#belongs squarely with Mikey and April

[its-wabby-stuff]

I have a professional map:

There is a difference between liking kids and being good with kids, and I swear some of the people who cannot tolerate kids are the absolute best with them. And then some people try so hard and they still can’t get a kids attention. They’d rather go hang out with the uncles that cannot tolerate them.

[alwerakoo]

as tall as you think

Tales of the TMNT Leo & Raph word count: 2k CW: anxiety disorder (aka: Leo has anxiety - the fic)

AO3

---

There are glow-in-the-dark stars taped to the bottom of Mikey's bed.

They're so old he can't remember if it was him of his brother that insisted on it, and they're so old he never once considered taking them off – carefully taping his posters and pictures to the space around them. It's like a game at this point – finding any leftover room for new things.

Raph traces them with his gaze, his fingers laced across his stomach.

Leo's mattress squeaks as he shifts in his bed again, his feet brushing against the brick wall.

Raph bites on his cheek.

Mikey can fall asleep anywhere at any time, and Donnie's brain doesn't shut off without something absurdly loud blasting in his ears. Raph can hear it even now, music faintly bleeding out of his headphones.

But Raph and Leo have always been light sleepers at best – borderline insomniacs at worst. It's one thing they have in common, and like all the things they have in common – they're so different in it at the same time.

Raph's body feels electric, his veins all adrenaline and excitement – no blood. He spends many nights restless, the last one to go to bed and the first one to rise.

He trains, the line between his fingers and sai always blurry; he paces around the lair; he runs along rooftops, feet dangling off the edge. And then his body shuts off, as sudden as a car shutting down on a red light, and he passes out – dead to the world.

He runs himself dry, and then he picks himself up again, over and over again.

When Leo stays up, he's a shadow of himself the next morning.

Raph sighs, quietly, his mind ticking away the minutes till he'll be able to sneak out of the room without Dad sitting right on his tail.

In his bed, Leo shifts again.

Raph sighs again, louder this time.

“You up?” He asks, voice lowered.

Leo's quiet for a moment, his shell turned to Raph, until he finally exhales, giving in.

“Yeah.”

Raph sits up, shifting to his knees. He takes his pillow with him, tucking it under his chest as he turns, facing Leo's bed without a moment of hesitation, like its second nature.

At this point, it might as well be.

It's an old tradition of theirs – maybe even older than the stars on his ceiling.

All four of them have been sharing beds, rooms, spaces for as long as he can recall. It's not home without his brothers, even if Mikey has a tendency to snore, the light from Donnie's phone or computer woke him up on more than one occasion, and Leo never quite grew out of the habit of borrowing things without asking.

The room is all of theirs, but late nights belong to him and Leo only.

Raph and Leo never had that much in common, always opposites in some way or another, like two puzzle pieces from the same box, but not made to snap together.

When Raph was younger, he never had patience for puzzles. He'd push the carton and paper squares until they fit, by sheer force and spite alone.

He'd make Leo cry with that, because his brother always did when they broke the rules to any game, which made him a rotten playmate, but taught Raph the valuable skill of never quite letting Leo know when he was making up new ones.

Sometimes, during late nights, in the glow of Leo's fairy lights and Raph's stars, he's doing it again.

But he doesn't think Leo minds this time around.

They've spent hours like this, and sometimes, Raph thinks he wouldn't mind if this was the rest of his life.

Sometime ago, April asked them what they thought their heaven would look like. It was a silly question, related to some show that Raph was only half paying attention to. He can't quite remember what he answered, something related to this or other celebrity.

It was a lie anyway.

He thinks it would be this.

Leo shifts, turning to lay on his stomach, arms crossed under his chin.

“What's up?” Raph asks.

Leo's fingers drum on his forearms, and he takes a deep breath, like he has to steady himself.

“Nothing,” he says, and he's a bad lair. “Just... Hanging out.”

“Hanging out?”

“Yeah,” Leo says, and Raph can almost hear his mind racing.

He's barely exaggerating.

His brother's brain always seemed to work a mile a minute, too fast for his own good, his thoughts too big. He knows Leo struggles to catch up with his own mind sometimes, words spilling out of his mouth like he was going to swallow down his own tongue.

He thinks it might be even worse when he's staying quiet.

“You're getting worked up about something again,” Raph huffs.

Leo raises his head, frowning, probably to feel a little taller than him.

He's been outgrowing Leo since they were toddlers, and he doesn't think his brother ever quite got over it.

“I'm not,” Leo says defensively, his fingers flexing against his pillow.

“Yes, you are,” Raph says. “Look at you, you've got the shakes.”

Leo looks down at his own hands, like he just noticed them.

He shifts, intertwining his fingers under his chin, then turns again, laying them flat on the pillow, not helping his point in the slightest.

“Come on, man. Work with me.”

Raph puts his elbow on his pillow, cheek resting against his palm.

He's known Leo all his life, and knows his tendency to work himself up to the point of boiling, always over nothing, like the back of his own hand.

Leo tried explaining it to them, once.

How he runs something over and over in his mind, until it takes on a completely new shape, until he can't remember what parts really happened and what parts he's scared of happening.

How he can lay out every reason why he shouldn't bother himself about it, but his fingers still go numb and stiff, and his heart races in his throat like he's going to choke on it.

How he gets sick on his own thoughts.

Raph never quite got it.

But Donnie must've, because he pulled Leo into his tent that evening, their voices hushed and the light from the computer's monitor bright.

That night, Leo didn't take his mask off to sleep, and he chewed on the ends of it until they frayed.

Raph doesn't remember ever finding out what they talked about, but he knows that after came a lot of ''articles'' that Donnie was sending and that Leo never read. They argued about it some.

But what Raph does know, is that there's no real calming when Leo gets like this. It's best to let him run his course, let him spill over – his worry and nerves deep but not endless. Or so he hopes.

“I'm just...” Leo says finally, drumming his fingers against his palm, seemingly completely forgetting about keeping them still. “It's kind of stupid.”

“You are kind of stupid,” Raph says, on instinct. Leo sends him a glare, and he raises his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Alright, alright, just shoot.”

Leo bites his lip, lowering his gaze.

“I just keep thinking...” He doesn't look at Raph when he says it, but there's a certain panicked quality to his words, like he's scared he's going to run out of them at any second. “We almost died, Raph.”

Raph blinks.

He shifts a little in his place, mulling over Leo's words, until he finally says:

“Well, yeah. Which time specifically?”

Leo's neck straightens, and there's a new expression on his face, something open and wounded.

“That's the thing!” He catches himself raising his voice, and lowers it again. “So many times. Like, that's not...” He takes a shaky breath. “What if something happened to any of us? Any of you?”

Instinctively, Raph reaches back, tracing his fingers over the healed shell – a leftover scar from splitting it in half.

“But we didn't. Die, I mean,” he says.

It is true.

There's a certain gratefulness he carries with himself nowadays. Every day he gets to wake up and eat breakfast next to his family, every day he gets to bicker with his brothers in the evening, every day he gets to stretch his back and feel the ache in his shell slowly fade away.

He doesn't think about the 'what ifs'. They're not worth it.

He tells Leo so, but his brother only scratches at his arm, his shoulders raising, like he's trying to hide away.

“It's not that.” He huffs. “It was real. That's not a 'what if', it's an 'almost reality'.”

“Yeah, that's what 'what if' means, dipshit.” Raph scoffs.

He's not really annoyed, more so confused.

“You don't get it.” Leo sounds more upset now; he speaks a little faster. “We could've died, Raph. Isn't that terrifying?”

Raph sucks on his teeth.

Right, maybe he is a little annoyed. But only on Leo's behalf, for the way his stupid brain functions.

“I mean... It was, in the moment.”

He winces a little, seeing the face Leo pulls at that.

“Yeah. And it still is!” He doesn't bother lowering his voice anymore. “You're telling me you never think about it?”

“No,” Raph says, which is mostly true. “I try not to,” he adds, which is a little more honest.

“Well, that's what I'm trying to do!” Leo turns suddenly, laying with his back flat on the bed. “But it keeps catching up to me.”

