TMNT: Shellshocked!
Episode 1: Out of the Shadows
(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four)
Descending into the sewers, the gang made their way back to their little makeshift home. It wasn't much— a few drained and dried rooms hidden away from the rest of the tunnel system— but it had been their sanctuary for as long as any of them could remember. It was dark, and cramped, but also quiet, secluded, and most importantly: safe.
They all chatted excitedly about the fight as they entered.
"Who knew there were other mutants in New York?" Raph said casually.
"It doesn't make any sense," said Leo, a bit more agitated, "Where did they come from? How come we’ve never seen them before?"
"What I wanna know is why two guys with laser technology are robbing a convenience store of all places," Donnie added.
Leo stopped in his tracks as he spotted the shadow in the corner of the room. Raph and Donnie stopped as they too noticed they weren't alone. Mikey however, walking backwards and completely oblivious, continued to chat as the others quieted.
"Yeah, did you see the way they just disappeared like that? What if they can like, teleport or something?"
Raph elbowed Mikey hard in the side. "Ow!" He exclaimed indignantly, until he finally turned around.
"Oh, hey Dad."
Their father, known to them as the great Master Splinter, was sitting in his chair by the television, reading a magazine. He was not, in fact, a turtle, but a large rat with brown scruffy fur and soft wrinkles around his eyes. He was revered by his sons with the highest possible honor, having been their caretaker and their only support their whole lives. He had taught them everything they knew, from their intense martial arts training to how to boil an egg. And he had been there with them through every bump and scrape, every nightmare, every tear. In short, they adored him.
Tonight, however, the boys were wary. It was nearly dawn, and he appeared to have been waiting up for them. That was never a good sign.
"Hello my sons. Did you boys enjoy your evening?" Splinter didn't look up from his magazine as he addressed the turtles. That was also not a good sign. They opted to match his energy with a chorus of halfhearted yes-es and it-was-alrights.
"Did you do any training while you were out?"
Leo answered, "Uh, yeah, I mean, a little. We did our usual rooftop run, and then we got some pizza and played basketball over on 19th—"
Mikey interrupted, "Yeah, and there were these two weirdos robbing the convenience store down below!" Raph quickly smacked him on the arm ("Ow! Quit it!"), but the damage was done.
"Ah, but you heeded my warnings this time, yes? You did not fight them, did you?"
Leo answered with a quick, "No."
Raph and Donnie followed suit:
"'Course not."
"Definitely not."
"… Yeah we did."
Leo drooped in disappointment as Donnie facepalmed. Raph let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Mikey!"
"What?"
"Enough!"
The boys knew that tone— the four immediately snapped to attention, heads bowed. Splinter rose slowly from his chair to stand in front of them. Leaning on his wooden cane, his eyes tired, he seemed extra small tonight. And yet, his authority filled the room as he addressed his wayward sons.
"I have asked you already to stay away from the people on the surface."
"I know sensei, I tried to stop them—"
"So you deflect blame from yourself, Leonardo? You are their leader. Your team’s actions are your responsibility."
"For the record, he did try, sensei."
"And why did you not listen, Raphael? A team should heed its leader’s warnings, should it not?"
"Yeah but, it was just two guys sensei. And they were stealing a bunch of medical stuff—"
"So why did you feel the need to take them on yourselves? Couldn’t the police have dealt with them?"
"But we were right there! By the time the police showed up they would've been gone. Aren't you always teaching us to do the right thing?"
"Yes, but—"
"I mean, why did you teach us how to fight if we’re not supposed to?" Raph was growing frustrated. Leo noticed his hand twitch as he spoke. Here we go, Leo thought with a sigh.
"It is to allow you to protect yourselves from danger—"
"Uh huh, and if some lady is getting mugged in the street we’re just supposed to stand there and watch—"
"I know it seems unfair, but when there are humans involved—"
"Right right, I forgot, the freaks gotta stay in the shadows, 'cause the humans can’t handle someone a little different—"
"Raphael, stop. It’s not that simple. And you know it." Splinter's voice was calm, but it cut like a knife. Raph quieted immediately.
"You boys are getting older now. Surely you see that the world is not divided between good and evil. Yes, the street is full of thieves and muggers. They are easy targets. But true evil cannot be fought with hands or weapons. It hides in the shadows, away from the streets. It corrupts from the inside, steals without lifting a finger. It forces people into desperate situations, where good men and women are forced to become thieves and muggers, just to survive. Do you understand? Tell me you understand."
Raph stayed quiet a moment, clearly defeated. "…I understand, sensei." The boys sat together in humble silence, dejected and uncertain.
