purple as well. The twins are less than impressed by this look, and show it with their confused/slightly disgusted frowns.)

Donnie: Uhm, can we help you, ma’am?

Fox Yokai: Yes! I am one of the announcers of the game, and you are the last Yokai on the roster!

Donnie: Wait, the last-

(Leo pushes Donnie to the side, knocking Donnie onto the ground unintentionally. Leo then shakes the Yokai’s hand and introduces himself.)

Fox Yokai: Yes, I know who you are, and I also know who your brother is. We will go over the formalities later, for now we must get into the building.

(Leo helps Donnie up, shaking with excitement. Donnie rolls his eyes, placing his right hand on Leo’s head.)

Donnie: I don’t trust this Yokai. She knew too much about us before we even spoke.

Leo: You’re just being paranoid. (He removes Donnie’s hand) No need to be! We’re here together! And we’ve got each other’s backs! Our Twin Trust hasn’t failed us before, after all.

(Donnie grumbles, unable to deny Leo’s claim.)

Leo: C’mooooon, Don! Just this one thing! Then I’ll do whatever you want to do the next time we hang out! I promise!

Donnie: Ugh... fine. But on one condition.

(Leo tilts his head.)

Donnie: You have to assure me that this isn’t like that stupid Maze of Death.

Leo: Don, please. I would know if this was anything like that maze. And, it isn’t. You have my 100% Leo Guarantee!

(Almost instantly, the camera switches over to Raph, Mikey, and Splinter, who are sitting in the living room. All of a sudden, Draxum appears out of nowhere, startling everyone.)

Draxum: JITSU! WHERE IS THE BLUE ONE?!

Splinter: What are you talking about?!

Draxum: I showed your son a commercial of one of the most dangerous Hidden City games in an attempt to get him out of my apartment!

Raph: WHAT?!

Mikey: Barry! How many times have I told you that that’s not an efficient way to get rid of the twins?!

Draxum: I know, I know! But now isn’t the time to worry about that! (Turns To Face Splinter) Your son, depending on when he inevitably left, is about to sign himself up for a Hidden City game that ends in death nearly 97.55% of the time!

(Raph faints, his body thudding so hard that it makes everyone jump. Mikey chuckles nervously, tending to Raph and leaving Splinter and Draxum to talk things out.)

Splinter: What made you think that showing Leonardo such a commercial was a good idea?!

Draxum: He would not stop talking to me! It was the only thing I could show him that kept his interest! When he said he was going to show the purple one and ask if they could go together, I thought he was joking! That’s his thing! It’s was he does!

(Splinter groans, pinching the middle of his snout before sighing heavily and looking back at his sons. Mikey had managed to wake Raph up, and they were now looking straight at their father.)

Splinter: We must go and save your brothers. Goodness knows what they have gotten themselves into.

(The camera switches to the twins, who are standing in the middle of a group of large Yokai. Donnie is visibly worried, his legs are shaking, his hands clenching around his Tech Bō, and his eyes are shifting around to keep track of his surroundings. Leo is visibly excited, he is standing straight, smiling cheek to cheek, and biting his lip to keep from shouting his joy. The group is standing outside a large house, and they are looking at the Fox Yokai, and a brown and white Rabbit Yokai. The Fox Yokai is clearly happy, and the Rabbit Yokai is clearly disinterested in the situation.)

Leo: *Whispering* Are you ready Don?

Donnie: *Whispering Angrily* N-not r-r-really...

Leo: *Whispering* Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I’m here with you, remember? Twin Trust.

(Donnie calms down substantially, sighing ruefully and leaning against Leo.)

Donnie: Remind me never to do stuff like this with you again.

Leo: No.

Donnie: And why not?

Leo: Because you know you have fun bonding with me.

Donnie: Yeah, when I’m not being threatened with death.

