Damn.
Wouldn't ya know it. April and I finally get one night to try and have a romantic evening and she gets called away on work. It figures.
She had to come back to her apartment to change and get her cellular. Well, I guess I spent all day cleanin' for nothing. I did it just so she could stop by. I even put all my laundry in the closet and not in the corner like I usually do.
Huh? Wait a minute!
What was that? Yo! That's Leo on the answering machine. I'm sure April won't mind if I rewind the tape and listen to the whole message
Aw hell! This flamin' Radio Shack piece of junk, I can hardly make out what the message was! I'm gonna hafta fix it for her again.
Well, so much for April, she's already long gone. She said to watch things until she got back, but Leo sounds like he's in trouble. I can't make out anything except somethin' about being shot, donuts and--
I guess I'm gonna get to see some action after all! Although it's not exactly the kind I was hopin' for.
I'll go back to my place and get my toys, then start searching for Leo. Okay, got the keys, now I gotta run four blocks to get to the truck. I love it, I'm dodgin' through the crowd like Wayne Gretsky at the Olympics.
Hey, that little hot dog stand is still open! If I time this just right: money down, snatch up the 'dog, all while running by yelling "Keep the change!"
Yeah!
Aw hell! I forgot to grab a Jalapeno pepper! Oh well, this'll last me for a while. Come to think of it, I sure could go for some spaghetti right about now....
Hey! That reminds me! April and I had planned to watch The Shadow with the guys after we spent some time together. I had told them to get spaghetti because I just can't hack some of the pizzas Mike orders. I'd be willing to bet Leo tried to stop a robbery when he went to get the food.
Here at last. Whoa! What a run!
Now to just get the truck goin'. Oh great, just like me to leave the doors unlocked. Well, it's still here.
I peel out right in front of a green Ford Ranger. I can hear the radio blarin' but I still manage to hear him yell "shit head!" over the cranked AC-DC. If I wasn't in such a hurry, I'd have backed up and hit him, but instead I just wave.
What the hell, was everyone on the roads tonight? It took me twice as long as usual to get back home.
Okay, got the boyz, my cricket club, and my hockey stick. Time to get goin'!
God, I almost forgot how much I loved standing here on this ro of. I figure which way Leo is, and take off to make the jump from my building to the next. I love the feeling of freedom away from the noise. The wind against your face--
Wait a minute, wind against my face?
Aww, son of a bitch! I forgot my mask!
About face and run back. Jump through the window, grab the mask and off we go. Okay, now that I've got everything, let's try this again. I know this area, the guys and I have run it hundreds of times. Gotta jump. Grab this bar. Swing over there and land on the railing. Push off. Dive over the chimney pipe and roll, just barely missing the vent duct that sticks out.
OK, so I'm not the most graceful at it. But I got it done. This next part is tricky. Dive between the two pipes that run parallel across, hand spring over the sky light. Land and jump over the edge on to the construction scaffolding just belowù
huh?
Oh no! They finished it too sooooooon--
If Dad had stayed in town, I would never have been involved.
Marriann had called up on Wednesday night and proposed the trip. She'd just bought a cabin in upstate New York, and she wanted to show him Everything. Personally, I think Everything included a hot tub, white wine, and one of Marriann's silk nightgowns. I'm not surprised dad's in love with her. She's sweet, funny, and Cindy Crawford looks like a frump next to her. She's not as pretty as my mom, but I'm glad he's finally seeing someone. It's been six years since she died, and it's about time.
My relationship with dad had improved one hundred percent over the past three years. My life in general had improved. Dad watched me like a hawk for the first eighteen months after the Foot, but I was so good I would've made any Boyscout look like Rosemary's Baby. I went from a D- average my sophomore year, to an A- average when I graduated. I decided to wait a year for college and get some money in the bank. I got a job as a stockboy at Caldors, and two months later I was an Assistant Manager.
Dad even bought me a second-hand Jeep when I graduated. It was a great present, and life looked like it was perfect.
Then, in July, I met Jessie and life was perfect.
Dad took off with Marriann at three o'clock Friday afternoon. He left me cash, and promised to be back at eight on Sunday. They went off in Marriann's convertible, and I had the place all to myself. Marriann had said how beautiful the foliage was this time of year, but I had the feeling they wouldn't notice the trees at all.
I picked Jessie up at eight. She lives with a woman called Nana Grisby on the edge of Harlem. The place makes me nervous, but Jess said not to worry. "They know you're my ox." She said once, with a deep twinkle in her hazel cat's eyes.
