What We Leave Behind (How We Start Anew) - iam57311 (2024)

Chapter 1: When I Found You Out

Chapter Text

How humiliating.

The Baron Draxum, running away, hiding .

24 hours ago he never would've imagined himself in this situation. A yokai such as himself was too powerful, far too above the mere criminal mastermind he was branded as to consider cowering away from those he did not agree with.

But here he was.

In the human realm, no less.

Difficult it was to bet if he was followed through the portal, regardless of his attempt to close it. One could not be steady and focused when quick on their hooves.

Not even Baron Draxum, who, up until now, managed to avoid any attempts of arrest.

He pushed his limits far too thin. And now, he had to pay.

Still, he continued to run, narrowly avoiding sightings from humans for longer than necessary. At most, they would see him as a costumed figure, a wild being among the concrete jungle.

Not that these simpleton humans ever paid mind to their surroundings. Not at an hour such as this.

An odd blessing it must have been for the weather to offer a cover of rain and fog. Yes, it hindered his sight, but equally, it would impair anyone else's.

His chest grew heavy as he ducked into a darker street corner once against. One could never be too safe, avoiding the suspicions of pests and known trails of bounty hunters. Every possible turn could lead Draxum into further trouble.

He had nowhere else to go.

Nowhere .

So this maze of misshapen buildings and discarded appliances would be his hideout, if only until he could figure out half a mind towards getting himself out of this whole situation .

For as brilliant as his mind was, even the greatest of warrior alchemists fell short of knowledge under a sliver of hope; the hope that prompted him to believe his experiments would finally work.

At least the rain could provide him cover.

Thunder roared around him as his sights settled on a back alley doused in shade and cover. If only for a moment, it would be wise to catch his breath…

Deafeningly loud were his hooves, echoing against the ever-darkening cavern. Not as loud as before, having forced himself to slow his steps, lest he slip and fall, hindering and humiliating himself further – but still loud enough . Loud enough to know he could only hide for so long.

Reaching deep enough, his sights set on the ground behind a dumpster. Disgustingly tainted, these human alleyways were… but he had to rest. He had to sit down, if only for a moment.

The yokai forced every moral instinct down as he sat, curling his legs in on himself. If scrunched up enough, he should be out of view to any passerby. This would have to do for now. He was soaked from the rain, breathless from the running and an utter pathetic shell of the commanding, masterful Baron he should be.

He needed to rest. He needed to gather his thoughts. He needed to breathe .

Eyes never leaving the entrance of the alleyway, Draxum took note of the rapid rising and falling of his chest. Even through his armour, the sight was obvious to any. Even more so as his arms wrapped around his knees, keeping them upright and close. His whole body moved in rhythm with his breathing.

Even as he made a conscious effort to slow his breathing to something more manageable, his body still shook, shivering from the rain. Pathetic .

Then, there was a sound. A hum of sorts, but not from himself.

Reluctantly, the yokai's gaze moved from the alley's entrance to the source of the noise. Not only did he find that he was not alone – that his sight neglected to pick up on a whole other person sharing the space – but when he looked around…

His eyes widened.

…

" Draxum ?"

_ _ _

If thunder could be any more dramatic, then it sure chose its timing well.

Light illuminated the figure exposed to elements, and – sure as the sky was grey – that was Baron Draxum. In all his… glory?

Despite the false sense of security he'd fallen into at the hands of this man, Lou could only squint in confusion at the sight. Whatever fear or despair wanted to surface remained deep inside, for at the moment, he was not facing the same enemy he just managed to escape.

He was not facing an evil scientist… biologist… whatever the guy was. No, he was facing a wide-eyed, soaked, shivering man.

A man with the intention of hiding.

For a second, Lou huffed, loosening the hold he had on his four baby turtles. At the sound of an intruder, he had picked them up, ready to run if needed. By all means, he had no reason to have to justify running from Draxum, the guy who mutated them all.

But for some sliver of a reason, the taller non-human looked innocent. Scared, even.

Not that the look lasted. As the turtles remained in his arms, simply turning to look at the other alley inhabitant, he watched his wide eyes soften. All until they were made to match an ever-growing scowl.

"Oh. It's you."

Finally, the other man's breathing slowed to something akin to normal. Lou's own chest eased at the notice, glad he wasn't hyperventilating anymore.

Still, he did not know what to think of the sight. The more the Baron looked his way, the more he could see him growing annoyed; an expression Lou was not familiar with when it came to Draxum. He was always either looking upon him with wonder or anger up until now.

Which, all things considered, should have been a sign.

For a split second, he managed to find humour in this all.

"What, did I not turn out as handsome as you expected?" Admittedly not the best thing to joke about – the consequences of turning into a half-rat half-human are still something he was too exhausted to wrap his head around – but he did, for the time being, manage to replicate his old charm.

All it did was make the yokai groan, even more annoyed than before. "I never intended to mutate you as well. Honestly, I believed you to be dead – you and the experiments."

Lou held the turtles closer to him again, suddenly not likely the other's tone. "They're children."

"Right- the turtles," Draxum corrected. "After the fire you set destroyed my lab-"

"It wasn't me." Clearly, Draxum's patience was wearing thin, but Lou had to clear that up. "There was already chaos when I tried to escape with these four."

He heard the little ones babble about, clearly unaware of what their father was dealing with.

Their creator, on the other hand, looked more like himself now – angry, that is.

"Regardless of who set whose lab on fire – Lou Jitsu – there were never any plans of mutating you. I needed you alive and as a human for a reason! But of course, everything had to go haywire at the last minute! None of that matters anymore though, because as far as I'm aware, all other experiments have perished . They are gone ."

The yokai's arms flew up for a moment, falling back down to cross tightly against his chest.

"So be glad you survived. And that you're no longer human."

He knew that Draxum wasn't sulking about this. Logically, falling rain could only look so much like tears, especially against that stupid horned helmet. But Draxum didn't look any proud of what he just said either.

Lou was glad he managed to find a box to take cover in at the very least. If not to keep him and his sons away from the rain, then at least it shaded him away from what, to an outsider's perspective, must've looked like his own chest growing unsteady.

As he watched heavy rain pour down, dripping in full rivets down Baron Draxum's mask, he considered the man's words. He was grateful to be alive, to have found these four baby turtles and to have a chance of giving them a life other than that of a warrior. Being a rat man was… not ideal, he grew to hate it more every second… but something else in that jumble of words mattered more to him right now.

He sighed. "How do you know for sure that your other experiments are dead?"

Not unlike before, Draxum's eyes stared straight ahead, trying to read where Lou had the audacity to wonder such a thing of the alchemist. But, after a deep breath, he tried to look more passive, ready to explain himself – the key word being 'tried'.

"Only once the fire died down and the smoke cleared was I able to inspect the damage," Draxum explained. "With the ooze contamination, there were only so many documents I managed to salvage. Whatever mutant-yokai managed to escape left no trace of their existence, but my six current experiments…"

Lou's heart slowed for a moment. No, that couldn't mean…

"Six experiments?"

His voice was so weak as if he already knew what to expect. It hurt no less when the yokai looked between him and the turtles, his own eyes growing dark in sorrow.

"Six turtles."

Six turtles.

There were more of them.

He only managed to rescue four of the apparent six baby turtles.

Lou couldn't save the others, and neither could Draxum…

"Oh."

Instinctively, he hugged his sons tighter again. He shouldn't feel bad, there was no way he could have known…

What made it worse is when one of the little ones hugged his arm, snuggling into it. He looked at him, the little red-striped turtle he named Green for the time being. The others followed suit as if they knew .

He would do anything on this earth for these turtles. Even if it were only these four.

A wobbly smile found its way onto his lips – or whatever it was called for rats. "On the bright side, four of our sons are still alive and well." Dotingly he snuggled the young ones back, warmth finding its way back into his chest. "Maybe we couldn't save them all, but we can give the four of them that managed to survive a better life."

When he looked back up, he saw Draxum hesitate. Was it on the insistence of 'we'? Was it the use of calling them 'our sons'? Was it something else entirely?

"Our sons?"

Bingo.

"Yes, our sons. Like it or not, Draxum… they're your creations, so you're their father too."

If Draxum was having regrets about creating them, Lou would have no problems reminding him that giving sentient intelligence to living creatures came with consequences, and he shouldn't neglect that just because of cold hooves.

Now it looked to be something else, though. Something beyond it all. Eventually, Draxum settled on his words, relaxing his gait. "I suppose…"

Lou attempted a grin in return. "Good."

Never would the rat man complain about the moments when his practically newborn sons would pick up movement, offering physical affection and whatever other random half-formed sounds they used as communication. As hours passed just sitting in this box, he found many of these moments, but all were welcome the same.

The question of when he would get up or how he would feed them was always a thought at the back of his mind. As it stood now, he was homeless, and by extension, his children were too.

And possibly Draxum, if the yokai somehow happened upon an alley in the human realm without his henchmen or an ill-intent bone in his body.

Speaking of which…

He still didn't know why Draxum was here.

"You know, Draxum, you still never explained why you're here."

The taller being, who looked to have been brooding silently, lazily rolled his gaze back up. "You never asked."

"Well I did now," he countered, allowing his hands to fall back and prop himself up. The children were playing amongst themselves right now. He could spare a minute or two to listen.

Clever he managed to remain, despite everything. If Draxum wouldn't just tell him, then he would have to prompt the answer out.

Despite his brooding, the Baron eventually sighed. "...Fine."

He watched the yokai mirror the way he sat – even if such was uncomfortable with his armour. Then he managed a deep breath, easing into his own words. "As much as you have no right to this information, I will admit that you, Lou Jitsu, were the ticket to my success. Without your cooperation, the experiments failed." He looked angry again, though an anger not placed on the rat man. "...This was my last chance."

Watching as the other fell on what words to say, Lou simply nodded, encouraging him to continue.

Which he would, nodding in return.

"The Council of the Crying Titan have never been fans of my work. Supportive as their funds were, I was always on thin ice with them. The promise to create six mutants akin to our greatest Yokai warriors was the last opportunity I had to prove to our people that I could save them, that I could bring about their return to the surface world that once was ours."

For even a moment, the Baron looked so incredibly accomplished, so proud of his promise. But that faded as found his eyes back on the baby turtles; his failed experiments. "Just as luck would have it, your sons are not and are never to become warriors. The funds are gone, and with no evidence to prove where they were used, I have no method of recovering what was lost – the billions in Yokai currency is enough to leave a single man in debt for more than a millennia."

Ah. Draxum was running away from responsibility.

"...So you ran."

"If you put it that way," the yokai quickly dismissed, scowling once again. "But yes, I ran. If I am to return to the Hidden City, all I have awaiting me is a prison cell."

Thunder roared around them as the reality of the situation dawned on Lou.

He chuckled, not to make light of it all, but out of an amusing thought. "In that way, we are not so different, you and I."

Draxum raised an eyebrow. Or at least, that's what it looked like.

"I've been stuck in the Hidden City for ten years, give or take. If I ever go back, Big Mama will be after me the second she finds out. Or not, given all this ." He gestures to himself, happening to include his helpless sons in the gesture; he sighs. "I can't risk it. I'm a father now. But I can't exactly live as a normal citizen either…"

Lou could swear, as his gaze met the Baron's, there was almost an understanding in those bright orange eyes.

"The humans will never accept us, and the Yokai will never take us back."

Both of them sighed, nearly simultaneously. It was the truth, after all; the events of the previous day left them both with nothing but the clothes on their backs and four turtle children created with their DNA.

Still, enough of this was Draxum's fault that Lou could justify his remaining anger. " 'Us' ," he found himself taunting, "as if you don't have any fancy family estates to run back to, Mr. Baron."

That was met with a growl. Okay, no more of Draxum's sympathy for him. "Did you not hear a word of what I just said? I have nothing , Rat!"

'Rat'? Ouch. But, deserved.

"Barons are not as high of status as you may think. We don't have inheritance the same as higher royalty. At least for Yokai." Before Lou could question anything, Draxum brought his stature down to the mutant's level. "Besides, the gargoyles that brought you to me? They're the only 'family' I have."

Considering all the one-off interactions Lou had with Draxum in the past, without those two gargoyles around… the guy really had no one, didn't he?

Eyes still trained on the masked man, he did not miss the way Draxum's own downcast, widening upon the sight of… something near his leg. Something small and-

Wait.

Lou looked around himself quickly, until his eyes darted back to the singular little turtle who managed to make its way to the yokai.

How did he manage to slip past his sight?

"Little one!"

Lou scrambled forwards, reaching out to catch the turtle before he went further… but he stopped.

Hand remained mid-air as he watched a clawed hand wrap around the small box turtle, another hand meeting it soon. The rat man was still, bare to the pouring rain, as he watched the much larger yokai raise the infant turtle closer to his face, second hand shielding him from the rain. Behind it all, it was hard to see when the Baron's hardened exterior faltered for a moment, looking at the young creature with something akin to curiosity. It happened nonetheless.

Truly, he was never afraid of Draxum hurting the turtles further. But the sight settled well in his chest. Quite possibly warmed him.

Screw the rain – he could care less right now, as his other turtle sons toddled closer to him and their brother. And other father. Lou sat on his knees, now only a few feet away from the Baron, as he picked up the turtles gathered around him.

"Well, Baron Draxum," he started, offering the man a half-formed chuckle, "it looks like you have a family now."

The implication of actually having a family in front of him – of fatherhood – must have stunned Draxum, enough for him to merely look at them all for a full minute. Quite frankly, Lou didn't know the full implications of what he said either. Did this mean they were going to be parents together ? Well, yes, that is the most logical way to describe their unique situation. Two separate fathers with four children; no one or where else to turn to.

Yes, that meant raising his kids with the guy who mutated him, who mutated them all. At the moment, Lou could only try to imagine what that would be like.

What he did know for certain was that, no matter what happened, his life would never be the same. He couldn't go back to being Lou Jitsu, the beloved movie star and Battle Nexus Champion. If Draxum helped him raise their creations, or if he left them, it would not change the fact that this was his life now.

And whatever power above knew that he needed the help.

So he watched as Draxum continued to hold their youngest son, and eventually, he sighed. "I suppose you're right."

The yokai's back straightened, though only moved his arms with extra caution. With a huff, he began, finally finding his voice again, "I had always intended to raise them. As warriors, as children – such in the same, it seems." His shoulders slumped upon Lou's shift in reaction, making himself non-threatening. "It will be hard without my lab and documents, but we should make due."

"We will," Lou promised, happy to hear Draxum was on board – not that he wouldn't kick the man into next Tuesday should he disagree.

Instead, he found himself trusting the other enough, or at least, more than he did before now. He half stood up, still on his knees, and extended the bundle in his arms out. "Want to hold them?"

Draxum looked to consider it, reaching out – until he hesitated. "It would be wiser to find a shelter to hold them in. And possibly a blanket…"

"Heh, right…" Lou recoiled back into himself for a second, suddenly even more aware of how ridiculous this all looked. They were both sitting in an alley, soaked from the rain. This was their life now.

But Draxum was right. These poor turtles needed warmth. In a quick motion, he handed him the turtles, before standing up straight. "I'll go find something."

Luck had it to have found themselves in such a packed alleyway. Between all the stacks of crates and the dumpster, he eventually managed to find a carry-size, intact cardboard box. No blanket, unfortunately, but a dry box was better than nothing.

When he made it back to Draxum, the yokai looked at his findings with slight disgust, before he pushed it away, putting each of the turtles in the box one by one. "This will do… for now," he agreed, even if it were not ideal.

Lou nodded, holding the box with his sons close. They would make due.

He held a hand out, inviting Draxum to help stand. Even with a split second of hesitation, he eventually felt the armoured hand graze his own. Then it gripped tighter. Good.

Once they were both standing, they found themselves looking onward, to the world beyond their little alleyway. The world that wasn't for them. Any of them.

"Where do you suppose we will find adequate shelter?" Draxum asked, breaking the silence.

The rat man hummed and left without an answer from the other. There were only so many places a pair of mutants/yokai/otherwise non-humans could hide away from the general population for long and get away with it…

Unless.

He looked up at Draxum, a slight smirk pulling at his lips.

"I have an idea."

Chapter 2: What He Left Behind

Chapter Text

It’s not every day a warrior/alchemist/Head of Security and Battle Nexus Champion go missing. Hours apart from each other, no less.

To say the Hidden City was left in disarray would be an understatement. A state of frantic curiosity, at the very least, as rumours spread like a wildfire; rumours surrounding the disappearance of two of the great city's most influential figures, Baron Draxum and Lou Jitsu.

Many were left wondering about the possibilities; the reasons. Why would the reclusive alchemist, with a promise of bringing humankind to its knees, disappear at nearly the same time as the beloved human Battle Nexus Champion? What was the cause? Did it have anything to do with the Baron's lab explosion? With his experiments?

Some simply did not care. But we aren't focused on those; it's the ones with theories that were important to the public ear.

Most believed it to be a kidnapping on the Baron’s end. A common theory spread, claiming that he stole Lou Jitsu to have him become his ultimate weapon, then burned his own lab down and retreated in an attempt to hide any evidence.

Such a theory was supported and even enhanced by Big Mama. Honing nothing short of fury for the missing Baron, she took it upon herself to advertise a handsome reward in exchange for the return of her Champion; something which many took as an opportunity to seek out the missing figures themselves.

Something which the Council had to put mass efforts into stopping.

Only they knew the truth of the experiments – as much truth as they needed. An experiment on several specimens from the surface world, all infants; all intended to be mutated into imitation Yokai with the help of council-funded resources. Later it was discovered that an illegal intake of Emperean was added to the mutagen.

This, among many other reasons, is why the Council now had a bounty on the alchemist, who chose to run instead of paying for his crimes – monetarily and legally.

Should they wish to put an end to the madness, they had to take matters into their own hands.

Not much could be done about any news coverage that managed to spread. Easily, a matter that should have been kept between City's top beings, reached any and all Yokai around the world. Easily, this became the second largest human-related scandal the great city faced, second only to having the human fawned and beloved in the first place.

Still, messages were sent, and meetings were arranged. If the Council wanted order, a few… replacements would need to be made.

Only so much could be done about Big Mama's beloved Champion. Wary had the council been in the first place, to allow a human amongst their kind. As for Baron Draxum… nobility often had connections, even if slim.

Baron Draxum had been alone when he signed citizenship in the Hidden City, meaning all immediate connections were out of range.

Though, as luck would have, the warrior alchemist had at least one living relative available.

_ _ _

"Baroness."

The voice boomed, echoing against the cavern below. The chamber itself, the platform of limited standing, the short but imposing distance between the three heads of law and their subject – all so clearly set for one purpose: intimidation .

"Your presence has been requested on account of the disappearance of Baron Draxum – your brother,” the center Council Head addressed.

Another set of eyes lit up, soon following the other’s words. "In the wake of his disappearance our great city has been left in... let's call it, a state of disarray."

The Baroness in question nodded. "Him and the Battle Nexus Champion, right?"

Hours previous to being summoned by the Council, she and the rest of Baron Draxum’s remaining relatives caught wind of the matter. Rare as it was that she paid mind to news from the great city, the familiar name under so many headlines called to her attention – even more so, what the news entailed.

From her own research was she able to find the other man’s disappearance had a similar, if not equal effect on this Hidden City’s state of well-being.

"Correct,” the female Council Head confirmed.

Following the word was a breath of silence… likely from the Baroness, she couldn’t tell.

If the Council Heads’ eyes could move, they would be narrowed on the caprid yokai. "Should you step up and replace him, you will be put in charge of the Hidden City's state of defence,” the main Head explained. "We trust that you are skilled in advanced weaponry and display warrior prowess."

The Baroness nodded again. Should she be incapable of replicating her brother’s skill, she would not have offered herself as his replacement.

"I will. On one condition."

Amongst themselves, the Heads looked to be considering her words. "Go on."

"The laboratory.” Baroness tilted her head higher, remembering the multitude of rumours surrounding the building itself. "I’m led to assume that its destruction is tied to my brother's work. Should I put forth funds to repair it myself, I request permission in continuing his research and experimentations." An arm raised, as if in offering. "He was an alchemist, was he not?"

"Much of Baron Draxum's work involved illegal affairs – most of which were funded by us,” the female Council Head quickly informed.

Such had been to the Baroness’ estimate. How far could one Baron’s covered expenses last without inheritance to fall back on? How long until he weaselled his way into further funds?

In the end, there was only so much she knew personally, and so much the Council withheld. Should either of them share would only tell in time.

"Then I will continue any legal affairs of his." While an interest piqued towards his experiments in mutation – the very reason he was all but exiled – she believed herself in the right to assume such counted as an illegal affair. That was an interest to shelf away for the time being.

She held her breath, watching the three Heads intently.

Eventually, the three eyes glowed, one with a higher power. "Very well, Baroness."

She let out the breath, relaxing her frame.

"Our situation is not ideal,” the smallest Council Head clarified. “Let it be known that you are, for a lack of better words, our last option."

Another’s eyes glowed, after a pause. "We trust that you will not abuse your powers as your brother before you has."

The words rang in her mind for a moment. She was, merely, to be Baron Draxum’s replacement. As someone who did not join the city desperate for a sponsor – as someone who was invited – she was automatically given more trust. But, in said trust, was a great expectation.

That of which she could follow up on, obviously. Her brother was a fool for running his trust dry. The Baroness would not make such a mistake and be the best example under their family name.

Eventually finding her words, she offered a curt nod. "You have my word."

“Then it is settled,” the voice boomed again. “You, Baroness, have been officially appointed to the city’s Head of Security, granting you access to the estate and laboratory formerly under your brother’s name.”

"Thank you, Council."

“...Under the condition you can afford to fix any damages.”

Baroness huffed. Of course there was one last condition.

Still, with all this granted to her now, she had no reason to turn away. “It seems we have a deal.”

“If that is all,” the main Council Head addressed once more. “Welcome to the Hidden City.”

The new Baroness of the Hidden City grinned, nodding once more before making her way down the stairs behind her and out of the cavern.

She had so many plans now… the citizens would soon know her name.

-

In an effort to effectively replace Baron Draxum, his sister would end up with much more of his mess than she bargained for.

Not long did it take to locate the estate – and by extension, the laboratory. With the amount of smoke, half of the city could spot it.

Didn’t make the sight any less drastic.

“Huh…”

Any remnants of fire damage had long been put out, leaving the area safe to be near. While a large section of the laboratory had been left to nothing but rubble, no harm would come from viewing the damage.

Meaning no harm would come from exploring the damages she paid for.

Covering her mouth with her scarf, she began her descent, cautious with the various cracks in the ground and chunks of reinforced concrete and glass that decorated the ground. With hooves and armour, she worried not for the risk of injury, but more so the risk of exposure. Who knew what kind of chemicals the Baron before her used if it caused this …

Many winding halls would find their way into her path, unsure of where exactly she was going. As she crept closer to the source of smoke, every surface showed more evidence of a freak lab accident. Footprints of many sizes and shapes, some unrecognizable, even amongst Yokai.

All of which were tracked over a green ooze-like substance. The mutagen, likely. And how there was a lot of it.

Passing the thickest layer of smoke, the Baroness found her sights on a much larger and emptier space than the already expansive halls. In a way, this room saw the worst of the damage, with tables and beakers and cages all reduced to half-formed structures.

What Baron Draxum left in the wake of his disappearance was nothing but destruction .

Such was on par with her brother, she assumed.

The Baroness stood in the middle of the mess of what must have once been a spectacular lab. How it was reduced to so little, could only ever be known so much.

The space felt empty where there once had been life… still, it did not surprise her to hear the distant presence of another. Or rather, two others.

Her ear twitched at the sound of two pairs of wings flapping, eyes still trained on the destruction.

“Draxum? You came back!”

From just outside the empty circle of a lab she heard the voice… oh. They thought she was the Baron.

“We thought you were gone, the Council and Big Mama have been on your case since-”

Baroness turned, realizing the voices were coming from behind. Two gargoyles, rather small in size. Huh. She raised a barbed brow at the sight.

“Oh, you’re not Draxum.”

The two paused, hovering a few feet away.

“Sorry, you look like Baron Draxum,” the pointier one chuckled. “A lot like him actually.”

“Are you two related?”

She huffed. “Eh, close enough.” The Baroness had no reason to reveal her relation to him, though the gargoyles made her curious. What did they know? “Who are you two?”

“We’re glad you asked!” the rounder one announced. “I’m Munnin, and that’s Huginn.” He flew closer to the other goyle, now back to back. “We were his rough-and-tough loyal goyles of fortune!”

Huginn and Munnin. What a coincidence.

“Wait… you’re replacing him, aren’t you?”

They looked upset, which was understandable. “I am,” Baroness confirmed, nodding. “So I guess this,” she gestured to the destroyed lab, “is all mine now.”

One of them snorted. “Really didn’t luck out there.”

The other punched his shoulder, but it got a chuckle out of the Baroness. “For the price – no, no I did not.”

Deciding they would be there for a while, she backed up a few steps, finding what most likely resembled a table to sit on, removing the scarf from her face in the process. If these were truly Draxum’s loyal gargoyles… they had a lot to talk about.

“Wow, you really do look like him.” The two found their way to a boulder to stand on, now getting a good look at her face. Until their eyes widened. “Don’t tell bossman we saw him without the mask. He seemed pretty embarrassed about it.”

Now that – that got her to laugh. “Sounds like him,” she confirmed, leaning her arms against her knees to meet them at eye level.

“How do you know Draxum, by the way?”

Before she could answer, Muninn gasped. “Are you his sister?”

Ah, right on the dot. She smirked. “Older, by three years.”

"Ohhh that's so cool!"

"He never told us he had a family!"

Baroness chuckled, though a frown soon found her. "Yeah, there's… not many of us left," she admitted. "When Draxum left we weren't on the best of terms. No surprise he tried to forget about us."

Again, the others looked bummed out. "So you don't know where he is?"

"No, sorry."

If she had even an inkling of where he was, she would've dragged him back to the Council and forced him to pay his own fines. But, if he didn't return home, then he was out of her known range.

"Aw, that's a shame," Munnin slumped, only to be pulled back up by the other.

"Welp, no time for sadness, Munnin, we have a new boss!"

Wait, new boss?

"Oh right!" The other gargoyle perked up. "Ms. – uh…"

"Baroness."

"That's it?" The yokai nodded. "Well then, Ms. Baroness, allow us to be your new official goyles of fortune!"

The two looked quite excited to work for her now… regardless of how loyal they had been to her brother. She hummed, getting a good look over at the two. Having assistants from the get-go wouldn't be such a bad idea. Besides, she bought all this property and landed herself as the City's Head of Security without knowing anything, while these little guys seemed to know everything

The Baroness nodded, offering a crooked grin. "I don't see why not."

"Yes!" They cheered, dancing – oh, she was definitely going to like having them around.

"We gotta show you around!"

"Oh yeah! This place is a dump, but trust me, Baroness, the house is in much better condition."

Right, the house – the estate. She could only imagine how grim and scientific it looked if it was Draxum’s. "If you will," she decided, standing up. "Lead the way, my goyles of fortune."

The way their eyes lit up – oh, she was loving this.

"We won't let you down, Baroness!" they both saluted before they began flying away.

"Now come on, the tour isn't going to guide itself!"

-

Back through the various winding halls she followed, growing more impatient with all the rubble she had to dodge – as now, she was curious. She had a reason to be elsewhere, not just explore on her own.

"A little bit further," she heard, as evidence of the lab's freak accident became less and less frequent again. Still was there smoke, which this time around, she elected to ignore. It was just a bit of smoke, she'd be fine. Especially if where they were headed had less of it.

As the bright lights of the outside world emerged again, easily the Baroness found her eyes back on what must be the estate. She huffed – it certainly was in a better state than the lab. Much better.

It wasn't perfect by any means and might need its repairs in time. But it would work.

"Aaand here we are! Stunning, ain't it?"

The others gestured towards the estate, looking quite excited to show her around – and she did agree, it looked quite interesting. Maybe not her style initially, but something she can see herself growing into.

She nodded. "Not half bad," she admitted, liking more now as she got a better look. "And the inside?"

"Even better!"

"I'll believe it when I see it," she mused, continuing to walk up and towards the stairs, regardless if the others would lead or follow.

The goyles had opened the door for her, pointing towards the inside. "Your new humble abode awaits," one of them offered, both flying in to guide her.

From the creaking of the door alone, she could tell the estate had seen better days. Dust and smoke settling from the inside only solidified the deep ache that confirmed such a building to be truly empty and void of life.

This was definitely Draxum's home.

Slowly she crept in herself, not caring to close the door behind her. A little breeze never hurt… that, and the house needed better air circulation right about now.

The goyles had stopped in front of some sort of statue – of which she surprisingly didn't recognize the figure – turning back to face her. "Sooo, which room do you want to go to first?"

She thought about it for a moment. It was quite late to explore the entire house, something that would be much wiser to do once she slept on all her decisions made in the last hour. But a look into a room or two could better help settle her into this new place.

"Is there a library here?"

"Oh, you bet there is," the rounder one confirmed. "Just this way," he announced, flying off into a dark hall.

"Muninn, it's this way."

The other one pointed to a set of stairs, making the other rub the back of his head awkwardly. " Right , it's that way."

The Baroness chuckled, silently walking towards the stairs in question.

"Anyhow, there's a ton of great books there. Mostly just sciencey stuff, but also some cool human literature from like six hundred years ago."

The yokai allowed them to ramble as they all made their way. She wasn't all that interested in reading, never much of a book person herself – but she could see why her brother might have such a collection.

Plus, if there were science books, she could easily pick up on whatever his research would need her to know.

Once they got to the place did she realize why this manor has been hyped up the way it has.

The place was beautiful, with warm lights illuminating bookshelves that reached the ceiling; all colour coded and coordinated for what information each shelf held. And of course, the room itself had a comfortable desk and chair. All in all, a very 'Draxum' room.

She ignored whatever else the goyles said for a moment, mindlessly travelling to the shelf that, as was guessed, held the old human literature. She recognized some of the titles, from before… before they were forced into hiding.

"Our childhood books," she mused, picking one up for a moment. "Can't say I'm surprised but, you have to wonder how he got a hold of them."

Either gargoyle travelled to each of her sides. "'Childhood'?" one questioned, "how old are you guys?"

She frowned. "Unimportant." The Baroness put the book away, addressing the others now. "What is important is that I need you two to fill me in. Tell me everything you know about my brother's work; the Head of Security stuff, the experiments, everything ."

"Everything everything?"

"Yes." She remembered something, quickly interjecting, "everything you think I need to know to replace him the best that I can."

"Right," they nodded, looking to craft their upcoming story telepathically.

"Well for one, you'll need to get a cool mask. He always wore his."

"Yep! And he always spoke with this deeper voice that didn’t sound quite right? But it sounded cool – I think you've got that covered, though."

"Right Huginn? She sounds so cool and commanding…"

The Baroness chuckled, an odd grin poking out at the compliment.

"Anyways, he was working on mutating baby animals into Yokai so they can become super awesome and unstoppable warriors. Guess how he did it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "With years of research and testing?"

"With Lou Jitsu's DNA!"

"...And the other stuff too, of course."

Okay, this was an interesting development. "Lou Jitsu, as in the missing Battle Nexus Champion?"

"Uh-huh, that's the guy!"

"But he wasn't missing until after the lab accident, after we stole him- ow, Huginn!"

"What?"

"She needs to know ."

"Guys," Baroness interrupted. While stern-faced at first, her features lightened up with her curiosity. "How'd you manage to steal him?"

"Oh, we just asked and he went with us."

She huffed, almost laughing at that.

"It's true," Huginn confirmed. "Though he was acting super weird, not like the powerful warrior our bossman was fanboying over."

That much got an actual laugh out of the Baroness. "Let me get this straight," she began, gathering all they just told her. "Draxum collected experiments and mutated them with the DNA of a man – no, a human he was 'fanboying' over, and in doing so brought destruction upon his lab, funds, and reputation?"

"Pretty much," they both confirmed, almost at the same time.

"And that was only in one day!"

"Man, look at that Muninn, we were hired just before everything went wrong."

"Yeah, like hours before."

…Wait.

Had they only been here for a day?

A few hours ?

"...How exactly long have you two been working for Draxum?"

"24 hours at most, though probably less."

Well then.

"I'm going to need you to elaborate on everything ."

-

Eventually, they continued the tour, elaborating as she told them to. It still took some time to wrap her head around it all… but it's something she would have to get used to.

At some point, she asked for a moment alone, just as they showed her where the common room is.

The Baroness sighed as she found herself on the 'throne', slumping into it. A hand found its way against her head, rubbing at her temples. It was way too late for all this…

She didn't move as she heard footsteps, as odd as the sound was.

"My my, what do we have here?"

She did look up at the sound, barely recognizing the figure the voice belonged to. How she did or did not know this person, or how they found their way in, never occurred in her mind.

Only the way the almost humanistic form locked eyes with her.

"Back so soon, Draxy?"

Chapter 3: How We Work From Here

Chapter Text

"I believe I said 'adequate shelter'. Not… this ."

The Baron could only figure to stand as he and Lou settled in what the rat mutant proposed as a shelter, that would not only protect them from the elements but from humans and other yokai ever finding them out.

Draxum knew full well that desperate times called for desperate measures. But a sewer of all places?

“As if you have somewhere better in mind,” the rat retorted; as if he had anything to defend. Despite being the one who convinced Draxum to follow him to such a place, Lou sighed, not looking any happier with this. “We don’t have many other options… other than abandoned warehouses, but I doubt those stay abandoned for long.”

Anywhere would be better than a literal sewer, the yokai wanted to argue. To an extent, he knew that the rat had a solid argument; human get their hands on any real estate they can find. To another extent, he was cold – soaked from the rain, no less – hungry, and tired. He knew Lou and the turtles were as well, and given that this place was cold and barren of other living essentials, he almost wanted to take the risk.

He watched Lou take a deep breath. “Look, I know it’s not much. But if you stay here with them, I can grab some things from the surface.” A hand reached out to his own, resting over its metal piece. “We can make this work.”

The gesture… Draxum didn’t know how to feel about that. The offer, though, he could accept. If any of them had to gather supplies, it only made sense for the former human to do so – he knew the surface world better. "Fine," the yokai mulled, regardless of how underprepared he was for such a task.

To be left alone, at least… that much he was unprepared for. Left alone with four infants he created and can't imagine caring for well enough down here.

Still, he allowed his arms to open just enough to accept the box containing the turtles. "Here," Lou mumbled as he handed him the box, keeping a hold on it for longer than necessary. He didn't want to let go .

"Lou."

"Sorry."

The rat eventually let go, chuckling nervously. He was definitely attached .

Fumbling his hands, Lou sighed again, keeping his eyes on him and the box. "I won't be gone for longer than an hour or two, I promise."

Draxum hummed, nodding in response. That time frame sounded more than reasonable, given that Lou was unlikely to abandon them. It tugged at him, the idea that the rat man could be stepping out into danger – but he should be even stronger now, given the mutation.

As Lou started walking away – albeit slowly – he looked at the Baron and box of turtles once more. "In the meantime, take off any armour you don't need. It'll weigh you down."

Draxum huffed. He very much was not about to remove any of his armour, all of which did need, thank you very much. "That isn't necessary," he settled, standing straighter.

Of course, that earned a snicker from the rat. "Have it your way, Baron Goat Man."

He groaned at the nickname, watching as the mutant disappeared into the hall they arrived from. His eyes never left, even as the figure became blurred to the distance; even as he was no longer in sight.

Half the mind he had tempted him to follow, to check that he would make it out of the sewers safely – no, he wasn't worried about the rat man, what are you talking about?

Besides, he had another responsibility right now. Luck had it that they managed to find a cloth before the initial descent to the sewers, to keep the infants warm and dry in the box… but if their babbling meant anything they needed engagement. They needed supervision.

That much Draxum knew he could give them.

Unfortunate as it was, their location left little to do in terms of entertainment. Draxum observed as the turtles moved in the box, knowing that, eventually, they would want out.

For now, they were alright. Should he be outside right now, he wouldn't hesitate to find a patch of grass for them to walk and play amongst themselves. They were animals before they were mutants, they would be fine… though, with their human DNA, there's no telling how vulnerable they would be while this young…

Ugh . Every hour away from his lab, he needed it more and more. How was he supposed to care for his experiments if he had none of his documents and no way of monitoring their health?

The safest bet would be to lay them on a blanket on the floor and let them play there. Though, again, a blanket of that size was unavailable to him now.

At least until Lou returned.

He wished Lou was here .

Draxum himself was in no shape to just stand and watch. It was foolish to deny himself comfort, as he was the one appointed to babysit. Any illusion of comfort would not come to him easily unless he were to…

Hesitantly, Draxum looked around, finding nothing but an endless floor and a few walls.

Fine . He'd sit.

The yokai put the box down on the ground before maneuvering himself to sit, most of which was difficult to do with the armour he was not removing. He would simply have to tough it out, more focused on looming over the box of turtles.

No longer would he mope, even as every nerve stood on its ends, warning him to seek warmth and mocking him for how stupid and stubborn he was. He wouldn’t go against what he had to do, even as his better judgment cringed at how cold the floor was. No, what was important was supervising and keeping these children alive. He ignored his obvious shivering as a means of focusing his attention downwards, finding his eyes on the box turtle in particular.

The box turtle, the first to reach out to him. A kinder soul than the others, it seemed… or simply the youngest, exerting the behaviour a youngest child would have.

This turtle currently clung to the alligator snapping turtle; the oldest and largest. He looked content with his youngest brother by his side, tugging more of the cloth to cover him.

Opposite from their affection, the red-eared slider and softshell looked to be at odds. Either of them looked ready to bite the other, only avoiding such by never leaving each other’s sight. Until the softshell lunged forward.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Draxum quickly interjected, picking the softshell up. Which made him bite him instead.

Despite the bite force, it, surprisingly, didn’t hurt. The Baron braced himself for impact, only to find it… tickled? Whatever the feeling was, he merely said “ouch”, trying to hold back laughter.

Part of him was proud the infants knew to defend themselves, despite their small size. Another part found this adorable.

“Don’t do that either,” he mused, fighting to hide the grin threatening to poke from his lips. He placed the softshell back in the box, letting his hand remain after the little one climbed off. “Now, none of you eat each other,” he warned. “Your father’s bringing food, you’ll eat when he comes back. Be patient until then, young ones.”

Patience, certainly, was something he needed now. He had no idea when… or if Lou would return, and he had no idea how long he could put up with a clutch or four hungry turtles before they went back to trying to eat each other.

Draxum sighed, watching the red-eared slider try pushing his hand out of the way. Where are you, Rat?

-

Sitting on the floor in a cold, empty room proved as effective as sitting in an alley, soaking in the rain. Only, it was easier to relax now that he accepted that this was his shelter for the foreseeable future.

…Maybe too easy.

The Baron’s eyelids grew heavier every minute he failed to move. If it were not for the infants in the box babbling quite loudly, he would be caught drifting into a state of unconsciousness.

So obvious was it, the rest he needed. A lesser yokai would become ill under such conditions.

His head hung low, eyes closed for what? A minute? All before he felt a hard shove on his armoured shoulder. Draxum frowned at the impact and being ‘woken’ again until he realized it was the rat mutant. He was back.

“Sleeping on the job, huh?” the rat chuckled, putting down a large bag he was holding. He kept a hold of two thin boxes that rested under his arm, looking difficult to hold.

Draxum huffed. “I was not sleeping .”

“Right.”

The yokai frowned, though it lessened as he found his sights on the other’s haul from the surface.

"What's in the box?"

"Food," Lou confirmed, "and there's clothes in the bag." He moved the bag closer, allowing Draxum to look should he want. "Find something in your size and change before you get hypothermia."

Draxum got a hold of the bag, rolling his eyes at the rat. He heavily doubted any of these human clothes would be to his size, and didn’t want to have to remove his armour… but that would be a need. Sooner rather than later, for more reasons than one.

He took notice of the rat moving towards the box of turtles, effectively replacing him as their babysitter. It was endearing to listen to him greet the young ones, speak of how he missed them so much…

An endearment of which Draxum would not admit. Eventually, he settled his choice of clothing on what most looked like a shirt and a robe. He wouldn't suffer without a change of pants, nothing resembling the cut which would fit his animalistic legs.

The yokai huffed again, remembering how limited their shelter was in terms of specific rooms . Well then. This was going to be uncomfortable.

"Is there any chance you've located a bathroom or other enclosed, private space?" He stood slowly with his clothing choices in hand, ready to look himself should the need be.

Lou himself retrieved a rather colourful sweater from the bunch. "Nothing yet," he admitted. With seemingly no regard for decency, he made to unzip the top half of his tattered suit – all before finding Draxum's eyes again. "If you want privacy, you can go into the halls," he suggested, nose pointing towards them. "I swear I won't look."

"The halls…" Draxum repeated, a scowl forming. It's not ideal, but if he must… "Fine."

With that settled, the yokai begrudgingly walked toward the halls in question. Why they couldn't have picked a shelter that would have basic housing functions pre-built into it would forever be a mystery to him.

-

Draxum ended up walking for a little longer than necessary.

Not that he was afraid of being spotted. Of course, that was always a worry, though who would spot him could be debated. If this were truly a safe location, the only risk was being found by the rat.

No, it was still… odd to be in this whole situation. Any smart yokai could gather that their life would change so drastically should they resort to living in the sewers , with limited resources and no connections to the outer world… Draxum refused to accept this. At least as easily as Lou.

So he slumped where he stood, choosing a random wall to hide behind. As much as it pained him to part with his armour, it was a must, lest his nerves eventually null to the point of no feeling.

He’s pretty sure he needed those to work. So, ratty old robe it was.

First, he made work of removing the heavy codpiece from his midsection. Already that made his body at ease, finally relieved from the pressure and cold texture of the material. Still, he tensed at the cold, just as much as he mourned the loss of its use in his life. He was supposed to be a powerful and commanding yokai… not a pathetic excuse for a Baron, resorting to stolen scraps to keep him warm.

As he put that piece of armour down, moving to remove his heavy gloves next. Though, as he stared down at the codpiece, he noticed something stored within its inner workings.

He still had two samples from his lab: a vial of the mutagen and a general antibiotic.

Draxum sighed. On one hand, he wished he managed to carry more on his person, just enough to continue his research here. On the other hand, what would Lou think? Would he worry for the turtles’ safety around him? Would he kick him out, turn him in to the Council and collect the rewards?

Such was foolish to worry about; Lou would think less of him regardless. Unfortunately, Draxum couldn't risk the idea of scaring him enough to kick him back to the streets.

…The rat didn’t need to know everything .

_ _ _

Quite frankly, Lou doesn't know what he was expecting when he invited Baron Draxum into his new life.

The rose-tinted (rain-covered?) glasses were surely off now. Despite the Baron's fall from glory, he was still very much of the same holier-than-thou being.

Maybe he should leave him out in the rain again. You know, to humble him.

Lou didn't know whether to groan or to laugh at the sight of Draxum when he returned. Still the man wore that dumb mask but clung onto that oversized robe he chose for dear life.

Credit where credit was due, at least Draxum looked less like a Baron and more like a reluctant father now. Between all the laundromats he… ahem , ‘borrowed’ from, Lou had tried his hardest to find something that would fit the yokai. Not that he could even find anything small enough for his sons – how did he end up having to shop lift clothes for a seven-foot tall non-human and four infant half-humans barely the size of his hand?

Either way, Draxum didn't look even the slightest amused as he sat back down with them. "Feeling better?" he teased, noticing as the yokai kept tugging at the ends of his robe. Lou threw a towel at him.

The yokai accepted it, even as he frowned. "You mentioned food?" he asked, as he begrudgingly dried what already looked to be thick and frizzy hair.

Draxum wasn’t having a good day. Not that any of them were… but maybe now, it would be a little better.

"Yeah, help yourself." He pushed the box forward, hoping the other man would understand it enough to feed himself. Afterwards, he turned back to his turtle sons, who were already trying to remove their 'sweaters' – which were very much just upcycled cotton sleeves.

He would do better. He knew he had to do better… but this is the best he could do without passing out for various reasons.

Soon he heard a grumble from the other adult. "What is this?"

Lou sighed. So he didn't know how to feed himself. "Pizza," the rat man deadpanned, knowing his words wouldn't help. "Welcome to New York, Draxum."

He pulled the top box closer to himself, grabbing a slice. "You eat it like this, see?" He took a bite, melting into the flavour in an instant. Sure, he's already eaten a slice… or two, or three… but it's still the best thing he's eaten in years . No wonder he wanted more.

The yokai repeated his actions, seemingly suspicious of the food. But, as he, too, took a bite, he looked to relax. "It's… interesting," he commented, reluctant to take another bite but taking it anyway.

"It's not the healthiest, but it's warm food. That's all that matters right now." Lou elected to feed the turtles the rest of his slice, knowing they needed it more than he did now. Even if it was just a heart attack on bread… he was a bad father, wasn't he?

As the one in the red sweater and blue sweater practically attacked the slice, he found the other man's head looming over the box, watching as well. "Should they be eating that?"

"Probably not," Lou admitted, "but we don't have baby food, so..."

Draxum scoffed, taking another bite of his almost-completed slice. "At least break it into smaller pieces, you heathen."

"Heathen? At least I'm wearing pants."

"How do you-?" The yokai looked ready to fight back, opting to cover what of his legs showed instead. "Quiet, Rat."

Lou laughed, turning back to the turtles once again. Hey, if nothing else, at least Draxum's lack of awareness could brighten his mood.

He elected to do as he suggested, though, taking the half-eaten slice from the turtles for a moment. Separating the rest of it into smaller pieces, he gave one each to the turtles eyeing him with their big, adorable eyes. Poor things were so hungry.

"Better," Draxum mused, having observed the whole thing.

Silently he fed his children, giving them another piece once they finished what they had. In the meantime he noticed Draxum eyeing the box that still offered two slices.

They had two boxes, so there was no worry of running out soon. Lou sighed, though, realized Draxum must not know that. "Keep eating," he offered, strangely unable to bear watching the formerly powerful alchemist yearn for food like a stray kitten.

"Should we not ration your findings?"

The rat man sighed. "We have more. We all have to eat to stay strong, scientist."

"But-"

"Draxum." His gaze lightened, realizing how harsh his tone was. "I can find more food. It's like three… maybe four in the morning, but the city never sleeps. I can steal extra delivery boxes from the next sad sap if needed."

Lou watched the other man take a deep breath before obliging, taking another slice in hand. "That's a lot crueller than I thought you had in you."

Despite the yokai's apparent joy at his 'cruelty', Lou couldn't take pride in such a thing. "Don't-" he grimaced. "It's for survival."

"I think it's noble, for the record," Draxum said between bites, "the lengths you're willing to go to feed your sons. And my sorry self. "

No- Lou wouldn't admit to that. He wouldn't admit the compliment tugged at his heart in a warm way, despite the fact that he was stealing. He was committing a crime – even more than just by claiming free real estate in a place like this.

Instead, he huffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're doing a good thing, Lou Jitsu." Dramatic as he was, Draxum waved the slice he held half-mindedly. "Anyone with half a mind of danger would have run from the lab fire before the risk of mutation. But you have a big heart. Despite everything, you've managed to find shelter, food and clothes for your family, all on short notice."

He watched Draxum grin, eyes lighting up at the praise he offered. All until those eyes met Lou's. "Not that I couldn't have done the same," he coughed, fumbling over himself.

Okay, that- that was funny. "Thanks, Goat Man," he offered with a slight chuckle. "But I know danger. You might be a threat to your experiments, but you're no threat to me."

Draxum huffed. "Why would I threaten my experiments? They're my creations."

"So you're saying you're not threatening?"

"I am very threatening, for your information," the former Baron quickly retorted, pushing Lou's arm.

"Not in front of the kids, Goat Man. They're your creations, after all."

The grin on his face could not even begin to compete with Draxum's shocked scowl. Lou was enjoying this so much .

"I legitimately hate you so much."

Lou chuckled. "I know."

For a while longer, he fell into a rhythm of feeding his sons and supervising Draxum as he ate. With no doubt, the two adults knew that they should still leave whatever food was left for the kids – they were the priority, after all.

Even in all of his years trapped in the Hidden City, Lou knew nothing about yokai, nothing more than he needed. But Draxum would be fine. He was an adult and a scientist.

So he had to just put it in his head that between the two of them, they should ultimately be prioritizing the kids. As much as he had his needs – after said needs being neglected for so long – the four infant turtles would need them much more.

They needed the food more. They needed the warmth more. And, by the amount they were stirring around in boredom, they needed the attention more.

That’s what Lou gave them, to an extent. Until he could manage to steal some toys for them… goodness, he hated the thought. But in that wake, he had to think about what the other adult told him. He has a big heart . Everything he needs to do… everything he’s been doing, was for the good of their little unusual family.

He wasn’t a bad father. He was doing the best he could. He was doing the right thing.

“You brought a blanket, right?”

Lou looked up at the voice and nodded. Previously he was occupied with keeping the red sweater turtle from butting heads with the others, but at the question, he retrieved a relatively thin but large blanket from the laundry bag, Lou hummed, bunching it in his hands.

The other inspected in, nodding in return. “Is this the only one?”

“No, there are a few more sheets in the bag. Nothing too big, though. Likely for twin-size beds.”

Again he had to berate himself for feeling bad. How else was he supposed to come across these things?

Luckily (or unluckily), Draxum didn’t seem to take notice of how this pulled at his heart yet again. Instead, the yokai hummed, taking one of those other sheets out of the bag. “One of these should be laid on the ground so the turtles can leave the box,” he said, looking to plan out where to put the sheet. “One should be enough.”

“Right,” Lou agreed, exhaling. “They’ve been in that box for a while…”

“I thought of taking them out earlier, but it’s safer this way,” Draxum explained, making work of placing the sheet on the ground in front of them. “There,” he announced, once it was stretched out enough.

The rat man picked up two of the turtles, ignoring their protests for a moment. “So I just… put them there?”

“Yes.” Draxum reached out towards the box, picking up the other two. “They won’t move around much, but having the space will do them good.”

Lou nodded, finding sense in the idea. “Okay.”

They both put down the turtles, resting them not too far away, but undeniably on the sheet. And, as predicted, they did not move around much. The one in the red sweater attempted to stand, crowding himself over his brothers – to protect them, it looked like. After a while, though, they looked to relax, instead babbling at each other again.

Lou adored the sight. His sons, already so protective of each other. Granted he knew little of their life with Draxum beforehand, and would rather not think of it, knowing there could be two more turtles amongst them right now… but still, he was proud.

As if he knew he was thinking of him, the yokai sat closer to Lou, almost leaning against him – towering with his much larger frame. He, too, was observing the turtle’s behaviour and perked up at something. “I must ask, why those colours?”

“What?”

“The turtles, you gave them shirts of some kind. Why in those colours?”

Ah, that’s what he meant. “Giving them bright colours helps tell them apart,” he shrugged.

Draxum looked at him as if he said something wrong. “...They are all very distinct and different species,” he explained, as if it were obvious.

To Lou, they were simply baby turtles. If the alchemist over here wanted them to have human DNA and compared their behaviour to human or yokai infants rather than that of wild animals, then it made no sense to fret over details like their species. Unless they did, and he wasn’t having that explained to him.

“Maybe, but they’re all mostly green. Just like how you and I are mostly pink.” Lou chuckled at the sight of Draxum attempting to hide any of his natural colouration. “Which is funny, because I’ve never seen a pink sheep.”

Draxum grumbled, looking rather upset with the comparison. “I’m a yokai, not a ‘sheep’. I don’t have wool like the land mammal you compare me to.”

“What about your hair?”

The yokai grabbed the ends of his frizzing hair, pulling them back to hide it. “My hair is just… like that.” At first, Lou hummed in disbelief, until Draxum took it upon himself to stop taking the teasing. “Regardless of us , the turtles should not be merely colour coded. Are you truly intending to name your children ‘Orange’ and ‘Purple’?”

Lou huffed, finding amusem*nt in the idea. It would be easier… “No… but I need more time,” he admitted. “They’re special, they need the perfect names.”

They didn't, in all honesty. Parents gave their kids average and awful names all the time. But there was something about these kids… he knew they were destined for greatness, even if they would not be warriors, thank you very much.

Beginning to stand up, he huffed, deciding names were a work in progress. “I’ll probably come up with some by the time I’m back-”

“Oh no you don’t.”

He was dragged back down by the arm, back to sitting. “Draxum, what-”

“Don’t go back up right now.”

"Okay?" He couldn't figure out why he shouldn't gather more supplies right now if that's what they needed. Unless … “Why, do you want me around?”

“What- no.” Draxum dismissed that as easily as always, though it wouldn't stop the rat man's grin. “We have enough supplies for a few more hours. Besides, you’re exhausted, and returning to the surface at this ungodly hour would not do any of us good.

The yokai almost looked to pout in his spot, keeping himself close.

