Chapter Text
“That’s enough for now. Good work, my son.”
Mikey wipes the sweat off his forehead, taking a step back from the training dummy. His arms ache from the repetitive motion but under his skin, he’s still buzzing with energy. He wastes no time spinning around the second he’s caught his breath and grinning at his dad.
“Sweet— what’s next on the menu?” He asks in a rush, bouncing on his heels. Said dad raises an eyebrow at him.
“Nothing. Class dismissed, my son.” Splinter tells him. At Mikey’s protests, he cuts in with a, “You need to rest— it’s important for building muscles. The last thing you want is a torn muscle, believe me.”
“Oh come on!” Mikey groans. They can’t stop now— he’s not ready to be done yet! “Not even a sparring match? Really?"
“Really.” Splinter insists with an air of finality. “Come, Michelangelo. We’ll put some soup on and watch something together. It’s the golden age of TV, you know!”
Splinter turns, beginning to walk out. Mikey crosses his arms with a huff before an idea sparks in his head. His mouth curls upwards with a smirk.
“Guess it would be kind of lame to spar with you anyways, considering how slow you’ve gotten in recent years!”
His dad stops in the middle of the doorway. Mikey resists the urge to snicker.
A sigh. “Such tactics won’t work on me, my son. I taught you them.”
“Save it— we both know you’re just avoiding the embarrassment of losing to me.” Mikey presses, grinning triumphantly when his father’s tail twitches in a familiar way. “Guess the student has surpassed the teacher. You’re all washed up, old man! I know all your tricks anyways.”
There’s a brief beat of silence before Splinter barks out a laugh and spins back around. His eyes are narrowed but his smile betrays his amusement.
“Careful, son.” Splinter takes a fighting stance. Mikey does the same, the buzzing under his skin finally getting the excitement it so wants. “You shouldn’t pick fights with opponents stronger than you.”
“You know I’m a visual learner— prove it!”
“Oh now you’re gonna get it!” Splinter laughs again and launches himself at him.
Mikey has always found enjoyment in training in combat with his dad but nothing beats sparring with him. Not just because Mikey gets to see his dad’s moves in action, but because fighting gives him pure adrenaline. It spurs him into action, forcing him to really think about his every move, and adapt with it.
Mikey knows his dad goes easy on him but he also knows that Splinter has had to actually kick it up a few notches over the years. He’s not quite fighting him at full force— even if Mikey becomes a master one day, he doubts Splinter will ever stop holding back as he doesn’t want to actually hurt him— but he has to try harder now. Mikey has taken Splinter off guard a few times now and treasures each memory of it. It reminds him of progress— progress that he’s getting stronger.
There have been a few training accidents on both sides however. Splinter put off sparring with Mikey for two whole, torturous months after accidentally spraining his ankle when messing up one of his flips and causing him to land wrong. He had felt so terrible even after Mikey told him a million times that he was fine and it was an accident and his guilt presents drove him mad. When they finally took up sparring again, Mikey had to build up again as dad was going easy on him again.
Fortunately, they hadn’t had another accident in months now and Mikey was feeling good about today. He probably isn’t going to win even so but as he flips through the air and trades blows with his dad, Mikey doesn’t care. He’s having too much fun, to care.
Despite his jabs earlier, Splinter is still as spry as ever, minus a few back problems. Mikey can beat him in speed if he really pushes it but it never helps him win. It helps to be speedy but there’s more to it than that— Splinter is good at anticipating his moves, blocking or deflecting them when they come.
Mikey can throw blow after blow but very few manage to hit. Nonetheless, Splinter gives him both pointers and compliments during a fight, and that’s one of the things that makes it fun.
"Don't lose focus!"
"Great counter!"
"Wha— I did not teach you that!"
Mikey laughs and laughs as the spar goes on, but feels when Splinter pushes a little harder and knows he won't last too much longer.
Eventually, it happens. Mikey slips up with his footing and Splinter knocks him off balance. Just before he tips over, his dad is quick to grab his wrist and yank him into his open arms, right into a bear hug.
Mikey finds himself laughing way too hard to properly slip out of his hug, especially when Splinter starts dramatically counting down before declaring himself the winner. He lays his son down, mourning that there can only be one winner, before holding up an invisible sword and plunging it into Mikey’s chest. Mikey wheezes on the ground, tears pricking his eyes.