Jessie is the only secret I keep from my dad. He won't approve. He wants to see me with a nice, quiet girl. A college girl. He wouldn't like Jessie, because I don't know anything about her. Where her parents are, why she lives with Nana, what she does. I know that she will tell me someday, but until then, I don't care. I fell in love with her, not what she does. But my father wouldn't understand that.
We drove up to The Dream of the Blue Turtles Club to see Wislow's Thousand Complaints. The tickets were murder to get, but the band kicked ass. That lasted until eleven. Then, we drove over to Sissy's Diner and had coffee and talked. Jess knows all kinds of weird things, and she ended up explaining exactly why the Starship Enterprise wouldn't look the way it does and still work in space. I talked about college. She joked about being a year younger than me-- she held the tender age of seventeen-- and yet knowing more. I retaliated that I'd slept through all the Star Trek episodes, and that broke her up. Finally, I brought her home, and we sat in the Jeep to say our good-bys.
She smiled in her soft and almost sad way, and the moonlight touched the hollow of her pale neck where her Denim shirt peeked open. Her chestnut mane was frosted with silver, and I saw stars in her eyes.
"That was great Dan," she said. Her lips formed the words like a dance, and pearl white teeth, not quite perfectly lined, glanced out.
"It was great," I said. "Because you were there."
Strangely, this seemed to make her little sad. "That's sweet," she said in a voice like the nightwind. "Even if it's not true."
"It is," I said, gently. "You're my Angel." Our eyes locked, and slowly she leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips were as soft as they looked, and her breath was sweet with a hint of the vanilla coffee she'd drunk.
She finally pulled back, and stepped out of the Jeep in a smooth motion. "I'll call," she said, and was gone.
I couldn't get her out of my mind. She always seemed so sad when we got close, but I could tell she wanted me to be with her. Why was she acting so strange? What? Had I done something? I didn't--
I slammed on the Jeep's breaks. If it hadn't been so late, the street would've been packed with traffic, and I would've had a six car pile-up. But I know what I'd seen in that alley. The glimpse of green was brief but clear.
The first thing I saw was he had been beat-up. The next was he had five or six puppies with him. He was muttering something under his breath, and he didn't look up as I approached.
I hadn't seen any of them for nearly three and a half years, but in his time of captivity, Splinter had told me a lot about them. I fished for a name to go with the purple band, and hooked a six-pounder.
"Donatello," I said.
His eyes came up to my face.
"I am Donato, boy," he said in a prissy English accent. I half-expected him to say: "Methinks the Queen protests too much!"
He looked me over, with a slightly confused air. "Who might you be?"
"Don't you remember? I'm Dan... Danny Pennington."
His eyes widened, and he brought up one fist, shaking it. "Traitor! Spy! You serve the evil lord!"
Huh? What was this happy load? "Don, I don't get you."
"You are Dani." (He pronounced it Dan -I.) "Dani the Betrayer! You captured the mage Splinter for the Evil One!"
My self-esteem was already shot to Hell that night by Jessie's weird behavior.
This cute little reminder of past mistakes finished the job.
"Jesus Don! That was three years ago!" I said, only half meaning it. Truth was, I sort of thought I deserved it. I would never be able to totally redeem myself.
"Be gone Dog!" He shouted. "Or I swear by the Elder Scrolls I will make you pay!"
Elder Scrolls? "I don't know what you're talking about!" I exclaimed.
He started to answer, and then a voice interrupted him. "What's goin' on?"
I turned, and I had no idea if I should be happy to see him, or be ready to run.
"Uh... Hi Casey," I swallowed.
I lay back on the blanket, soaking up rays from the tropical sun. A palm tree or two swayed in the wind while the surf washed on the shore. A Jamaican band played in the distance, the sound of the kettle drums mingling nicely with the scent of broiled lobster.
A warm hand touched mine, soft fingers giving a gentle squeeze. My smile widened.
"I'm so glad we have some time alone together."
"So am I," I replied, still not believing this. How many guys actually get to spend a whole week, alone, with Cindy Crawford?
A shadow blocked my sun. I opened my eyes to a most beautiful sight. That hair, those eyes...
"Hey, Prince Charming. Wake up your Princess with a kiss?"
Now I was fixed on the lips...
"You're not asleep."
"Oh, I'm sure you could fix that."
She got closer...
Then disappeared.
The phone was ringing.
I hung my head for an instant as I reached for the receiver. Right now, Jamaica after lunch was far more preferable to New York City at...
I checked the alarm clock beside the phone.
