#Tmnt is know to reference past works so I wouldn’t be surprised if they did that

[fabuloustrash05]

So in the new Tales of the TMNT trailer, we see a scene of the boys all dressed up in costumes.

My theory is that this is TOTTMNT’s Halloween episode. And with the boys attending high school and knowing how Seth Rogen wants to focus more on the “Teenage” part of their name, I’m gonna assume they are on their way to a Halloween costume party.

The trailer also kinda hints that this episode will focus on Raph cause this shot is about Raph with Mikey making a comment about him being aggressive and earlier showing another clip from that scene with Raph talking about he wants to beat someone up (showing that rage problem he has), probably wanting to go out and fight some bad guys rather than go to a lame party.

Now this MIGHT be a massive stretch… but going with the theory that this episode is about Raph and his brothers going to a costume party (possibly on Halloween), and looking back at the 1987 series, there was also an episode where Raph attended a costume party.

And who did he meet at this costume party?

MONA LISA!

[incorrectlumityquotes]

FULL REVIEWS: “I Was A Teenage Abomination”

So if you read my previous review you know that I didn’t like the last episode. That scene of Eda and King mocking Luz almost made me drop the whole show, but the lesson at the end convinced me to to give the show another chance especially since the season just started. Good thing I did because wow did the show deliver.

I’m not the biggest fan of the magic school trope, but I can see why people use it. The most common settings for fiction are schools, homes and work places because they all force people to come together and interact. And while I do think all magic schools look alike (almost all of them) because they’re just castles, I don’t know if Luz, Eda and King can carry an entire show by themselves. A school would force new and different characters in. Variety is the spice of life as they say. What Luz needs is more people her age to bounce off of and we got them.

The episode starts hilariously with The Owl House fam at the beach collecting crap from a dead giant ass slug. It’s when Luz suggests that she might some actual witch apprenticeship in her...witch apprenticeship that Eda accidently lets it slip that magic schools are a thing that exists in The Boiling Isles. BTW, if everyone could do magic on The Boiling Isles, wouldn’t magic school just be called school or is there a separate school system where magic is just an elective you can opt out of? I’m thinking too hard.

Luz decides that being knees and elbows deep in garbage isn’t for her and walks off to find our first new friend, Willow.

Willow is just a little sweetheart. Friend to all plants, kind of a pushover, but kinda really not. She lets Amity walk all over her but that could be just because of their past history together. But as soon as Amity is out of sight, Willow lets the anger flow through her like the Emperor’s dialogue in a Star Wars movie. Also looking back on this episode, it’s so weird to see Willow wearing the abomination purple uniform. I guess because she wears plant track green for the rest of the season that seeing her in her old uniform is unnatural or something.

And here comes the spice of life, baby. When I first heard about Amity I didn’t think twice about it until I heard that she was going to be voiced by Mae Whitman. Freaking Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Yuffie from Kingdom Hearts 2, April O’Neil from TMNT 2012, Rose/Huntsgirl from American Dragon Jake Long, Tinker Bell in...Tinker Bell and Roxy from the live-action Scott Pilgrim movie. I had to see it. And wow. She’s so good at being such a bitch. It’s delightfully mean-spirited. But I think if you compare her performance here to later episodes (especially her first lines) you can sort of hear how Mae Whitman finds her groove to become Amity. Kinda like when you hear Marco Diaz in Star vs the Forces of Evil in the first episode and then in the last episode. But that’s nothing new.

My first impressions of the character were that she was going to be a Draco Malfoy clone, especially after how she put down Willow. Also this filled out enough Harry Potter tropes to make me think that they were going to go down a checklist or something. That’s just the way the world is now. Someone says magic school, first thing you think of is Harry Potter.

Luz has seen enough hentai to know where this is going!

But seriously back to the episode. Willow is surprised to see a human on The Boiling Isles and we see Luz pull her first scheme to help Willow: dress her up in as her abomination and sneak Luz into the school. Willow gets a good grade and Luz gets to see the school. Easy peasy, one two three-sy.

Another thought that I remember having when I first watched this episode was what the H is an abomination? I’ve known people to use the word when they don’t really like something but other than that I have no clue. It’s not the Marvel villain, and it’s not something that causes a feeling of disgust. It’s not even a biblical reference. I checked. It’s more like a golem, but whatever. It’s Dana’s fantasy world. So it’s not really a reference to anything.

And then we have our other friend, Augustus. A supposed human expert who thinks Luz should’ve had gills. Luckily Luz knew an Augustus in the human world that everyone just called Gus, so new nickname. He’s...smaller than the others but we find out in a different episode that he’s actually younger than everyone else and skipped a grade. He’s smart but still a kid.

“Boy, let me tell you what!”

Luz helps Willow get a good grade and this pisses off Amity something fierce because she’s (in this episode) the kind of person who needs someone who she knows she’s better than to feel good about herself. But we find out in a later episode it’s because she’s a stickler for the rules and abhors cheaters. (That’s a good word, abhor.)

Amity’s freakout at the cafeteria gives her an opportunity to call Principal Bump into the situation, but I’m still stuck on Luz being excited over a PB&J. LIke seriously? What has Eda been feeding her? Or not feeding her? She knows her has to feed Luz right? Humans gotta eat too. I have concerns.

Yeah no, your ass would be fired.

Bump tries to bump (lol I’m funny) Luz and it’s out that she’s not an abomination; she’s an intruder. The climax happens which is fine, but Luz punching out abominations reminds me of my argument on why zombies aren’t scary. I mean, if they are decaying flesh how would they have super strength or any strength? It makes no sense. If abominations are just walking piles of goo how would they have super strength? Magic? Is that gonna be your answer to everything?

“Curse you Boiling Isles public school system!!!”

I forgot to mention the B-plot with King and Eda and I really like it. I love the comedy in this show and the B-plot has all of my favorite jokes in this episode. I just get upset talking about it because I know some asshole is going to call it filler. I remember a time where “filler” was used to refer to anime only episodes or story arcs that were produced to let the manga catch up with some more chapters. Now everyone uses it to refer to stories they don’t like. Not stories that don’t further the main plot, but stories they don’t like. 

Animation is difficult and takes a lot of time and money. If they do something, they do it for a reason. If it doesn’t further the plot then it develops the characters. It’s okay for a comedy to just have an episode that tells jokes. That’s the point of a comedy, to be funny. It’s okay if an action show just wants to do a fight scene or a set piece. That’s what action does. But I know some dipshit is gonna reblog or reply and argue with me about what filler means or what it really means and yada yada yada. Free tip, do that and I’ll block you because this is my blog and I can do that. Also, fuck you.

“I have no son!” My favorite line of the episode.

The episode ends a little too neatly with Willow telling Luz that everything was resolved offscreen. Willow is now in the plant magic track. Amity is begging Bump for a good grade, and Luz is banned from Hexside. For now...

FINAL SCORE: 5 - Loved it!

This episode was a bunch of fun. It was super funny, introduced some great characters and saved my interest in the show. I knew I made the right choice to give this show another chance and it paid off. I wondered why they would introduce the school only to have Luz be banned but I just figured we would have more sneaking in scenarios. Egg on my face, huh?

Still this episode was a great time and I couldn’t wait for the next one.

[thenerdytomboynewb96]

Samantha Allan Park Ch. #34

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

Chapter #34

*Late night Saturday June 6th around 11:00p.m. into early morning Sunday June 7th*

It was just a little after 11p.m. when Leo and Donnie had left the lair, and it wasn’t much longer after that when Sam and Raph began working together to form a plan on how to retrieve the purple ooze from police headquarters. “Alright. Before we can do anything, I need to hack into the headquarters database carefully so I can print out a layout of their building. I’m sure there’s a specific area for classified items and this will help us try and figure out just where that is.” Raph felt odd seeing Sam working at Donnie’s seat and using his tech. For a short moment, a wave of guilt washed over him. He knew that Sam was allowed to use all of his brother’s tech at this point in life, but the reason why she was using it left him with an uneasy feeling. He then closed his eyes and remembered why they were going behind his brother’s backs and that this would be for a life changing cause, and after that, his head was back in the game. A few moments later the blue print was ready and the two began searching throughout the maze on the sheet that was the police headquarters building. “There.” 

Raph pointed to a spot on the sheet that was labeled ‘Evidence Room’. “This should be our spot. We need to find a way to get April and Casey to this room. Are there any sneak entrances? Or isolated emergency exits?” The two continued to look. Sam sighed. “Ironically the closest entrance towards this room is the front entrance itself. So before we can plan anything else, we need to figure out how we’re going to get them past the cops at the head desk.” Mikey then suddenly spoke as he was swinging his nunchuks around as he stood on the raised pipe nearby. He didn’t really know all that the other two were talking about, but he was listening to bits and pieces. “Hey, what about the falcon?” Sam and Raph both looked at each other. Sam looked surprised while Raph just looked disgusted. “That…could actually work” Sam added with a smile. “Ugh, how could he possibly cause a distraction? What could he do?” Raph groaned. “People all throughout the city think that Vern is a hero, and that includes the police. He could go in and say that he came in specifically to visit them, butter them up you know? Then April and Casey could walk straight up to the check in station if Vern distracts the cops in a way so that they’re attention is diverted from that station.” Raph pursed his lips in defeat. “*sigh* Fine. If that’s our best shot at getting things to work out in our favor, then I guess it’s what we have to do.” “Alright, now the next step is worrying about how they get checked in.” “Oh!” Raph said as he looked up and stared at Sam with wide eyes. “Donnie has tech for that! He’s used it before so that April could get into other places to find behind the scenes details for her news reports. Oh it’s got to be in here somewhere” he said as he rushed into his brother’s lab and began looking for the devices that allowed April’s fake I.D. to be accepted at different locations. She had multiple fake I.D.’s in case one identity was ever discovered, but in order to use any of them then Raph needed to find the device that activated them. A couple minutes later, Raph walked out of the lab with a small square flash drive. “I know he uses this. If we can get Vern to plug this into a computer then April’s fake I.D. should automatically be entered into the system” Raph said. He then paused as he noticed Sam rolling her hand in front of him, as if she was waiting for him to continue talking. “What?” he grunted. “You do realize you need more than JUST the flash drive, right?” she asked. Raph shrugged. Sam smiled as she stood up. “I need one of Donnie’s tablets” Now it was her turn to scavenge through the nerd lab. “Why do we need a tablet? Vern can’t take a tablet in with him. Only the flash drive can be used in secret” Raph called out to his friend from the door way of the lab. Sam continued to look through drawers and shelves as she talked. “Because the flash drive can set up the system, but the tablet allows us to tell the system what we want it to do. Basically one gets things running and the other guides what the final outcome will be. It’s basically a super complex program that hardcore coders, aka your brother, are able to access. It’s one of those things where the best of the best can find it and safely download it. I could never do, but once your brother introduced it to me I was able to get the gist of how to use it.” Raph chuckled as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. “I thought you were supposed to be a genius to?” he said with a smirk. Sam shook her head and smiled as she continued her search. “I’m smart, but I’m not a genius. I can pick things up relatively quickly, but I can’t always answer and discover things on my own like Donnie can. I’m just a lab assistant compared to him. Aha! Found it!” Sam picked up the tablet and then walked over to one of the computers within Donnie’s lab. “Raph, walk over to that drawer over there and toss me one of April’s fake I.D.’s.” Raph did as he was told and Sam got to work once the card was in her hand. Raph walked over and leaned over the girl’s shoulder as she typed and clicked away on the computer. “Sooooooo what are you doing now?” he asked. “Making sure that the program recognizes this specific card and the information on it. And according to this, everything matches up.” “And this means?” Sam smiled as she pushed back in the chair and stood up as she lead the two back out of the room and over towards the blue prints by the collage of computers. “It means that once the flash drive is inserted into a computer at headquarters, then as long as we can get close enough, the I.D. will be accepted. But we need to see if the vents allow us to get close enough. Sadly that’s the only downfall to the program. The main device has to be within close range in order for it to connect to whatever device is scanning her I.D. Sadly these are some of the cons of downloading programs like this. They’re made in secret and are knock offs of official government tactics which means they can’t be used as well as more professional programs.” Raph, who had been looking at the blue prints while Sam talked, now looked up with a smile. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing there’s a vent way that cuts across the ceiling of the main entrance” he said as he pointed to the area he was talking about. Sam scanned the area quickly and nodded. “Man, the luck that we have right now is insane. This will work. That should be close enough for the program to connect. So we’ll have the tablet in the vents and can quickly get the program working to accept April’s I.D.” “So then they go in, access the evidence room…wait, there’s no way that there won’t be cameras or something in that room.” “Wait…” Sam said as she tapped on the screen for a few seconds. “Yup, this tablet has like a ridiculous amount of programs that do different things. One of them being a hacking program. I can easily rewind and alter the cameras so that April and Casey can basically walk right in without anyone ever knowing. Our main issue will be if there’s anyone in the room itself.” “In that case, we can always remove a tile from the ceiling and cause some type of distraction. You know, drop a smoke bomb or something to get everyone a bit frantic and away from that area. The three of us are slick enough that we could escape in no time and never get caught.” Sam nodded her head. “I think we have a pretty solid plan” Sam said, putting her fist up for a fist bump. Raph sent her an annoyed and questioning look. “Are you serious?” “Right, I forgot. You’re so cool and mature that you can’t even fist bump. Wow, so mature. Total adult. Independence detected.” “Oh shut up” Raph mocked as he lifted his hand up to follow through with the gesture. Sam had already put her hand down. “A fist bump? What are you, 5?” she teased, and then rolled across the table to dodge the light playful punch that Raph had swung her way as pay back for messing with him.