“Oh my son,” his father monologues, tilting his head to the ceiling and covering his eyes with his arm, “Gone too soon— too young— all because he didn’t listen and respect his elders! Oh, how this great tragedy could’ve been avoided if he only didn’t pick a fight he couldn’t handle!”
“Stoppp!” Mikey manages to get out between giggles, finally getting himself to breathe. He sits up, rolling his eyes with a grin at Splinter’s expectant look. “You win, you win! I’ll rest my muscles or whatever— but, did I do good?”
Splinter chuckles, laying a hand on his shoulder. “You never disappoint, my son. One of these days, I really won’t be able to keep up with you. Now come! No more taunting— we’re missing out on prime content.”
Mikey follows his dad out this time, rolling his shoulders and making a beeline for the living room. Splinter makes a quick detour for the kitchen, telling him he’s just gonna put on some soup, and Mikey nods and flops on his armchair as soon as he gets there. Their living room isn’t much, just two armchairs and a small couch, but it’s all they really need. The couch is a more recent addition considering April started hanging around the lair more and more lately.
Mikey hums and flips on the TV, the buzzing under his skin dulled after the fight and allowing him to relax. Dad’s favorite channel is on first— the one full of infomercials that Mikey doesn’t really see the appeal in. He flips through the channels a little to see if Kondescending Kitchen is on but stops when the news channel catches his eye.
“—and that’s the weather. In other news, New York City’s very own vigilantes ‘The Night Watchers’, have continued to make appearances all over town. The pair appear to operate strictly at night, hence the name, and never stick around long once their work is completed. The following video footage was taken by a local college student after a late shift last night.”
The footage is brought up, shaky and clearly being recorded on a phone but it catches the important part well enough.
There’s two of them on camera. The first is on the leaner side, with a buzz-cut haircut, an all black outfit with stripes of red, and wears some sort of almost frightening white mask— a hockey mask? They’re skilled, striking fast and hard, making the criminal— a purse snatcher by the looks of it— stumble and lose their footing.
The second however, wears an all red mask that covers their entire face and is a lot bigger, both tall and buff. Nearly every inch of them is covered but instead of wearing mostly black with stripes of red like their counterpart, it’s mostly red with stripes of black along the back and around the chest and limbs area. They’re slower than the other vigilante but they clearly make up for it in strength as all it takes is one punch for the criminal to crumble and drop the purse.
The Night Watchers are quick to zip-tie the criminal’s hands and feet together and return the bag to its rightful owner before high fiving and swiftly making their getaway.
Mikey’s mouth hangs open in awe.
“While so far they have only stopped petty crime, the question remains, is that their only goal? And just who are these ‘Night Watchers’?”
“Night Watchers?” Splinter echoes when he steps into the room. His eyebrows furrow, squinting at the TV. “What’s that?”
“Local vigilantes!” Mikey chirps. “They seem pretty cool— they’re cleaning up the city!”
“Vigilantes?” Splinter raises an eyebrow. “I was not aware such a thing existed outside of your comic books.”
“It’s not very common.” Mikey admits. “But it’s still cool! Vigilantes! In our very own city!”
“Hm. Interesting.” Splinter sits down. “Well if that’s all the news has to offer, hand me the remote. I did win our spar, after all.” He adds with a grin. “Which means I get to choose first.”
Mikey blows a raspberry at him but begrudgingly hands it over. Splinter chuckles to himself, flipping back to his infomercials. “You made that rule, my dear son. You must live with the consequences.”
—
April slams her hands down on the lunchroom table and proudly asks, “Guess who’s got another job interview?”
Cassandra is first to react, as she usually is, slamming her own hands on the table with equal enthusiasm and wide eyes. “That’s fantastic! I’m so proud of you!” The latter part is raised to a shout that once hurt April’s ears but she’s long since gotten used to. Cass might have trouble with volume control that gets them kicked out of libraries but it’s also one hell of a mood booster.
Beside her, Sunita grins, motioning for April to take a seat and no doubt ask to spill all the details. “That’s great! Which place did you get it from? When’s the interview?”
“It’s that one shoe store place— I told them I could be interviewed right away so I’m going there after closing tonight!” April sits, digging through her backpack to pull out her lunch from home. It’s nothing too special, just whatever she could throw together in the morning, but she’s too energized to care about what she’s eating. “They pay $20 an hour too!”
Sunita whistles. “Hey, nice! Not bad for a… Fifth job?”
“Sixth.” April corrects with a wince. “Yeah, my track record isn’t great— but that changes tonight! I’m getting that job!”