...quarter to eleven? Who was calling at this time of night?
"Hello?" I managed, though barely.
"Keno? That you?"
I recognized neither the voice nor the urgency in it.
"Who's this?"
And you'd better have a real good reason for waking me up, I added silently. I should be mad. I mean, this was Cindy we were talking about.
"It's Leo, I need help."
"Leo?!" I was suddenly wide awake. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and gripped the handle tighter. "What's up? It's like past your bedtime, isn't it?" I asked, trying to joke.
"This is serious Keno, I need your help. Don and Raph are missing. No one's home, I've been shot and I'm by the Dunkin Donuts on State and Broad."
"Shot? State and Broad? That's a half hour by moped!" I exclaimed, planning the quickest route there. Had Leo said something about nobody at the Lair? I asked the obvious, "Where's the others? What's going on?"
"I don't know. But I'm alone and I need help." the voice on the other end snapped.
"All right already! I'll come up with something! Where do I find you?"
My light was on by now. I held the receiver to my ear with my shoulder while I prepared to write down the directions.
I heard a sigh, then, "There's a little park one block up. I'll be in the shrubbery."
I scratched it down. "Okay, I'm on my way."
I'd expected for him to hang up right then, but he hesitated. I heard an unfamiliar voice on the other end say something about using the phone. Leo's reply was "You!" Judging by the surprise in his voice and the sound of plastic hitting metal, indicating that the phone had been dropped, I guessed that the person was a less-than-friendly acquaintance. Maybe one of the Foot? I called for him, realizing after about the third yell that the phone had died. Not "click" like hang up, it was more like the phone suddenly wasn't there.
I hung up and in a near panic pulled on my shoes, not bothering to untie the laces. In what I guessed was less than thirty seconds I had the motor revving on my bike and I was on my way across town.
By my watch I was there in twenty minutes. Even with all that was running through my mind, I still was able t o wonder how I'd avoided getting a speeding ticket. Then it occurred to me that there'd been no police on the way over. <em>I wonder why?</em>
I forgot about the park Leo had told me about and decided instead to check for him at the double D on the comer. What I found didn't look so good.
Maybe the first thing I noticed was the tire marks. Whoever'd been here had left in a real hurry. I began to look closer. The phone cord was severed. No, not severed, more like ripped off the box. I didn't want to think ab out the strength needed to do that, or who possessed it.
On the sidewalk were drops of blood. Maybe there'd been a fight here between Leo and whoever, I didn't know. But could Leo have fought against someone in his condition?
Not much to go on. I started thinking about who possibly would have something against Leo, or who could have done that to the phone. Then I remembered my last big adventure with the guys, with Tokka and Rahzar. If Shredder was still around and had made some more mutants, this time semi-intelligent ones...
Another thing I didn't want to think about.
In desperation, I went to the park where I was supposed to meet him in the first place. I was probably being put on anyway, and this was one of Mike's practical jokes. A really sick one, I might add. I'd get to the park and they'd all jump out and tell me what a weenie I was being.
Then I'd have to kick their butts for interrupting my quality time with Cindy.
The more I thought about it, the better that sounded. Yeah, this was all just a joke, and we'd laugh about it then go home.
When I got to the park, I wasn't laughing very hard at all.
The place was deserted. I saw no sign that Leo had even been there, much less was waiting for me. I tried to remember what had been said during our conversation. Nobody was home. The Lair wasn't a good choice for backup. I thought for a minute, then recalled meeting another friend of Raph's, I think his name was Casey? How would I find him?
I went back to the corner, hoping that I wouldn't have to seek Casey out. When I got there, I saw something I'd missed the first time around -- Leo's phone card. I scanned it, and right above my number was Casey's. I shoved the piece of cardboard in my pocket, retrieved my keys, and started the scooter again. I parked a few blocks down by another phone and tried the number. No answer. I tried April's number next; the two go out or something? Nothing there, either.
I sighed before turning it towards the Lair and gunning it.
By the time I reached the Lair, almost another half hour had been wasted. I was upset; what if something had happened to Leo, and I couldn't do anything about it?
I walked inside. The place was quiet. Maybe everyone was asleep, so that's why there'd been no answer before. But how could they sleep if they didn't know where Raph and Don were?
A noise in one of the back rooms startled me. I hid in one of the metal cabinets nearest me and watched through a crack as someone came out.
"I" don't care what's happened," the stranger muttered, gripping a hockey stick, "but when those four get back, I'm gonna make them clean this damn place."
Shock registered: It was Casey! Who was that with him?