So Draxum was worried about him?

Not that he was going to oppose staying, especially when realizing just how tired he was. If the yokai kept him from leaving, he might as well get comfortable.

“I suppose you’re right, Baron Sheep Man," he mused, leaning against his arm. “I’ll stay.”

Lou was only as strong as he needed to be. Anyone can fall for the vices of human – well, mutant – nature quite easily after being through hell thrice over. And for Lou? Something like this was his first moment of comfort in recent memory.

Yes, he may be drifting too close into that comfort, feeling his eyelids grow heavier as he watched over his young sons. Maybe that was okay.

There was someone else here, someone to help him. Reluctant or not, they would be okay.

Chapter 4: Why I Sought You Out

Chapter Text

The Baroness couldn't help but laugh.

Draxy.

This must be another of the many people her brother knew. Though, by the woman's voice, she had to wonder just how close they were.

"I can assure you that you are looking for the wrong person," the Baroness offered, sitting straighter on her throne. "You see, Baron Draxum is long gone. I am his replacement." She crossed one leg over the other, resting her arms on the armrests. Then she grinned.

"You mustn't be serious..."

The shorter figure studied her for a moment until she scoffed. "A woman without respect, replacing him? Colour me splendiferously shocked."

Baroness huffed. "Who are you to be commanding respect?"

"I am Big Mama, hotelier of the Nexus Hotel. Surely you have heard of me?"

If the other woman's words were not desperate enough, then her stance was. Almost as if her name was one to be known amongst the entire city and then some.

Now that she thought about it, the name rang a bell. The name of the woman and the hotel alike; the multiple headlines dedicated to her outrage of a stolen Champion, mere hours before kidnapping allegations arose. And then more headlines arose. Honestly, she’s surprised she didn't recognize the hotelier sooner.

Regardless, this 'Big Mama' person had nothing to do with her. "Doesn't sound like something in my jurisdiction," the Baroness settled, mulling over what the other could possibly demand.

Watching the other woman take a deep breath, the Baroness could almost bet on the exact moment her patience cracked. “Either way, deary, I’m not here for small talk,” Big Mama began, fake sweetness dissipating as she spoke. “You see, there is a debt Baron Draxum has yet to pay, and since he vanished…”

Not another debt . Again, Baroness couldn’t see what the hotelier wanted from her. Taking the former Baron’s place or not, she didn’t have the same connection as she would have with Draxum. Could this not have been something Big Mama bothered her about in the morning?

“What’s the cost?” she simply asked, trying not to let her annoyance slip through.

“Oh, nothing monetary.” For a moment the fake sweetness returned, allowing the human lookalike to take a step closer. “As a yokai so similar to Draxum in looks, I can assume you two have some sort of relation?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “If so, I can assume you are privy to all his files and plans and other sciencey stuff, right?”

The Baroness huffed. Why did she want to know all this? “Depends,” she tested, tapping her claws against where they rested on the armrest, “what you will use this information for.”

“Strictly business,” Big Mama quickly answered. “My dearest Champion was stolen from me, and don’t take me for a fool, deary; I know it was him.” She paused, taking another step closer. “I know Draxy stole my champion to use his star power for his own advantage. So unless you want to lose your widdle reputation on day one, you will tell me where my Champion is.”

At this point, the woman was close enough that they could meet eye-to-eye in her slumped state. This little game of intimidation was… amusing, to put it lightly. Even more so as her eyes wandered, noticing the poorly-lit figures of what must be bodyguards. Though getting asked thrice over where Baron Draxum or Lou Jitsu was started to become exhausting. “Listen, lady, I only know as much as I need to. Draxum is gone and so is Lou Jitsu. Maybe they died.” She failed to keep a straight face, watching Big Mama’s facade drop. “Maybe Draxum kidnapped him – maybe the Champion left willingly. Maybe the two escaped in the dead of night with plans of starting a new life together in another land.”

She could hear snickering. From who? It didn’t matter. Likely her goyles of fortune, if she had to guess. If anyone could validify her drastic story, it’s them.

The hotelier backed up the slightest. “That’s preposterous. Draxum never loved him.”

“We can all only know as much as they led on,” she countered. “I can play this game of ‘maybe’s all night. As it stands, I don’t know where your Champion is. He’s gone. And unless you wish to be escorted by force, I suggest you leave on your own terms.”

She was by herself here. Other than the goyles – which were doing a poor job in guarding her in the first place – the Baroness sat alone in a room with at least three other figures. One of which apparently had such a high reputation, it warranted entering the estate unwelcomed and demanding information. Still, the other woman looked so desperate to know the state of her Champion’s well-being. Despite everything, she liked the odds she dealt.

Big Mama didn’t flinch, though, still standing her ground. “Fine. It seems I have taken the wrong approach.”

Snapping her fingers, the woman motioned to beckon her bodyguards forward – to finally show themselves. The two of them each held a basket, which looked too clunky to hold small items worth carrying. What was Big Mama planning…?

“While the true reason my snuggle muffin was stolen remains a mystery, my loyal bellhops have gathered as much evidence as possible,” she began. “The lab was certainly left in a fizzy, wasn’t it? Anyhow, it looks like my poor Champion was used to create those super soldiers Draxum was always babbling about. And while I may not have my superstar anymore, there can be hope of replacing him, just as you have replaced the alchemist.”

The hotelier motioned for the bellhops to put the baskets on the ground, kneeling before them. “Amongst the destruction, I managed to find two experiments still living…” At the word, the bellhops uncovered the baskets, revealing the experiments in question. “Two baby turtles.”

Oh?

Two baby turtles?

Getting a better look at the baskets, the Baroness took notice of how the two infants looked akin to yokai. Was Draxum’s experiment simply making stronger yokai?

A brow simply raised, allowing Big Mama to continue explaining herself. “Now I may be wrong, but I remember Draxum being utterly starstruck at the sight of my beautiful Champion, and if my personal scientists are correct, these two have his DNA.”

Huh. If all this is true, that would make the two infant turtles connected to her somehow, wouldn’t it?

Oh, wait.

That’s exactly what the other woman was getting at.

“Should you be the true replacement of Baron Draxum, I see no reason as to why you cannot grow these two young souls into the Nexus Champions they were meant to be.”

“Woah woah woah, hold on, Big Mama.”

Finally, her two gargoyles made themselves known, flying to meet Big Mama to her face.

“The experiments aren’t supposed to go to your Nexus!”

“They were supposed to be the greatest warriors, to protect Yokai kind from the human threat!”

The Baroness snorted. She should have asked more about the experiments beforehand… but if they knew enough to tell the hotelier off, then she trusted their words.

However, the other woman raised an eyebrow, unamused. “Oh, you two. Do you really think I care why these buggy boos were brought into the world?”

“You seem to care enough to bring them back to me instead of keeping them.”

Baroness raised an eyebrow, bringing the woman’s attention back to herself. “I doubt with the state of the laboratory I will be of much help. Even with repairs, the damage is thorough; any large-scale experiments could be delayed for a year at minimum.”

Even without a single clue as to the true damage, all she knew is that it would cost her. A lot. Any work could only begin once she familiarized herself with the work Draxum put towards his experiments, and with the Council keeping their eyes on the estate, her focus would be put mainly towards her role as Head of Security. So unless the woman could offer something worth her while, Baroness could only see herself keeping the infants with her – not making them Nexus material.

Big Mama simply hummed after a moment of calm. “Well, if that’s the case,” she began, stepping closer again, “perhaps we can strike a deal.”

A deal? “Go on.”

“If you are able to make at least one of these turtles into my next Champion, I will fund all of your work and allow you to keep one of them for all your warrior-making dreams.”

That was certainly an offer to consider. She could see the appeal of having a young warrior by her side… which very well may be her nibling if Draxum added his own DNA into the mix. And having her work funded would help. The less money out of her own pocket put towards her brother’s mistakes, the better.

Still, there was her own term she wished to add. “On one condition.”

“What may that be?”

The Baroness gestured towards both baskets. “I take full custody of the one you intend to give me.”

Such an offer brought the two goyles back to her side, one whispering in her ear, " what are you doing? " The other was just as frantic.

Such an offer made the smaller woman grin, however. “Oh, that’s an interesting development,” she cooed, tapping her fingers together. “I suppose that does divide the work of raising them."

"Does that mean we have a deal?"

" Baroness, no ."

"Baroness, yes ."

The other woman chuckled, finding joy in this decision. "Should this be… take your pick." She stepped back, gesturing at the baskets.

If it were up to her… Something such as this truly didn't matter. Whoever she picked, would it really make a difference?

Baroness looked over the two baskets, noticing the one to her right was slightly different. They were quite large, even for an infant, and blue. From what she knew of turtles, they were mainly green – which the other was.

But who knew, maybe there was something else to this turtle. She bent to pick them up, realizing just how small they were. It made her huff, smiling at the resting infant. "I'll take this one."

"Splendid," Big Mama agreed, motioning for the bellhops to pick up the remaining basket. "It appears we have made a deal."

"It appears we have," Baroness agreed. "Now get out of my house."

-

If nothing else, the Baroness could appreciate that Big Mama and her bodyguards did, in fact, leave.

As little help as her gargoyles had been, they decided to step up now, ushering the others into their portal – all while she sat, observing, tired and currently cradling an infant in her arms.

Only once any remnants of the portal light dissipated did she allow herself to yawn, for a second allowing herself to ignore the world around her.

Good on the child for being asleep right now. Otherwise, the Baroness could almost bet on panicking .

Instead, she sat, waiting as the two gargoyles found their way back to her side. "So um, about that whole situation -"

"Where were you two when she broke in?"

Normally her voice was already low, though cautious of the hour and other small creatures who would not fare well with loud noises, she kept it lower.

"Do they- do they not have portals where you come from?"

"'Cause, it's pretty self-explanatory how she got in. Plus you left the door wide open -"

"Alright, I get it." She huffed, realizing that this was, in part, her fault. Most of what happened in the last few hours were, if not just a consequence under her own will, tied to her name. "Still doesn't explain half of all this ."

Carefully she held the bundle up, allowing the other two to get a better look. In no time the action was met with 'aww's, which tugged a grin out of her for a moment.

The goyles looked upset when she held the baby closer to her again – but understood. "Anyways," Huginn began, "we didn't exactly… know there were more than four of these little guys until later."

"Yeah, we all thought Lou Jitsu took them after w- he destroyed the lab and set it on fire!"

"Talk about a great escape."

Despite how often they retold the event, something about it still felt… off . With the addition of another two turtles rescued from the rubble, it could only be assumed how much more was left over, past what they are yet to learn.

She hummed at this thought. "How great of an escape could it have been if the other experiments are nowhere to be found?"

By the way the others faltered in place – no, it had not been the 'great escape' they held it so fondly as.

"It was pretty cool and dramatic, not gonna lie-" the rounder goyle's shoulder was shoved. " Huginn ."

That, at least, was able to get a snicker out of her. Why were their shenanigans able to cheer her up so easily?!

Part of it could be due to the onslaught of complications lately. Her brother already left ages ago, but now? He was gone . And she was living in his house . She took the man's estate, and laboratory; she even took his gargoyles. As poor the quality of many of these was, it helped settle how much she was merely a replacement in the grand scheme of things.

But it felt right all in the same. Right to assume this power, right to have two small bodyguards trust her from the beginning… just as right to add something else onto her world of new, that being a whole child .

Feeling said child stir the slightest, she held on closer, sighing. "Let's just be glad two of Draxum's experiments survived, and that we have one here with us now."

Truly, she had no idea what to think of the other experiments. A shame they were lost, more so since the true status of their disappearance is left unknown. But with the remnants of the lab, with what she does have… maybe, just maybe, she can make her impulsive decisions work.

She brushed her knuckles softly against the edge of the baby's blanket, trying (and failing) to hold back a smile. "You will bring us much greatness, little one."

It would not take much effort to fall asleep where she sat, should she want to.

At an hour such as this, surrounded by the remaining heat of a warm fire and under the weight of three small, resting beings, it was easy to fall victim to the call of rest.

There were more pressing matters to tend to, unfortunately. What use would there be in rest when there was still so much to know?

"Huginn, Muninn," she mumbled, prompting them to raise their heads, "I have a job for you."

"What is it, boss?"

Where they previously rested on top of her, they scrambled away, now standing on either armrest.

With this action, the Baroness adjusted herself to sit straight, still cautious of the resting infant. "I need you two to watch over the baby."

They nodded. "Got it!"

Nodding, she slowly got up, finding her sights back on the basket that remained. Surely, the child would need a better crib – without much knowledge of humans or turtles, she still knew they aged much faster than yokai.

That would be a problem for the following day, though. For now, this would do.

Once she placed the baby back in the basket, she stood at full height once more. "In the meantime, I'll search for records, journals; anything that Draxum had on his experiments. Because clearly, none of us know the full story."

The other two nodded again, assuming themselves on either side of the basket.

"Good luck finding something!" Muninn offered.

"Yeah, good luck! And we'll look over this little guy – or girl, or… whatever, we'll be the best babysitters!"

Baroness chuckled, not doubting they would be. Though, with the whole Big Mama interference earlier… "While you're at it, take them to one of the empty rooms."

She heard them agree with an 'okay', though by then, she had already begun to walk out of the room.

Wherever the child would be placed could either be their room or hers, depending how big it was. For now, it didn’t matter – not until she would need it. All she had to do for now is find something, anything , that would point her in the right direction. How was she supposed to put use to the laboratory if she only knew so much?

-

And so she began the – totally not boring – search for something that would tell her anything .

Not much blame could be put on the goyles for their lack of knowledge. If they were telling the truth, this has only been their life for about 24 hours. That's alright. All it meant is that she had to do some digging, fill in the blanks where Draxum's word failed to do so.

Logic brought her back to the laboratory. Yes, it was out in the open, and clearly pillaged by Big Mama already. Still, she believed there would be something .

Back into the rubble she ventured, caring less about smoke this time around. More so now than before did she think of the ooze splattered everywhere – how much of a waste it all was. If only there were still some available… Now that would be useful.

The main room of the lab looked as chaotic and bleak as it did earlier. Good, Big Mama didn’t come back.

All things considered, she had only given it a look over earlier. Returning to the space gave a better idea of all the crevices in which something could be hidden, should it not already be stolen.

One of these places was the big machine, where most of its imperfections looked to be from damage rather than looting. The machine where the mutation took place if she remembers correctly. Which meant…

The Baroness knocked on the sides, cautious of any loose metal, anything that may budge open. She walked around it, knocking throughout. Towards the back (or what may be the back from her perspective), a larger plate budged ever so slightly, and from that, she could hear glass bumping against other glass surfaces.

There was something still here, at least.

Easy due to her armour, the Baroness tugged at the ends of the metal, ripping it from its base. Dust emerged, effectively covering the opening. But, as it settled, it was clear to any what lay inside.

Ooze. Ooze still in its cases… not full, not by any means, but it was there nonetheless.

If there were three over here, did that mean there could be more?

Huginn and Muninn had explained that they knew of four mutated turtles, but those four were already missing by the time they managed to escape the fire. If the ones Big Mama found were not from that four, then there could be six . There could even be more than that, though the likelihood of more surviving was slim…

Either way, she made work of knocking down another plate not far from the first one, careful not to damage anything. As the dust settled there, too, she found her answer.

Six containers of ooze, slim with what they contained but otherwise each having even a little amount of the substance.

This much she was lucky to find un-looted. This much would be enough to successfully conduct the future experiments.

But it would mean this remained top secret. Whatever she found here would have to be carefully hidden, and whatever else she found even more so.

One by one she took the containers, careful to liberate them from where they were held. Maybe there was somewhere still in the house where she could hide this, and, maybe, there was somewhere she could still find documents.

Anything at all would help, and she wanted to get her hands on all of it .

_ _ _

"Careful Huginn, babies are delicate."

"I am being careful."

While the two may have been watching over a currently sleeping baby, it didn't mean they couldn't make the space ready for when they would wake up.

For as big as this house was, there weren't many baby-like things around. Made it look like the bossman had no plans of ever having young children… even though, well, he made them.

Either way, it meant they had to get creative in setting up a baby room. There were normal-sized rooms with normal-sized beds, but the little one would need time to grow into those. Until then they would use something they found, something that looked like a crib.

"Does everything in this place have to look spooky and weird?"

"Uh, yeah, that's kind of what we signed up for," Huginn deadpanned.

"Well we never signed up for babysitting," Muninn countered, gesturing towards the turtle in their makeshift crib, "but here we are!"

"It's not too bad," Huginn offered, moving to perch at either side of the crib. When Muninn mirrored him, he looked up from the sleeping infant. "We're never gonna get any sleep though, are we?"

"No, and right after we got the dog bed."

They both sighed. "It could be worse," Huggin mused. "Our boss went missing."

"But we got a new one."

"Exactly."

"And she let us stay and have the dog bed…"

"Exactly."

"And because of her, we're now cool uncles?"

" Exactly ."

Muninn grinned. "You know what Huginn? You're right. Maybe everything's still a wreck, but it isn't so bad."

As their gazes turned back to the infant, they noticed them stir around with a small yawn. "Aww…"

They had no clue when the little one would wake up and what they would need when the time came, but right now? It was calm, it was nice.

"You know Huginn? They're gonna need a name eventually."

"You're right…" He thought for a moment, wondering what kind of names they could give a mutant turtle baby… toddler? Kiddo looked too big to be a baby, but what would they know?

Then it occurred to him. "Should Baroness choose their name?"

"Doesn't mean we can't think of a few," Muninn mused, shrugging.

"Hmm, yeah."

The two leaned closer to the sleeping mutant turtle, brainstorming.

"How about…"

_ _ _

The rooms. That is where she would next check.

And hide the very likely illegal containers of ooze. That much was a must. She couldn't risk anyone finding out about them… So much for being Head of Security; failing on the first day of the job.

It was nothing the Baroness couldn't handle, though. Once she got her operation up and running, nothing would get past her, and she could conduct any work and experiments she needed to.

Very easily it was becoming a want . A side effect of taking residence in a spooky mansion, perhaps, but nonetheless, she grew curious the more she thought about the experiments. The appeal was so obvious; who wouldn't want their own army, grown from their very own intellect and mystic genius?

The Baroness could only conduct so much on her own, without having followed her brother’s work to the end. Which is exactly why she needed every document she could get her claws on.

She could hear Huginn and Muninn discuss something in one of the bedrooms, amongst a hall full of them. On her way past, she poked her head in, observing the scene.

They were on either end of a crib, the baby still sleeping… it would not be easy, but it would be worth it.

A smile tugged at her, but she had to fight it down. Right now she had something more important to get to. She can return afterwards.

The end of the hall was dramatically decorated, meaning it was likely Draxum's old room. Strange as it was, she had reason to believe something would be kept there. If not on his person, he always otherwise kept things close. Draxum never parted with something so important.

Careful to open the door, she was not at all surprised when it creaked, almost as old-sounding as the main entrance doors. And, from the sight, so was the room.

In such a state of disarray, she could almost picture what had last happened here. Frantically searching for what he could take with him if he left willingly, trying to hide what he can without having the time to hide it well. Blankets out of place, decorations knocked over, some broken. So akin to the mess left by Big Mama’s goons, though nothing alike in the same.

Anything the man touched brought destruction.

Still, it helped to have known Draxum since birth. Even in their years apart, she could read the remnants of his home like a book. He hadn't changed a bit.

Which meant she had an inkling as to where important documents could be hiding.

On the bed, slightly skewed or not, she would leave the ooze for now. It could be hidden later. But, due to the bed's misplacement, it made it easy to find where the floor creaked more so under her hooves. Here .

With no hesitation, she went to work removing the false floorboard. And, just like she thought, she found the box.

If anything in this house could get even dustier, it was this. Still, she simply blew the dust away, eagerly tugging on the box in an attempt to open it.

Wait. A key.

Under the floorboard also laid a key. Clever.

She picked it up, taking no time to unlock the box. And inside she found plenty .

Mostly a mess of papers, scuffed journals and pens… but useful all the same.

From here she could see these papers were, in fact, documents. Her heart raced as she took hold of them, scanning them for any information on the turtle she impulse-adopted.

A page stood out to her, one with a photograph of a small blue turtle.

Leatherback Sea Turtle. Second oldest of the six experiments. Female.

As she read the page she found no further information; nothing on the turtle's human DNA. And such was expected, but… all that meant was she would be the one to conduct those experiments, fill out all the other necessary information.

And raise a little girl.

Chapter 5: When Will We Decide

Chapter Text

Lou felt awful, but also great... an odd combination of selfish rejuvenation and related guilt at best. Though, remembering where he was and why he was here, he forced himself to stir awake.

When exactly he fell asleep, he couldn't remember. How long he's been out? Well, that much would be hard to judge. Distinctly he could remember laying his head against Draxum's arm, nodding off ever so slowly. And now he was on the floor, wrapped in a blanket and laying on the laundry bag, with his sons and co-parent a few feet away.

The rat man couldn't help the huff that escaped at the thought. 24 hours ago... 24 hours ago he was stuck in a cell in the Nexus, with no means of escape or return to the outside world in sight. Now he had a family, and they lived in the sewers, but hey, that's better than nothing.

"Oh good, you're finally awake," Draxum addressed, facing the rat man now.

Tilting his head at the sight, he grinned weakly, wiping the remaining drool from his face. "How long was I out?"

"An hour at most."

The confirmation allowed Lou to breathe easier, but as his vision – which was slowly growing worse – settled over the kids, he noticed they looked… different. Were they bigger now?

And his arms were hairier… he stumbled back, eyes widening.

"Don't be alarmed," Draxum warned, holding a hand out. Despite the rat man failing to calm down, he continued, "you and the turtles are merely taking time to mutate into your true forms."

Lou tried to breathe through it, to ask the alchemist to elaborate, but every second that passed only fermented the idea that all this was going to get worse . Other than the increase in hair – or well, fur – he noticed other things, such as feeling smaller, increased scent and the like.

How much of a rat would he become and how much would he stay human? Lou didn't know, he doubted Draxum knew; he could only wish someone knew-

"Lou, please."

For a second his eyes trailed back up, finding Draxum in a state of desperation he's never seen out of the man. Such eyes softened as he gestured towards himself and the kids. "Come here."

He didn't want to be near the alchemist right now. The alchemist that did this to him and their children. The alchemist that only made things worse.

Still, despite himself, he slowly nudged closer to everyone else. Maybe the turtles could help…

Having a blanket on the floor was the only thing that kept him grounded. His face felt too weird to recognize it was less cold now, but at least his hands were the same.

As he got closer, he could confirm that the children were, in fact, a little larger now. He almost wanted to believe he's been asleep for much longer, that a lot more time passed and they merely grew as normal children do.

But no. If the subtle changes in himself proved anything, it was that they were not normal. No matter how long the process took, they would never be normal.

Once he was close enough, he took a hold of Red and Blue, snuggling them close. Orange was attached to Draxum, so he'd let him stay… and Purple looked repulsed at the idea of being held right now.

It made the rat man chuckle. So much personality for such small turtles.

He heard Draxum sigh. "None of you were properly mutated, and without my lab, there is only so much I can know. However, I will do my best to aid you all through the process."

Still refusing to have sympathy for the yokai at the moment, Lou huffed. "You better," he threatened.

Only so much of that could be a true threat when he was yet to test out his strength. The mutation was supposed to make his sons stronger… would it make him stronger? Could he fight off Draxum if needed?

He didn't want that to be a need; he's 'trusted' the yokai thus far with caring for the children he made. And besides, if Draxum had more strength, he would need him for some things.

"The first thing you should do," Lou instructed, "is find a way to get us clean water. I don't care if I'm a rat, I won't live like one."

Draxum snorted. "Alright."

Water , at the very least, was a mutual need, and they would be foolish to not find a way of getting any. The yokai slowly put Orange back on the ground, much to the box turtle's protest. "Where we are located seems to be a city water filtration system," Draxum explained, "so all I should need to do is rewire some pipes…"

As the yokai thought aloud, Lou attempted to pick up Orange and Purple as well. Despite their size, he could still carry them in his arms – he silently wondered for how much longer.

"Great," he settled, "you go do that. I'll take over babysitting now."

He was plenty comfortable with the kids here now, and wouldn't mind some time just between them again. As thankful as he was for the help when retrieving the food, and clothes, and taking a nap… wanting some time with his sons but away from their other father wasn't a crime.

Draxum nodded, making the effort to stand. "I'll go rearrange those pipes, then," he confirmed. Before he could leave, though, his figure was back in Lou's field of vision. "You don't happen to know where any tools are, right?"

"No, but idiot repairmen leave their rusty tools on the job all the time."

"Repairmen…"

Lou sighed. Right, the human threat. "This place is abandoned. As long as we don't break anything important, no one should ever have a reason to come here."

That, at least, looked to ease the yokai in the slightest. "If you say so…" Even as he began walking elsewhere, he looked upset. "I'll trust you, but I still hate this place."

If nothing else, it made the rat man chuckle. "You and me both."

-

What Lou would fail to realize helped him when Draxum was around, was how easily hate and anxiety clouded his soul when faced with the reality of their situation.

With just the kids, much of it was the same. Though, with them, he felt a sense of responsibility wash over him first and foremost. With them, he knew he had other smaller beings to care for before anything or anyone else.

And now that he was fed and well rested (or both to the best resources they had), he wanted nothing more than to just interact with the kids again.

It felt nice to hug them, but he knew they would want out soon. So, he placed them each back on the blanket carefully, laying on his stomach to better face them at eye level.

Before they had all looked so small, most resembling newborns. Though, now that they grew, some of them looked older.

Red, who was always protecting the smaller ones, still looked like the oldest. Though, by the way he was trying to walk around, Lou could almost bet this was him toddling. So, maybe he was toddler aged.

Orange still looked about as young as he did before. Despite not being fully human, the way he was moving and 'speaking' most resembled a newborn; maybe an almost yearling.

The others looked to be somewhere in between; not quite as old as Red and not as young as Orange.

He would confirm their ages when Goat Man returned. Until then, he couldn't stop himself from giggling as the kids tried to crawl back to him or push each other around.

They would need better entertainment soon. Toys and stuff he could likely retrieve soon, the next time night fell over… as late as it was, morning would arrive any hour now. There weren't many more opportunities for him to go to the surface, lest it's for something he left in the alleyway earlier.

Lou only knew so much of his strength. Just because he only brought back food and clothes the first time around didn't mean it was the only thing he found.

For a while, the air around them consisted of little nonsensical phrases mumbled towards his turtle sons. Lou wasn't a professional, only knowing so much about babies – but if they looked happy and entertained for the time being, he believed himself to be doing a good job.

Every time one tried to mimic him, he smiled so widely that his face hurt from all the joy. But it was when one of them tried to repeat when he said 'dad', clearly directed at him…

Lou could cry if he needed to. The alchemist would still be gone for a while, and the kids wouldn't mind if they ever realized. But no, he wouldn't. He was just happy to be accepted and loved, that's all…

At the revelation, he sighed. To these kids, he could be Dad, but he couldn't be Lou Jitsu… For one he looked nothing like the man he once was, but he wanted nothing more than to keep them away from the warrior lifestyle. He could teach them skills in time, but not of the Hamato warriors of his past, nor the Nexus Champions of his recent life.

No. For the third, and hopefully last time in his life, he needed to take on a new identity. He was a father now, not a movie star.

The thought distressed him as much as it comforted him. He knew it was the right thing to do, what he wanted to do, but any choice for change came with a heavy heart. At least it would be the only choice amongst many that were his own…

_ _ _

Fixing their 'lack of clean water' situation had truly been no issue.

Much of the enhancements of his own lab consisted of him tinkering with many bells and whistles – and of course, pipes, wall divisions, inventing an installation; anything that would improve the quality of the lab.

If given the resources, he could transform this sorry excuse for a hideout into something magnificent . His experiments/children and Lou deserved only the most quality of home lives.

Call him a sentimental old fool and he'd deny it, but knowing that the beings he mutated and now lived with were still struggling meant that it would be his responsibility to help them. He knew that creating a new lab for himself down here would be a must – but, with his limited resources, all would only come in time.

It had been exhausting trying to even locate tools in these never-ending halls. He had to have passed at least two manholes before he found any of those rumoured rusty tools, and his patience wore even thinner as he attempted to use them.

Despite all the struggles, he got the water system to work. A selfish thought had him pondering if he should take the opportunity of being alone to attempt to clean himself, wash his hair at the very least… but he knew the others needed it more. Especially Lou.

So he made his way back. Lou had not yet noticed when he returned, looking to be so caught up in whatever the kids were babbling on about. The rat man had been laying on his stomach and kicking his feet like a giddy child. Honestly, the sight made him smile, but you'd have to pry it out before he could ever admit to it.

"The water works now," he decided to announce, making his presence more known.

The little orange one – which he refused to call Orange – had looked up at him first, offering a chirp that almost resembled the sound 'da'. Lucky was he for his mask to hide how his eyebrows raised. What was Lou teaching them…

Lucky was he, for the rat man soon noticed his presence as well, at the same time as the other kids. Already he could tell the man was less stressed than before. For his sake, he'd neglect to mention it.

"Oh thank goodness," Lou muttered, loud enough for the yokai to have heard.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not quite," the rat confirmed. For a second Draxum assumed the worse, so hearing this allowed him to breathe.

As the rat sat up on his knees, Draxum drew closer, intending to rest beside him. Though he was stopped by Lou's hand. "Wait, Draxum, there's something else we need."

Again an eyebrow raised, though thing time, in speculation. "What exactly?"

Lou looked nervous for whatever reason. If the yokai had unintentionally looked a certain way, he allowed that expression to drop, becoming more open for the rat man to talk.

"We should get a mattress so we don't have to sleep on the ground," the rat began. "I found one already… it should be in that alleyway if it wasn't already stolen."

The… he found a mattress? And didn't bring it earlier? And expected Draxum to go up to the surface to retrieve it?

"Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?" The yokai settled, now dreading the thought of carrying it.

"Because I kind of… forgot," Lou answered honestly, nervous chuckle and all. "Food and clothes felt more important at the moment."

Draxum sighed. Of course, those things were more important, but he would have liked to know beforehand just how much Lou brought back with him. Who's to say he didn't bring more and stash it in the alley? "Where did you find such a thing?"

"Scrapyard- but never mind that." Again Lou picked up a turtle, using its cuteness to his advantage. "Please, Draxum, could you just bring it here?"

The yokai mulled it over. On one hand, he wanted nothing to do with the surface world. On another, Lou was literally begging for him to get it. If he was going to be annoying about it…

"Fine," Draxum settled, "I'll get the mattress."

He ignored whatever else Lou said in favour of heading over to the alleyway before the sun rose and getting out of there just as fast. Lucky they were for the larger, non-manhole entrances to the sewers, but it didn't mean this was going to be any easier on him.

He would hate every second and then some.

-

And hate every second of it he did.

Luck would be on his side that the mattress was, in fact, right where Lou must have left it. While the other items he managed to take were more important… could he have not managed to take this with him as well?

Maybe he was overestimating the rat. Or, maybe the rat was finding uses for him… that much he couldn't blame. If he had nothing to his name, the only way to prove himself worthy of not being kicked to the streets was to do little tasks like this and actually parent their kids.

Not that he had to be thrilled about it… the tasks, at least. He hated to admit that the idea of raising children warmed his heart, especially considering who he was raising them with… especially considering how he felt about Lou.

Still, he would complain as he carried the mattress back down to the sewers – the mattress he knew full well would not fit them all comfortably.

If he was below the title of Baron now, he had every right to complain, 'feelings' be damned.

The level of anxiety he harboured was not lost on him, the dawn of morning illuminating too close to be of comfort. So, as he trekked further into the sewers once again, he found it easier to deal with the weight. Not that it ever bothered him in the literal sense.

By the time he returned to the base, Lou and the children were almost as identically placed as they were before. Just laying there… Well, the turtles were mere infants, after all.

Unceremoniously, he propped up the mattress against a wall. He had planned to surprise them now that he had returned again, but the noise had been enough to cause some heads to turn.

"Ah, it was still there?" Lou questioned, not unhappy to see what Draxum brought back.

The yokai nodded. "And it's in decent condition… if not on the small side."

"It's only small to you because you're huge," the rat quipped, snickering to himself.

As 'huge' as Draxum was, he really could not see something like this lasting long-term… they'd likely have to find replacements and upgrades as time went on just to fit them all. If only he still had safe access to the Hidden City…

"Is it dry?"

The yokai raised a brow. "Relatively."

"Good." Lou picked up all the turtles once again, struggling to stand afterwards but ultimately finding his balance. "It's the last thing I found after it stopped raining, so good to know it stayed that way."

Draxum could see the logic in that. In a comfortable life, maybe a night full of rain would be peaceful – maybe less after tonight, though.

The blue-clad turtle attempted to wriggle out of Lou's grasp, likely feeling constricted amongst them all. Draxum reached for him before he could fall, despite the little turtle protesting him as well. "You know you don't have to carry them all the time."

The rat man chuckled, snuggling the other three tighter. "I know, but I feel safer with them like this."

It might not look like the most comfortable arrangement, but the other children looked not to complain. It was just the blue one, then.

"We should bathe them now, perhaps," Draxum wondered aloud, remembering what he had wanted to ask of Lou before the request of retrieving that mattress.

"Right," the rat man agreed, starting to walk towards where the pipes were.

As Draxum followed, he could swear to have heard Lou mumble something about how the turtles 'will try to run away from the water', which made no sense to him. "...They're semi-aquatic turtles."

"But they're also human, and human babies hate taking baths."

"They're not human, though," Draxum argued, angrily sighing. "They'll be fine. I heavily doubt they'll fight back or run away."

"I guess you're right," Lou settled. "I'm just worried, you know? Parenting's already hard, but these kids aren't even human, so I know nothing. What if they get hurt or sick because I do the wrong thing?"

The yokai huffed, resting a free hand on Lou's shoulder. "They won't," he assured. "You have my genius help, after all."

Such an action made them halt their little walk. He noticed the mutant's eyes wander to where his hand rested, back to the barely settled baby turtle in his arms, and then to his face. "Look at you, not being a deadbeat."

Ah, there it was. Draxum rolled his eyes, letting the other man go and continuing his walk. "I'm doing this for them, not you," he argued, but such an argument was fruitless.

Hearing Lou laugh from behind him was no surprise. If the Council hadn't been on his hide, he would still be the powerful Baron Draxum. If it weren't for the fire – which he was still convinced Lou set – then he would still be in his perfect lab, creating the perfect super soldiers to bring justice to the Yokai and end humanity.

Now he was a dad.

Truly, he did all this because Lou trapped him into the deadbeat ideal in the first place. That, and he had nowhere else to go… and, deep down, he knew these were his children no matter what.

The least he could do is bathe and feed and babysit them.

And no, not even he could be above such a thing. It was the bare minimum.

-

It was a good thing that a turtle's natural habitat consisted of cold bodies of water. Otherwise, he was in for a heap of complaining.

Lou first jumped back in surprise when he felt the frigid temperatures of their water supply. A man of such former high status was likely used to hot showers, but to provide such would mean tapping into other pipes and Draxum couldn't be bothered to do that right now.

"Look, they're fine," the yokai argued, as he made work of cleaning the dirt off the red-eared slider. Wriggly as the kid was, he wasn't opposed to the water itself – only being held.

They could only get so clean without any soap, but for now, a general wash was necessary. For the adults just as much, but they could wait.

Lou made himself in charge of cleaning the others, the others that stuck by his side either way. Draxum watched him giggle as the snapper splashed water in his direction, which warranted the box turtle splashing back.

In an attempt to get away from the noise and excitable play, the soft shell toddled towards the less-occupied adult. Draxum helped him the rest of the way, allowing the infant to flop on the floor, relaxed and enjoying the cool water.

Again the slider wriggled from his grasp, though this time, reaching his arms out to the other turtle; he wanted to join him.

Draxum wouldn't protest that. If they weren't to try eating each other, then they could sit together.

He put the little one down beside his same-aged brother, who was already mostly clean. So, now, he hadn't much else of a use other than supervision.

Still Lou indulged in the other two's game of splashing water and not getting much clean. From how involved he was, some of his sweater was damn, along with his hair, though both would dry quite easily.

Unlike Draxum's hair, which would frizz and curl every time it got wet. Which made it beyond quick recovery by now.

He supposed it was just something he had to live with, like how they lived off of a box of pizza for dinner past midnight, stolen clothes to keep them warm, or a mattress of unknown origins to go without sleeping on the ground.

All things considered, it wasn't the worst possible outcome…

If Draxum had known he was going to start from scratch, not only for himself but for five other individuals, he would have made more of an effort to take essentials with him.

But, as it stands, the only thing they could do is their best.

As much as Draxum could have brooded over his misfortunes forever, he was startled back to reality when the rat man shouted something.

Luckily the turtles under his watch were still fine, still relaxing together – but Lou was doubled over on the floor now, laughing hysterically while the other two turtles stood on his chest.

"Anything wrong over there?" Draxum wondered, leaning into how he sat.

"Oh, nothing," Lou confirmed, sitting up to face the other man. "Orange just reminded me that having fur makes me more ticklish now."

The yokai huffed, trying to imagine that scene of events.

"Your two look more behaved," the rat observed, setting his two on the ground in front of him.

"I suppose they have less energy." Draxum shrugged, finding logic in that idea. "They likely don't need to bathe anymore."

"Likely not." The rat man started to rise, stretching in place. "We should head back now, right?"

Draxum nodded. "That would be wise."

He picked up the two who were relaxing in front of him, meeting their protests – not to his surprise. But, as they settled into his arms, they ceased their complaining. They looked tired…

With his own two in tow, Lou soon joined him, grinning warmly at the sight. "We should put them to bed. Human babies get tuckered out after baths… that much looks to be the same here."

That much he could observe, finding the snapper and box turtle also quite exhausted despite their energy.

Draxum nodded, soon finding his own legs to stand on. "Take them to bed, we shall."

-

If the turtles would be taken to bed, that would first mean setting up said bed.

Once they made it back to the main base, Draxum handed off the soft shell and red-eared slider to Lou. From there, he made work of setting the mattress comfortably on the floor and against one of the walls.

In terms of bedding – sheets, pillows, and the like – their options were slim. They could fashion their own pillows should the need be, but not much could be said for the lack of covers.

Still, the yokai made what he had work. There was a top cover at least, oversized – but such was better than undersized. They had a thin blanket that was long enough and a few other small blankets. Regardless of their sleeping arrangements, they were definitely prioritizing the children with what they had.

"There," he announced, once their sorry excuse for a bed was put together. "It's about as good as we're going to get. Hope you're okay with skipping out on pillows."

He noticed the children were donned in their scrappy sweaters by the time he was done. They definitely deserved better, but for now, they looked comfortable.

Lou huffed, having watched most of the setup while he held the tired turtles. "What if I told you I had another bag of clothes and stuff stashed in the alleyway?"

…He wasn't being serious, was he?

"I swear by the Titan-"

"No, no, I don't," the rat man admitted, weakly chuckling to himself. "I could go rob another laundromat real quick, but…"

Draxum yawned despite himself. "...It's not worth it."

Truly, if Lou thought it would be best, Draxum would let him go retrieve more supplies… but he knew how appealing it would be to settle down now – now likely being anywhere between 4 and 7 AM – even if where they settled was bare for comfort.

After a while, the rat shrugged. "What's one night without a few pillows?"

Lou made himself responsible for settling the four turtles in bed comfortably, leaving space for himself and Draxum on either end. The yokai doubted there truly would be space for him, but not for a lack of trying.

Until then he settled their sorry excuses for belongings around the bed, keeping everything close and in view just in case .

And then, finally, he got himself in bed.

He hadn't bothered to change into anything else, still left with little clothes in his size, meaning he had to navigate around the bulky robe and mask he wore.

Seeing this must have amused Lou if he were chuckling so softly now. "You're not seriously going to wear that all night, are you?"

Draxum grumbled. "You can't keep me from all of my armour, try as you might."

"Yeah…" The rat adjusted himself as the orange-clad turtle snuggled into his chest, electing another smile from the man. "It just looked dumb, and I doubt it's comfortable."

"None of this is comfortable." The fact that Draxum had to curl into himself to be covered by the thin blanket proved enough.

Such made the rat man sigh. "You can turn away if you don't want me to see your face, but I really don't think you should keep the mask on."

The yokai rolled his eyes. How much more would he have to give away in the pursuit of comfort in such an unforgiving underground hiding place? How much of his old identity, one of such power, would he get rid of because the rat told him to?

He could suppose ditching the mask for one night wouldn't be the end of the world… it was made to protect, and he had nothing to protect himself from here.

A hand gripped at one of the horns, lightly tugging at the mask until it came off. "Fine, Rat, you win."

He shifted over to leave it by the side of the bed, then shifted back to how he was before.

To his surprise, the rat man simply smirked. "Honestly I thought you would be uglier."

If it wasn't a sound he made just now, Draxum would deny such a thing ever making him laugh. So instead, he shrugged. "Likewise, Rat Man."

Whichever of the kids hadn't fallen asleep immediately quickly managed to do so, offering a cacophony of soft snoring.

The noise didn't bother the yokai. No, that isn't why he failed to follow them into a dreamless bliss. Something regarding them still kept him up (amongst so many other thoughts), something that could only be the fault of their main father.

"Lou?" he questioned in a whisper, poking the half-awake rat mutant.

He stirred, looking unhappy with being awoken. "Yes?"

"The kids need names."

"...They have names already. Red, Blue, Purple and Orange."

"Real names, Lou," Draxum deadpanned. "I may have some suggestions…"

"Knock yourself out."

The yokai shifted once again, reaching behind him into a box – the box the turtles first came in. And with it, he brought the magazine he first read hours ago. "I doubt you'd want Yokai names for them, nor would I want human names… but the names of some human Renaissance artists are quite interesting."

Lou perked up at this. "Ooh, I love art from the Renaissance."

Draxum chuckled lightly. Good, his suggestions would be regarded. "Here, take a look," he offered, opening the magazine in a way Lou could read from it. "Tons of spectacular names for equality spectacular children."

"Quite eloquent, this art," the rat agreed, sounding more formal than Draxum knew him to be. He hummed, studying the pages. "How about… Michelangelo for Orange."

Draxum nodded, flipping the pages until it landed on a name he liked. "Donatello for the soft shell?"

"Ooh, such a nice name."

He would have let Lou pick another, though one stood out to him. "Raphael for the snapping turtle."

"Yes," the rat agreed, grabbing ahold of the magazine and flipping back to the first few pages. "And for Baby Blue, what could be better than Leonardo?"

Draxum hesitated for a moment. He didn't know if the slider was male. Back in the lab, his tests concluded that all the turtles' brains aligned differently than the sex they were assigned at birth – likely due to them being such complex beings in the first plac. Without any papers or further evidence, this would be their best guess, though. Still, he believed, maybe there was something the former human knew more about these baby animals than he did.

Eventually, he nodded. "Leonardo is perfect."

"Very well," the rat mutant concluded, handing the magazine back to Draxum to be promptly put back behind him. "Four proper names for four proper little boys."

Draxum sighed, settling into place just as the rat did. It did feel better to have named them now.

He was not yet asleep when the rat's hesitant voice stirred him back to consciousness.

"If we're doing this whole 'new names' thing…" he began, looking more assured of himself now than ever before. "There's another name I want to go by. Not Lou… Splinter." The rat mutant chuckled. "It fits me more now."

"I can see it," Draxum agreed, more than happy to regard the mutant's new name. "Alright, Splinter."

The rat – Splinter – smiled. "What about you? Got another name?"

"Just Draxum is fine," he confirmed.

"And the kids should call you…?"

The yokai's eyes widened for a split second. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

They had time to dwell on such little things when they all got some proper rest. For now, his gaze settled on Splinter one last time. How amusing to find a many year's long fantasy of his in this way… even with its conflictions, this was still something he, undeniably, wanted.

Draxum pushed the thoughts away. He could pine some other time – or wake up and realize he's still upset at the rat. Either worked.

"Good night," he settled, finally.

Splinter grinned, tugging on the blanket just that little bit more. "Good night."

Chapter 6: Who You'll Grow To Be

Chapter Text

The time it took to read through all the documents would allow the Baroness to realize many things.

For one, despite all the turtles being quite varied in their own unique traits, they were all undeniably picked and raised for individual purposes in battle. Some were made to work together, including her new ward and the second youngest experiment – the only other sea turtle.

Secondly, there was no guarantee these experiments were biologically tied to her. There are notes of whether or not Draxum should include his own DNA in the ooze, but no confirmation that he has.

Lastly, she only knew the surface half of what she signed up for.

Baroness was impulsive – to deny that was to deny where she's gotten herself to this day. Sometimes a yokai of nobility needs a little excitement in their life, after all. Not that excitement always included changing her entire life course.

Either way, these were all just interesting developments. Nothing to back up on now, especially given the potential.

Even with only one turtle in her grasp, she already held a fraction more than the power bestowed upon her. Give her some time to set up her security rights and her power would only grow .

Before any of this, though, would be the time to rest and reflect. Granted a clock or not, the Baroness couldn’t be bothered to know the time – so late she could care less.

As for rest, it was laughable to believe any would come to her. She had a child in her care. One that could not be older than two years of age. Goodbye, sleeping until mid-morning .

Still, an attempt should be made. For the time being, she stacked the documents back together, returned them to their safe-kept box, and stuffed the box back under the floorboards. Yes, it would be wiser to secure them in a tighter-kept space, but for the time being, it did its job.

The ooze could be stuffed in a closet until further notice.

Hiding them under whatever other debris, she determined that, unless Huginn and Muninn saw her with the ooze, no one would know it was here.

With that all settled, she left the room, careful to have the door well shut behind her. What was once the Baron’s room would function as storage until anything important could be moved. After that, it would be left untouched and abandoned once again…

The hall was more quiet this time around. Due to the hushed words or lack of a pounding heartbeat in her ears, it all felt a touch quieter than before. Which was nothing to complain about.

Down the hall she found the rest of this house's welcome inhabitants – just past the crack of light offered from an open door. Nothing bright enough to disturb a resting infant, but more than enough to signal such a room's use.

Again, she poked her head through the doorway. Unlike last time, Huginn and Muninn were now whispering amongst themselves, perched on the edge of the bed. Entertaining themselves while still supervising? She figured that was responsible enough.

Besides, it was best not to wake the child with whatever they were talking about.

She stepped in quietly, though not enough to miss the goyles. "Oh, Baroness, you're back!"

"I wasn't far," she reasoned, making her way toward the crib. How long could she have been away for? Fifteen minutes? Time was easy to lose track of, but even with all the documents she read and careful precautions, not much time could have passed.

"You were gone for a while though," Huginn informed, looking behind him. "Oof, it's getting late."

"Man, it is," Munnin followed, eyes only falling behind him for a second.

At first, she had no clue what they were looking at. Not until she looked for herself and – finally, a clock. 1 AM… Not the latest, but explained her exhaustion. That and the time zone differences.

The Baroness rolled her shoulders, allowing herself to yawn. "Seems we've all had a long day, huh?"

" Very ," they agreed, almost in unison.

That got a chuckle out. These two certainly had more of an eventful day than she had. If all this happened in a few hours, she could only imagine how little everyone else could have suspected this.

For Baroness, she hadn't a singular clue until her family received the call. Until today, she was decidedly lazy, wasting most of her days away under the family name and an accomplishment that they brought centuries ago. Despite their leadership in hiding the remaining Yokai, the family has done nothing to further the well-being of Yokai life.

Well, knowing what Draxum sought after in the first place, the Baroness knew she would be the one to take up on the Council's offer.

Now there was hope to continue the plans of bringing justice to their civilization… in the morning, that is. World peace can’t be brought in a night.

She let her shoulders slump, feeling restricted now in all this armour. "You two stay another five minutes, then you'll be free," she promised. "There's no way I'm sleeping with all this on."

The goyles saluted once again. When their hands fell, Muninn flew up to her. "I think the big room right over there has some extra clothes."

Extra clothes… good. The Baroness nodded, heading over to the room in question. "Thanks, Muninn.'"

Perhaps it had been foolish to leave with nothing but what she wore, but retrieving any old belongings would not be an issue. Portalling herself back home right now wouldn't be a problem either, if the back of her mind wasn't reasoning against it.

To prove herself, she reasoned. She absolutely had everything under control.

The room that Muninn deemed 'the big room' was, well… that. A big room. Likely as big as Draxum's, mirroring it as the room at the other end of the hall.

And with the room the baby was placed in being right beside it… well, she knew exactly who was taking this one.

Other than the fact that this room allegedly had clothes for her somewhere, it felt oddly lived in – or at least that was the plan. The smell of cleaning products was obvious, likely fresh from a few days prior, with a few walls decorated in golden, orange and blue banners.

Checking the closet, she easily found a few fluffy robes, along with many articles of clothing dark in theme, just as much as there were vibrant colours, more of the same blue and orange.

Then it hit her.

…How much had Draxum planned to accommodate the repurposed Battle Nexus Champion, just for extracting some of his DNA?

The idea made her laugh. Any thoughts about her brother and the human's history together were mere jokes, but the goyles' portrayal of 'fanboying' looked more accurate the more she found out about them.

Deciding she'd have time to think back on this, she took one of the fluffy robes and some of the larger-sized clothes. If they were close like they used to be, she'd steal some of Draxum's – but alas, they seemed to miss the window of time to meet again. So she'd use some of these instead.

Not like they were needed.

-

As promised, the Baroness soon returned to the smaller room, even if she was more than ready to collect upon the rewards offered by purchasing so much in so little time. It wasn’t the same, she had to remind herself – she was in charge now.

No more sleeping in, no more relaxing from dawn to dusk. No; with the number of responsibilities earned in these few hours, the Baroness would not have a single day of rest for the foreseeable future.

She couldn’t help the pride, though, of returning to two henchmen who followed her word with a smile; two that wanted her as their boss. And her ward… she had one of those now. Another responsibility, a future assistant, but a child all the same.

The gargoyles looked up when she returned, confusion on their faces. “Uh, isn’t that a platinum-quality Nexus Champion robe?”

“What? No,” she quickly retorted, covering the logo plastered on the robe’s sleeve. “Whatever, it was the best one.”

Their voices met her in doubt, making the Baroness roll her eyes. If she wasn’t so stubborn and tired, she’d portal home and grab another just to prove a point.

It was just a robe in the end, nothing to fret over. She wouldn’t put too much thought into the implications of such a robe being in Baron’s possession; if it was stolen, if it was from a… visit… Either way, it couldn’t have come from Big Mama, surely. The woman wouldn’t want anything from her precious Nexus in her Champion’s captor’s sibling’s possession.

That, actually… the thought made Baroness smirk. She could keep it around for blackmail.

She sat on the bed, easily leaning into the pillows. For a dusty old house, it had its comforts. “You two are free to go,” she granted, finally.

“Oh thank goodness.”

“Goodnight, Baroness!”

Before they could fly away, she raised a hand. “But first…”

They stopped, perching on the foot of the bed again.

“I heard you two talking. Did you happen to name the child?”

“Uhhh…”

They looked to hesitate as if they had done something wrong. “Did you wanna name them?”

She shrugged. “Go ahead. I have no ideas for her.”

At that, the two beamed in excitement, quickly listing off all the names they must have come up with. Nearly none of them resembled Yokai names – should she be asking a yokai for baby advice? But in a way that fits. The child wasn’t a yokai, even if she would grow up as one.

After a while, she heard a name that stood out to her. The name of someone from her past.

“Jennika.”

The goyles paused, looking at each other before looking back at her.

“What about Jennika?”

“It’s a good name,” she clarified. “I like that name. Jennika it is.”

Huginn celebrated while Muninn pouted. “Man, you always come up with the good ones.”

“I know.”

The Baroness chuckled at their antics. “Congratulations. Now off to bed, we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Eventually, they flew off, closing the door behind them. Which left her here, on the bed, while the baby slept.

The baby, who was now in her care.

The baby, who was the product of an experiment conducted by her brother, likely to grow stronger than the average yokai.

The baby, who may or may not be her niece, all things considered. Under such care, she could be considered her offspring…

No, 'ward' would be easier. This baby mutant turtle was her ward; someone under her care for the time being and someone who would grow under her teachings, eventually becoming her second hand.

The Baroness was a mother now, wasn't she?

Such a thought was laughable. If she acquired the child as a means of furthering experimentation, considering this her child would make her the worst parent of the millenia.

Thinking of the young mutant as Baron Draxum's neglected experiment made it all easier. For better or for worse, the Baroness would keep that distance. If impulses led her to what she had now, it would take logic to organize it.

By the Titan would she need a lot of logic.

_ _ _

A fool that mysterious woman was to believe she had the upper hand.

Big Mama was wise. One would have to be when dealing with these… types. She would not have given one of the turtles away unless she had a plan. And a plan she certainly had brewing.