(Leo chuckles, giving Donnie a sideways hug. The twins look forward, waiting for the Yokai to begin explaining what is expected of them. Beside the twins, the Yokai around them are getting slightly antsy. Donnie and Leo share a look of uncertainty. Leo seems more put together than Donnie, but neither objects to the idea anymore. Donnie then looks at the ground, thinking to himself.

“This is not going to end well...”)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*This was completely experimental, and I’ll keep going based on the feedback I get. Hopefully this gives you an idea of what I think would make a neat episode.

[turtlestanfirst]

When they first met, it was apparently night. Artemis has a hard time with, well, time. She can't see the sun or moon, the changing of the sky as the day wears on into night. Her favorite way to guess the time is to just listen. As night comes on the house becomes much quieter than during the day. And the house really can get busy. He was called Baron Draxum, after all. He's got status, and status means people come in and out of your house all day, talking about the affairs of Mystic City. Artemis is old enough to handle some of these things when her father isn't around. And he'd been gone for most of that day, so she'd been fairly busy.

Finally the telltale sound of evening had settled in and she'd settled in the kitchen, sipping on multiple mugs of tea until her nose picked up on the scent of Draxum's cologne. His footsteps reached her ears moments after- two pairs of footsteps. The other person had a smell too, one considerably less appealing than her father's. Her first guess was an enemy, someone he would likely take down into the dungeon.

But they weren't headed to the dungeon. Artemis turned her head towards the kitchen entrance as the pair approached, an easy smile on her face despite her curiosity about the person next to him. "I was starting to worry I'd have to sleep without saying goodnight to you." The smile grew as Draxum approached and planted a kiss on her head.

"Busy day, my little munchkin," he explained. Artemis nodded.

"Who's with you?" The girl couldn't see it, but she heard something like pride in the yokai's voice as he replied.

"This is Donatello, he'll be staying with us from now on." Her face moved towards where she'd last heard his footsteps and waved.

"Welcome, Donatello," she hummed, and grinned once again when she heard his quiet reply. The familiar clop of Draxum's hooves moved away from her now.

"He has had a long day as well," her father explained. "I am going to show him to his room. Will you put the kettle on for me, dear?" Artemis nodded quickly and slid out of her seat to do as she was asked.

"Shall I send a cup up for you, Donatello?" she asked over her shoulder.

"I- yes, please," he replied after a pause. Artemis nodded once more and picked the kettle up, listening as their footsteps retreated down the hall and moved up the stairs on her left side. By the time Draxum returned, she was perched on the counter, the water slowly working its way to a boil on the stove.

"How'd you get one of them to come with you?" she asked, almost as soon as he entered the room. Clip clop, clip clop, she heard him settle on the chair she'd occupied earlier. He didn't answer right away, and the weight of his temporary silence told her there was a lot on his mind.

"He was alone," Draxum offered. Artemis sat forward, fingertips clinging to the counter beneath her. "He says he feels like his... his family doesn't value him as highly as he would like."

"And you've offered to show him his worth?"

"Yes. He is incredibly talented, he deserves to know this. If he needs someone to tell him that I have no problem doing so." Her brow furrowed slightly. It sounded like the turtle hadn't been happy with his family. Draxum had told her about the turtles and Lou before. Why would the man take them only to mistreat one enough to convince him to leave?

Donnie had a question for her too, one that popped into his head immediately after laying eyes on her. It burned and burned and burned until the door to the room he'd been given opened up and a head of brown curls appeared. Her smile was oddly comforting, and the turtle relaxed on the bed.

"I got mint tea, hope that's alright," she hummed as she set the mug down on the nightstand. Donnie shook his head.

"Perfectly fine." The mug was warm, soothing to his whole body. "Thank you."

"No problem! I'm the resident tea maker around here, so if you ever need some just holler." She offered a smile and almost stepped away, but Donnie's question tumbled out of his mouth and stopped her.

"You're his daughter?"

And she understood exactly why he would ask. Draxum didn't like humans. He was actively looking for a way to get rid of them all. And yet his child was human? It was confusing, she could acknowledge that. Turning towards the bed, Artemis gave a nod.