“Seems like you're not trying hard enough,” he says.

He knows it’s a mistake the moment the words leave his mouth.

Leo's fingers squeeze his blanket so much they shake. His throat bobs, and there's a certain twitch to his lips that Raph knows all too well.

It makes something in his chest squeeze painfully.

“Are you going to cry?” He says, and it's a genuine question.

It doesn't really sound like one, he realizes.

There's a sudden flash of anger on Leo's face, and he raises his hands, throwing them in the air.

“Well, I'm sorry?” His voice pitches, all wobbly. “Sorry for having emotions! God, you're such an asshole.”

Leo pushes his palms against his wet eyes, taking in a shaky breath.

They lay in silence for a minute or two, taking in the quiet beat of Donnie's music and Mikey's soft snore.

“Sorry for caring about you.” Leo says finally, putting his hands down.

He sounds wet and fragile, and petty as hell, which Raph supposes he can't blame him for.

This is the thing, he supposes. It's how it goes with them.

Leo used to always cry whenever one of them did; those big, sad tears that used to annoy Raph to no end, because what does Leo have to cry about?

He started to understand it more as they got older.

He likes when Leo cries holding him, when Raph's own emotions get too big to carry. It makes him feel cared for, in a way. Validated, maybe.

He thinks about that now, watching his brother sniffle, and says:

“Well, I'm sorry, too.”

Leo turns to look at him, his cheek on the pillow.

Raph turns away, just so he doesn't have to endure Leo looking at him with those eyes.

And damn it, he's always had the biggest, saddest eyes.

He thinks about Leo when they were younger, how much he cared for things like rules, and putting their toys away at the end of the day, and keeping out of the places Dad told them to stay away from. And how much he cared for them.

Leo cares for all of them so much, and this is how he shows it.

Raph is grateful to still get to fall asleep next to his brothers every day. Leo is scared, that one day he won't.

“... Apology accepted,” Leo whispers, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

Then he grimaces, as if disgusted with himself.

Raph shifts on his bed, pushing his shell up the wall.

“Come here,” he says, pulling his covers away.

It's been a while.

They're both bigger now, and Leo's shell doesn't fit fully on the bed, and his knee digs into his thigh, but it doesn't really matter, because Raph doesn't need their puzzle pieces to fit perfectly to make his point.

“I'm here,” he tells him. “So I can't be dead, right? That's what matters. This the 'actual reality', Lee.”

Leo sniffles once again.

“Yeah,” he says, quietly. Then, very suddenly: “Donnie says it's anxiety.”

Raph frowns.

“What?”

“My...” He stops for a moment, like he's considering his own words. “When I get the shakes.” He decides on, finally.

“Oh,” Raph says. “Okay.”

“He says I should talk to a doctor about it.”

They've been to the doctors a few times now – once they figured out that for what it was worth, veterinarians have a better general understanding of turtles. But he's not sure how much vets could know about Leo's brain.

“Do you want to?” He asks instead.

Leo shrugs, and that's that. Raph doesn't push.

They don't say anything after that, and Leo curls up on his side, his forehead touching Raph's elbow.

Raph watches the stars on his ceiling and the posters surrounding them.

He's still able to make space for them. He's making them fit.

And he'll do the same for his brother.

Every time.

[thdorkmagnet]

Scaredy Shells (Turtle Tots: Before the Rise)

@flufftober 2024 Day 12- “This is spooky.” - “Really?”

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Chapter Summary: The boys go trick or treating for the first time.

A/N: Skipped a few days ahead to bring you all a themed chapter!!

Happy Halloween!! :)

Disclaimer: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belongs to Andy Suriano, Ant Ward, and Nickelodeon. All rights belong to them.

Mikey skipped along behind his brothers and April, swinging his pumpkin bucket beside him with each joyful step. Halloween was awesome! Mikey decided. Easily the best holiday. Oh, except for Christmas. And also Easter! And Valentine’s Day! And-

Point was, Mikey loved Halloween! Especially when this year dad said they could finally go trick or treating! They'd begged for it every year of course but dad had always said it was dangerous- even though they'd pointed out a million times everyone would be in costumes. But this year, they had April and she had a magical way of talking their dad into things they couldn’t (just one more reason she was the coolest!). 

And trick or treating was everything Mikey had imagined and more! He got to dress up in a costume and get candy and see all the fun decorations everywhere! 

He’d spent a long time figuring out exactly what costume to wear, since it was his first one so it had to be perfect. And after a lot of consideration he'd decided on dressing up as an orange kitty cat, complete with painted on whiskers and a tail that Donnie had rigged to gently swing back and forth. He was super proud of his new look, parading all over the neighborhood looking just like his favorite stuffed animal Klunk. 

It had taken a few attempts for him to get used to the whole ‘taking candy from strangers’ thing but now he was easily the best trick or treater ever! Especially when, early in the night an old woman had started cooing over how cute he looked in his costume and slipped him an extra piece of candy. That had blown Mikey’s little mind more than square pizza! But it wasn’t a fluke, because it happened again a few houses later, Mikey receiving an extra handful of candy along with a sharp pinch on his cheek.

That’s when it had clicked in his head that this was something he could milk and quickly started hamming up his already natural cuteness. He batted his eyes up at the humans, overemphasized the lisp from his missing front tooth, and sometimes even put on a little show as he meowed and pretended to lick his paws like a real cat. And the humans fell for it hook line and sinker! Mikey’s bucket was soon overflowing with candy, while the rest of the fam were barely scraping halfway. 

Which Leo was not happy about at all. “It’s not fair, why do you keep getting more candy than us?” the slider whined for probably the fifth time that night, stomping his foot and trying to look annoyed. Which ended up just looking silly thanks to the bright blue unicorn costume he was wearing. Colorful rainbow manes and bubbly blue horns were just impossible to take seriously, Mikey decided. 

“Guess I’m just better at trick or treating than you,” Mikey bragged, shooting his big brother a teasing grin. 

“Are not!” Leo snapped.

“Then why do I have more candy than everybody else?” 

“Uhhh because you keep playing the baby card on all the humans!” Leo assessed with a roll of his eyes. “Which is totally cheating by the way.”

“Me? Cheat?” Mikey said, feigning innocence, blinking impossibly big eyes up at him. “Wha dwo you mean big bwover?”

“You’re doing it right now!” Leo shouted, flabbergasted. 

“Dwoing wha?” Mikey asked, totally doing it. 

Leo groaned before looking to his eldest sibling for backup. “Raph tell Mikey to stop cheating!”

Raph looked back at them with a puzzled look. Mikey knew he hadn’t been paying attention since he’d been huddled with Donnie for the last few minutes exchanging candy. Since Raph couldn’t have peanut butter and there were a bunch of flavors Donnie wouldn’t eat it only made sense they would be the ones swapping treats with each other. Which was good because Mikey wasn’t giving up his horde for the world!

“What’s Mikey doing?” Raph asked, hand still buried deep in his bucket. He was dressed up as a pink bear with an adorable heart stitched into its belly, which Mikey had approved of instantly. Because if there was one thing Mikey would relate Raph to, it was a big cuddly teddy bear. He’d even said that he and Mikey were matching since they’d both dressed up as their favorite plushies which had made Mikey giggle. 

“I believe Nardo is once again complaining about our youngest brother’s skill in acquiring more candy than him,” Donnie answered dry, carefully examining a piece of chocolate like it might be poisonous or something. It was so weird to see someone dressed as the Lou Jitsu acting so emotionless about everything but, well, Donnie had called double dibs after Leo so that’s the way it was. Not even Leo was gonna disgrace the sacred rule of dib calling! 

Raph frowned in annoyance, rolling his eyes so hard Mikey was surprised they didn’t stick. “Cool it, Leo. Just let Mikey do his thing,” Raph said absentmindedly, going back to digging through his bucket.

Leo huffed, frustrated, pouty lip firmly in place. 

Normally Mikey would leave it at that but well, gloating felt really good right now so… “Yeah Leo. Just let me do my thing,” Mikey repeated with more than a little sass. 