This Baroness was rather rude, somehow beating Draxum in that manner. It could be hereditary, should they be related like she assumed – not that it was an excuse.

No, Big Mama would make that woman pay for such an attitude towards her, mark her words.

If there truly were no hope in restoring Lou's glory, the hotelier would have found other means of bringing her Nexus back to life. Instead, the opportunity presented itself in the form of a sibling of the stubborn sheep and two surviving miracles of said stubborn sheep's experiment.

Two surviving miracles with her beloved Lou Jitsu's DNA.

As exhausting as it would be to deal with this 'Baroness', the woman had something in her bloodline that Big Mama did not: the skill to create imitation yokai with a Champion's ability.

The Baroness could keep one of the turtles if she wanted. What was important was that Big Mama still had her own… her little miracle, her little star, her little Venus.

Only the best was expected of this child, the only connection to Lou she had left. And oh, how she would cherish it.

-

Big Mama was never a woman of many gushy emotions. The idea of having a daughter did not quite fit right. She had loved Lou, and this was Lou's child, but all the same, this little green sea turtle was the result of that blasted alchemist's selfishness.

Swiftly after she was kicked out of the Baroness' estate, she made no short work of preparing all the best for her little star. It would be wisest to forget about Lou until she had the sources to find him again. Until then, she had quite a lot of work to do. Raising a new Nexus Champion would be no easy feat.

"Take the girl to the empty room on the second highest floor," she commanded to the bellhops trailing either side of her.

"But ma'am isn't that the-"

"Take her there."

She did not turn, only standing straighter. She was not asking again.

"Understood," the bellhop corrected, voice apologetic. Good.

They all made their way to the elevator, travelling up and away from any curious eyes the rest of the hotel offered. Other than the one carrying the baby turtle, her bellhops soon followed her out and into her office.

It was an unreasonable hour to still be awake. This much she knew; her flawless complexion would suffer for a few days as a result. It would all be worth it in the end, she assured.

Now, all she was really here for was to gather as much information on this new Baroness as possible.

Finding her place in her chair, she opened a drawer to reveal some half-burnt papers retrieved from the lab. Most of it was mindless mumbo-jumbo about strengthening weapons and walls, but she had managed to find bits and parts of information about the turtles.

The remaining ones, as it stood. Turns out there were six.

Six specimens… all mutated with the DNA of the strongest human to grace the Hidden City, and next to none still alive. What a waste.

Big Mama would not entertain the idea that Draxum was in love with Lou and they ran away together. That was ridiculous. However, she supposed, this is the only way Lou could still be alive with all the damage caused by that fire.

Hope would be held that he was still alive. But if nothing else, she had the next best thing and knew how to make that thing stronger .

"Find out anything you can about this 'Baroness'," Big Mama instructed. "She is not to be trusted." The documents stayed on the table as she pushed her chair away, walking off and out of the room alone. For now, she would sleep, pretending her entire world wasn't stolen and regifted to her in less than a day.

_ _ _

There's only so much 'rising and shining' one could do with little to no sleep.

The Baroness only fell asleep in the first place because she could barely keep her eyes open. Right on that random bed, a few feet away from the crib, she fell into a dreamless deep rest. But of course, such could only last so long without interruption when a baby was in the equation.

Once little Jennika was awake, there was no hope of getting more rest. At first, the Baroness tried to pick up the child and put her back to sleep in her arms. Cradling her like a newborn didn't work, nor did putting her in bed.

All it did was make the kid more restless. This was not a newborn, so she did not cry like one. But she couldn't talk due to being mutated with human intelligence only the day before.

This meant that communication resided in a lot of half-yells and pulling and throwing herself around.

While instinct told Baroness to carry the child, it was clear she wanted out whenever being carried. Alright then. Since the child couldn't walk properly, she thought to place her on the bed's surface, allowing her to crawl about.

That, still, didn't seem to make a difference. The kids continued to resort to throwing herself around, making Baroness scramble to catch her before falling could be an option.

Alright, the kid was restless; wanted activity. Got it. Understood.

She did not want to leave the room, but as soon as the kid started chewing on furniture, she knew what she had to do: go all the way down to the kitchen and hoped they had food palatable for a mutant toddler.

She put up with the kicking and complaints as she picked up little Jennika again, making her way past the creaking old doors and down the simple stairs.

From what she could remember of the goyles' brief tour, the kitchen wasn't far from the common room. So, from that, she was able to gather whatever ounce of consciousness from the awoken world to carry herself and the baby to said kitchen.

The room itself was about as spooky as the rest of the estate, go figure. But at least it looked like it had food, so that was good.

She knows Draxum has a certain way of organizing things, so it doesn't surprise her to find a compartment of just different types of bread on the countertop. She took one loaf, judging that it was fresh enough.

Selfishly she snuck the first nibble. It was five in the morning and she had eaten the previous day, but the exhaustion made her hungry enough.

Unfortunately, one of her decisions reminded her that this food was for that priority; not herself. The kid babbled something, reaching forward towards the bread selfishly held away from her.

Baroness would have to give it up for now… so, simply, she did. She broke a larger piece off from the loaf, handing it off to the child – who did not hesitate to eat away.

It was quite adorable, watching the young one nibble away at the snack. But once that portion was done, she didn't look particularly interested in more.

That's alright, she supposed; they could have a better breakfast when morning came back to them, should this rascal get any more rest.

Until now, the Baroness was still too exhausted to deal with a toddler's every request. Perhaps she could bug those supposed 'loyal goyles of fortune' she had…

Baroness trailed back down the halls, finding herself in the common room. The common room where she first met little Jennika (and that bothersome Big Mama).

The two gargoyles were fast asleep, looking so blissful and without a care in the world.

That would change soon.

"Wake up, sleepy heads."

Her voice was loud, despite not having the energy to carry it out. As if sensing this, though, Jennika shouted, which alerted the sleeping goyles enough for them to stir.

Muninn opened his eyes first, looking between his boss and the ward. "What time is it?"

"Time for you and Huginn to wake up and prove your loyalty," she answered, unintentionally avoiding the question. The Baroness held the squirming infant out in both hands, almost as if in an offering. "Ready to exercise your rights as Jennika's uncles?"

Munnin beamed as Huggin stirred awake slower. "Huginn, it's babysitting tiiime," he alerted, voice almost sing-songy.

The pointer goyle pouted. "Aw man, I was having the best dream."

"No time for dreams," the Baroness explained, placing little Jennika on the ground. "...Except for me. I'm going back to bed."

She didn't wait for any protests; if they were as useful as they said they were, they could babysit for a few more hours. "Wake me if something breaks or if someone important wants to talk to me. Otherwise, have fun."

Just a wink more of sleep… then she could face the consequences of her impulsive actions. For now, she just couldn't wait to sleep another hour or two, just a little longer.

Some Head of Security/secret scientist she was.

Whatever. She was here to replace Draxum. If he could be so important while having so many enemies, she was allowed to mooch off of the hope others had for her and take a little advantage.

She’d be better in the morning. A better parent, a better nobility member; anything else tied to her name.

Such should be suspected from the caprid yokai siblings. Being nuisances and genius warriors all in one was in their blood. For now, she could be that nuisance. What was anyone supposed to do about it, give her more responsibilities?

_ _ _

What a diddly day it has been.

The benefits of being so renowned and important were that it did not take much effort to recover from a rough day.

With a long line of loyal bellhops, everything would be taken care of with a simple word. The only thing, out of everything , she could possibly worry about now is the loss of her Champion.

No one could replace him. Not fully. Some may come close, but there would never be another Lou Jitsu.

Instead, Big Mama had to be crafty. Worrying was for the weak, and she was one of the most powerful yokai in the Hidden City. Only someone so powerful could wield a future super-weapon in the form of an infant turtle.

Speaking of…

The hotelier, donning her human disguise, found herself back in the office, the little mutant-yokai in a stroller beside her. She hummed, looking over at her.

Big Mama was a busy woman. She did not have time to raise a child. While she wished to have this child under her name and eventually as her Champion, she wouldn’t have the patience to raise Venus as a baby until adulthood.

Who even knew, since she was a mutant, how fast these turtles would age?

Only under these conditions could she be so unenthusiastic about having a child – Lou’s biological child, no less – under her care. Should the Baron still be around, perhaps she could strike a deal with him involving those turtles. But that was that blasted alchemist’s plan all along, wasn’t it; to keep the experiments away from her?

Baron Draxum truly did ruin everything.

Either way, Big Mama had another plan. "Fetch me Rita and Bridget," she commanded, meeting the eyes of the currently unoccupied bellhops.

They nodded, walking off soon after.

She hummed. Surely, any of the bellhops could 'raise' Venus for her, but she had two in mind for a particular reason…

By the time all the bellhops returned, the hotelier leaned forward, focusing on the short bat and raccoon yokai a few feet away from her desk.

"You two," she addressed, "I have a job for you."

With a motion of her hands, the bellhop handling the baby turtle's stroller pushed it around the large desk, placing it in front of the two short bellhops.

"This darling over here is Venus, my new pride and joy."

The stroller cover was lifted, allowing the two to get a good look at the young turtle. "She is of utmost importance to me, so I expect only the most fantabulous of efforts, trusting you two in her care."

Rita, the bat yokai, raised an eyebrow. "Ma'am, you want us to raise your daughter?"

"She's not my daughter ," Big Mama clarified, glaring at the small bellhop, "but important all the same. The trust I am putting into you two dears is an opportunity you simply mustn't turn down!"

And by 'mustn't', she meant, 'can't'. The hotelier was quite observant and knew the two worked quite well together; they could provide Venus the idea of two 'parents'. Regardless of their dynamic, though, they did not have a choice.

Luckily, neither had any remaining questions. As it should be.

"Ma'am yes ma'am! We will do our very best ma'am!" The two saluted, almost in unison.

Big Mama observed as they whispered amongst themselves, organizing who would take what responsibilities. With a little trial and error, they eventually figured it out, taking over and pushing the stroller out of the room together.

Somewhere deep inside, it tugged at her heart, the idea of handing the child away . That little turtle was her everything, the only connection to her Champion… but Big Mama was a smart woman. She knew that grief would do no good in raising a future fighter, especially one with the promise of talent unique to a human. Because of such, letting her go was a must.

They would make fine role models for Venus. She hoped.

-

Now that the whole dilemma was dealt with, the renowned hotelier had one final question nagging at her mind:

Who was this Baroness, and what was her diddly-darn deal?

Big Mama relaxed in her chair after signalling to her most loyal bellhops to shut the doors and curtains extra tight. She had them research the previous night, and now it was time for her to find out.

"Enlighten me on this… Baroness character," she mused, too curious to form a pre-judgment scowl.

With a tablet in hand, brightening up their faces, the bellhops look back at her unenthusiastically. "Not much to say, Mum; ' Baroness Draxum leaves home estate following the disappearance of Baron Draxum in the Hidden City '."

"She's one of those spoiled nobility youth," another one adds.

Strange… she could assume there was more to it. Though, considering the press' interest in important figures and nobility, there would be more negative articles floating around should there be a story. If there was nothing, there truly was nothing.

Still, the woman hummed. "We shall keep tabs on her and the other sea turtle," she announced. "If Baron Draxum dared to betray me, there's no telling what this woman will get up to."

If nothing else, the caprid yokai had a nerve that would get on her ends. Working with her would be a nuisance and a half, which is why she never considered Baron Draxum's offers – either way, Big Mama had to be wise about this.

She would use the Baroness to get her Champion back. If Lou was still alive out there, and Draxum was with him by any chance… good riddance.

Chapter 7: The Little Leader

Chapter Text

Raphael was four years old when he realized Splinter was the coolest dad ever.

This totally isn't because he got him the teddy bear he's always wanted for his birthday. Nooo, totally not.

...

Okay, fine, that was part of the reason.

But really, Rat Dad is the coolest parent ever. Never a day goes by when he can't go to him if he wants to be picked up or ask him to bring home the best desserts... only every once in a while, though. It made him sad whenever it wasn't Rat Dad watching over them.

Sheep Dad was more strict. And weird. But as long as he and his brothers behaved, Rat Dad would give them whatever they wanted! It was pretty sweet.

All this being said, Raph had a plan.

He was four years old now. He was a big kid. Pops always said they could go outside when they were older... So now was the perfect time to ask!

Yeah, Mikey was still a baby, but if Raph carried him around, it wouldn't be an issue. Leo and Donnie were harder to get to behave, but he knew they wanted to go outside as well, so if Raph made the perfect plan, they'd just have to follow it.

He was the oldest, after all, so he was the leader. Pops told him that a few months ago. So they had to listen to him, it was the rules.

"Sibling meeting!"

The turtles were huddled in a pillow fort in the living room, one they barely managed to keep upright. Every time they tried, it fell over, so really, now was their chance.

"Raph, no! We're gonna watch a movie!" Leo spat, almost knocking over the couch pillow walls.

The little snapping turtle scrambled to keep it upright. "Leo! This is important!"

Instead of arguing back again, his brother pouted, crossing his arms. "I wanna watch the movie though."

"We can watch it later." Raph picked up Mikey, who was about to pull too hard on the floor blanket. Why did things keep happening? "I have a really good idea and you have to listen to it because I'm the leader."

"Who made you the leader?"

"Pops."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the biggest and the oldest," Raph stated, crossing his arms with a big smirk.

Again, Leo pouted loudly, and their argument made Donnie look up from the phone. "Shut up."

"No you," Leo argued.

"No, you."

"Leo, stop-"

Raph paused when he heard hoof steps not too far away... well, they couldn't have the sibling meeting like this! Sheep Dad would never agree!

Their taller dad was weird like that. Sometimes he was fun, but other times he was sooo boring. And he hated going outside. Under no circ*mstances were they to ask about going outside when Rat Dad was away. The last time they asked, he almost looked afraid…

Raph sighed, waiting until he thought their father was out of hearing range. "This is serious, guys. I have a really good idea!"

Leo rolled his eyes. “What idea is more important than Jupiter Jim?”

The snapping turtle rubbed his hands together. “What if Raph told you guys… he knows how to convince Dad and Pops to let us go outside with him next time!”

Instead of support for his idea, Raph was quickly met with a ‘boo’ from Leo. “It never works, Raph.”

“Yeah,” Mikey piped up, “last time he said no, and the time… last time before that he said no, and-”

“I get it,” Raph grumbled, attempting to stand up without knocking over their fort again . “But we gotta try! We’re big kids now, we can’t stay down here forever!”

His blue brother raised an eyebrow at that. “We play sports in the tunnels sometimes.”

The little leader sunk. “Yeah but that’s a secret,” he explained. Their dads didn’t exactly know about that, but they were bored always being in the lair, they had to do something entertaining somehow. “B’sides, the surface is gonna be more fun. Trust me guys.”

From their dad’s phone, Raph saw Donnie had started watching the movie. Mikey was watching with him, kicking his feet close to the fort blanket, and Leo looked between him and the movie. The blue brother hummed, “M’kay,” before joining the younger two. “You can ask again… but if Dad gets mad at us, it’s your fault.”

“He won’t get mad,” Raph promised, “as long as we give him the big sad eyes.”

“You mean ‘the big cute eyes’? Because we’re adorable ,” Leo huffed, puffing out his chest.

“Yeah, we’re adorable,” Mikey huffed, copying Leo while lying down on his plastron.

It made the red-branded turtle chuckle. “Then it’s gonna work. Raph knows it.”

They’d have to wait until Rat Dad got home, of course. Using ‘the big cute eyes’ only worked half of the time on Sheep Dad, and never for stuff like this… So until then, he sat with his little brothers, all huddled over the small phone screen.

Which was comfy, until the for fell on them again.

“Oh come on!”

-

Despite Raph’s excitement for his big idea, he and his brothers ended up getting wrapped up in rewatching the old trilogy: Jupiter Jim V.S. the Murky Mystic Galaxies. Or they would have, if Pops' phone hadn’t run out of battery halfway through the third movie.

So, for the time following, they attempted to rebuild the fort. Until it fell again, and they tried again. And they repeated the process until they heard a deeper voice calling them:

“Kids, dinner.”

The turtles perked up. Raph had forgotten if Pops came back home yet or not. He thought he heard something earlier, but it was hard to tell because there was an action scene at the time.

If Sheep Dad was calling them, that could mean he wasn’t back yet. Sometimes they ate dinner without one of their dads if they were out.

But…

“We’re having ramen.”

That meant Rat Dad was back for sure!

Raph scrambled over the pile of pillows and blankets they failed to form back into a fort. Pops always made the best ramen! Dinner was gonna be so good.

He made it to the table before all of his brothers, picking the chair beside where Pops always sat. Neither of their dads were sitting yet, organizing a few more things on the table – but he wanted to secure his seat before anyone else!

Rat Dad looked tired when he sat down, doing so with a lazy smile. He only brought one bowl with him, but Raph didn’t mind. Sometimes he was tired and forgetful, it wasn’t a big deal.

His brothers straggled behind, only getting to the table now. “You guys are sooo slow.”

Leo stuck his tongue out at that. “You’re just too fast!”

“Now now, boys, settle down,” Rat Dad started, looking over at all of them. “Leo, help your brother up.”

“Okay Dad,” Leo answered, looking proud as he helped Mikey get up on his chair. Donnie didn’t need any help, so by the time Mikey was sat, Leo dashed to his own seat, which was between Raph and Donnie.

The chair wobbled a bit and almost tipped over. “Woah.”

Raph grumbled at that. “Leo don’t do that, it’s irresponsible.”

“Exactly,” Rat Dad agreed, patting Raph on the head. “You boys should listen to Red.”

A big grin followed. Both out of happiness from doing the right thing and being able to tell Leo what to do.

As expected, Leo pouted, crossing his arms. But he looked happy once his bowl of ramen was served.

Just as much, Raph beamed as he got his bowl. It already looked so good… he could barely wait to dig into it, already fumbling to grab his chopsticks.

“Slow down, kiddo,” Sheep Dad warned. Though he didn’t look upset, soon sat between Rat Dad and Mikey.

“Yeah, slow down Raph ,” Leo taunted, sticking out his tongue.

Ignoring his brother, Raph put his hands down, still holding the chopsticks but keeping them away from the bowl. “Sorry, Dad.”

“It’s okay,” the sheep comforted, “just be more careful. Too much excitement makes it hard to enjoy your dad’s delicious dinner he worked so hard to make.”

Raph nodded, understanding that Pops must have been out all day shopping for the ingredients for this. Still, he struggled to keep the smile off his face as he slowly dug into the delicious bowl of ramen.

If only Sheep Dad knew how excited he was.

Soon the room consisted of everyone just eating. The kids were too hungry to talk just yet, and besides, too much talking always made the dinner table loud.

So when Rat Dad started with a, “How was your day, boys?”, Raph knew it was his chance.

“We had a really fun day,” he admitted. “We watched a ton of movies, and built a big fort-”

“And we painted the walls.”

“Leo!” Raph whisper-shouted, sending his brother a glare.

“Sorry, Mikey and Don painted the walls. Me and Raph watched.”

“Yeah!” Mikey shouted, giggling, “an’ Donnie was all pink and grey from all the paint.”

Raph sighed.

“It’s ‘I and Raph’, son,” Sheep Dad corrected, “but yes, there was paint everywhere.”

Luckily, Rat Dad didn’t look upset. Instead, he was laughing a little. “Seems like you boys got into a lot of trouble while I was gone.”

He continued eating as if he didn’t just say something like that.

Trouble? Raph couldn’t get into trouble! How were they ever going to go outside if Dad thought they were misbehaving?!

“I tried to stop them Pops, honest!” Raph pleaded, looking at his rat father with worry.

Again, though, he was met with a laugh. “It’s alright boys, really,” he promised. “Just try not to give your father a headache whenever I’m not home.”

The oldest turtle’s head was patted again. And it was here he knew, it was time.

“Say uh, Pops? I bet you could use some help carrying the groceries.”

“Raphael…”

This wasn’t the first time he tried to bring it up, so he wasn’t surprised Sheep Dad was upset now. He tried to ignore it in hopes he’d go back to feeding Mikey and let him convince Rat Dad.

“But really! I can help!” Raph argued. “You said we can go to the surface when we’re big kids, and we’re all older now.”

“Not old enough,” Rat Dad argued back. For a second, he focused on finishing the noodles he currently held up, clearing his throat at the end. “I’m sorry boys, but the surface is too dangerous. And shopping is boring.”

“But Dad-”

“Donnie, don’t leave yet.”

For a second, the big brother turned his head, noticing Leo was pulling Donnie back up and into his seat. Donnie always tried to leave when there was a fight…

He had to be calm. If he wanted this to work, he couldn’t scare anybody. “Can we at least go up to play?”

“Yeah, we wanna go to the park,” Leo budded in. “There’s nothing new to do here and we’re all bored.”

Raph nodded, glad Leo listened to him and was helping. “Pretty please can we go? We promise we’ll be good!” For extra measure, he activated the cute eyes, looking over at his brothers to make sure they did the same.

When Rat Dad’s ears lowered and he smiled, Raph knew they won. There was no way he could say no to them again.

…Until he started to frown again, sighing. "I'm sorry, boys, but you can't. Maybe when you're a little older and more mature… but not now."

Well, that.

That's exactly the opposite of what Raph wanted to hear.

The snapper pouted. While Leo had no problem expressing how upset he was, Raph kept hope that if he kept his emotions at bay, his dads would think he was more mature, and he'd still be able to convince them.

"...What if we're on our best behaviour for a whole week?"

Rat Dad looked like he was going to agree to those terms – all until Sheep Dad shot him a look, making him clear his throat. "...Still no. But!" he raised a hand, "if you boys have another fun, inside-the-lair activity in mind for the weekend, I'll gladly join you."

The hand that was raised extended to Raph, but it was closed into a fist, all except for one finger; it was a pinky swear. "I promise."

The oldest brother hummed, considering the offer. He didn't like being told he wasn't mature enough yet, but if they had a whole weekend with Pops guaranteed, was it really the worst trade?

Deciding it was not, he nodded, extending his own pinky – or turtle-equivalent – and shaking on that deal.

"Ooh, can I pinky swear too?" Leo asked, reaching out from his seat.

This made Pops grin. "Sure."

Before he could do it with Leo, Mikey was babbling something like "I wanna" as well. So their Rat Dad went ahead and did it with the two, offering to Donnie at the end, who just looked confused.

It was kind of funny to watch – but Raph forgot about his food in the process, quickly scrambling to eat the rest of it.

"Slow down Red," he was reminded again; still nothing but a lighthearted warning behind those words.

Once he finished his meal, he stood up and took his bowl into the kitchen to the sink. Which he was a tad too short for. So he walked back to the table, seeing Rat Dad was about to leave as well. "Pops, help me up."

Rat Dad chuckled again, leaving the table with his own bowl in hand. "Okay, okay, give me a minute."

Raph just grinned, happy that Pops would help him. And happy they at least had something to look forward to.

"What's the occasion?" Rat Dad asked him, after helping him put the dishes away to wash.

"What occasion?"

" This ," his dad explained vaguely, gesturing to the kitchen sink. "You and your brothers never help with the dishes."

"Well, if Raph can help, then he will," the snapper explained. Before having asked to go outside, there was a lot of thinking on his end, and he kind of knew that his dads would say no. So he planned some ways beforehand to prove to them they were responsible enough.

One of these ways was helping with the dishes. "Big kids are mature and responsible, right? And when you're mature and responsible, you do chores, and…"

The snapper trailed off, but Pops seemed to get the message.

His rat father sighed, kneeling to lean on his level. He wasn't the tallest person, but still tall enough that this was the only way they met eye-to-eye. "My son, you don't need to prove anything-"

"But I do," the turtle interrupted. "If we're mature enough then maybe we can go outside, right?"

Again, Rat Dad sighed. Only this time he looked sad… it made Raph feel bad, pulling him to hug his dad's arm. He knew Sheep Dad got upset about them asking, but he didn’t know Rat Dad felt the same way…

Luckily, he didn't seem upset. Only sad. He hugged the turtle back for a second, exhaling a big breath afterwards. "I wish you boys could go outside… really, I do. But it's too risky."

Raph frowned. "Why?" he dared to ask.

"For a lot of reasons, Red…" Rat Dad began. "If you ever did go outside, you'd have to stick to the shadows and not talk to anyone. And, honestly, the park isn't all it's cracked up to be. Most kids would kill to have a cool underground hideout to play all day every day."

With his lightened words, he seemed to be in a much better mood already, now finding a half grin. "I'm sure whatever you boys plan for the weekend will be more fun than those human kids could ever dream of ," he said with a chuckle. "I know I'm looking forward to it."

Okay, that … that's something Raph could get behind. He still wanted to go outside more than anything, but what Rat Dad said made a lot of sense. Their lair was pretty cool.

"Oh, it's going to be the funnest weekend ever!" Raph promised, bouncing slightly at the thought.

Before Rat Dad could speak again, they both turned to the sound of someone walking into the space. "I'm not sure 'funnest' is a real word."

"It's totally a word."

"Yeah, right."

"Listen here-"

Sheep Dad made himself busy with putting away the remaining dishes – oops, Raph forgot to go back for them – but Rat Dad looked just as content with getting up and defending his use of the totally real word.

These silly arguments they often had made them leave him and his brothers behind, in most instances. But Raph couldn’t mind too much in this case.

He didn't, because now he was a turtle on a mission: the mission to create a plan for the bestest, funnest weekend Rat Dad could ever ask for.

And he was sure his brothers would get into mischief without anyone else around. So, priorities.

—

Unfortunately, Raph was never much the 'man with a plan'.

That would fit Leo much better; Leo, who was always the one who thought of games for them to play and movies for them to watch.

But this time, it was Raph’s turn to plan something. They held another sibling meeting in their shared room that night, whisper-shouting as not to alert their parents. But that easily turned into a jumble of nonsense whispering and shoving.

Other than for Mikey, who fell asleep almost right away, and Donnie, who was scribbling on paper while the older two argued.

Luckily, by morning time, Raph was able to ignore all of Leo's dumb ideas and come to a conclusion of his own: they were going to have a tea party.

It wasn’t going to be any old tea party, oh no; it was going to be fancy . During some holiday – he couldn't remember which – Rad Dad brought home some books, and one of them was about a princess and the very fancy tea parties she held.

More often than not they were for her stuffed bears. But hey, Raph had a lot of stuffed bears, why couldn't he throw a party like that?

Leo thought the idea was stupid when he brought it up in the morning, still keeping it a secret from their parents. And also Mikey, who might blab it too early. At least Donnie seemed to like the idea – even if he only liked drinking water out of their teacups.

“We’re not drinking real tea,” Raph tried to explain, guiding the cup away from Donnie but not taking it. Though, as his little brother insisted, it made Raph think. Should they drink real tea?

Even if he was a big kid, he didn’t know how to make the water hot for the tea. He’s seen his dads make it before and knew it involved a cool purple-looking kettle thing – up until that kettle was replaced with a boring grey one. Either way, they always said it was too hot to touch.

Besides, Leo didn’t like most tea types – maybe that’s why he was being a brat about it.

“Maybe we can ask Sheep Dad to make some without telling him why…” The snapper hovered his hand over the chalkboard in their room, having scribbled a line between two figures that definitely did not look like his father and the boring kettle. But hey, artistry wasn’t important when planning.

“It still sounds dumb.”

Raph stuck out his tongue. “You sound dumb.”

“Rude.”

The snapper rolled his eyes at his closest-aged brother. He’d say ‘no you’ but more arguing wouldn’t help.

“‘Sides, why would this work when your other plan didn’t?”

“Because it has nothing to do with going outside, Leon ,” the oldest mocked, pointing at the scribbles on the chalkboard. “Our dads like tea, and they’ve never had a tea party with us, and it’s fun. More importantly, Pops likes tea and having fun.”

“And no one will ruin it this time?”

“No, because you and Dad are helping.”

Leo gasped dramatically. “But the surprise , Raph!”

“Yeah, it will be a surprise for Rat Dad,” Raph explained. “We won’t tell other dad everything , but he has to make the tea because we can’t touch the stove.”

“Eww, we’re making real tea?”

“Yes, because it’s more special.”

His bother pouted, crossing his arms. “...Do I still get to be a knight?”

“Yes.”

“Bet.”

Raph grinned, holding his chalk up to the board. “So, you gonna help me or what?”

-

The two spent the better half of the morning planning the most epic tea party. While they were only three and four years old respectively, and had to work extra hard to keep it a secret, they soon had an awesome plan.

It had snacks, it had costumes, but most importantly, it had royalty .

And who is this royalty, you may ask?

The family, obviously. Between the six of them, there was more than enough room for knights, guards, nobility and kings. And you better believe Raph was going to be the prettiest princess in the land.

The plan was awesome, but of course, they had to keep it a secret. If everything went well, they'd have their event ready for Saturday afternoon, but until then, they had a lot of preparation to work on.

Right after lunch, the brothers huddled in the living room, with Donnie and Mikey watching -videos on Pop's phone while Raph and Leo stuck by the book corner, going over all the picture books they had about tea parties and royalty and all that good stuff.

"Leo, look," the snapper called out, pointing at something in his book. "Knights have armour. We don't have that."

"We don't have capes either."

"Yeah, but we'll use Sheep Dad's clothes."

Leo giggled at that, flipping to another picture in his book. "Hmm… maybe we can make it ourselves?"

"Like arts and crafts?"

"Yeah." Leo held up what he was holding, pointing at the picture. "We can use the cardboard from those big boxes in the storage room and paint them!"

Huh, that actually wasn't the worst idea. "Smart thinking Lee," the older brother praised, before going to the shelf and picking another book.

The good thing about tea parties was that the drink itself was more important than anything else. There was certain etti… etiquette? (That's how you said it, right?) But yeah, other than proper manners and talking about the weather and important stuff, all you had to do at a tea party was wear fancy clothes and drink tea.

So Raph wasn't too worried about food. Instead, he quickly looked through another princess book, flipping pages until he found the drawing he was looking for.

The princess drank elegantly with a pinky stuck out, while a guest table of stuffed bears sat around quietly. The table itself had a teapot, cups for each guest, and small plates with what looked like cookies.

He didn't know if it was cookies, but they would use those anyway because cookies were good.

"We can ask Pops to buy cookies next time he's out," Raph announced, remembering that their dad would do one more supply run for the week on Friday, so it was perfect.

His brother nodded, humming along. "That's it then?"

"Yeah, I think so."

The brothers put their books away, careful to put everything back so nothing would look too out of place.

"Ready to put together the most epic and awesome tea party ever?"

"Heck yeah!"

"Language."

"No it isn't-"

"Yeah it is."

The two looked behind them, finding that last statement out of the mouth of one of their siblings.

Mikey .

He probably heard everything… oh well, as long as he didn't tell anyone else.

For now, Raph simply smirked. "Even Mikey knows that's a bad word, Leo ."

And he was right, of course. If their parents weren't there to correct them, someone had to stop Leo from saying stuff like that.

It happened a lot, especially when he was excited for something. Not that Raph could blame him.

Instead he and his brother ended up sticking their tongues out, unable to be mature if the other was being so annoying . You know, like always.

—

Plans were fun and all, but man, was it hard to put plans into motion and keep it all a secret from their parents.

Mikey and Donnie found out pretty easily – but it didn't matter too much. All it meant was more of them finding all the perfect things for the eventual perfect tea party.

Throughout Friday they tip-toed past Sheep Dad, gathering fake capes and cardboard and paint and stuffed animals. Mikey was pretty content with painting everything he could get his hands on, Donnie with organizing things in a large plastic box they kept under their bed, and Leo with bossing everyone around (even though this was his idea, as a matter of fact).

But because this felt and sounded like a game, their parents suspected nothing less.

Then came Saturday.

The big day.

The day Pops was gonna spend a whole afternoon with them.

Bright and early in the morning, Raph had asked Sheep Dad – the only other person awake at this hour – to make the tea. This is something he asked for sometimes, so it wasn’t too suspicious… until he tried taking the entire kettle with him.

Yeah, he tried to take it when his dad left the room for a moment. This meant he used a chair to climb up and was currently holding the very full kettle with both hands.

Not that it was heavy. Raph could handle it just fine.

Dad looked suspiciously at him. When he raised an eyebrow, Raph almost thought he blew his cover.

Instead, his dad almost looked guilty. "I forgot to serve your cup, didn't I?"

The snapper nodded. "Yeah, but it's okay," he comforted. "I was gonna put all of it in a teapot so I could get refills and give some to the others."

"That is wise," his dad agreed, though he offered a hand forward; to take the kettle from him.

If it wasn’t a bad thing… okay, he could give it back. Dad was helping him, after all.

Once he handed it off, Raph stepped off the chair, walking off to where he put the teapot and bringing it over.

His dad took it, nodding with a small smile, before he did what Raph had wanted to do (but more so wanted to have been done for him).

"I must say, I'm impressed you children enjoy tea so much," Sheep Dad commented, back still turned as he transferred said tea over from one pot to the next. "Spirits forbid any of you ever find coffee – it's surprisingly addictive."

"But it tastes like dirt."

This got a laugh out of his dad. No, a cackle . "Honestly, not untrue."

After not long, the teapot was ready, and it was given to the little snapper. "Careful," his dad advised. "It's still hot and easily spills if you walk too fast."

Raph made sure he was handling it safely before looking back up. "Don't worry, I got this."

"Good."

Sheep Dad patted his head, smiling again. "Call your brothers over in ten minutes when breakfast is ready, okay?"

"Okay Dad," Raph promised, walking off and out of the kitchen.

Mission successful.

-

Because everything was planned and set in motion, Raph allowed himself to relax a little at the breakfast table, the only hassle being how he had to stop Donnie from stealing other people's waffles.

Said waffles, which were cold by the time Pops and Leo made it over. They must've slept in, but hey, at least Pops had a reason. Leo was just being lazy.

So they had to eat cold waffles, but that was okay. Only Leo was a sore loser about it – the rest of the family were nothing but giggles and smiles.

Once breakfast was over and the oldest helped put everyone's dishes away, the kids retreated to their room for a moment, gathering to set up any finishing touches. It was finally time .

Raph could barely contain his excitement as he looked over their very fancy little tea party, fit for a king.

Or, well, the king of the sewers they called home.

"Okay guys, I'm gonna call them," Raph announced in a shouted whisper. "Everyone get ready."

He looked over one last time – oh gosh, it was perfect – before heading back to the dining room, donning a bathrobe to cover his dress for now. It's still a surprise.

As he thought, his parents were still there, talking about something. He couldn't hear what, but whatever it was couldn't be as important or mind-blowing as what was awaiting them.

Raph just hoped it worked this time.

"Uh, dads, can you come over here for a second?"

Both of their heads whipped up, finding the sight of their oldest son. "Anything wrong, Red?"

"No no, just-" he started, shaking his head. "I'll explain when we get there. I gotta show you something."

He saw his parents look at each other, before they looked back at him, shrugging. Almost in sync . "If you say so."

Awe yeah, they agreed! Raph had to contain a happy dance as he walked forward, not too fast as to make sure they followed carefully. "Just follow me."

Every once in a while he looked back, making sure they were following. They looked confused but happy at least, so he wasn't afraid of them deciding to hop out of his event… but just to be sure.

The turtle soon led them to one of the empty 'rooms' of the Lair, just as poorly lit as it always was. He motioned for them to halt, hiding in the shadows himself. All until…

"Surprise!"

Each of the brothers turned on a lamp, lighting up the room at once. Raph shoved off his robe, showing off his favourite dress from last Halloween and striking a pose. "Welcome to your epic tea party, Pops and Dad."

The reveal seemed to stun them both, with Pops hiding a huge smile behind his hands and Dad taking in everything they set up.

"Boys… you did all this?"

"Yep!" Leo decided to answer before anyone else. "It took a long time and a looot of hard work."

"Raph’s idea," Mikey confirmed, pointing at his oldest brother.

Donnie simply nodded.

Raph walked up to his parents again. "You said you'd hang out with us all day if we made something special…"

If the snapper could pick apart small details, he'd almost think Rat Dad was about to cry. "Red… boys… this is wonderful."

Sheep Dad nodded along. "So this is what you kids have been up to."

"Yeah! Now c'mon, sit down."

Raph wouldn't entertain the idea that either of them thought it wasn't perfect enough – because it was , thank you very much. He could think about that later. For now , he motioned for his parents to approach the floor-level table and sit at the two larger pillows.

"I took a bit of inspo from Pop's old books and some YouTube videos," Raph announced proudly, finding his seat beside Rat Dad.

Donnie and Leo each picked up a thin blanket from either end of the room, draping it over each dad’s shoulders. They were as baffled by this as they were amused.

"This is all very lovely, boys, but what's the occasion?"

"If you haven't picked up on it by my super awesome dress," Raph pointed out, "this is a royal tea party."

“Aha.” Rat Dad chuckled, grabbing onto the ends of the blanket. “Very lovely indeed.”

He saw Leo swishing his fake cape, standing as ‘guard’ at the end of the table. Something Sheep Dad seemed to notice, and looked annoyed at. “...Is that my sweater?”

The slider posed, letting the sweater/cape settle. “It looks better on me.”

That got giggles out of most of them, except for Sheep Dad, who pinched the bridge of his nose.

Well, that’s not good, he was supposed to be happy too! “That’s not all!” Raph promised, scrambling for something he left in the back of the empty room. “The party isn’t perfect until everyone has their crowns.”

Raph handed out everyone a cardboard, painted crown, giving the biggest ones to their parents. They didn’t measure anything before making them, so they just made them bigger than the ones for him and his brothers. They had silver (grey) while their parents had gold (yellow with random splotches of red and green for the ‘jewels’).

His parents took them and put them on happily, which made Raph happy. So it was finally time to get this party started.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Raph announced, “please welcome King Splinter and his consort Barry!”

At this point, neither of his parents could hide their laughter. Sheep Dad looked kind of embarrassed, holding his forehead in his hands, while Rat Dad looked so smug about it.

He wasn’t sure why. Did he think Raph was gonna call them ‘King Pops and Consort Dad’?. That wasn’t proper!

Instead of fighting it, he just sat down again, waiting for them to stop laughing.

“Guys, sit down,” he told his brothers, motioning for them to do so. Nothing was gonna happen until everyone was seated. “Dads, stop laughing, this is serious.

Eventually, they did calm down, with Pops wiping away a tear for extra dramatic effect. However, Dad was the first one to speak. "I’m sorry boys, it’s just… do you know what a king's consort is?"

"Of course I do." He had no idea. But he heard it from a royalty-related video once, so it must be important.

Rat Dad ended up elbowing him in the side. "It just means you're the king's wife, genius."

"Yeah, there was nothing about kingdoms with two kings so we had to go with 'consort'," Raph explained, "but I'm a princess so it doesn't matter too much."

This, at least, seemed to make sense to Sheep Dad, since he nodded. "I suppose the king does need a wife to keep his head on his shoulders."

He was shoved this time.

While it was funny, and the table erupted into giggles, Raph forced him to stop smiling. "No tomfoolery at the table, dads ."

"You're right, Princess Raph," Rat Dad – or well, King Splinter – addressed, looking around the table. "Let us enjoy this wonderful tea party your older brother set up."

"Hey, I helped," Leo argued.

"Ah yes, thank you as well, Blue."

"That's Sir Leo to you-"

"Leo!"

His parents were laughing again. This was a disaster.

"Alright, Sir Leo ," the King corrected. "And to think I had superiority here."

The snapper sighed. If they wouldn't listen to their literal king , the princess and super awesome party planner would have to take over. "Everyone shut up and drink your tea."

Everyone quieted down for a second, looking around at each other, before beginning to take sips.

"Mmm, chamomile?" the King asked, sinking into his cup.

"Yep! It's the best, isn't it?"

"It sure is."

Before Raph could correct his little brothers on how they were holding their cups (how many times has he told them they have to raise a pinky, despite only having three fingers?) Leo took over, allowing the princess to sip freely.

The tea was kind of lukewarm now – drinkable, but not as yummy as a warm cup. Maybe if everyone stopped goofing around then they'd get to the party faster.

But it was okay, Raph guessed. Things could be worse.

"So, how's the weather been lately-"

A crash interrupted his weak attempt at small talk.

"Mikey!"

"Or dear."

The princess looked over to find his brother had spilled the tea all over his plate and the table, which his dads had to rush over and take care of. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a spill."

Maybe it was 'just a spill' to Mikey, but it was so much more than 'just a spill'.

The princess got out of his seat, scrambling to find the paper towels. The least he could do is help.

He handed them to his parents, then picked up Mikey before he could make a bigger mess. He expected this to go a lot better… but with this family, nothing was ever not messy.

"Do you guys still wanna do the tea party…?"

The question was kind of open-ended. He didn't expect anyone to want to after such a big mess and with how mean he was to everyone.

His brothers looked like they'd rather be watching a movie right now, and his parents? Well, they looked sad and guilty, but not way too much. There had to be a word for that emotion, right?

Eventually, Rat Dad bent down to his level. "Maybe we should try again later."

The snapped sighed, expecting as much. "Okay."

After finishing cleaning the spill and disposing of the paper towels, Sheep Dad came back, huddling the other kids closer to him. "Don't be so down, kiddo," he offered. "Party planning takes a lot of effort. You'll get better with practice."

"Oh, okay," Raph reasoned. "Can we try again soon?"

"Definitely," Rat Dad said, lifting the snapper's chin so he wasn’t looking down anymore. "This was a lovely surprise Red. We can do it again any time you want."

He smiled, only now realizing the heaviness in his chest could have led to tears. He was okay, though. He was happier now.

"Okay," Raph returned for the third time in a row. "Next time it's gonna be even better-er."

Rat Dad chuckled. "I'm sure it will be."

—

Unfortunately, despite his rat father being his favourite parent, his role model, and the elected ‘king’ of their little family, Raph would soon have to learn that he was not as strong as he made himself out to be.

It wasn’t the first time Pops hid in his room all day, curled up in his bed and avoiding visits even from other dad. Logically, the snapping turtle knew that this meant he was having a bad day – he said as much whenever one of the kids asked. He said that some days he just needs a few hours alone to think and rest.

Raph could respect that, even if Rat Dad being this sad more and more often scared him.

He had promised to spend the weekend with him and his brothers; and he did, but such joy could not ride out into the week. By Monday, he already looked more anxious and upset, and by Tuesday morning, he didn’t get out of bed.

Sheep Dad had to do the supply run that day – and he hates going outside, so Raph knew it was bad .

By Wednesday, he was still in bed. More than anything else, Raph just felt… bad . No matter if he wanted to help, it was usually met with Sheep Dad telling him it wouldn't. And if he went into their room, he wasn't even met with an answer. Just… nothing .

Raph wasn't the only one worried. Raph wasn't the only one who noticed Rat Dad was gone for long. His brothers were beginning to get worried as well.

"Is Dada okay? He's been in his room for days."

The oldest brother looked over his gathering of siblings in the living room. It wasn’t like none of their parents were around and there with them, but Sheep Dad was constantly busy fixing things in one empty room or another. Rat Dad's always the more affectionate of the two… when he wasn't outside or sad, that is.

So now, as they found themselves on a bored Wednesday, Raph knew it would be up to him to find something fun and distracting for them to do.

"Yeah, he's okay," the oldest brother reassured. "He just needs more time to rest. But don't worry, Raph knows what to do."

He took Rat Dad's phone off the counter – something only the four of them bothered to charge these days – opening the app with the movie downloads. If neither of their parents were around to tell them 'no' to anything, they could pick what to watch. "We're gonna watch a big kids movie."

-

And so, the turtles spent the whole day watching movies again. It wasn’t a bad thing, but if it was just them, then they couldn't be blamed. Besides, it was pretty fun.

Unfortunately, Rat Dad still wasn't seen all day. They had dinner with one less chair full, eating a meal that was good, but not as special as when two people worked on it. The leftover plate was brought to their parents’ room, and the kids were eventually told to go to bed, seeing as their eyes were exhausted.

Raph didn’t mind going to bed too early. He was tired, but… still worried.

When he got up for a glass of water, he brought two with him, purposefully passing by his parents' room. It sounded quiet, they were probably asleep already…

Still, he balanced the two glasses in his arm, knocking with the other.

After a second, he heard a muffled, "Come in."

Much like the rest of the Lair, there was only a screen door to slide out of the way to get into the room. Even though he wanted his own room with his brothers since a year ago, he still thinks their room is pretty cool.

It looked like a mess, though. At least on Rat Dad's half.

"What brings you here, kiddo?"

It's the first coherent words he's heard from his rat father in days. It almost sounded like he missed him, the way his weak voice cracked softly.

"Nothin'... Just wanted to see if you were okay," Raph answered, grabbing the other glass of water and handing it over. "Here."

His dad took the glass, placing it on his night table. "Thank you, Red."

Raph stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He could hear his other dad snoring softly, so he was asleep – it was just them awake now.

"So… you're okay now?"

His dad sighed. "I am a little better now, yes." He motioned for the snapper to come closer, patting his head once he did so. "Thank you for taking care of your brothers these past few days. You're the best big brother they could ask for."

A small part of him still felt bad that he could only help with his brothers and not help his dad more. A larger part of him smiled, chest puffing out with pride. "Big brother Raph's got it, don't worry."

There was a chuckle, if only a hint of sadness following. "Thank you again. I'll make this up to you somehow…"

A glimmer of hope shone in the snapper's eyes. "Another tea party?"

"Of course, son," his dad assured. "Now get some rest."

He nodded. "Okay dad. Night night."

He shuffled back out of the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

Well, now he wasn't getting any sleep for sure. Not only did he have another tea party to plan, but Pops just confirmed he's the best big brother.

As with most things, he knew this might happen again – no, not the tea party… the long bouts of Rat Dad sleeping in, helpless to any cure other than being left alone.

But Raph could take care of it. He may only be four years old, but now he knows exactly how to help everyone out in this situation.

He just had to continue being the best big brother – and son – ever.

Chapter 8: The Alchemist's Protégé

Chapter Text

Jennika was six years old when she realized her destiny was to become like the Baroness.

Despite her young age, the sea turtle has always been bright-eyed and curious about her main guardian. Despite spending most of her days wandering the mansion, playing with Huginn and Muninn or her sister, most of her interest led to sneaking glances at the lab below it all.

Part of her knew the Baroness’ job: security and weapons and stuff. In her younger years, Jenny wanted nothing more than to hold one of the cool swords in development, or maybe help her set up a security system, or something else cool like that.

While she could never possibly know just how impulsive her guardian was, she could almost imagine some of those genes passed over to her.

Whenever the Baroness wasn’t busy, she’d cling to her, wanting to hear everything about her super cool job. And, after asking and asking and asking, she was finally allowed to see the lab at the grand age of five years old.

And it was magical .

Well, yeah, of course it was. A yokai of such high profile and importance is bound to work with mystics.

Something about it though… it was special. She’d remain neutral-faced and well-behaved while in this sacred space, but the gears in her mind were turning. While she was still rather young, the idea still struck: what if, when she grew up, she’d get to be a super cool security guard person too?

Her mind would be blown upon first learning her guardian was also a scientist.

Oh yeah, Jennika definitely wanted to be that when she grew up. There was no changing her mind now.

—

When she turned five, the Baroness began giving her and her sister various 'tests', all of which happened in the half-built lab. But even before then, she's always been interested in the glowing green stuff the Baroness worked with.

Despite her uncles Huginn and Muninn trying to curve her away from the lab early on, Jennika has always been a curious kid. So she was excited when she was first allowed into the lab.

Even more so she became curious when told she was going to be part of some experiment. She asked the Baroness endless questions, even if left without answers. It didn't put her down, though – anything she wanted to find out, she would find out.

Through some pestering, she ended up convincing the Baroness to tell her one thing, at least: she was going to become her official assistant at 10 years old.

Because of this, Jennika agreed not to prod into work she was too young to understand. One day soon enough, she would learn everything there was to know about the lab and experiments. Until then, she just had to follow a few instructions.

For a year and a half, the experiments she and her sister would undergo consisted of small injections or samples to drink or attempts at wielding mystic magic. At the end of these tests, she'd always feel bigger or stronger. They never seemed to work as well on Venus, strangely.

These experiments weren't consistent. Sometimes they would happen once a week, and if the results were bad, there would be a few months of a break in between.

Why such a long break? To the understanding of a six-year-old who was told nothing, the experiments were a secret. Only she, Venus and their guardians were allowed to know about it – just like how the rest of the Hidden City wasn't allowed to know about them.

That's how she figured it out, really. This was one more secret the Baroness had – first the lab itself, then Jennika and Venus existing, and now the testing and experiments.

Well, secret or not, Jennika would go along with it. The idea of getting bigger and stronger with just some mutation stuff is exactly the kind of thing every six-year-old wants, after all.

Today she was scheduled to have a simple injection. Venus was dropped off not long ago, and the two played a bit until they were huddled into the lab.

Now they were both sitting on a bench in the lab, waiting for the tests.

Jennika kicked her legs while she waited, absent-mindedly humming. You'd think that someone who lives with the Baroness would be more still, more used to this all and therefore less excited. But she couldn't help herself. For some reason she always looked forward to these days.

Venus looked more bored. The quieter and younger turtle never really enjoyed the tests – she always complained that it felt weird or that it didn't work. But as long as Jenny was there with her, Venus would do as instructed.

Jenny was content with kicking her legs and waiting when she felt her sister tug on her arm. "Why is this taking so long?"

"It shouldn't take too much longer," Jenny reasoned. She could only guess the Baroness was taking her time perfecting the mutagen stuff, and that's why it was taking a while.

Nonetheless, she soon heard her guardian approaching. "Apologies for the wait, girls," the older yokai offered, holding a small box, "but I think I finally found the perfect formula."

The older turtle snorted. "You say that every time ."

"Well I think this time is better , okay?"

Because the Baroness didn't have her mask on, she looked tired, but still managed to smile. Maybe the formula really was better this time, who knew?

It would be up to them to find out, of course. "It's only better if I'm as strong as a tiger yokai by tomorrow morning."

"Tiger yokai aren't that strong," Venus mumbled.

That little remark got the Baroness to chuckle. "She's right, you know," she told Jennika. "Yokai strength isn't determined by sub-class, but there are different kinds of advantages between different kinds of Yokai."

If whatever she said now felt confusing, it was only because Jennika has heard it so many times, amongst other familiar lectures – her questions and dumb comments warranted those, apparently.

“You like tiger yokai though…” She left it as a mumble, knowing her guardian was likely to not engage in such talk.

"Turn," she was asked, to which she did without much thought. Jenny's eyes trailed to where the small white box opened, revealing first a disinfectant cloth. She already knew the routine enough that the sting of it on her arm didn't surprise her.

After the area was disinfected, the Baroness handled one of two needles that were within the box. "What is it about tiger yokai that you think is so great, anyway?"

The question probably didn't mean much – probably meant to distract from something that did not hurt much – but it made Jennika think. "Well, they're big and strong, and fast, and fierce!" the sea turtle explained, "much more than I am."

"You have time to grow into it," the Baroness reasoned, putting the needle in position. "You're only six, you have hundreds of years to become powerful and awesome like me."

Jennika waited for the needle to finish piercing her skin and tissue before another question left her mind. "But do mutants live as long as Yokai?"

Once the needle was taken out and the injection complete, the Baroness hesitated. "...Mutants?"

"Yeah, like me and Venus," the young turtle clarified.

She heard some time ago that they were not Yokai, but rather mutants. Yes, this may have been a mumbled message amongst the adults… but it counted as something she heard. She didn't know what this meant, though – only that it had something to do with them being half-animal.

Sure, they looked like Yokai, just like the Baroness and Rita and Bridget, but they haven't seen any young Yokai around to compare. Knowing they were adopted – or 'rescued' for some reason – and all the weird mutagen experiments they had to do, Jennika had every reason to believe the claim of being 'mutants'.

Otherwise, the Baroness had another secret and/or lie. She should know by now things like this don't slip past the leatherback sea turtle.

"Right," the Baroness settled finally. "Mutants." She shuffled over to easily reach Venus now, motioning for her to turn now too. "I think you two should have quite long lifespans regardless of how you were mutated."

"Oh, okay."

The young mutant turtle remained fidgeting as Venus got her injection, more questions bubbling in her mind. For now, she settled on a simple one; "Do we have any Yokai DNA?"

Such a question rang in the air for a moment – considering they were in the middle of an important procedure, fair enough. Eventually, though, the Baroness shot a glance her way. "It's highly likely, but the tests aren't certain," she offered, simply. "All I know is that you two miracle children are going to be the most powerful mutants in all the land once you grow up."

After a few more seconds, the injection was complete. Finding herself done here, the Baroness closed her small box, standing once again. “Thank you again for your participation, you may run along if you have no symptoms in twenty minutes.”

Her tone was nothing less than bored, having uttered that phrase for the umpteenth time by now. She was always more boing when doing important scientific work.

Eventually, the sisters were left alone again, and they would be alone for the next twenty minutes at least. Time to do what they do best.