“Oh boy. Why are you rolling across furniture now?” April asked from across the lair near the kitchen, Casey following behind her. It was about 11:15p.m. at this point. Of course, now was when Mikey suddenly reappeared. “Hey! The Hogosha is back! What up gorgeous?” He, Raph and Sam all made their way over to the eatery and had a seat. Casey sat in the left seat with April next to him. Then Mikey sat across from her and had Sam sitting next to him and across from Casey. Raph stood along the side of the table as he talked. He explained, in a shockingly calm and nonchalant tone, how Leo and Donnie decided that it was best that the group split up for this next mission. April nodded her head as Raph explained where the other half had gone. “Okay. So they went to the planetarium to check out the tripped alarm. So what exactly is our mission then?” Raph fought his best to remain calm as he looked her in the eyes and spoke. “We need to retrieve the ooze from the evidence room at police headquarters.” April tilted her head in confusion. “So you wanna break into police headquarters?” Sam nodded her head, doing her best to support Raph and make it seem like this was all normal and that everything was fine…and mentally praying that this all worked and that April wouldn’t call Jay. Raph also nodded as he spoke. “Uhhh yeah. Donnie says we need more of the purple ooze to find Bebop and Rocksteady, and we’re pretty sure it’s locked up in the evidence control room by now.” April continued to look skeptical. “Okay…and Leo is okay with this plan?” Raph paused, but then spoke with calmed confidence. “Actually I’m in charge on this one. Ain’t that right Mikey?” he said, turning towards his youngest brother. “Errrr-RIGHT!” Mikey said with wide eyes that faced a concerned looking April. Sam rolled her eyes. “Okay that response doesn’t count because he has no idea what’s going on when food is in front of him.” “Heyyy!” Mikey said, now facing his friend with sad eyes. “It’s not an insult, just an honest truth” Sam said with a smile, handing her friend a napkin to clean all the food on his face. Mikey shrugged and took the napkin with a smile as Sam continued to talk. “Look, we split up into two teams just like Raph said. Leo and Donnie went after the area where Shredder and the mutants and the soldiers went to, and they left us here so that we could retrieve the ooze and keep it somewhere safe.” “And that is?” Casey asked. “Underground with Professor Perry and the Mutanimals.” “I’m sorry, who and what?” Sam sighed. “Professor Jordon Perry. He was forced to mutate a bunch of stolen animals using a man-made mutagen he had created 15 years earlier. This mutated all the animals so that Shredder could form a mutant army. All of them are now living safely underground and he and other scientists continued to study and hide all the mutagen that was anonymously sent to Shredder. That is where this new purple ooze belongs as well, and that’s why we need to break into police headquarters to get it.” April still seemed concerned about this plan, but her friends sounded serious (besides for Mikey who had literally been eating pizza the entire time) and she decided that this needed to be done. “Alright. So what’s the plan?” Raph brought over the blue prints of the headquarters building and began explaining the plan to April and Casey about what each person would be doing. Meanwhile, Sam was stealing some of Mikey’s pizza slices with a teasing smile. After hearing the entire plan be explained full way through, Casey formed a frustrated smile as he waved his hand in a means to signal his displeasure in what he had just heard. “Wait, I can’t just walk right into police headquarters.” Raph groaned. “What are you, chicken?” “Hey!” Casey stated as he stood up from his chair. “Who are you calling chicken? Turtle.” Mikey rolled his eyes…and Sam stole another slice as he was distracted for that literal second. Raph lowered his voice, but not so low that it reached a menacing point. “Look. Do you want to find Bebop and Rocksteady, or not?” Casey paused as he thought this through, and Raph raised his brows as to say ‘that’s what I thought’. “So we’re breaking into police headquarters” he said as he sat back down. “Oh wait. You’re missing something. The access card for the evidence room.” Sam tilted her head to the side. “What’s that?” “You need an access card or else you can’t get into the room.” Sam thought about this. “Is this a card that specific people have? Or is this a card that every officer has?” “Every officer has that card and it has access to every room within the building.” Sam nodded her head and looked up at Raph. “I’ll hack into their system again as we head over to get Vern, wherever he is. I’ll check their scheduling and see who is heading out. Hopefully they’ll be isolated in the locker room and we can snatch a card from them. If that doesn’t work” she then turned towards April, “then keep your phone close so I can update you in case we need to improvise.” April nodded. “Alright. Is that everything?” Raph and Sam nodded. “I have all the devices we’ll need in my backpack. The only thing we’re missing right now is Vern. Can you contact him and-” “He’s at a party at a park nearby” Mikey cut in. Sam looked over and blinked at him, surprised he had been paying any attention and that he had now provided information to further their plan. “And you know that how?” Mikey smiled as he turned the phone around and showed that he was looking at Vern’s twitter page, and to Sam’s amusement, it was her phone he was using. Sam frantically felt through the pockets of her hoodie. “When? How?” “Heh, you’re not the only one good at stealing things when people aren’t looking Sam” he said with a teasing smile. She nodded. “You’re right. I’m also good at taking things bluntly.” And with that she stole, yet again, another slice from him.

By 11:30p.m. everyone was now packing up and heading out the nearest exit…except for a confused Michelangelo. “Are we going somewhere?” Sam smiled and pulled at his arm for him to stand up. “Just follow along you dork” she said, her mouth still a bit full as she finished her last bite of the pizza slice. “How can you eat so much?” Casey asked as Sam switched out her mint green and pink jacket for a black colored one from her backpack. Mikey jumped in to defend Sam before she could even say anything. “Dude! She needs to eat, she’s already thin as it is!” “What? She’s not that thin” Casey replied. “*GASP* DID YOU JUST CALL HER FAT?!” Mikey shouted. “Wait what?! No of course not, but-” “Not cool man” Raph said as he glared and shook his head at Casey. “Oh come on! Obviously I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant that she’s not anorexically thin either! You guys make her out to be a twig!” “SO NOW YOU’RE SAYING SHE’S WEAK?!” Mikey shouted. Sam just walked behind the group, the tablet in her hand as she looked up information through the headquarters database, smiling silently as she walked next to April. The two were trying not to laugh and disrupt the interesting conversation that was happening in front of them. “Okay, okay! Sam is super physically fit and has the right amount of body weight for someone her age, okay?! That still doesn’t explain how she can eat as much food as the 6 foot turtle next to her.” “Excuse me sir, but I’m only 5’8!” Mikey announced. “Not the point! It’s still insane that she can eat as much as someone who is larger than her!” “So now you’re calling me fat?!” “Oh give him a break already” Sam said as she walked by Mikey and playfully shoved him. “Sam, you realize your shorts are mint green, right?” Mikey asked. Sam looked down and realized that she had switched to wearing a dark black jacket, but she had forgotten to change her shorts. “Oops. Thanks man. Here can you hold this?” she asked as she handed Mikey the tablet. She then swung her back pack around and unzipped it to pull out a pair of solid black Adidas shorts that covered the top of her hips and traveled down to cover her thighs, but wouldn’t go so far down as to reach her knees. “Hey Raph hold this.” Raph turned around just in time to catch the backpack that was beamed at his chest, though to him this was like catching a beach ball. Sam then started stripping her mint green shorts. Everyone was used to this, except for Casey of course. “Dude, give some warning first or something” Casey said as he covered his eyes. “What, you have a thing against awesome colored spandex?” Casey, taking a risk after hearing this, slowly removed his hand from his face and saw that the girl had been wearing a decently long pair of neon colors checkered with black spandex underneath her shorts. Basically she had been stripping, but nothing private was exposed. Casey just laughed and shook his head. “I guess this is normal to everyone else?” “Welcome to the life of living with a tomboy” Raph grumbled as he rolled his eyes. “Hurry up or I’m throwing this bag into a muddy puddle.” “Alright I’m good” Sam said as Raph then tossed the backpack back to her. Mikey handed the tablet back to Sam and after a few more minutes she found the information she was looking for. “Alright. So there’s four guys that will be leaving around the time we’ll be getting there. Hopefully we can secretly get a card from one of them. That will make things a lot easier for all of us.”