Splinter continued, "My sons. I know it is difficult to remain hidden. I do not wish to keep you all trapped down here, in the sewers. You deserve to live your lives out in the open, free in the sunlight. Unfortunately, this world is not yet ready for the likes of you or I. So we must remain in the shadows, for now. Where we can be safe."
Mikey finally spoke, "We’re sorry, sensei."
"Do not apologize. Just promise me— promise me you will not fight again."
"We promise, sensei," Leo spoke up.
"I do not ask you as your sensei, Leonardo. I ask you as your father."
Leo smiled, tension finally dissolving from his shoulders, "I promise, Dad."
Splinter smiled back, "Thank you, my son. Now, to bed, all of you. It’s very late."
With that, Splinter headed off to his own bed, leaving the boys huddled in the living room.
"… So, what now?"
~~~
At a small desk in a large office, April O'Neil, a spunky college student with a fire in her heart and a penchant for justice, sat hunched over her laptop, tip-tapping away at her keyboard. Her large glasses slipped down her nose, and her headband was giving her a headache, but she paid them no heed. It had taken a little over an hour, but now she was focused, in the zone, and determined to finish her assignment. Nothing was going to distract her now.
Except maybe her phone ringing.
April glanced down to see the familiar profile smiling back at her. With an exasperated sigh, she answered the call and resumed her typing.
"Not really a good time right now, Don," she said curtly.
"Hey April. Can you look something up for us?"
"What part of 'not a good time' did you not get? Don’t you have a computer?"
"Yeah but we’re getting nowhere, and you have a huge database at your fingertips. Isn’t that why you work at Channel Six?"
"Yes, I work an unpaid internship with all my ample free time just so I can look things up for you. 'Cause I'm just that kinda gal."
Finishing off her paragraph, April sat back and propped her phone up against her laptop screen. She turned on video chat, only to see all four turtles huddled in front of Donnie’s screen.
"Ok, Slick. Ten minutes. What do you need?"
Donnie smiled and sat forward. "Any info you can find on a mutant rhino or mutant warthog."
"Woah, hold up. Mutant? You mean like you guys?"
Leo leaned in over the back of Donnie's chair, "Surprised us too. Found them robbing a convenience store last night. Thought they were masks at first, but—"
"Man, and here I thought you guys were special or something."
"Rude."
"Ha! But seriously, nothing's coming up. You sure they weren't masks?"
"Positive," Mikey said, rubbing the still-sore spot on the back of his head.
"Weird," said April, "You've never seen 'em before?"
"Nope."
"What did your dad say?"
"We… haven't told him."
"He chewed us out last night for fightin' again," Raph grumbled.
"As he should!" April chided, "Can't believe you guys. What are you, a bunch of vigilante knuckleheads now?"
"Hey, they were robbing a store!" Raph fought back, "What were we supposed to do, sit back and watch?"
"Yes!" April leaned back in her chair, exasperated. "Look, I know you got a big heart Chips, but there are some seriously bad people out there. They don't play around. And you guys could get in real trouble if someone figures out you're not wearing costumes."
"Whatever, that's not the point," Leo suddenly interrupted, "the point is there's been two mutants running around New York for who knows how long, and we've never even heard of them before. I mean, where the heck did they even come from? They can't have just sprung up out of nowhere!"
April sighed, clearly not over the subject, but not willing to argue. "Yeah, well, maybe they did, right? Maybe they were mutated recently."
"But how? We barely know where that ooze came from. Dad said it was probably some toxic spill from a factory or something, which would have been cleaned up a long time ago. Unless there's a new toxic spill that just so happens to be the same stuff, and how is it they would be such big animals anyway…"
Leo was rambling again. As he spoke, April noticed her co-worker and fellow intern Irma walking up to her. April muted the boys just as Irma reached the desk.
"Heyy, Irma!" April tried not to sound too suspicious.
"Hey April. What are you up to?" Irma was a cheerful and positive young woman who always seemed happy to see April. She twirled a finger through one of her thick brown curls as she spoke.
"Oh, you know… research," April eyed her computer screen, "Gotta find article inspo somewhere!"
Irma bent around the desk to look at April’s screen. Realizing their camera was still on, Leo scrambled over his bros to turn it off just in time.
"Mutant rhinos, huh?" Irma mused.
"Haha, yeah, I kinda… went down a Wikio rabbit hole… you know how it is…"
"Oh, I do that all the time. You lookin' to write something on genetics?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah! Burnes was looking for something science-y to spice up the paper."
"I didn't know you were into that kinda stuff, April! You always seemed more of a philosophy type to me."