“Did it hurt this time?” Jenny thought to ask, checking in with her younger sister.

The other sea turtle held her arm where the injection took place, looking as upset about it as always. “Not really,” she mumbled. “Doesn’t feel like it worked, though.”

“It never does,” the older one comforted. “You’re supposed to feel it after sleeping.”

Sometimes she got stronger doses than Vee, and sometimes she got some without her at all. These double appointments weren’t as common for second dosages; those happened at random, whenever the Baroness was home. Though she knew she wasn’t supposed to talk about it to anyone outside of their circle.

Other than Venus, of course, because she was her best friend.

“I can tell the Baroness to give you more ooze as well?”

The four-year-old shifted where she sat. “...It’s okay,” she dismissed, moving to put both hands on the bench. “Didn’t you wanna show me something?”

Show her something? Oh, wait, yes she did!

“Yeah, one second,” Jenny said, hopping off the bench for a second. She took a book bag from under it, opening it and taking out a couple of papers and some markers. The drawings already made were nothing too coherent, but she was happy to show them to her sister anyway.

“I’ve been drawing a couple of cool costumes for the future,” she said proudly, showing four drawings of different costume designs. She pointed at one of them, “Huginn says he likes this one, but thinks it would look cooler with a red cape.”

“Why red?”

“I don’t know.” 'I want a cool yellow cape' is the thought that rang in her mind, but she knew that the Baroness had a thing for cyan blue… which was Vee’s favourite colour, by coincidence.

What if the fates had it so Vee was adopted by the Baroness instead?

The older sea turtle eventually shrugged. She pulled another drawing from the bag, though it was cleaner and structured better than the others – clearly not her drawing. “Bridget gave me this the other day, but I don’t know… it feels more ‘Big Mama’ and less ‘Baroness’.”

Venus took the drawing, studying it. “It’s pretty cool though,” she said simply, as if there were not stars in her eyes.

“Yeah, your moms are pretty good artists.” She began putting her other drawings away, noticing that Venus never parted with the paper in her hand. This gave her an idea. “Maybe that can be your cool costume.”

“Really?”

“Yep!”

The younger turtle smiled brighter than she has seen all day, but it was soon replaced with a groan. “There’s no way Big Mama will let me wear this in the Nexus.”

“Forget the Nexus, think of the patrols ,” Jennika started, painting the picture in her mind – as doing so on paper or otherwise was difficult. “We’ll look so cool that no one will ever know we’re turtles!”

“Ooh yeah,” Venus agreed quite easily. “We’ll be super cool and secret, like ninjas or something.”

For a second Jenny stood there, having never imagined that’s what her sister was about to say.

But she loved the idea .

“Yes, yes, yes!” she cheered, dancing a little in place.

Venus giggled at this, until frowning again. “But not until we’re 10 at least.”

“Yeah…”

Jennika slumped a little. Why did growing up have to take so long?

“But hey, think of it like this,” she offered, hoping to cheer up her sister; “after that, we can go anywhere and do anything we want! Especially with our super cool suits.”

“I guess you could put it that way…”

Her sister trailed off, not sounding too hopeful – though Jennika had no doubt they would love every second of being older kids once the time came.

Finding that the space was quiet again, and they still had time to kill, the bigger sea turtle had an idea. “Wanna draw?”

This gave Vee a smile that looked like it wouldn’t go away soon. “Sure.”

—

No day with her guardian home ended in mere rest.

Not that Jennika ever minded. Training was more fun than reading the same old comics over and over again, anyways.

An hour after dinner, she was told to meet the Baroness in the training room, all suited up and with her weapon of choice. Well, ‘choice’ between all of the beginner, non-lethal weapons… but they were still cool.

She knew she’d get better weapons one day. Maybe even sooner if she proved herself worthy.

“You ready for this, Jenny?”

Her uncles were beside her, helping her suit up for training. Why she had to wear all this, she never knew; it didn’t feel important… but it was comfortable enough that she never complained.

“Pretty much born ready,” she retorted, puffing out her chest proudly. “I do this every week, it’s easy!”

“We know,” Munnin offered, tying the cyan belt that held her suit together. “We just wanna make sure everyone’s on their A-game before a spar breaks out or something.”

“Yeah, the Baroness looked confuzzled at something you said earlier.”

Despite what that must have meant, Jenny couldn’t help the snort that escaped. “Use real words, Huginn.”

“Right,” he corrected, chuckling at that himself. “Just be careful, okay? She’d never hurt you, buuut it’s best not to make her mad.”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful.”

She finished suiting herself up the rest of the way, adjusting anything that felt out of place. Nothing about a training session intimidated her, knowing it was mostly just practicing stances and stuff like that, but…

“You think she’s mad at me?” She knew why that would be: for having put her beak where it didn’t belong instead of being patient.

“What? Nooo, of course not.”

Both of the gargoyles looked nervous as they said this in unison. Meaning it was a lie.

“Okay, not mad, but she wasn’t happy ,” Huginn clarified.

“Don’t mention mutants anymore and you should be a-okay, okay?”

So it was that. Good to know for sure.

In her mind, it made no sense to have this information kept from her; what was the use, really? Why couldn’t she know she was a mutant rather than a yokai? Why couldn’t she go outside and into the rest of the city?

Such was nothing to argue right now, though. So she just nodded. “Don’t worry guys, I got this.”

She picked up her weapon, swinging it once lightly.

Before leaving, she heard the goyles wingbeats, lightly hovering some ways behind her. “We believe in you!”

The turtle smirked, big and wide. “You better.”

-

Jennika found the Baroness waiting for her there. She wasn’t mad – she was never mad. She looked energetic more than anything else.

Their training gear looked nearly identical – which already looked a fair deal like the Baroness’ everyday armour. Comfortable, practical; grey and cyan.

The colours were much more Venus’ style. Everything else? Perfect .

“So, you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you feel?”

The turtle leaned back, now only a few feet away from her guardian and trainer. “Fantastic.”

“Great.” Baroness leaned a hand against her sheathed sword, smiling. “We’re just gonna do some stance practice today – nothing too heavy. If the formula worked, tomorrow will be more action-heavy.”

“I can handle it now.”

“Oh, you can,” her guardian confirmed, “but your swing can use a bit of work.”

The sea turtle pouted, even if she was right. “...Fine. Stance practice today, action stuff tomorrow.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Jennika nodded, then got into position. They’ve been training like this ever since she learned how to walk, so such was second nature to her.

“Sword out.”

She held her fake sword, pointing it outward.

“A little closer.”

She moved it.

“Good.”

Her eyes wandered up, finding guidance in her mentor’s expression.

“How would you hold it if I approached you… like this.”

The Baroness leaned forward, making Jen quickly block her.

“Good,” she was praised, “better than last time.”

Knowing that it was better helped a little. She could hear familiar wingbeats again before finding another surprise attack in her direction.

Of which she quickly blocked again.

“Nice, but a bit slow.”

“It’s not my fault,” Jenny mumbled, “they distracted me.”

The turtle pointed out towards the goyles out on the side, who looked offended.

Luckily, the Baroness just found this funny. “Can’t afford distractions in real life,” she reminded, before repositioning. “Again.”

Jennika took the second chance to block faster, much more so than before.

“Woo! Go Jenny!”

“You got this, girl!”

She rolled her eyes at her uncles. “Not helping!”

Despite the complaining, she smiled as she blocked every hit thrown at her, even as they squared up on her smaller size.

Not that she was much smaller. By now she was already more than half of the Baroness’ height.

She almost missed a sweeping kick, hopping away from it just in time before it and whacking her mentor’s arm at the end. All of which was met with a grin. “Excellent work, Jennika.”

The turtle posed. “Who’s slow now?”

“Still you.”

In a sly attempt to best her, the Baroness swept her leg again. That one she tripped over a little , though it was nothing she couldn’t bounce back from.

Now was her turn to best her mentor, pouncing forward to grab her cape. “No, you.”

Her mentor’s legs stuck in place, while her top half twisted to get a look at Jennika’s move. “Impressive,” was all she said for a while.

Instead of gloating – knowing that may be used as an excuse to pull another fast one – Jen kept her eyes on her mentor, keeping her grip on the cape and weapon close by. She wouldn’t slip up another time.

She could hear the goyles cheering in the background. At least it wasn’t distracting now.

Eventually, the caprid yokai moved, though not enough to escape the grasp. This little victory was declared for the turtle.

“Seems you remembered to utilize an opponent’s weakness against them,” her mentor acknowledged, resting her hands on her hips. “Today it was a cape, tomorrow it may be a tail or venomous wings. Keep an eye out for things like that – many enemies you will face will have a trick up their sleeves.”

“Or attached to their backs,” Jennika finished, finally letting go and backing away.

The Baroness nodded. “Correct.”

She motioned for the turtle to follow, turning to one of the exits and beginning to walk.

“Luckily my cape is tearable, should the need to escape arise. Is it necessary to have around? No, but one in our field of work does not simply wear practical armour without a little style ,” she explained. “When the time comes, you’ll have your own armour, and it will look awesome .”

“‘Draxum family name’ style of awesome?”

“Yes…”

Her mentor stopped walking some ways before the pool room, looking down at her with a half-confused scowl. “What was with that ‘mutant’ business earlier, anyway?”

The turtle raised a brow, humming.

From behind she could hear the goyles following, wingbeats slower as they soon sat upon the Baroness’ shoulders. “Where did you hear that from?”

“When you were talking to Big Mama last time,” she answered nonchalantly.

“And I’m guessing it’s where you heard ‘Baroness Draxum’ from?”

“No, I heard it from those two.”

The way the goyles’ eyes widened would make it look like they wanted to run… or well, fly away. But the most the Baroness gave them was a glare, until she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Just… try not to stick your beak in too much of my work, alright? I trust you but… it’s better to keep all this,” she motioned to all of them, “inside the estate.”

“It’s not like I have anyone to tell…”

Her guardian sighed again, putting a hand on her shoulder. “That’s the thing about our family: the amount of style matches the number of secrets.”

Jennika chuckled at that. “I guess that’s true.”

“Good,” her guardian agreed, patting her shoulder twice before removing her hand. “Now, get started on your laps, I’ll be back in a bit.”

She headed to the door herself, lingering as she watched the Baroness leave.

“And you two, learn what is common knowledge and what are secrets.”

“But we didn’t do anythiiing.”

Jennika giggled, listening to them bicker about this. She knew their little arguments were all in good fun; nothing would ever happen to Huginn and Muninn, even if they were annoying sometimes.

She supposed some things were right about what the Baroness said. She wasn’t too angry about Jen having this knowledge, likely without a care if she did or not – what was important was not letting all this leave the estate’s walls. She can know they’re mutants as long as no one else knows, she supposed. It would all be common knowledge someday.

That wouldn’t stop her from snooping.

—

Despite the Baroness having the coolest job ever, being her protégé was so boring .

You can’t blame the young sea turtle for how little she looked forward to those long days of doing nothing. She lived in a huge house with a lab attached for crying out loud, and she wasn’t even allowed to go to it when her guardian wasn’t home!

…Which didn’t mean much. Jenny’s six years old, did you expect her to listen?

Truly she had no problem doing whatever she wanted while at home and without the Baroness’ supervision. And when her fun uncles were around, they allowed her to do most things.

Well, they were here today, but they were lazing around. So that was a free pass to goof off herself.

Double-checking one last time that the gargoyle duo was distracted, the sea turtle began to tiptoe away and towards the lab.

She had two things planned, and either could be argued to be important and valid. For one, she wanted to check out if there were any cool new weapons ready. Maybe a lot of her life was focused on science and stuff, but what the Baroness did most were weapons and security; designing alarms, invisible gates, and the like. If Jennika was going to be her protégé, learning about the security side of her job was a must.

The second thing she wanted to do was break into the vault holding all the top-secret science-related stuff. While yes, the young turtles knew these tests were for their own well-being, she wanted to know more. Why else would the whole thing be so secret that she wasn’t allowed to tell anybody at all?

Besides, it’s not like this wasn’t stuff Jenny was going to learn one day. If she was smart enough to remember the passcode to the vault, she was smart enough to know what was inside it.

Down at the vault, she typed in the seven-digit code, then turned the lock 115° to the right. Not an overly complex lock, but still elaborate. Perfect for everyday use.

The vault itself wasn’t all that big. A fridge over there, a filing cabinet over there – nothing was organized, but having mystics helped. That, and the fact that the Baroness’ alchemy and science was a secret meant they had to keep it in a hidden space. That happened to be this space.

Jennika wasn’t too in-tune with her mystics yet. So manually looking for things was the way to go.

On a table, she found some scattered papers, dated that morning. Huh. She picked it up, trying to decipher the quickly-written notes, but it just seemed to be about the growing pains she felt after those injections the day before. Oh, okay, that made sense.

She put the paper back, finding that the only other new paper was like hers, but for Venus. It said she had no physical side effects, and results were pending.

So there was nothing new?

The slightest bit frustrated, Jennika left both papers on the table. She moved onto the fridge, finding it mostly the same as she left it, and then the filing cabinet, finding it just as messy as last time as well.

Well, this was a waste of time. The turtle was hoping to find something cool this time, and yet, there was nothing more than the same boring stuff.

So she just left, locking up the vault behind her extra tight and leaving the lab the same as she found it. This was all so boring.

—

Jennika was sometimes too curious for her own good. Over the years there have been many occasions where the Baroness was away for a few hours; this was nothing new. If she had to be away for longer, then Jenny would stay with her sister at the hotel.

Which is what she was doing now.

The Baroness had some sort of meeting with Big Mama in particular – it was expected to last throughout the night, so staying over was non-negotiable. Not that she ever minded.

Because she and Venus were supposed to stay out of sight, they weren’t allowed in places like the main lobby or the Nexus. As compensation, they had a few of the top luxury floors to themselves.

Vee’s room always looked prettier than her own. According to some old human books, the aesthetic of the estate was Victorian or something like that, whereas Vee’s place, along with the entire hotel, looked sleek, modern and fancy.

In all honesty, it wasn’t her style. Still fun to visit, though.

It took some time to put all of her things away, having brought quite a lot of her stuff over. Plans were always wonky, but she was promised a sleepover and she was coming prepared for it.

Their sleeping bags were set, and Vee’s guardians helped them put up a tent. All they needed now were snacks and pillows and they’d be all set.

When her sister sat down a moment, Jen reached for her travel bag, rummaging through it. “You wanna see something cool?”

“Sure thing,” Vee answered, adjusting to look through the bag as well.

With confirmation that she did, in fact, want to see that cool thing, Jen took a few books from the bag. “I found more super secret sciencey stuff.”

Despite looking curious before, the green sea turtle groaned. “ More science stuff? What about cool stuff like swords and machines?”

“There is some cool stuff here,” Jenny huffed, opening the first book to sketches of a blueprint. “I think this is what the big mechanism in the middle of the lab was supposed to look like.”

“You think?”

“Yeah…”

“Why don’t you know for sure?”

“Well I can’t exactly travel back in time, dear sister – that’s ridiculous .”

The smaller sea turtle giggled at her dramatic display, even if Jen felt a bit annoyed about the whole thing. This was supposed to be her job one day, she didn’t appreciate being made fun of… even if by her younger sister.

“Besides, isn’t this stuff cool?” It was a desperate question as she flipped to other pages, all of which included more sketches and more half-formed notes and ideas.

She found a page of scribbles that interested her in particular. "Like this: artificial bugs with ooze that can be used to mutate humans!" Pointing at a corner of the page, she added, "Looks like the idea was scrapped, but who knows, maybe me and the Baroness can make them even better."

Venus was looking… but she was zoning out just as much. “It’s cool, but…”

She sighed.

“The Nexus is cooler.”

Jenny closed the first book in hand and sighed, knowing that would have been her sister’s answer.

Sometimes all it felt like Vee cared about was the Nexus. ‘I can’t wait until I’m old enough to be in the Nexus’ ‘I wish Big Mama let me watch the Nexus’ ‘Oh, I’ll be the best champion since that Lou Jitsu guy, just you wait’ – and there was more to life than that underground battle arena, okay?

It felt wrong to think this way. She knew the two of them were being raised to fight in it one day, but… ever since the Baroness told her she was meant for something greater, she believed it.

Even if her guardian had too many secrets related to their whole situation.

“Look, I know the Nexus is cool and all, but you’re only gonna be the greatest if you train like, super good.”

Her sister raised a brow at that. “But I already do training.”

“Only sometimes, right?” This was met with a nod. “Well, I can teach you a bunch more.”

Especially if her sister’s mutation finally seemed to work – she looked the slightest bit taller now – training would help a bunch.

Still, that offer got her sister to smile. “Play fight?”

She nodded. “Play fight.”

Jennika hunched her frame, standing a short distance from her sister.

"Now, imagine I'm one of those big ugly Nexus Yokai."

With a few fake growls and stomping, she made her sister laugh. "They don't sound like that!"

"Oh yeah they do!" Jenny argued, "And they're really fast too… like this!"

She launched herself forward to tackle her sister, who quickly scrambled for a pillow to fight back with. "No fair! I don't have a weapon!"

"Did Lou Jitsu ever use a weapon?"

Vee looked to ponder that for a second. "...No."

"So you don't need one," Jenny reasoned. "Now think fast!"

She backed away for a second, before quickly tackling her sister again.

"Jenny!"

It was a complaint, but one quickly met with giggles. That, and a lot of kicking, which didn't hold much power.

Either way, she couldn't fight her own giggles, allowing her sister to keep trying to push her away. "Kicking is a good idea, but you need to be fast to get away from the biggest bads."

"That shouldn't be so hard when they're so big and wonky ."

Now it was her turn to hit her sister with a pillow.

"Stop iiit," the smaller turtle drew out, giggles eventually settling just as much as the endless kicking.

Jennika backed away from her sister, giving her mercy and ending the fight. She sat upwards, leaning back against their mess of pillows on the floor. She was smiling, but as the moment simmered, she couldn't help a distant ache in her heart.

“Sometimes I wished we had the same mom.”

As soon as those few words slipped, Jennika wished nothing more than to return to the laughter of just a moment ago. Now it was too quiet…

Vee, however, just looked confused by this. “Which one?”

“I don’t know… whoever would let us have sleepovers every day.” Her feet swayed from side to side, trying to think of a solution. There weren't many options, unless… “Maybe the Baroness and Big Mama will join forces one day?”

“Or Bridget and Rita can adopt you.”

“Heh, maybe…”

In all honesty, Jennika didn’t want that. Those two were always nice to her, yes, but her true guardian was the Baroness. She wanted to live in the same house as her sister – Titan’s sake, they had all those extra rooms for a reason !

Why couldn't they have been adopted together? Would that still be an option… or did something happen between their guardians that made them separate?

Either way, it wasn't fair.

"If anything happens, we can run away together – then we can have sleepovers every day ."

Now Vee sat up a bit. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's probably nothing… but just in case."

Obviously, Jenny didn't want it to come to that. She loved her family back at home and her sister just as much, so the thought of leaving them one day was scary… but bringing Vee to the estate would be of no use. Big Mama knew where they lived.

Vee looked sad by this too. Probably not the best thing to think of…

The leatherback turtle shook her head. "Forget about it – we can go back to play fighting."

Her sister hummed for a second, until perking up. "Okay."

Before she could think of getting up, though, she was tackled by a very excitable Vee.

"You didn't think fast!"

—

Jennika was a smart kid, really – an even tougher one at that. If being under the care of someone whose morals could be considered 'evil' taught her one thing, it's that one had to lie, a lot , to get anything done.

Only four years of conscious memory and most of it has been spent lying. In the beginning, she questioned it. Now it was a part of life, of everyday speech. It was her impulse.

Part of her believed these lies were working. You see, if the Baroness knew she was breaking into the vault and stealing long and boring documents, she would have said something, hinted towards it, anything . But as it stood, she seemed too distracted to notice all her ward's little quirks.

Maybe, with enough scavenging, she'd eventually come across every piece of the puzzle. There had to be a reason for all this… right?

She had a lead on what she thought may be the connection – but it was dumb, so the less she entertained the idea, the best.

If it ended up being true… Venus' mind would explode, that's for sure.

So for now, the curious young turtle kept looking. She gathered a bunch of old books and papers and dumb-looking gadgets, hiding them just enough around her self-imposed nest of a room where no one would find her entire stash.

An old, dusty book wound up in her findings – one she would put away, for now. This one looked absolutely packed with scientific info, so she'd definitely give it a read sometime.

For now, however, she found it best to stash that one away too. She had something else she wanted to do now…

-

She'd pretend not to be bothered when Huginn and Muninn followed her out to the library. It was a common thing at this point – if they saw her going somewhere that diverged from the main halls, they stuck around, under the guise of 'supervision'.

She knew it was because they wanted to see her test her mystics.

At the current point in time, Jennika didn’t have the best handle on her powers inside. At most, she could manipulate light to create illusions, and that's only if she worked super hard .

So, she studied. Mystic instructions were always so much more boring to read than science mumbo jumbo, but as someone raised with Yokai strength and abilities, she'd need to be in tune with this energy.

Be it a future warrior alchemist or security guard alike, every yokai used mystics. It's part of who she was… part of her destiny.

And she was going to study 'till the Titans came crying. Or however the phrase went.

Today she’d just go over some exercises – simple stuff to help gain control of her powers. Admittedly, her eyes ever so often wandered to further pages, dreaming of the day she’d reach those levels.

That was too often the dream. As impatient as she wanted to be, she’d never get there by skipping ahead. Such would only help her fall behind.

Following the instructions on the page, she’d follow a simple hand wave, one replicating those of the ocean. An ocean she would never see – not until she was older. Not unless those goals of eradicating the surface-dwelling humans reigned successfully.

She took a deep breath, positioning her arms so her flippers could move easily with the flow of the exercise. Not much happened before her uncles landed themselves on the table in front of her.

“Whatcha doing?” Munnin asked, almost sing-songy in his tone.

“Practicing.” She replicated the movement of a wave, adding a little flare to it. “The book says this will help with my mystic energy.”

“Ooh.” The two of them watched intently, eyes following as her arms moved slowly. Which was pretty slow, making it hard not to break character with how funny they looked.

Their eyes got more curious as a soft yellow glow – nothing they’d never seen before, but somehow just as impressive.

For a six-year-old, maybe. Most Yokai got a handle on this stuff much slower.

Taking another breath, she focused, trying to project a small image over the pages of her book. Her hands circled, imagining herself shaping something until the soft glow replicated a figure. It kind of worked!

Until the table shifted ever so slightly, and the illusion fizzled out.

“Drat,” the turtle cursed, hitting her fist against the book.

“Hey hey, it’s alright,” Huginn comforted, shifting closer to her.

“Yeah, magic is hard, you won’t get it right on the first try.” Muninn soon mirrored the other gargoyle by her side. “Besides, your thing looked cool.”

“Yeah, what was it?”

Jennika huffed, unable to hide a smile. “It was supposed to be me.”

“Oh really? It didn’t look like you.”

“Is it you from the future?” A gasp. “Can you see the future?!”

The leatherback sea turtle giggled. “I don’t think so,” she answered towards the last question, “but it’s what I think I might look like in the future.”

It took a second of mental back-and-forth between the two until they came to the same conclusion. “Ohh, that’s your villain look.”

“Not ‘villain’,” she corrected – though failed to find an alternative. As much as the Baroness’ plans looked to be to avenge the Yokai and bring them back to the surface world, a lot of set goal paths looked rather evil… alright, maybe they were villains. But so what? Villains are cool.

She shook her head. “Okay, second time’s the charm.”

Shooing away the goyles, she soon found a rhythm of the earlier exercise, much more confident in it this time around.

In no time, she felt the familiar buzz of mystic energy within her flippers, soon creating a similar figure. It wasn’t much clearer, only now, it sported small figures on the shoulders.

“Hey, that’s us!”

Jennika chuckled, moving her hands again in a way that made the figure move.

It didn’t move much. Sad, because having it be able to fight would be really cool . It moved a little bit, though, and that was so much better than nothing.

“Woah…” the two’s voices echoed, watching it move all that little bit, and she chuckled, playing around with the illusion some more.

“I wish I could do that.”

Huh, that didn’t sound like the-

Oh. It was her guardian.

The light fizzled out again, and Jenny couldn’t help the following pout. Though, when she looked up, she saw the Baroness leaning by the doorway.

She walked over, leaning to sit on her knees to reach the turtle’s eye level. “Mystic training’s going well, I assume?”

“It’d be better if the light stopped disappearing.”

"Well, it won't be perfect at first," her guardian offered with a grin. "I didn't get a hang of it until I was twenty-seven. So, you definitely have time to learn."

Twenty-seven… that was a long time. She couldn't wait until then! "How did you learn?"

"Same as you, kid." The Baroness flipped to another page, some ways ahead of her level. "I read a bunch of these books, trained amongst some of the greatest – but it wasn't until a life-or-death situation that I unlocked the power within me."

Life-or-death?

"Oh."

Her guardian chuckled again. "Don't worry, you won't be in any of those until you're ready."

"Oh thank the Titan," the goyles said nearly at once.

The adult and child shared a knowing look. "You'll get there one day," the older yokai promised, "you just need some time."

The turtle nodded, even as a thought plagued her mind. "If I got good at this fast, could I go on a mission with you?"

Her guardian didn't seem to expect that.

Her face scrunched up in a way the turtle knew ; she didn't want to say 'no'. "...How about a compromise." She settled on that, a neutral face coming back to her. "We'll wait until you're ten, but I can get tickets to the magic show this weekend?"

Jennika couldn't say she was happy to be told, in other words, that she was still too young. But the magic show… meant going somewhere that wasn't the estate or hotel…

Before she could answer, the Baroness raised her head ever so slightly, a soft grin beaming. "I think you're ready for that much."

Jenny just ended up nodding.

"Good," the Baroness nodded in return. "Huginn and Muninn will figure out a disguise for you-"

"We'll do what?"

She snorted, shaking her head slightly. "You two will do that, while Jennika and I practice some more." Her guardian then turned her attention to her, reaching her hands out. "No way I'm passing up on learning illusions."

The entire thing felt exciting. Then again, even a walk outside would be exciting at this point. She's been too worried lately… the Baroness clearly trusted her and would keep her word. Her sister may not be as lucky… but if she had this, she had to use it to its fullest. Any little lessons, any little outings, only built her excitement further and solidified the fact that there was nothing more she wanted.

With a curt nod, she took her guardian's hands.

What was it they said about the student becoming the teacher? Well, however the phrase went, she was more than happy to take the Baroness’ teaching and use it to its fullest.

If she was ever going to get as good as her guardian, she had to practice. This was how.

Chapter 9: The Dad and The Father

Chapter Text

It would take about five years of raising his turtle sons to realize that he might not actually know what he's doing.

Okay. That was a gross understatement – Splinter never knew what he was doing.

Not a day went by where he didn't silently long for a simple house with four walls and a picket fence and neighbours who traded desserts on the holidays… or whatever it was that fit the lifestyle of a suburban washed-up dad.

He loved his family. He loves his sons to no end and would die for them if it came to it. Having Draxum around made it easier… but it didn't fix everything .

He should have never brought down that projector from the local scrap yard. He knows well enough how the large-screen version of this kind of entertainment is both a blessing and a curse, but what was he supposed to do, not provide his family with television?

He and Draxum have already had to debug hundreds of viruses off of his phone from all the movies and games the kids downloaded – with no help due to the fact that neither he nor the yokai knew how cell phones worked at first.

Eventually, they got the hang of it, but really, there was no point in using a phone to watch movies if you had a larger screen. So they just had to get one.

He forgot how much he loved TV.

Yeah, the kids indulged quite often… but sitting in front of the screen easily became his hobby.

It was mindless. It was fun. It helped him forget about the bad and forced him to fight it on his worst of days.

Despite it all, though, the constant noise from around the Lair trained him to keep an ear out.

So when he heard a crash in the distance, he knew .

Splinter groaned, placing the remote on his armchair. Those boys were always getting into trouble .

The rat mutant left his chair, not at all pleased to find his bones cracking in the process. How long would this damned mutation take? He hated living with this constant morphing, making him grow shorter and more rat-like as the years passed, no matter what medicine Draxum gave him… but, he supposed, it wasn’t time to think about that now.

That's what he had the TV and the kids for: to forget about the bad.

If either of those things were his priority at the moment, it was the kids. Who were still yelling about something very loudly .

"Boys! What is the meaning of this?"

The rat father found himself just short of the boy's rooms, and already he could tell it was a mess.

"He started it!"

"Did not !"

" Boys ."

At the doorway he found them, everything as messy as he predicted and children all over the place. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "What happened here?"

"Leo messed up our beautiful paintings."

"Did not!"

Splinter groaned again. Was it ever any different with these kids?

He looked away from his two oldest sons, directing his attention to the youngest. "Mikey, why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Okay!" The little box turtle – well, not so little anymore – stood up, walking around to illustrate his version of the story. "Me and Raphie were painting, when woosh , Leo kicked the ball, spilling our paints everywhere ."

"That's not what happened!"

"Then what did happen, Leon ?"

It was the slider's turn to explain. "Okay, fine, I kicked the ball in here– but it's not my fault you two dum dums are painting on the floor!"

"Did you want us to paint all over your comics on the table instead?"

"No way Jóse!"

Splinter chuckled, unable to keep his amusem*nt away. If they had it within themselves to solve problems, he seldom had to intervene. They were surprisingly good at finding the root of problems on their own. They just never wanted to be the one to lose.

The mess truly was not all that big. Yes, there was a fair deal of paint on the floor, but it was only whatever they had on their trays. Besides, cleaning paint was a bi-weekly experience in the Lair.

Though, amongst their bickering, he found the room lacked one out of his four sons. "Wait, where's Purple?"

"He's playing board games with Barry in the dining room."

Heh. Barry .

Maybe he shouldn't be calling the yokai that name all the time, given that the kids so easily picked up on it. But it was funny.

"Why don't you boys play board games too?"

"Because we're not bored enough," Leonardo quipped with a smirk, high-fiving himself for extra measure.

Everyone else in the room groaned.

"What? It was a good one."

"No, it was lame."

"Hate you too, Raph!!"

Despite the 'hate' comment, the slider leaned on his older brother's arm. Early on did the rat learn this was his second-oldest's way of showing affection.

The rat dad smiled, leaning to reach the kids' level (even if such was not necessary for Raphael these days. They grew up so fast…). "How about we find a card game instead?"

"Ooh, like gold fish?"

Splinter chuckled. "You mean 'go fish'."

"Yeah," Mikey corrected.

Leo scoffed, however. " Please , go fish is for babies."

"And?" he decided to challenge, "You're all still my babies."

"We're not that young ."

"...Maybe, but you'll never be too old to deny a classic game of go fish."

The rat stood back up, slowly, (trying his hardest to hide the struggle), before clasping his paws together. "Now, you boys clean up, while I find the deck."

Raph perked up while the others pouted. "Ooh, can we use the bunny cards?"

He nodded. "Of course, Red."

Before he could turn and leave the room, he saw Leo kick a crumpled-up paper. "I don't wanna do all this…"

"We're skipping pizza night if you don't."

The turtle's eyes immediately shot open, giving a fake salute. "On it, boss man sir!"

Splinter chuckled to himself. Nothing quite bribed these kids like pizza did.

-

Conveniently, they kept the majority of their games and puzzles some ways past the dining room, so he got a first-hand look at the other two and their gaming session.

In other circ*mstances, he wouldn't expect a six-year-old and a former warlord to enjoy playing chess, but here they were.

These weren't normal circ*mstances, not in the slightest. But if it meant he got to see his son and co-parent taking the tabletop game a little too seriously, then he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

"You can't move that there?"

"Oh yeah, little man? Says who?"

"Says the big book of chess rules. And the online encyclopedia of chess worldwide, and every chess player…"

The rat mutant had to keep himself from laughing, lest he disturbs their game. It was too perfect a scene to squander.

And, quite honestly, he enjoyed hearing his second-youngest son's voice too much to risk interrupting. They all had trouble learning to speak, but Donnie had it the worst. They all encouraged him to speak, though accepted early on that he may never.

Should that be, they'd still be okay; they learned to communicate with him otherwise. But he recently picked up speaking just that little bit more, and like most kids learning for the first time, it meant he spoke a lot .

Speaking of his children that could never shut up .

The rat scavenged the shelf for the deck of cards with bunny pictures, just like Raph asked for. They could buy hundreds of packs just for them all to go missing all the time.

Luckily, he did find them, if not a little dishevelled. Calling this bunch held together with a rubber band a 'deck of cards' felt too high of praise, but it's what they had on them. That, and it still had every card, last he checked.

He took the rubber band out, beginning to shuffle the cards in hand. There was no point waiting until he got back to the room – it would not be clean by the time he got back.

But, to his surprise, they’d get quite close. By the time he got back, he could hear the three children scrambling in the room, trying to make sure it was clean enough. There was the occasional ‘ow’, leading him to believe they were tripping over themselves or whatever else was on the floor. They were trying, though, and that’s all that mattered.

When entering the door, he attempted to shuffle the cards mid-air to both finish shuffling them and alert the kids he was back – but it failed, with multiple cards falling on the floor.

Splinter chuckled nervously, keeping a tight hold on the remaining cards. “Oops.”

Leo and Mikey stopped what they were doing, looking up at him and laughing. Raph, however, didn’t look amused. “Now there’s an even bigger mess,” he pouted, crossing his arms.

“So what?” the rat dad started, “We were going to play on the floor, were we not?” He started lowering himself down to the floor again, internally cursing at his bad back. He shouldn’t be doing this all the time…

Luckily, his kids were sweethearts. He soon found pairs of small hands helping him pick up the remaining few cards, sticking them back in the messy deck he held.

Leo, however, enjoyed looking at each card’s value, eyes lighting up at one. “Ha! Queen of Spades. Pick up five cards, brother of mine!”

He put it in Raph’s face, only for the snapper to grunt. “That’s for crazy eights.”

“And we gotta start playing first,” Mikey added.

The slider pouted, handing the card over to his dad.

With that, the older mutant took all the cards, reorganizing slowly and carefully this time . Soon, the deck was ready for them to start playing.

The floor was still quite a mess. As long as they wouldn’t be sitting in paint, though, they wouldn’t have much of a problem. “Now, who’s ready to go fishing?”

Almost all of them groaned.

He loved being a dad.

-

“Hmm… got any fours?”

The blue-branded turtle handed his father two cards, pouting. “This feels like cheating.”

“You’re the one who wanted to play this way,” the rat reminded, happily tucking the two cards into his hand. Should anyone receive a four by their next turn, they’d claim the victory – but for now, he was content with having the lead ahead.

“Go fish is stupid anyways. There’s like, a billion different ways to play it and none of them are right,” the slider complained.

“Only if you lose all the time,” the box turtle taunted with a big smile.

Leo pouted again, holding his cards close to his chest as if he believed his brothers would look at them any moment now.

The rat dad chuckled, finding Raph waiting impatiently while his younger brothers were being silly. He nudged him with his tail, gesturing back to the game. “Go on.”

This seemed to confuse the slider. “Isn’t it your turn still?”

Oh right, it probably was. “Doesn’t matter,” he settled with a shrug, “none of you have the cards I need; might as well pass up the turn early.”

Honestly, he still had a few. But with the lead he had on everyone else, he found it fairer to give them a chance.

Dad privileges, or something like that.

Normally his oldest was a stickler for the rules, but this much seemed reasonable to him. With this, the snapper nodded, looking at his hand with a smirk. “Got any sevens?”

Ah, darn. He did. In fact, he had three of them.

Splinter handed them over, much to the snapper’s joy. This made his third pile, putting him in first place behind, followed by him and Leo with a tie of two piles each.

The game would likely end soon, with how often they were able to give the asker cards when requested. And the middle pile to ‘fish’ from was nearly gone. That wouldn’t stop his second-oldest son from calling cheats – unless he wins, that is.

They ignored him in favour of Raph asking if anyone had a five. When no one did, he took a card, which, miraculously, wasn’t a five, so he couldn’t go again.

So it was Leo’s turn.

The blud-branded turtle carefully looked over his cards, seeming to choose one on the outermost left of his hand. Then he looked at each of the other players, a large smirk forming. “Got any queens?”

Everyone handed him one queen each.

“Yes!” He took each, putting them neatly together before adding them to his collection. Now he was tied with Raph.

With how fast the remaining cards were dwindling, Splinter doubted he would have the chance to deal again. Whatever was in his hand would very likely be given to one of his sons, and he was content with that. Still, he was curious about who would take the victory.

Chest puffed out proudly, the slider looked over everyone again. “Got any tens?”

The way his pride would falter when they shook their heads.

“Hmm, nope.”

“Sorry, Leo. I got nothing.”

Mikey, however, looked content. “Go fiiish.”

The slider squinted at the youngest, slowly taking one of the last cards from the draw pile. The colour drained from his face upon seeing it.

He was going to lose .

With this, the orange-branded turtle grinned, happily holding his deck.

"Got any twos?"

Okay, innocent enough of a request. The rat and snapper each handed him a card, making the box turtle now possess four of them.

He put them down, browsing the rest of the cards in hand. "Got any jacks?" To his surprise, the collective merely shook their heads. "Are you kidding me right now?!"

"HA! Go fish, Micheal!"

The box turtle took a card, angrily stuffing it in his hand. If he didn't get a jack, that meant…

It was Splinter's turn.

The game was practically won .

The father chuckled. "Well well, what a turn of events," he mused, watching his children realize in horror. But he was very prepared to win this.

"Do any of you possess a nine, perhaps?"

Three cards were handed his way; one from Leo and two from Raph.

Since he had run out of new cards to ask, he took one from the draw pile, laughing happily to himself. His collection of fours was complete.

Now he was out, so he took another card, grinning.

"How about a five?"

A card was sent his way from each child.

This cycle would likely repeat for some time if they had any more than a card left.

At the very last card, he simply turned it face up, leaving the ten open for everyone to see and be forced to put theirs with. "Alright, pay up!"

"No!"

"Dang it!"

"Language, Leo!"

"That wasn't even a swear!"

The rat soon found himself too preoccupied collecting his cards to care about their little squabble. All that mattered was the fat stack of cards in his fair possession.

"I win!"

"No fair!" his sons (mostly) pouted.

The rat could only laugh in the face of their despair. "All is fair in the life of a fisherman, and I just happen to be the most wealthy."

Despite how dramatically upset Leo was, he snorted, standing up in front of his dad. "Doesn't it go 'Only the smartest wealthiest of fishermen reign supreme in the face of his foes'?"

Huh, he supposed it was.

But wait.

That sounded oddly familiar. Too familiar.

…Where did his son learn that line?

—

Okay, when he said that he was going to try laying off the TV? That wasn't exactly the case.

Can you blame him? Yes, it was harmful and addictive, but if used with the best intentions, it can't be that bad… right?

Splinter was a complicated man... well, rat-man. He wanted nothing to do with the Hidden City, the Battle Nexus and all that... The kids, especially, didn't need to know about his old life. But would it be a crime to show them a few sick moves?

Listen.

Just hear him out.

Watching his old movies was quite possibly the least suspicious way he could connect with his old life. He didn't have the energy to run around with the kids like he did when they were younger (damn ever-shifting bone structure), so he saw this as a way to bond with them and relive his glory days at the same time.

Even better, his kids loved these movies.

He's sure this is because they have stumbled upon them before – he has the cracked files to prove it. But watching on the big screen truly made it for them.

After putting on the movies a few times himself, he eventually found the kids jumping up and down on either side of his chair, begging him to put on a Lou Jitsu movie.

And he complied, every time. How could he not with how often they asked it of him?

Barry may roll his eyes at the sight of them all enjoying what he calls ‘cheesy action hero nonsense’, but he knew he loved it too. And if not the movies, then the sight of the kids all trying to replicate his stunts.

If the Lou Jitsu charm could not convince him (which he severely doubted), then it was their little not-warriors that could. The yokai was a big softie, even if he fought against that claim.

He couldn’t, because even Splinter knew they all had the potential to dominate the ninjitsu field and hold their ground against any threat – maybe even better than him.

That’s a thought he wouldn’t entertain, though. Educating his children was far more important.

“Head up, Leonardo,” he instructed, seeing the young turtle copy his action poses to near perfection.

His son nodded, now replicating the pose perfectly.

Of course, his other sons wanted to play the main character, but the slider took to it the most naturally, so two of them played the bodyguards in the scene, while Donnie played the antagonist.

“ You think you have the upper hand here, but you have underestimated my power, for you see, I am ,” Leo copied, pretending to rip an outfit off.

His oldest and youngest brothers stumbled back, just like in the scene. “Gasp! Lou Jitsu !”

The purple-branded turtle stood up, just like the antagonist, pointing at his somewhat-twin brother. “Get him!”

His voice was still too squeaky to properly convey a villain tone, but he did a pretty good job regardless. Splinter chuckled, forgetting the projection as he watched his sons replicate the movie to a tone that was uniquely them.

No doubt they couldn’t fly across the screen and kick the living daylights out of each other. They jumped off their beanbags and made whooshing sounds, trying their best to copy the old sound effects that were horribly out of date. It was all perfect, though.

He’s seen them do this with their other favourite movie series, and enjoyed watching them reenact those sci-fi adventures… but there was something about the passion they had for these newfound movies – that were also his movies – that warmed the former human’s heart beyond what he could comprehend.

“You won’t get away, Lou Jitsu!”

The second-youngest’s voice interrupted his thoughts, finding it louder than his previous attempts. Much more so because it was directed at him .

Or, well, someone nearby him. Not that it wasn’t enough to give him a heart attack.

He must have missed Leo climbing onto his chair (even with his rat senses), now standing on the back of it. He was replicating one of his famous lines, which he found kind of funny. Until he remembered how the scene ended.

“Leonardo Blue, if you backflip off this chair-”

He didn’t for the sole reason that he didn’t know how to backflip.

He still jumped off it.

Splinter groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

The end credits started rolling, and the turtles regrouped in front of his chair, giggling amongst themselves. “Sooo, how’d we do?” they asked, looking up at him, still panting from having been running around.

“Excellently, my boys,” he praised, sitting higher up now. “Don’t forget the post-credits scene.”

“Oh yeah!”

They looked at the screen behind them, awaiting the scene and getting in position.

Splinter chuckled, watching them try to remember and figure out how the scene was going to go. Even Leo was in position, meaning he must have thought Lou Jitsu would be in that scene.

Should he tell him he wasn’t? Nah, they’d figure it out… Eventually.

“Another one! Another one!”

The kids bounced around as if they didn’t just reenact a whole fight scene and then some. If he had even half their energy, they’d all be making their own movies by now.

He picked up the remote, ready to deject the CD from its player until he saw the youngest pout. “Can we watch the cooking channel now?”

“The cooking channel is boring, Mikey,” Leo dismissed. “We wanna watch Lou Jitsu!”

The other kids agreed with Leo’s statement, excited to get to another session of crime-fighting action and sick moves.

It made the rat dad hum. If two people can cause an onslaught of differences and disagreements, just imagine what it was like with four children – four children who all had very unique personalities .

“It’s not a bad idea,” he began, gesturing his head to Mikey. “Buuut, if you all really want… I suppose one more movie can’t hurt.”

The others cheered, and at that moment he knew he was the youngest’s current least favourite parent. But he had a plan.

He picked up his youngest son – ignoring the struggle, kid was surprisingly heavy – and sat him on his leg. “You can help Sheep Dad make dinner today,” he offered with a small smile. Then he leaned in, whispering, “You know he needs it.”

Mikey giggled, pushing him away a little. “Okay Dad," he decided, looking much less upset now.

He didn't move, though, allowing Splinter to know the kid was comfortable right where he was. And he had no doubt the orange-branded turtle would soon jump right into his brothers' game – he knew them. But he gave him the choice of sticking around should he want.

Soon he returned to a quiet rhythm of observing his sons acting out the best Lou Jitsu scenes to the best of their ability… which meant they were up and about for most of the movie because his films seldom offered downtime between plot.

They tried switching around who would play who, but some roles filled themselves out better than others, such as Red playing the bumbling but well-meaning leader of an organization, or Orange eventually jumping in to play a charismatic young assistant with a heart of gold and equally mischievous grin.

Then there were the other two prominent roles: the hero and the villain. Purple loved being the villain, even if most of the role consisted of standing there, looking cool and saying epic evil lines. Blue so naturally took to the role of the hero – of Lou Jitsu himself – that you'd believe him to be a super fan since birth.

That, or that the two were related, or have personally met. All of which was true.

Splinter sighed. In no world would he ever allow his sons to become warriors, to suffer the prophecy both he and Draxum endured in their childhoods. But they took so naturally to it…

He supposed it was inevitable. Such abilities were quite literally built into their genetic code. They could be given the most comfortable home life, but that wouldn't deny the fact that they were mutant turtles built with the strength and endurance of humans and Yokai combined.

It hurt his head to think about… but, if push came to shove, at least they'd be prepared to fight back.

And they'd look awesome doing so.

_ _ _

When trying to distract oneself from the impending reality of their situation, one often finds methods of distraction of various degrees. For some, that involves picking up time-consuming hobbies, for others, throwing themselves into work, even when far from necessary.

It would take five years of renovating the sewers to resemble anything close to a home, for Draxum to finally sit down and admit how much he adored this situationship he landed himself in.

Yes, he accepted his fate from day one, wracked with guilt and faced with narrow choices – though it took being a father to realize it was worth it .

Draxum had a lot to miss when it came to his life before. The security of a roof and four walls, all the technology and alchemical substances needed in life; the glory, the power, the dignity . A lot of it, he could care less about. Speaking with his sons would forever offer more intelligent conversation than whatever those higher-up bozos called 'business deals'.

No matter how much he silently longed for a life where he could've raised his children and the human-now-mutant rat in his old estate, all of that was gone now. So he just had to make the best of their new world.

He spent time with the kids when he could, and spoke with the rat whenever felt natural, but where he thrived in his new role was with the renovations.

In a few short years, their shelter became a home. He built a little something for all of them: a terrarium/lounge room, a dojo, and a laboratory. While they may have had a low-tier med bay beforehand, it was one of the rooms he gave a well-deserved touch-up. He also fixed the empty spaces into rooms for the boys should they ever want their own spaces.

(They were all rather comfortable sharing a room, as much as he and the rat were… but he figured, as the boys grew, they'd want their own spaces. The fathers would likely continue sharing, though.)

With this said, after all this time, it was done. As far as he was concerned.

A reasonable person would take the opportunity to rest and lounge around like his parental counterpart until he couldn't remember what day it was. Draxum was never a reasonable yokai, though.

Instead, he announced the completion of all his projects that morning, much to the children's joy (even if it were obvious that not a single room was a surprise to them). All four of them would easily spend the rest of the day within these places, which brought him all the more pride and joy.

This was a good thing. He was doing a good thing. He may not be the best person, a sub-par father at best… but he couldn't deny the love he had for his creations, and wanted only the best for them.

…Just as much, he wanted to enjoy the space that became drastically more livable. Not because he built it, what are you talking about?

The dojo, especially, he couldn't wait to try out.

Neither could Splinter.

"So, Rat, would you say this lives up to your standards?"

He stood proudly with his hands behind his back, taking in the sight of his co-parent studying the space. If he snuck earlier glances, at least he was a good actor in pretending otherwise.

Though Draxum had reason to believe this is the first Splinter had seen or even known of the dojo's existence. The glimmer in his eyes gave it away.

"It's pretty close to a real dojo," the Rat commented eventually, "almost as good as the second-best Lou Jitsu training studio in New York."

Draxum frowned.

"Who am I kidding? This is great, Goat Man," the rat corrected, snickering amongst himself. "The kids are gonna love this."

That much, he could agree with. Despite the shorter mutant holding a grudge towards anything related to martial arts or training, he's seeming to warm up to it again as of late. So, Draxum had broader visions for this space than for the children merely goofing off.

"What?"

When the rat looked up at him again, he realized he must have zoned out. How easy it was to become distracted.

The yokai cleared his throat. "I was just thinking… since the boys are busy right now, and we're here, maybe we could try it out first?" He stepped forward a bit, turning to face the rat man. "All this time and you never taught me any of your moves."

"Because you'll use them against me, obviously."

He huffed. Fair enough.

"Just a friendly spar, then?"

Even with the rat's hesitance, he soon found a smirk. "Game on, Goat Man."

The yokai nodded. Friendly spar it was.

He headed towards a display against one of the walls, picking up two bo staffs for the both of them. After briefly studying the weight of them, he tossed one toward the rat, who caught it with ease.

"Fancy," the rat teased, twirling the staff with one hand.

Even with his time away from it all, such seemed to be second nature to the mutant. Maybe one day, he could sit back and watch the rat display his skills… but for now, they were to work together. Or, well, against each other.

"I've been doing my research," the yokai quipped, preparing himself in a stance he's seen in quite a few informative articles.

This got the rat to smile. "Then you should know that all this," he began, gesturing to their clothes, "is highly unprofessional."

He was right. What they both wore at the moment much more resembled a 'lazy Sunday' look rather than one of someone in training. Though, he figured, there was no harm in it.

"It's a spar, Rat." He let up on his pose, much more relaxed. "What's a spar if not a duel between two foes at unexpected times and places?"

They were not foes. Not anymore, at least. The rat had every reason to hold a grudge but blast it all if Draxum hasn't been trying his best to make up for all the ways he's wronged him.

Either way, this was meant to be casual. Neither of them has trained in multiple years, and would likely be very rusty. No need to be too serious for a friendly spar.

The rat huffed, holding himself higher. "If not that… then it's practice amongst friends or allies."

Friends… right. Friends. Such a word was in the name 'friendly', and that's what they were. That's what they were going to do. Have a friendly spar. Right.

The smaller mutant offering a wink didn't help with his internal turmoil. If he avoided flustering before, there was nothing that could help him now. Inside and out, he was a bumbling idiot.

Damn Lou Jitsu charm.

Despite it all, the yokai quickly shook his head, snapping away from his thoughts. He stood straighter, meeting the mutant with a grin. "Then practice we may."

They avoided announcing when the spar started to keep from becoming too formal. That was not them, and that was not their situation. If truly used as practice, it'd be wise to their natural methods of combat, fighting as if such a confrontation would have happened years before.

He did not anticipate how often the rat would quip flirty remarks as a method of distraction. Something he never grew used to over the years.

"Nice moves, Barry," he taunted, ducking away before the yokai could get to him. Short little bastard.

Draxum simply rolled his eyes, catching up to the rat's quick wit the second time around. He was just as quick on his hooves, ducking around to try to reach his shorter opponent at a fair level.

Anticipating the difficulties with their size differences would have been wise. Fighting against someone smaller took more strategy than someone your size or bigger. It's fine time to realize just how big he is compared to the mutant – a mutant talented in mystic-free combat.

Nevertheless, he prevailed. Draxum met the end of his staff with Splinter's as much as possible. He spun, swiftly dodging the rat's next attack; expecting as much when the rat did something similar.

Though the way the rat moved almost resembled glitching . That much, Draxum would've never expected.

And the rat used that to his advantage.

Not even trying to fight back, he soon found the long end of Splinter's staff inches away from his chest. He wanted to say something, anything … but he was too impressed. Too stunned to even sing praises as he so gladly would.

Though such were never needed to invoke the other's ego. He grinned, spinning his staff until it was by his side again. "You're getting weaker, you old goat."

Weaker . Was he truly getting weaker?

That… wasn't the outcome he sought out with this spar. If anything he'd hope they'd match skill. But who was he kidding; no one was better than the former-human beloved by even the sticklers amongst Yokai.

He had to be smart about this.

"Remind me again who nearly broke their back trying to reach a jar of peanut butter last week?"

The rat crossed his arms. "...Shut it."

Despite this, he couldn't help but chuckle. So often did the rat do these dangerous things, and by all means, he should be stopping him. Unfortunately, it was more natural to tease him, having that urge whenever he opened his mouth in the same presence as him.

He supposed it became even easier than falling victim to feelings he was yet to bury. It was the only thing that became easier.

"Do you suppose we end this spar with a truce, or do you expect a reward for winning?"

So often did he spite himself by opening his damn mouth. He should stop, he really should… but this little game was like breathing air to him. It was so natural .

The rat smirked at this. Maybe a tad too wide.

"How about you make dinner tonight, hmm?" A free hand stroked his chin in thought for a moment. "How about that oregano-flavoured pasta you aren't awful at making?"

"...The kids hate oregano."

As he spoke, the yokai offered out a hand to take the rat's staff.

Said rat, who chuckled amongst himself, loosening his grip on the wooden stick just enough for Draxum to grab hold. "I know."

For a moment, their hands remained, each holding the same stick. The yokai couldn't gather the strength to take it until he mentally shook his thoughts away, yoinking away the staff as aggressively.

He turned away and headed back to the display wall before he could give in and fail to flirt back.