The group reached their destination around 11:35p.m. The manhole they were exiting to get back up to the surface lead to a small alley way that was on a street very close by to the party that Vern was attending. “I’ll go get Vern, you guys stay close” April said. “Oh, and behave when you see him, please. He’s not a bad guy, he’s just a dork.” And with that, April walked out of the alley and headed across the street to go get the last piece to their plan. Raph suddenly started climbing up to a higher position on the building in the alley. “Where are you going?” Casey asked. “It’s hard to track her from here. It’ll be easier to see her from higher up.” Casey shrugged. “Alright, good call.” He also started climbing up the ladders that lead to the roof of the building. Sam and Mikey decided to join the party and headed to the roof as well. The four continued to talk as they all watched April from afar, making sure that she was alright as she entered the crowded streets of the city. Mikey and Sam were in the back talking and goofing around while Casey and Raph stood along the edge of the building, watching April. Raph continued to look outward towards the open area as he talked. “Hey Sam, you updated Jay on what you’re doing, right?” Sam paused and tried to act natural as she spoke. “What exactly do you mean by update?” she asked nervously. Mikey’s eyes were as wide as Raph’s. Raph turned around and now both brothers were staring at her in shocked frustration. “Sam!” Mikey shouted. “You know we won’t do anything unless we know Jay is okay with it!” “I thought we made it clear that we want to keep his trust!” Raph bellowed. It was weird to see both of these two upset and gang up on someone over the same thing since usually they were ganging up on each other. Casey’s curiosity cut Sam off before she could say anymore. “Wait, hold up. So she can’t hang out with you guys unless her brother approves?” Raph looked over at the man while also putting an arm around Sam and putting her in a loose (or at least loose enough) one armed headlock. “She doesn’t have to update him on when she hangs out with us, but she has to let him know when she’s joining us on missions like this. And of course, typical Sam is trying to be sneaky by not telling him a damn thing.” Raph ruffled the girl’s hair (apparently one of her biggest weaknesses) and released her as she stood up tall to stare him straight in the eye. “Not cool man, not cool” she said as she pointed in his direction. “Text him now Sam” Raph said aloud as he turned back around to keep an eye on April. “Yeah, yeah” she mumbled as she turned around and then saw a moping Michelangelo. “*groan* ALRIGHT! I’m messaging him now” she replied to Mikey’s amusement as he now threw his hands up to show he was happy with her decision. Only Casey saw that Raph was also smiling after he heard his friend say that she was going to contact her brother. “So, you can smile, even when you’re not bullying other people” Casey mocked. Raph just rolled his eyes. “Congratulations, you want a prize for making your discovery?” Raph said in a sarcastic tone. “You’re a tough book to read” Casey said, putting his hands behind his head. “What?” Raph asked in a rough tone. “You always act super tough, and I mean I get why, but I don’t get why you ALWAYS have to be tough.” “Because he’s trying to impersonate Batman” Sam said in a low tone, to which she and Mikey then started imitating a bunch of their favorite fictional characters from different series, and then ranting about them, and then they totally were lost from the original conversation. Casey chuckled. “And I’m especially surprised you’re not as tough after dealing with those two.” Raph sighed. “I’ve always been the largest and the toughest out of my brothers. I felt like I was the largest for a reason you know. It made working out and getting exercise a lot easier for me. That and generally I’ve just always been this way. It’s just easier to shut others out, you know, being the way we are.” “So, you mean it’s easier to push people away because you’re mutants?” Casey asked with genuine curiosity since he was now actually really interested in this unexpected open side of Raph. Raph huffed. “People fear us, at least I’m pretty sure they would. So it’s easier to keep people at bay rather than be let everyone in, create peace, all that shit.” “But…you let April in, and then you let Sam and even Jay into your lives.” Raph nodded. “At first I was totally against bringing April to our lair, but I got over it since Sensei wanted to meet her. That’s when we learned that she was the reason we look like this now-” “And that’s because?” “When we were normal turtles, she saved us from a fire at TCRI caused by Eric Sachs. Once we learned this, we all wanted to give her the chance to get to know us, and she’s been family ever since. Sam…she’s her own unique case.” Casey noticed Raph roll his eyes as he took a deep breath. “So I guess the way she entered your lives was different from the way April did?” “Completely different. April found us, literally out of luck, and we handled that immediately. Sam found us because she used spy gear and then we had to chase after her for about a week. Then she fought us some in order to get away from us. Mikey’s the main reason she’s still around” he said as he turned around to see the two practicing back flips behind them. “Mikey was the only one that gave her a chance and accepted her apology for sneaking into and stealing from our home.” “She stole from you guys?! Sam did? That girl over their who’s basically glued to your brother’s side?” “She’s the one” Raph said with raised brows. “She stole a flash drive from Donnie that had literally every piece of information he has about us on it. Of course we got it back and everything was fine, but none of us wanted anything to do with her, except for Mikey who snuck out and met her the next day. The two became friends, we got into a scare when we couldn’t reach him during a serious mission one night, Leo decided that the safest way for all of us to keep an eye on the two of them together was if we allowed her into the lair, and the rest is history. She’s basically the quintuplet we never had.” “So that’s why you all look after her the same way you do to April? Because you see both of them as sisters?” Raph paused before he finally spoke again. He didn’t realize it, but Casey saw that Raph had closed his eyes during this pause. “We all made regretful decisions when we discovered that Sam was in the Foot clan. We didn’t know why she had joined or how long she had been a member, but our instincts lead us to make our decisions the night we found out even though we didn’t know or understand anything about her situation. We all made regretful choices that night, especially me. None of us can ever truly forget about it, and we all hate who we were when it all happened. Sometimes the four of us even have nightmares about what happened and sometimes they’re about what could have happened as well. So we all do our best to make sure it never happens again. We got to know her pretty well before the Foot fell, but we all became ten times closer afterwards.” “I understand all that, but I still don’t get the personality switch. You know, going from ‘I’m going to kick your ass’ to ‘tell your brother where you are cause he’ll get worried’.” Raph snickered at the man’s comparison. “To the average person, I’m always the ‘I’ll kick your ass guy’, but only people that truly care will stick around long enough to see that that’s not the only side of me. I said I’ve always grown up as the tough one, but I never said that’s the only thing I grew up as. April grew attached to us pretty quickly, and just as fast she started treating us like an older sister would treat her kid brothers. I love her but man she nags about us taking care of ourselves so freaking much. But, it’s also nice to have someone who cares so much, you know? Sam was basically the same way. Mikey became her best friend pretty much over night, but the rest of us were tough one her, but she never gave up. She stuck around and took the time to get to know each of us, and we all have things in common with her. They both know how to talk to us in ways when our other brothers can’t, and with Sam specifically, there are times where we go to her because we literally can’t go to anyone else, that or there have been times where everyone else shoots you down and she makes sure you’re not alone when it’s known you don’t want to be. She can sense things like that.” Casey smiled up at the large turtle. “So does that mean your brother’s know these sides to you as well?” “Oh yeah. They know not to joke about it though. Heh, they learned that early on when we were kids. But all four of us pretty much know EVERYTHING about the others, but like most guys, we just don’t bring light to it. But there are times where each of us may surprise the others. Sam’s lead Mikey to reveal some new sides to him we had never seen before.” Casey nodded his head. All of this information was so mind-blowing to him. Just like Raph had said, when you first saw him, you thought that he hated the world and everyone in it, yet here he was watching over April to make sure that she reached Vern safely, and then he was also harping on Sam to make sure that her brother knew of her whereabouts. He just never imagined that someone so rough looking could actually be so caring and genuine. For a second, he also thought it was interesting how Mikey seemed like an overly laid back person who never had any idea what was going on, yet he also became worried and protective when telling Sam to text Jay about what she was doing. “Well, they do say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Man did I judge these books the wrong way” he thought to himself.

“There’s April with Vern” Raph stated, pulling Casey away from his thoughts. He then saw the devilish grin on Raph’s face as April and Vern entered the alley way. “Alright. We’ll get this show on the road right after I talk to our friend the falcon.” Earlier his menacing voice was used more so in a playful way. But not this time, this time he sounded pissed. Raph began making his way down towards the ground, and as Casey followed, he wondered how much more interesting this night was going to get. Raph jumped down behind April and a startled Vern. A cocky and slightly annoyed smile formed on his face. “Well, well, well. If it ain’t the prince of the city.” Vern rolled his eyes. “Oh give me a break Raph. You’re the one who told me to take credit for Shredder in the first place. And now in light of the fact that he is who knows where, I’m starting to have profound regrets about this arrangement.” “Well we can always fix that” Sam said as she now leapt down and stood next to Raph. “Hey Vern.” “Hey Sam and um what do you mean by that exactly?” Sam smirked at him. “You were chosen because you’re one of the few people who knows everything about the Foot, the mutants, EVERYTHING, even though you had nothing to do with the fall of the clan last year, so people put their trust in you that you would cause a distraction so that all the people trying to hide from the Foot could do so. But if you’re not doing a good job at convincing the city it was you, we can always find someone else” she said with a confident smile. “Pshh, I can handle this I’m fine, totally fine” Vern said, not realizing just how timid he sounded. “Where’s Mikey?” Raph asked. “On his way, once he finishes his push-ups because he lost to me in arm wrestling.” Now it was Casey’s turn to talk. “Soooooo are we just gonna stand around and talk, or?” he asked, his arms crossed over his chest. Mikey now leapt down and was walking behind Vern. “Who’s this guy?” Vern asked, a slightly annoyed tone coming from him. Mikey walked up to Casey and then began to back away with his hands up. “Total loser bro. I mean, nice enough fella, if you like guys who can’t even bench press. Boom!” he said, throwing his arm down in front of him. “Heh, yeah. Or even fill out a t-shirt” Vern added, which also received a chuckle and a fist bump from Mikey. Usually Sam didn’t care when she heard other guys compete like this, and she didn’t care if the guys or anyone else showed their interest in April, but she knew that’s why these two dorks were making the comments that they were. It never really affected her before, but right now she wasn’t in the mood to hear it. So while they tried to impress a beautiful woman, she decided to get her phone and earphones out and started listening to who she deemed as some of the most gorgeous men in the universe, BTS. Everyone was so caught up in the main conversation that no one really noticed her take a few steps back and just chill against the wall nearby. April continued the main conversation. “Vern, he’s a part of the plan.” “What plan is that?” Vern asked, amused at all that was going on. “The plan to…break into police headquarters” April said nervously, biting her lip. “….What?” Vern displayed a ‘wtf’ face spot on. “We need to find Shredder.” “We? No, no. We’re not doing this.” Vern then started to just babble on. “Listen, I’d love to help you guys out but I can’t. I got, you know-” Mikey, who sensed that Vern was just messing around at this point, decided to do the same to him as he leaned in and started touching the key on the chain around the man’s neck. “Whoaaaaa, sweet key bro. Does it go to something?” Vern swatted his hand away. “No it’s just the key to the city” he said in a low and flustered voice. “Vern,” Casey cut in, “As the resident new guy in this band of freaky misfits, I say you should do yourself a favor, and just roll with it. Taken aback, Vern attempted to defend himself. “Hey new guy! All I do is roll with it. I’ve been rolling with it since you were wearing baby t-shirts because you were a baby-” Raph stepped up towards Vern so that he was practically in front of his face, or more so Vern was in front of Raph’s chest since the turtle towered over the human man. “Police Headquarters. 30 minutes. Put this flash drive in one of their computers. Do whatever you need so that the cops at the front desk don’t pay attention to April and Casey as they walk into the building.  Once they’re in you can leave. You better be there.” Raph forcefully handed the drive to Vern and then walked away before the man could say another word. Casey was the next to leave. “See you there” he said triumphantly. Mikey was the next to leave. He got close to Vern, and with a tantalizing voice and expression repeated the phrase “see you there.” “He just said that” Vern mumbled. He turned around to see April standing there with her arms up. “Don’t worry guys! I’ll get Sam and make sure she’s okay!” The three walking away stopped, looked around them to see that Sam wasn’t there, and then turned back towards April with wide eyes. Raph and Mikey grumbled, Raph more so because Sam was wasting time, and Mikey more so because his friend has just snuck away (not really) and didn’t say anything. Raph was about to storm over and grab her, but April put her hand up to signal that she would get Sam, knowing that if Raph was overly harsh then they would never even get to headquarters. April carefully maneuvered around a dancing Sam as she danced to DOPE and pulled an earphone from the girl’s ear. Sam faced her and then saw that no one else was there. “Oh, did we tell Vern that-” “Everything’s been taken care of” April kindly said with a smile. Sam pursed her lips and nodded. “Alright.” She then quickly ran over to Vern and stated in a low voice, “see you there” before running off and catching up with the guys as Mikey and Raph gently shoved her for doing what she did. “They already…said that, ugh” Vern mumbled in annoyance. “Good” April said as she walked by the man, “then that means you know where to be.”