Leo opened his mouth to retort but right then April blurted, “Next stop! Get your trick or treating faces on, boys!” and he had no choice but to let it go. Still looking none too happy about it, though. 

April had the most experience trick or treating so she stayed in the lead, guiding Mikey and his brothers through her sure-fired Halloween routine, one she had perfected over several years. She knew exactly which neighborhoods to hit up, which houses were candy gold-mines and which were stingy jerks. She navigated each area with expertise that could only come from a professional trick or treater. If Mikey wasn’t already the best at it, he’d probably think he had so much to learn from her. 

She had dressed up as a witch this year, complete with a big pointy hat and broomstick which she kept using to point at stuff whenever she felt the need to explain something to the brothers. Mikey had offered to be her cat (even though he was pretty sure witches didn’t have orange cats) and she’d giggled and said she’d love that, which made Mikey beam sunshine. 

They all got their candy from the next house (Mikey with a few pieces extra, hehe) and then continued on their way, April leading them across the street and into a more secluded neighborhood. Only she suddenly paused with a jolt, turning to all of them with a strained smile and suddenly declaring, “Okay so crazy thought but we’ve done plenty of trick or treating for one year, right? So how’s about we wrap up for the night and head back to the Lair to watch some Halloween specials or something, huh?”

Instantly everyone was protesting, Mikey included. Sure he barely had any room left in his bucket but he was still having way too much fun to stop now! It only happened once a year, he wanted to experience everything!

“Okay, okay,” April finally conceded, once the boy’s voices started overlapping each other. She still seemed hesitant for some reason but she finally continued to walk, muttering, “Just… don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

It didn’t take long before Mikey and his brothers learned what April had meant by that because they soon came upon the most terrifying sight Mikey had ever seen in his few short years of life. It was a house, old and decayed and practically falling apart, ghosts and ghouls and all manners of spooks hung from windowsills and scaffolding. The late hours of the night seemed to bathe the whole building in menacing shadows that left a chill down Mikey’s spine. There were gravestones scattered all over the front yard- with spooky sounding names written on each one- a literal cemetery standing between them and candy. 

But the worst of it all was the creepy looking man sitting on the front steps, wearing a black cloak and a bloodstained mask, the bowl of treats perched in his lap as if he was standing guard over it. 

Mikey gulped and ducked behind Raph to hide, while the others stared up at the creepy mansion in varying levels of wide-eyed fright. 

“April, what the heck is this?!” the snapper squeaked.

“That would be the Dooley house,” April replied, her voice low and dripping in menace and dramatic tension. It instantly put Mikey on edge. “The rest of the year it's a nice normal house in a nice normal neighborhood. But on Halloween night, the curse comes to life! Gravestones rising from the ground, showing all who have perished in its halls!” Mikey chirped once in distress, ducking his head into his shell and wishing it was soundproof, he didn't want to hear anymore. 

“At least that's my theory,” April continued neutrally and Mikey breathed a sigh of relief. Oh good, no more scary story, they could just keep walking and forget all about-

“Soooo, what's with the guy in the mask?” Leo asked, trying to sound normal but it shook a little. What, no?! They were supposed to be leaving!

“Oh yeah, he's also part of the curse,” April explained, sounding way too calm about the whole thing. “He shows up on Halloween and sits right there, waiting to grab any trick or treaters who try and take his candy.” 

“And why are the Dooley's allowing him to sit on their porch and frighten young children all night?” Donnie asked skeptically. 

“Would you wanna tell the guy covered in blood to leave?” April retorted. 

“...Touche.” 

“W-What happens if he catches you?” Raph asks in a small voice, the only one here who sounded as scared as Mikey felt. 

“Dunno. Probably something bad though.”

Mikey whimpered and fought back the urge to tuck the rest of his limbs inside. Instead he reached blindly for Raph's hands, seeking comfort from his big, cuddly protector. He felt Raph grab on tight and squeeze, which did make him feel a little bit better. Enough that he cautiously peeked his head out of his shell and glanced up. 

Yep. Still towering, still terrifying. 

He took a step closer to Raph. 

The twins and April were still talking, none of them in any hurry to get far, far away from the apparently cursed and very dangerous building. In fact, it almost sounded like they wanted to actually go over there. Which was just crazy! 

And even crazier, Raphie wasn't telling them no!    

They saw the scary thing already- fulfilled the whole Halloween spirit deal- they were all good and scared, now was the part where they were supposed to leave!

“I don't like it here,” Mikey blurted, hoping his power as youngest brother might win them over. “This is spooky.” 

 All eyes immediately turned to him and he didn't bother to hide his discomfort, shifting anxiously from foot to foot.

“Really?” Leo was the first to respond, eyebrows raising and- wait, why did he look so smug? “Sooo does that mean you're not going over there to get your candy.” 

Mikey shrugged, face hot despite the chill in the air. It wasn’t working, starting to cross the line into embarrassing. 

“That's okay, bud you don't have to,” Raph reassured, patting him once on the head. 

“Yeah,” Leo agreed. Only to add, “It just means you aren't the better trick or treater after all and a scaredy shell.” he shrugged, looking quite proud of himself. “But y’know, no biggie.” 

“Leo!” Raph and April both snapped at the same time Mikey yelled, offended, “I'm not a scaredy shell!”

“What?! I said it wasn't a big deal.” Leo’s innocent grin did nothing to dissuade the two oldest, if anything it only made them glare harder. 

“I'm not a scaredy shell,” Mikey repeated, puffing out his cheeks like a chipmunk. An adorable kitten-turtle chipmunk. “I-I could get the candy if I wanted to.”

“Oh yeah, prove it,” Leo said, tone landing somewhere between joking and challenging, leaving Mikey firmly in the middle of the two. He decided he didn't like either one. 

Mikey looked back at the house, towering and menacing. He looked at the gravestones. At the stranger sitting on the steps, waiting. At the bowl of candy. He let out a breath through his nose before saying, “Fine”-

-and took off running. 

“Mikey!” four voices yelled behind him but he didn't focus on them. 

He didn't focus on the gravestones lining the path either or the fear pounding loud in his eardrums or the horrifying man he was running straight for, because all of those things would lead to him chickening out. 

So he just kept running.

He was at the steps much faster than it felt, time getting weird and wonky thanks to the panic coursing through Mikey’s veins. The next few seconds happened almost in slow motion as Mikey reached a hand into the bowl, grabbing the first piece of candy he could, only for Leo to then grab him, wrapping both arms around his waist. Raph appeared next, grabbing both of them, and that was when the stranger turned. 

He moved towards them in an awkward, jerky manner, eyes blinking red and a haunting laugh bellowing from deep in his throat. Mikey shrieked, as did his two brothers, terror freezing him in place as he looked deep into the stranger’s horrible glowing eyes, nearly going limp with fear. 

He felt Raph start to scoop him up off the ground- snapping him out of his trance- and in the split second Mikey had to react he grabbed the entire bowl of candy. Then he and Leo were both whisked over Raph’s shoulders as the snapper turned tail and ran. 

From his position Mikey watched as the stranger waved a clawed hand around the exact place Mikey had just been, still laughing maniacally as he did. Mikey gulped and buried his head in the soft fur of his brother’s costume so he wouldn’t have to see anymore. 

There was yelling and screaming and general panicking from his brothers and pseudo-sister as they fled the scene, Mikey not daring to look up until Raph finally came to a stop a few blocks away from the house. April and Donnie caught up with them a moment later, panting and gasping for air, so his big brother must have left them in a trail of dust in his haste to get away.

They all took a moment to just catch their breath, Mikey and Leo still held in Raph’s gentle grip, the box turtle feeling his heart pounding against his ribcage painfully. 

But then someone laughed. A giggle. From Leo of all people. 

Mikey and the others all looked at him like he had six heads, but Leo just kept laughing. “We did it! We survived!” he suddenly shouted, grinning bright. 