I shifted to get a better look. I must've hit the wall the wrong way, because the shelf above me crashed down, showering me with magazines, comic books, and stuffed toys.
"What was that?" the stranger asked. Casey came towards the locker-cabinet and pushed the door open with the end of the hockey stick. He saw it was me and stepped back.
"De ja flippin' vue," he muttered, disdainfully eyeing his companion. I noticed he was about my age, but obviously nervous around Casey. Like eh was expecting him to pound him any time now.
"What are you doing here?" I asked after I'd climbed out.
"Me? Who invited you to the search party?"
I explained about the phone call and finding no one there, and he told me about some message left on April's machine. The guy, Casey had called him "Little Danny Pennington", filled me in on his brief encounter.
"Great. Where do we look now?" I asked.
"I don't know," Casey answered. "What I want to know is, where is everyone?"
I nodded my agreement. We both whirled around when another voice spoke up, "Everyone what? Now what's goin' on?"
Raphael was obviously frustrated with something. His anger gave way to something else when he took a moment to actually look around.
"What happened?"
Casey and I looked at one another. It was impossible for us to tell something was wrong; every time we'd ever visited here, it had been this... I'll be polite: cluttered.
"We don't know. He called the both of us in. Said he was hurt." Casey switched hands with the hockey stick.
"Well, where is he?" Raph asked. "An' what th' Hell is he doin' here?"
Casey held back Raph when he started to go after "Danny". I got the feeling things weren't quite buddy-buddy here.
After he had calmed down a little I answered, "He said State and Broad, but by the time I got up there, he was gone."
"State an'... Why th' heck would he go up there? Donnie was just up th' street."
C.J. and I exchanged another worried look. The whole thing made no sense at all.
"Where were you? He woke me up to tell me you and Don had disappeared."
"I went out lookin' for 'im. On my way t'Little Caesar's I found our order all over th' sidewalk. Some guys from TGRI were doin' somethin' in the pet shop where I stopped. They saw me, I kicked their butts an' took off. They recognized me, meaning they prob'ly mixed it up wit' Don. What I don't get is, most of 'em weren't anything. So what happened?"
"We saw Donatello before and he didn't look so hot. He was really weirded out too, with his accent and Sacred Scrolls an' stuff," Danny spoke up.
"Arena," Raphael muttered.
"Huh?"
At least I wasn't the only one that was confused.
"Stupid game he's been playin' on his computer. We sent him on the run so he wouldn't get his shell Crazy-glued to his chair, he plays it so much." He looked around again. "Man this bites!"
"Okay," Casey moved some stuff off the couch and sat. "Don's gone Fruit Loops and Leo's running around somewhere, hurt. Anyone know where Splinter an' Mike are?"
The three of us looked at one another. Nobody said anything.
"Any ideas?" Casey asked.
Another second of dead silence.
"All right. Just us then. Let's map this out..."
We dredged up every detail we could remember and tried to piece together what had happened. We figured TGRI had Leo, maybe Mike and Splinter too. After all, Professor Perry had seen where the Lair was. If he wanted them for something, why not just come down, doing the "friend thing"? As for Don, we weren't sure. Raph had suggested with a snort that they'd found him too, but "He'd scared them into leaving him alone by threatening to banish them to the Wastelands or something."
We eventually decided to try to gain Donatello's trust by convincing him we were his friends. We were also convinced that it would be a good idea to find out just what he had been talking about, so Raph and I went looking through the piles of papers on Don's computer desk to find the manual for Arena. Casey and Danny got a briefing as soon as we figured it out, and we were on our way to find "Mr. Donato the Nightblade in effort to collaborate our skills to the task of rescuing the Mage Splinter from the Evil Lord."
What a night. Some people would say this is a sign from the heavens. Me I would say it was just bad luck.
I could tell it would be trouble when I saw that big guy attacking Jack outside the pet shop. That's why I hit him. At least, the van hit him. I just hit the gas. One look at the guy and I knew. He was trouble. I mean, he was big, green, covered in pizza and puppies. <em>God, I hate puppies.</em>
We drug the guy to the alley and left him, only to have the guys run into him later. I managed to scare him off, but guns bring cops. The guys took the kittens while I took the car and a trip to our contact.
What a disaster.
Then, Tom and Jack run into him later and I have to cover for them. They lost the freak, only to have me spot him making a phone call. I ripped the handset right out of the box. Mick is right, those shots are proving a lot more powerful than either of us expected.
"What's up, doc?" I heard behind me.
I spun my chair around, the ice bag on my head killing some of the effect I was going for, and stared at the buffoon before me.