Everyone started heading towards their spot for the plan, and soon after, the plan was set in motion. It was five minutes after midnight when Vern set the plan in motion as he entered the police station and distracted the cops while the turtles and Sam were in the vents using the tablet to set up the device that would connect to the flash drive Vern just inserted into the computer. April and Casey entered the building mere seconds later, but the group in the vents was able to get everything to connect just in time so that the two down below were given access into the building. April and Casey then made their way throughout the building to where the evidence room was while the three up top moved around the vents to get to the locker room. Raph and Mikey had to awkwardly but successfully maneuver themselves to snatch an access card from an officer who was taking off his gear from work that day, and then not even a minute later Mikey was dropping the card down through a vent opening to April who was standing below it. Sam was now using the tablet to gain access to the cameras in the evidence room to see if anyone was there and then to adjust them so that no one would ever know that Casey and April had ever been in the room. She sent a message to the two saying that it was clear and that the cameras had been altered, so April swiped the card to enter the room…but that’s when two Foot soldiers came rushing out, though they stopped for a second, stunned that someone had found them. Mikey gasped out loud. “What’s wrong?!” Raph called out. “Foot soldiers!” Mikey cried out. “What?! But they’re-” Sam cut herself off as her eyes went wide. “There was no proof…” “What?!” Raph bellowed. “I assumed they were gearing up to follow Shredder and the mutants to the museum, but they were really heading here instead” she stated in a worried tone, her hands now behind her neck while the three remained in the vents. “They just got past April and Casey, we need to move!” Mikey called out. “Sam stop pouting and get down there! Mikey and I will get to the exit and cut them off there” Raph bellowed, his voice even louder in the vents. “Are you crazy?! We can’t be seen!” Mikey shouted in reply. “That purple ooze is our last chance at being normal, and it’s about to walk right out the front door” he sternly said. “Be careful” Sam stated, though the guys probably didn’t hear with how loud they were as they moved quickly through the noisy vents. Sam pushed down the vent opening and quickly hoisted herself down to the ground. She pulled her hood up and luckily she already had her black surgical mask on, so she was all ready to go.

She saw 3 soldiers running away and she sped throughout the debris left behind from the soldiers to try and catch up to them. She caught up to the first soldier and whipped out her tonfa as she ran up and leapt from a desk and leapt over the soldier. She lightly hit his head since he had dodged as he heard her coming up from behind him, but she was able to quickly pivot on her left leg and kick him with her right. Now these fights with the Foot weren’t going to be as easy since Shredder had much more skilled ninjas working for him now. Sam had to quickly get back into position after she landed her kick because the soldier was already up and swinging at her. The soldier then pulled out his own set of tonfa and the two seemed to fight for what seemed like forever, neither being able to find a weakness in the other and always dodging or blocking the blow coming from the other. Sam thought she needed to change things up and ended up launching a rolling chair at him, and since this wasn’t something light or thin enough for the man to cut through, he had to dodge, and this left a split second opportunity for Sam to run up and slide to trip the man and then knee him in the face on his way down. “Man that took way longer than I expected it to” Sam thought to herself. “I need to hurry up and catch up with the others.” She wasn’t sure which direction she was supposed to go in since there were multiple different hallways within the building, but she assumed she was supposed to run in the direction of a huge crash that she had just heard. She had only taken a few steps before she decided to retreat and hide because she saw a bunch of police officers, including Jade and Chief Vincent, run by as well. Sam watched them as she carefully hid behind a toppled over desk. At times like this she was grateful that she was so much smaller than the turtles. The larger group then started running towards another large crash, but this time it sounded like glass shattering. “Oh shit…” Sam whispered to herself as she put her tonfa back into her bag and then started sprinting towards the crash. She felt a lump in her throat when she then heard Leo’s voice, and then right after that hearing multiple officers yelling at someone to put their hands up and freeze. She heard Raph’s voice to, and she knew that all four of them had to be in there. Why Leo and Donnie were here, she had no idea, but that wasn’t the point. Her friends were in danger and she needed to do something about it. “FREEZE” “DON’T MOVE” “Wait we’re the good guys!” “GET ON THE GROUND NOW!” Just as Sam slid in, her hood still up and her mask still on (thank god) the two turtles in the front had just begun to kneel down on the ground. She stood in front of the two. She was so focused on the terrified expressions of the officers in front of her that couldn’t sense the wide eyed looks of the four turtles behind her. Sam would be a liar if she said she wasn’t terrified right now as well. She had no plan, no idea what she was doing, but something in her boggled mind right now told her that standing between the turtles and the officers was the safest move, for her friends that is. “GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!” an officer yelled at her. Sam was about to announce her ex Foot code, hoping the situation when encountering the officers on the highway would repeat itself here. “Get down on the ground!” Jade shouted. Sam looked her right in the eye and she knew Jade recognized her, and the fact that she shouted this meant that no one else here knew about the code, so they all were really screwed right now. “You’re making a mistake-” “They’re monsters, she’s working with monsters!” one of the male officers shouted with furry. “We’re not monsters…” Mikey mumbled from behind.

Sam couldn’t explain what happened to her next. She never saw Mikey’s face, but his voice told her everything she needed to know. This officer hurt her best friend. This officer was scaring her best friend. This is something Mikey wouldn’t forget anytime soon, even if he did act like he was alright. This would leave an emotional scar on his heart and would emotionally affect how much he wanted to join the human world while also lowering his own personal morale. And the fact that Mikey was this hurt, this would then kill the rest of the brothers since they would feel like they couldn’t protect him. That and they all themselves would have to deal with their own personal struggles once they got back to the lair. Sam heard Raph sigh and knew that he was already beating himself up for allowing this to happen, especially on his watch when he finally had a chance to take charge. She could still lightly hear the sound of Donnie breathing which showed how nervous and scared he truly was as he lived out one of his greatest fears for both him and his entire family. Leo couldn’t be heard at all at the moment, but Sam knew that he was fuming on the inside, both for the fact that his brothers and she didn’t listen to his orders, but also because he wondered if he had handled things any differently then maybe none of this would be happening.

They couldn’t protect Mikey, and none of them could protect themselves at this very moment, so she would. She would keep them safe. She didn’t know what was happening to her or why, but she felt an energy build up and she knew that she just had to protect them. No one could see her smirk as she said in a low voice “monsters huh? I’ll show you a monster.” Her eyes went blue and black. Her face and voice revealed a sinister expression and tone that no one in the room had ever seen or hear before, and without her even moving, a huge gust of wind came from her body. All the officers in front of her were slammed against the wall behind them. “NO!” April and Casey were both shouting as they now ran into the room. “Guys you need to go now!” April yelled as she stood in front of Sam, who had now ceased the wind after hearing April and Casey’s voice. Leo and Donnie sensed that the officers next to each of them were stunned and frozen after what they had just seen, and they quickly knocked their weapons out of their hands before dashing through the now open window, since they had broken the glass minutes before. Raph swooped up Sam and practically threw the girl over his shoulder and he and Mikey chased after their other two brothers.

Eventually they reached a spot in the sewer where they placed Sam down to check her out, and her eyes had still been blue. Each of the turtles started saying all types of gibberish to get her to calm down, but when Mikey mumbled something to her, she finally returned to her normal state. Besides for this, nothing else was said until the group got back to the lair. Even after everything they had just seen at headquarters, they knew the real fight had yet to start.

 So I’ll admit that for the police headquarters scene, I didn’t put anywhere near as much detail about this part of the story as I usually do only because I start college classes again on Monday, and it’s like 2:30a.m. Sunday morning. I so badly wanted to get through the Out of the Shadows arc over winter break, but sadly I was not able to do that. :/ Don’t worry, THIS STORY IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE, but it will be while before I start updating again. If I’m lucky I can update throughout the semester, but it will barely be anything at all. But since this was a scene from the film, I more so quickly summarized it rather than explain in detail and add subplot to it since I wanted to get to more important stuff that happens later on in the chapter. Hopefully that’s okay with you guys >.<

Again I WILL BE BACK I PROMISE. If it means anything to those who might think “oh people say that and then they never return”, I said the same thing when the Fall semester started, and yet I came back and got some work uploaded within the month that I was off. I swear on my life when I say that I have SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much in store for this series, but sadly I must go on a writing break so that I can complete my course work.

For those that leave views/kudos or bookmark the story or leave comments, thank you all so very much. The fact that I can share all these thoughts that swim around in my head with others is such an incredible feeling, and I’d like to give a special shout out to LordoftheNerds97 for all your support. To anyone who has supported me and this story in any way, thank you all so much. It means the world to me to share this with you, so please be looking forward to more chapters in the future. Even if it takes me years to complete this entire series, the chapters will continue to be produced J  

[thenerdytomboynewb96]

Samantha Allan Park Ch. #16

Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's.

Chapter #16

*The next night, Friday June 13th*

“Whoa! What was that?!” Mikey shouted. “I don’t know, it looks like a metal tiger, but man that thing is creepy” Sam said as she looked up at the t.v. screen for a few seconds before looking back down at her notepad.   The two were sitting on the couch together. While Mikey was breaking in his new copy of Wolfenstein the New Order, Sam was sketching and jotting down notes and ideas about a new device that she wanted to work on. “According to Fergus it’s called a Hell Beast. Why aren’t you playing again?” he asked while still facing the screen, absorbed in the game. “Because I’m distracted.” “Aren’t video games supposed to be the distraction?” “Usually yes, but my mind is already wrapped up in something else, and once I reach a certain level of progress, then I can play. It’s like my own mental homework” she said with a smile. “So what’s the assignment teach?” “To find a way to be as strong as you guys without actually being as strong as you guys.”

“Can you explain that in English?” “I’ll try” she said with a laugh. “Obviously I can never actually be as physically strong as you and your brothers. Even if I became one of those super female body builders, there’s certain things that you guys both as mutants and as turtles can withstand that I as a regular human being cannot. Exhibit A. being what happened the other night.” “You mean when Donnie totally saved your ass?” he teased. “Psh, of course everyone saw him save me, but no one was around when I saved him. But yes I’m talking about that situation.” “How are your knees?” he asked, actually peeling his face away from the screen to show his concern. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing more than some cuts and bruises” she reassured. Mikey smiled and went back to playing his game. “Anyway,” Sam continued, “the point is, there’s nothing that I alone as a human being can do to obtain the same skills that you guys have, but if I’m successful in building this device, then maybe I can be a little more helpful than before.” “But you’re already helpful” he said with sincerity, and out of the corner of his eye he could see a smile creeping up on his friend’s face. “Thanks, but there’s always room for improvement.” “So what exactly is this new device?” “Pause the game and I’ll show you.” Mikey paused the game and leaned over to look at his friend’s notepad. “A glove? That’s it?” “Not just any type of glove” Sam said as she rolled her eyes, “it would be electronic. If I can create a perfect design and can find the right materials, I can use a tube within the glove to produce huge gusts of wind that could deflect or even move objects.” “Dude, that sounds awesome! But how would that even work?” Mikey asked in excitement. “Well, I would need some strong metal to form the sleeve, and I’d have to find a way to make it powerful enough to work. I might be able to program something more so with the wiring that if I throw a punch the battery then intensifies how much wind is pushed forward. I’d have to play around with different concepts to see what would and wouldn’t work.” “I guess you’ll be really busy then…” Mikey pouted. “Yeah and so will you” she responded, her face back in her notebook. “What?” he asked as he faced her, shock exposed in his expression. “Well I’m already working with you on fixing up our underground spaces, and I’m helping Donnie with the med wing and with the truck AND he’s helping me with the other vehicle that we don’t name out loud so the secret isn’t exposed. Basically I have a ton of projects that I’m already working on, so I’m going to need my best friend to help me out so that I can get this job done quicker” she said as she put her fist out for a fist bump. Mikey returned the gesture with a huge smile forming on his face. He loved that no matter what Sam did, she always found a way to include him IF he was interested, which the majority of the time he was since everything Sam did was usually either super cool or super fun. It was more so the things she did with his other brothers, like working out with Raph or meditating with Leo, where they went their separate ways for a bit and then eventually met back up to hangout again later. He really enjoyed the friendship they had formed over the past few months and not once did he ever regret meeting back up with her the night that they first hung out back in April.