A dinner for them only… that rat was trying to kill him.

—

"Daaaaaaad!"

The yokai looked down at his hooves, finding two very attentive turtles looking back at him.

"Up! Up!"

Internally, he chuckled; even as they matured and got older, they still wanted to be picked up and carried around – especially the red-eared slider and box turtle. Just as much, he wondered how hard it was to get a moment alone in the morning.

Despite not having the energy and clearly wanting to brush his teeth more than anything else, he sighed. "Okay," he mused, holding his toothbrush with only his mouth for a moment.

He met the two at their level, allowing them to climb into his arms. Despite their constant state of growing, they still weighed very little to him. Carrying them took no effort at all – maybe that's why they preferred to ask him.

Carefully, he put them down on either end of the sink's surface. Splinter thought it was stupid for him to install such a large sink. Clearly, they had reasons.

"I'm surprised you kids are up this early, much less that you want to brush your teeth." The question came as he returned to doing so himself, mindlessly opening the cabinets below.

As he began to rummage through them, trying to find a blue and orange brush, the turtle children looked puzzled. "Well duh, isn't that stuff good for you?"

The yokai huffed, both from having found the brushes and kid-friendly paste, and as much from the audacity.

"You only do what you're told when you want something."

With a raised eyebrow, the father held out the brushes, just in reach for each of them. He was not wrong in the slightest… because of this, it was amusing to watch them hesitate. Should they say why? Should they just take the brushes?

Slowly, they took their brushes. The paste bottle was held in the same hand as Leo's brush, so he was the first to apply it. Just as much, he was the first to speak. "Other dad said he'd rent the seventh movie in the Hot Soup saga if we brushed our teeth every day for a week."

The yokai snorted. He never doubted there was a reason behind this.

For a moment, the second-youngest looked guilty. He couldn't figure out why until he looked up at him, and with the softest voice wondered, "Don't we gotta do good stuff just because?"

"Yes, but… I don't see why that'd be a problem," the yokai reasoned. "Motivation comes in many forms. As long as your motivation is towards good deeds and your own well-being, I can't be upset with where you have found it."

Ha, good deeds. Such preaching is rich, coming from him… or at least, the man he used to be.

This is the stuff he should be teaching them – basic manners and hygiene and all that. The rebuilding projects may have taken some time, but he's neglected to properly parent long enough. If the rat was going to be the fun one, then he'd teach them practical things. It was only fair.

While the kids were quite content brushing away, the second-oldest eventually raised a brow. "Why would you be upset?"

"Because your father is bribing you."

He began to run the sink, spitting out his toothpaste before he got the chance to watch his son sputter about how unfair it all was. Even if that's exactly what's happening.

The kids soon followed – even if the recommended two minutes of brushing have not passed. He soon found this was because of a little protest.

"Well now I don't wanna do it," Mikey complained, crossing his arms. The other copied him near perfectly.

Draxum frowned.

Maybe he shouldn't have told them .

"You can't just not brush your teeth, dumb-dumbs."

Oh, would you look at that? He had backup.

The father turned his head to the entrance of the room. Since the door was open, it was little surprise someone else walked in. It just so happened to be his other two sons.

Without having to ask, the oldest grabbed a stepping stool from where it was previously, bringing it to the sink. He wordlessly nudged the tallest person there – who eventually understood, moving out of the way.

"There's a lot of icky bacteria in your mouth that builds up if you never brush, which is very unhealthy!" the second youngest argued, sticking his head in the cabinet.

"We live in the sewers , Donnie."

"Dad says the surface is just as gross, Nardo ."

Ah, the squabbling. Always between Leonardo and one of his brothers closest to his age.

"Where's the good toothpaste?"

Before he could aid the son in searching, his tallest brother reached out, "Over here." He handed him a small tube of the specialized paste Draxum recently picked up, making sure it was up to the boy's standards.

They were now talking amongst themselves, arguing the benefits of brushing and helping each other reach the sink. It was quite charming to witness… even if the yokai ended up feeling out of place. Despite the children clearly needing guidance, he felt little reason to be there.

He was about to head out when he heard a final set of footsteps from behind. "Is there a party here or something?"

The goat snorted, allowing the rat to breach the already crowded space. He leaned against the wall, taking in the sight once again. "No, no party – your sons are just arguing about brushing their teeth because someone promised something in return."

The rat looked amused for a moment before the youngest attempted to hop off the sink from where he sat. He quickly scrambled for the kid, shooting Draxum a look.

But he couldn't deny it; that's exactly why the children were fighting and goofing off. At least this time.

"Well, have fun here," the yokai mumbled, standing straight up again and heading for the exit, "I'll get started on breakfast."

If anything, the mutant co-parent landed himself in that situation. He didn't get to sleep in after promising such a thing to their least responsible children and get away scot-free, oh no.

If he couldn't enjoy his morning. Neither could Splinter. Such was only fair.

—

All things considered, Draxum held up for longer than he ever believed he would.

Not a day went by when he didn't fear the possible intrusion of humans. Yes, he may be able to ignore the pests in favour of putting his family's needs first, but that didn't mean much when he still loathed trips to the surface more than anything.

He had a mission and therefore would ignore his – rightful – biases for the time being. But he would never be happy about it, no matter the time that passed.

The yokai sighed as he slipped back into the Lair, careful to conceal what he carried with him. There was a distant warm banter coming from one of the other rooms, loud enough that they would not have heard him come in. He knew they'd greet him, and the youngest would hug him, then another would ask him to get them something from the kitchen; he wasn't avoiding that . It's something he never minded, and could admit warmed his heart.

But for the sake of his little secret, it would be best if they thought he was still out.

Sneaking past the many rooms, he soon found himself in the lab. While, yes, he's now 'opened it to the public', it was still very much his lab . He built it for himself and for all the scientific fixes he'd need to sustain his mental stability.

Over time, he has used the space wisely. It's where he developed the medication for Splinter's aching bones and it's where he runs tests to make sure his children are healthy. But there is one more thing he wants to try before the space is inevitably shared by kids who could only dream of its true potential.

If nothing else, he had to test out his mystics. The vines he's neglected to use over the years, too weak for true usage and too strange to explain to the others. Every time they slipped out, it has been chalked up to one of the many wonders of living in the literal sewers.

This was madness. Draxum had every right to use his powers and teach the mutant children their own powers that lie within.

Then again, he agreed with the rat; if something was unexplainable without mentioning their pasts, it was best not to bring it up.

So it would be here that he practiced. Not in the dojo, like a normal person, but behind the heavily fortified door in a private room fit for a mad scientist. Because even in fatherhood, that's what he was – a warring warrior alchemist.

No one could take that from him.

Carefully he took out each empty beaker from its case, placing them each on a stand. On their own stands were the only two vials with their own substance each – the only things salvaged from his old lab.

Draxum knew he'd have limited opportunity to test that mutagen and antidote, and would rather not waste it. But first, he deemed his mystics direr.

Once everything was organized, he stepped back, taking a deep breath.

Mystic ability came to a yokai as naturally as breathing. Draxum has had this ability within him for five hundred years, give or take… and yet, at this moment, he finds nothing but difficulty.

He cleared his mind, focusing on nothing but his powers. For a moment he feels the energy coursing through his veins, but the results are nothing but a bright purple glow. This is ridiculous . He should be able to control whatever he wants with the flick of his wrist, and here he was, weak , unable to produce more than a mere light show.

The yokai slumped, deciding to give up on that for now. What he does know he has the energy for is his vines – if nothing else was there for him, at least they'd always be.

He summoned a vine from below. It was a singular skinny vine, but one nonetheless. He instructed it to pick up his journal and a pen, sending it his way.

Reliable. It was reliable, and he just wishes his blasted mystics would keep up to the same level. He's had the mystic ability for far longer than that of the vines, so it made no sense to him that it'd be so weak… though, if it were a natural thing, he could have been weakened by what he ate… maybe the water had something to do with it…

All were thoughts he jotted down into the most recently empty pages. If he had none of his old research, then he'd just have to start again, after all. And such started with his notes.

The yokai hummed, putting the notes down himself. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders, preparing a second take.

A deep breath began the process, soon feeling the tingle beneath his fingertips yet again. It was exhilarating as always – but he would not hold his hopes up too high. After all, who knows? This may be his second failure.

Now honing the slightest bit more concentration, he felt the inner mystic energy connect with a solid object – the book, he soon realized. Both it and his hand were encased in the purple light of his soul, and with this connection, he tried to bring the book forward. The energy fizzled out.

Blast it . He tried again but to no avail. It seemed his mystics had a personal vendetta against his success.

Again he used his vines to bring the book to him, noting down his newest failure. He wouldn't give up just yet, seeing himself on this journey for quite possibly a few days. But the desire to succeed off the bat was strong.

He tried and tried again. And again, and again. Every time felt much closer and yet so far away. It made the yokai grow frustrated, yet in that energy, he found the push to try even harder.

Eventually, he got remotely close. He was able to lift the pen. Pathetic, but better than nothing.

If that was all… he looked towards the vials, knowing full well they were next on his list.

Before anything else, the yokai paused, heading towards the fortified door. Not yet has he installed a method of storing fresh water, and all this practice made him parched – he wasn't mad enough of a scientist to ignore his needs.

That, and it was a fine time to at least let his kids know he returned home. He should feel worse about not doing so before, but he convinced himself there was a reason for all this.

The sooner he got control over his mystic abilities, the sooner he could return to his research, and in doing so, improve all their lives.

One could argue that merely being there for them helped a lot. The renovations helped astronomically, and if he wasn't there to be a shoulder for the rat mutant to cry on or the sole provider of the turtle's medication, he doesn't know what would happen.

But, even with all that, he felt inclined to do more . If he could help them in a way only- ahem , 'Barry' Draxum could, that's what he was going to do – even if it included questionable methods of alchemy and science.

What they didn't know couldn't hurt them. It was for the best.

Chapter 10: The Face Man

Chapter Text

Leo was eight years old when he realized he wanted to be just like Lou Jitsu.

I mean, who wouldn't? Lou Jitsu was the coolest, kickass hero in movie history! Even cooler than Jupiter Jim – which is a take you'd have to pry from his cold, dead hands.

But, obviously, there was more to it than that. Leo didn't want to be Lou Jitsu just because of how cool the character was, but because of how cool the person was as well.

How cool would it be to have a name so awesome, the character is simply named after you. And to have that character been beloved by all?

Leo's a bit of a trivia guy. Ever since their dad started showing them the old LJ movies, the blue-branded turtle has gained a habit of reading the back of CDs, pausing the end credits sequences, and scrolling through countless information-based websites to find out every little detail.

A lot of the information might be fake – haha, more like in faux mation – but Leo couldn't care. With the additional rabbit hole of the movie star's disappearance, anything could be true.

Okay, so he was a little obsessed with the guy, so what? He considered him an idol, and who doesn't want to be a one-for-one copy of their idol?

This meant he practiced acting like Lou Jitsu a lot. And I mean a lot .

Whenever he wasn't hyper-focused on some other small thing, his full and undivided attention was on Lou Jitsu movies and trivia. Whenever he couldn't get sleep, he snuck out to the dojo and practiced his moves. He slipped a lot of the dialogue into everyday conversations until he could come up with his own lines convincing enough to pass as official movie quotes.

His brothers usually thought it was dumb. Leo had no problem telling them to shove off his groove and leave him alone to be awesome unlike them .

He would do what he wanted when he wanted; especially because at least one of his parents had a high aversion to it. The old goat found it funny if nothing else, but Dad? He almost always looked bittersweet any time he said Lou Jitsu lines or struck a pose, and Leo couldn't figure out why.

Maybe he was just happy to see them like a childhood favourite of his; passing the torch of whatever they called it. Leo would happily digest any old 80's martial arts action movies, but honestly, none would ever hold a candle to LJ's movies.

That all being said, it was high time to pop on another movie.

The speedy little turtle ran and jumped through the hallways, rushing towards the living room. Nothing would stand in his way!

His brothers were panting as they tried to catch up. "Leo! Enough!"

But no, he would not listen. Reaching the living room, the slider leaped for the couch, snatching the remote before anyone else could. "Nice try, losers, but I'm getting the first pick."

He twirled the remote in hand, almost dropping it in the process – saving it by half a second.

Once all the brothers caught up, they crashed on the large beanbag, scowling at their brother as they caught their breaths. It was honestly kind of funny to watch.

"You always do this, Leo!"

"Yeah, why can't we watch something else?"

Ah, his poor, sweet brothers. Clearly, they did not understand the favour he was doing them by picking their movie.

"And miss out on more crime-fighting kung-fu awesomeness? Uh, no thank you," Leo shrugged, hopping up and sitting comfortably on the vacant living room armchair. "Besides, it's either this or old soap commercials. Which would you rather have?"

"Jupiter Jim."

The slider frowned.

"Or a cartoon movie."

Leo couldn't help the following laugh. " Who even watches cartoons anymore ," he mumbled, the thought slipping his mind. "And you can't seriously tell me you think old Jupiter Jim is better than Lou Jitsu." They all looked at him like he had said something absurd. "What?"

"It's just a phase, brother of mine," his not-twin began, "no true member of this household is ever disloyal to our favourite action hero spaceman."

Oh how much Donnie sounded like a nerd right then and there. Leo neglected to say anything, lest the only brother older than him decide to lecture him about bullying.

Ew, no thanks. He had a movie to watch.

"Whatever guys, it's my turn to pick the movie, and we're watching Lou Jitsu." Leo was settled on this, and given how much he needed to watch some form of LJ media right now or he'd explode , there was nothing anyone could say to convince him otherwise.

Not his brothers, nor his parents. Rat Dad was in his room working on something and Sheep Man was out doing god-knows-what. No one could tell him what to do! Not even Raph; he could try, but who did he think Leo was? Someone who would listen?

So, he popped in one of the CDs left on the projector table, leaning into the armchair so soon after.

"Ah, the good stuff," he hummed, comfortably easing into his chair. It stung a little that his brothers were so averse to his choice of movie – what if he made them all lose interest forever by over-watching?

He figured it was not their problem, though. Not when his heart raced with a comfortable excitement that could only come from satisfying the brain worm that told him to watch his favourite things or perish.

Perishing was much less fun.

-

“Leo, stop, it’s not gonna work.”

The slider pretended to sigh dramatically, “You always say that until we do it. Then it always works just fine!”

“No, not a chance. There is no way we’re letting you try that jump.”

Standing on the seat part of the armchair, Leo looked in front of him, gauging the distance of gathered pillows and beanbags and just about how soft they were. Leo wasn’t stupid – he knew trying a jump like that wouldn’t work out on the first try, and it would be dumb to try it out on the cold living room floor.

A normal person would try this in the homemade dojo. You know, the place built to practice martial arts. But Rat Dad threw a fit the last time they moved the projector, so it was best not to.

Leo just ended up huffing at his older brother. “‘We’ who? Mike’s backing me up.”

Off to the side, Mikey was putting a few more pillows on the floor. “What? It’s gonna look cool.”

Donnie, surprisingly interested, pointed a finger up. “I would also like to be around when Leon inevitably falls on his face.”

Leo frowned.

Raph frowned even more so. “That’s what we have to stop from happening??”

“Relax, big bro,” Leo began with his hands on his shell-covered hips. “I’ve been practicing all week. It will be awesome and I will not fall on my face, thank you very much.”

Not convinced in even the slightest, the snapper grunted, starting to leave the room. “Have it your way. Whatever happens, Raph’s no part of it.”

“‘K, love you bro.”

Leo watched him leave until he was out of sight, before turning back to the pillow pile and his anticipating brothers. “He’s gone, right?”

They nodded back at him.

“Good.” Leo inhaled, ending it with a grin. “It’s time to kick butt.”

Mikey snorted at his use of words, but they both looked at him, ready for whatever he wanted to do.

Here goes nothing.

“ Hot Soup! ”

Leo jumped with a spin, kicking out enough to project him forward.

And yeah, maybe he couldn’t see what he did, but it sure as heck felt like it worked. Meaning it worked; Raph was being dramatic for no reason and he did not fall on his face .

His landing didn’t look as cool, falling into the pillow pile. But soon he rose back up, arms high in the air in victory. “And he sticks the landing!”

“WOO! Go Leo!”

The slider dipped in a bow, grinning widely as he took in his brother’s clapping. “Thank you, thank you.”

As the clapping tapered off, he heard Donnie mumble something about it being impressive, though – “The trajectory was a tad off-”

“Trajectory tra smectory , dear brother. We don’t need science to prove how awesome that was.”

“I’ll ignore your grossly generalized take, but I concur, I guess: that was awesome.”

Leo snorted. How his brother went from barely speaking to using smart words all the time would always surprise him. Not that it wasn’t likely with the help of Sheep Dad.

Of course, that wouldn't stop him from beaming at the compliments. "And Raph thought it'd go wrong."

"Blue!"

The slider fumbled, falling onto the pillows ever so slightly.

He barely looked as his rat father entered the room standing by the doorway.

Quickly the young turtle's mind scrambled for ways to keep the man from getting upset, excuses he would make, ways to charm his way out – yeah, just like LJ! He could do this!

Though, as the man walked into the room, storming in his direction, he said nothing. Instead, he just grabbed a few stray pillows, dusting them off. "I just washed these."

Oh.

He wasn't in trouble.

Leo wheezed, watching both his father leave the space and Raph enter it. "Bet you thought Pops would be upset, huh?"

His broTher grunted, shuffling into the room. "It wasn't fair for him not to know."

"Come on, Raphie, we do this stuff all the time! He never tells us to stop unless it's dangerous or mean or we act the scene out too awfully to even pretend it's good."

The other two giggled. "Yeah, it's no biggie."

"Honestly thought Leo was gonna be in trouble. What'd you tell Dad?"

"Just told him Leo was goofing off again," the snapper admitted, "like he always does."

The other three started to argue about Raph being a tattle-tale, which was one hundred percent correct– but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to join the teasing.

"Look, guys, I just wanna be like Lou Jitsu. And I have to practice to get good at it…"

Raph sighed at this. "But do you have to jump off of things all the time?"

Of course he did. That's what an action hero does. They jump off of things and do crazy kickflips and get all the… ladies.

Even though Leo is eight. And LJ was in his thirties when doing these movies.

Huh.

"...I guess not."

"Exactly. Try other Lou Jitsu stuff like his lines, or that one song-"

"Ew, I'm not singing that."

The snapper laughed, and it was probably the least tense he's been all afternoon. It was the same tense vibe he or his parents had whenever he got too into something.

They were all likely sick of his nonsense.

"Fine, I'll cool it with the Lou Jitsu stuff."

" Oh thank the pizza supreme ."

He'd ignore the collective sigh of relief between his brothers – seriously, did they not realize their interests were just as annoying?

But of course, cooling it with the LJ stuff was going to take some effort. He couldn't just quit cold turkey. He had to watch something else to satisfy the part of his brain that wanted to bounce off the walls.

So he just flopped back on the pillowed floor and turned to the wall where the projector would show its glorious films. "What else do you guys wanna watch?"

"Uhhh."

They all sat in thought for a moment, hands on their chins, until Raph perked up.

"Ooh, I got it!" He turned to the younger two. "Don, did ya get that cartoon movie downloaded?"

The smartest of them twirled a red-painted USB in his hands. "Of course I did."

Which movie was- ohh Leo knew which movie. The one they tried to download last night. It was in bad quality but damn it all, as long as they could get it, they'd watch it.

Such a movie was too great to demote to a mere cartoon, though. "It's not just a cartoon," Leo began, "it's the single greatest depiction of a found family and learning to not be a jerk to those you love in the existence of animated cinema!"

Hah, he sounded just as nerdy as Donnie when he liked something… Okay fine , he could have more than one interest at a time.

His brothers were more judgemental about this, though.

"...It's a movie about race cars-"

"Shut up ."

—

Eventually, they got around to actually using that dojo Sheep Dad built a while back.

Of course, Leo and his brothers used it for goofing around. It was fun to whack each other with the sticks and roll on the mats and all that kind of stuff. He didn't expect them to ever use this place for its actual purpose, though.

So when old man Rat Dad asked if they were ready to begin training, all Leo could say was heck yeah!

He did a little dance the first time they were offered that. His brothers thought it was silly, but hey, they were finally going to do something legit! Dad knew a ton of Lou Jitsu moves, he could definitely teach them.

The slider would not simply spring the topic up out of nowhere, though – that was stupid. He just had to meticulously wait until the perfect moment.

Which would be any moment now.

As his parents got him dressed up in some weird suit things they were going to train in, Leo put on his best, most focused face, standing and waiting until instruction, following what was asked of him to the best of his ability.

Any moment now .

-

Now you see, Leo always believed that getting formal training would be cool. Having someone skilled teach them awesome moves for kicking butt just like in the movies is something the slider imagined would be super fun and exciting.

This was not cool. Not in the slightest.

Training is apparently very boring.

Leo flopped on the bench of the dojo, tired and defeated. Wasn't he already good? Why did he have to do all this boring exercise and stuff?

It was your idea , someone would probably tell him. This is what you've been asking for .

But he never would have gone through with it if he knew it was going to be this dull and bland. Where was the excitement ? Where were all the butt-kicking action and cool moves?

While he was planted face first, he felt something cold nudging his arm. Lazily he looked up, finding it was a water bottle someone was trying to give him.

"C'mon Leo, don't give up yet."

It was Raph. Surprising, given how often he rolled his eyes or laughed at him for anything related to this.

"My suffering is funny to you, isn't it?" Leo grabbed the bottle, sitting up slightly. "Let me guess, 'training is not what it's cracked up to be', 'told you so, handsomer and answesomer little brother Leonardo."

Raph rolled his eyes at that . "I was going to encourage you, but now you're on your own." He playfully shoved his arm. "Good luck, tiny bro."

Tiny bro- oh that was it .

Screw being tired. After taking a quick drink of that water, he put it to the side, hopping back into the painted box on the floor with a huge grin on his face. "Hey Dad, can I spar with Raph?"

The rat dad huffed, amused with him. "Were you not just too tired?"

"Not a chance," Leo gloated, "I could do this all day."

He rolled his shoulders, looking to the side at his brother, who didn't look amused. Perfect.

Okay, Rat Dad looked chill with their little sibling rivalry earlier, but now he seemed ticked off at it. "I do not advise this, my son," he began, making Leo turn his attention back to the front.

Oh. He looked really upset, actually.

"Could've just said 'no' to the sparring, old man." Leo cracked a grin, much to everyone else's displeasure. What, was he wrong?

"Respect your father, young man," the voice of, ironically, his other father remained him.

But he could only scoff. "As if you're not just sitting there on your a-"

" Leonardo ."

He couldn't help but cackle at that. Oddly enough, the only person who joined his joy was Donnie – in his usual 'lack of amusem*nt' laughter that Leo secretly knew was genuine.

When his laughter died down, he could only see Rat Dad in place, arms together and so, so tired of his antics. "Please, Leonardo, you must be serious," he began. "I know you wish to pursue great skill in ninjutsu, yet you will not achieve this by slacking off. You speak of Lou Jitsu and yet you do not carry half of his honour. It takes more than – poorly – kicking and punching your enemies to become great."

Ah, random lecture there, huh? The slider exhaled the slightest amount, though he knew all eyes in the room were on him. "...So, you gonna throw anyone else under the bus, or-"

His father sighed. "You are all only children. Buuut I am willing to teach, so long as you are willing to learn." He nodded his head, "Blue, you and your brothers are capable of many great things. I do not ask for you to change, only to be serious when needed. If you do not wish to train civilly, you are free to leave the room."

Ha. Leo honestly never expected such authority over something like this. He barely expected serious consequences coming from the old rat himself, let alone for it all to be directed at him .

Then again, he's been pushing his buttons by being an overt Lou Jitsu fanboy at any given moment, bothering him with impressions even when asked to cut it out.

Sooo maybe training right now wasn't the best option.

"...On second thought, I'm gonna try punching things instead." He began walking over to the area with a few padding punching bags and poles, not looking behind him. "You guys have fun with training."

Maybe it was a ruse to get away before anyone noticed anything. But it's what action heroes did, right? They punched away their feelings.

No harm in doing that.

"Hey Sheep Dad, wanna join?" Leo called out, looking back to the bench his taller dad occupied while he stood by the punching bags.

He didn’t know why he was asking. Maybe his subconscious just wanted someone other than those people over there to hang out with him, maybe it wanted to bother his other dad. Either way, he kept his head high, keeping an eye on the man.

The man seemed much more content just sitting there, reading a self-help book or something. "I'm quite alright," he dismissed, "you should practice on your own."

Okay, so that’s how it was. "Your loss," he offered, winding up to start punching.

His stance and grip alike were off. He was shouting random words he's heard from movies. He wouldn't hurt himself, but he was curious to see if anyone would notice and dare to correct him.

And they did.

"On second thought," the goat man began, putting down his book. He made his way over to the slider, grabbing hold of his arm before he could throw another punch. "I mean this in the best way: you need serious help."

Leo snorted. "Well duh, we've never trained before," he reasoned. "Can't throw the baby birds out of the nest until they've learned how to fly."

"You could say that." His father huffed, now giving the boy some space. "This time, try holding your fist like this," he instructed, demonstrating with his own hand, "and curving your arm back like this," he demonstrated again.

What he was showing looked a lot more like a normal punch. One Leo knew how to do. So he did, punching the bag in front of him properly this time around.

"Excellent," his father praised. "Oftentimes it helps to imagine this obstacle as a physical enemy, perhaps an antagonist frequent in one of your fictional films," he explained, demonstrating another way Leo could punch.

Oh, that sounded and looked so fun .

"So I just gotta punch it like it's the Scorpion King?"

"...I am unfamiliar with that one."

Ah, right. Barry wasn't a Jupiter Jim fan. He was definitely a Lou Jitsu fan though.

"Then punch it like it's Lord Callahan," he corrected.

His dad smiled. "Precisely."

So Leo did just that, pretending to fight the punching bag as if it was a Lou Jitsu movie villain. Suddenly it felt a lot more fun and helped fuel the inner joy telling him he could be like his hero.

This is why he was excited to train.

"Oh, we're kicking bad guys over here?"

Leo didn't turn as he heard his youngest brother behind him, delivering one last nasty punch to a fake lackey. "Yeah, wanna join Micheal?"

"Aw yeah!" Soon he saw the box turtle standing by another punching back. "Who we punching?"

"Some NPCs for now," he explained, imagining a set of ten guys who all looked the same. "Once they're cleared, we can get to the big guns."

He heard the goat man laugh, but in the way parents did sometimes when their kids were playing pretend.

"I'll leave you boys to it," he announced, heading back over to the bench.

Huh, disappointing. But at least he had his brother there now.

The two of them could make something fun out of this.

Leo grinned. "Mikey, to your left!"

There was nothing there, but his brother reacted quickly, punching the bag in front of him.

"Nice," Leo praised, nodding his head. "There's like twenty of these guys so we gotta act fast."

"On it, bro," Mikey agreed, soon punching alongside Leo.

The two were at it nonstop, soon finding Raph joining them. Every once in a while he looked around, soon noticing as everyone else dispersed. Donnie left at some point. So did Sheep Dad. And Rat Dad? He stuck around, but he gave that same bittersweet look as whenever Leo did anything Lou Jitsu-like.

He'd ignore it by punching more fake bad guys. That was what he was here to do in the first place, right?

Either way, half an hour must have passed of just this. Leo soon felt properly tired, eager to get this dumb suit off and chill out with his crime-fighting euphoria high, but he also didn't feel bad while being tired.

It felt worth it to be tired this time around. It felt awesome .

—

Oh yeah, did he ever mention they had a new friend?

April O'Neil – a human girl they found while sneaking onto the surface a few weeks ago. Well, technically, she found them . They thought they were lost until she appeared out of pretty much nowhere, offering to help them find their parents.

Yes, they shouldn't have been out on the surface in the first place. The place was chock-full of humans and risky in all different ways. Not to mention just plain weird and confusing. But they were always so bored down below, how could they not explore the surface?

It was weird. His dads always mentioned how dangerous humans were, but this one was nice to them from the get-go. Her heart of gold almost reminded him of Mikey – who else would adopt someone as a best friend right away, without question?

That was until the slider discovered she shared his same love of awful jokes. They were definitely the same person in different fonts.

They were definitely best friends .

And who was a best friend if not someone you trust to show your super secret and sick lair to?

They could without a doubt trust April by now. Back when they first met her, Raph was on edge, scared that their dads would find out and be mad at them. But what was there to be mad about? They were going outside, getting some fresh air and making friends – that’s what every parent should want for their kids!

Even if there was a theoretical reason to be upset – which is dumb – their friend was as awesome as they were! And super awesome at keeping secrets, so there was nothing to worry about.

The five of them kept sneaking out and spending time in the alleyways until Leo got the genius idea to bring their new best friend down to the Lair.

“This is a bad idea” they warned him.

“Dads are gonna get mad at us” they tried to reason.

But Leo knew what he was doing. This was no impulsive decision, oh no. In fact, he had a plan.

That, and it would be so incredibly rude not to show her after Raph slipped out that they had one in the first place. She wanted to see it more than anything now. Who were they to deny her that much?

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Raph grumbled, climbing down the ladder leading to their sewers.

“Uh, April’s right there?” Leo smirked, “Kind of rude to talk about her like that.”

“Raph wasn’t- ugh, forget it.”

The second oldest chuckled as they continued their descent. Another win for Leo.

Eventually, they all made it down, Donnie offering to help April the rest of the way – but she could do it on her own, hopping off the last step so naturally it was like she lived there all her life.

As excited as they all were, it was Donnie who first scrambled forward, gesturing towards the wide-open Lair. “Welcome, O’Neil, to our humble abode.”

Without wasting time, the human soon started looking around. Leo could not yet decipher her looks, but he had no reason to – it was a lot to take in. A lot of awesomeness, that is.

“You guys live like this?”

“Yeah! Pretty awesome, amiright?”

Leo puffed up his chest in pride as if he had anything to do with building this place. Well, he kind of did – back when Sheep Dad was building, he always made sure Mikey only painted on the uglier walls. Which, because of his hard work, were looking more awesome every year.

April didn’t look convinced, though. “...Sure, let’s go with that.”

If she saw the turtles’ frown, she said nothing.

“What about your parents, though?”

“They’re on a date night,” Leo quickly clarified. “They shouldn’t be back for, like, a few hours.”

“And you really think they’d leave us alone for that long for no good reason?”

He rolled his eyes at his twin. “They left Raph in charge. He’s nine, he can handle it.”

“He’s nine.”

This came from April as if they never told her their ages before.

“Yeah, and?”

April just shook her head. “Well, I’m ten and therefore older than all of you. That means I should be in charge.”

“Ha! In your face, Leo!”

It seemed even his dear brother Micheal was against him. He was wounded, truly.

However, Leo knew just how to recover. “‘In my face’ what? It’s not my ego I’m worried about.”

He gestured towards Raph.

Raph, who had been anxiously looking around the Lair’s entrance up until now, squinted at his slider of a brother. “...Shut up, Leo.”

“Hey April! Come check out the ramp!”

Ah, classic switch of tactics. Soon all his brothers ran towards the skate ramp right smack-dab in the middle of the lair, something they vouched for Sheep Dad adding on top of all of his other builds. He didn’t want to at first, but Leo knew just how to convince him.

That’s right: they mostly built it themselves.

Thank goodness for Donnie knowing how to use the internet – so easily was the young turtle able to order a bunch of wood to use for the ramp. After Leo put together a slideshow and made sure they had all the supplies needed, their dads eventually allowed them to build the whole thing.

All Sheep Dad really did, in the end, was sand and polish it so they wouldn’t get splinters. Hah. Splinters.

But yeah, they mostly put it together themselves, which made Leo even more proud to show it off.

“You guys have a ramp in your house ?” their friend questioned, eyes growing wide with wonder.

“Well, it’s not exactly the traditional house,” his soft-shelled brother clarified. “Unlike most 'houses', this is a deep cavern under the ground with a multitude of layers – so we have tons of room for extra stuff like this.”

The human held her chin in thought. "That’s a lot of words for 'you live in the sewers'."

"Yeah no sh*t."

" Leo ."

The slider held his arms up in defeat. "Am I wrong though?"

"Guys!"

Again their attention was turned to Mikey, who continuously pointed towards the ramp. "Skate ramp, human friend, best behaviour?"

They looked at him dumbfounded.

"We talked about this!"

"Chill out, Mikester," Leo quickly comforted, moving up to him, "we have all the time in the world to show our awesome human friend the entire Lair!"

He felt one of his brothers leaning into his ear, followed by a whisper of "No we don't."

Leo blinked. "What do you mean we don't?"

"Guys, seriously, I can come at another time."

The human girl looked awkward between the brothers, still standing so close to the ramp. It was so obvious she wanted to hang out here right now. Who wouldn't, honestly?

It was so obvious that even Raph scrambled a "no!"

The snapper cleared his throat, instantly regaining his cool. "What Raph means is that if these three don't do anything too crazy, there should be no problems! Right, guys?"

Wow. Way to throw them under the bus, Raphael.

Despite the sudden change in demeanour, the brothers knew that what the oldest was saying is what they went over.

Behave, don't be too loud, keep April out of sight and most importantly, prove turtles are more awesome than other humans will ever be.

The brothers eventually all agreed in their own way, voicing a small 'yep' or something similar. Though, the thing – or rather, person – they were watching over suddenly got to the skate ramp.

"While you three argue, I'm gonna test this out."

"April, wait-!"

Before the four could rush over, the human got a hold of one of their boards – Mikey’s, they soon realized – and got on the ramp.

Yeah, they should probably chase after their friend. But she was surprisingly good at this.

"This. Is. Awesome!" she called out, preparing for the upward slope. It didn't go all the way, just falling short of keeping her on the next lift-off, but she didn't give up.

Everyone managed to stand in the exact same default pose as April rocked back and forth, slower and slower as the board dwindled in momentum.

As the board came to a stop, the turtles and human met eye contact, expressions as neutral as ever. All until April threw her hands up in the air. "Best indoor skate ramp ever!"

The brothers cheered, heading over to grab their own board and meet their friend halfway. Hey, maybe none of them knew how to skate, but it was the fastest way to get down to the floor level.

Since Mikey’s board was stolen, he hopped on Raph's to share with him, and soon enough, the four were ready to ramp, with no hesitation at all to take off.

"Woo-hoo!"

"Heck yeah!"

"Cowabunga!"

That last one got a laugh out of the human, watching as the four slowly slowed their boards in the middle. Leo attempted a trick before he could lose momentum, but almost fell off. So he just went along with it, allowing himself to fall somewhere in the middle of it all.

"Now was that fun or what?" he ended up asking, being the last to get off his board.

"Oh for sure," their friend confirmed, leaning the borrowed board against the wall. "Now you gotta show me that terri- terare– the turtle chilling place you guys were talking about."

Ah, the terrarium. And Leo thought he couldn't remember the names of places.

"...You mean the one on the first floor ?"

Mikey laughed at the despair of realization some of them shared. "Man, we could've just stayed up there!"

Donnie huffed. "And we could have shown her my lab while we're at it."

Yeah, that was all… very true. It was kind of dumb to have not planned that far ahead (which Leo couldn't blame himself for. He wasn't the plan person – Raph was).

He still had one trick up his sleeve. (If he had any sleeves, that is.)

"Not to worry fellas, Leo knows just what to do," he announced, skittering to the nearest space in the walls. "We can show her our rooms first instead!"

"You just want someone to show your JJ comics to."

"Yeah, and?"

If it were just them around, he'd likely now argue about this. However, the human quirked a brow. "You got JJ comics?"

"Uh, yeah, like a bunch," the slider admitted. "If your JJ is Jupiter Jim then I have every comic under the sun!"

She looked happy at this, stamping her shoes in place. Though, as she looked at the other brothers. "Sorry guys, but you have to admit that comics are cooler than walking up stairs."

Luckily the brothers seemed to understand.

"Yeah."

"Fair enough."

And with that, the group of five soon made their way to the slider's room – coincidentally also a huge collection of comics. "Come on in, April."

And just like that, the four knew they could trust this human. She was their best friend and nothing could change that.

-

So yeah, if you thought they were only going to do this once, you were wrong.

It was surprisingly easy to sneak their friend into the Lair once a week, even if their parents were still home. Obviously, though, they waited until they had the Lair all to themselves.

She was around so often, she started bringing games and movies and all that good stuff. They barely even had to rent movies themselves anymore!

So one of these days, they just decided to chill in the living room.

They popped on a Jupiter Jim movie – which one? It didn't matter. It was Donnie and April's favourite now.

The blue turtle took to reading a fan comic, one of those with the art styles cooler than that of the real comics. Ever since he picked up reading fake stories – fiction? Whatever – he's grown to like unofficial stuff more often too.

So he let them watch the movie, hanging out in the same room while he zoned out from the world around him. He vaguely heard something about April grabbing some snacks after a while, but other than that, he wasn't paying much attention.

He ignored it when there was the sound of something falling from the kitchen. Ah, she probably just dropped a bowl.

Oh how Leo was so obviously none the wiser.

"Who are you?"

"What- who are you ?!"

Crap.

"What is going on?"

Oh no no no no no.

The brothers barely spared a moment to look at each other before bolting to the kitchen.

They were going to be in so much trouble .

Oh, it was even worse than they thought.

How could they forget Rat Dad was home today?

The second the boys got to the kitchen, all they could focus on was their friend wielding a pan and pointing it at their rat father, and said rat father wide-eyed and defensively stanced.

They were both losing their minds over this. Rightful.

Before anyone could scramble for an explanation, the rat found them, wide eyes moving back and forth between the human and the turtles. "Boys! Explain yourselves."

"She's our friend, Dad!"

"Yeah, April’s our friend! She's harmless!"

Both the rat and the human deadpanned.

Oh poor sweet Michael. Right idea, but she definitely wasn't harmless .

"Harmless my butt ," April corrected, "I'll knock you into next tomorrow!" She pointed the pan closer to the rat man, who only flinched the slightest.

Though as she kept her ground, the rat eased up, using a singular finger to push the pan down and out of the way. He chuckled, "You are definitely my sons' friend."

The turtles were ready to either defend their friend's honour or plead for forgiveness. Until they remembered Splinter was the cool dad.

April eventually lowered the pan, shrugging. "Oh you're Rat Dad, aren't you?"

Their dad beamed with pride. "Yes I am," he admitted. "How much have the boys told you about me?"

It sounded like an innocent enough question. But they knew .

"And about their family and home and secrets alike?"

Damn . They were so close .

"Uhhhh."

Without many ways to admit to it, the noise buzzed across the kitchen, a horrid harmony of five young voices.

Luckily, Leo knew how to break from all this and fix it for them.

"We told her a bunch of stuff because we can trust her , Dad. You think we'd honestly tell her anything unless she was cool?"

"Yeah," the snapper added from some ways beside him. "We've been friends for over a month by now," he claimed, flicking a wrist with a little toothy grin.

"Over a month, you say…"

Raph faltered in spot, and Leo cringed just watching. "Uhhh."

The other two looked like they were wracking a way to fix up Raph's slip – they had a lie planned for a reason ! – but couldn't come up with anything.

"...It's a long story," Leo settled for all of them.

He could tell they'd likely get in trouble for it anyways. They did something strictly against their parents’ wishes (in a way that wasn't easy to hide), and even their honesty now could not erase the amount of sneaking around they have done in the past few weeks.

Despite this all, Rat Dad looked like he couldn't be mad. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "We can discuss it over tea."

Oh, that sounded like a good idea. Calm enough to keep everyone from scrambling for lies or a need to be forgiven.

…He just hoped April wouldn't mention her dislike of tea. That'd get her disowned in an instant.

-

The family eventually migrated to the dining room, a cup of tea and a seat for each.

They never had a reason to have extra furniture or dishes or anything like that until something broke and needed replacing. Luckily, there were just enough chairs and cups for all six of them.

"So you boys went to the surface…"

Bringing that up was inevitable. They all know it was coming and yet, a pang of guilt crowded their hearts.

"You couldn't keep us down here forever, Dad," Raph reasoned. "Normal kids go outside all the time."

It's true – at least, if what April told them about her past failed friendships at human playgrounds are like that. Apparently, human children are taken outside as soon as they can walk? They could walk perfectly fine!

Yes, Leo and the others knew why they couldn't go outside. But it was too much fun to never do so.

And their dad seemed to agree with that much. "You're right, and I'm sorry I've kept you from a normal life." He raised his teacup, blowing on the hot drink lightly. "It's not easy, being a, well, animal person," he huffed, the slightest humour in it all, "but you boys deserve more than what we have given you."

He turned his attention to the human girl, smiling. "Thank you, April, for being their friend."

A collective sigh of relief was felt in the room. Thank the Spirits their dad wasn't too upset with them and liked their friend.

"It's no biggie," April settled, still having neglected the drink. "I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with them? You guys are way more fun than people are."

"That’s just the awesomeness we share," Leo acknowledged, puffing out his chest.

Usually, his family groaned when he did stuff like this, but this time, he barely saw anyone looking at him. Actually, they were looking past him -

Oh no.

He completely forgot .

The slider turned on his chair, finding the sight of the largest family member standing by the doorway. The largest family member, frozen in place as he saw their friend. The largest family member, who hates humans .

Oh sh*t .

He could swear the room used to be a comfortable warmth, almost that of a family having an average day hanging out. Now he felt none of that, a chill grazing their scales instead.

Nobody knew what to say. Nobody knew what to do . The turtles knew never to bring up the surface world to their sheep-looking father – and to bring it down to the Lair instead?

Leo has no idea what his deal is, but whatever he had going on wasn't the same as Rat Dad, who has always been more reasonable.

Oh, they weren't in trouble. But they still screwed up big time .

"Rat, may I speak with you in the hall…"

The rest of the family had been at a loss for words until then. What were they to say to make it up to them? Even Leo, the ever-talkative and problem-solving Leonardo, had nothing.

Nothing that could reach Sheep Dad, at least.

So they all just watched as their smaller dad nodded, leaving the table and making his way to the other man. The two soon left.

Then it was just the five of them again.

"Well… that was awkward."

"You're telling me."

A soft huff followed the human's words. "Yeah we, um, forgot how biased he was with humans."

"You mentioned it before," April reminded them with a shrug. "I get it. If humans don't like people like you then you don't have to like us."

"True," Donnie added, "even if he neglects to tell us exactly what we are."

"Mutants, obviously."

Everyone looked at Leo like he said something ridiculous. "What? It's true – what other things could we be?"

That earned a nod. "Fair enough."

However, April's eyes lit up. "Ooh, like those mutant superheroes in the movies!"

"Exactly, April!" Leo beamed, "But we're even cooler, let's be honest."

"The coolest ."

The brothers laughed a bit. What, it was true.

But when the laughter died down, they could kind of hear the parents talking. And it was not pleasant in the slightest.

"You guys wanna keep watching the movie?"

"Yeah."

It was probably the best choice now. Not like they could cause any more chaos.

-

So it turns out, parents actually take forever to argue.

They managed to finish watching April’s favourite movie – Leo didn't even argue against it this time, watching it with them. Unfortunately, she had to go home at the end of it, already having stayed out enough. Honestly, they're surprised she managed to sneak out for over two hours.

The Lair was just so quiet afterwards. The boys couldn't even tell if their parents were arguing anymore… but they were still talking about it, that's for sure.

And the anticipation was too much to bear.

"I'm gonna check up on them," Leo offered, hopping off of his beanbag. If no one else was going to do it, then he would have to. Dinner couldn't wait forever.

He rounded the corner where he saw them last, and surely enough, they were still there. Though it wasn't half as loud as before, and he could swear Sheep Dad looked… anxious .

They really screwed this up .

"Uhh, dads?"

Their heads turned, gaze softening upon seeing him.

"Are you guys good now? April left half an hour ago – don't know if that'll help with anything, but yeah."

Rat Dad sighed. "It's, um…" He looked at the other man. "Care to explain, Barry?"

His other dad shot a glare, but he sighed, facing the boy. "Humans are dangerous. You know that, Leonardo. That girl may be trustworthy because she's young and open-minded, but you never know who you may meet. Your friend is a rare occurrence among the human species… you boys are extremely lucky to have found her instead of someone else."

"Technically she found us –"

His dad put his hand on his shoulder.

Again, the sheepman sighed. "I just want what's best for you boys, and that includes your safety. If anything happened…"

The slider's eyes searched for that of his other dad, but the rat looked just as distraught. Whatever Sheep Dad was going on about was serious.

Oh.

There wasn't much Leo figured he could say. So he shook his head, searching for a shred of his practiced confidence. What is from Jupiter Jim? Was it from Lou Jitsu? Who cares, it was from Leo now, and that's all that mattered.

"Relax, Padre. We know what we're doing."

He could swear he heard the soft patter of feet behind him, meaning his brothers were too nosey to leave this to him as always . But it made their dads smile.

"And besides – no one comes between a man and the dozen hungry rugrats he saved from a widow and an orphanage ."

The family giggled at that, most recognizing it as a Lou Jitsu line. It didn't apply much to their whole situation, but if it made people laugh, then he was using it right.

Even if the old goat man didn't laugh, he didn't look half as anxious or upset. Or maybe he was hiding it. "You boys are growing up so fast," he mused, patting the slider's shoulder where he still held it. "Now come on, let's make something to eat."

"Is it not pizza day?" Leo tried, a small innocent grin to boot.

"...Sure."

Right away he could hear his brothers cheering, and by the looks of it, his parents were much happier already.

Yeah, they'd likely talk about it later and go over their feelings and all that gooey stuff, but at least it wasn't the end of the world. After all, pizza always helps brighten the mood. They likely wouldn't be in too much trouble in the end.

That much was enough to consider this a Leonardo Blue win.

Chapter 11: The "Smart One"

Chapter Text

Donnie has always been observant. For what little he could speak in his youth, he spent the time listening to others, picking up and repeating phrases he found important. He eventually picked speaking, as much as he did modified sign language, and found himself indulging in his interests much more.

That being said, it took until Donnie was nine years old to realize that having a scientific role model like Father was everything he could have ever wanted or needed.

Sure, science was not his first special interest, nor would it be his last. If anything it was his brothers that took more interest in the stuff he liked (when not calling him a nerd) while his parents simply provided him with scrap metal and tools to work as he wished.

That all changed a few years ago when the lab was introduced.

Donnie was not as drawn to it as one might think. After all, a lot of other aspects of their Lair were introduced around the same time. All of it was quite overwhelming.

It took him nearly a year to break out of his shell, so to speak, and try the place out. He found it surprisingly calming if alone and with the space to work on his projects... Oddly enough, though, he didn't despise the parallel company of his taller father.

He can't say he's always known the man (sheep man?) to have a scientific side to him. In his youth, the taller adult often played as the distant father with a secretly soft heart who also knew about doctor stuff and how to build. He wouldn't hold it to him if it was just hard to parent. The young soft shell has gotten his stubby paws (figurative) on enough of his parent's books to know they needed the help.

(Secretly he suspects that whatever led the two men to adopt them made the experience harder. He's read enough about adoption and family dynamics and biology to know full well they were not born into a family like this. He wouldn't burst anyone's bubble, though. He'd let them all pretend.)

Either way, the sheepman was often too busy in his youth for Donnie to ever know much about him. He knew their rat father loved cheesy old movies, but what did their other father like?

Science, it seemed. His father liked science and experiments and anything of the like. He talked so vividly of his pride in the young turtle's interest and would ramble along with him about anything ranging from formulas and equations to circuitry and technology.

He knew his brothers and other dad would love him no matter what, but no one was able to understand him like Father was. So they just had that bond that only autistic mad scientists in the making could have.

Today would not be one of those shared experience days. Ever since Father began purposely spending time with him, he’s been spending more time with all of them. If this was an attempt at curve balling accusations of favouritism, then they were weak attempts. Everyone knew that all parents had favourites, and he (and Mikey) were their caprid father’s favourite.

…Right?

Never mind that thought– the man wouldn’t be out in the surface world right now if he wasn’t a favourite child. If his father was willing to do something he hated just to bring Donnie new scraps and parts to work with, then that meant something. Donnie would cling to that feeling.

For now, he was in his room, trying to fix one of Mikey’s spring-bound gadgets he found at the scrap yard the last time they all went. Sure, it was currently 11 PM, but his little brother had been distressed about it for hours. He could put it off until they had all the supplies, or he could fix it today and present it tomorrow out of the kindness of his heart.

That, and just because he wanted to. The project intrigued him too much to sleep on it until tomorrow.

He was more than happy popping on a video on his tablet and working under a lamp. It was oddly peaceful, allowing him to zone away from everything else but the small thing he cared about at the moment.

Unfortunately, this did not exempt him from interruptions. Even decked in headphones that clearly showed others not to disturb him, he felt a poke on his shoulder. Nooot a good feeling.

“Don? Hey Don?”

The soft shell paused his video, turning his head ever so slowly until he faced his oldest brother.

“Donnie?”

As if he couldn’t hear him, Raph proceeded to replicate the motion of taking off his headphones. It took a second for him to respond, taking the real ones off before the charade could be repeated.“Stop that.”

“Sorry.”

His brother held one of his arms, something he did every time he did something that hurt one of his younger brothers.

The younger one sighed. He gets a pass. “What do you want, Raph?”

“It’s almost midnight.”

“And?”

The snapper’s brows furrowed. “It’s past bedtime.”

“Ha, bedtime,” Donnie unintentionally mocked, “as if any of us ever listens.”

Raph huffed. “I do, Mikey does, Pops does-”

“All he ever does is sleep.”

“–Leo has sleeping problems,” he continued, obviously forcing himself not to defend their small parent, “and you’re not even trying.”

“Excuse me, I have sleeping problems too,” Don reminded, lifting an accusatory finger.

“But you’re still makin’ excuses to stay awake.”

That… wasn’t far from the truth. Why pretend if sleeping is impossible until a certain amount of hours have passed? It saved him from prolonged misery in the long run.

He was about to bring forth an excuse (one of which had many semi-excuses) when his older brother opened his mouth again. “If you’re waiting and worried about Sheep Dad… he’ll be okay. He’s been gettin’ better.”

He knows what Raphael was referring to. ‘Getting better’ at co-existing among humans – or at least tolerating them. April was the only one he trusted and still has anxiety over going to the surface, but he was ‘getting better’.

“I wasn’t worried,” Donnie told his brother honestly.

“Then you’re gonna a to bed.”

The soft shell yelped as his brother wrapped him up in a blanket, picking him up like he weighed nothing. No fair!

“On second thought I’m worried. Very very worried. He’s never coming back-”

“Can it, Donnie,” his brother warned. Though there was a hint of humour in his voice. For once his words were not being taken literally – maybe it was his brother’s exhaustion, but he could hear him stifling back laughter.

He could work with that. “Oh, woe is I. My loyal brother, protecting I from the truth of our father’s demise. He was right all along! May we never trust humans, cast out all of those whom are our allies.”

His brother was properly laughing now, likely not having understood half of what he said. “You’re so weird,” he joked, putting him on the edge of his bed. “Now, go sleep. If you’re still sleepy tomorrow morning, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

Donnie flopped back dramatically. “Sigh. It seems I have been bested.”

“You’re darn right ya were,” Raph played along, beginning to walk back and out of the room. “Now go sleep .”

He watched the snapper leave the room. Oh how he was wounded, not receiving a ‘goodnight’. Though it did not bother him.

No would a lack of sleep bother him if it meant figuring out how to fit that screw in the right place with his limited tools. He’d persevere, and overcome any obstacle in the name of inventing. Perhaps he could sneak back to his desk…

“Don’t even think ‘bout it.”

Raph poked his head in the room one last time while Donnie was simply stretching his arm , thank you very much. But fine, he won’t.

He’ll get away with it some other time.

—

Something was wrong.

Something was always wrong when it came to the soft shell. Whether it was inside or out, something always just felt… off .

Not that long ago he found some solutions, whether that be a weighted blanket or a pair of headphones. Those helped a lot with the problems they were meant to tackle. This problem, though… This was different.

That morning he must have gone through all his clothes. He had nowhere he needed to be, and didn't even need to wear anything, but going without made him feel even worse. He settled for the same purple sweater and black pants he's been wearing all week, having it be the only thing that felt right. But even that began to feel wrong.

He felt uncomfortable being anywhere other than his room that day. If anything could see him – see him not meeting the expectations they must have of him – then his whole day would be ruined. Not that it wasn’t already… no, he just needed some time to get over it.

Come on, Donnie. Just get over it .

Sometimes he wonders if having a different name would solve anything.

Likely not. A name is just a name, and it could be changed. Sometimes he and his brothers used different names, but it was all play. Nothing serious. Donnie didn't feel like changing his name.

If not by name, he wished there was some obvious way to explain why he feels so much different than his brothers. They don't mean it when they make fun of him, but he knows he's lankier and weaker than them. He knew his voice made him sound younger than even Mikey. Raph and Leo already sounded a bit older, why couldn't he?