He was laughing at his own joke.
"The name is Doctor Vance LeGault, not 'doc,' as you so wonderfully say. As to what is 'up,' how about your stupidity at the pet store this evening? It's a wonder we cleared out before the cops showed up. And who said you could stop for donuts?"
"Calm down," Mick said from the doorway. "It's not a complete disaster."
"That's easy for you to say. You didn't get nailed in the face with a trash can lid," I snapped back.
Mick shrugged, "Like you felt it?"
I hesitated, he was right. I hadn't felt a thing. Not then, not now. The ice bag had been handed to me, and I just naturally held it to my face. But he was right, I didn't feel any pain at all. I laughed.
Mick sat down in the make-shift office and Jack followed him in. Tom remained by the door, trying to figure out if I was still mad at his stupid joke or not.
"How's our guest?" I asked.
Mick sat back on the couch, "He'll live. The shot only nailed his right shoulder. I gave him a dose of RK-92b and bound the wound. More blood loss than damage."
"You gave him RK-92b?" I gasped, sitting up. My head began to hurt.
"Yeah, thought I could test the serum out on another test subject. Doing it on ourselves has increased our strength, our speed and our dexterity. RK-89j greatly increased Tom and Jack on the strength category. The 91-series developed all those side affects and depleted our stock of test subjects."
I began to pace, "But we have no previous knowledge of this... subject's natural reactions. He could have a reaction and we would have no clue."
"He likes pizza," Jack muttered. "And puppies," added Tom. God, I hate puppies.
"He's a fighter of some degree," Jack continued. Trash can lids, add trash can lids to the hate list.
"He can really move," Tom added.
"And he's got friends," I said, still pacing, "or did you forget that he was on the phone when I spotted him? Calling who, I wonder."
Mick shook his head, "If he has some reaction to the serum, it will probably kill him. The last test subject we tried that serum on showed some of increased levels we have, plus his mental readings went through the roof."
"Until he started withdrawal," I muttered. "We both agreed to try a new route with the serum and move on to the next series."
"But with what proof? One test subject and you're ready to kill the whole series?" Mick stood up and cut in to my pacing path. "Listen to yourself, we were lucky so far. You've got to have a few bad ones to know what a good one is."
"I know that," I snapped back, "but the least you could have done was told me, or given us the chance to take some notes on this subject before you gave him the serum."
"All right, I agree with you there, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. And our investors are getting a little nervous."
I nodded, "I heard about it a little while ago. They want more than the assurances and paper work. They want to see proof."
"So," Mick said, smiling, "let's show them our little green friend."
I smiled back, why not? This could work out. TGRI would be sorry they killed this research. Doctors Vance LeGault and Mick Travernos would show them. Play their little games while testing our own theories on the side.
I walked out of the office to the lab. I could hear the soft mewling of the kittens on the other side of the warehouse; I shuddered on how low we had sunk to test our serums. But then, everyone working here had already been tested with one version of the serum or another. Some showed increased strength, like Jack and Tom; some were more dexterous, or even more subtle differences. John's eyesight had improved at least forty-eight percent. Some just went crazy, some died.
I heard a moan and I looked over to the dog kennel that held our green subject. Chain link fence, enclosed on all sides, closed with a padlock. The only way a dog should see life. God, I hated them. Those little pink tongues, those cute little eyes, ugh.
"Good morning," I said.
Slitted eyes looked up at me. "Wha... where?" it managed. Three fingers reached up and touched the bandage that covered his right shoulder.
"Mick does some pretty decent surgical work, so I'd leave the bandage alone. How do you feel?"
The eyes glared out at me, "What have you done to my brothers?"
I sat back, then looked closer. Brothers? A few things began to make sense. We dumped one in the alley, the other... trash can lid.
I shrugged, "The one I hit with the van is probably dead in the alley we left him. The other took off when we shot him. Finding you was a piece of luck."
He leapt at me. His fingers tore at the fence, finally settling for pulling at it's strength.
"Hmmm," I nodded, "have you always been able to move like that, or is that something new? It does not seem if your strength has improved any."
He didn't answer.
I stood up and said, "I'd try and get some more rest."
I left him, glaring out at me. I looked in the office but the others had already left. I decided it was time to call it a night myself. I grabbed my jacket and slipped it on as I made my way outside.
I shut off the lights and set the security code.
It would be good to go home and get some sleep. It had been an eventful night. I sure hoped our investors appreciated all our work.
Go hide ye face in the shrubbery of Part One, Chapter Two