The Casey Chronicles (6 page)

The next day,
April made her way below the surface. It had been months since she visited the Turtles' lair. In a way, it felt like she was returning home. She got butterflies in her stomach when she glimpsed them in their natural habitat again: four mutant brothers gathered around the TV, watching some weird anime show together.

Like a family.

Her
family.

“Hey, guys,” she said, surprising them.

One by one, the Turtles looked up from the TV set. They were all smiles.

“April!”

“You're back!”

“What's up?”

Even Master Splinter broke meditation to come out and welcome her back to the
dojo
after a long time away. “It is very good to see you, April.”

“I missed you, Master Splinter. I hope we can start training again soon.”

“Of course,” Splinter replied. “Whenever you wish.”

She respectfully bowed to her former sensei before turning back to the Turtles. She paused, shifting uneasily. “I never got a chance to tell you guys that I'm sorry … for everything.”

“
You're
sorry?” Leo replied, remembering the events of that fateful night.

The mutagen.

The accident.

Her father.

“But
we
were the ones who screwed up,” Leo continued apologetically.

“It was an accident,” April said, speaking from the heart. “And more importantly, you're my friends. I don't ever want to hold a grudge again.”

“You're the best, April!” Mikey said, offering her a slice of pizza. “To mark this day, I offer you … the Slice of Eternal Reunion.”

April looked the slice up and down. What had once been a scrumptious slice of cheese pizza had become a science project. “It has lint and dead bugs all over it.”

“I know. I just found it under my bed,” Mikey explained, cradling it like some priceless relic.

“It's … eternal.”

Realizing April wasn't going to touch the slice, Mikey decided to honor it the best way he knew how: by scarfing it down in one bite!

April stepped around the others and walked up to Donnie. The closer she got, the faster his heart beat. She locked eyes with him. “Thanks for always being there … even when I didn't want you to be.”

She threw her arms around him.

And as if the moment couldn't get any better, April gave Donnie a tiny kiss on the cheek.

Donnie felt a rush unlike any he'd ever felt before. Forget defeating Shredder and the Technodrome. Today was now officially the best day of his life. He stared at her with hearts in his eyes and only one thought on his mind:
I love being a Turtle!

Casey barely recognized his face
in the mirror.

Since his battle with the Footbots, he'd decided to make some changes. He'd upped his workout—chin-ups, push-ups, you name it—and bulked up as much as he could. He needed to be stronger than ever. He needed to be able to take a beating. He needed to be ready for
combat.

Next, he suited up for battle. He started with his hockey pads. Normal gloves were great on the ice, but for hero work, they needed a little something extra. With some industrial glue, he added rusty nails to his blocker, and voila! Homemade spiked gauntlets.

Then he focused on his weapons. He taped up his old hockey sticks and stuck them in a sheath, which he slung across his back. There was room for more, so he added a baseball bat and an old golf club he found in a Dumpster to his arsenal. Those felt right. But deep down, he knew that to compete with robots and monsters and other weirdoes who had high-tech weaponry, he needed more of an edge. So he borrowed a potato masher from the kitchen and hooked it up to some old batteries to make his very own electroshock weapon.

Casey studied himself in the mirror and practiced his trash talk. “Who do you think you are?” he asked the imaginary villains all around him. “A ninja?”

He tested his electroshock weapon. It crackled with tendrils of electricity. He was pleased with the
shocking
results.

“Bring it, punk!” he said, trying his best to sound tough.

Perfect. Now for the finishing touch
, he thought.

He needed to look menacing. He needed to harness fear and mold it into a mask. A face that would send a chill up the spines of bad guys everywhere.

And suddenly it hit him.

A goalie's mask.

He blew most of his money on spray paint at the local art store. Enough to give his mask a fearsome facelift. He toyed with many different designs and finally landed on one that felt bad … to the
bone.

A skull.

He covered it with glow-white spray paint.

Then he put it on, checking out his new look in the mirror.

He didn't look like a kid anymore. He looked just as freaky as those mutant monsters waiting out there for him. He was a dangerous creature now, a force to be reckoned with.

“Scum-suckin' mutated freaks of the world, prepare to meet … CASEY JONES.”

