Thanks to Joanna Capello for the title "MindWalkers" and Happyface Man for the title "Psilence."
Warning! This story contains cursing and may not be suitable for young readers. It is rated PG for parental guidance.
"What tha-" Raphael was a little more than surprised to find himself standing in a back alley in a city that didn’t look-at first glance-even remotely like New York. What the hell? Where am I? And more importantly, how did I get here? These questions wouldn’t bother him so much if he hadn’t already been so worried. Leonardo had been missing for upwards of two days, vanished right out of the den while his brothers and Splinter slept. The Turtles had searched for him in vain; if he was in New York, they couldn’t find him. And worse than that, they had no idea who had taken him, or why, or even if he had really been kidnapped at all! He might have gone off on a side mission, but that was unlike him. In fact, it was more likely that Raphael would do something so bone-headed as to wander off by himself without telling anyone.
And he had, although inadvertently. Raph tried to get his bearings....The city he was in was both like and unlike New York. The streets were just as dirty, and crowded with people and motor vehicles, but the buildings, though tall, were made of a glass-like substance that yielded gently to his touch, as if he had touched a pillow. And the people, too, looked both like and unlike humans. The only things about them that made Raph question their humanity were their slightly over-sized heads and broad chests. Perhaps they had larger chest cavities than humans? But Raph decided to drop it. Donny’s better suited for all that biological junk. What he had to do was figure out why and how he’d arrived here.
But then something happened which scared him badly-one of the passing people turned and looked at him! Raph froze, stiffened with panic, but the person just walked on without a second glance. "Huh?" he said out aloud. Perhaps he was on drugs. But perhaps not. Slowly, Raph stepped onto the street, ready to run when someone screamed and pointed. But although plenty of people saw him as they walked by, nobody said or did anything to suggest that his presence was unusual or alarming. Hey, nothing wrong with this joint! thought Raph. Maybe here, wherever here was, people had learned to be more tolerant of other races. At any rate, he felt perfectly safe, though not entirely comfortable, walking down the sidewalk surrounded by other people.
The sensation, though awesome, gave him the creeps. In all his nearly 17 years, he had never been able to walk down the street. Now he did so, in full daylight, and no one appeared to think that this was anything special. He kept walking, reveling in the feeling of freedom it gave him. He walked further and further, occasionally turning onto another street. He had no idea of where he was going. And he still had no clue where he was. Being slightly experienced with time and space travel, he tried the usual indicators. He checked a newspaper in a bookstand, but the alphabet was unfamiliar to him. He studied signs and television screens, but the writing of these people was totally unfamiliar. None of these pieces of information helped him deduce his location. He could have been somehow “beamed” from earth onto the surface of another planet, but it was equally likely that he had been transported into the distant future; so distant that humanity had evolved into a higher form, with larger brains.
As the light of a familiar-looking sun waned, Raph began to feel pangs of hunger. If the sun behaved in the same way as the one he knew, then he could judge that it had been something like twelve hours since his arrival. He hadn’t eaten in longer than that, since he’d been out walking the streets when he’d appeared here. Cripes! he thought. I could sure go for some pizza...or lasagna...or-man, just about anything! The huge high-rises had turned into apartment buildings as he moved farther out of the town’s center. Raph spotted a fruit stand. He considered a large round fruit that looked encouragingly like an apple. Don’t be an ass! What if you get caught? he chastised himself. But he was starving, and would the guy really make that big a deal out of a piece of fruit?
His mind made up, he sauntered past the stand, palming one of the apple-like fruits. "Hey!" sputtered the man who appeared to be in charge of the stand. "What are you-" Raph didn’t hear the rest of the statement, because he was running. He heard a shout behind him, and a glance over his shoulder showed a pair of men in light green clothes that looked totally unlike police uniforms; however, it seemed more than likely that that is exactly what they were. Great, thought Raph. Just my luck to commit a crime with two cops standing right there! There was no question that Raph could take them out, but right here on the street? Besides, he didn’t want to land in a jail on some weird planet where he didn’t even speak the language. All in all, he judged, it would be best if he just got the hell away. He ran until his lungs were near bursting, but the guys behind him were giving weight to Raph’s theory about their chest cavities; they hardly seemed to have slowed. Suddenly, Raph stumbled and fell against one of the buildings. To his surprise, he found himself falling through the wall, and then into the lobby of what seemed to be an apartment building.