 The two stayed the way they were on the couch for a while longer before Raph and Leo came over and joined them on the couch. “Alright Mikey, save your game now or I’m pulling the plug” Raph stated. “Aww c’mon bro! It’s up to me whether Fergus or Wyatt dies right now!” “5 minutes!” “Okay, okay, okay!” Sam chuckled and looked up at Raph. “Why the rush?” “The Knicks game is gonna be on t.v. soon and I’m not missing it. We missed the last game because there was a call on the police scanner about a robbery and we had to go take care of the huge group of idiots who decided to rob stores in the mall.” Sam gave him a confused look. “Wait, so you guys watch the game here?” Raph and Leo gave each other a funny look. “Yeah…why?” Leo asked. “I just assumed you guys watched from a cooler spot, you know, being ninjas in the shadows and all” she teased. Leo narrowed his eyes at her. “Please, enlighten us as to where a much cooler spot would be.” “Ohhhh the super totally awesome cool spot? You’re talking about THAT spot, right?” Mikey asked. “That one” she replied as she snapped and pointed her fingers at him. Mikey had finished saving his spot in the game and stood up once he got everything settled. “Leo we should totally go to Sam’s spot! It’s way better than watching the game on the couch I swear!” Leo looked back at Raph. The two shrugged at each other and looked back at Mikey. “Eh, why not” said Leo. “Seriously?” Sam asked in surprise. “Well, we do kind of owe you a thanks for saving our younger brother yesterday” Leo said. “Heh, but you can go have the fun of breaking him away from his nerd lab” Raph teased. “Psh, that’s easy.” Sam walked over towards Donnie’s lab and within thirty seconds he was walking through the door and over towards his brothers. “Hey guys, where we going?” The eldest two brothers both threw their hands up. “Aw come on!” Raph shouted. “How’d you do that?” Leo asked loudly. “I got connections to modern technology thanks to my brother and his nerd friends” Sam said as she gave the boy’s two thumbs up. “Figures” they both mumbled under their breath. “Guys the game starts soon so let’s gooooooooo!” Mikey shouted halfway down the hallway through the lair exit nearest to the t.v. “Um, we’re going to the Knick’s game?” Donnie asked in confusion. “Apparently Sam knows of this ‘super totally awesome cool’ spot” Raph said, mocking how his youngest brother made it sound. Mikey heard all of this of course, even though he was standing so far away. “You can mock me all you want but you’re going to flip when you see it!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

The group then followed Sam as they left through the exit of the lair that was closest to the t.v. and the rest of the living room area. While they all talked and joked around as they walked throughout different pathways of the sewers, Donnie was curious as to where Sam was leading all of them, so he used a small handheld GPS system to track where they were as they all walked and talked. Once they arrived at their destination, Donnie decided it was time to speak up. “Okay, I’m not heading any further until I get an explanation.” Sam turned towards him and gave him a fake smile. “What’s the problem now?” “Do you realize where we are?” “Yeah.” “Where are we?” “Close to Madison Square Garden’s Arena” she said with an innocent smile. “Yay!” Mikey cheered. “No not yay,” Leo cut in, “you know we can’t go the actual arena.” “Dude, where else can you get a better view of the game than from the actual arena?” Mikey asked. “I assumed maybe there was a place where they broadcasted the game on a larger screen, like near a park or something where we could still hide.” “If you would trust me then you’d know that you can still hide at the spot that I’m taking you to” Sam stated as she rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, I wouldn’t bring you guys here if you wouldn’t be able to hide and stay unseen.” Raph sighed. “We’re trusting you on this one kid, so don’t screw it up” he said as he flicked her forehead. She stood there and pursed her lips together. “Gee Raph, I’ve never heard words of encouragement quite like yours.” “Let’s go!” he shouted. “Okay, so here are the ground rules. When you reach the surface, move quickly and whoeverreachesthetopfirstwins!!!” she shouted with one breath as she swiftly pulled her board out, Mikey doing the same with his board, and the two rocketed off towards the surface. Mikey pushed open the manhole cover and within seconds the two were out of sight. “*sigh* why did we agree to go with them again?” Raph asked. “Because we’re proving we trust her…and we owe her for helping save Donnie” Leo muttered under his breath as he started climbing up the ladder to the surface. “Ahh, so this is all Donnie’s fault. You just needed to be saved, didn’t you?” Raph teased as he followed his brother up to the surface. “HE GRABBED ME BY THE FACE! So yes I needed saving!” Donnie called out as he then climbed up. When the three got to the surface, they realized they were in an alley behind a tall apartment building. They each quickly swung themselves up higher and higher along the railways along the side of the building. Sam and Mikey were standing there, pretending to look bored. “Took you long enough” Mikey mocked as Sam nodded beside him. Leo looked around and saw that they were on top of an apartment building that was a bit taller and wasn’t that far away in distance from the top of the arena. He then paused as he realized that the distance didn’t seem that far away FOR HIM to run and leap onto the arena’s roof, but there’s no way that Sam could have made that jump, even for her. “Don’t worry Fearless, I only recently started sneaking in this way” she said. “Wait, how did you know-” “There’s this thing called facial expressions, and yours are extremely obvious and totally give away what you’re thinking” she smirked. “So what was your old method?” “Fake I.D.’s that said I was backstage staff.” “Backstage?” Raph asked. “Isn’t that term used for concerts?” “Yeah, why else would I come here?” She asked. “To watch the basketball game, you know, the reason we’re here now.” Sam stopped and stared at him. “Oh hey, funny thing, I don’t know shit about basketball.” “WHAT?!” the three oldest brothers shouted. “Why are you even here then?” Raph asked. Sam then pulled on Mikey’ arm so that he was now standing in a tilted stance and leaning towards her. He smiled while Sam gave Raph a look that said ‘duh.’ “We’re moving!” Donnie shouted. Leo and Donnie ran across the rooftop and leaped and rolled onto the rooftop of the arena. Raph soon followed with Mikey and Sam running and then leaping onto their boards which they used to travel down onto the rooftop. Mikey then lead the way as he ran over and opened up a curved vent. “Come on guys! We’re going to miss the beginning of the game!” Sam took the lead as she ran forward and leaped into the opening with Mikey right behind her, and then the rest of the brothers behind him. Leo, Raph, and Donnie looked around at the room they were in. They were surrounded by metal beams above them, and tons of different grated walkways below them. They looked forward to see Sam and Mikey racing forward along the walkways until the two jumped and as they traveled downwards, the two vanished. The three brothers then ran after them and stopped when they reached the hole that the other two had jumped through. As they looked down the hole with fear and concern their expressions soon switched from these feelings to confusion. All they could see was the game getting set up down below. It wasn’t until the saw Mikey waving his hands that they knew all was alright. They each carefully jumped down and their jaws dropped when they realized where they were. “Whoaaa!” Donnie shouted. “No way!” Leo exclaimed with a smile. “The jumbo tron?!” Raph shouted.” How did you find out about this?” “Sam said she would sneak up here for different concerts, so when I said that I would love to see a basketball game in person, we worked together to figure out how to get us both in here. That’s when we found that building we were just at and coordinated how to get from there to here and vice versa.” “I have to admit, this is pretty incredible” Leo said as he smiled at the duo. “THE GAME’S STARTING!” Donnie shouted.

Sam thought it was interesting that all four of the brothers were so absorbed in the game and fans of the sport. She was more so shocked that they were all fans of the exact same sport. She could easily see Raph and Mikey being fans of basketball, but she was a tiny bit surprised that Leo was so engaged as well. He seemed to like working out and at times he would playfully get rough with his brothers, but overall he usually seemed to prefer activities that were much calmer where he was alone, so it was a bit surprising to Sam when Leo was cheering just as loud as his crazy younger two brothers. She was even more shocked to hear Donnie cheering and act more energetic then any of them. Sam knew better than to judge a book by its cover, but Donnie never talked about sports, unless he did so when she just wasn’t around. He was always working on a project or jotting things down wherever he could, (there were a few times she caught him writing on the walls because something came to his mind and he had nothing to write on) or playing videogames like the techy nerd that he was, so she found this new behavior of his at the arena both shocking and amusing. She enjoyed seeing all four of the brothers let loose and have fun, especially since she was so used to seeing them act super serious because they were either training or preparing to go on patrol. She was so used to seeing them act so serious and quiet, so she loved seeing them now act so crazy and loud.

Sam looked back to the game and saw one of the players from the Knicks team run up to the 3 point line, dribble and dodge around the opposing player, and shoot the ball. The crowd went wild when the ball swished straight through the net. “Sam who’s that?” Mikey asked, quizzing the girl. She paused for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders. “Ughhh Sam! His last name is Smith. Based on where he threw the ball, which Smith is he? And don’t tell me you forgot there’s two!” “Ummmmm, let’s see. He took a shot near the 3 point line which means he’s probably a shooting guard, so he’s…J.R. Smith!” she said, raising her eye brows in hope that she was right. “Before I can congratulate you…who’s the other Smith and what does he play?” Mikey asked as he crossed him arms. Sam closed her eyes as she tried to think of the player she was asked about. “Jason Smith…and he plays on the 5 spot on the diagram… so he plays center.” “Aye!!!” the four said, congratulating her. “That’s my girl!” Mikey said as he pat her on the back. “I knew you could do it.” Sam laughed. “I never said I couldn’t do it, I just said that I have a ton of stuff I’m working on so forgive me if it takes longer than usual for me to pick up facts and stats on the sport.” “So what kept you away from basketball?” Leo asked. “Nothing kept me away, I just never got into it. My parents always watched soccer, so my siblings and I started watching soccer, and then when I was in 5th grade I started playing for the first time and I got hooked and I started taking it seriously.” “Well, welcome to the club” Raph said with a smile as he playfully nudged her.

The group of five continued to watch and cheer as the game went on. None of them would ever admit it, but something as simple as watching the game slowly began bringing the group even closer together. This combined with the mix of how Sam had all of their backs the night previous and vice versa really strengthened the trusting bond that each of them was slowly building with Sam. This didn’t mean that the oldest three trusted the girl 110% just yet though. In fact, there were still a few things that they wanted to know about her that they had yet to learn about. But because their youngest brother seemed to be learning a lot more about her, specifically her past, much quicker than the rest of them were, they decided to continue using the more peaceful approach and hoped that she would start opening up to them as they also slowly began opening up to her, even though they would never admit it.

*Wednesday June 18th, nighttime in the sewers*

*Sam POV*

She couldn’t believe it. It had been a little over two weeks but the motorcycle was almost complete. Luckily Donnie had been a huge help, and Mikey had actually been much more helpful than she expected. Mikey enjoyed scavenging for parts that she needed as much as Donnie enjoyed helping put the pieces where they belonged. Now that all the hard work was done, Sam just needed to finish putting a fresh coat of paint on the vehicle so that no one could ever tell that it had been purchased so cheaply and full of dents. She was so busy at work that she didn’t realize that the other brothers had left the lair until she went to and ask Mikey and Donnie for their opinions on the paint job. When she had walked back from their hiding spot in one of the smaller open areas throughout the sewer and had arrived back at the lair, she was confused when she didn’t see anyone but Splinter meditating on the raised circular piece near the living room.