"Ah, well, to be honest, a friend turned me on to it," April paused, wondering if asking Irma would be pressing her luck. It couldn't hurt I suppose. "You wouldn't happen to have any insight on the topic, would you?"
"Well, I don’t know about any rhinos, but what if you wrote about the TCRI Labs fire? Wasn't that about genetics?"
"What fire now?"
"TCRI, you never heard about it? There was a huge conspiracy around it! Here, let me see—" Irma wedged herself next to April on the seat and started typing on her computer. A few moments later an old article popped up on screen. The title was blazed across the top in large font: GENETICS LABS REDUCED TO ASH— FOUL PLAY AT HAND?
"Yes, here it is!" Irma lit up with excitement, "Fifteen years ago, there was a lab in the Wolf building over on 23rd called TCRI. The head scientist was supposedly this famous geneticist from Japan, but no one had ever heard of him before. There were rumors he was experimenting with genetic mutation in animals, all illegal testing and stuff, but the police never found anything criminal. Then one night a fire broke out and burned down the whole building. Everything inside was destroyed; firemen couldn't find the source of the fire, and when they went to question the scientist, he had mysteriously disappeared. Isn't that cool?"
"Super," April was quite taken aback, "Uh, well, thanks Irms, but it seems like this story was already written awhile ago. Besides, I think Burnes is looking for something a little more… modern."
"Ah, yeah, you’re probably right. You know me, I just love a good mystery. Well anyway, let me know how it goes! I’d love to read whatever you come up with."
"Thanks, will do!" April watched as Irma walked off before turning on her camera again.
"So, that was weird, right?"
"Weirdly specific, yes," Leo answered.
"She had that locked and loaded," Mikey said, amused.
"Hey, random question but, how old are you guys again?"
"Uh. Fifteen."
~~~
Later that night, as the sun dipped below the towering skyscrapers, the boys ate dinner with their father in their dark little abode. The table was quiet, but not awkward. Each diner had their own thing going— Donnie was on his phone, Raph read a comic book, and Mikey listened to his favorite tunes on his headphones.
Splinter and Leo, the only ones without distractions, focused on their food. Leo played anxiously with his, lost in the whirlpool of his thoughts.
"... Hey, Dad?" Leo mused aloud.
"What's on your mind, Leonardo?"
"... Have you ever met any mutants besides us?"
Raph and Donnie both looked up from their distractions. They shared a quick glance at each other, then looked back to Splinter.
"I'm afraid not. We seem to be five of a kind, you all and I."
"Don't you find that... weird?"
All attention was on Splinter now. Admittedly, the topic had been on all their minds all afternoon, but no one had actually planned on bringing it up, especially at dinner of all places. What was Leo doing? Raph eyed his father for hints of suspicion, Donnie watched to see how he would answer. Mikey merely gazed curiously around the table.
"Weird how?" Splinter probed.
"It's just... I don't know, it's weird that all these years we've never met anyone else like us. I mean, how did 'us' even happen in the first place? Were we really just some freak accident in the sewers? How do four baby turtles even get into the sewers to begin with—"
"Leonardo," Splinter stopped him as he always did, with a quiet voice and a hand on his shoulder. It was common for Leo's mind to quickly race out of control, and Splinter had gotten quite adept at catching him before he flew off the rails.
"You are searching for answers to difficult questions, my son. You wish to know where you came from. Your origins… your purpose, even."
"I... I guess so."
"I wish I could give you a satisfying answer. The truth is, I don't know. When I found you, covered in that toxic spill, your mutation had already taken place. I took you in because I saw you for what you were— four young children lost in a very big world. And doing so changed me as well."
"Into a rat?" Mikey interjected.
"Into a father. But as for what came before, I can't say. I don't know how you came to be covered in ooze. I don't know where the ooze came from, or how it worked. I can’t say if fate, or some grand scheme was involved in some way. It is entirely possible that the four of you were created out of simple, strange coincidence."
The boys sat in silence a moment, processing.
"... Well that's not very exciting."
"I’m sorry to disappoint you, Michelangelo. I can tell you that meeting you all has changed my life for the better. I can’t have asked for a more perfect family."
Mikey beamed, "Aww!"
"Thanks, Dad," Donnie smiled.
Splinter smiled at his sons, but noticed Leo staring down at his plate. He remained unconvinced.
"It’s best not to dwell on it, Leonardo," said Splinter, "some questions are not meant to be answered. Remember, a clear mind lets thoughts wash over it like waves."
Leo continued to pick at his food, waves of thought crashing down ever faster.
~~~
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please reblog it and tell me what you thought in the tags!! Feedback is greatly appreciated 🙏
Part three will take a bit while I work on the art for it, but it's a smaller update so hopefully won't take too long 😅