“You got this!” Sunita tells her.
“Crush your opponents!” Cass adds.
A laugh escapes her. “Thanks guys. Hey, what’s going on with y’all? Cass, your job is going well, right?”
Cass nods furiously and launches into a full on status report. April nods along as she takes some time to eat her lunch. Cass’ stories are always nice to listen to. She’s enthusiastic, painting them in a colorful (sometimes a little violent) picture. April and Sunita have only known her for a month and a half now, having met her after being put into a group project together, but she’s stuck by them ever since.
Cass admitted to them once that she struggled to find friends as she tended to scare people off. April firmly told her that it was their loss, with Sunita adding that they were happy to have her around.
And April quickly learned how that alone secured Cass’ loyalty.
“Wow,” Sunita says, at the end of Cass’ rant about a particularly stubborn customer, “I would’ve punched him if he talked to me like that— you got more patience than me!”
“My managers told me I couldn’t punch people anymore.” Cass replies with a deadpan expression.
April cracks a smile. She really doesn’t understand how anybody couldn’t love this girl— but whatever. April is used to finding hidden gems. If nobody else will appreciate them, she’ll just have to double her efforts.
“Oh— speaking of punching people, did you guys see the news last night?” Sunita asks, leaning forward when Cass and April shake their heads. “Someone caught footage of those ‘Night Watcher’ guys!”
April’s eyes go wide. “Seriously?”
Sunita nods, grinning. “They were fighting some purse snatcher! It was so cool— you should’ve seen them! I would love to learn to fight like them one day.”
“Hey, don’t get any ideas!” April teases.
“What, you don’t think I’d make a great vigilante?”
“Oh no, I think you’d kick ass, but my poor heart wouldn’t be able to take it, Suns! I’m sixteen, you can’t be giving me gray hairs!”
Sunita laughs, loud and joyful, and April only takes notice of how quiet Cass has been when her eyes stray. Cass looks stiff— nervous almost, similarly to how she was when she first started hanging out with them at lunch or after school. Like she doesn’t know how to act around them, which made sense once April found out that they were her first ever friends she made that weren’t related to her.
Still, April doesn’t get why she’s like that now. A frown tugs on her lips and April tilts her head. “Cass? You alright?”
“Yes!” Cass answers immediately, sitting up ram-rod straight. At Sunita and April’s concerned looks, she deflates a little before clearing her throat. “Apologies, uh... What do you think of The Night Watchers? I’m… Curious.”
Her tone is off but April decides not to pressure her about it.
“Well I think they’re cool, I don’t know about you guys.” Sunita grins.
April nods along. “They’re doing good things, which I like. Obviously I know nothing about them as people but if they’re beating up a few criminals, small or not, they’re helping clean up the streets a little. Certainly doing a better job than the cops so yeah, I think they’re cool too.”
Cass’ shoulders seem to relax a little and she nods with them. “Yes, it’s… Cool. Very cool.”
“Though,” April can’t help herself, eyebrows knitting together, “One of them is built like a tank. Makes me wonder how he’s that big— is he a wrestler or something?”
“Uh— probably!” Cass agrees quickly, voice raising. “That makes the most sense— it’s the only thing that makes sense! He’s definitely a wrestler and nothing else!”
Both Sunita and April stare for a moment. Sunita breaks off into a laugh. “You’re really invested in these Night Watcher guys, huh?”
“I— yes. Yes I am.” Cass says, then stuffs the entirety of a homemade sandwich she brought from home into her mouth. It’s a pretty impressive feat considering the size of the thing.
—
Before the interview, April texts Mikey about it and proceeds to get dozens of texts hyping her up, allowing her to stride into the store confidently.
She leaves just as confidently, having been told right then and there that she's hired and when she can start working. Apparently the owners were eager to get workers seeing as the shop hadn’t been open for that long. Either way, it’s a win for her, and April begins the walk home.
New York City is never fully quiet but the side of town she’s ended up on is a little bit more than usual. April does know a few self defense moves courtesy of Splinter but she’s never had to actually use them in practice. Splinter told her the idea is that she would never have to use them, but as she’s approached by three guys with switchblades in their hands, she’s starting to think she might have to test what she knows after all.
One of them tells her to hand over her wallet. April tries telling them that she really doesn’t have any money on her but they don’t buy it. She’s not quite backed into a corner as they stalk forward, but she’s not sure if she can outrun them or not if she tries. She’s fast but she doesn’t know how fast these guys are.