“Hey Sensei, where did everybody go?” she asked as she walked over towards him. “Ah Samantha, I didn’t realize you were here” he said with a smile on his face. “Yeah, I was working on something in another space in the sewer, so technically I was and wasn’t here, hehe.” “I see. You and the boys have all been busy lately. I appreciate you looking after them in ways that only you can.” She tilted her head to the side. “Huh?” He chuckled. “You’ve been teaching Leonardo to cook, and now even Raphael has been showing interest in the activity. You’ve given Donatello a lending hand in projects that no one else knows how to help him with. You’re able to keep up with the duration of Raphael’s workout routines whereas everyone else gets bored of doing the same thing day in and day out, and when the others are occupied or even just want some relaxing time, you enjoy participating in the same activities as Michelangelo.” Sam rubbed the back of her head. She was embarrassed, but in a good way. “Gee Sensei, I hadn’t really noticed any of that.” He shook his head at her. “Sam, do you really think you can lie like that to a wise old rat?” She responded while rocking back and forth on her feet. “Leeeeeetttt’s just keep it to ourselves that I’ve noticed the same things you have, okay? Okay!” she said as she gave him two thumbs up, leading the rat to laugh at her goofiness. “Anyway, did you happen to see where they all went?” “Ah, right! There was an alert on the police scanner saying that a gang was robbing an electronics store downtown, so the boys went on their way.” “WITHOUT ME?!” she shouted. “I’m sorry my child, but they didn’t know where you were. Well Michelangelo did, but Donatello said that there wasn’t time to reach you and that they needed to move quickly in order to catch the robbers.” “Hmph, well lucky for me I have a new set of wheels” she said as she rubbed her hands together. “Should I be concerned?” Splinter asked as he gave the girl a serious look. “Don’t worry Sensei, it’s nothing to worry about. I just have a surprise for Raph that he’ll be receiving sooner than expected.”

And with that she ran back towards where she was working on the motorcycle, threw on a helmet and elbow and knee pads, and rode away down the alley ways of the sewers.

*Turtles POV*

He felt bad about having to leave her behind, but if it meant possibly saving a life or putting a criminal behind bars, then they needed to move fast. Donnie knew where Sam was, and he knew that his younger brother was upset that they couldn’t go chase after her, but time was of the essence and they needed to leave now. The four brothers quickly gathered whatever they thought they might need and they jumped into the somewhat empty truck that Donnie was still working on and they sped away out of the sewers.

“So what’s the situation?” Raph asked as he walked around the back of the van. “An electronics store was robbed downtown” Donnie replied. “So this shouldn’t be too tough then, right?” “I’m not sure, since this gang didn’t just rob any ordinary electronics store.” “I don’t get it” Mikey chimed in while he sat on a couch against a wall in the van. “It’s not like this is just an Apple store where it’s filled with phones and computers. This building is also used for building and testing new technological devices that can be used for a variety of different situations. They’re currently working on a new hand held heart rate monitor, and I’m sure that’s what the thieves are aiming to take.” “Why would they want a heart rate monitor?” Leo asked from the passenger’s seat. “Devices like that are used by a variety of people. Not only can they help protect athletes from over working themselves, but they can also help weight loss patients maintain regular exercise and a sustainable dietary regimen, and they can also help injury rehabilitation patients recovering from an injury or an illness, or a cardiac incident, ensure that their gradual return to full strength and endurance proceeds safely and steadily. Basically, it can help many people that seriously need to monitor their heart rate by allowing them to constantly check it and make sure that they’re alright, and these gang members probably know how expensive they are, especially since this is the latest prototype.”

Just as those final words left his lips, they turned down a corner and saw a few cars start speeding away from the electronics store. Donnie put his foot on the gas and tried to catch up to them, trying his best to watch out for any other traffic nearby. Luckily, this store happened to be on a street with more local shops which meant that by this time of night, most were all closed and the streets around this area were empty. “Is it only these two cars?” Raph asked as he walked up and now stood behind the space between the driver and passenger seat. “It looks like it” Donnie replied. “Alright Leo, let’s take these two out” Raph said as he turned his head towards his older brother. Leo smiled and nodded as he stood up. “You take care of the car closest to us. Mikey will help me with the one that’s further ahead.” Raph nodded as Leo turned towards Mikey. “Alright Mikey, you’ve been practicing with that dart device, right?” “You know it bro! My aim has improved a lot!” “I’m going to go get it set up on top the van, so make sure that you’re ready to fire, got it?” “Let’s do this!” “That device is in a box on the bottom shelf in the back” Donnie cut in as he nodded his head towards the back of the van. “You’re good to go Raph, keep your phone on you so we can communicate” Leo said. “Don’t worry, I got this. Be back soon.” Raph said as he made sure his shell cell was safely fastened in the pouch on his chest strap. He then walked towards the back of the van, threw open the doors, and swung himself onto the top of the van. Once he was able to maintain his balance, he ran across the top of the van and leaped off of it and onto the car in front of him. His weight caused the roof of the car to cave in some and made the car swerve a bit. Raph waited another minute or so until the car was close to an alley. He then shoved his arm through the roof and grabbed ahold of the steering wheel, turning the car into the alley where it crashed into a dumpster.

Meanwhile, Leo and Mikey were getting ready for their chance to attack as well. Leo was starting up a device that was about the height of a 29 inch flat screen television, but it was thicker like a microwave. At the front of the device was a nozzle that could be moved with a controller as to where to aim the darts that were inside the device. Donnie had made the device in case they would ever need to attack an enemy from a far off distance (he had been working on it ever since he was a kid, but he could only find so many materials). Leo would get the device in position, and Mikey had been practicing how to use the controller to set up the nozzle in the perfect direction to shoot the darts. “You ready?” Leo asked as he turned towards Mikey. “Let’s do this bro!” Mikey cheered. And with that, Leo swung himself up onto the roof of the car the same way Raph recently had. Once he was able to maintain his balance, he called down to Mikey, who then helped swing and toss the device up to Leo on the roof. Leo crouched down and laid on his chest as he slowly crawled forward on the top of the truck, trying to get as close as he could to the front of the vehicle so that the nozzle would have a clear shot when it needed to be fired. “Alright Mikey, whenever you’re ready” Leo said into his shell cell which was fastened to a holder on his chest strap. “Just a few more seconds…” Mikey said as he looked down at the controller. On the controller were a few joy sticks that controlled the direction and things of that such for the nozzle’s aim, and also a screen that was connected to a camera on the device that allowed Mikey to see what direction and also what object he would be shooting at. He tried his best to get a clear and solid aim and then *schwoop.* Mikey pressed the button and a dart came flying out from the nozzle and pierced its way into the enemy cars tire. The car swerved some and then crashed into a wall.

Donnie slowed the truck down as they creeped up to where the car had crashed. “We need to start picking up the pace guys. I’m sure that someone will have called the cops by now. Let’s start tying them up Mikey” Leo said after he had returned to the inside of the car and was now putting the device and its controller back where he had found them. “Wait!” Donnie called out. “There’s movement behind us!” “Wait, what? We took out both cars!” Mikey called as he and Leo both looked out the open back doors. “Raph, where are you?” Leo said as he spoke into his shell cell. “I’m up on a rooftop about a street away from where you are. I see some guys getting onto motorcycles!” “They must have hid back while we chased their men in the cars, I’m sure those guys are hiding whatever they went to steal” Leo said with a serious and intense tone. “Wait…whoa no way!” “Raph what’s wrong?” “Where the hell did she get that?!” “No way…” Donnie mumbled. “She’s not riding it…” “WHAT?!” Leo hollered. Before anyone could answer him, he heard the revving of the motorcycles from way down the other end of the street. There were three motorcycles driving away from them, but there was one coming down the street that was heading in their direction. He couldn’t see the face of the person who was heading in their direction because they had a helmet on, but he knew that body size and the slim yet muscular figure that was riding the bike, that and he had seen the same navy blue form fitting track pants and navy blue and maroon sweatshirt earlier that day. “How did Sam get that?” Leo groaned. “No time to talk! Hold on tight!” Donnie called out as he hit the gas and made a U-turn as quickly as he could. As they sped down the roadway, they saw Sam on her motorcycle as she sped towards the robbers. She grabbed what looked like one of her tonfa from the pocket on the side of the backpack she was wearing and swung in out to hit the driver of the opposing motorcycle head on. One of the other two motorcycles (the driver seemed to have a small suitcase tucked in front of him) turned around and sped down a separate roadway, but the other one still drove towards Sam. This time she would be attacking with her left arm, but in this position it was a bit difficult, especially since she had never driven a motorcycle before and barely knew how to maintain control of the vehicle alone. She knew she wouldn’t be able to land a solid hit, so instead she tilted the bike back as both she and it slid forward. She was able to angle the vehicle so that it would slide diagonally some and then collide with the oncoming motorcycle, and as it did, she continued to slide forward. She smiled under her helmet as she mentally thanked herself for wearing the gloves, knee pads, and elbow pads that she was wearing. She didn’t care what teasing might come from the others later, right now these protections were really helping her out, even though the slide was still very uncomfortable and put an incredible amount of pressure on her knees and arms.  

Once she had come to a complete stop, she heard a thud come from behind her and she quickly turned over, but it was just Raph who had climbed down and leaped off at the midway point of the building behind her. “Slick, very slick” he teased as he held his hand out to her. “Yeah whatever, I did what I had to…plus that’s also all I could really do” she said as she was pulled off the ground. “Regardless, it worked” Raph said with a smile as he turned away. Sam looked in the same direction that Raph had and to her surprise Leo and Mikey had somehow run past her and were already tying and piling up the robbers they had just stopped. “Where’s Donnie?” she asked. “Chasing the last guy, hopefully the last” Leo responded. “Heh, did you have a nice trip?” Mikey asked as he walked back over. Sam squinted her eyes at him. “I didn’t trip…I thought the ground needed a hug...” “And how did that go?” “Not well, our relationship is really rocky” she replied as the two laughed at how stupid their jokes were. “Guys,” Leo cut in, “Donnie said the guy is circling around, so he’ll be passing by soon.” “I’m using the new ride” Raph said as he walked the motorcycle over to where they were standing. “Fine. Mikey, Sam, let’s go.” Sam shrugged her shoulders. “Lead the way fearless leader.” Raph walked the vehicle back some so that it was hiding in the shadows along the side of the building. This way, if he needed to move quickly, the other biker wouldn’t see him coming. Leo led the way up the building by grabbing onto the beams of the metal stairways along the outside of the building and swinging himself up to the next set above until within a few seconds he reached the roof of the building. He sensed movement behind him and assumed that it was Mikey who was trailing behind, and he also assumed that Sam was probably on his back and holding onto his shoulders, but it was both of them that had moved up the side of the building the same way that he had. He was a bit shocked and wondered if there was anything that Sam couldn’t do. She continued to prove that she could do pretty much anything when she ran over to the opposite ledge and said “I see the truck, let’s go!” and then ran along the ledge of the roof, dived forward, and tucked and rolled onto the top of the truck. Mikey wasn’t far behind her since he wanted to make sure he was close by in case something were to go wrong. Then, Leo followed behind the other two, and once he safely landed on the top of the truck, he crawled over to pull open the doors. He then made sure that everyone was safely inside before slamming them shut behind him. “Leo!” Donnie called out, “while chasing this guy I was able to connect to whatever station he’s using with whatever device he has up there to communicate with an outside source. A helicopter will be here any minute to pick him up. He has a suitcase with the latest prototypes of the new heart rate monitors. We need to act quickly.” Leo paused as he tried to come up with a quick plan. “Mikey, you think you can take another shot?” “What if he drops them?” Sam asked. “Some people might really need those devices to monitor whatever heart condition they may have…” “What are you thinking?” Leo asked. “I’ve seen you guys practice with that device back there, you aim and Mikey shoots. That means you need someone to run up and catch that suitcase. Once that dart kicks in, and depending on which type of darts Donnie supplied, those chemicals will knock that guy out fast.” “What do you have to say about that Raph?” Leo asked as he looked down at his shell cell on his chest strap. “Whatever you do, I got your back down here Sam.” Everyone else in the truck nodded towards one another, and they quickly worked together to form a plan. Minutes later, Leo pushed open the back doors and helped Sam get settled on the roof of the vehicle, and then he also climbed up with the device tucked under his arm. He turned his head to confirm that the revving he heard behind him was Raph. Once he saw that it was his brother who was trailing behind them, he then crawled forward and started to get the device set up in place. He then turned to make sure that Sam was still alright. He saw that her platform was still suctioned cupped to the roof and that the thick lanyard was connected by the snap hooks to both her nylon webbing chest harness and the suction cupped platform. As Leo continued to get the device set up, he heard a helicopter get closer and closer to where they were driving. The next thing he knew, it was over top of the biker, and a harness was being lowered by a thick lanyard cable. The motorcyclist carefully stood up on his bike and jumped, hooking his right arm through one of the two loops of the harness, and he clung on to this lanyard cable as best as he could as he was slowly lifted off the ground, the suitcase tucked under his left arm. “Mikey, you have one shot! Raph, get ready on the side!” Leo called out. Within a couple seconds, a dart was shot from the device, and it pierced the shoulder of the man in the air. Just like Sam predicted, the suitcase slowly started to slip out from under the man’s arm. Sam stood up and took a few steps back. Once she saw that Raph was beside the truck, she then ran forward (making sure to unhook her harness of course) and leaped as far forward as she could. Donnie slammed on the breaks so that the sudden motion would send Sam flying even further forward. This plan worked, and Sam was able to grab onto the falling suitcase. As she then fell back down to the earth, Raph sped up as fast as he could so that he could try to catch her. This sort of worked, but Sam only had one arm available to try and grab onto Raph, so she slipped a bit and fell to his right some. Luckily she was wearing her knee pads and used them to skid across the concrete for a few seconds, her left arm around Raph and her right clinging onto the suitcase. Raph was able to grab onto her and quickly pulled her back up. As she was pulled up, she swung her left leg around so that she was now sitting behind Raph.