And then Raph snorted and started laughing too. And then April started in with her own giggles. And then Donnie. And surprisingly even Mikey started to chuckle a little. It really couldn't be helped since Leo’s laughter was more contagious than the rat flu. 

Surprisingly though, Mikey started to feel relief from all the sudden laughter and it steadily grew in volume, all the worry and stress just melting off of him in waves. Soon everyone was laughing hysterically, wiping tears from their eyes and clutching sore stomachs. 

“That was terrifying!” Mikey shouted, between gasps for air.

“I don't think I've ever been more scared of anything in my life!” Raph added, smiling big and dumb. 

“Then why are we laughing?” Donnie asked cluelessly, trying to reign in the giggle fit.

“That's the magic of Halloween, dude!” April exclaimed wistfully. “Sometimes it's fun to get scared!” 

Mikey wasn't sure about that- he would probably get a few nightmares from this- but April was almost never wrong so he figured he'd take her word for it. 

“Did you manage to score any candy, Mike?” Raph asked and Mikey nodded. 

“Actually I managed to grab…” Mikey proudly held the bowl high over his head like a trophy. “All of them!” 

There were whoops and screams and congratulations from the others, even Leo surprisingly cheering for his little brother. The slider stood up in Raph’s arms, one foot perched on his shoulder and a hand raised in a dramatic hero pose, which only looked hilarious since he was still dressed as a unicorn. 

“Oh yeah! Take that you ugly, mask-wearing jerk!” Leo declared triumphantly, causing the others to start laughing again.

“Sooo does this mean I’m the better trick or treater, after all,” Mikey asked cheekily. 

That seemed to remind Leo of the earlier incident, eyes flashing with regret while the rest of him stayed frozen and unresponsive. He flopped back down in Raph’s arms, trying to hide his flush of embarrassment as he picked at a loose string from his big bro’s costume. “Um, yeah, maybe.”

“Maybe?” Raph pressed, shaking Leo once in his arms to try and encourage more out of him. 

Leo frowned, but finally relented. “Alright, fine. Yes. You might be a little better than me at this one thing.” 

Mikey beamed, pride swelling big and golden in his chest. That’s all he’d wanted to hear. 

The group decided to head back to the Lair after that, eager to enjoy their spoils of a successful night of trick or treating. April excitedly put on her favorite spooky movie, which Mikey was hesitant about until he saw the animation which April called “claymation”. It was really cool and unique and Mikey spent most of the movie just watching the way the characters and things moved, wondering if he could ever replicate it.

But then he felt a tap on the shoulder and reluctantly shifted eyes away from the screen and onto his blue brother. Leo was blushing, his cheeks nearly the same shade as his stripes, holding out a piece of Mikey’s favorite candy, not from their pile of sweets from the earlier heist but from his very own bucket. 

Mikey grinned and eagerly accepted the gift, before doing the same for Leo, offering a chocolate bar the both of them loved. Leo looked touched, taking the king-sized bar with a lopsided smile. 

Mikey scooted closer so he was leaning against his big brother’s side, finally peeling off the wrapper and devouring the whole bar in two bites. Leo wrapped an arm around him, absentmindedly eating his own snack and watching the movie. 

Mikey cuddled closer, resting his cheek against his brother’s shell, and grabbed another candy from the pile, settling in for a long night of spooky movies with his family.

Yep, Halloween really was the best.

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Published: May 05, 2021

CARSON, CALIF. – Undefeated super bantamweight champions will meet for 122-pound supremacy when Luis Nery makes the first defense of his WBC world title against Brandon “Heartbreaker” Figueroa in the headline attraction of a three-fight card live on SHOWTIME Saturday, May 15 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and will see former unified super bantamweight champion Danny Roman take on hard-hitting Ricardo Espinoza Franco in the 10-round co-main event, plus in the telecast opener undefeated super featherweight contender Xavier Martinez squares off against former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos in a 12-round WBA Super Featherweight Title Eliminator. Nery vs. Figueroa will see the powerful two-division champion Nery pursue a signature win at super bantamweight, while the rising Figueroa looks to use his all-action style to earn a career-best victory and announce his presence amongst the sport’s elite. The winner of this fight will be in line to face WBO 122-pound champion Stephen Fulton later this year in a unification showdown. The event is promoted by TGB Promotions. Martinez vs. Burgos is promoted in association with Mayweather Promotions. “The super bantamweight division is one of boxing’s most intriguing, and this showdown between Nery and Figueroa will be a huge step towards declaring the king of the weight class,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “These two undefeated 122-pound champions will leave it all in the ring in front of the passionate Southern California fight fans on May 15. With two Mexican-warriors going toe-to-toe, this is a main event that you won’t want to miss a second of.” Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com. Dignity Health Sports Park will be open to fans in a limited capacity, with all guests remaining socially distanced and subject to local and state health guidelines throughout the event. The Tijuana, Mexico native Nery (31-0, 24 KOs) became a two-division world champion in September as he won a wide unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Aaron Alameda to capture his WBC crown. The 26-year-old had held an 11-fight knockout streak entering that 122-pound title fight, establishing himself as a premier knockout artist at bantamweight during a run that included stoppages of former champions McJoe Arroyo and Juan Carlos Payano. Nery first became champion in 2017, when he went to Japan and stopped Shinsuke Yamanaka in his home country to capture the WBC bantamweight world title. “This is one of the biggest fights of my career,” said Nery. “I am going to win this fight in spectacular fashion. I’m training hard every day to make sure I get the win on May 15. This is my time to make history for Mexico.” The 24-year-old Figueroa (21-0-1, 16 KOs) returns to the ring after his most recent outing saw him stop Damien Vazquez in round 10 of their September 2020 clash. Figueroa applied his all-action style scoring knockouts over veteran contenders Moises Flores and Oscar Escandon to move his way up the 122-pound rankings. He captured the WBA’s interim super bantamweight title by stopping Yonfrez Parejo in April 2019, before eventually being elevated to “regular” champion. Figueroa has trained for this career-defining bout in Southern California, alongside his brother and former world champion Omar Figueroa. "Training camp out here in California with Joel Diaz has been amazing,” said Figueroa. “I’m in tremendous shape and I’ll be ready to go on May 15. This is really one of the best training camps of my career. I know Nery is a tough fighter, maybe my toughest test to date. I’m 24 now, so it’s time for me to start fighting these world class fighters and prove to myself that I belong in there with the best fighters. I know Stephen Fulton is lined up for the winner of this fight, but I’m preparing 110% for Nery. I know he’s not just any fighter, so I’m doing everything I can to come away with the win on May 15.” Ranked in the top five by all four sanctioning bodies at super bantamweight, Roman (27-3-1, 10 KOs) will look to continue on his path back toward another world title when he steps in the ring on May 15. The 30-year-old from Los Angeles most recently won an exciting 12-round unanimous decision over former champion Juan Carlos Payano last September. Roman first became world champion in 2017, when he stopped Shun Kubo for the WBA title. Roman would go on to unify titles by beating TJ Doheny for his IBF strap in 2019, before losing a narrow split decision to Murodjon Akhmadaliev in January 2020. “I’m delighted to be fighting once again and can’t wait to step into the ring May 15 on SHOWTIME,” said Roman. “Ricardo Espinoza is a very tough fighter with a lot of heart. I know this fight is going to be another war and I’m fully prepared to go to battle. I’ve stayed in shape since my last fight, so fans can expect to see me throw a lot of punches. I’m going to make this fight a classic Mexican showdown.” The 23-year-old Espinoza (25-3, 21 KOs) has fought professionally since 2015 and has won 15 of his last 16 fights heading into May 15. Fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico, Espinoza dropped a bantamweight interim title fight to current world champion John Riel Casimero in 2019 via a 12th round knockout in a fight that was virtually tied on the cards. Espinoza bounced back with two straight victories, including his most recent triumph, a unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Brandon Valdes last August. “I’m training as hard as I ever have for this opportunity on May 15,” said Espinoza. “I feel strong and prepared for anything Roman is going to throw at me. I know that he’s an accomplished fighter, but I have all of the tools to be victorious and win an exciting fight that the fans are going to love.” A Mayweather Promotions prospect from Sacramento, Calif., Martínez (15-0, 11 KOs) has trained for this fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 23-year-old earned a career-best victory in his last outing, defeating veteran contender Claudio Marrero by unanimous decision in October on SHOWTIME. Previously, Martínez added three stoppage victories to his record in 2019 to run up a seven-fight knockout streak heading into the Marrero fight. “I’ve felt great in camp and have already been preparing hard for this opponent,” said Martinez. “My last fight was an incredible experience. The biggest thing it taught me is just because you're winning, don't fall asleep at the wheel. That's the same mentality I'm taking into this fight. I proved in my last fight that I can box and can hang with the best in the sport. This is a side many haven't seen because I've been decapitating my previous opponents. The world is going to see how much versatility I carry in my skill set. May 15 is another day in the office, and it's time to work!” The Tijuana, Mexico native Burgos (34-4-2, 21 KOs) has faced an impressive resume of top fighters throughout his extensive career, dropping world title bouts to Mikey Garcia and Hozumi Hasegawa, in addition to a draw in a 130-pound title tilt against Roman Martinez. The 33-year-old ended up on the short end of decisions in challenges of unbeaten champion Devin Haney in 2018 and undefeated Hector Tanajara in January 2020. Most recently, he won a unanimous decision over Juan Ramon Bernal in March 2020. "This is another opportunity for me to show that I have a lot left to give in the ring," says Burgos. "Martínez doesn't have a strong chin, as everyone saw when he got dropped twice by Claudio Marrero in his last fight. I've been training hard and waiting for an opportunity like this. Fans can expect an explosive performance on May 15."