"I am. He adopted me when I was very young," she explained. There was silence for a few moments.

"You know he's... trying to kill off all humans, right?" Her smile was still genuine, but it carried a hint of something different as she replied.

"Never met a human I liked anyway. Goodnight, Donatello."

___________________________________

To Donnie, Artemis was an enigma. She was impossible to figure out. She used his full name for a long time and acted with all the polite civility in the world. Her guard was present at all times and he didn't know how to get over it.

To Artemis, Donnie was an open book. She read and reread him, studying the turtle as well as possible. Upon learning he was a softshell, she came to the decision that he could be more than an ally. Whether they liked it or not, both had an undeniable... hindrance in their lives. She had learned to accept it. He had not. She would help him, but to do so she would likely have to make herself vulnerable as well. Once the choice was made, she informed him calmly that because they technically shared a father they were now siblings.

Donnie had scoffed. "We're not even in the same phylum." She had grinned.

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. I'm choosing you to be my baby brother." Which was ridiculous because he was seventeen and she was sixteen. But she had repeated herself and Donnie hadn't felt like fighting.

That had been the night before, and the turtle had stayed up all night thinking about it. Growing up with siblings meant that their absence was hard on him. Accepting the girl as his new sister wouldn't be replacing them, right? Because even if he had left, they were brothers. Right? Of course, he was sure none of them were pleased with him. He couldn't blame them for that. He shook his head. It didn't matter; just like with Artemis, they weren't biologically related- not real siblings. He could choose anyone in the world to fill that spot, he didn't have to stay loyal to the three boys.

Right?

It was morning now and Donnie realized sleep wasn't coming for him, so he forced himself out of bed and tugged his mask on before going for his battle shell. Then again, he'd worn it nearly all day the day before and his shoulders were still a little sore from the heavy object, so he opted instead for clothes. He vaguely noted that one of his hoodies had been removed from its hanger but pushed that thought away to deal with later. The purple hoodie was chosen and moments later he meandered down the steps.

"Mornin' Donabon!" She was already in the kitchen, cooking away. "Coffee's already in the machine."

"You are a goddess." The turtle made a beeline for the referenced machine while Artemis chuckled.

"I know, consider it a thank you present."

A 'thanks for letting me steal your hoodie’ present, he realized. The dark blue material absolutely enfulged her, but she looked rather pleased about having it on and he didn't see a point in arguing.

"I was awake all night!"

"You were occupied all night, and I'm good at being sneaky." She sounded so smug. Almost like Leo. For a moment he wondered if she'd like him, what kind of chaos the two could cause if they joined forces. He didn't like that though so much and instead reached around and stole a piece of sausage from the pan she was cooking with, hissing at the burn of the hot food and chuckling at her complaints.

He spent most of the day in the makeshift lab he'd claimed as his own. He missed his old one, it had been decked out just the way he wanted, but he could work with this. He could make it his own. Artemis wandered in and out, but at some point came in with a book and a giant blanket and settled in the corner, not too far off from the softshell.

She was good company. Never asked too many questions, showed just enough interest in his work to get a thorough description of what exactly it was. Praised his talent, never pushed questionable buttons or tried drinking anything in his beakers. She sat and read, mostly quietly. He loved that.

After a few weeks of that comfortable silence, Donnie began rambling. Emotions were difficult for him to relate, he hadn't been able to talk about them with his brothers and he couldn't do so with Artemis. But he'd ramble about his projects and his general thoughts on things and even though her eyes didn't work they stayed facing his direction the whole time he talked. Her little hums and occasional interjections told him she really was listening, and that made him feel even better. Draxum was still someone he remained cautious about, but Artemis? He was forever bound to this girl.

A sister was different from brothers in many ways. Brothers got into wrestling matches and taught you how to fight hard. A sister came at you with a broom and taught you improvised weaponry and fighting smart. His brothers had always been obnoxious with affection; she was more subtle. Perhaps the biggest difference though was the way Artemis treated his shell.

