CHAPTER FIVE
"I thought if you gave me a chance as a regular human, we could have a real swell time y'know?" Michelangelo said.
"Michelangelo, I don't know what to say...you pulling a stunt like this seems far too consequential in the long run for just a simple day out...there's more to this is'nt there? Please, just say it, don't hold it in. Whatever it is, I can take it"
"You can?" Michelangelo said.
April held his hand and clutched it tight.
"I will" she promised.
Michelangelo took a deep breath.
"I think you're a great gal. You're all about the risk and you pursue it knowing that if you overcome every obstacle, there's a reward on the other end. You're always there for us and you know what we like. You know every inch of this city and you have time for all the little people in it, not just the big guns. You've had your own share of mutations, stuff that'd bring any other human being to the edge, and you came back from it. We're made of mutagen, but you? You're made of steel"
April smiled, as nervous as Michelangelo, her thoughts only briefly drifting back to the time it was taking for all this to come out, and what it entailed for Lugnut and his gang waiting for her below.
However, her full attention was demanded here, a friend was bearing all to her, and he needed the time to say what was on his mind and his soul
"April, I, uh, guess you could say I..." he began, April cut him off.
"Not now, not yet" she said.
"Really?" said Michelangelo
"We've got way too much distracting us at the moment and I can only process so much" she said, pressing her finger delicately on his lips, "Whatever you say next, wherever it is we go from here, You can hold on to it 'till we're done with this. Deal?"
Michelangelo nodded. Unsure of where this was leading, unsure if he'd ever be able to say what he wanted to again.
"I'd best be heading back" April continued, putting the pearls in a bag.
"I'll come with you" Michelangelo said
"Thanks, but it's best you keep out of sight when I join up with them" she said.
"Anything for you babe" Michelangelo said, and followed April out of the room.
"You might want to lock up your window next time" he said to her as they came down the staircase.
April laughed.
CHAPTER FIVE
The two friends stepped out of the apartment into the crisp, cold evening air.
As they walked down the street, Michelangelo decided to briefly change the subject to that of everyday life.
"I had the munchies all morning April" he said
"Oh I know the feeling. Went into the office with only half a bacon sandwich. Irma had taken the other half"
"I was wondering what she was chewing when she was arranging our get-together" said Michelangelo.
"The bacon wasn't that steller...it reminded me of food I found in a hotel during an international assignment I took in England. It was like rubber, tasted like the yolk of an egg as well...in fact I'm dead certain there was egg in it, Irma must have helped herself to that as well"
Conversations quickly shifted from small talk about what they'd been getting up to in the week to the urgent matter of April's mission.
"April, this is really dangerous, this mutagen's done weird things to my metabolism, I feel weaker, like I've lost a lot of my skill and power" Michelangelo explained.
"That's ok Michelangelo, really I don't need anyone's help" said April.
"So much for gratitude then" Michelangelo said, bummed out that April had forgotten his valiant rescue of her just that afternoon.
April suddenly caught sight of Lugnut's gang just ahead of them.
"Uh-oh, they're all waiting for me, you'd best duck out of sight" said April
Michelangelo didn't like leaving April alone against the gang, but honored her wishes, vanishing into a nearby alleyway and eavesdropping on the conversation as quietly as he could.
"Ok toots, you got the merchandise?" asked Lugnut
"Sealed with a kiss" April said, giving the bag a peck. Lugnut hastily grabbed it and emptied out the contents.
"Yeah, this one sparkles, just my kind of thing. Well done toots, consider yourself one of us" he said.
A violent tremor suddenly made all of them tremble, the pavement beneath them came away as a huge transport module surfaced before the startled gangmembers.
"What the heck? Did someone decide to extend the subway or something?" asked a befuddled Lugnut, mistaking the module for a subway car.
The hatch of the module opened and out stepped two hulking figures all too familiar to April.
Oh no, it's Rocksteady and Bebop she whispered with a gasp.
"Aw bummer, it's those two freakazoids" noted Michelangelo also, trying to keep out of visible detection as he crept closer to the action, concelaing himself behind two trash cans.
Rocksteady and Bebop briefly took some time out of their arrival to lecture one another on steering the module properly, as it had taken them hours to reach their destination.
"Next time, leave the directions to me" said Rocksteady
"Why should I? You're the one who's ambidecstrous, you could'nt tell right from up and left from across" said Bebop
"Will you two out-of-sight animals pipe down and get off our turf?" said Lugnut, having no time for their foolishenss.
"Hey, this is our turf too" said Rocksteady.
"Yeah, or at least it used to be" said Bebop.
"What are you getting at freaks?" said Lugnut
"Don't you recognize us?" said Bebop.
"Yeah, we're old pals of yours...Bebop and Rocksteady, remember?" Rocksteady added.
"You ain't fooling us, you guys are way better looking than those two ever were" joked Jersey Red.
Rocksteady pondered how best to prove their authenticity to the gang, opting to charge a nearby wall with his horn and plowed straight through it.
"Wow, is that supposed to confirm who you are? Some dumb stunt? I ain't buying" said Lugnut.
"If you ain't convinced by that, maybe you won't mind when he starts charging through you next" said Bebop.
Lugnut, unnerved, quickly changed his mind.
"Ok, ok, for the sake of my health, I'm convinced" he said.
"How come you two changed into animals?" One member of the gang asked.
"There's time for that later, meanwhile you got a job to do" said Bebop.
April was beginning to wonder whether or not Michelangelo was right in warning her not to overstep her boundaries, but her story had taken yet another surprising turn and she wasn't about to retreat from it.
Elsewhere, the remaining Turtles were searching the streets for any trace of the unstable Michelangelo.
Donatello was making use of a device he had recently invented to trace his brother Turtle's footsteps.
"This ray will make any traces of the anti-mutagen glow the same colour as us, green" he explained.
"I hope we find him sooner and not later" said Leonardo.
Finally, the trail began leading them somewhere, as emerald green traces could be found leading into a nearby park.
"This is it guys" said Donatello.
Meanwhile, at the docks, Bebop and Rocksteady had assembled the gang at the ship Krang had sent them to pillage.
Lugnut instructed the gang to remain where they were while he explored the ship.
The tension was palpable, Jersey Red twitched ever so slightly, April felt a cold chill travel up her spine.
"Hey, you anxious?" said Jersey Red.
"Not as much as I was when you were trying to toss me like a rag doll" said April.
Jersey smiled and gave her a fierce elbow.
"Nobody plays with dolls in this gang" she argued.
"Right, you and me, we fought like wild cats. That a better analogy?" April asked.
"You got the upper hand that time, I'd like a rematch some time, just to make sure we have a tiger and not a pussycat" Jersey insisted.
"Oh beleive me, there's been times in my life I've had literal claws out. You would'nt want me to leave a scratch" replied April.
"I'm begining to like you" said Jersey, patting April on the head and ruffling her hair a bit.
"Asking for another fight is your way of expressing admiration? I would'nt want to be on a picnic with you guys" April whispered delicately to herself.
Lugnut finally gave the all clear for the gang to join him aboard the ship.
"Really?" said April.
"What's wrong?" said Jersey.
"Security is so lax here they've left this vessel unattended?" asked April.
"Hey, it must be a cheap episode, only so many extras" Jersey argued.