The helicopter flew off with the man still dangling in the air, and everyone could finally catch their breath. Raph turned the motorcycle around and rode back towards where the truck had stopped. He parked the vehicle and helped Sam off. “You both okay?” Leo asked as he walked around from the back of the truck. “Ugh, that put butterflies in my stomach” Mikey complained. “You been eating caterpillars?” Sam teased. Mikey playfully shoved her shoulder. “Jerk, don’t make fun of me for being worried.” “What were you worried about? Raph had my back!” she said as she faced Raph with a huge smile. He gave her a more serious look in return. “I’d agree, if you knew how to fall correctly.” “I’m sorry, but what bullshit is this?” she asked. “You fell to the side, how do you fall to the side? How did you not fall straight down?” “I did fall straight down! I only had one free arm! So I couldn’t hold on very well and then slid to the slide!” “Then you need to learn how to grab onto people better” he mocked as Sam rolled her eyes in return. “So,” he began, “how much longer until you were going to let me see this?” he asked as he looked back at the motorcycle behind him. “A few more days. I was painting it today…and of course I let it slide across the ground…” “How long have you had it?” “I dunno, hey Donnie! When did I first show this to you?” Donnie walked past the front of the truck after exiting from the driver’s seat. “Umm, it’s been a little more than a couple of weeks I believe.” “Wait, you did this?” Leo asked as he looked at Sam. “Well, I mean Donnie and Mikey-” “NOPE!” Mikey said as he wrapped his arm around Sam’s shoulder and covered her mouth with his hand. “She’ll never admit it, but this was all her idea and she did 99% of the work!” Donnie nodded with a smile. “He’s right, she helped find a lot of the parts and she’s been working hard on it. I was just an aide on this one.” Raph nodded and raised his eyebrows in surprise, while Leo shook his head and smiled. “Is there anything you can’t do? Anything you’re afraid of?” Leo asked. Sam finally was able to rip Mikey’s hand from her mouth. “NOTHING-” “Heights, bugs, the dark-” “I’m not afraid of the dark!...I get nervous when I hear creepy noises when it’s pitch black…or if the lights go out and I don’t know why…” “So you’re afraid of heights?” Donnie asked in a mocking tone. “Only when it’s a straight drop down, as in there’s nothing ANYWHERE to land on or grab onto. Whatever I’m walking on or hanging from also determines how scared I am.” “Ahh, got it. And bugs?” “AS LONG AS THEY’RE NOWHERE NEAR ME THEN I’M GOOD! I’LL BE CALM!” “Secrets out! We know how to mess with Sam now” Raph said as he nudged Leo’s shoulder. The two brother’s laughed as they walked towards the motorcycle and towards the passenger’s seat of the truck. “Wait, what do you mean?” Sam asked, failing to stay calm as she feared of what those two might do now that they knew what freaked her out more than anything. “Tell me what that means!” she shouted as she climbed up the side and hung onto the door handle on the outside of the passenger door. “Nothing Sam, nothing at all” Leo replied as he locked the door and Donnie slowly began to pull away. Sam heard the motorcycle start up and as she jumped down from the side door she stood and turned toward Raph. “What does that mean?!” “Nothing Sam” Raph replied as he rode past her and ahead of the truck. The truck then followed behind the motorcycle, and Mikey threw open the back doors and held his hand out. “Come on Sam!” Sam quickly jogged over and grabbed his hand as he pulled her into the back of the truck. After he closed the doors, Mikey pulled Sam back and whispered in her ear. She hoped to hear something like ‘don’t worry, they would never do anything like that to you,’ but it made her even happier when he whispered “don’t worry, do you think I’d ever let them do something like that to you?” Sam turned towards him and put her fist out. “Cowabunga” she whispered. He returned the gesture and whispered “Booyakasha.”

 *Friday June 20th, Later in the Evening*

“We got here earlier than expected” Donnie said as he led the way across the walkways hidden within the ceiling. “She said that depending on how many or if any stoppages occur that it can change the starting time of their games, so I wanted to make sure we got here a few minutes earlier in case the game started sooner than expected” Leo said as he followed behind. “You see her team yet Mikey?” “I’m looking, but I don’t see anyone that matches the team pictures.”

All day Sam had been practicing with her soccer team for a club tournament game that they would be playing that night. It was a smaller tournament that only included local club teams, which meant that the location was much closer to home than most of the teams tournaments. Tonight was the last night for this tournament, (the tournament had gone on for a few weekends rather than having multiple games in one day) and knowing this, the guys decided that they would surprise her by watching her play. The night before Mikey had asked about where the game was being played, but Sam never would have guessed that they’d come and watch her. Once he had the info he needed, Mikey talked to Donnie who then coordinated the best underground route that would allow them to sneak into the arena. Though the tournament was small, the indoor arena was not. There were tons and tons of rooms that could be used for games and practices for multiple different sports, so it was difficult for the guys to figure out which field Sam was playing on.

“Hey, I see some teams over here, any of them look familiar?” Raph asked as he looked down at a field where two female teams were about to play each other. Mikey took a quick glance and snickered. “Nope, not them” he said as he quickly turned away. “Dude you didn’t even look!” Raph snapped. “Trust me I know.” Mikey walked further down the walkway they were on when finally he spotted Sam. “Found her!” The other three brother’s walked over towards Mikey and looked at the field below. “Mikey, these are boy’s teams! Why would Sam be down there?” Raph barked. “Because I have the coolest best friend ever” Mikey replied with a cunning smile. “He’s right, there she is Raph!” Donnie said as he pointed to a person in the bottom right corner of the field. Raph was astonished, but also curious as he stared at the girl in her new look. Her hair was pulled back in a pony-tail and her bangs were pushed back with a headband as she wore her black and red uniform, a zig zag going down the entire outfit so that one entire half of the outfit was red and the other black.

Just then, a whistle tweeted, and the game began. Sam slowly started moving forward towards the yellow and blue bearing players on the opposing team. Even though she was on defense she was constantly moving around to different parts of the field. A few minutes after the game started, one of her teammates dropped the ball back down the field to the halfway line on her side of the field. Sam ran to the ball and slowly but steadily started to dribble the ball, looking for any open teammates. She saw that no one was open, but with one quick chop she could run down the middle. She ran up to the opposing player, quickly chopped the ball, and dribbled down towards the goal. Within seconds there was someone running right next to her, so she quickly pulled the ball back and passed to some open space near the right wing. As soon as the ball left her foot, her teammate darted towards the open space and took a shot. The ball was shot just a little too high and it bounced off the top of the board. “Ahhh, just a little lower and she would have had another assist!” Mikey cried. Just then the goalie threw the ball back down the field and Sam sprinted to get back. There was already someone covering her position, but Sam went to aide him. She helped corner in the opposing player until he lost his footing on the ball. The red and black bearing player quickly passed the ball to Sam ran back a few steps, and when Sam got the ball she quickly bounced it off the wall around the opposing player and back to her teammate who ran the ball back up field. “She’s fast, I’m surprised she’s a defender” Leo said. “There’s a few reasons,” Mikey replied, “one of the original reasons was that no one ever wanted to play defense because that’s not the scoring position, so she got tons of playing time in the position that no one wanted. The other reason is because of something her coach told her.” “And that something would be?” “He said that scouts don’t always look for the players that score the goals, but rather they look for the players who are able to set up the people who do score. They look for people who can get the ball to that perfect spot so that the forwards can get their goals. He told her that you truly look your best when you’re making someone else look good.” “Heh, so she’s looking for the best strategy even when it comes to sports” Donnie chuckled.

At the 20 minute mark, the opposing team scored a goal, and at the 40 minute mark, Sam’s team scored a goal. By half time the game was still tied at 1-1. The fast pace of the game continued as soon as the second half started. Sam kept pushing up more and more. There were multiple times where she had to sprint back in order to mark her opposing player and prevent them from scoring, but she always made it back just in time to block their shot, or to stick with them long enough to make them drop the ball back down to the other half of the field. Around the 25 minute mark of the second half, Sam blocked a shot taken from an opposing player, sending the ball into the air above the two of them. They both crouched down, but Sam was able to jumper higher than the boy, and she won the head ball and was able to send it to one of her teammates nearby. “Dang, she sure can keep up with these guys” Raph said in amazement. “She has to, she’s not allowed to play on the girls team” Mikey responded. “Wait, what?” “Yeah, apparently she started getting to rough when playing other girls, and she showed me video clips of other club teams around the country. Girls teams can have some tough and rude players, but she was going overboard even with them, so they recommended her play for a boys team.”