For once, Donnie could say he understood why they'd been so worried. Maybe it was because he now had a disabled sister. Any time he saw her stumble, or bump her hip against the counter on the way out of the kitchen, or trip up the stairs, his heart fluttered anxiously. Watching her train made him worry because those weapons were sharp and she couldn't see and if she miscalculated even the tiniest bit...

"Let's make a deal," she panted one day. They'd been sparring and she'd tripped over his foot in close combat. He'd felt bad and ended up checking her for injury twice. Now Donnie's head tilted in her direction, brow furrowed curiously.

"A deal?"

"That's right. We're a team of hindered warriors, we've gotta look out for each other. But we aren't disabled so we won't check too much, get it? We're both capable of a lot, just... we need help sometimes. Everyone needs a little help sometimes."

Which was a weird thought. The logical part of his brain wanted to argue that blindness and a weak shell both definitely counted as disabilities, hers especially. And she might have known he wanted to argue because she spoke again. "Disability is a state of mind, Don. That's all." So he kept the argument to himself. But his mind didn’t change.

And she couldn’t blame him. Artemis had heard him ramble before about how his brothers had been so careful with him, like a fragile doll. Their intentions were clearly good to her, but they had allowed Donnie to grow up believing he was disabled. As his new sister, she made it her job to prove it wasn’t true. Choosing how to do so was more difficult than she’d anticipated, and the idea that stuck most in her mind did come with a little bit of worry, but a week after that conversation when the two met up for training, she decided to just go for it.

Training with actual blades had been frowned upon when she was younger, and Draxum’s mind hadn’t been changed still. So she trained with several fake kunai and throwing stars hidden on her person and worn down kakute on her fingers. Her trusty tachi was the only metal she had on her. To keep it fair, Donnie refrained from using the technological advancements he’d made to his bo. Artemis was glad, because it allowed her to gauge how good he was at fighting. And he was good. He was impressive. The turtle could defend himself- and this was what comforted her when she began to really fight, not just spar. 

“Artie, what the hell?” the turtle grunted after receiving a fairly harsh blow to his plastron. The kunoichi set her jaw and focused. Donnie narrowly missed taking a foot to the face, but froze momentarily when the tachi hit his battle shell. His frown deepened. “Artemis...”

Ignoring his confusion (and perhaps annoyance, she was fairly sure that was the other emotion she was sensing), she continued. She’d learned to fight by feeling the situation; the vibrations of her enemy’s feet on the ground, the sound of their voice and the whistling a weapon makes as it slices through the air. She let herself fall into her rhythm, dodging Donnie’s attacks and going for his weakness again and again.

It was working, she knew, because his normally precise moves were becoming sloppy. He was angry, she heard it in his growl. Artemis began pushing the envelope.

“Come on, Donatello,” she chided. “I know you can do better than that.” The bo was coming on her left. The hit was deflected and she landed a kick on his shell. 

“Stop it.”

“You can take it, Don.”

She tumbled out of the way of a hit and jabs her tachi hard against his shell.

“Artemis, stop.”

“Make me.”

She maybe should have anticipated his lunge. A squeak escaped her as the full force of the turtle’s body collided into hers and the two began tussling on the ground, weapons forgotten completely. It scared Donnie, how easily she’d actually managed to unlatch the battle shell. His body tensed and he waited- for what, he wasn’t sure.

Nothing happened.

Donnie slowly looked up at his sister. Her face was more serious than he’d ever seen. For a moment, neither spoke. The turtle struggled to catch his breath and calm his nerves. Then he sat up slowly and tucked his legs beneath his body.

“You better have a really good explanation as to why that just happened.” The girl’s lips turned into a deep frown.

“You’re better than that, Donnie.”

“Than what?”