Casey Jones wasn't the only one
preparing for a fight. So were the Turtles.

As part of a new training exercise, Master Splinter had them report to the
dojo
with their weapons ready. The wise sensei stood before them with a solemn air until he had complete silence.

“My sons,” he said, admiring their flawless form, “you are truly becoming impressive warriors. But to grow as a team, you must know each other's strengths and weaknesses.”

At that moment, Mikey broke his silence—by unleashing the smelliest burp ever! The fumes were so strong they wafted to Donnie's nostrils and refused to let go.

“Right in my face?” Donnie gagged. “Really?”

“Garlic and clam pizza,” Mikey said with confidence.

Splinter ignored this. “This competition is a free-for-all. Last Turtle standing wins!” he announced, then gave the Japanese command to begin:
“Hajime!”

“I'm still seeing spots,” Donnie mumbled. Mikey's burp fumes had clouded his vision, which Raph used to his advantage. He snuck up behind Donnie and roundhouse-kicked him into the tree!

“Sorry, Donnie,” he said with a smirk. “It's a ninja-eat-ninja world!”

Raph got his
sais
ready for his next victim: Mikey. He chased his little brother around the
dojo
, hoping to catch him off guard. He saw his opportunity.

Until Leo jumped in his way.

Sparks flew as their blades met—Leo's
katanas
clashing against the cold steel of Raph's
sais.

“What are you doing, Leo?” Raph growled. “I was goin' for Mikey!”

“What part of ‘last Turtle standing' don't you understand?” Leo fired back. He shoved Raph, opening a clear lane to Mikey. Leo slid down the middle of the room and took out Mikey with one leg sweep!

“Aw, man!” Mikey yelped.

The score was even: Raph 1, Leo 1.

“Looks like you leveled up to the boss fight,” Raph taunted.

“I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face …
permanently
,” Leo replied.

A hush fell over the
dojo
again. Donnie, Mikey, and Splinter all watched the face-off with intense anticipation. It was clear Leo and Raph were the two strongest fighters. But considering their advanced skills, shared fearlessness, and equal strength and speed, neither Turtle had a clear edge.

Each punch met with another punch. A block with a block.

It wasn't until they began to disarm each other that things got interesting. To the untrained eye, it looked like Raph had Leo on the run, forcing him toward the tree in the center of the room. But Mikey and Donnie knew better; Leo was setting himself up to gain the higher ground in the fight.

And once Raph ducked behind the tree, using it as a shield against Leo's oncoming strikes, Leo knew he had him. He ran up the branches, propelling himself into the air for an epic windmill kick! His foot clocked Raph right in the jaw, sending him skidding along the floor.

Leo was the last Turtle standing.

Raph opened his eyes to see Leo bowing victoriously before Master Splinter. He could feel the anger well up in his throat. He couldn't believe he'd lost.

“Leo won it this time!” Donnie called out, which sent Raph over the edge. He picked himself up and growled, a blind rage overtaking him.

“Uh-oh,” Mikey warned, sensing that Raph was about to explode. “He's awoken the
beast
!”

Raph charged forward and sucker-punched Leo right in the face!

Leo dropped like a cold fish to the
dojo
floor.

Donnie and Mikey immediately ran over. “Raph! What are you doing?”

Hearing the disappointment in Donnie's voice, Raph snapped back into reality. “I—I—I didn't mean to hurt him!” he stammered in a panic. He looked from Leo's limp body to Master Splinter's disapproving eyes. “It was an accident. Seriously!”

Leo slowly awoke. He sat up, the world coming into focus again. Nursing his throbbing head, he said, “Did anyone get the number of that bus?”

“We have spoken about this time and again, Raphael,” Master Splinter scolded. “Anger is a dangerous ally. It clouds your judgment. You need to control it, lest it control you.”

“But, Sensei, I wasn't angry. I was just
determined
to win.”

Raph saw the way his brothers were looking at him. He knew that look. He had messed up. He had crossed a line. And there was nothing he could do or say to make it better.

Which made him angry all over again.

“WHAT?” Raph shouted at them, enraged.

“I said I WASN'T angry!”

But they knew that wasn't true. And so did he.

Raph stormed out of the sewers, angrier than ever.