[another-tmnt-writer]

Not the One

Raphael x Reader

Not the One

Prompt: It was hella long and hella good and basically, it’s a soulmate AU with a twist and aaaaaaaaaah I’m in love with this idea.

Note: AAAAAAAAAAAH I’M DYINGGGGG I’M SO EXCITED TO WRITE THISSSSSSS. Edit: this took so much longer than intended, but it came out a lot longer than I intended too, so...

@wumperin @brayden1616

“Yer kidding. A week. We have an entire week like this?” Raph looked at his very human fingers on his very human hands attached to his very (temporarily) human body. “An entire week?”

“Possibly longer.” Donatello scanned himself and his brothers. What had been a lab accident while handling the purple ooze had resulted in whatever this was. Raph had another concern. His soulmate timer was within hours now, and maybe being like this would help him meet the person he was meant to spend his entire life with.

“So…” Leo tried to come up with a plan. But if he was being honest, he had no idea how to handle this.

“We’ve gotta seize the opportunity, dudes. We’re only ever going to be normal once, we have to take advantage of it.”

“And?” Leo raised an eyebrow.

“We’re gonna go to school.”

***

“So these are your…” The counselor from the high school looked up to April and Casey, the boys standing in a line behind them.

“These are my nephews.” April said. “They’re kind of transfer students, but only for a week or so. It’s part of a program to let Queens students experience what school is like in the rest of New York City.”

“Sounds doable. Do you have their grades and records and such on hand, or do I need to contact their other school for the information?”

“It should all be here, but I can call Principal Mayweather if we’re missing anything.” April pushed her glasses up her nose and handed the counselor a flash drive Donnie had thrown together that morning.

“Great. Thank you so much.”

Raph glanced down at his timer. Minutes. Minutes now. The counselor gave them their schedules and sent them on their way. It was about ten minutes until class was supposed to start, and about ten until Raph was supposed to meet his soulmate. God, his heart was racing in his unusual human chest. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

April and Casey said goodbye to the boys and told them they’d come pick them up after school. Next, they attempted to find their lockers. All the way up on the third floor above the art wing. Raph scanned the numbers for the four that belonged to himself and his brothers. It took a few minutes, but they found them. God, combination locks were confusing, but Donnie helped him figure it out with his clumsy human fingers. He wasn’t used to having so many. What were the extra two good for anyway?

He grabbed his math book and his notebook and calculator and dumped it into the red backpack that sort of made him feel like he had a shell again. It was a comforting weight, sort of. It gave an illusion that he was still who he had always been, despite looking and feeling so different now. Needing all of the same core classes meant that the boys were together for their first two hours, but they broke off in the afternoon to do the specials they had chosen.

So off they headed to Geometry, where they were sure Donnie would have to explain everything to them. When they got to the classroom, they were greeted by a group of fresh faces. Nerds, jocks, preps, goths, rockers, it seemed that everyone was represented. A few of the girls whispered to one another, subtly pointing to the group of attractive boys in front of them and giggling about the endless possibilities.

“Transfer students, huh? There are some seats over there in the back of the room. What are your names?”

“Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo.” Leo answered. Mrs. Russo’s skeptical face told them he should have given her their nicknames instead. “Our uh, parents are huge art geeks.” He offered.

“I can tell. Well, Renaissance gang, you can sit in the four seats to the left of Ms. (L/N). (Y/N), raise your hand please.”

You didn’t lower the book from your face when you raised your hand. Raph didn’t know what it was about you that was throwing him off, but there was something there. It felt like a wire had wrapped around his heart and was starting to squeeze. Great. A heart attack what- twenty seconds- before he met his soulmate. Wonderful.

He walked over and took the seat beside you, his brothers settling into the other seats. As the bell rang to signal class had started, you folded your bookmark into the center of the book and set it on the desk beside your math stuff. Finally, you glanced over at Raph just as his counter hit zero.

His green eyes widened as he took in everything about you. The cute black plastic frames that sat on your nose, the perfect bun of soft locks that sat atop your head, the music notes painted onto your fingernails and the piano key suspenders that held up your black skirt. You were so goddamned cute he could barely stand it. His heart hammered in his chest. And then he spotted the timer on your wrist.

You still had ten days left.

He looked around to see if anyone else had finished their timer, but there wasn’t anyone. Just him.

“You’re the new kids?” You asked. God, your voice was so sweet. It hurt. Maybe you weren’t meant to be with him, but he knew with all of his beating heart that he was meant to be with you.

“Y-yeah.” Raph replied. “I’m Raphael. Call me Raph.” He smiled at your unknowing gaze. You didn’t know how much you had crushed him in the instants he had known you.

“(Y/N) (L/N).” His eyes wandered to the book on your desk.

“What’cha reading?”

“Beastly.” You replied, handing him the worn book. “I’ve read it like seven thousand times. It’s honestly amazing. I’m in love with Beauty and the Beast, so this is just- ugh it’s so good.”

“Hmm.” He flipped through the pages before handing it back to you. “I’ll have ta check it out sometime. Never seen it.”

“You what?! We’ve gotta change that.” You smiled at the little interaction.

“Might just have to take ya up on that offer.” He grinned. You felt your heart melt a little.

Mrs. Russo started the lesson, and it didn’t take long for Raph to become completely and utterly confused. Donnie was busy helping Mikey and Leo seemed to understand what was happening, but Raph was so lost. And based on the notes on your page, you seemed to get it.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Can you uh, I don’t get it.”

“Sure!” you nodded. “What do you need help with?”

“How are ya supposed to use the whatever-it-is to find the side? I keep getting’ the wrong numbers.”

“Okay so this is the hypotenuse.”

“Mmhmm.”

“And so you just add the squares of the other sides to-”

“This is a triangle, what do squares have to do with it?” he asked. You giggled.

“You’ve never taken Geometry before, have you?”

“How’d ya guess?” he offered a sheepish chuckle and shook his head. “It may as well be written in Chinese.”

“Well, tell you what, I don’t have any plans after school. If you need a tutor, you could come to my apartment. We’ll watch Beauty and the Beast and do math. Two birds in one stone.”

“Sounds great.” He felt his heart start hammering again and wished it would stop. He couldn’t have you. You weren’t his to have. He wasn’t your soulmate. The universe didn’t care about his feelings. And yet, he accepted the invitation knowing full well that the more he built up momentum, the harder he’d fall when he lost you.