“That!” Her arm gestured around to nothing in particular. “You’re a ninja, a damn good one. And when we spar I know you can take me without a problem. I know if I fought you with everything I got you’ve got the talent to compete. And I think you know that too. So why does that change when I go for your shell?” Donnie didn’t answer her question, and Artemis let out a soft sigh. “I have never been able to see. My whole world’s been this darkness. I don’t what stars are like or what color my own hair is- and don’t try and tell me, I don’t know what colors look like anyway.” The turtle, who’d been about to do exactly that, shut his mouth.

“I’ve got a problem, okay? And I had to accept it. I’m blind and that’s fine. I don’t like it, but I’m not letting it stop me from doing anything. I can use a damn sword, I can steal your clothes from under your nose, I can cook. I can live, Don. Even if there’s something different about me. And so can you. So what your shell’s soft? You’ve got the brain to create those incredible shell cover thingies! And they do more than protect you, they help you do all sorts of things! That’s fucking amazing!”

“Yeah, and you managed to get it off of me without me knowing,” Donnie grumbled. His sister’s face softened.

“You can make a fix for that, genius,” she huffed. Her hand reached out and moved against his plastron to find his chin. Then she tilted his face to look towards her own (she didn’t get the calculation quite right, but Donnie knew what she was going for and stared into her face anyway). “And you can get over the shell thing too, okay? If I did it, so can you.”

“It took you how long?” Artemis furrowed her brow.

“...A while. But you’re a faster learner than me. And you’ve got the added benefit of having me around to help! I can bring you into the dojo and whack you around a few times if you need it.” She could hear the smile in his voice now.

“Give me warning next time, okay?” he huffed. “I thought you had finally snapped for a minute there.” He chuckled as she whacked his arm lightly.

“What do you mean, finally?”

“You’re a crazy girl, Art.” Her grin was bright.

“Ah, but you love it!” His was much softer as he shook his head.

“That, I do.”

[rottmntquotes]

The Impossible Challenge

“I’m sorry, you want me to what?”

A look of incredulity was splayed across Draxum’s face, and his right eye twitched rapidly as he looked straight at the turtles. Smug looks were on Raph and Mikey’s faces, whilst the twins looked as if they were ready and willing to destroy every living thing around them. In all honesty, this surprise visit shouldn’t have fazed Draxum, but it seemed as if what was asked of him was enough to do so.

“We... want you... to watch... the twins.” Raph replied, drawing out his words and miming each word in an excessive show of sarcasm. Mikey rolled his eyes, tapping Raph’s plastron in frustration.

“Listen Barry, I understand that this is short notice and kinda frightening, but I promise that we have a good reason for this!” Mikey assured, stopping Draxum mid-sentence. “So, you remember that thing you said about raising us?”

“As in, do you remember the time you said to dad that it couldn’t have been that hard to raise and train genetically modified war machines? That you could have done it in only a few weeks and ended up with better results?” Raph asked, crossing his arms smugly.

“Unfortunately, I do.” Draxum confirmed, finding himself backing up slightly when Leo hissed.

“Don’t worry, that’s just a thing they do.” Mikey assured, returning to the subject at hand. “Because of that comment, dad suggested that we show you what it’s like to raise children, and we all agreed that it would be best for you to learn through the twins.”

“Because they’re the easiest to deal with?”

“No,” Raph replied, chuckling before continuing “because they will make your life a living Hell.”

“All the proof you’ll need to see what it was like to raise us.” Mikey chimed. “You know how Raph and I are, so now just deal with the twins for a night or two, add us in, and you’ll get to decide if you want to change your views or not!”

“Wait, but-”

“Hear that boys? Draxum says he wants to take on the challenge!” Raph announced, shoving the twins forward. “Have fun Baron Draxum!”

It was then when Raph slammed Draxum’s door closed, he and Mikey retreating to April’s apartment to tell her about the decision. Meanwhile, Draxum looked down at the twins, trying to figure out what he should do to start off the visit.

“So-

“I’M HUNGRY!” Leo screeched, pushing past Draxum and into the kitchen, opening every cupboard and the refrigerator to see what he could raid. Donnie rolled his eyes, moving to the couch and looking down at his phone, frowning at the ‘No signal’ sign that appeared.