Just then, Sam was moving around from open space to open space on the field. She waited for her teammate to take a shot on goal, and continued to run forward even after he did so. The shot was just a hair to high, but after the ball had quickly bounced off the top board of the goal, Sam was already sprinting towards the goal. She quickly ran up and kicked the ball towards the bottom left corner of the goal while the goalie was still in the air from trying to block that last shot. The buzzard sounded from her scoring the goal and people cheered from the stands. “THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND!” Mikey shouted. “Geez she’s fast!” Donnie exclaimed with a smile on his face. The game continued on, and the boys were constantly amazed at how Sam was able to hold her all. She was able to sprint to the ball and catch up with anyone on the field, and not only that, but she had incredible speed when it came to her footwork with the ball as well. She was great at improvising in the moment and just moving the ball around in whatever way she needed to. She was also very aggressive and anytime a boy pushed her, she would push back twice as hard. She wasn’t perfect of course and there were times where she was beat to the ball or when the opposing person was able to cut around her, but the majority of the time the plays were in her favor. By the 40 minute mark the other team had scored once again and the score was tied 2-2. By this point in the game, Sam was playing the sweeper position rather than a defensive wing like she had been the rest of the game. “Why are they keeping her so far back? She should be up by the other goal!” Raph complained. “I agree, she’s fast enough to dribble around these guys, and she’s been making great short and quick passes when enclosed in crowded spaces like the opposing team’s penalty box is right now” Leo added. “Yeah but you have to remember, her mindset is to do whatever it takes to make sure that the ball is staying down at the other end of the field. So while her other 4 teammates are up at the other half of the field, if the ball gets pushed back to her, she can quickly just get it back up to the other half of the field. They constantly practice scenarios like this, especially her and that guy up their named Thomas” Mikey replied as he pointed to a tall boy with brown eyes and short brown hair. “He’s usually the main forward who always stays on the upper half of the field unless a penalty kick is being taken against his team.” Right after Mikey said this, an opposing player had cut around the upper defender who was much further up the field and was quickly dribbling towards the goal. Sam ran at an angle so that it would be harder for him to cut around her. As he kept trying to move the ball in a different direction, Sam was bouncing on her feet and moving quickly so that every time he went to move to the side or diagonally, she was always there to block the shot. She did this long enough for the second defender to come over and aide her in the same way that she had earlier, except this time she was about two steps ahead and closer towards the other goal. She carefully made a short pass off the wall to her assisting defender, who then made another short diagonal pass to some open space beside her. She quickly got the ball, made one quick cut around the offender who had raced back to her spot, and then kicked the ball high into the air. It soared all the way down to the other end of the field to where Thomas was standing. It bounced once and Thomas took a shot. The kick was hard and solid and the ball moved so quickly that those watching could barely even see it. Within that split second, the ball slammed against the wall and the third and final goal was made. The stands roared with applause at the incredible goal that was scored, but the players on both teams were quickly getting back in position. Just as quickly as the goal was scored, the blue and yellow team were sprinting down towards the red and black bearing team’s goal. All 5 players from both teams were right on top of each other in the small space. Sam was marking the player who currently had the ball, and it was obvious that he was not happy that his team was losing. Full of anger and frustration, he got his elbow and jabbed Sam in the stomach. She took a step back and held her stomach, but quickly tried to get back in position after realizing what this one step had just done. The boy took a shot, but luckily the ball went flying into the net above. People were booing since the ref hadn’t blown his whistle, but Sam was able to get her revenge. As soon as that same player got the ball seconds later, she tailed him. She nodded to her other teammates and they understood what she was doing with that simple gesture. One of the offensive players began playing more defensively, and Sam continued to tail the opposing player. Even when he didn’t have the ball, she continued to mark him all over the field. Every time one of his teammates went to pass to him, she was right there to block his shots or to kick the ball away from him. With 30 seconds left, she intercepted another pass sent to him and began to dribble the ball towards the opposing goal. Once again, the male player attacked her, only this time he obviously pushed her down. Sam slid across the turf and once again there were tons of boo’s coming from the stands. “OH COME ON!” Leo shouted! “GEEZ REF! DO YOUR JOB!” Raph exclaimed. “Mikey, is this happening because of why I think it is?” Donnie asked. “If it’s a gender thing then yes. She told me that this happens at least once a game, since the refs know they’ll get criticized if they constantly give her pk’s because people will assume it’s because she’s a girl. So even if guys purposefully push her or trip her, the ref’s won’t do a thing about it. She said that one time, there was this guy who looked at the ref to make sure he wasn’t looking, and then he elbowed her in the nose.” “SERIOUSLY?!” Raph shouted. He paused afterward, realizing how defensive he sounded and realizing how concerned he had grown for the girl’s safety and well-being.  

Just then the final buzzard sounded and the game was over. Player’s wearing black and red ran over to Sam and started circling around her. They patted her on the back and her gave daps, treating her like she was one of the guys. “THAT’S MY SISTER! WOO!” shouted a voice from the stands. The turtles looked over at the Asian man standing and cheering from the stands. “Who’s that?” Leo asked. “Jay, Sam’s older adopted brother” Mikey replied. Jay exited the stands and waited for Sam to walk over. He was standing with some other young teens as he waited for his sister to arrive from the other side of the building. “Are they siblings?” Raph asked in confusion. “Yes, but not Sam’s. They’re all related to other players on the team. They’re with Jay because they’re all the younger siblings of people who have older siblings that Jay is also friends with.” “She sure does tell you everything, doesn’t she Mikey?” Donnie asked with a laugh. “Well duh, that’s why we’re best friend’s bruh! I know almost all the main details of her home life.” “Almost? Why Michelangelo, I thought you would know everything by now. You know, since you’re her BEST FRIEND and all,” Leo mocked as he smiled at his younger brother. Mikey smiled back at his brother, but his expression had softened. “She tells me a lot, and I do the same to her, but I can tell that there are still some serious details she hasn’t told me yet.” “Like how she only talks about Jay in the present tense?” Donnie asked. “What?” “You haven’t noticed that? Whenever she talks about her parents or her other siblings, she always uses the past tense, but she uses the present tense when talking about Jay.” The other three brother’s took a moment to stop and think about what Donnie had just said, and the more they thought about it, the more they realized he was right. “Regardless, I don’t want her to feel like she has to explain herself. I want her to talk about her personal life when she’s ready” Mikey said with a sincere smile. “Awww, well aren’t you the perfect gentleman?” Raph said as he threw an arm around Mikey’s shoulder. The youngest rolled his eyes as all four of them laughed. “Hey, what’s April doing here?” Leo asked. Off in the distance, Sam and some of the other boys had caught up to Jay and the other teens, and next to them was April who was chatting away with the group. “Huh, I wonder if there’s going to be a news segment about the soccer team” Donnie added. “Either way, I’m taking a picture and sending it to Sam!” Mikey said. He took the picture, sent the message, and waited. A few seconds later, he saw Sam’s shocked face as she turned towards where they were hiding. Mikey crouched down and quickly waved his hand in a spot where it would momentarily be seen. A large smile grew on his face when he saw that Sam had the exact same expression on her face after seeing that he was there. Her smile then grew even larger when she saw three more hands quickly wave to her, letting her know that all four of the brother’s had come and watched her play. “Alright, let’s go. Until Donnie finishes fixing the small police scanner, we don’t know if the city needs us or not” Leo stated. The brother’s began to head out, wondering what it was that Sam and April were talking about, but knowing that they would eventually know once the two joined back up with them the next day.

*Sam POV after the Game*

“I told you all those practice plays would be worth it!” Thomas exclaimed as he walked next to Sam. The two walked with their group as the team dispersed and walked around the field and over towards where their family members were waiting for them. “Oh I knew they would! You’re telling this to the wrong person, Kyle is the one wanted to keep ending our practices early!” she said as she playfully glared at the boy she was accusing. “HEY! I only wanted to end practices early when I knew we could get free food! I swear every time there was a restaurant with some type of free give away, you two wanted to extend our practice time.” “God all you think about is food” Ken chuckled as he threw his arm around his friends shoulder, playfully wrestling with him as they walked. “Well, now you should be happy that we didn’t stop to eat” she said as she shot the two dorks a huge smile. “See, what we should really be talking about is how amazing my first goal was, which lead to our increase in stamina” Ryan said. Ryan was mixed and had light brown skin with a short haircut and brown eyes. “Oh my god, I’ve never met someone as cocky as you” Nathan said as he rolled his eyes. Nathan had short brown hair and brown eyes. He had some light facial hair and had visible muscles even through his uniform. “It’s called confidence! And I need it if I want scouts to look at me!” “Then in that case, I’ve never met someone as confident as you” Aaron said with a smirk. He was the cousin to Nathan and had similar physical features. “Are you kidding me? We just won another tournament! We’re going to have scouts all over us!” Key said with a huge smile. “Psh, easy for you to say that. If you don’t get scouted for this sport then you have a million other sports you can be scouted for” Ryan said, rolling his eyes.   “Dude, I only play a few” Key said. “Let’s count,” Sam cut in, “there’s soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football, and baseball.” “Don’t forget wrestling!” Kris added. “Oh right, and wrestling” she said as she gave Key a mocking smile. “Okay, okay. But you guys know soccer is my favorite out of all of them. So I want to impress the soccer scouts as much as you guys.” “Don’t worry. As long as we all play the way we did tonight, then we’re all going to be living the dream as professional athletes” Kris ey, what’s April  said.

By then, they had made their way over to where Jay was standing. “Hey Jay, I totally didn’t know you were here and screaming the whole time” Sam teased as she gave her older brother a hug. “Does anything hurt? Are you alright?” “Yes Jay, I’m not crying and I’m walking on my own. I’m perfectly fine.” “Once again you were incredible out their Sam, way to show that girls can keep up with the guys” said Grace. “That’s why you should join the track team. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge” said Clay. Thomas, Clay, and Grace were triplets and born in that order. Each of them had the same short brown colored haircut, but Thomas and Grace both had brown eyes while Clay had blue. “Oh hush up! How about you do something besides just run!” Thomas teased. “I do more than run…I also do long jump” Clay said, followed by his brother playfully hitting him. “So, did my stupid brother steal your spotlight again?” Angel asked. “I said it was confidence! Stop making me sound like a bad person!” Ryan exclaimed. Angel was the year younger sister to Ryan, meaning she was the same age as Sam. Angel had the same light brown skin as Ryan, and also had black and brown hair with brown eyes.

“Excuse me,” a voice cut in, “but you guys are players from the winning team right?” “April! What’s up?” Sam said with a smile. “You know her?” Jay asked. “Oh yeah. I don’t know if you two have met, but she works with Irma. Not too long ago Kris and I walked to their work building and April was kind enough to give me a ride to a friend’s house. They were actually friends of hers as well.” “Oh…really?” Jay asked. At that time, Sam had gotten a text message, so she didn’t notice the worry in her brother’s voice, or that her friends were all faking their calm and collected expressions at hearing that Sam was friends with friends of April’s. Jay lent his hand out to April. “Jay Allan Park, nice to meet you” he said, fixing his expression so that April didn’t sense his distrust in her. “April O’Neil, news reporter for Channel 6 News. It’s nice to meet you.” “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to act so clueless. I’ve seen you on t.v. before. I’m surprised to see you here though, since you’re usually covering the latest and most serious news stories.” “Well I do that, and I’m doing that now. I don’t know if any of you know this, but tons of people are talking about this team and are excited to see you in the tournament coming up this summer to see if you’ll be the team to represent New York in the states cup.” “We know” Sam cut in. “And we’re hoping to impress tons of scouts when we fight for our state spot” she said with a huge smile. April gave her a funny look. “You’re much cheerier than you were a second ago.” “Haha, it’s nothing. I just found out that our friends were here tonight” Sam said, a huge smile still on her face. “Really? Were they in the stands?” Jay asked, masking his concern. “Yeah, but they had to leave quickly, so I didn’t get a chance to see where they were sitting. Anyway, is there any way we can help you out April?” “Yes! If you guys are okay, would you mind if I interviewed any or possibly all of you? I’d love to ask you some questions about both this game and the summer tournament.” Sam turned towards the group standing behind her. Each of them smiled and nodded, resulting in a very happy April. “Thank you so much to all of you! Please just give me one minute to get my cameraman and we’ll start getting everything set up!” April walked off, and her and another man (Sam recognized that the man was Vern) began setting up a camera.

Throughout the entire interview, Sam was never able to detect that Jay and their friends were fighting to keep their cool in front of April. They were all shocked to hear that Sam was friends with people that April knew, and they really wanted to ask Sam questions about this friendship. After the interview, they all walked with Jay to the nearest bus stop, thoughts circling through their minds about who exactly it was that Sam was friends with all this time. By now, through word of mouth from different friends and siblings, they knew that Sam was starting to go back to how she used to be and that this was because she had made a new friend. Now it had come out that she had made new friends, which was news to everyone, and they so badly wanted to ask her who these friends were and how she met them. However, they knew there would be consequences if they tried to dive deeper into the subject, especially if she was friends with who they feared she might be, so for now they all stayed calm and collected and acted like they all normally would, hopping that word of this wouldn’t reach ‘him.’