***

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this movie.” You told him as you sat down with the popcorn on the couch of your apartment. The math was done, and now all that was left was to expose him to the movie you held nearest and dearest to your heart.

“Grew up with four boys, there’s not a whole lot of Disneying that goes on.”

“Well, I guess that’s what I’m around for, right?” You asked, tossing a few kernels of fluffy popcorn into your mouth. Raph grabbed a handful too.

“Guess so. That and math assistance.” He chuckled. You pressed play and draped a blanket over your legs and his. You had only met Raph that afternoon, but it felt like you had known him for years. Maybe he was just meant to be your best friend. Maybe there was a secret internal clock that had stopped ticking while the one counting down her true love was still running.

As the movie started, Raph watched every second. He loved every minute of it, but maybe only because he had you beside him, reciting every word right along with it. He was surprised the DVD even worked at all with how many times you had probably watched it. It was unhealthy, but this perfect little quirk was one of the many things he’d miss when he’d have to let you go.

***

After morning classes the next day, you found Raph and his brothers at lunch and took a seat with them instead of sitting with your other friends as you usually did. The other three smiled at you. They had talked to Raph the night before in a conversation that had basically consisted of Raph telling them about his soulmate that wasn’t his soulmate and the movie they had watched about loving people beyond their exterior. Donnie had called it beautifully tragic and pretty damn ironic. Raph agreed. But he was determined to be friends with you at least. He wanted to get to know you. He’d rather know you for a week and then never see you again than never know you for who you really were before it was too late.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey (Y/N),” Raph grinned.

“So, I figured, if this is your only week here, we’ve gotta make the best of it. Mall. Tonight. Do you have plans?”

“No.” Leo answered. “No plans.”

“Good. I have a car. Meet me by my locker after school.”

“All right, angelcakes.” Mikey winked. “We’ll be there.”

***

Here they were. The mall. It wasn’t what they had expected, but in a way, it was. There were pretzel stands and pop-up Chinese food places, a bunch of clothing stores that they could smell from the other end of the mall, and of course the movie theater. You and the boys nestled into the corner booth of the food court with giant pretzels, nachos, and giant red slushies. And they just watched.

“You guys act like you’ve never been to a mall before.” You chuckled, taking a sip of your slushy. They offered apologetic shrugs.

“Would it be bad if we told ya we haven’t?” Raph asked. You raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously?! This trip has taken on a new importance. After we finish these pretzels, we have a mission.”

“What are we gonna do?” Leo asked.

“Everything.”

You had promised everything, and you had pretty much delivered. Hollister? Check. Target? Check. The arcade? Check. Photo booth? Check. Movie? In progress. Raph as seated beside you with Mikey on his other side. Mikey kept making attempts at signaling his older brother to get him to make a move on you. Raph shook his head. The move wasn’t his to make. He couldn’t push himself on you. Not like this.

But when there was a huge jump scare, you clung to his bicep, causing both of your heart rates to soar. A slow smile crept across his lips.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.” You apologized. Raph leaned into whisper a reply.

“No harm done. If ya need someone to protect ya from the monsters, I’m right here.”

“Oh hush, you.” You giggled as a timid blush settling across your cheeks and gave his shoulder a tiny shove, earning a deep chuckle. Another distorted creature jumped out of the shadows on the screen. Mikey spilled popcorn, and you pulled one of Raph’s large hands in front of your face. He laughed and smiled at you, a soft smile that his brothers had never seen before.

But it faded just as fast as it had formed with the realization that he only had a few more days with you before he’d have to say goodbye. Forever. He had been human for so long now that he had forgotten he’d have to go back. The clock was ticking. He had to take advantage of this while he could because before he knew it, he’d lose his soulmate just as fast as he had found her.

***

The week passed in a breeze. Your school days consisted of helping Raph with math and having lunch with him and his brothers. After school hours, all five of you would pile into your car and go back to your apartment for pizza and movies. But today…today was different. Today was goodbye. Raph wanted to make it special. If he was going to let you go, he certainly didn’t want you to forget him.

April had helped him pack a picnic basket and assisted him with his surprise present. So at noon on Saturday, he arrived at your apartment to pick you up and then you took the train to Central Park.

He had told you that the rest of the boys were busy packing up, but really they just wanted to give their brother space to say goodbye to you on his own. After all, he was the one losing the most when they became turtles again. He had hours.

You sat down on the red and white checkered blanket and helped him unpack the food and such. You popped a bright strawberry into your mouth. It was a few minutes before Raph brought up the topic of goodbye.

“So uh, we’re goin’ back to Queens tomorrow.” Raph said. You nodded. “So uh, I wanted to say goodbye.”

“It’s not like we can’t still hang out, right? We can still be friends.” You looked at him. He smiled sadly. “Can’t we?”

“I don’t know. I just…I’m not what you think I am…I’m not who you think I am. You’re meeting your soulmate in three days and-”

“How did you know about that?” you asked, heart racing at the thought of the future being so close. Too close.

“It’s on yer wrist.” Raph shrugged. A sad look formed in his green eyes and a sudden wave of realization washed over you. You grabbed Raph’s hand, pulling his wrist so you could see it. He tried to pull it back from you, but didn’t want to fight you, and he didn’t want to lie to you either. Well, more than he already was anyway.

“Your timer…” Your face scrunched up. “Who’s your soulmate?”

“That’s a…complicated question.” Raph answered. You looked at him slowly, hesitating to meet his gaze. As soon as your eyes fell on his, his hand tensed up.

“No.” your voice was quiet, eyes wide and heart trying to escape your chest. “It can’t…I can’t…Mine is still…” Your eyes locked onto the numbers as they ticked lower and lower. You denied it, and yet maybe you had known the moment you met him. Something was off. Something about the way h talked to you, the way he interacted with you.

“I know. It’s impossible. But uh, I never really expected to have a soulmate anyway, so…I guess at least I got to know ya before I gotta say goodbye.”

“But-”

“It’s all right.” Raph read the hurt on your face. The broken that came with the hand the universe had dealt the two of you. “I’ll be all right. So will you when you meet him.” He reached into the basket. “I got ya something to remember me by.”

Raph pulled out a little velvet box and opened it. Inside was a necklace: a silver turtle pendant on a leather cord. “I…I know it ain’t much, but-”

“I love it.” You told him. You wish you could tell him more. That you loved him, that you were his soulmate, but one of those statements wasn’t true. Raph did the clasp around your neck and pulled your hair over the cord. He smiled sadly. You took his hand in your own. “No matter what happens…no matter what the universe has in store for either of us…I will never forget you, Raphael. I promise. And I know it doesn’t matter much, but…I love you.” You stated quietly. He pulled you into his arms and held you as though you would disappear.

“It matters more that ya could ever know. I love you too.”

***

Raph woke up the next morning the way he grew up. A turtle. Big and bulky and covered in muscle. His scales and shell had reappeared as his extra fingers and hair had disappeared. He rolled over and stared at the wall. You were gone. He had lost you forever, and two nights from now, you would move on. You would forget about him.

He rolled onto his shell and stared at the ceiling, cursing the universe for everything. He wanted to punch something, so off to the dojo he went to punch the shit out of their punching bag. This went on for two days. Raph listened to his loud music and punched their bag until it fell off of its hook, only to pick it up and repeat the cycle. He barely ate, and every time he tried to sleep, all he could see was your face and the sadness in your eyes when you realized you were his but he couldn’t be yours. The heartbreak he had caused. The heartbreak he had received.

He should have just left you at the very beginning. Then he wouldn’t be like this.

When Leo announced a patrol on the night you were going to move on from him, he was ready to bust some heads. How else was the emotion supposed to get out of him? His anger, his sadness, his regret, he was going to get rid of all of it.

And so out they went, out of the sewers and onto the surface, hopping from building to building until finally, they found what they were looking for: crime. Some lowlife gang members were harassing some chick, and they were going to put a stop to it. Except, the chick wasn’t just any old girl. It was you. Raph stopped in his tracks, the anger bubbling up inside of him before diving in to pull the guys off of you. The guys were going to help him, but he didn’t need it. He was so powerful, zipping through the shadows like, well, a ninja. The guys left standing ran for the hills, terrified of the huge green creature that had beat up their friends.