Whatever. It was likely an explainable issue of aging that brought this inner angst upon him. Those human biology books and research papers never spoke much of nine-year-olds aging this fast, but then again, he wasn't human. He was different .

Ignoring the way his chest ached from the inside, he left his room, only to storm into the bathroom instead – the only place in the Lair that brought privacy other than his own room. Maybe he could figure it all out with a mirror around.

Though it seemed like no matter what Donnie tried, he'd never know how to solve this. He could never be good enough.

As the soft shell stood on a stool – so lanky yet still too short for the mirror – he studied his reflection, though it irked him the more he did so. Staring at a reflection of his poor state of mind did nothing but worsen it.

But he just had to figure this out…

He knew he was loved through and through. Any jokes towards him were merely just that: jokes. Regardless of that logic, though, he could pick apart truths in the web of mindless insults.

He's a nerd . Though that had nothing to do with appearance. His voice is squeaky . Again, part of self-expression, but not appearance. He needs glasses . Those were very necessary thank you very much. Also, their dads need glasses sometimes, they’re perfectly normal. He has a big ugly forehead-

Now wait a minute, they all did. Without their masks, their faces were left blank, with no visually apparent eyebrows.

Wait again.

Eyebrows.

Humans had eyebrows. His dads also had eyebrows. His human-fearing dad had eyebrows like Lou Jitsu, and Lou Jitsu had the coolest eyebrows.

Looking and acting like Lou Jitsu was kind of Leo's thing, but Donnie has honestly always envied the man's appearance. He manages to look so cool and everyone loves him, even if most of the favours are done with makeup

If that's all it took, perhaps…

Aha, that's it! He just had to be cooler !

Donnie opened the vanity drawer, scavenging around it for- there we go , a black pencil. Not just any black pencil, but one for painting eyebrows.

He's quite sure this is the same or a similar product to what Lou Jitsu used on set, as he remembers reading about it. Either way, as long as there was enough of it to give him fake brows, it did the job.

The soft shell was surprisingly not as rebellious as he wanted to be. Even as he took off his mask (reasoning to test it there before drawing them on the fabric) and glasses (too big and clunky for clear access to his forehead), he found himself frozen with the pencil in his hand, fingertips shaking slightly.

It was what he had to do. He'd feel better about it… and if he didn't, no one had to know .

He started off simply, drawing a simple line where his brow should be. While it was hard to see without his glasses, he moved his brow up and down slightly, making sure it was drawn in the right place. Good. Now he could move on to the second one.

Carefully he painted on another thin brow. He looked better now. At least he started to feel better… perhaps he could make them thicker, more like his father’s eyebrows.

He added another layer. Then another. He was cautious not to add too much just in case he didn’t like it – but as far as he was concerned, this was the best decision he’s made in a long time.

After applying a generous amount of the makeup, he gave himself a good look in the mirror. Wait, no – glasses would make it better.

He put his glasses back on, and, as expected in the back of his mind, the pencil wasn’t as effective on his skin as it would be on that of a human. But he looked cooler already.

His look wouldn’t be complete without the mask, though. Since he liked the brows enough, perhaps it was now worth painting them onto his mask.

So that’s what he did. He dug around for makeup wipes, first removing what he’s painted his face directly. No need to stain the inside of his mask too. It pained him to have them off, but they would be back soon. And even cooler than before.

With the mask tied back on, he repainted the brows. And they were beautiful .

Donnie wouldn’t call it magic, because magic is inferior to his pure awesomeness, but it was like something clicked in his brain all of a sudden. The weight in his chest lifted beyond what he could have imagined was weighing him down in the first place. Is this what it was like to feel comfortable?

Either way, he looked fantastic. He tried putting his glasses back on, and, huh, interesting. It seems they worked again his new look. No matter. Now he had brows, and those fixed his look exponentially.

For once that day, the purple-branded soft shell felt anything close to good. He felt great, actually. Not great in ‘every section of his soul was now healed’, but great in ‘he finally likes how he looks’.

He still hopes that one day, his look will transcend that of a mere nerd, but for now, he was going a step in the right direction.

-

One of the many benefits of trying a new look for oneself is that one may find the missing piece of an internal puzzle begging to be solved. Even after Donnie put away the makeup supplies and left the bathroom, he felt this, now honing a single shred more confidence in himself and his looks.

It was still rather early in the day, early enough that his family would leave him alone if he wanted. It was also early enough that they were likely snacking away at something in the dining room.

Rare was it these days to find them all in the same room. So, he walked through the Lair with his hood up, gathering the attention of any stragglers.

Once he got everyone into the concentrated eating area, he cleared his throat. “Fathers, brothers; I have an announcement.”

He allowed them to speculate for a moment before he slicked back his hood.

“I now look cooler than all of you combined.”

—

A week passed since he showed his family his new look. He expected his brothers to mope and moan about how unfair it was or find further ways to bully him, but, to his delight, they agreed with the awesomeness of his new look. Leo tried to copy him, but with his preference for mask type, he could not pull it off successfully. That was a Donnie-exclusive trait.

His parents spoke of how it was adorable, in a charming way. Dad would nudge his co-parent's arm and joke about how Donnie was 'definitely his son'. Such a joke questioned the legitimacy of their parenting, but the soft shell would allow it to slip his mind for now.

Father quickly took notice of the use of his pencil and offered to both mentor the boy in its use and help him find a pencil better fit to his needs.

He declined, if only for the reason he believed he could develop one himself.

It would be put on the back burner of his projects, though. For now, he wanted to run some tests on the health of their house plants – a painfully boring study to most, but necessary in the pursuit of sustaining their longevity in lifespan and potential for blooming and regrowth.

So what if he got a new special interest out of nowhere? It was something other than science at least.

And April didn’t mind helping him run tests. So that was a bonus.

She was carrying around a tray with bags of soil when she finally offered her skepticism after participating thus far. “You know can just keep all your plants in the terrarium if they die easily anywhere else?”

“Scoff,” he said aloud, “that is what I wish to prevent. Not every plant can survive the climate, and, quite truthfully, the Lair just looks better with plant life around.”

It allows them to pretend they can a fraction of the surface down in their sewer-bound home. Sure, as the years passed, their lives became more and more comfortable. His youngest brother became quite skilled in his artistic craft, and any wall not covered in his graffiti or Father’s work easily became where to put posters of sports and movies his other brothers liked, along with Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu merchandise. Who was to say Donnie couldn’t put his own touch on the Lair’s decorations?

Regardless of this, April has only seen it on its better days and did not look convinced by his reasoning. "And you don't have a greenhouse or something?"

A greenhouse . What, did she think there was a room for everything in the Lair? There were obvious limitations, and he was not about to ask for the renovation of another room just because of a new interest.

"No, we do not have a greenhouse," he finally said, as bluntly as usual. It took effort not to add that last part, ensuring he did not appear rude to his best friend.

He didn't think it was rude. He was often told it was, though, and those people often had more emotional awareness than he did.

Eventually, his friend merely shrugged. “M’kay,” she settled, “you just need help studying the dirt then?”

“Precisely,” he offered, collecting some soil from one of the many ferns. “Luckily, Father has offered to help with the testing, so I need no further help after samples are processed.”

He heard his friend hum, but she wasn’t paying all that much attention. Instead, she was looking at a small tag attached to one of the pots, reading it.

“Yes, this was a gift from Father to Dad,” he clarifies before April can ask about it. “I wouldn’t think it’s ‘cute’, though; I doubt they are even married.”

Again his friend hummed but in a different tone. “Huh, thought they were.” She followed him to the next fern he planned to collect from. “So are just dating, or…”

“Hard to say,” Donnie quickly interrupted. “There is no documentation of their relationship or our birth slash adoption. We’re not human but the whole situation feels… off.” He accepted early on that their experiences are not exactly that of humans because they are not , in fact, humans. April has accepted this without a bat of an eye. He would still like to know why they were all human-like animals, though that may be unexplainable all the same.

“It’s strange, but I believe there is a reason for it, and we will be told when the time is right.”

It was a little well-known fact that Donatello knew a tad too much for his age. The longer he could wait before discovering something else mildly intriguing traumatizing, the better.

After a while, he put more samples on the tray, watching April shrug in agreement. "Either way it's still cute," she mused, a small smirk sneaking in.

Donnie just sighed loudly, rolling his eyes.

He supposed it made more sense for them to be in a relationship because parents usually were. It was still nothing he wished to think more of.

"This should be enough," he concluded, mentally counting the number of samples and plants in comparison. He swivelled on his feet, pointing to another section of the Lair. "To the lab!"

April snorted, soon following him. "And then we game?"

"Affirmative," he assured, "those block houses won't build themselves, and nothing will unless we get there before the others."

"Sure we can't get Leo in on this? He's good with PVP."

"...We can include everyone but Leo."

"Fair enough."

Donnie huffed, glad his friend was content with excluding his blue-branded brother from the game. April and Leo may be compatible gaming partners, but he and Leo were not .

Besides, if he had to hear one more cube pun from the math-inept duo-

—

Oh Galileo, his father was an alchemist too.

The probability of something like this was not impossible. While none of them were human, everyone in his family was quite complex and had a multitude of interests. Donnie himself can attest to this, even if he was often demoted to the ‘science kid’.

So finding his caprid father late in the lab one night, working on something he’s never seen before, it came to little surprise. Still, he was curious.

It wasn’t rare for him to join, or simply observe as his father worked (even if he eventually fell to distractions). His father often encouraged him to ask questions or request experiments to try together. Forming questions was always hard, so he just listened to the man ramble, retaining what he could.

He liked listening to what his father had to say. He’d join in if the information clicked – so much easier than practiced methods of conversation. Best of all, he was allowed to do this at any time.

That being said, appearing out of nowhere must have scared the (figurative) living daylights out of him.

“ Kid ,” his father began, chest heaving slightly. Normally Donnie did not notice such small things, but the man made it obvious here. “ What are you doing out of bed?”

Typical question. His family should know by now. “Couldn’t sleep,” he answered, deadpan painful obvious.

Luckily, his father caught on. “Understood,” he followed simply, looking between the desk and his son. He turned back to the desk. “This should not take much longer – after this last test I will be heading to bed.”

The softshell tilted his head, focusing on what was on the desk. A bunch of colourful beakers, papers all over, and an open box with some oddly-shaped metals in it. Or crystals, he couldn’t tell.

Either way, average lab mess.

He saw his father nod, likely to himself. “You are familiar with chemistry, are you not?”

Donnie hummed.

His father hummed in return. “Currently I am attempting to practice an advanced form of chemistry. With it, the two of us will be able to create mechanisms far beyond the average technological capacity.” For a moment, he turned his head to the boy. “With it, I can assist you in developing that artificial intelligence you spoke of the other day.”

Ah, yes. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. Truly the bot’s design was not more than rough plans on a blueprint, but the idea of early implementation of an AI element intrigued him.

Without much else to say, he allowed Father to continue speaking. “It may not be much right now… but with time, we will achieve greatness, my boy,” the older began, grin cracking into something nearly sinister in nature.

His father was acting weird. Weirder than normal.

And Donnie was here for it .

“For now I intend to test the capabilities of simple human concoctions. Medieval history tells of sorcerers and witches with the skill of mixing elements and controlling them at the will of a wand wave,” Father continued, a soft chuckle following. “Truly a shame that such has grown out of practice. From fear.”

He picked up an empty test tube, flicking it with his other hand, a pondering look gracing his features. “Not much of what I say makes sense, I know. There’s only so much I know myself… which is exactly why this is necessary.”

Donnie raised a brow as he watched his father carefully pour a fraction of one beaker’s contents into the test tube, proceeding to place it on a tray. Something about it all felt off, though.

All this felt practiced as if his father was being cautious around him. As if he were to say the wrong thing at any moment.

The soft shell shrugged finally. “Huh. I thought we were scientists, not alchemists."

“Alchemy and science are often one and the same,” he was corrected. “One can not achieve greatness when restricted to one label.”

That made enough sense…

“If you do not wish to practice alchemy, I will not enforce it,” Father quickly added, “and for the sake of the others, it may be simpler to limit our hobby to the word ‘science’.”

Ah. That made even more sense.

He must be acting weird because Donnie was the only one he could trust to understand. Well, whatever. If the others were so below their level, he could just have this new thing to learn.

“Fair enough,” he muttered eventually, turning his attention to the behaviour of the beakers.

Whether or not he would effectively join his father’s new hobby would be a decision for a later time. Both because he had an inch of skepticism surrounding the whole thing, and because his father began to write something in his scientific journal.

He stuck around to watch as he properly stored all the liquids, disinfected the working tool and surfaces, and put his coat away.

He allowed himself to be directed back to his room, bidding a good night before heading their separate ways.

Little did his caprid father know that Donnie had a signal in place that showed if anyone entered the lab – a simple signal in the form of a purple flashing button in the corner of his room.

His father did not, in fact, go to bed.

Who's the insomniac now?

-

Despite the fact that alchemy is tied to magic and magic is improbable and stupid, Donnie was properly intrigued. Now he was too curious to leave his father alone to work on whatever he was working on – he wanted to know .

So when his orange and blue brothers wanted to follow him around, he promptly had to get them off his case.

"But we wanna see all the sciencey stuff!" Leon attempted to argue, moping around.

The soft shell merely scoffed. "Lies, you never do," he dismissed, trying to lead them into another room.

"Not true," Leo tried again. "Science and techy bleeps and bloops are cool!"

"Yeah, it's cool stuff," Mikey added.

Admittedly, it took a moment for Donnie to figure out why they were trying so hard to spend time with him – because it was obvious they had no intention of learning more from his craft.

"...Papa and Raph sent you here, didn’t they?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point!" Again Leo took the reins, like any attempt to flip something over in his favour. "Can't we watch you build more cool stuff, DonTron?"

Huh, they could. If that were his only plan, he supposed he could allow them that much.

Actually no, he could not. They'd get distracted and make a game from the drill bits and tape rolls. He couldn’t risk that again.

"As tempting as it is to indulge others in my interests, I intend to build alone," he settled, continuing to lead them elsewhere.

"But you won't be alone, Sheep Dad's there."

Hah, they weren't wrong. Their taller father rarely left the lab these days. So his building project (that he mostly fabricated as a cover story) would have all the helping hands it needed.

Unfortunately, Donnie had bigger plans, none of which included his father helping with his projects. In fact, he wished to sabotage the other.

"Not for long."

His brothers gasped, "You're gonna kick him out?!-"

" Hush !" He whisper-shouted, scrambling to cover his younger brother’s mouth.

"Oh he's totally gonna kick him out of the lab," Leo concluded. "I knew it! This one's going for world domination, I tell you!"

"Ooh, that's bad, Donnie.

"Keep it down," the soft shell grumbled.

Coincidentally, his blue-branded brother was not entirely incorrect. Every scientific genius has a vague plan of how they intend to rule the world, especially at the age of nine.

This was simply a plan for another time, though. He had other things he wished to focus on right now.

Eventually, he huffed. "But sigh. Yes, I am." He looked around the room to ensure it was only these two who heard. "While I do not wish to reveal my plans – yes, I do believe it is best to give our dear father some time away from the lab. He's become even more of a nerd than I have."

"Hard to believe, but okay," Leo began, completely ignoring everything else. Sigh, of course he jumped to agree he was a nerd.

Which he was not, by the way. Donnie was just the smart one, not a nerd .

On the other hand, Mikey looked upset at him. "You can't just kick Sheep Dad out of his lab."

" Scoff , he gave up the rights to it when he had a scientific genius for a son," he combatted. "Besides, it won't be for long. Just long enough."

If he didn't need to explain further, he wouldn't.

Luckily, his brothers just nodded. Simple to understand, after all.

"Any way we can help?" Mikey asked.

"Ooh, I know!" Leo quickly budded in, "I can tell him I sprained my ankle!"

"That’s not gonna work."

" Shut it , I'm a great actor."

Donnie huffed, watching them argue about a thing he wouldn't allow them to do anyways.

Normally he'd let them continue and proceed to slip away from the scene in the process. But he was oddly enough considering them as a method of distraction.

"Fret not, as I should be able to handle this on my own," Donnie promised, watching as their frames collectively slumped. "However, you are free to distract him in any way you wish once I succeed in getting him to leave the lab.

This seemed to give Leo another 'genius' idea. "Bet he wouldn't turn down a d-"

"Do not say 'date with Dad'."

"How did you-" Leo began before he lit up again. "Ohh, this is some sort of tw-"

"If you say 'twin telepathy thing' I will personally break your snout."

"...Okay rude, but fair," his slightly older brother concluded.

Luckily his younger brother knew how to pick up his spirits. "Don't worry DonDon, we'll stay out of your way," he promised, beginning to yoink Leo away by the arm. "Have fun being a menace!"

Donnie huffed, watching his brothers finally leave. Good. Now he could get to his menacing , as Michael so geniously (genuine) put it.

He imputed the code to the lab, patiently waiting as the doors unlocked. And, just as expected, his father was already here.

"Donatello," he greeted, remaining focused on his task at hand. There was no reason to suspect it was anyone else, so he didn't bother with concealing or making excuses for his work. The man trusted the kid enough.

To be fair, even when he acquires full access to the lab, Donnie does not intend on allowing anyone else in. Just him and whoever else he could trust. Which was currently just himself.

The soft shell headed to his own corner of the lab, retrieving the box with all his scrap parts and opening the drawer with his blueprints. They both had their own desk, so they could easily both be in their own little world for hours.

However, he did not grab all of the supplies with which he wished to work with.

Some items he purposefully left in their places around the lab, so he'd have an excuse to pretend he did not remember where he left them and therefore get a look at his surroundings.

Most days it was painfully quiet. He had no idea how his father could work in air-tight silence – Donnie always needed music to keep his head from spinning.

Either way, it's because of this silence that he had to meticulously plan his little 'trips' around the room. He first acted out pretending to have forgotten a tool, meaning he would have to go to the back. And if it just so happened to not be out in the open, it was likely in the storage room.

What better place to hide things than in a storage room?

Donnie slowly made his way out of his chair, heading to the back of the lab. For most, it would be nerve-wracking to try this in pure daylight. For Donnie, it was a typical Tuesday.

Right in the back is where he found tools – both those which he would need now and later. He could still sneak in and grab something from the storage room, though…

In the closet-like space, he found most of the same things he has seen before. But did they always have a mini fridge?

Why, yes, actually. From all recent memory, he can deduce that they have had this for a while. It would be necessary for storing certain concoctions, anyways, but he could swear he's seen his father with fresh bottles of water and snacks before.

Galileo , was this why his father seldom left the lab for meals?

None of that could be healthy, but Donnie would digress. He had more evidence to gather before he could make any claims, lest they appear baseless.

So, he gathered his tools, then took his time returning to his desk. He used his slower pace to his advantage, getting a good look around the area of Father's desk.

He could see a lot of boxes under it, but what stood out to him was a bunched-up fabric item with a few metal sticks acting as legs and a frame.

He's seen something like that before. It was likely a cot. You know, those things people sleep in.

His father was likely sleeping in the lab .

Okay, that looked pretty bad. Perhaps it was due to hyper-focus on a particular project, but come to think of it, this kind of behaviour has been stirring for quite a while.

Donnie couldn’t blame him for wanting to finish the project. But if one of them had to be the bigger person and 'care for the other's health' or something like that, it would be him.

As the soft shell returned to his own work, he kept a side eye on his father and his actions. As about half an hour passed, he began to look more anxious. His hoof started to tap absent-mindedly after a while. It looked like he wanted to leave without leaving Donnie here alone, and was stuck pondering that decision.

Eventually, he did leave. Just not to where Donnie thought he would.

It was strange to see the man walk further into the lab if he was so anxious. Donnie tried to pretend he was distracted at work but eventually failed to pretend once he heard a door shut rather dramatically.

What in the colourful cosmic hell?

He saw Father go towards the opposite side of the room to where the storage room was. This meant there had to be a whole other room…

He got out of his chair again, eyes searching for another door along the side wall. And sure enough, he found it.

Huh. A lot must have slipped his mind. That, or his father installed a lot quite often.

The soft shell could only figure to stand there upon his realization. His father would only be in the room for about one, maybe two minutes at most before he left, looking only a smidge calmer than he did before.

Though upon seeing his son there, he froze.

Donnie just looked at the caprid man, noticing the hairs near his face were damp. He always splashes water on his face to calm down . Because of this, his sights travelled to the room behind him, catching what looked like a sink and a square tiled floor.

If they needed a sink, he could have just put one in the lab, meaning…

They had a fully functioning bathroom here .

No wonder his father did not leave the lab for hours. Why would he, when he had all the basic necessities on hand?

He did not say anything for a while, allowing the taller one to realize where he went wrong. And that was on multiple levels.

"...How long have you been standing there?" Father tried, his normal lighthearted grin unable to form.

Donnie just kept eye contact with him. "Long enough."

His father looked at a loss for words. What would he even try to say, to excuse all of this?

Eventually, he exhaled, as if he held his breath this whole time. "Alright," he began, putting his hands together. "I believe it's about time I inform you of some small… adjustments I've made to the lab."

'Small adjustments' his tail. One could practically live here more comfortably than in the average New York apartment.

But he allowed his father to walk around, continuing his explanation. "With all that I have added, there should be no reason to leave the lab unless absolutely necessary. It allows for longer periods of productivity without interruptions, which is beneficial in the pursuit of greatness. You understand, do you not? That this is for the greater good?"

Donnie understood. He understood quite well. He also understood that his father's method of speech was growing increasingly sinister, even for him. If he needed evidence of the man having an interest in mad science, this was it.

Speech relating to the 'greater good' was not new. He's heard it all before. What that meant exactly, he was yet to find out. But he would in time.

The others would likely be concerned, even worried, if they heard half of what the man spoke of. Donnie understood that it was a special interest that drove him to this level of madness.

He also knew what to do about it.

"So the lab is livable?" The soft shell tested, raising an eyebrow.

"...Well, yes-"

"Then that explains your longer periods of absence from family events."

He intently watched the caprid, catching the moment his steadier-growing breaths stopped. His son was catching on and he didn't like that .

"As the family's dealer of all things health and medicine, I truly expected more from you, dear father," he started, crossing his arms. "What would they say if they knew what you were working on? The lengths you were willing to go to pursue science?"

This much, his father seemed to understand. He nodded, turning to his desk. "I should-"

"You should go, Father," Donnie agreed, all before the man could say it. "Go bond with the others and leave the real scientist to his work."

Normally his father had no problems spitting back, but he knew well enough: Donnie had no qualms against telling the others everything if it benefited him.

If he wanted the lab to himself, he was getting the lab to himself. End of story.

"Understood," his father finally offered, simply straightening his coat and beginning to leave. "I will be returning at a convenient time – one that is truly free from those who need me."

"Uhuh, you do that," Donnie ushered, leading the man out of the room. "No worries regarding your work, for I shall put it away properly."

Dispose of it properly , he wanted to say, but that would only benefit the fluidity of his sentence.

His father’s work would not face his wrath. At least not today.

He could hear the man say something else, but he couldn't tell what it was. He was too busy getting the man out of the door.

As soon as the larger frame passed the differences in flooring, the soft shell gave him one last shove , leaving the man to stand there with a dumbfounded look on his face. Donnie could only meet that with one of neutral complexion in return.

"Farewell, Father. Your sacrifice will not go to waste," he parted, closing and locking the door not a moment later.

Finally, he had the lab to himself.

Quite frankly, Donnie could care less about his father’s work.

That was not what was important to him, no – now that he's gotten the man out of the lab once, he could surely do it again, and by his calculations, that would eventually break the man until he gave up the lab entirely to the hands of his child.

His child, who surely needed it more than he ever would. Father merely experimented most of the time while he created . Donatello was only nine years old, yet was more productive in a scientific field than the actual scientist.

Part of him supposed this comparison was fair only due to how little his father shared about his past life. And by that, he meant nothing of it all.

Has he always been a scientist? Was this all a sham? How much did it matter? Why was he so keen on something akin to world domination?

That last thought was laughable. He doubted his father was a supervillain. That would be stupid.

No, he would not entertain those thoughts. Instead, he would utilize as much of his newfound empty space as possible, take both desks if needed, use all the power necessary, draw in all the blueprints and use up all the scrap metal.

Now he had to use this time wisely, use it to build something truly extraordinary.

Because he was the smart one, right?

He did not believe himself to be smarter than his father. That was ridiculous. The man has done a fine job in helping him reach the scientific excellence he has thus far and knows such can only grow from here.

What Donnie did believe is that now he had the chance to prove his excellence. Already his family believed him to be smart, but they should have no reason to doubt him now.

As soon as he figured out what exactly he was to do, it would blow all their figurative socks off.

Just you wait.

Chapter 12: The Baroness and The Mama

Chapter Text

Ten years... ten years of living this life of wealth and respect and scientific secrecy. All these years, and yet the Baroness still had no idea what she was doing.

It was laughable, the thought. So much of it was her fault, in the end. If she listened to the Council and stuck to her one job, the one job she was supposed to have, her life would be all the easier. One of the skills she carried over from her youth as a warrior was creating and enhancing weapons. If that were all she ever did, she'd live a calm, simple life.

If she told Big Mama off all those years ago – as she rightfully should have – she wouldn't have her ward. If she and that spider yokai never struck a deal in the first place, she'd be blissfully unaware of those mutant baby turtles.

Her nieces. She would never know two of her potential niblings survived the freak accident.

If the Baroness was a smidge less impulsive, she'd never have gotten to know them. The strong-willed and cunning Jennika, the aspiring and big-hearted Venus – who would they be to her if not mere names on the screen of a battle arena she'd seldom attend on her own?

A large half of what the Baroness has is because of her impulsive, quick-witted actions. No, actually – everything she has is because of this.

Maybe it was best not to debate the ethics of her actions. This is what she wanted after all, is it not? Respect for her title, working with what she loves, co-workers who support her; the thrill of her secret double life. Her ward became so big, so soon – so promising in the blink of an eye. She had a more-or-less heir, a rival, and a goal. And all this came from her decisions.

There's an ounce of it that questions whether or not she should move forward with alchemy. The only few who knew of this side of her were the goyles, the turtles, two bellhops and Big Mama. Every gala or otherwise important event she attended was due to her impressive output in weaponry and security.

As word around the Hidden City says, they've never felt safer. Even amongst those who were lax, those who opted to ignore the world above and its pests – even they admitted to a newfound peace of mind surrounding the security of their home.

Most spoke of how her work was far more impressive than that of her brother before her, clearly committing to her true purpose. The Council could not be more proud.

Was she a yokai to be proud of, though? Considering everything?

Most of all, she stood conflicted when it came to the treatment of her ward. If it were merely Big Mama who told her that the injections would be beneficial to their growth and well-being, she'd keep that plan on tabs until she could find truth in that herself.

But no, the spider woman was right after all; even Draxum's old notes spoke of consistent injections should the experiments not reach their full capability.

If they did, Jennika would have been this tall ten years ago. The average Yokai matured much slower, spanning into the first twenty to fifty years of their life at the very least. Though, a small part of her looked back fondly on the memories of the sea turtle much smaller, already wise beyond their years. She's glad to have gotten a few more years to watch her ward grow up as much as she has.

And now, the kid was more than old enough to handle herself, taking the initiative to become the Baroness' secondhand. The caprid yokai could almost call it pride when she looked at the kid, so grown, donning a suit so similar to her own. Instead, she neglected to give this feeling a name.

Whatever it was, the kid looked awesome. Just as awesome as she did.

As part of her recently newfound task, Jennika would often accompany her while in meetings. Never did she take off the disguise, nor speak. Same for Huginn and Muninn; when perched upon her shoulders, they spoke not a single word.

She wished they did. She wished someone would say anything funny right about now.

As a woman of many appearances, the Baroness had to keep herself respectful in any given situation, until proven she could deviate – or until proven she had power in that domain. Many chances to deviate came late in the night, among the many events held throughout the city. But no, it was not that blessed time of day.

If she had been wiser, she would have brought an energetic beverage with her to this meeting. Even a simple mid-morning board gathering was enough to tire her out, but she would prevail.

Currently, the others surrounding the table spoke of the use of new portal technology bypassing borders. Among these yokai, she knew better than to speak her piece. She had too much to say – too much to slip out. It would be wisest to only speak on affairs involving her or her work.

On occasion, she did speak. She did give her word – though absolutely only when necessary. The meeting passed so slowly, it was hard to deduct if adding herself into the mix sped up or slowed the process.

Eventually, the meeting concluded. She could not have left any faster .

Solace came to many in the form of relaxation. She knew more than well that such was limited. An hour from now, she would be expected to hole herself in the lab, trying to fix up something Venus specifically asked for.

Until then, she needed a nap and a half. Not because of the meeting itself, but what it meant in the grand scheme of things:

The Baroness could not handle so many top-secret but equally important tasks at once.

“Boy, what a snooze fest, huh?”

Baroness snorted, immediately feeling better. Huginn speaking at all is the most entertaining thing she’s heard in hours.

“And they just kept insulting your skills? Totally not cool.”

Yeah, it was not ‘cool’ in the slightest. Not that it wasn’t commonplace – political figures in the Hidden City were surprisingly open to debate and criticism of each other’s work. Didn’t mean they had to like what they heard.

“They argue against what has been a problem since the beginning of time,” she ends up saying. “A few Yokai go to the surface at any given moment, so what? If those idiots want to risk their lives, it’s not my problem. Only becomes an issue if a weapon of mine fails on them.”

The others mumble something in agreement because she’s right. Over the years she’s become very good at presenting the bare minimum aspects of her job, heightening what she pleases.

What she’s inherited is fairly simple on a surface level. All she has to do to impress is implement impressive mystic tech, weapons, and security. All of which she has done.

With a huff, she noticed Jennika continuing to stand there, stiff as the strongest soldiers. Kid took things way too seriously sometimes.

She shuffled to sit up straighter, though still relaxed. “At ease, Jennika.”

Even with a mask as emotionless, her sigh of relief was obvious. “Oh thank the Titan.”

A collective chuckle was shared in the room as the turtle relaxed alongside everyone else. Just as much, she did not look tired – not truly . She was very attentive and good at her job. But it was very, very boring.

"So, will you need help in the lab, or…"

The Baroness shrugged. "Go rest a little. I've got these two to help." She weakly pointed at her living shoulder pads. "Besides, I don't think I'm doing much of anything today."

"Aren't you working on Vee's growth serum?" the turtle questioned – even though she was nearly into the hall by now.

It made the caprid chuckle a little. "It's sweet how much you care – but honestly, it's more of the same old boring work. Go spend some time however you want."

Jennika simply nodded. "Well, if that's the case…"

And then she left.

She soon found the goyles laughing along. "Oh man, bet you wish you could blow off work that easily."

"I do. I very much do wish that." The Baroness rubbed her head a moment as she began to stand. "But it's just this last big project for now. We're taking the whole day off tomorrow if I have any say in that."

"Woo! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"Vacation timeee."

Ah, never a dull moment with these two. She chuckled as she began to walk off to the lab, them happily following.

"Oh, trust me… I would like that more than anything right now."

—

Finally , finally, she had some free time.

Amongst all the endless meetings and galas, the Baroness found herself oddly exhausted. No matter how many pretty faces she finds to distract from it all, there was nothing, nothing more comfortable than what lies in the estate.

The work, public and secret all the same, all here . Today she left Jennika alone in the space, allowing her to train as she saw fit. So, now, she reasoned it was a fine time to check up on her.

The Baroness made her way to the training room, finding a faint light seeping through. Though, oddly enough, no sound…

"Jennika?"

Even as she called, her ward didn't flinch.

"...You alright?"

Slowly, the Baroness approached, still keeping a healthy distance just in case.

Eventually, her ward turned, the light around her seizing in place. "Oh, Baroness." The turtle exhaled, "Didn't know you were there."

"Had a feeling," the caprid reasoned, chuckling. "What happened?"

"No idea. I was just training and felt some sort of…" Jennika's arms flailed around a little, "...connection."

Connection . Right, she explained having a connection to other Yokai, felt stronger when engaged in mystic energy – strong enough to identify when those close to her are engaged in mystics or not. Why she seemed distressed by this remained a mystery, though.

Her guardian raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

Jennika nodded. "For a second I thought Venus finally got a hold of her mystics – but it didn't feel like her." Her glow began illustrating what this 'connection' must look or feel like. Then, she pointed at them, "See, this is us…" She pointed to another section of the illusion, "And this is Venus' family…"

Finally, she pointed to an odd version of the visuals, "And this… I don't know who they are; the connection is fuzzy and quite unstable…" She looked up at the Baroness with an excited glint in her eyes and a huge smile to boot. "I think it has something to do with the other turtles!"

Huh. That.

That was a hypothesis.

One of many she could have formed.

And yet, she chose this one.

How she could have come to that conclusion – how she could have even thought it was a connection to those long-gone experiments – is something the Baroness could not easily compute.

Unless, of course, 'the other turtles' meant a group of Yokai she met while on patrol.

Knowing her ward, that was not the case.

Instead of finding reason, accusing her, or anything of the sort, the Baroness simply paused, raising a barbed brow as she studied the illusion. "What ' other turtles '?"

Jennika sighed. "You know exactly who I'm talking about."

Ah, so it was those same turtles.

The same turtles she's honestly never given a second thought about.

"Yes but aren't they… dead?" The caprid yokai raised a brow. "Unless your mystic ability can connect to the deceased, I did know someone who–"

"Baroness, you labelled the files with three big red question marks. I'm quite sure that means anything could have happened to them."

Hm.

Alright.

Jennika was sticking with this hypothesis.

How exactly she was supposed to respond to this, the Baroness didn't know exactly; she held her chin in thought for a moment. Would her ward accuse her of anything? Ask questions she did not know the answers to?

As far as she was aware, any whereabouts of those other four turtles died with her brother.

Unless, of course, none of them died in the first place.

"I see," she reasoned after a while. "...How sure are you that it could be them?"

That much seemed to help her ward lighten up again. "Quite sure," she explained. "Four of the connections feel similar to Vee, even if not nearly as strong…" She made another illusion of six fuzzy 'connections', "and this one… feels similar to you."

Similar to her .

Ha.

Seems her brother did run off with some of the experiments.

She nodded, allowing her ward to elaborate further. "There's a sixth connection that I'm not quite familiar with – we'll ignore that. The point is that they are likely out there somewhere right now and slowly getting a hang of their mystic abilities too! Imagine if we could find them…"

As her ward continued, the Baroness' heart dropped. Oh, Jennika…

So much hope in the kid's heart… always so eager to learn and dead-set on discovering what more there could be…

Her distress must have been clear, with how Jen's face dropped to something deadly serious. "It's quite frustrating how you seem to know nothing at all, considering your close attention to detail."

… Was her ward accusing her of something?

Yes, it was quite clear now – by the way she was looking at her, the same way she has looked at her every single time they speak of the experiments.

The Baroness pinched the bridge of her nose. "We've been over this, Jennika; I wasn't the one who made you–"

"It was the other scientist," the turtle interrupted; "That Baron Draxum guy."

When all the caprid could offer was a nod in confirmation, she heard that all-too-familiar voice ask again, "...What happened ?"

She sighed. " I don't know , okay? And I wish I did but… I just don't. Huginn and Muninn told me everything they know… and you know how Big Mama is." Her hands shrugged in defeat. "So, all I can tell you is that I believed the other experiments to be deceased, and if they aren't, I don't know where to find them."

After taking a moment to breathe, the Baroness leaned against the nearest wall.

"Look, if you happen upon them somewhere in the Hidden City, you're more than welcome to bring them here; to bring all of them here…" the Baroness sighed softly. "More than anything, I need you to not tell a soul about this. If the other experiments are alive, they will be wanted for the Nexus."

She hated having to enforce promises like this. So many secrets her ward already kept, yet all she ever had to offer was more .

And yet, the turtle merely huffed. "You're right… We have no idea who or where they are. It might all be a fluke." Jennika shrugged. "I just had a hunch that it might be them…"

In no way could the Baroness be mad. Barely even given the time with her sister – who wouldn't want to find any long-lost siblings they may have?

But there was truth to how they would be wanted for the Nexus. Both her and Big Mama have grown rather attached to their wards… if they had someone with the same DNA, all the hotelier would want is to throw them into the battle arena.

That is not what Jennika wanted. Not for her, not for her sister; certainly not for any other siblings.

Eventually, the caprid sighed. "It's fine…" An ear twitched as she suddenly got an idea. "Actually, I may look into that more – your theory, that is. It may have some base to it that we can build off of."

"Really?"

Her ward looked a touch more hopeful and at ease with the idea.

That much allowed her to nod along. "It's not entirely impossible for them to still be alive – if they are, it'd be pretty swell, you have to admit."

Jennika snorted. "'Pretty swell' is just the beginning," she corrected. Then a brow of theirs raised. "Aaand you don't intend to experiment on them as well, do you?"

"No… I see no reason to," the Baroness admitted. "But Big Mama would for sure. Which is why, whether we pursue this case or not, it must remain a secret. Understood?"

Some time was left for breathing before the sea turtle nodded. "Understood."

"Excellent," the guardian praised. She put a hand on the kid's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Don't lose hope, alright?"

Soon she found another nod. "Not in a million years."

The Baroness chuckled softly. "Very well."

Without much else to say, she found herself leaving the space, allowing Jennika to return to her training shortly after.

In truth, Baroness had only a spark of faith that the other experiments were alive. If anyone could keep them alive, it was her brother – her brother, whose tail she would swiftly kick should he ever show his face again.

Though, her joke about him escaping to start a family may be true, should this all be the case.

She had no reason to not trust Jennika's visions, after all. She trusted that kid more than anyone.

Now, it was just a matter of getting herself out of a bigger mess…

Oh, Titan, this was hard.

This was not going to work.

_ _ _

Running such a calculating business was no laughing matter. This much, Big Mama knew to a fault; as fun as it was to laugh the days away amongst other elites, she knew when it was time to party and when it was time to be serious.

When it came to that Baroness woman… well, most of their little get-togethers ended in parties.

So that's what the hotelier reasoned this upcoming meeting was all about – a get-together and not much more. Surely the caprid woman had an ounce of respect towards her now, wishing to celebrate the recent Nexus victories?

If not, that is still what Big Mama would expect of her. Even she knew better than to fail to meet an expectation.

In no time, she found the taller woman in her office, escorted in by her lovely bellhops. Soon afterwards, as per usual, the two were left alone to deal with their affairs.

"Big Mama."

"Baroness. What a pleasure to see you, dearest."

Her return in greeting was ensured to drip with extra sweetness; enough to entice the weakest of prey into her trap.

One of which the other woman has already fallen victim to.

Interestingly enough, she seemed to be holding her tongue, unable to melt into the syrupy sweet trap she has grown so comfortable in.

"Cut the nonsense – there’s a serious matter we need to discuss." The caprid waved a hoofed hand, looking all that little bit upset.

Oh, how she hated to see her frown. At least in anger, she looked quite boisterous and threatening, like an animal let loose from its cage. This was just pathetic.

"Do go on," Big Mama began, leaving her office chair.

Approaching the other woman, she could see how up-tight and tense she was ‐ oh, whatever this diddly-deal may be what had spooked her so. That simply would not do…

Big Mama knew just how to fix this.

She tenderly put her hands on either of the other woman's arms – just for her to flinch in return.

Before Big Mama could speak on this, she watched the caprid's ears point back, the slightest frown poking from the edges of her lips. "I think it would be best if we stuck to a strictly business relationship from now on..."

Oh.

Alrighty then…

This is certainly a change the spider yokai did not expect from the other.

A highly emotional change. Very unprofessional.

"Oh, whatever is this about?" she perked up, keeping her arms hovered where they were before.

An eye stayed on the taller woman at all times. She watched as her chest rose and fell rather abruptly, beginning to walk all the more. "It's not something I can explain easily…"

The spider yokai huffed. Oh, so they would play the long game.

Despite growing rather interested in the other woman, her words have always been frustrating to work around. If it was not what Big Mama wanted to hear, the sheep would not spit it out. Use your words , she wished to demand. But a brash attitude would not help her now.

"Do go on, I'm all ears," she encouraged instead. "Big Mama does not often alter her plans… but for you, sheepy-boo, I'm willing to make that exception."

With a soft boop to her nose, she could see the way the taller yokai flustered. It really would be a shame to end this little arrangement between them, for whatever reason that may be.

"Before you… try anything else," the caprid began, now pushing her way past the smaller, "I do request that we attempt to be serious as we discuss what may be a drastic change to our business."

Enough with the charades, woman.

To no doubt was Big Mama holding herself back. Much she wanted to say… much that would discourage the other further.

So she would not speak her mind, as she often calculates unwise to do. If the Baroness wanted to be serious, she could be serious… so she made her way to her desk, promptly taking a seat and assuming the other as a visitor.

"Well, I do not see why I would not give you that now. We are in a meeting, so spit it out, whatever you wish to say." Her fingers began clicking on the desk in a pattern absent-mindedly. "I'm waiting."

With her always neutrally sinister grin placed upon the yokai below, she watched said yokai sigh, straightening her pose.

Finally, she would speak.

"As you know, your funding has been a tremendous help with the research and formulas needed to further mutate our wards – obviously, such has not been put to good use, though." The caprid closed a fist with a small huff. "You and I both know you have no issues throwing either of them into your Nexus, so why haven't you?

"Furthermore, I'm led to believe that the mix of three vastly different worlds has done no good for either of our wards. The truth will come out, sooner or later, and when it does, we will all be dragged into it. I'm willing to work harder towards the mutation project, but many major changes will be needed to go through with it…"

Again did she wait for approval. Big Mama has no issue listening to her ramble, but if she insists …

She nodded slightly.

With this, the Baroness nodded in return, hands now hiding behind her back. "This is where the 'strictly business' part comes in. I am willing to fully dedicate my time and efforts to the project… If you can get the Council off my back and we agree to stop parading around our wards in costume."

Was that all? This is all quite simple for the insistence of a serious meeting. But Big Mama would play along.

"You are quite right about this being 'strictly business'," she agreed. "I expect this means you do not wish to be shown around anymore; that you would become a little hermit of sorts, dwelling amongst your fancy little lab for all those tediously-tiring hours of the day?"

"I…" the Baroness looked to hesitate here. All until she nodded again, with a shred more confidence. "Yes."

"Oh, don't be brash. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Quite sure – this is a decision that has been festering for quite a long time. One cannot simply live three drastic lives, and I am done being worn thin between your demands."

Was she… standing up for herself ? Did she think Big Mama has been unreasonable ?

"Dearest, do you not adore the fame?" the hotelier began instead, cautiously. "All the adoring fans, the hundreds of youngster-yokai children who look up to you, the respect beyond your wildest of dreams? Surely, you would not give that all up?"

The caprid found it within her to huff with amusem*nt this time around. "You can have it all . I can't do everything. You either get me as an armpiece or an alchemist – not both."

At once, Big Mama allowed herself a chuckle. Was this woman so co*cky she believed her usefulness was tied to one's attraction to her?

The spider yokai leaned forward ever so slightly. "So this was all a lie? Did we not bond ?" She began to stand, pushing her chair back. "...Has this all been an elaborate setup to trick me?"

After seeing the other falter on the spot, she knew .

The hotelier chuckled. "And I thought I was cruel."

Only the sound of this blanketed the room, failing to protect it from the festering impatience from within the taller yokai. "Don't do this, Big Mama…"

"Do what, Baroness ?"

Big Mama dared to pose in a way that let the other know; there was no winning against her.

With it, she watched intently as the other looked ready to storm off. Instead, she held on, very apparent in how ready she was to end this.

"Final offer. If you want me to keep mutating the turtles, I will need the support of a cover story. If I stop the mutation, I'll be focused on what my job is supposed to be , mind you. And either way, I'm not going to any more of your galas." The caprid took a step back with a half-hearted huff, hands open on either side like a shrug. "So, what will it be?"

Did this woman seriously grow so weak that she could not handle the power? Surely, she was not stupid enough to show this in front of the only one keeping her upright… was she?

But oh, yes she was. It's begun as early as half-hearted threats to keep the turtles all to herself or keep them away from the Nexus. In time she has grown soft. If before she was merely a menace, nowadays she reads as a mother.

A mother with no choice but to continue relying on the devil's outstretched hand.

Well, quite simply said: if this is what the Baroness truly wanted… Big Mama would no longer offer that hand.

The spider yokai stood straighter. "It is quite a shame it has come to this, really… I quite liked you." She began walking along the side of her desk, meeting the Baroness halfway. "I suppose where you are needed the most is amongst the mutations."

Such was met with a nod. "Then that is what I shall do."

"Very well. Big Mama will be sure to craft up the cutest little cover story for you," the hotelier offered at last with a small wink.

In real-time, she managed to capture what is likely the last time that Baroness would ever allow herself to fall for her, before she shook it all away.

Immediately after, she nodded. "Then that is what we will do." The caprid began walking away, cape swishing liberally as her form descended the large hall towards her doors. "...Pleasure doing business with you."

It took a second more for the bellhops to catch on, allowing the caprid out of the room and leaving the spider alone again at once.

Oh, how awkward that old goat was.

Big Mama was going to miss having her around.

—

After ten years, a person should know what their job is. If given a very specific task, one should have no reason to stray. Big Mama assumes this much of everyone – especially those who hold similar power, those who are capable, and those who have been given nothing but her consistent generosity and support .

The spider yokai wished to have assumed this of the Baroness. But alas.

No matter now. As has always been at the forefront of her mind, that woman was a traitor. She only cared about herself – always had, always will. And now, she wished for even more control over those sweet little turtley-boos.

Oh, how she must have dreamed of such. Yet her approach resembled that of a kicked, pathetic stray… quite intriguing behaviour out of someone so often commanding in nature.

All that meant was that, in the long run, Big Mama has no chance of losing. Not that she ever did.

If that petty old goat wished not to participate, then Big Mama would not give her the time of day. She frankly had more pressing matters to attend to – even if such surrounded that of their shared work together.

Venus was her priority now. Her little star. Her little assistant. She was old enough now to follow her around, and as such, she knew the child would be quite happy to earn her place in the Nexus industry. Any role, big or small; perhaps her little champion deserved that much.

With the weakened tether in her union with the Baroness, it would simply be too risky to promise more than that. Hopefully the child’s Nexus dreams would not be too crushed.

Silently she approached the mutant youth, the soft clicking of footsteps filling the empty sound.

“There you are, child,” she began simply, observing as the child in question stood up straighter. So young, and yet, she took to instruction so well. Good. “You remember which day it is, do you?”

She watched the young one nod.

“Splendid.” The spider yokai motioned a hand for her bellhops to fan out around the two of them. “And as such, I suppose you know exactly what I have for you in those itty-bitty boxes?”

At the hint, she saw the turtle sneak glances at all the small boxes the bellhops were holding. However, she seemed to raise a brow;

She did not, in fact, know.

“I’ll spare you the guessing, dearest,” she interrupted before the child could speak. “In each of those boxes holds a little gift. Choose wisely, as they all have a different purpose.”

She wiggled her fingers playfully with a little smirk, stepping back ever so slightly.

Then she kept an eye on Venus as she looked around at each presented gift. In truth, they were all the same… but the illusion of choice was a gift all on its own. Soon the child slowly reached out for one of the boxes – a simple blue one with a white ribbon.

And yet, even with it in her stubby little paws, she hesitated, looking up with those big sad eyes.

Big Mama nodded slightly. “Go ahead, dear.”

Only then did Venus fumble with the ribbon, holding onto it as she took off the box’s lid, revealing the gift carefully held on the inside.

“It’s a cloaking brooch…”

“Yes, little star, but not just any cloaking brooch,” Big Mama corrected, “it’s for your armour. This way, you do not need to spend precious time changing into it! So useful, don’t you agree?”

For a moment, the girl simply kept her eyes on it, only looking up at her again after failing to speak. “It’s…” again she tried, until she shook her head ever so slightly, holding the box lower. “It’s perfect. Thank you, I… appreciate it.”

Huh. If Big Mama was any more doubtful, she could almost assume that was a lie. That Venus was disappointed .

Well, that was not right. A child should never be sad upon receiving such a beautiful gift.

“Venus, whatever is the matter?” she began carefully, reaching a hand out to her ward. The bellhops took the hint, taking a large step back. Other than Bridget and Rita, who stood by the turtle’s side. As they always did.

Softly, her ward’s eyes looked to widen. “Nothing,” she quickly corrected, “but will this make me… stronger?”

Ah, that’s what it was.

A light chuckle escaped the spider yokai. “Oh, sweetest. I know you want to be the brightest star – but that all comes with time.” She took the brooch from its resting spot, placing it on the collar of Venus’ shirt. “Go on, give it a try,” she encouraged, giving the girl some space once more.

Her eyes trained on her ward as she silently agreed, activating it and soon donning the appearance of the assistant armour perfectly. Slightly tall, slim and mysterious; only a turtle in choice of style.

“There, now isn’t that better?” She cooed excitedly as she watched her ward – her assistant – nod intently. “You look absolutely splendiferous dearest!”

She chuckled brightly as Venus looked to grow all the more comfortable in her newfound appearance, soon turning and beginning to walk out of the room. “Isn’t this so much better? So perfect, so exquisite – oh, so darling.”

Before she could turn again and address her bellhops to follow, she was approached by Bridget – the littlest raccoon bellhop. “With all due respect, ma’am, you have been promising Venus a spot in the Nexus since she could walk. Why make her your assistant?”

Oh, how Venus began to hide at the remark. Was this something she could not address to Big Mama by herself? Was she embarrassed?

Instead of bringing attention to the bashful girl, she instead turned to the brave little bellhop, who was soon met with her partner in crime. “Now, don’t be ridiculous,” she began, “all will come in due time.”

She turned again, stopping short of the door with only her head turned now. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her ward, standing ever so strongly despite it all.

“Without our dear friend the Baroness, though… there is only so much our own physicians can do to prepare her for all that bested-brutality.”

She did not stay to watch their reactions. She only heard the slightest stir of questions beginning to form, eyes begin to widen. Her most loyal side-arm servants told them promptly to back off, so if they wished to know the full story, well…

It was no longer her responsibility to tell it.

There truly is not much Big Mama is willing to give up. And by ‘not much’, she means nothing at all. As much as she was a woman of her word when it came to what she truly wanted…

Every parent had their regrets.

A large part of Big Mama saw nothing but potential for stardom in the young turtle’s eyes. Much of the same potential was held in her dearest Lou’s eyes – the eyes she missed ever so dearly. Yes, the girl’s older sister Jennika was in almost every way more resemblant of the man who lent his DNA to them, but Venus has much of the same.

She could not afford to let anything happen to Venus.

She could not lose the last piece of her beloved Lou she had left.

Chapter 13: The Yearning Warrior

Chapter Text

By the time Venus reached eleven years of age, she was cursed with all the reasonable amount of angst for a preteen. Only, the ethics of such a reason are never one an eleven-year-old should be experiencing.

Normal children had squabbles with siblings, parents, and friends alike. Normal children would begin experiencing odd growth spurts and voice changes around this time in their lives. Normal children had useless drama on their minds, useless drama that would mean little to nothing in retrospect.

This is something Venus would never get to know because she is not a normal child.

That much, she's always felt. With no memory of her previous, non-sentient life, all she has ever known is the hotel, her sister, and their various guardians. Even as she's aged, she's never met an unfamiliar face. Even as she passes by crows of hundreds, she is told to remain in hiding – if only not in disguise.

Worst of it all? The only thing she wanted in life was to live up to Big Mama's expectations; to be good enough to take place in the Battle Nexus.

No child should ever want that.

Luckily, she's no child, but a product of science.

Her inner angst has only increased upon being granted the role Big Mama gave her now: her second hand, her assistant.

After everything, was that all she was to her? An assistant?!

No, that wouldn't stand- Venus was meant for more than this. She was Venus de Milo, the ward of the largest-scale organized crime boss in the Hidden City. She knew the Nexus from the inside out and familiarized herself with the regulations (or lack thereof); what it takes to be one of the contestants, let alone a winner.

Yet, after all this, it seems she is drifting further and further away from this ever becoming a possibility. Was that not what Big Mama wanted of her? Was that not why she and Jennika took all that medication and special training?

Venus did not believe herself too young nor emotional to consider this unfair. Why all the effort, if only to make her an assistant?

She'd get to the bottom of this– someway, somehow, she would prove herself worthy.

Now, she believed, it would just be a process of figuring out when.

-

Venus could honestly care less about her origin story or where she came from. Her older sister feels the need to share more information whenever she comes across it, but the green sea turtle learned long ago all she needed to know: that she was born to be a warrior.

This is why she worked harder than anyone she knew – other than Big Mama, of course. This is why she woke up as early as the inner demons allowed it, kept herself behaved and quiet, and followed her main guardian around like a chick following their mother hen.