Raph located the stairs and rushed up them as the green-suited men came through the wall after him. He was surprised when a door opened in front of him and a youngish man of about 25 stepped out and beckoned to him. "Quick, inside."
"Wha?" Raph said in puzzlement. Why should this guy help him?
"I saw what happened. You’re either poor or an off-worlder, and in either case I think I’ll make a point of helping you. Come on!" Raph didn’t need another invitation. He dove past the man into the apartment, and the guy quickly shut the door.
"All this for an apple. Sheesh." Raph shook his head. The man chuckled.
"My name’s Kaladra," said he.
"Raphael, nice meeting you. And thanks for saving my butt." The cops rushed by the door. Kaladra grinned.
"Fools. Never think to check the apartments on this floor. Anyway, care to explain why you just endeared yourself to the local authorities?" Raph shrugged at the man’s raised eyebrow.
"Not much to tell. I’m from Earth, heard of it?" Kaladra shook his head, and Raph sighed. "Natch. But I suddenly appeared on one of your streets, and I’ve been wandering around ever since. Uh-what do you call this heap, anyway?"
"Inra, and the planet’s Rri’tar." Kaladra smiled at him. It suddenly occurred to Raph that this man was speaking English, but every language he had seen written was unrecognizable. He asked Kaladra about this. "Oh," he said. "We speak the same language as you do here--astounding coincidence, I suppose--but our written language differs from English standard, or rather the Roman alphabet."
"So there are other worlds out there that speak English, huh?"
"Yup. Here we call it Standard, though," Kaladra explained.
"Ah," Raph commented, not very articulately, as he was busy scarfing the purloined fruit. Kaladra stared and Raph grinned mischievously. "Disposing of the evidence. Anyway, I’m wondering how I got here." Kaladra shrugged.
"I wouldn’t know," he said. "I have a desk job at a law firm. Writing memos, mostly."
Raph swallowed a bite of fruit. "This place is so like Earth it’s scary. Speaking of which, can’t people like those cops get through the walls in this place?"
"Oh, no," Kaladra said. "Just in public places, like the lobby. And the doors are of the same material, but they become solid if you put the lock on." Raph stood up, apple having been rapidly demolished, and brushed off his hands.
"Well," he said. "Thanks again, and I really ought to be going."
"Where?" Kaladra asked innocently.
"Uh-" That was something Raph hadn’t considered. "Well-actually-"
"You don’t have a clue," supplied Kaladra.
"Uh-" Raph coughed. "Yeah. Basically."
"So stay here for awhile. I have some knowledgeable sources, maybe we can work out how you got here."
"Well-sure, why not?" It wasn’t like Raph had gotten any better offers, and would he really rather spend the night on the edge of the road somewhere? It was getting late. Kaladra grinned.
"Great. I have a guest room you can use. And-" Just then, Raph was startled to see that a mouse something like two feet high had just entered the room.
Raph was used to Splinter being around, but that was the only thing that kept him from passing out cold when the mouse, bedecked in a white lab coat, asked, "What’s all this, then, Kaladra."
"Er-this is one of those sources I mentioned," said Kaladra. "His name is Kazim. Kazim, this is Raphael." Raph tried not to laugh; it sounded like something out of a bad version of Aladdin.
"Charmed," said the huge mouse dryly. "I must get back to my work." He turned to go.
"Kazim--Raphael appeared here mysteriously several hours ago; he is from a strange planet called Earth," said Kaladra. That made Kazim pause.
"Really..." he murmured, twirling his whiskers. "Fascinating..."
"Uh-" said Raph. "You’re a scientist?"
"Of a sort," put in Kaladra.
Kazim shot him an annoyed look. "Not officially, of course, snotty human laws forbid it. But in spirit and in heart, I am a true scientist. I study theory, mostly. Space/time continuum, as they call it in all those terrible movies." He waved a paw in dismissal. "But this is a most interesting situation. I shall have to consider it. Cheerio." He disappeared into the back part of the apartment. Kaladra sighed.
"Sorry, he can be that way sometimes."
"S’okay...makes me feel right at home. The guy reminds me of my little brother, Donny." Raph suddenly felt lonely. He wondered if he would be able to get back to his brothers....
"C’mon," Kaladra said with a smile. "I’ll show you the room."