You took a few shaky steps backwards. What if whatever had helped was coming for you next. You couldn’t see him in the dark, but Raph could see you. Even now, you were stunning. You took a few steps forward, causing him to step back.

“Hello?”

“I ain’t who ya think, (Y/N).” Raph said. Your breath hitched, eyes awash in realization.

“Raphael?” Your broken voice sliced through the silence. He didn’t answer. “Y-your voice sounds d-different.”

“Ya don’t gotta be afraid.” He tried to reassure you. His voice came from much higher than it had in the past. Had he always been this tall? Your heart hammered and your face reddened and you didn’t know why you were scared, but you were. “It’s okay.”

Tick…tick…tick…

“Raph, let me see you.”

“I uh…don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please.” You whispered. You glanced down at your wrist. There were seconds left. “Please.”

“I want ya tah remember me that way. Not like…this.”

“What do you mean?” You knew what he meant.

“Please, just go home, (Y/N)! Forget about me!”

“I…I can’t, Raph! I can’t just pretend you don’t exist!” You stared at the numbers before holding up your wrist to show him, if he could even see. “I think you’re my soulmate! And for some reason the wires got twisted somewhere, but…Please, Raphael. I love you.” You looked up at where he stood in the dark for a few more seconds before collapsing to your knees, tears rolling down your soft cheeks. Raph carefully, slowly knelt before you so quietly you hadn’t heard him.

He pressed his hand against your cheek, wiping away the tears with his large green fingers. Your eyes opened gradually, rising to look up at his tear-filled green eyes in time with the ding of your timer. The large, rough green face in front of you was a little more than a shock. Your eyes widened. He began to pull away, but you grabbed his huge green hand, keeping him there.

“I’m sorry. About all of this.” He didn’t dare to look at you. Not now that you knew what he truly was. Your small hand ventured up to his cheek, gently travelling across the scales there. Your tentative touches sent shivers up his spine.

“Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry yer stuck with-”

“Shhhhh…” You shushed him, wrapping your arms around him tightly. He held you against his chest, his arms moving slowly to embrace you. He had never imagined you could love him. Not like this. But here you were, hugging him as though he was human.

“But I’m a freak.” Were the only words he could manage to put together.

“You’re not a freak.” You pulled away so you could look at him. “You’re a hero. If it weren’t for you and your brothers, I would be dead three times over.” You paused, watching the slow smile that formed on his cheeks. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” His voice was muffled by the fabric of your sweatshirt as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. “I love you so freakin’ much.”

[airoasis]

Jose Ramirez defends title with brand-new trainer and renewed inspiration

On March 17 in New York, Jose Ramirez achieved a lifelong dream as he outfought and outboxed Amir Imam to win an uninhabited junior welterweight world title.It was a jubilant victory, and when the ratings were read, Ramirez commemorated with his team, consisting of longtime fitness instructor Freddie Roach.Jose Ramirez vs.

Danny O'Connor Where: Conserve Mart Center in Fresno, California When: Saturday TELEVISION: ESPN, ESPN Deportes 9:30 p.m. ET Little did anyone know at the time, but that would be their final

battle together. Normally, fighters alter trainers when they lose, not when they win the biggest fight of their career.Though Ramirez proclaims a deep respect and adoration for all Roach did for him, and for his Hall of Popularity profession, he likewise felt like he required more attention and to be more of a priority.And so in spite of a career-best win, Ramirez called Roach in April and informed him he was moving on.Ramirez left Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood

, California, where Roach assistant Marvin Somodio was typically his hands-on fitness instructor, to go with trainer Robert Garcia.Editor's Picks"I wish Freddie absolutely nothing however the finest. He's an amazing coach, now it's a new chapter and I'm delighted I'm with somebody that feels the exact same excitement about my career and who does the little

things to make me comfy,

"Ramirez told ESPN.So committed to the modification, Ramirez rented an apartment for himself, his girlfriend and their 2-year-old child that is just a couple of minutes from Garcia's fitness center in Riverside, California, so he would not have to make the everyday hour-plus drive from his location in Los Angeles."It's larger and I pay less than in L.A.," Ramirez said, laughing.And so Ramirez will go into his very first title defense with Garcia as his chief 2nd rather of Roach when he squares off with heavy underdog Danny O'Connor (30-3, 11 KOs ), 33, a southpaw from Framingham, Massachusetts,

in the main occasion of the Leading Rank Boxing on ESPN card Saturday night at the Save

Mart Center in Fresno, California, where Ramirez, from neighboring Avenal, California, is a substantial draw and the toast of the neighborhood for his ring exploits and steadfast social work."This was my dream. Because I was little, I desired to become a world champ and then have the ability to protect the title in front of the fans of the Central Valley, "Ramirez stated."That is occurring on Saturday."Before the fight with Imam, Ramirez (22-0, 16 KOs ), 25, had currently begun to think about

making the switch to Garcia.He has actually known Garcia for many years, and a couple of months before the Imam fight, prior to he began his full camp at Wild Card, he went to train with him for about a week. Jose Ramirez, left, got a new fitness instructor in Robert Garcia for his junior welterweight

title defense against Danny O'Connor. Photo by Mikey Garcia/Top Rank "I liked how he worked, but I had to go to the Wild Card to complete up, "Ramirez stated. "Marvin invested a great deal of time

with me, and I desired Marvin to be there and see become a world champion, and Freddie also invested a long time in me. I could not make the move before ending up being a world champion. I felt I owed them that respect, to provide them that credit of ending up being a world champ together. "After he won the title, Ramirez stated he was still uncertain if he would make the modification.

"I still wasn't One Hundred Percent sure of leaving the Wild Card. I was utilized to being there.

Marvin existed. It was extremely tough to leave," Ramirez said.But then something happened that Ramirez stated made the decision clear for him. He and a friend participated in HBO's March 29 Hollywood premier of the network's documentary on battling legend Andre the Giant with Roach. Ramirez had just won the title and hoped that he would stroll the red carpet with Roach, who would reveal off his new champion. "I wish Freddie nothing but the very best. He's an incredible coach however now it's a brand-new chapter and I enjoy I'm with somebody that feels the exact same enjoyment about my career and who does the little things to make me comfortable."Jose Ramirez Rather, Ramirez said a member of Roach's group" informed us to go in the back door and we'll see you within," while Roach strolled the red carpet." I was a little offended,"Ramirez said."If I had a world champ, I would make certain he was known. I hadn't made a 100 percent option to leave until that day."And so now he is with Garcia and

pleased with his choice." I required somebody to really think in me and be encouraged to press me to my limits,"Ramirez said."Freddie has actually had many champions. I

have no idea if his enjoyment was still there. I saw enjoyment in Robert to train me. He wished to train a guy who was valuable and who could take it to the next level. He was excited to see someone like me, and that motivated me. He wishes to be a part of it too. He opens up the health club to my sponsors to go see me train." Freddie's group, they're really nice. They have my regard. Now with Robert, the difference is he has a lot of really great prospects and champions, and it resembles a group. I seem like I belong to a team. I was more by myself

in Wild Card. Now there are others who press me." Garcia makes obvious of the truth that he had his eyes on Ramirez even when he was an amateur. Jose Ramirez, right, defeated Amir Imam by consentaneous decision in March to win a vacant junior welterweight belt. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

"I wanted him considering that the beginners," Garcia said. "I went to a few of the amateur battles that he had in the Fresno location, and I remained in talks with his daddy and Jose and everybody surrounding Jose. They chose they wanted to begin their profession off with Freddie Roach and no hard sensations, no absolutely nothing. Before his last battle when he ended up being champ, we currently had actually been speaking about training together. He had already trained in my gym for a week or so, but for him, he stated it was too challenging to be driving back and forth since he still had a house in Hollywood, and it was very near to his fight to do the drive every day, so he decided to end up training camp and consider that fight, the world title fight, to Freddie Roach, which he felt Freddie Roach was worthy of.