If you asked her in her youth who she wished she'd become like, Big Mama would not be in her top-three list of candidates. Despite this, acting like the esteemed hotelier may do her some favours.

So easily did Venus take to her role, following Big Mama's lead. She did not speak unless spoken to, and when she did, it was full of class (read: sass). She stood up straight and never slouched. She used her mere appearance and position to command respect.

Unless Big Mama had more than just the upper hand, catching her unable to put up this front. Catching her in an ungrateful moment.

Of course, it was all an act. Every second of this was an act. Deeming it an act of 'survival' would be all too drastic – though, to survive in the Nexus Hotel environment, one does have to blend in with its people;

Rich snobs who pay a pretty penny for brutal entertainment, or the source of the brutality itself. Those were the only two things one could be.

For years Venus imagined herself to have the destiny of the latter. Along with the steroids given to her by the Baroness and Big Mama's scientists, she was told to have a rather large predicted height and strength; not as much as her sister, but still a significant amount. If given the right training, her skill and strength could easily surpass that of Lou Jitsu – the only other comparable in recent years.

This must have threatened Big Mama. This must have threatened her so much that she felt the need to strip Venus of her dreams so dearly.

Nevertheless, Venus would prevail. No matter what she was told, she would prevail. If she had to play pretend to regain an ounce of respect, so be it; no matter what, she would prove herself.

She just needed patience now.

"Chin up, darling. We don't need you slouching, now, do we?"

Venus silently sighed while she did as instructed. Thank the Titan for the cloaking and suit to hide any choice words and responses deserved the hotelier's way.

"Very well," Big Mama praised. "Remember dearest, we must keep up appearances."

Before she could even think to respond, Venus simply nodded. She didn't like being spoken to as if she were a child; as if this has not been her life for over a year. Rare was it that she ever fumbled, and such has been regulated since very early on. She has a year of experience under her belt and does not need these constant, nit-picking corrections .

But Big Mama needed utter perfection , didn't she?

If that was the way, she would simply stand straight and bite her tongue. A masked guard did not need a voice, anyway.

So she followed close behind the woman, standing slightly past her height and amongst the other few bellhops she liked to bring along. She never said a word.

To her understanding, today's outing was to purchase, or rather, convince and trick for the rights to a new fighter. So often were low-brow fighter Yokai brought in for the sake of additional entertainment rather than anything else.

Think of it as purchasing a few dozen guppies for your one prized betta.

To most, it did not matter the sheer amount of guppies in the ring – their skills did not matter unless they were entertaining . Those are the guppies that have the potential to age and grow; the potential to rank up to the position like that of the betta, the champion .

To these up-and-coming fighters, it did not matter to them the likelihood of dying. Why should it matter in the long run if they got to fight in the Battle Nexus, fight for the chance of fame and glory?

It always intrigued the sea turtle, to see the reactions of new fighters bought or bartered into the Nexus. In a way, they know exactly what they're in for. In another way, they never have a clue.

Another part of her intrigue wonders if she could, at least, convince Big Mama to allow further involvement with the Nexus itself to be part of her line of work.

She knew, full well, it is not what her guardian wanted. She wanted Venus to be her 'assistant', to follow her around and learn from her in any way she can. Of course, the turtle's natural strength allowed her to become an additional 'bodyguard' of sorts; a position she has not yet exercised.

Despite this all – despite this being a reasonably safe job fit for an eleven-year-old – Venus still wanted nothing more than to be a part of the Nexus.

So she would stand by and watch as yokai of various shapes, sizes and ages were personally picked to fight in the Nexus. Guppies or not, they all had the chance for battle, bloodshed and glory.

All of which she was created for.

And yet, it was a fate only teased. Nothing more, nothing less.

It was all so ridiculously unjust.

Soon enough, they were able to convince some rich snobby landowner to hand over her crazed younger nephew for the low low price of free . It took a bit of convincing, but, after seeing the lad himself, one could see why such could be arranged.

The young badger-hybrid appearing yokai could not have been more than a few decades older than Venus was; young-hearted and excitably willed. Stupid, in other words.

He would make a decent addition to the death ring. How brutal it was going to be, he could not possibly know yet. But he would lean soon.

The assistant watched as Big Mama pretended to wipe the sweat off of her brow. “That was a bit of a fizzy, now, wasn’t it?” She said it to no one in particular and therefore gained no reaction. “Quite the bibbity-barter indeed; though all worth it for our newest champion!”

This ‘champion’ in question cheered a bit as he was held back by two bellhops, told “Quiet, you” by one of them before Venus followed procedure and soon opened up a portal.

“A lively one, now is he?” Big Mama mused quietly. Only Venus and another bellhop were left on her end of the portal when she whispered, “He shall make a fine addition to the ring… quite the source of entertainment indeed.”

Such was quite true. The more these fighters had spirit, the more they could hype up a crowd. Would they last long? No, not always likely… but what did it matter in the end?

Entertaining shows were profitable. Long had the Nexus been searching for a true champion, forever mourning the loss of Lou Jitsu. In his loss, they apparently have been scavenging for talent, growing desperate for anyone talented enough to finally restore the battle arena to its former glory.

Of course, Big Mama had to fumble the bag so much that she could no longer get the Baroness to simply mutate a new champion.

Of course, she could not even promise a fate of this calibre to Venus, who she quite literally raised to eventually become her next prized fighter.

There are, in fact, some gossip-style rants told by Jennika that she believed.

And this was one of them.

Filled with next to nothing but jealousy, the young turtle would continue to stand and watch as the new, stupid yokai was brought in for styling. His first show would be the following day. He looked oh, so happy.

Venus, oddly enough, wanted nothing now but to stick around.

Despite keeping to herself for the most part, she is aware of how much this jealousy clouds her soul. Early on she devised plans to involve herself directly with the lifestyle, even if from a distance.

She trains, not only for greatness but for her own well-being. She styles, attempting to present functional but strong all the same. And she watches, supporting all others from the sides.

Sometimes she steals another brooch, disguising herself so she could simply observe the fighters and their glory up close.

This much was risky, yet encouraged by her mothers. It is like this that she grew more social, more confident, and, sometimes, more happy. Despite knowing the fate of many of these fighters, despite knowing they may very well be dead in a week – despite it all, she spoke to them on the odd occasion, feeding into their energy so easily.

All of which this, she wished to do now. But of course, Big Mama had other, important plans.

She followed the woman as she spoke to other important figures, winding up in a meeting as boring as they all were. Even as it ended in threats, with the other attendees leaving out of frustration, Venus did not flinch.

She stood, and she waited. She opened portals, held onto mystic devices, and helped usher people out. But, just as always, she did not speak.

Never did the fear of slipping up leave. She knew better than to speak unless spoken to, and even then did she hesitate. Too often did she say the wrong thing.

So, instead, she stood and listened.

And grew more jealous, angry and bored as time went on.

—

Why did Big Mama have to make everything so difficult?

In a way, it was easier to be older. In another way, she missed her sister.

As a young one, she was often filled with dread, often filled with doubt – somehow more than now. Her guardian’s work confused her as much as anything else did. Everything was so weird and scary, boring and unfair all the same.

But despite it all, her sister was always there. She saw her many times a week, and if she asked Bridget and Rita, she could go over even more times. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d tugged on her moms’ arms, just to spend a few hours with the only other kid she’d known.

Nowadays, she had to sneak out just to see her.

Kind of ridiculous how easy it was to do just that, not that she was complaining. So often did she wait until Big Mama finally left her to her own devices, until Bridget and Rita were done preparing her for bed, and until she was completely certain that no one would need her. Then, with ease, she portaled over to wherever Jennika was.

The first few times were a fluke, obviously. Her moms caught her early on, as did the Baroness. Thank the Titan it was no one else . They permitted it, under the guise that she missed her sister after the unexpected break in the Baroness and Big Mama’s contract.

All her moms wished is that they would tell her before doing this, and all the Baroness wished was that she is more stealthy so she wouldn’t get in trouble for harbouring the spider lady’s ward.

Venus took stronger to the Baroness’ suggestion.

Any guilt on the matter, she had to ignore. Not that it felt any bad when she portaled to a rooftop in the city, finding her older sister there soon after.

“Sorry about the wait,” Jenny started, sitting down on a crate, “H and M have been keeping an eye on me lately, saying they’re scared I’ll get rebellious or something.”

The green sea turtle snorted, sitting down on another crate soon after. “You. Rebellious.”

“Yeah, I don’t get it,” her sister agreed. “Literally all I want is to do science stuff with Goat Mom. But nooo, I’m ‘too nosey’ or something like that.”

Again Venus huffed, finding it all the easier to relax as her sister vented about small issues. It was refreshing, this level of honesty. Though she had no idea if she'd ever get used to 'Goat Mom'. Did Jenny even consider her as her mom?

After a moment, her older sister sighed. “Anyways, I guess you’ve been up to most of the same. Following around Big Mama and whatnot.”

Vee nodded. “Never anything else, really.”

“That’s gotta be boring.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s as boring as your job.”

The older turtle ended up chuckling. How amusing that they ended up both being bodyguards/assistants of sorts, even before the split – unless that has always been the plan.

“And I’m guessing that new guy you brought in won’t last long.”

A small grin pulled at Vee’s beak for a moment. “How did you know about that?”

“H and M told me they saw something,” Jenny reasoned. “That, and I’m your wise older sibling who obviously knows everything.”

Okay, that – that much got a laugh out of her. Vee watched as Jenny stood dramatically, gesturing to herself and how ‘wise’ she is.

“Oh really? How wise are you?”

Before answering, her sister reached forward to remove the hood of her disguise – electing a small “hey-” from the green sea turtle. “Wise enough to know that you have not done anything fun in a week,” she reasoned, stepping back in a wobbly way.

That much… was right. A lot of things weren’t fun anymore. ‘Fun’ only came from sneaking out and being rebellious.

Which is what her sibling was likely suggesting to do now.

She watched as they headed to the edge of the rooftop, looking over the city below. Light teal blue light coated her form, just as much as the gold from below.

Their colours.

Perfect .

“Think it’s about time we patrol a little?”

Venus did not even hesitate, following her to the same edge.

“Only if you don’t do anything stupid.”

Her sister took no offence to it – even she knew she was stupid on these outings sometimes. Insisting on a cool pose has too often ended in the two having to sneak off and hide, trying their hardest not to giggle as they did so.

Though, even Venus had to admit they looked cool while patrolling.

Call it vigilantism, but they never truly did much. Just look at the city below, scout a few alleyways, and maybe look around for wanderers near city borders; at this hour, they only ever found a couple of woozy-looking yokai, with their worse offences being spats amongst other drunkards.

The real fun came from the thrill, the chase, the sense of purpose that came from calling what they did a ‘patrol’. What was it truly, if not a couple of kids in costumes? But it felt real, and that’s all that mattered.

At some point, they stopped on another rooftop, heaving softly after avoiding the complaints of some cicada older in their years yelling at them. But soon a chuckle followed, as the turtles slowly found a seat on the cold roof’s floor.

When they caught their breath, Jenny ripped off her face mask, looking at her with an amazed sparkle. “Where’d you learn to flip like that?”

“Tsunami Oasis,” Vee reasoned, obviously referring to a Nexus fighter.

“...Isn’t that one dead?”

Venus shrugged. “Now she is. Is it really a crime to steal a dead person’s cool kickflip, though?”

“Probably not,” her sibling reasoned, a chuckle soon following. “Is my bad boy persona finally rubbing off on you?”

Her what ?

The younger couldn’t help the wheeze that soon escaped.

“What? What else am I supposed to call it?!”

Still, Venus found herself lost to laughing, unable to answer her sister. That was, quite possibly, the dumbest thing she’s ever said.

Maybe she was rebelling.

Eventually, Vee settled her breath, a small smile left on her beak. "Anything less idiotic ," she began – earning a fake-offended huff from the other. "But, no. I, um… just wanted to expand my skill set. A fighter simply cannot rely on Lou Jitsu's moves forever."

Another thing she found unfair was that she could not be the only one to have the Nexus' greatest champion as her idol. Nowadays, everyone entering the ring tried to be as cool as him.

This meant Venus would have to get more creative. Use the swift and cunning moves of other champions, if only less popular – and, with enough training and skill, eventually invent her own moves. That much, she felt possible. But it would take time.

Meanwhile, she noticed as her sister nodded. "Reasonable," she agreed. Then she shrugged again. "Well, it's cool either way."

"Yeah, it is…"

Oh, how no hint of sadness ever escaped the older turtle's senses. "What's got you down now?"

"Nothing," Vee tried to combat, swiping a flipper in her sister's direction.

But all this did is make her dodge, eventually sitting up straighter. "Is that a nothing nothing, or do you just want to not say?"

Honestly, Vee couldn't say she knew the answer to that. Other than a slight disappointment around the Lou Jitsu thing, she had no real reason for the heavier hint in her chest. And yet, she sighed. "It's… something, but also nothing," the younger one reasoned. "I guess I'm just sad."

"Oh."

Her sibling proceeded to just stare out a bit – likely not knowing what to say, and that was alright. Vee did have a habit of springing this fact of herself out of nowhere… so often did others render themselves speechless at this reveal.

But Jenny looked to be trying, thinking of something she could offer. "Kind of sucks that you're sad all the time," she offered slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Think there's anything I can do to help?"

Vee shook her head softly. No… if there was anything that helped, it was just spending time with Jenny. Not much else.

"Wait," the other turtle said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts, "I have just the thing."

With this, she began to stand again, fishing something small out of a pocket of hers. A portal carver. Venus already had one of those, the best kind no less… actually, come to think of it, she neglected to bring hers. At least the one she knew could bypass security.

Just to avoid further suspicion.

Yet Vee could only find herself raising an eyebrow. Where could they go that would make her feel better?

"How about a trip to the surface?"

Oh. Yeah. That was a place they could go.

The younger one hummed a little, excited at the idea – and yet, knowing the implications all the same. They would appear as costumed children just as much on the surface, but who knows, truly, what could happen?

"I don't know, Jen… it's getting late," she ended up offering, remaining seated on the roof.

Her sister huffed for a moment, nodding. "Yeah, you're probably right." She pocketed the portal carver, deciding to just sit down once again.

Collectively, they sighed.

"One of these days we should," Jenny brought up, looking towards the Hidden City's enclosed walls with a hint of wonder. "The Baroness will be taking me in a few months to start studying mosquitoes. Maybe, once I get the hang of it, I can take you with me."

Again did her older sister look her way, offering a hand to shake.

"Just us two against the world."

Just the two of them against the world… that is what it felt like some days. If the world were simply their families, that made it especially true.

But perhaps, in a world as open as up on the surface, they would feel part of it rather than against it . If disguised enough, they would be small and insignificant… much like those mosquitoes Jennika would be studying.

Small and undetected. Hated by humans universally. Except by the small few.

As much as Venus yearned for glory… it was something she could take odd comfort in. It was just for a few hours, right?

With this in mind, she took Jenny's hand in hers, shaking it back.

"Just us against the world…"

Her sibling nodded happily. "That's the spirit."

This felt good. Her and Jennika, making plans. If they would ever truly happen, who knows? But one thing was for sure… this kind of hope saved the soul.

Vee had to hold back a yawn, feeling it creep up on her. What time even was it…

She hummed instead, a small scowl as she looked over to her sister. "We should probably go back soon," she mumbled, secretly hoping this time would not end.

But it had to. And thus, her sister agreed. "Yeah…" She took out her carver yet again, flipping it in the air. "Same place later this week?"

"Sure," Venus agreed, nodding along. "Thursday I might be more free."

"Then Thursday it is."

As Jennika got up, they offered a hand out to help her up as well. And when she stumbled a little upon standing, she found her sibling's steady arm to hold her up. "Hey, survive until then."

Venus chuckled a little, allowing one last smile. "Wasn't planning on dying anytime soon."

The eventual portal back to their own rooms was nothing she looked forward to. Even with the peaceful darkness and a fair amount of exhaustion aching through her limbs, she knew the illusion of joy was gone.

Now there was only sleep. Rest, if not only to prepare for tomorrow's disappointment.

Forever would she yearn for a night of rest that promised something to look forward to.

—

Fancy outfits. Oh, the death of all comfort and the birth of style.

Under Big Mama's watchful eye, she has gotten her fair share of fancy outfits over the years. Dresses and dress suits, mostly; cute blouses and pants to match. Despite her shell, her tailors always find a way to make these outfits work.

And yet, none of them are ever perfect.

Because what's the point, if she is never meant to socialize or make an appearance outside of her disguise?

Venus can't say she hates all these outfits. She finds an odd sense of comfort with them; how they make her look pretty, how some of the fabrics are comfortable, how she's every once in a while able to get away with using her favourite colour in her suits.

But it does feel pointless to dress up so much. It feels strange how often her guardian fixated on her looks rather than anything else. Like… practically any other skill a hyper-enhanced child of science had to offer.

So often did she dream of these outfitting days surrounding a future Nexus uniform. The colours, the fringes, the folds. Of course, it had to be a smidge like Lou Jitsu's classic jumpsuit – why would she want anything else?

Such were only dreams, though. The closest she ever got was getting a swimsuit fitted or receiving a custom set of silk pajamas.

Today, she found herself in the middle of many tailors fitting her for what was most likely some more fancy, tight-neck day attire.

And she was getting tired of it .

This was one of those 'lucky' few days where Big Mama had no plans for her that involved the outside world. Other than the fitting, she was free to read, or wander, or swim, or train, or sneak off to watch the active fights .

Instead, she found herself too tired to do any of it at all.

In the foyer outside of the tailor's den, the turtle found herself sitting on one of the couches, unable to stay upright or avoid sighing.

She wasn't trying to gather attention, truly. But it appears that in the world of the rich and perfect, it is the ones without smiles that stand out the most.

Luckily, she first saw the sight of Rita – the bat-like bellhop barely up to her shoulders in size. Her mother . One of two .

"What's the matter, Venus?"

A simple question, really; one that should not have encouraged another sigh from the turtle.

And yet it did because Venus couldn't help it. She didn't exactly know how to explain what was wrong if she barely knew what that was herself.

To be upset about the small things was childish, and yet they bothered her so dearly.

"Nothing," Venus reasoned, sitting up straighter. "Why are those dress shirts always so itchy ?"

This much managed to get a laugh out of her mother. Good. Laughter distracts from bigger issues.

"You should tell the girls if you think the material they're using is too itchy," Rita reasoned in return. Then she nodded, almost in a sad way, before she lifted Venus' chin a little. "And if you don't want to tell them, we can."

That did sound better… "Thanks," is all she could figure to say, remaining sadly sat on the dumb little fancy couch.

At this, her mother rested her hands on her hips, giving Venus a good look. "You know, I don't get it;" she began, looking a mix of confused and concerned, "you're a bright kid with a lot on your mind. Why don't you ever tell anyone anything?"

"Mom, really, it's nothing," Venus tried.

But the look in the bat's eyes told enough. "Oh no, I know that look," she argued. "It can't be shyness because I see how you talk to people when you want. But you don't, ever. How come?"

Was there truly that much of a difference in the way she talked? Yeah, sometimes it was easier to talk than others, especially when it came to people she knew better… Was it not that way for everyone?

She could forgive the bat bellhop for simply having a theory that things were wrong or different. But they were not , thank you very much.

"Rita, stop interrogating the poor girl," her other mom swooped in, effectively saving her.

The raccoon had walked in with an arm full of lavender silk; likely for her current outfit in progress. But it seemed weightless as she nudged her co-parent's side.

"I wasn't," the bat pouted – or at least tried to. Then she pulled the smaller bellhop closer by the shoulders. "Look, am I the only one who sees it, or is she like… selectively shy or something?"

This earned a brow raise from both the raccoon and turtle.

"Some people just do that…" the smallest yokai reasoned, slightly better understanding at least . "And why is it such a big deal?"

"Because our girl won't tell anyone anything," the slightly taller yokai argued back. "Apparently the shirt the girls are making for her right now is too itchy. And what does this kid do? Just sit here! They literally asked if she…"

Venus huffed the slightest, despite what they were talking about… now focused on how she said our girl . It was not the first time, and would not be the last – they were her parents more than anyone else, after all. But it felt kind of nice to have these two friends willing to parent her together.

She honestly wished that much worked with her and Jennika's guardians .

"...It's still not a big deal," Venus heard again, zoning back into the conversation as she felt a paw on her knee. "But this idiot is kind of right."

No doubt that comment earned another pout from the taller one, but the other two collectively ignored this for a moment.

Instead, the raccoon bellhop continued. "If something's bothering you, then you have to tell someone. Even if it's just me and her." She sighed, offering the turtle another knee pat. "I promise we can keep a secret if that thing is bothering you."

Well, okay… that was kind of comforting. Venus still knew there was a multitude of things she simply could not talk about – but having them as an outlet for smaller issues could help.

Eventually, she nodded. "Okay… but I think that's it."

"Really, that's what got you all…"

The bat was shoved again before she could finish gesturing to Venus as a whole. Even if such was reasonable.

The sea turtle just ended up huffing ever so slightly. "More or less."

At this, the adults could only shrug. "Well, we can tell the others to use a different fabric either way. Does that work for you?"

Venus shrugged in response. "Whatever's most convenient."

She wanted so badly to tell them not to bother. It was embarrassing. Worse, Big Mama would find out. What would she think?

But at the end of the day, it was just easier if her moms felt like they accomplished something. And if she got a softer-feeling shirt in the process, was it a loss?

Either way, she felt overjoyed that those two eventually moved on, returning to a squabble of theirs as they headed to where the tailors were working; effectively leaving Venus alone.

To sulk, if we were being honest. But left alone nonetheless.

—

Maybe she only had one personality trait.

And that personality trait was wanting to be part of the Battle Nexus.

Always the freaking Battle Nexus .

If she were any bit aware of the wide world around her, she'd see to it to pick up a hobby, a distraction . But as it stands, such a concept was foreign to her world.

Distractions were a waste of time. Not that she had anything better to do. Every second of her life felt filled with nothing but unbridled jealousy, rage, or boredom. Because, in reality, that is all it was like to be her.

Any other kid would be blessed with such a comfy life, it seemed. To have a cool job at such a young age, who wouldn't want that? It truly seemed ridiculous in the grand scheme of things – but Venus could not deny this for herself.

What she could not deny was that she was not a normal kid. The life of a ward under the care of the biggest organized crime boss in the city somehow felt like a curse.

These days, there was little for her to take comfort in. Jennika was a rare sight. Hope for her desired future was even rarer. Venus couldn't even figure out her mystic powers without the help of advanced Yokai technology.

With all this, there was little else for her to do but seek out what can heal her soul. Security in the little things she could control in her life.

This mystic connection she seemed to have… well, it was not necessarily mystic. And because of that especially, she knew it was nothing to share.

If anything, it felt more spiritual .

Not long ago she discovered what felt like a calling to her. A voice in her head. Yet another thing to neglect telling anyone else… but it felt special. It felt like someone much older and wiser, guiding her.

Not that she always listened to the voice's advice. Sometimes it told her quite ridiculous things. Other times it suggested what would cross her comfort boundaries.

Despite being stuck, Venus was not stupid.

So often did she want to take a chance, maybe go to the surface and 'find the missing part of herself' as the voice promised. But, knowing the watchful eyes of Big Mama (and the Baroness by extent), it was simply not a thing she could do.

Still would she take ease in the voice, allowing it to guide her every day in the simpler aspects. Still would she dedicate time to listen throughout the hours, and speak back to it when she was alone.

She had no idea who or what this voice was. But in her eyes, it felt important.

So she trusted it.

—

Too often did the young turtle yearn for what was possible for her should luck be on her side.

She was sick and tired of everything going wrong .

Sure, there was not much she could do to fix it. If she only grew at a certain rate, she grew at that rate. She grew faster than the average Yokai child, so she should be thankful.

Yet she was promised so much… what was there to be thankful for, if her guardian only wished to write her off as an assistant?

No, if anything, it would be wiser to take some matters into her hands.

Venus would play along, following Big Mama around as always. Earlier in that day, she was wide awake, sneaking off to train a little; hoping to grow stronger. Yet it did not show through her disguise and shut beak.

As always, she followed, watching as the woman spoke to other important individuals and handed off whatever she would need.

Later into the day, during that brief period between midday and dinner, she was left alone again, activities left to her own devices. This meant she had a reasonable window of time to try sneaking out once more – this time for something important.

Yes, there was only another day until she could meet her sister again… but she was growing impatient.

So she portaled to the Draxum family estate.

Luckily, this did not land her anywhere near her sister – her sister who would be overjoyed and try to keep her around for longer. Instead, she wound up in the lounge room. In front of her 'uncles', no less.

For a moment, they stared at her. She stared at them. Unblinking, if not for Muninn's decision to pipe up first.

"Uhhh… Hey Vee! What are you doing here?"

The slight nervous tone in his voice was obvious; she wasn't supposed to be here, and even a visit could wind them all up in trouble.

Despite this, the turtle had a mission. "I'm here to see the Baroness."

"Is it about your meds?" Huginn questioned. Before she could open her mouth and speak, he interrupted, "Yeah, that stuff still won't be ready for a few days. You'll get it sent over once it's ready, m'kay?"

A few days? That much was already promised 'a few days' ago… has the alchemist truly lost her way?

Regardless of this, she shook her head. "I just wish to speak with her."

The gargoyles shared a look, before turning back to her. "Oh, well for that, you still have to make an appointment. It's nothing professional since you're, what, eleven? But there's this paperwork and stuff you gotta sign, then you gotta wait…"

Admittedly, that sounded like nonsense to get her to leave. The turtle ended up zoning out a bit, lost on all those ridiculous requirements to speak to someone who, up until recently, could have been a mother to her.

Then her senses turned to the nearest passage.

"Venus?"

At this, the other two perked up, ceasing their previous yapping. "Baroness! We were just telling her about the appointment process–"

The caprid yokai waved a hand, effectively getting them to go quiet again. As if to say, she could handle the rest.

Then she beckoned the youngest one forward. That much, Venus could follow. It made the creeping feeling of guilt catch up to her like a kid interrupting their parent who's busy with a deadline… but at least she would get this chance to talk.

Once alone, the large yokai sighed. "Kid, what are you doing here?" She did not look shocked like any year-old attempts to visit, but something else settled on her older face.

Something Venus could not necessarily read.

But it said enough – said that she could talk now. "...I need a better formula."

Yes, somehow, despite all her practice, the young turtle could not find a better way to phrase it. A gentler way, perhaps. One that expressed her need.

It made her look so small in the other's eyes. Which was the problem . In both a literal and figurative sense, she found the caprid looking at her with that kind of expression. One that told Venus everything.

That this was a waste of time .

"I can't give you that…" the Baroness sighed, standing a little straighter. "The formula I sent last time should still be enough if you've been taking it properly. Besides, it takes time and practice to develop anything stronger."

Oh. Venus supposed she could agree with that. While no scientist – not in the slightest – it could make sense why something of this nature was taking time.

And it could make sense that misuse would run the dosage out sooner or make it ineffective. Perhaps that's why those injections she's been sneaking in did not help at all .

But she still needed this. More than anything. If Jennika could take medication to help her appearance become neutral to gender, why couldn't Venus take anything to gain strength and size?

The turtle ended up huffing slightly. "Well, I need more," she said simply, eyes averted.

She knew it was harsh to ask this of someone already so busy… but for the Titan's sake, she was tired of being left in the dark.

What was this met with? She could almost describe it as a laugh; the kind of exhale of air that reads as one saying the audacity . Which the Baroness had all the reason to say aloud. And yet she didn't. "Don't know what you were expecting coming here before your meds are ready," she began, gentle yet firm, "but I have nothing yet. Nothing hidden either; I'd never hide something like this from you."

Alright, that much she could believe… The Baroness was always rather honest with her and everyone else. Which is likely why she is not allowed directly in her and Big Mama's lives anymore .

She found a small smile on the caprid's face all of a sudden. "But I guess I could make something… you would have to keep it a secret, though. This much is not in my contract."

Venus almost wanted to huff at that. A hint of humour, it seemed. Quite on-brand and oddly reassuring. When was the last time the two of them spoke like this? …Much like this, she had the smallest pull toward requesting quicker work. Not demanding, because she did not have the power. And regardless, anything of that nature would not help her case.

So, like many times, Venus stayed quiet, only nodding. "That would help…"

This much was met with a nod. And a hand on her shoulder. And an eventual bid farewell (with the gargoyles hired to ensure she stayed on task and went back home for sure).

And sure, the meeting did not work out the way she wished. By the time she was back in the depths of her big, fancy, quiet room, she held nothing but the thought of what in the purgatory were you thinking . A feeling that increased as every second passed, a feeling that would ferment as she continued with her day.

A small part of her wanted nothing more than to sit back and watch the battle. You know, as a pick-me-up.

Venus certainly had higher ambitions than most eleven-year-olds, and it haunted her every decision, constantly dreading the idea that no matter what she does, it will end up poorly and change nothing.

Yes, she had to try.

She just wished something would go right for once in her life.

Chapter 14: The Young Dreamer

Chapter Text

Mikey has the most awesome family. He knows this, and he's always known this. What kind of underground, super-secret group of mutants wouldn't make an awesome family? Sure, they had a few problems, but what family didn't? It was normal, it was healthy; there were no major secrets anyone kept yet they kept the vibe of openness and privacy in equal measures.

As much as a couple of preteen turtles and a couple of budding 'will-they-won't-they' co-parents could need, at least.

Regardless, Mikey was about twelve years old when he realized he was the sharpest tool in the shed – when it comes to emotions, that is. Mikey might not be the smartest of them, but he knew when something was a touch off.

No matter what anyone tried, Rat Dad was always still sad quite often, clung to the TV for that boost of dopamine. Sheep Dad was growing more anxious and antsy by the day, with messy fluffed-up hair to prove it. Raph was always trying to impress, Leo's constant jokes became cheesier, and Donnie? He was a freaking mad scientist by now!

If anything, he felt bad for not noticing earlier – but upon putting all the pieces together? Oh yeah, it was intervention time.

Blame it on a new special interest, but the box turtle nowadays thought of how the heck he was going to fix any of this dumb family nonsense. If he had to take to being – as the internet called it – a family therapist, then he'd do it in a heartbeat.

There was no way they'd get therapy out of the house, so he had to try something . If he could get at least one of them to talk about their feelings, that would be a great first step.

Unfortunately, his brothers were preteen boys. 'Feelings' were 'baby stuff' to them now.

To heck with all of them. Feelings are important , okay? They can try to dismiss them all they want, but if Mikey has any input at all, he's gonna get some words and problems aired out. And that's a promise.

Mikey was smart enough to know that he couldn't approach the topic in a brash manner. The stuff he read often talked about taking time and building trust with the person one is trying to reach.

He trusted his brothers. He knew they trusted him. That much wasn't enough.

Still, he would try reaching out to them first. His parents may take him more seriously, but their issues were more... complex. He was not yet confident to approach their whole situation , at least until he got to his brothers.

And of course, what better time to go spontaneous therapist mode than when watching a movie?

"Gah, why can't I get it right?!" Leo groaned. "I swear, my voice is NOT good enough for this."

The others were laughing a bit at the blue brother's failed Jupiter Jim impression. Mikey was at first too, until he saw the despair on his face.

The youngest frowned. "Lee, you're still a kid. Of course you don't sound exactly like JJ – I bet you can get real good at it in a few years, though!"

In the end, he was smiling, leaning towards his brother's beanbag the slightest.

Leo could only meet him with a scowl, though. "Gee Michael, thanks for the help."

Oops.

Wrong thing to say.

…Heck, what is the right thing to say?!

"Uhh, I mean..." Mikey hesitated a moment. "It still sounds pretty good! It's not perfect but that's not a bad thing – you'll learn in no time, slice of lime."

At this, Mikey struck a little pose. But his words seemed not to reach his brother the way he hoped they would.

"Oh my God."

In an instant, his brothers all began wheezing out laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Mikey could only raise a brow as Donnie gestured accusingly to Leo. "My dear brother in blue, your awful puns are rubbing off on our youngest brother."

Leo just crossed his arms in response. "I did not teach him that..."

"Sureee."

"Did not !"

Mikey just tsked and shook his head. "You fail to understand that I am trying to reach you on a personal level."

In an instant, he clapped twice, igniting a small light to focus around him.

"The hell is this, a seminar?"

" Welcome to my seminar ."

"Oh I was right-"

Mikey sighed, turning his focus away from Donnie. "...Ignoring him, Leo , why do you feel it so important to have a voice just like the person you're trying to impersonate?"

Leo huffed defiantly, "Is that not what every impressionist wants? To sound like the act?"

"True – though you look more… distressed, the less you get them right. Why is this?"

To this, he saw his brother wheeze a little in that fake laugh he did sometimes. "Could you cut this out, Angelo?" The slider crossed his arms, turning away slightly. "Can we just go back to the movie? I'll quit it with the sh*t impressions if it makes things easier…"

Man. He did not expect that out of Leo.

There was something else going on here for sure… Mikey might just have to book a private seminar next time instead.

“M’kay,” Mikey reasoned, silently beginning to clear up his little seminar. He didn’t speak anymore on it – that much was not in his place to try. Besides, if he knew anything, it was that embarrassing someone only helped them grow resentment towards you. That’s the opposite of what Mikey wanted.

So he obliged, returning to watching the movie. Soon they forgot about this all, finding new reasons to poke fun at each other, along with other random movie-related banter. Sure, there was the missing aspect of Leo’s impressions, but they struck a poor note. That much they could ignore for now, forget for the next hour or so.

They couldn’t forget forever, though.

Once the movie ended, the brothers mostly went to their corners. Raph mumbled something about wanting to drag Splinter out of his chair, while Donnie loudly exclaimed he was off to work on something in the lab and would be unavailable for the next few ever .

It was honestly a coincidence that he and Leo were both headed to the kitchen. Leo, he heard, was just for a snack. Mikey wanted to get a head start on dinner, hoping to try a new roast he got from his favourite chef’s cookbook…

But perhaps, this would be an opportunity to get more than one productive thing done for once.

The box turtle skirted around his older brother, hands behind his back innocently. He tilted his head up after the other grabbed a bag of chips. “Hey Leoooo.”

“AH, Mikey- geez!” The older clutched his chest, even if his surprise looked fake. Leo always knew when one of them was around. “Don’t sneak up on a guy next time.”

“Sorry,” Mikey offered, lightly scratching the back of his mask.

But even Leo could tell it was an act. “If it’s about the movie,” he began, ignoring the knowing look shot at him; “it’s no big deal. Really, Mike- it’s nothing.”

“...Is it because Donnie called you a girl last week?”

If nothing else managed to do it, then that … that made Leo silent.

Only for a moment, though, until he brushed it off. Like always. "Nooo, totally not. That's a dumb thing to say. I mean, I'm obviously not a… girl …"

Mikey sighed a little. His fixation on phycology took him down a rabbit hole of gender studies too, meaning he kind of knew why Leo would be upset? Donnie just said 'Leo's a girl' after seeing a picture of female red-eared sliders – the kind of turtle Sheep Dad said he was.

But they were all boys, and even if Donnie was a science guy, he couldn't say something like that with no real basis… right?

Obviously, there was more to it, and someone was just not telling the truth – which is kind of the entire problem – but for Leo's sake, he'd ignore it for now. That was a later problem.

"Yeah, 'cause Donnie doesn't know what he's talking about," Mikey eventually reasoned, grabbing a snack for himself as well. "You're not a girl unless you say you're a girl, big bro."

He offered a small, brotherly punch to the arm, making the other chuckle a little. "Yeah…"

Finally, the older turtle opened his bag of chips, taking a couple of them. Mikey followed almost immediately, unwrapping and chomping on a chocolate granola bar.

"Anyways, April and I are gonna sneak into the theatre," Leo said after a while (and a few well-deserved devoured chips). "Wanna come with?"

Mikey's eyes lit up. "Aww yeah!"

For a moment he thought Leo would hate him for bringing the whole thing up. His studies and overall knowledge of his brother pointed towards this being a front… Buuut theatre was fun, who was he to deny a trip to watch some?

So, after finishing the quick snacks, he followed his brother out and soon found their friend – neglecting to tell anyone at home that they would be out. A sibling bonding trip was no big deal, right?

He would go, and he would get distracted, as much as the others would. But this was not over.

—

It would take another few days until Mikey came across another major issue in the family. Which is strange, because of how often they come across their many issues.

But alas, this time, it had to do with his parents.

No matter what, the rat amongst them has only grown lazier and snappier through the years. And the goat? More anxious, more bitter. Despite these being connected issues, it somehow caused them to have more constant, petty arguments.

Sometimes these extended to him and his brothers. Yeah, they purposefully pushed their parents' buttons sometimes, but was that worth raising their tone?

It was kind of deserved, sometimes, he could admit… didn't suck any less.

Today, Mikey could hear them arguing for a bit while he, Donnie and April were gaming. It followed an argument between Leo and Raph, something about responsibilities… The box turtle felt bad for listening, but, ultimately, it gave him ideas .

You see, as the youngest, Mikey knows that his mere presence is enough to cheer someone up. Or annoy them. But since he did have that power, it was up to him to use it for good.

Sometimes 'good' meant cheering people up. Sometimes it meant being a little menace, just enough of one to give people a new, different problem.

With this in mind, he decided to disconnect from the game after the current round (not because he lost – he could honestly care less). He lounged back in a bean bag chair as Raph first entered the room, looking a bit upset. Leo soon followed, sitting on Mikey's other side.

He couldn't hear his parents anymore. They likely settled their issues on their own. That gave the young turtle more time to focus on his grumpy brothers.

Clearing his throat, Mikey leaned ever so slightly, his plan playing out in his mind.

"Hey Raph. Hey Raph. Hey Ra-"

" What , Mikey?"

"Can you help me reach a high place while I paint the mural?"

An extra touch of sweetness coated his words, offering the biggest innocent smile he could muster.

In turn, he saw his brother hum, settling the anger within his soul before nodding. "Raph can do that," the oldest agreed, moving to stand in front of the youngest before reaching his arms out. "Up up."

The excited grin could not grow any wider as Mikey obliged, hopping into his older brother's arms and climbing up to his shoulders.

Something he was happy Raph still agreed to do, ever since they were young.

He giggled as he was carried out, catching the attention of Leo. "Ooh, can I paint too?"

"...You're sure you wanna do that?"

The comment came from Donnie, who did not even look away from the game. How he heard or bothered to care was beyond him, but the twins took any chance to dunk on each other, he guessed.

When April laughed along, it made Leo cross his arms as he furrowed his brows. "You know what, fair point."

Mikey and Raph were about to leave when another sound came from Donnie's end. "Ha, it seems, not every theatre kid can also be an artist."

Leo's mouth was left agape for a second, struggling for a response – until his arms flailed in what looked like pointing. "Well, uh – suck it, Donnie!"

Huh, Leo's comebacks were getting worse.

Again he was left with a loud ha ; their soft shell of a brother likely believing to have won in this situation. If there was anything to technically 'win' here.

To this, Mikey huffed, turning to his defeated second-older brother. "You can still paint if you want, Lee."

"Nah, I think I'm gonna stay here," he dismissed, "you know, cool down a little."

Well, Mikey couldn't argue with that logic.

"Your loss!" he cheered, kicking his legs ever so slightly in place. "Let's go, Raph!"

As the two left the room and headed for the terrarium, the oldest turtle chuckled a bit. "You're lucky Raph likes to carry you around, or that kicking woulda cost you extra."

Mikey fake pouted. "Aww, no discount for me, your favourite brother?"

Again he was met with a little chuckle. "Fine, I'll let it pass for being my favourite, little baby brother."

"...I'm not that little , Raph."

"But you are," his older brother teased again. "Very tiny, can't even reach the top shelf–"

" Okay , I get it."

Mikey pouted a bit as Raph chuckled again, but the box turtle could not stay mad for long. He was being carried, after all; that would make it easier and more fun than just standing on some regular old stool.

Once they made it to the terrarium, Mikey vigorously pointed at his mural in progress. "Over there!"

His older brother nodded, turning and walking towards it. He whistled as they got closer. "Looking good Mikey!"

"Thanks," he responded, looking for where he left his paints. "You think they'll like it? I couldn't find the same purple as Donnie's mask so I had to improvise. And Splinter's hair is kinda hard to draw."

He chuckled a little in thought, absent-mindedly taking his paint tray once Raph handed it to him. Now he started painting the shirt of his freakishly large other dad.

"Nah, I think it looks good," Raph commented. "I honestly couldn't even tell Don's mask is the wrong colour."

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's, uh…" the snapper tried to explain, humming a moment. "All the same… vibe? Like the colours still look the same even if they're not perfect." At this, the box turtle above could tell he was stumped for words.

But he thinks he might understand what Raph is getting at.

"Uh-huh, I thought a bunch of funky lighting might hide anything that looks wrong," the painter explained. "Colour theory, baby!"

His older brother chuckled at that. "Yeah, that's the word I was looking for."

"Colour theory, or lighting?"

"Whichever makes more sense in this context."

Mikey giggled, half seeing his brother's proud expression at that statement. Ah, his artistically ignorant family.

He'd let it pass because it at least looked like Raph wanted to learn the things he was interested in. If he was trying, then Mikey could give him credit for that.

Then he got an idea. "Ooh wait, pop quiz:'' he started, getting Raph's head to tilt upwards; "what is the colour of this shirt? White, blue, or pink?"

With all the confidence he could muster, Raph answered, "White."

And Mikey couldn't help the giggle that escaped.

"What? Is that not white?"

"Nope! It's blue," Mikey corrected, showing his older brother the tip of the paintbrush he currently held. And, low and behold, it was a light baby blue. "Fooled ya!"

"No fair," the snapper grumbled. "B'sides, he usually wears a black shirt. How am I supposed to know if his shirt looks more pink or blue?"

Huh, surprisingly sound logic.

"Well, big brother of mine, I'm not just drawing us in everyday clothing," Mikey explained. He fished out his phone, quickly scavenging the favourites section in his gallery. "It's based on this picture."

The picture in question was from their adoption day ten-year anniversary a few years back when they all had to dress up fancy for a special dinner that was planned (read: the parents dressed up fancy, and Raph and April were the only others able to tolerate wearing a dress shirt).

Maybe it was a bit silly to paint this now, instead of waiting for the fifteenth anniversary when he is bound to be more artistically talented… but he wanted to do it, and thought his dads would appreciate it.

After looking at it for a bit, Raph nodded. "Ohh, gotcha."

With that, he put his phone away. "Of course, I took some creative liberties – Leo would chase me down if I drew his face like that."

They both chuckled at that.

"Yeah, he probably would," Raph agreed, "but I think they're all gonna love this, little man."

The box turtle felt himself grinning widely. "Thanks, Raphie."

He didn't know if they would like it, honestly. Mikey was mostly painting this as an excuse to work on a bigger project, and to hopefully show his parents that he has a good reason for painting on the walls, thank you very much .

It ended up looking more stylistic, which is what he wanted – trying to paint realism at twelve years old is not the easiest thing. Plus, this was more fun!

The stylism he used is what made Mikey doubt himself at all, knowing that his parents preferred realism and traditional Japanese art. But he had to have been named based on a Renaissance painter for a reason, right?

It should make him more confident, but for now, he painted on a rarely-visited corner of the terrarium's walls, one hidden with overgrowth and far enough from the pool to avoid any damage.

To heck with his self-doubt. Everyone was gonna love this when it was ready. It was gonna be perfect .

—

Okay, so obviously his family had a lot of issues. Not only that, but they never talked about them, and when someone brought them up, they dismissed it as an issue at all.

Well, Mikey could tell. It's been becoming more obvious as the years went on and the longer it took anyone to do anything about it, the worse it would get. All of which meant it was time for some more… intervention .

"Family meeting!"

The box turtle called this one night as dinner was concluding, getting a few looks of confusion and weak attempts at excuses. Nothing that he couldn't convince his family out of.

Soon after, everyone slowly settled into the projector room, taking various chairs or beanbags. They looked confused, but stuck around; no one could say 'no' to Mikey.

"Thank you all for attending," he began, standing in front of the screen. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here."

"Will you finally inform us as to why you have interrupted our evening plans?"

Everyone turned to the purple-branded turtle.

"World domination is not an 'evening plan', Donnie."

"Scoff, I was not doing that. But fine, if you insist, now I must –"

"No!" Rat Dad interrupted before anyone else could argue. "Orange has something to say, so let him say it."

The other dad just looked annoyed, though, from their shared spot on the armchair. "Yes, Michaelangelo, please continue."

He may have looked bored out of his mind, but that didn't stop the huge smile on Mikey's face. "Ah, Sheep Dad, Barryyy," the youngest began, earning a small scowl; "so glad you are agreeing, because… this is kind of about you!"

His tallest dad's eyes widened a bit. "How come?"

Other questions followed that, mostly surrounding how this was a family meeting, so why is it about the sheep man – but the box turtle ignored them all, clearing his throat instead.

"Lights please, April!"

Before the family collective could turn and find their human friend by the lights, the room darkened. Soon, she moved on to the projector, hooking up her laptop and soon gracing the screen with an orange-tinted slideshow.

" Thank you ," Mikey said in a sing-songy tone, before directing his attention to the screen. "Now, as we all know: we live in the sewers."

"Yeah, no sh*t."

" Language ."

For once, this warning came from Splinter instead. Likely because Raph has given up on correcting Leo with these things.

Mikey paused, waiting until a few seconds passed with no one talking. " Anyways, we live in the sewers. We're bored all the time! We never go outside!"

Again he was interrupted. "...We go outside all the time."

"Not really," Mikey spat back, allowing his phycologist persona to slip for a moment.

At this, he found his tallest dad sighing. "Son, we do not go outside as often as we wish because it is not safe. Besides, the Lair has rooms for every one of your interests; what could the outside world possibly offer that you don’t have here?"

Before Mikey could continue, Leo sat straight upwards. "Waaait, was all this just so you could convince us to not leave?"

Sheep Dad couldn't contain a look of guilt. "...There's more to it than that–"

"Alright, alright, we get it," April interrupted before anyone could get mad at Sheep Dad; "humans bad, surface scary. But! Mikey and I had the perfect solution!"

The box turtle nodded, secretly thankful for that – it was impossible to get his family to listen to him sometimes.

"Yes," he began, "as April was saying, we finally have a solution." He clicked a button on the remote he was holding, flipping the slides to one with many pictures of news headlines and papers. "There are a few cases of mutants in New York getting jobs. It's rare, but it's true!"

At this, the family's eyes wandered over the screen. Sheep Dad, especially, was glued to it… but he looked doubtful. "Are you suggesting that I get a job?"

"Correct, papa dearest."

A chuckle or two found itself around the room, along with the brothers snickering about the idea. Sheep Dad just raised a brow. "Alright… I just struggle to find the need. Me and your father have always provided you with everything you needed."

"And Donnie knows how to hack into banks," Leo added. "Dad getting a job doesn't make sense, Angelo."

Of course this was the outcome. Mikey knew they would have doubts about it – with the whole 'humans bad' thing they've been taught since they were little. But times were changing! A couple of mutants were roaming the city now, maybe not a lot, but they existed! They weren't alone anymore! And their best friend was a human!

It was time for their old goat of a dad to stop being a hater. They haven't been able to push a tragic backstory out of him yet, but until they do, Mikey was led to believe getting him a life out of the Lair would help him stop being so… like Donnie but ten times worse .

"Ah ah ah, but that's where you are all wrong . See, it makes perfect sense–" the box turtle began, flipping to another few slides ahead. He was prepared for something like this . "Not everyone gets jobs for the money. Some people get jobs for entertainment, to get away from their boring lives. Money's always a plus!"

This got a laugh out of both of the adults, which Mikey didn't understand. What, it was true! Sure they weren't the most well-off, but that was not because of money at all.

Luckily, Sheep Dad soon returned to an expression of seriousness. "Right, and what kind of occupation promises the 'entertainment' I for some reason lack?"

That sounded like sarcasm. Probably. Mikey would ignore it.

Instead, he beamed. "Glad you asked!" The youngest put a closed fist on his hip. "We found a couple of places willing to hire mutants, but you know the best place?"

He pointed playfully with both arms as he switched it to the next slide, April soon joining him. Which made sense, because it was–

"Boom! My future school."

The screen now showed a few articles printed as '(insert job) for hire' from the school, most including menial task-based jobs. However, quite a few mentioned traditional teaching jobs.

"There's never enough staff, and you fit the teacher vibe," April elaborated, leaning into Mikey's shtick. "Think about it, Barry. You get your own little desk, a couple of kids to boss around for six hours a day, and I'll be there too! It’s a pretty sick deal, huh?"

With this, the sheep man seemed to think about this for a moment, hand on his chin and everything. "...I still don't see why this would be necessary."

Mikey sighed, disappointed that someone as smart as his sheep dad could not figure it out himself. "Okay, I'm gonna give it to you straight, Dad: you're going nuts. You need to get a life ASAP or else you're gonna blow something up. And trust me, no one needs that – it's what we have Donnie for!"

While most of the family nodded – much to the sheep man's dismay – a large scoff turned their attention to the turtle that was most likely to blow something up.

"Incorrect, I do not use explosives all willy-nilly as you imply," the Donnie in question clarified, before continuing to type something on his phone. "I would need to obtain those explosives first."

"Alright, that is enough!"

Rat Dad stood up in the chair – standing right on his co-parent's legs, which looked painful. Though it caught everyone's attention.

"Michelangelo is right. Barry, I love you, but you scare me. You need a life, and you are getting that job!"

The sheep's eyes widened. "Do I not get a say in this??"

"No. Actually, I think we should both get jobs." The rat chuckled joyfully, stretching out the ends of his robe with a smile. "Are there any job openings for a sensei at one of Lou Jitsu's dojos?"

At this idea, Mikey beamed. "I have no idea! But we could definitely look."

This much seemed to make Rat Dad happy. "Perhaps I can wear a disguise! Yes, I will look like one of those cool kids."

"How do you intend to cloak yourself without–"

"Using clothes , Barry."

A snort escaped from Leo, though soon, he realized it was not for the clothes comment. "Both of you getting a job? Now that's one way to get Daddio to quit his TV obsession."

His phone was smacked out of his hand by Splinter's tail.

"Maybe you should get a job too and quit your phone addiction ."

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe you –"

Mikey tuned out the argument, a hand planted on his forehead. It was impossible to get this family in a room without them arguing about something .

Something Raph seemed to notice, as soon he began to bark, "Guys, shut up and listen to Micheal!"

The box turtle sighed, silently thankful for that. He hated how it always took Splinter or Raph to shut everyone up to get them to listen to him, but if it worked, he couldn't complain.

Once he was sure everyone was quiet enough, he cleared his throat. "Now, if that's settled; me and April will be evaluating you all to see what fits you best if you don't already know what job you want."

April propped herself on Mikey's side, giving a playful finger gun. "And we'll be evaluating anyway ‘cause you all are a hot mess."

The family collectively groaned.

But she was not wrong .

Mikey grinned, turning off the projector. "Now, who wants to go first?"

As always, everyone looked skeptical or otherwise in the midst of creating an excuse. However, Sheep Dad cleared his throat, picking up his smaller co-parent as he stood. "I suppose I will volunteer since you were so adamant that I take up a career."

"Not a career, just a job," April clarified, gesturing to the room's exit. "Don't worry, you'll do great ."

The duo soon led him to Mikey's room, where three bean bag chairs were placed in the middle. Sheep Dad looked hesitant to take one at first but soon obliged.

Mikey took a notepad and pen off his desk, clicking it as he joined them. And soon, they were in session.

"Okay!" April began. "Barry, do you have any experience teaching?"

The sheep scowled. "I would , but no one ever wants to listen to me." At this, he crossed his arms.

"Ouch."

The turtle had to hold back a laugh, keeping his serious persona on. "What April means is, do you have professional experience in teaching? For example, were you ever a teacher before you got mutated?"

Sheep Dad furrowed his eyebrows at this. "Why does everyone keep suggesting I got mutated?!"

"How else would you explain being a mutant?"

"...Fair observation."

" Anyways ," Mikey continued, ignoring how his dad continuously denied being a mutant (forever hoping he will tell them all his totally tragic backstory one day); "have you ever been a teacher or not?"

At this, his dad merely raised a brow, face more passive than before. "In the traditional sense? No. No I have not."

"Great!" The box turtle scribbled this into his notepad. "That's… gonna make things more difficult, but hey, resumes are usually full of lies."

April pouted. "Hey."

"What, it's true."

At the beginning of what might become a squabble, the sheep man groaned in pure annoyance. "I don't see why this intervention is necessary if you intend to fabricate information."

"We weren't gonna fabricate everything ," April clarified. "Plus! If you're gonna get a job, you should get the one you like!"

Barry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I will despise every last one of these teaching jobs. So please, allow yourselves to pick how I will spend the next ten miserable months of my life."