“Draxum? What’s the Wi-Fi password?” Donnie asked, not taking his eyes off his phone.

“The... what?” Draxum replied, tilting his head. “Who or what is... Wi-Fi?”

Donnie froze at those words, turning and staring Draxum straight in the eye. “What do you mean what is Wi-Fi?”

“Exactly what I said.” Draxum muttered, avoiding any eye contact he could. “I do no know what this... Wi-Fi creature is.”

A brief silence befell the duo- mind Leo’s loud munching of crackers and chips -and Draxum found himself wanting desperately to at least be yelled at.

He got his wish soon enough, and honestly regretted wishing it.

“How DARE YOU?! YOU SORRY DISGRACE FOR A LIVING BEING! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT WI-FI?! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!” Donnie’s screaming carried through the apartment, and Leo stopped his raiding to join in. By now Draxum was forced to listen to two furious children, his ears beginning to ring at the sound.

Why oh why did he make such an ignorant comment?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow, they haven’t even been up there for three minutes and they’re already chewing him out. I swear, they’re going to end up destroying everything Draxum owns, and then Draxum himself.”

Raph and Mikey snickered at April’s comment, all three of them flinching slightly at the sound of a chair being thrown across Draxum’s living room. A loud screech followed the thud, and Raph easily identified it as Donnie’s defense cry, a sound that was typically made when he or Leo are being attacked in each others’ presence.

“Wait, they have a defense cry for each other?” Raph nodded to confirm April’s question, and she squealed happily, going on about how sweet that was. The happy squealing was interrupted by another one of Donnie’s defense cries, and Draxum cursed loudly after the sound was let out. “Whoa, what are they doing up there?”

April’s question was answered when a harsh knock at the door signified Draxum’s arrival. Mikey opened the door effective immediately, holding back a loud laugh at the sight of the Yokai. At the moment, Draxum looked as if he had gone through a car wash and back, then forced to walk through Hell’s kitchen. Behind Draxum stood the twins, who were pressed against the wall, hissing and growling every time Draxum moved.

“Fine. I admit it.” Draxum huffed, moving to the side and allowing the twins to rush into April’s apartment. “Lou Jitsu did a decent job of raising you four. Especially them.”

“Yep! After all, we are genetically engineered war machines!” Raph chimed, pulling the twins to his side. “To think that you couldn’t handle your own creations is honestly pretty funny.”

Draxum merely scoffed, turning and walking off to return to his apartment. When he was out of earshot, the group of teens burst into laughter, talking excessively about how well the twins had acted.

“What can I say? When offered the right price, Donnie and I can be the most ill-behaved sons of bitches this side of New York.” Leo stated proudly, resting an arm on Donnie’s shoulder. “Though, I do think you went a bit overboard with the defense cry, Cantaloupe.”

“He was gonna break your arm, doofus.” Donnie muttered, turning his attention to his phone, which had conveniently connected to April’s Wi-Fi. “Now shut up, all of you. I have stuff to do.”

“What stuff?” Leo asked, moving so that his snout nearly touched Donnie’s right hand. Donnie urged Leo back, refusing to answer and walking away. “Donnie! What stuff? What are you doing? I wanna see!”

“I swear, it’s like they think they’re five.” Raph sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. “Though, we might wanna go ahead and leave. As much as I hate to admit it, Draxum is really smart, and he’s most likely going to figure out that this is a setup soon.”

“Yeah... but he’ll be fine after a nice bubble bath.” Mikey chirped. Raph nodded, calling the twins over. It only took a few seconds for Donnie to obey the order, carrying Leo on his back with little to no effort. “Piggy back rides?! I want one!”

“Ask Raph. I’m already holding enough of a nuisance as is.” Donnie ignored the kicks to his sides in response to his claim, only serving to add on to the happy atmosphere.

With a final goodbye to April, the boys left, leaving her to count down from ten.

Which was when Draxum started roaring in realization.