"I still had two of my people drive to Hollywood for sparring to assist him get ready for that fight. We already had that connection, and following that battle, it was already said we would begin collaborating. He's very dedicated, trains extremely hard, really simple, a kid that has so lots of things in mind not just for himself however for his community in the Fresno location. Just a great kid."

Rick Mirigian, Ramirez's supervisor, said the pairing has been exceptional.

"I wanted him given that the amateurs. I went to a few of the amateur fights that he had in the Fresno area and I remained in talks with his father and Jose and everyone surrounding Jose. They chose they desired to begin their profession off with Freddie Roach and no difficult feelings, no absolutely nothing." Robert Garcia

"Ramirez has actually shown a fire I have not seen in a long period of time," he said. "He mores than happy and inspired, feels at home and feels a bargain of respect. Garcia has done exactly what he assured, provided him the top priority time, had high-level sparring with guys like Mikey Garcia, and has actually made some great tweaks with Ramirez's defense that does not take his aggressive nature away, however offers him some different appearances and visible enhancement in those areas.

"It was the right call [to change trainers] Not an easy call, however the best one, as we value and will constantly respect Freddie and Marvin. Being a world champion required being the top priority now and having the fighter feel highly that you truly think in him to be a star."

When Mirigian worked out the offer for Garcia to end up being Ramirez's fitness instructor, he got one major concession that showed the Ramirez camp simply just how much of a concern he would be.Garcia likewise trains his younger sibling, four-division world titleholder Mikey Garcia, a ruling lightweight titlist and one of boxing's finest pound for pound. In the not likely event he and Ramirez have actually battles set up on the exact same day, Robert Garcia assured that he 'd opt for Ramirez and leave Mikey in the care of their dad, Eduardo Garcia, and Robert's boy, Robert Garcia Jr." We've been in that scenario previously, two fighters or two

world champs fighting the exact same day. That's why I have a terrific group with my daddy, who has actually constantly been there to assist with whatever I need. My kid. He's found out a lot," Robert Garcia said. "He's prepared for whatever we have to do. If Jose is to eliminate the very same day as Mikey, which we would aim to prevent as much as possible, however if that day does come, I don't even have to speak to Mikey about it or my dad." My papa and my son would deal with Mikey's battle because, like I said, we're a team. Plus, my papa is really familiar with Mikey's career. My papa's part of the group every day. My boy is likewise, so we would have no problem with that. That would not be a problem at all. I would go with Jose, and my dad and my son would stick with Mikey."It's that sort of dedication and commitment that Ramirez was looking for."I think I found it now in Riverside," Ramirez said.

[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  

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Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan: Media Workout Notes, Quotes & Photos

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Published: April 17, 2019

Saturday, April 20 LIVE on Top Rank on ESPN PPV from Madison Square Garden beginning at 9 p.m. EST/ 6 p.m. PST Unbeaten sensations Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson to appear in separate co-feature bouts

WBO welterweight champion Terence "Bud" Crawford and Amir "King" Khan hosted a media workout today at EverybodyFights, as the pair prepares for Saturday evening's Top Rank on ESPN PPV showdown at Madison Square Garden. The stacked undercard will feature a pair of highly anticipated co-features: Lightweight sensation Teofimo Lopez will fight Edis Tatli in a 12-rounder, while featherweight phenom Shakur Stevenson will face former world title challenger Christopher Diaz in a 10-rounder. In the 10-round televised opener, Felix Verdejo seeks to return to lightweight contention versus former interim world champion Bryan Vasquez. Here is what the PPV fighters had to say. Terence Crawford "I feel like I'm already the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Beating Amir Khan would only solidify my place in the sport. Amir Khan is undefeated as a welterweight and can't be underestimated. He has great hand speed, movement, and some power as well. I want to showcase all of my talents in this fight." "I don't worry about the bigger names. My focus is on Amir Khan. He is the task at hand. I've never overlooked an opponent." "I feel like a lot of times people don't give me credit for who I've beaten. I've defeated gold medalists, undefeated fighters, world champions. It doesn't matter. Before my fights, people talk about how it's going to be the hardest fight of my career. Then I beat them, and people make them seem like they were nothing. I am going to keep doing what I'm doing and keep being victorious." "I am on a high level right now, and the way I beat people makes it seem like they don't belong in the ring with me. Against Khan, I will show everyone again why I'm the best fighter in the world." Amir Khan “I wanted this fight because I wanted to fight the best. Terence Crawford presented the greatest challenge to me at this point in my career. Listen, the Kell Brook fight was there, but fighting Terence gives me the opportunity to show I am a pound-for-pound fighter.” "I'm not going to be giving all that weight away when I fight Crawford. When I fought Canelo, he was a much bigger man. This is a fairer fight in terms of weight. I am confident I can win this fight because he has never fought anyone like me. I have power, speed, and movement, and he has certainly never fought a welterweight like me. I've grown into my weight. I'm not just another number on Crawford's record." "When I lose focus is when I get in trouble. Against Samuel Vargas, it wasn't even a great punch that put me down. I lost focus for a second and got caught. I've sparred with strong, heavy-handed guys this camp, and I know I can take a big welterweight punch." Teofimo Lopez "Training camp has been great. It's been a long time since someone has gone the distance with me, and that's not changing come Saturday night. We're working on new things in the gym, focusing on power and changing things up. I've shown people some of my arsenal, but no one has seen what I am capable of yet. Against Tatli, I will put on a show. I will steal the show." "My last fight {Feb. 2 against Diego Magdaleno} showed some people can withstand my power, but at the end of the day, they all fall." "There's no bad blood with Tatli and me, but I'm still going to kick his ass. I'm still going to beat him up. That I can guarantee. They bumped this fight to a 12-rounder to get me ready for a world title shot. That's coming soon." "All of the hard work that my father and I have put in is starting to pay off. Fans and media have recognized my talents, but I am focused solely on what's in front of me this Saturday. Every time I fight at MSG, I take over the show, and that's the plan. I will steal the show." "I don't need a Lomachenko fight to be a superstar. But I want to be the best and I want to fight the best. This is my last year at lightweight, so after I get that world title, let's make it happen!" Edis Tatli  "I came a long way for this fight because I know I can win. I have been in with the better fighters, and my talent will show on Saturday night." "All fighters dream of fighting in America. To fight at Madison Square Garden on a card like this is a dream come true." Shakur Stevenson "I was ready to take the next step in my career. This is a fight I wanted. I want to show everyone I am a top fighter. The time was now to step up." "My team and I know we can beat Diaz, which is why we took this fight. This is my time. This is what I've wanted since I turned pro following the Olympics." "I want all the champions, but first, I have to beat Christopher Diaz." Christopher Diaz  "Shakur made a mistake when he accepted this fight. I'm sure he's going to be a world champion one day. He's a very good fighter, but his team made a terrible error in judgment." "All fighters say this, but this was truly the best training camp of my career. This is my first fight with Freddie Roach, and we had perfect chemistry from day one. I've been sacrificing and training hard for three months. I am going to take his undefeated record. I am going to win this for my family and for Puerto Rico." "I am a different fighter since moving down from 130 pounds. This is the new and improved Christopher Diaz."  Felix Verdejo "I know this is a very important fight for my career. I'm going against a former world champion and a great fighter. But I am ready to show the world that I'm still an elite fighter." "Having my baby last year changed my life. I fight for her now. It puts things in perspective." "For me, this fight is about redemption. After beating Vasquez, I want to fight for a world title." Bryan Vasquez "This fight means everything to me. I am going to give it my all in this ring. One thing I know is that Felix Verdejo has never faced anyone with my skills or my toughness. I want a world title shot, and beating Felix is my way to get there." "To fight on a card like this is a great honor. Since signing with Top Rank last year, I have been active and improving with every fight. I am ready to put the lightweight division on notice. Felix isn't ready for me." "You haven't seen the best of Bryan Vasquez. I have been in there with elite fighters, and that experience will show on Saturday night."

(Featured Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)