The display almost made Mikey break character again. His taller dad was usually a cool guy, pretty chill. But when it comes to human stuff? He always acts like he has fleas that refuse to leave his fur, and said fleas were tiny humans (not that most humans weren’t already tiny compared to him). Mikey honestly can't tell how one person can hate a whole group that much .

Instead, he allowed April to take over here, pulling a devious grin. "Alright, Mr. Grumpy Pants, if you say so." Soon after, she made a motion to shoo his dad out of the room. "We don't need you anymore, buh-bye!"

He was busy scribbling notes as his peripheral caught the sheep man leaving, as annoyed as he always seemed to be.

"He'll appreciate our help one day," April comforted, crashing onto a bean bag soon after. "Right now he's just being a grump."

At this, Mikey allowed himself a small chuckle. "Hope you're right, Apes."

He hummed as he wrote the last of his notes, almost missing as April piped up again. "Should I call in Splints, or–?"

"One minute." Mikey circled the middle of the page, before sitting beside his friend and showing her what it said. On it laid the options he had in mind. "History, Science, or English?"

In a way, April looked to be pondering what he wrote. In another way, the choice seemed to click in a near instant.

"...History."

Mikey nodded happily. "Yeah, he's got that vibe," he agreed, underlining the word 'History' on his page.

If his dad really didn't want to make the choice himself, he couldn't complain that they chose for him. He's pretty sure there's a way to switch later if he truly hates it? But if the box turtle is sure of one thing, it's that old daddy dearest will be thanking him one day.

Or he'll be too burnt out to complain.

-

So it turns out that Papa Rat Man was no more helpful when it came to finding a job.

For a while, Mikey and April tried to get him to talk. Any job experience? Apparently, nope. He spoke of the 'glory days' but never explained what they were, nor were the two able to guess.

So they were left to their own merits, deciding to pretend this was still a job-finding session while Mikey practiced some psychology stuff.

They found out that he was likely depressed, which is why he never talked about his past. Maybe Barry had the same issue?

Either way, they must've had one heck of an origin story.

Before he could get hung up on being left empty-handed again , they sent Splinter on his way, letting him know they would look into dojos open for job offers or otherwise allowing mutant students.

That rat was not getting a job.

As for the others… finding a job for them was unsuccessful. Not only because teenagers were difficult to get hired in New York, but mutant teenagers? Fat chance there, buddy.

So Mikey, admittedly, felt a little defeated. Yeah, he wasn't gonna be any good at this psychology stuff from the get-go, and he knew it took time for patients to get used to treatment… but it still kind of sucked how no one was taking this seriously.

"Don't beat yourself up, little man," April offered, two juice boxes in hand; one for herself, and one for him.

How did she know he needed one right about now?

He yoinked the extra juice box, opened it up and took a large sip immediately. In an instant, he felt so much better. Ah, the gift of sugary fruit juice.

Once he was comfy and refreshed again, he felt April patting his shell. "You still did a good job, baby bro. Your dads are all figured out, and now we know what kind of places your brothers would be banned from."

Mikey snorted, a smile tugging at him once more. "Yeah, I guess that's true." He took another sip as a thought came to him. "They're never gonna talk about their issues though."

"Nope, not a chance."

Yeah, that figures. They both sighed, enjoying their juice in peace.

All until they heard someone stumble into the room.

"Micheal you liar, the bank is hiring mutants!"

The purple-branded turtle held up a paper that apparently proved his point, a slight hint of righteousness on his face.

However, Mikey could only shoot straight up, annoyed as ever.

"Oh mi gosh, Donnie, we're not gonna let you rob your coworkers blind –"

—

Mikey couldn't be more excited.

No, unfortunately, it's not because he saved the family from all their problems or whatever. At this point, that was going to be impossible.

He was excited for something more realistic and attainable , instead: he, April, and the guys were going to a carnival!

Is this partially because all of their parents would be out of the house? Yes, yes it was – it had been about a week since Sheep Dad got a teaching job and Rat Dad was still chasing the idea of becoming a sensei every day now.

They tried to tell him that he was a great sensei to them already. But oh, something something 'glory days'. So they couldn’t stop him.

It accidentally ended up working for April too; her parents were at some busy meetings or whatever. This, combined with the fact that it was Friday, and no one would care if a couple of 'turtle cosplayers' and their friend hung out at the carnival.

Yeah, they shouldn't be sneaking out or going behind their parent's backs, but who cares ? If old man sheep still hated every public place in existence, then they'd have to take themselves.

They all deserved to do something fun. It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time they'd snuck out, and they had a perfectly good reason to.

If they stayed safe and stuck together and avoided strangers and all that, they should be fine.

Besides, they had Raph. If anything happened, the big guy would be able to punch his way out of it, no problem.

First, of course, they had to grab snacks. It'd be a disgrace to not eat sugary, fatty foods if they came all this way. They were, like, the second-best thing about carnivals. According to April, at least.

She bought them all funnel cakes, and once they found a place to sit down, they dug in.

And they were good .

"Mmm, perfection," Leo first spoke, immediately taking another bite. "We totally gotta make these at home."

"Oh for sure," Mikey agreed, savoring the snack. Though he had to raise a brow. "...what are in these?"

The resident carnival food expert perked up. "Mostly just flour and sugar that's been fried." She quickly checked her phone to be sure. "Yep, not much more to it."

At this, he nodded. "Then I gotta make them for sure."

He kicked his legs happily as he kept eating, overjoyed at the flavour. It was a little bland, to be fair… but it also had just the right amount of cinnamon to make it pop .

Mikey honestly thinks he could make them better if he tried to. Once his baking hyperfixation came back, maybe.

His brothers started rambling about where to go next, while April informed them of what carnival games were definitely rigged or not. All the while, he tuned them out, snacking away as his eyes travelled to a couple of dudes doing tricks.

It was mesmerizing, the way they jumped and flipped around, shouting in some language he didn't understand. He knew it wasn't Japanese from the multitude of movies Rat Dad showed them… but the moves looked kind of familiar. Wasn't this the kind of stuff their dad liked to try doing sometimes?

He must've not registered standing or getting closer to the display, because soon, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He soon realized it was Leo's. "Whatcha looking at, Mike?"

"Those guys," he answered simply, gesturing with his head before taking one of the final bites of his snack.

He could see his older brother nodding from his peripheral, eyes glued to the display. The slider honestly looked even more mesmerized than he was.

Though this did not go unnoticed by the others, who soon gathered around the two attentive turtles.

Donnie was the first to pipe up, raising a comically large brow. " What , prey tell, are you two looking at."

"That," was all they said, in perfect unison.

Enough to get the others to laugh, but for the purple-branded brother to scoff. "Yes, I understand – did we not vote on watching the band next, though?"

Leo shook his head, seemingly leaving the trance. "Yes, however , Micheal obviously has a better idea," he stated, enthusiastically pointing towards the ongoing display.

April snorted. "You just like watching because of their flashy outfits and huge muscles."

"Oh my God, shut up –"

They all laughed as Leo attempted to silence their friend, something that was lost on none of them.

"Admit it Leoooo."

"I have nothing to admit, thank you very much."

Mikey giggled as the two obviously gay not-siblings squabbled. It was kind of funny to see them have silly arguments like this all the time now. All it took was any one of them admitting attraction to someone and, like siblings do, none of them would ever let them live it down.

After a while, they were pulled out of the little squabble by Raph. "Guys! The band's about to start in like, a minute!"

"Ooh yeah, we better get to that," Leo agreed, officially rounding them all up. "Vamanos!"

As they started running to where the band was set up, Mikey grinned. "It's okay Leo, we can go back to watching those guys later!"

"Mikey, I swear to the pizza supreme-"

Another round of teasing started up as the group ran.

Leo was not going to live this down.

-

As the group watched the band (trying to ignore how awfully tuned the instruments were), the excitable box turtle couldn't help but think of all the other things they could still manage to do before they had to go back home.

Realistically, they only had an hour or two before they had to turn back. Rat Dad always got sleepy after lunch, and even if he ordered food out, he'd want to go back home soon. Where the boys were not.

So they'd have to make the best of their time here. Meaning they ditched the band after they weren't getting any better.

"Boy, what an ear bleeder, am I right?" Leo mused, walking in front of them all with a slouch. Not an upset slouch, though; just one that showed how bored out of his mind he had been.

"Technically not the worst band in existence," Donnie argued from some way behind the group, "but they did lack most of the fundamentals that make music any good."

"Bla bla bla, nerd stuff – Donnie only liked the legs of the lead singer."

The science-inclined brother could only scoff at this – verbally saying the word 'scoff' and everything – but did not argue against it. Likely because Leo was right.

They really needed to go outside more often.

Mikey just laughed along as they eventually headed to one of those game stands. They started off with darts – simple enough, but April and Donnie easily became super invested in it.

The others leaned around as they battled, sometimes joining or trying another game (all of which felt rigged with how hard it was to get even close to winning). However, a game that was definitely not rigged was the dunk tank.

In which they elected Leo to be the first dunk victim.

And Raph was the first to try dunking him.

"Oh that was not fair!"

They all cackled as he emerged from his watery fate, frowning as big as ever.

"I don't know, Leon," Donnie figured, "seems fair and square to me. Not our fault that Raph is so freakishly strong."

Again the slider pouted, but it ended in laughs. Because, yeah, that's really how it was. Raph was just really strong and Leo was a sore loser.

Mikey snuck a picture while they were not looking, catching them all with big happy faces. It made him happy to see them just goofing off, after all the weirdness that festered from being stuck at home; some that his free therapy sessions could not even fix.

He kind of wished his parents would be more chill, but he understood. They were still scared, old, and a little depressed. He couldn't blame them for that.

He and his brothers were young, though. They should be able to have fun like this all the time, with permission!

Either way, no one was gonna keep them from this. If it took him and the gang pretending they were cosplayers every time they went outside, then that's what it took.

But no one was going to keep them from living their life to the fullest.

Chapter 15: And All Together They Make...

Chapter Text

Everything was going perfectly.

The past few years – thirteen, to be exact – have all been quite a buzz, haven’t they? Just a confuzzled mess of decisions and deals, none of which ever seemed to settle.

Such was an average day in the life of Big Mama, the renowned hotelier having long since grown used to everything attempting to present as a challenge to her. Such a thought was laughable and yet, true.

After a truffling thirteen years, though, plans finally went her way without fail.

Her Nexus was positively flourishing! Nearly as much as they did before they lost her beloved Lou… but oh, never mind that. This was a new era now and one that would not fumble as the last did. That much, she was sure of.

With enough of her lovely champions – yokai and mutant – well into making names for themselves, there were lineups for seasons to come. Many executives grew interested in the bloody exciting entertainment once again, regaining the spark that brought in hundreds, no, millions .

And, best of it all, she had her lovely assistant by her side. Despite her little teenage temperamental problems, the child was well on her way to becoming as cold-hearted and ruthless as she was.

Being the true daughter of that idiot scientist, she was always rather rude and blunt, never as graceful as a proper lady of her standing should be. But never mind that.

She was just as much a daughter of the Nexus. Raised by her and with the blood of the greatest star to grace the battlefield. Because of this, she had the desire – she just lacked manners.

Nothing of this was to mind when either way, Big Mama had everything she wanted.

Such was always a win in her book.

Today, the woman took to overlooking the current battle. So brutal, it was. So absolutely exhilarating. She always loved watching these in person. And by the looks of it, the crowd did too. Oh, how utterly exciting.

"Isn't it all just so very exhilarating?" she mused aloud, getting a few nods from her surroundings bellhops.

Most of them were quiet, though, as expected. A shame, really; she enjoyed their input. Not that anyone would ever oppose her or her life’s work.

As she watched the fight, she got lost in the sounds of the crowd going wild, grinning widely in pride. It was truly a joy, a thrill of its own – but such was not meant to last.

Soon she found a whisper from one of her bellhops, announcing that she had a meeting soon. A private, important meeting.

Well, this should be good.

“Very well,” she agreed, leaving her seat at once. Her assistant remained a second longer if only to observe how the champion narrowly escaped the beast. Tsk , still had to work on her timing.

Soon she snuck back out to the halls, her loyal band following her every step. Though she already had an inkling of what this ‘important meeting’ may be, it was always better to see for herself.

Lo and behold, she soon found the sight of two chatty gargoyles with a package, right in front of her office. Whyever did these two call a meeting…

“Oh, Big Mama! The woman of the hour,” one of the called – not that she bothered to tell them apart.

“We’ve got this week’s shipment for you!”

They held the package up. She knew what it was, or at least, what it was supposed to be. Why they brought it to her directly was lost to her, though.

She raised a sharp eyebrow. “Darlings, have I not told you this is to be given to my scientists?”

“Yes- however! The Baroness ,” the speaking one winked, “wanted you to open it.”

Well, that was a turn of events. Either these two were lying or the Baroness had a death wish. Either way, that woman better not try anything.

Big Mama decided to allow this – for now. She motioned for a bellhop to take the box, while sweetly keeping her eyes on the gargoyles. “Very well, now shoo, you are not needed here anymore.”

Her assistant took it as a hint to open a portal for them, which they disappeared into – not without complaining at first but it was no big deal.

At least she had the package now.

In the safety of her office, she held and examined the package. By the looks of it, it should be the mutagen… but there was a heart on the box.

Peculiar, but not the strangest thing. Opening the box only provided more hearts drawn on small paper squares. Very odd indeed.

With this, it ended up being more strange that the box did, in fact, carry the proper dosages of mutagen.

It was just covered in hearts. How ridiculous.

"Hmm, well, looks like someone can't forget about the past," the woman mused, chuckling slightly. After picking up and inspecting the mutagen dosages individually – deciding that they looked real – she put them away again, handing them to a bellhop. "Take this to the scientists and have them inspect it."

"Yes ma'am," they replied, leaving with one other by their side.

Very good. Having settled this, she found her way to her desk, clicking her nails on the table once she sat down. "Oh, and let the alchemist know… if she ever pulls something like this again, her secret is one whisper away from being safe."

Big Mama chuckled as various bellhops scrambled to relay her message. By the end of the mess, only her assistant was left, standing beside her silently.

The woman leaned comfortably in her chair. "My my, turtley-boo, whyever would that old goat do such a thing?"

She kept a side eye on the assistant, watching her stand so completely still.

"You are allowed to speak, dearest."

Now she saw a nod, yet words took their time to form. "It's likely a prank," the disguised girl reasoned.

That much, Big Mama could agree with.

"From those ghastly goyles, I assume?" Such was met with another nod. "Well, that could be true. It isn't their first rodeo in such an ordeal."

With many bellhop-targeted pranks to date, it would not be impossible to imagine such happening again. Only, now, it targeted her directly. Why would they do such a thing?

Oddly enough, despite her quarrels with the caprid, she could not imagine this to be her doing.

So it was likely a prank by two very antsy assistants.

Either way, it was a little detour; nothing to waste her day on. She checked her time, noting that another Nexus match would start soon. Something she did not want to miss out on.

"Anyhow, best not to doddle. We must be on our way," she announced, walking out of her desk and the room altogether.

Silently yet again, her ward followed her, and silently would she stay throughout the show.

Silent, all with that tint of wanting .

It was truly a shame her dear Venus was not cut out for the Nexus… she would have made a wonderful champion, just like her father before her.

She was simply too fragile; Big Mama could not risk losing her. Not now, not ever.

What happened to Lou would never happen again.

That was a rare, but nevertheless certain, promise.

It. Will. Not. Happen.

~

The goyles managed to sneak into the hotel one last time, only, not for more of their pranks.

They made it to the highest level, leaving a discreet package right inside the assistant's room. Anyone who saw this package would assume nothing less, and be none the wiser.

Venus knew.

Upon sneaking back into her room that day, an exhale escaped, relieved her distant uncles' stunt didn't cost her part of the package as well.

Her own dosage… just enough to strengthen her over time without being noticeable.

Maybe, one of these days, she would be strong enough to keep others' doubts about her away. Strong enough to be a Nexus Champion.

Only time will tell.

_ _ _

Mornings were rarely calm in a household of six.

Some mornings were better, that's for sure. Some mornings were quiet, save for the buzz of television or whatever various noises spurred from the kids' activities.

Draxum was not able to catch that kind of a break this fine morning.

For some reason, everyone was awake. At 7 AM . Perhaps not jumping around with joy, but otherwise, awake. He thought they would want nothing but to sleep in until noon, as they did many times in childhood. For whatever given reason, though, they were all awake. If not by much, then at least enough to mumble a simple 'morning'.

This behaviour… he wanted to call it suspicious. Then again, much of it was at fault of the rat, going door to door to bug them all into waking up.

It was amusing, though. Especially as he heard them complain.

Splinter and Michelangelo were the last to enter the dining room, with the young turtle barring the slightest sleepy eyes. However, he beamed upon seeing his family there.

"Gooood morning dads!!" The youngest offered, pulling both of his fathers into a hug.

This made a scoff come from the second-oldest turtle. "Wow, no good morning for us?"

"No, 'cause you barely even went to sleep in the first place."

The slider gasped. " Lies and slander ."

Somehow, despite their loud banter, the sheep man couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. "Lack of sleep isn't healthy for a young mind, Leonardo."

"Don't need the baby treatment, Mr. Teacher Man."

Splinter's tail smacked him.

" Hey –"

"None of that, Leonardo," the rat stated. "Your father's right. Sleep is good, you should do that more often."

The turtle proceeded to take a sip of his drink in hand, glaring . "You became less fun after you got that job. Both of you."

That was funny to imply since Splinter did not have a stable job – yet the yokai could kind of determine what that meant. "Don't worry, I hate it just as much as you do," he answered honestly.

Despite this, his son could only mumble some form of 'yeah, whatever', before leaving the room.

His other son pouted upon hearing this, though. "Aw, but I thought you loved it!"

The sheep could only raise an eyebrow at his son's claim.

"If you had to be reminded of a blasted musical every time you taught an American History class, you would also hate your job."

Behind his cup of tea, his expression did not change. How did Michelangelo ever convince him to do this?

With another two turtles entering the room, he soon found one that contributed to the problem and one that tried to smack some sense into him.

Which, of course, encouraged their common squabbling.

"What, he mentioned Hamilton. I can't ignore the call!"

"The call was a plea to stop , Donnie!"

Some sort of small laugh escaped, if it could even be called that – since his oldest son was right.

But his rat co-parent took it as an opportunity to start ushering them all out of the room. "Alright, that's enough boys."

Their purple son reached out. "But my coffee!"

"You drink enough of that nonsense as-is! Just go play video games, or… whatever else teenagers do!"

"Wow, no breakfast for us?" The orange one wore a scowl, unlike his usual self. "That's cruel, even for you."

"And what, just to spend time with your husband ?!"

The rat shook his head in fake offence (and Draxum was grateful no one looked at him right now, lest they find him choking on his tea). "What about it, young man?" he spat, looking as if he wanted to joke enough for the kids to want to leave.

Before it could go further (thank the Titan), the oldest in red interrupted, holding back his younger brothers. "How about we just take five, okay?" Despite the others protesting, he took them with him out of the dining room. "You two enjoy your breakfast!"

Once the children were out of sight, Draxum sighed. It was getting just a little too loud and chaotic in the room.

Which is not how he should start a weekday. A weekday that only promised more loud and chaotic hours, more singing, more comments about him (direct or otherwise), and more senseless teenage drama he couldn't care less about.

And yet, the rat helped moderate little moments of chaos, anything to keep his anxiety low. Yes, April helped on occasion, especially when none of his other family was around… but he could understand when she called him and the rat a married couple.

Splinter agreed with Donatello's claim so easily that it felt natural. If it was… is that how the rat felt about him?

~

Said rat looked up at the taller man, who appeared… off. More so than usual.

"There, peace and quiet," he offered, walking off into the kitchen for a moment to grab his own tea.

Upon returning, the goat man finally looked to sit down and relax – still annoyed, but no one could convince that out of him if they tried.

At least he wasn’t still upset.

Splinter took one of the chairs beside him, basking in the warm, comforting scent of his tea.

This felt nice. Even among the chaos, the two of them could find some peace. Not that the rat could ever mind it that much; but calm, adult company was always a treat. "Kids grow up so fast, don't they?" he mused, hiding a solemn slime behind his cup.

He could hear the yokai clear his throat. "Agreed."

Huh, that answer was unusually curt, even for Draxum. Probably still having a moment.

Whatever, Splinter wouldn't intrude. He happily sipped away as he began to hear only the distant sounds of the kids scrambling around, shushing each other and all that.

It wasn't too weird, but equally suspicious. Splinter knows this behaviour all too well. From his younger self, no less.

"...They're up to something."

"Definitely."

"Without a doubt."

The rat chuckled at the thought. His sons may be mutants, but they were still kids, first and foremost. As long as they weren't getting into trouble, there was no harm in them having some fun.

Unfortunately, this calm between the parents could not last long. Draxum has somewhere to be, after all.

It was an amusing thought, how only one out of the six of them ever had to go to school, and it wasn’t one of the kids. If the kids were human, he sure as hell would have sent them to school by now.

If he wasn’t scared and Draxum wasn’t banned from the Hidden City, they could have gone to school there instead. They could live a good, comfortable life, in a place made for people like them. But alas, it was not meant to be.

So instead, he’d focus on another sip as the old goat got up and put his stuff away, grabbed his coat off the back of his chair, and… gave him a kiss on the head.

Splinter raised a brow, fighting back a smile at the unexpected action. "Oh, what's that for?"

"For my 'husband', apparently."

Ah, right. He did kind of imply that Draxum was his husband earlier. They never agreed to such a thing… but by now, it kind of felt right.

In the end, the rat allowed a small chuckle to escape. “Well in that case… have a good day at work, hubby,” he teased as the goat began to leave. Such was met with an annoyed grumble. He could get used to this.

Just past the goat as he was leaving, did he find the sight of his youngest son, grin pulled to something playful and almost cat-like.

"You sure you two aren't married?"

" Michelangelo –"

_ _ _

It was easy to grow tired of a life you never wanted in the first place.

The Baroness knew what she was getting herself into when she stepped into Hidden City New York, all those years ago. Her life was meant to change. Her life, before this, was boring; she wanted her life to change.

Safe to say, her life was no longer boring – not in the slightest. It wasn't as if she regretted it, yet of course, everything came with its problems . Blocks in the road that made what should be simple, oh so difficult. If time did nothing to change her, the Baroness would almost consider resigning, returning to that comfortable life in her father's estate back home.

Though she was a mother…? Aunt…? Guardian , now. Jennika needed someone who would ditch the moment something went wrong. The kid was just one part of her many, many responsibilities.

Most of which she could care less about. The work was only enjoyable on occasion, and stuff politicians bored her to no end. So she couldn't mind this new track in life.

Some may think she became a hermit once she stopped attending all those fancy parties. They could not be more wrong.

The Baroness was thriving .

"How's the work coming along?" she asked, peripheral finding her assistant as she strolled into the lab.

The sea turtle – who was nearly her height by now, for Titan's sake – nodded happily, picking up what she was working on. "Good," she answered, showing off the little specimen. "If I got this right, they'll be ready to roll out soon."

"You mean fly out –" Huginn began from somewhere beside the turtle, only to be shoved by the other gargoyle.

Ignoring them, the caprid stepped closer, getting a look at the specimen Jennika created. "How soon is 'soon'?" The question came with intrigue as she noticed every detail of the little mosquito – a design so similar to that of her brother's invention.

Given that Jennika adapted it from an old blueprint, it was not a far-fetched claim.

Yet she was met with a sideways grin from the turtle. "Soon enough ," she dismissed. "I don't know, a day, a week? But these little guys will be ready soon, that's for sure."

The Baroness hummed, proud of the young one's work and how she stood up for it.

Before she could praise them, the turtle perked up. "What about those vines you were working on? When will they be ready?"

Ah, the vines, of course. The caprid snapped, and a singular vine emerged from thin air. "I don't know, you tell me," she joked, before snapping it away.

She never quite mastered the use of vine magic like others in her family. Nothing a little bit of alchemy couldn't fix, though.

Nevertheless, these vines worked and would provide use soon enough. She still had to stay on the down-low when it came to the entire project, yet she could reason the vines and a defence mechanism. So they were not a problem at all.

And with Jennika being the technical one in charge when it came to the mutation side-project, little could be pinned back to her. Unless…

"We should exercise caution as to keep your ex-girlfriend's nose out of our business,” the turtle brought up, interrupting the Baroness from her internal planning.

Her ex… Ah, right. Big Mama. That no-good trickster. "Not my ex-girlfriend,” the caprid argued, expression clearly tired of saying such.

Yet her loyal bodyguards took the chance for the kill. "Yeah, you were like, friends with benefits or something, right?"

The Baroness’ eyes widened. "Don't tell them that! "

Despite her whole motion of arms flailing, the child in the room could only shrug. "I already knew," she said simply; "I was just sparing the embarrassment."

Ha, the embarrassment, she said. It wasn’t an embarrassing experience; a waste of time if nothing else…

How could Jennika possibly know what it was like?

Well, knowing Jennika, that little sneak knew something. More than she let on.

"Moving on!" she started rather loudly, not with anger but fluster , "We've all… made mistakes in our life–"

"Most people don't fumble that hard ," Muninn interrupted, oh so wisely.

"–But!" she continued, choosing to ignore the goyle, "all of this will change everything." Effectively pushing that previous conversation to the side, the Baroness cracked a grin, moving to face the group. "In a couple of months, Yokai will no longer be a rarity. We will thrive, even in those pathetic city streets. Titan allow it, I bet those humans will even thank us in the end,” she explained, having shared excerpts of this ‘speech’ for weeks previously.

Despite such being tidbits of motivation for some time, this more-or-less announcement brought a smile to all their faces. Finally, after thirteen years… the mutation project would progress.

The goyles were flying around in excitement, as they tend to do. "If the world domination thing goes well, can we get a bigger dog bed?" Which one of them asked wasn’t clear, but they obviously both wanted that.

The Baroness had to hold back a laugh. "Yes, yes; you'll get a bigger dog bed."

"Yay!"

This much, Jennika seemed to laugh at. “And what do I get if this goes well?”

Her guardian pretended to think on it for a moment. “Street credit.”

The turtle frowned.

Now the caprid laughed.

“Proper credit,” the Baroness corrected, “ and whatever else you want. Kid, this will make you revolutionary, you know.”

“It will make all of us revolutionary,” Jennika corrected further – completely fair. Though she proceeded to nod, “But I’ll still think of what I want.”

Ha, that was fair. The goat yokai had no reason to go back on such a deal, so the kid had all the reason to think as big as she wanted to.

She had only walked a short distance when she heard the smallest voice mumble something. “ It’d be kind of cool to visit our family. ”

Our family. As in, hers. The very few relatives she left back at home.

Titan, they’d be ecstatic to find out she had a ward. A child.

Not as ecstatic to learn said child was her brother’s that she saved by a margin of destiny. That there was another she failed to have in her possession because of a deal with her… ex-girlfriend . Fine, whatever. Call it that, why don’t you?

Either way, the situation was messy. A meeting with them wouldn’t be impossible, though.

“We might just have to,” Baroness reasoned after a while of thought. She ignored Jennika’s look of surprise – any words spoken aloud were elegible for discussion. “If the Council winds up too cowardly to accept change, there’s always a place for us in Hidden City Scandinavia.” The caprid chuckled at the thought. “My father never said I couldn’t return.”

She can’t remember if Jennika ever heard much of her origin story, but the question of, “You left? Why did you leave?” painted an approximate image in her mind.

So, she exhaled. “Let’s just say, child of mine, that some opportunities are too tempting to let them pass you by.”

Regardless of what the curious turtle has put together, no one had the full story. Those who had larger parts of it were long gone. All that was left was her, the gargoyles that knew Draxum for a full 24 hours more than she knew them, and Big Mama, who wouldn’t share her half unless presented with a deal one could not refuse.

And even then would they be left with nothing.

With this philosophy, though, the small group of dedicated double-life weapon smiths and alchemists were ever so close to their goal.

Give it a week. Just one week. And soon, the surface world would know the impact of a grand warrior’s vision, one reconstructed by those left in his wake.

A vision all but dead and gone.

A new beginning.

Chapter 16: ...What The Shell Was That?

Chapter Text

You know how they always say about how the course of your life can change in a day, not even?

Well...

Raph’s pretty sure that's the kind of deal he's landed in today.

Not just him, of course – the other four doofuses followed along. But this kind of sort of was Raph's fault in the first place.

Nothing big, no big deal! It's not like he saw a dangerous thing and ran towards it all hero-like – no, instead, he saw a weird little creature all alone and frightened.

In what world was he supposed to know that would lead them to danger?

This wasn't just some street perp and this somehow wasn't explainable by New York being New York. Which it should have been... but for some reason, it was not. This felt worlds different than anything any of them ever faced...

Especially because their weapons were totaled now and some freaky shape-shifting guys portaled away with their best friend.

But it was fine, it was chill. They managed to save April – thank the pizza supreme – and do so without their parents noticing. So that was good!

Heck, who was he kidding? Maybe Splinter didn't notice but Barry definitely did.

"What are you boys up to?" the sheep man had asked, upon finding all four of them in the living room.

Definitely not suspicious at all.

Before they could even think, they all scrambled to look busy (and Leo scrambled to hide the mystic portal doohickey. Good).

"Nothing! We're just..."

"Headed out for groceries!" Raph blurted out in an attempt to save them.

But, never having been the smoothest with words, he failed to notice the many holes in such an excuse. Ones that made Donnie glare at him. Geez, talk about subtle.

However, this seemed to work well enough. As the tall man with crossed arms noticed the rat asleep, he sighed. "Ah yes, I believe that would be necessary," he confirmed, heading over to the chair to dust crumbs off of and pick up the other dad. "It appears we need more milk."

Raph nodded. "Yep! That's why we're going out," he confirmed, glad his nonsense at least worked out for them.

"For cake as well, of course," Mikey saved, helping their dear old sheep dad clear the area of their rat dad's mess. "I used up the last of the baking powder on this one and Pops just had to eat it all-"

This earned a chuckle from the taller dad. Good, laughter is good. Kept them out of trouble. "I suppose it’s more than reasonable for you children to go out and shop for supplies," he agreed, walking out of the room with his asleep co-parent in tow. "Don't stay out late and don't get into trouble!"

"We won't!"

"Thanks Padre!"

The second they were left alone, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they left not a second after, with shopping as the last thought on any of their minds.

But yeah, anyways, they got April back and all they needed to do now was save that weird dog thing.

In some underground city, no less.

This was very likely a stupid and unnecessary mission – heck, maybe the dog belonged to someone else? But the whole situation reeked of something else suspicious going on.

Why would a bunch of nuclear alien-looking dudes want the critter in the first place? Was it something more than just a little guy?

Thinking about it too much made his head hurt, so he just shut his brain off and followed April's lead. They just needed to retrieve the small thing to make their best friend feel better, what's the worst that could happen?

-

"Woah…"

As their friend led Raph and his brothers to the round doom-and-gloom-looking building, they were immediately met with just how big and weird the place was.

Tons of halls, all dark and mysterious, leading to a big mystic lab of sorts.

Very Donnie-like, if he thought about it. With all the sciencey stuff along the walls and, well, smack-dab in the middle of the room , it was no wonder his second-youngest brother immediately took interest in the place.

"Imagine if my lab was in this style," the soft shell mused, eyes still sparkling.

"It already is."

"Think bigger , Leon–"

Raph tuned them out as he got a better look at the place himself, all until the walkway stopped at an edge. He kept a sharp eye on the lower half of the lab, near the middle of it, noticing movement… "Hey, there's the little guy."

The others looked on as well, finding the weird dog thing in a fortified cage of sorts? And…

"And the delivery guy too!" Raph blurted out. Man, why would an evil scientist want the dog thing and some random guy?

At least, the snapper assumed this place belonged to an evil scientist. Who else – other than Donnie and Dad – would have such a freaky weird lab?

Before he could suggest breaking them out – you know, the obvious suggestion – he heard footsteps. But they sounded like hooves… huh, are all sheep-legged people evil scientists?

Dumb thought, really. But he knew to stay quiet, regardless of barely hearing April's warning of someone coming their way.

Yeah, no sh*t.

A door openly loudly some ways to their right, emitting a red light that coated the sheep-legged figure as they walked into the room.

Super evil for sure .

Raph nudged himself the slightest bit forward, unconsciously keeping a protective arm over his siblings – which was soon smacked away. Hey .

Whatever, he could ignore that. Instead, he got a good look at the evil scientist now. Sheep legs, sheep horns, sheep hair – was definitely a sheep, got it – with a whole spooky get-up that was coloured black and grey, gold, and cyan.

Definitely fit the rest of the lab's vibe, even if it looked more comfortable than what mad scientists normally wear in the movies.

The evil scientist person didn't get much time to stand around before the delivery guy started talking about something. Hard to hear from up above, but the snapper kind of got an idea:

Guy thought the evil sheep ordered takeout. Takeout that was cheap enough to be falsely advertised as crab cakes when it was actually immitation crab.

This human was just not fazed by any of this, was he?

Except he was, the second the scientist's shoulder pads came to life and went to his cage, taunting the poor guy.

Still not speaking, the evil sheep moved onto the dog-thing's cage, simply reaching in and taking the little green bottle that was attached to its neck.

So the creature couldn't get through, but this person could?

…Raph wasn't even gonna try to put logic into all this mystic stuff. It hurt his brain to try.

"So, whatcha up to?" the delivery guy asked as the scientist walked away. Saying what they all thought. Just more cheerful.

Said scientist merely readjusted their grip on the small bottle, half turning to the guy in a cage. "...An experiment."

Woah, okay, an evil scientist for sure. One that sounded like a lady, too – not that Raph ever judged just by voice, but it'd kinda fit the vibe. Evil scientist sheep lady…

Whooo just poured the stuff in the bottle into the sciencey machine in the middle and now it's all glowing and green whattheheck-

"Eyy, that's not good," one of the others said. Who, he couldn't really tell. Either way, he shot a glance at the group behind them.

Don't make a single sound, got it?

Maybe Raph was being a bit paranoid – maybe just a bit. But this was their first mission kind of! And it looked really super dangerous!

But, all things considered, no one has heard them up until now… Not like they've been subtle or anything.

Ugh, whatever. Maybe talking was still important. "Yeah, this lady looks like bad news," he whispered loudly; "glowing green never equals good."

He'd ignore the 'hey' that came from Donnie, eyes now glued to the fact that ohmigosh there's bugs inside the big machine the green bottle stuff went into.

Bugs that were eating away at the stuff like mosquitoes or something.

Super not good at all .

It was hard to see, but it looked like the machine dispensed one of the bugs, which the scientist caught. Man, the bugs looked even bigger when she held them . Then she walked over to the delivery guy once again, holding him up the vines that made up the cage – another heap of things Raph would not bother to ask.

"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" the guy asked, weakly.

The scientist just shrugged. "Likely."

Then the bug flew up to the delivery guy and bit him.

The siblings all cringed, expecting the worst. It took a second, but… delivery guy didn't even get to say much before his body began glowing green and contorting right in front of their eyes.

"Ohmigosh."

"What's happening to him?"

"That is messed up."

At the end of it all, the guy looked like a fish. Like a walking, talking fish.

How the heck did he turn into a fish??

"Jury's in, that was imitation crab."

They all glared at Donnie.

"What?"

The now fish man delivery guy blubbered in distress before running away – which looked difficult due to the fish legs – and the scientist? Didn't even care.

She even ignored the talking shoulder pad things asking if they should chase after the guy, instead standing and… it looked like she was smiling, but the mask didn't show her lips. It was kind of freaky .

"It worked," she mused, "the mutation worked! Excellent work, everyone."

'Everyone'? sh*t, there was someone else here, wasn't there?

But also, 'mutation'...

"Like us?" Raph wondered aloud. Was this the person that mutated them and their dads? Was it some sort of sick revenge, since she was a mutant as well?

Mikey gasped. "Does this mean we're part imitation crab??"

Everyone looked his way.

So close, buddy .

"What?"

April wasn't paying attention to them or their squabbling. Fair enough, honestly – they were here to rescue the critter she liked so much for some reason.

"We can't let her do anything to the dog-thing!"

"Like what, mutate it more?" Donnie argued back.

Raph got nervous about them talking so loud again, until he noticed the scientist was gone. For now…

Luckily, Leo was able to shove some sense into his twin. "Relax, hermana," he told April, "we're gonna get it back. We just need, uh… weapons. And DonTron's the only one who has one."

This made their own little scientist smirk. "Next time trust me to make your weapons instead of just accepting whatever trash Papá dug up for you."

Raph just rolled his eyes at him. "Who needs weapons when you can just smash things?" he started, standing up in front of the group. "Guys, we've been training for this our whole lives! All of us got the skills and smarts to bust the dog-thingy out of that mystic prison, and–"

"I'm gonna have to stop you there," April interrupted, leaning into him, "'cause I know where to find a bunch of cool weapons."

Of course, they all took to April's suggestion first.

Thinking no one else could hear, Leo mumbled, "Thank goodness, we were so dead."

April pulled a lever, leading them to some space near the lab that just had rows and rows of weapons. Mostly swords, but a lot of shields and self-defence stuff too!

Okay, maybe this was a better idea after all. Maybe.

The blue and orange turtles immediately ran to the displays, picking out weapons that looked like their old ones. Donnie was sticking to his guns (or well, staff), so he didn't look around for anything new.

Raph was getting a weird vibe about this place. A vibe that they were being watched. By what, he didn't know, but–

Oooh, glowy weapons!

Curse his short attention span, but the second the snapper saw a wall of nothing but glowing weapons, he couldn't turn them down.

"Hey guys, look!" He announced, getting the attention of his two weapon-shopping brothers. Once they were looking, he pointed at the display. "How about we get the glowy ones?"

The two dropped their current weapons in hand, eyes sparkling in awe.

Oh hell yeah, they just had to get these ones!

Leo took one first, grabbing a sword that was glowing blue. Heh, like his life colour. Actually, these all had their life colours . He loved it, swinging it around and having it light up almost like electricity.

Mikey grabbed one next, something that looked like his old weapon but not quite? Huh, he forgot what Pops called this thing . But Mikey adored it, swinging it around with glee.

Raph couldn't wait anymore. He grabbed the tonfas – which he knew were tonfas because he's always wanted those – immediately energized by the vibe of them and feeling stronger by the second.

Okay, yeah, getting weapons was a good idea. Imagine how much better he would smash with these things!

As always, Donnie looked distracted at some other random glowy thing.

"Don't you want a glowy weapon too?" April tried, presenting him with what was basically his staff but more mystic.

"Negative, I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"Affirmative." He grabbed a floating shard of something instead. "I will be taking this, though."

His loss, really. At least Raph, Leo and Mikey now had their own glowy mystic weapons. Nothing could stand in their way.

"Let's go save that dog thingy!" Raph announced, happily leading his brothers out of this place and hopefully to where the creature would be.

He ignored the distant sight of yellow glowing eyes staring back at him. At all of them.

If that thing in the shadows wanted to fight, it could. With these cool new weapons and their pure awesomeness and ninjosity, nothing would stand in their way!

Now, the five of them had a scientist to ninja kick into tomorrow.

-

Wait-

Ow .

That wasn't according to plan .

Raph led the group out of the weapins room, only to land them in another trap door. One that hurt like heck as they tumbled down.

He landed first, face-planting onto the floor. Everyone else followed suit, landing on top of him for the first part. Not graceful in the slightest. Not that any of them ever were.

This must have looked hilarious to the sheep lady.

" What ?"

Oh yeah, it definitely did.

But no matter! He and his siblings quickly got up, weapons ready. "Alright, mysterious evil sheep scientist. Give us the little guy, and you'll walk outta here with your horns still attached!"

Too soft? Maybe.

"Don't we also gotta stop her from making crab men?" Leo mused.

Raph held his head. "Okay, good point." He took a short breath. "Give us the little guy, stop creating crab men-"

" Imitation crab man."

"Ugh!"

"Donnie, I swear to god–"

"Just say it, Raph."

"Okay. Give us the little guy, stop making crab men–"

" Imitation , remember–"

"–and a limo, with a hot tub, and pizza!–"

"–like the way you think Mike–"

"–can't I just say mutants?"

"–no, be specific–"

Oh mi gosh, this was a mess. Raph was never gonna get his statement out like this.

" Okay ! Give us the little guy, stop making imitation crab men–"

" You're alive?! "

Wait, what?

At the sound, the four brothers looked down at the scientist, eyes seeming to sparkle while looking up at them.

But April didn't notice, quite literally jumping into action. " April O'Neil!"

"Oh mi gosh, she just ran in!"

Somehow she perfectly landed on the creature's cage, which – oh, it was a solid surface. Damn mystic underground city and its rules that didn't make any sense!

She tugged and kicked at the cages, yet it still didn't budge. So sheep lady could get through but April couldn’t?? The shoulder pad things proceeded to yoink her away, but she didn't give up without a fight, trying to wriggle her away from them as they flew off.

Yeah, that was a very April O'Neil thing to do.

The sheep scientist lady huffed at this. "We could have talked, but you know, this works for me too."

Before the others could start fighting back, she grabbed something, using it to shoot vines at them. Woah, what the heck?

The vines missed, but gave enough leverage to create basically a bunch of walking tightropes. So that worked out kind of.

Raph took to them head-on, running across the one that intended to hit him. Even if his brothers were following, they were more freaked out by this. Stay focused, guys!

It was impossible– for Jupiter Jim's sake, was Leo sliding on the vine? Whatever. This stuff was freaky and weird, it all was! And they just had to work with it.

Just before they could reach sheep lady, though, she made another thing spawn: a freaking giant guardian thing of sorts.

How many more weird things could this lady pull out of nowhere?

Raph tried to slow his roll, but it was no use. The giant thing took hold of the vines, yoinking them away before he and his brothers could get across.

And since they were still a good few feet off the ground when this happened…

They fell.

Hard .

Ow. Again . How many times would they up and fall over in this place? And why did it have to hurt every time?

"Capture the specimens!" the sheep scientist shouted, pointing the giant thing in their direction again.

Oh great .

"Let's go!" the oldest shouted back, charging towards the giant at once. As did his brothers – thank the pizza supreme they actually listened.

Leo was much faster than them all, going for the thing's legs – good thinking. And his sword managed to slice its leg clean through! Aha, now that's what he's talking about!

No one could look or celebrate for long before it fought back, throwing some large building debris toward Raph and Mikey. Despite it being a challenge, it was actually kind of… thrilling? At least on Mikey's end, kid laughing the whole time. Having the time of his life.

The two managed to avoid it together, and, as they got closer, Raph got an idea.

"Hey Mike, give a guy a lift?"

His little brother winked. "Got it!"

They both jumped higher, using the adrenaline – and Mikey's mystic weapon – to propel the oldest forward.

" Hot Soup! "

He punched the giant, making it fly way back farther than he thought it would. Woah! Is that what the mystic weapon did??

It also kind of just… left him in the air. Probably to make his own impact lighter or something? No idea, but it was kind of fun. From up here he could see Donnie flying up with his jetpack, activating his tech bo aaand ohmigosh no –

It was spinning out of control. Again.

"Look out guys!"

That and several other similar warnings came as the staff came crashing down uncontrollably, landing on the giant.

…And it did something afterwards?

Everyone watched as Donnie's staff practically span the giant a few times over until it crashed into the ground. It crashed so hard that the air soon clouded with dust.

Despite this, Raph could still see his tech-bo-owning brother take a selfie in front of the mess, claiming he "nailed it."

…

Of course this dork would plan for his tech to do that.

As the dust settled, they all found themselves back on the ground, surrounded by nothing but rubble. Which continued to hurt.

"Well, would you look at that?"

The voice rang against the settling silence, forcing Raph and the others to look up at the scientist lady again.

"It seemed you have defeated my defences. The four of you have a warrior's spirit after all."

What the hell was she talking about?!

Of course they had a warrior's spirit! But it had nothing to do with… well, whatever this lady was getting at.

"With a little bit of training, you'd all be just as efficient as you were made to be…"

Made to be?

This was getting weird. Somehow weirder than before.

Raph couldn't get up just yet, still feeling a high over that epic punch. Leo, however, had no trouble getting up and posing dramatically.

"Okay, well, since you're surrendering…"

The sheep lady chuckled at this. "A Baroness does not simply surrender after such a challenge."

"A Baroness?" Mikey questioned, weakly at that. Did he not know what that was?

Leo just scoffed, though. "A Baroness of what, SpookyVille?"

Raph rolled his eyes. This was obviously a third-person kinda talking thing. "Seriously guys? Just–" Raph began, before realizing he couldn't bother to explain. "Whatever. Time to put our training to use!"

He chose to ignore Leo's questioning around said training, lunging himself at the 'Baroness', apparently.

The others followed suit, attacking her from all angles. She was bigger than them – though not by much, still a bit smaller than Dad, who they've all sparred against – and had some sort of extra protective armour up her sleeve, but it was nothing they couldn't face!

Those who were smaller tried to get at her legs, which looked thinner than their own. Obviously had nothing to do with their strength, but they had to try something!

Meanwhile, Raph tried to use his tonfas to get at her sides unexpectedly while Leo attacked from the front.

It did nothing. He was knocked back as well.

No matter! He and the others kept at it, going at her from each and every angle. They had pretty good leverage, all things considered–

But her weird mystic armour was strong enough to shake the ground as she hit it, knocking them all back a fair amount.

Somehow it didn't hurt as much this time. But a small part of Raph wondered… was this lady just okay with the damage being caused? 'Cause the lab looked, like, totally damaged now .

The Baroness stood before them all, a small imposing red light on her once more.

"Again, not surrenderin–"

One of those little flying dudes fell on her head.

"Ow- Munnin!"

Raph held back a laugh. But so, if that guy was here, then…

The other one could barely fly back down as April fought it back, going as far as to bite it and thrash like she was going for the kill.

Yep, that was April for ya.

And it made more sense now why he heard a bunch of tussling during the other fights .

Their friend, having neutralized the other little dude, sent a thumbs up the turtles' way.

They sent one back.

But it was short-lived. As a last attempt to keep them from fighting back, the Baroness shot something out of her gauntlet thing that put April in a cocoon-like thing??

Oh hell no, things just kept getting weirder .

"Hey, what the heck–"

"You did not just do that!"

Mikey quickly stood in front of their captured human friend, launching his weapon at the Baroness.

He just missed. But! It started lighting up!

…And then it went out of control.

The oldest couldn't help but watch as Mikey's glowing weapon threw him every which way across the room and bounced him against every surface. And against the top of the middle machine thingy that held all those mutating bugs… that probably wasn't good!

But no one could keep their eyes off the sight as the glowing weapons led him everywhere, all until he fell back on the ground, nearly hitting the Baroness. Nearly .

"Woah, Mikey! How'd you do that?!"

"I don't know, man!" the youngest exclaimed, "I just started swinging my weapon like this," he started, making a bunch of noises as moved his now non-glowing weapon around as he always would. "And then all of a sudden!" It started glowing again!

His weapon went out of control again, but it was nothing Mikey couldn't get a hang of this time.

Okay, now Raph just had to find out what else this did!

"My turn! Okay, magic weapon magic weapon‐!" The snapper tried, shaking his tonfas a bit. And they started glowing again as well, awe yeah.

But they were strong. Really strong. It took all of Raph's willpower to not be knocked back for the millionth time that day, and yet, somehow, that's exactly what happened.

Curiosity got the best of him. He has been bested.

His head hurt from the impact, this time a little too much to know exactly what was going on. But when he kind of woke up again, he was met with the sight of Leo toe-to-toe – or hoof – with the Baroness.

Donnie looked to be eager to fight, but his tech was giving him trouble. Would a glowy weapon be better or worse right about now? Either way, Leo seemed not to have this problem, using his sword to create various freaking portals in order to best the Baroness.

It didn't work. Not really. And Mikey and Donnie still got their hits in. But they were pretty damn good for having never fought a real-life villain before, Raph had to give them that.

Unfortunately, his brothers were never the best at coordination, soon causing them to collide.

From where Raph was, he could see everyone struggling – April the most, trying to get out of that trap thing. He inched closer to her, head still hurting, peripheral still on the scientist lady.

Who refused to get up.

"I don't get it," she said, adjusting her mask and looking at them all. "Have you not been trained? Why are you all… like this?"

Leo chuckled, even while out of it. "I don't know, lady‐ looks like we kicked your mutton chops real good!"

The Baroness inspected her gauntlet again before looking back at Leo. "We'll see about that."

In a second, they all found themselves in April's same fate, trapped in their own bundles.

Super not good at all .

"How are we going to save the dog thingy now?!" April panicked.

Luckily, Donnie was on it, able to flip his goggles down and get a look around. "Wait a second!"

Wait a– oh, sh*t.

None of them had to look far to see the lab was about to crumble. While they were trapped . And somehow the evil scientist behind it barely cared.

"Turtles, your fighting skills may be… lacklustre, but you're made for more than this!" she began, standing proudly. "I can train you! Together, we may–"

"Nuh-uh, lady, we ain't joining your flock!" Raph interrupted. He knows enough villain mumbo-jumbo to know where this was going.

"Uh, don't know if this was part of your plan," Donnie piped up, "but the lab's about to explode–"

Heck, they weren't getting out of there, were they?

The four of them panicked, jiggling every which way to get free of their traps. If this sheep was a homicidal maniac, then they'd just have to get themselves free! But they could not stay here- who'd bring the milk back home??

Before they even realized it,

Boom .

The bug machine thing exploded at the top, starting to bring the whole lab with it.

Raph couldn't even see the Baroness anymore– did she get buried in the rubble or something? Ugh, no matter! They still had to get out!

He couldn't bother to look at the mess around them anymore, just knowing he had to get out and he had to help his brothers out and theyhadtogetoutrightnow–

And then he heard a mystical woosh .

"Little guy! Can you do your thing and get us out of here?"

It came from April. Why did April sound so sweet? How could she be so calm right now?

Looking in her direction, Raph soon figured it was because of the dog thing. That's who she was talking to. Of course.

Regardless, he soon felt himself being zapped away, ending up out of the building in a matter of seconds .

Oh.

Right.

The little guy could teleport.

Haha…

…

At least they were out of the lab.

Raph couldn't bring himself to be the leader right now, still processing what the heck just happened and following everyone else's lead, hopping into another portal as soon as Mikey made one.

And he did not look back. Not even for a second.

-

Ow .

As they all fell through the portal, Raph soon recognized where they were as the construction site they saw the little dog thingy in, all those hours ago.

Or has it even been an hour? Felt like a whole day, to be honest.

Right now, it didn't even matter that the portal maker thing was dropped so hard it broke. It's not like Pops ever used it anyways… and they were all okay! That's what really mattered!

April held onto the little dog, comforting and talking to it in a baby voice, naming it Mayhem or something like that. Raph would join if it didn't hate his guts for no reason.

But it was fine. They were fine. They were all alive.

…

And just bested a freaking real-life villain .

"We just defeated a boss villain," Raph said, proudly puffing out his chest. "Mad Dogs one, bad guys zero!"

Some of the others joined his heroic pose, definitely soaking in the celebratory vibes.

"Didn't we agree to use a different name–"

"Don't ruin the moment, Leo."

Leo, in fact, did not ruin the moment. But something else did. That something else being a swarm of those lab bugs that were glowing green and definitely came from the portal .

"Well, that can't be good."

"We should go, peoples blinds are starting to open–"

They all scrambled away, not daring to look back or think about it for ever a second.

…This was a problem for another day. They’d deal with it. Eventually .

_ _ _

Too often is it easy to deem their work as 'evil'. Dangerous? For sure. Unethical? Only on a good day…

But in the face of the turtles, the four missing turtle experiments , it became easy to see how their work may be misinterpreted as something straight out of a movie villain.

A disaster, it was for sure. No one could deny that.

For as long as Jennika has been following her guardian's work, she knew the possibility of failure was always there. It was unstable at best – not that she would ever admit it. Not when he was her invention that went astray.

That, and the appearance of her four… brothers? Brought more questions than answers.

Jennika stood atop a mountain's edge alongside the Baroness, Huggin, and Muninn. The same mountain's edge that was rumoured to be where Baron Draxum watched his life's work fall apart.

The same Baron Draxum that had no involvement in his experiment's lives, given how long they spent away from the lab and how little they knew of their true family.

That, or Baron Draxum raised them to be fools.

Either way, the silence felt eternal. They had an hour at most to decide how to cover their own tracks.

The Council would soon catch wind. Big Mama would catch even sooner. And this whole situation would be difficult to deem as a matter of security weapons failure.

Their options were slim.

"You let them through."

The voice interrupted Jennika's thoughts, yet they both looked on, into the smoke and rubble.

"I know."

"You could have stopped them."

"I know."

The Baroness knew how long she held onto the idea that she would find them one day. Their sudden appearance, in the lab no less, was surprising… and yet, not unwelcome.