Fortunately, she doesn’t have to learn.
There’s a loud “HEY!” before two of the guys get hit from behind. April jumps and her eyes go wide at the sight of two people she’s only seen on TV.
The Night Watchers.
The one with the hockey mask has a stick bent in a slanted ‘L’ shape and furiously lays waste to the criminals. They’re quick on their feet and relentless, never giving them a chance to let up and yelling as they do.
The other is slower but the punches look like they hurt. They’re somehow even bigger in person, yet when two of the criminals are groaning on the ground with the third desperately trying to hold their ground with the one on the hockey mask, the bigger one turns to April and bends down. April can’t tell if it’s to get eye-level with her, to appear less intimidating, or a mix of both but she can’t deny that she does feel a little less wound up.
“You okay?” They ask, voice gruff but undeniably concerned. April finds herself smiling and nodding.
“Yeah. Thanks for the save, wasn’t sure if I could handle three of them.” April hesitates but adds, “You’re doing a good thing. I don’t know how many thank you’s you guys get but— just know you’re appreciated.”
They seem to preen at that. Even if April can’t see anything but their eyes, she can still tell from how their eyes crinkle that they’re smiling.
“It’s not about the thanks— it’s about being a hero. But… Thanks. It is nice to hear every once in a while.”
April opens her mouth in hopes of not wasting her chance to talk to the vigilantes but is cut off when she notices too late that one of the criminals that was seemingly unconscious a moment before has gotten back up, picked up a rusty pipe off the ground, and is now charging them. April shouts in warning and the vigilante moves fast, shielding her from the blow.
The blow hits and it cracks right against the vigilante’s mask.
April grits her teeth and throws a punch of her own while the criminal’s attention is off her. They’re so stunned by the fact that they actually hit the big guy that April socks them right in the eye, sending them to the ground and out cold once again when their head hits the pavement.
“Whoa— that punch was perfect, April!” The second vigilante cheers, in the middle of putting zip-ties on the other two and immediately goes for the third.
It takes a minute for it to sink in but it throws April in for a loop when she realizes it. “Wait… How—”
She’s cut off by a groan behind her. She remembers the hit and immediately turns around to check on the bigger vigilante and see if he’s okay when she freezes. Her eyes catch on a discarded red mask on the ground, now cracked, then glances up just as the disoriented vigilante turns slightly.
They lock eyes. Nobody moves.
April’s jaw hangs open at the sight of green skin and sharp snaggletooth.
Something finally snaps them out of it a second later and the bigger vigilante grabs their cracked helmet, stuffs it on their face, and starts running. Their partner isn’t much further behind, cursing profusely as they run past April to catch up.
Moments later, it hits April in full force that she definitely should’ve followed them but her mind is elsewhere. Particularly processing the fact that one vigilante sounded suspiciously like Cass and knew her name already, and the other was a green mutant. A mutant turtle, she’s willing to bet.
April is running towards the nearest entrance to the sewers before she can think twice.
—
In hindsight, April probably should’ve led with the ‘Hey, you know your long lost brothers you’ve been wanting to find? I think I found one of them’ rather than starting at the beginning considering—
“You almost got robbed?” Mikey shrieks, gripping the sides of his head in distress. April tries and fails to get another word out as Mikey immediately circles her to check for injuries. “Did they hit you? Are you okay? Do I need to bust out Dr. Feelings— do I need to track those guys down and put the fear of me in them—”
“Mikey.” April grabs him by the shoulders, stopping him immediately. “I’m fine— those Night Watcher guys showed up and I got to punch one of the robbers— but I’m trying to tell you something important!”
“More important than the fact that you almost got robbed?” Mikey asks, incredulous.
“We live in New York City— a mugging is not that uncommon!”
“But it happened to you—”
“Mikey— one of the Night Watchers is a green mutant.” April finally shouts and Mikey goes quiet, mouth hanging open.
“Gotta be honest, I only saw them for a few seconds,” April continues, knowing she has Mikey’s full attention, “And I don’t know for sure if they were a turtle or not but… How many other green mutants do we know? It’s not that far-fetched, is it?”
Raw emotion flickers in Mikey’s eyes for a beat of silence. He shakes it off a moment later, avoiding her gaze, but the determined look on his face is a good sign. “We need to find them— do you think they’ll still be out there? Doing that whole— vigilante thing?”
“Honestly, I doubt it.” April winces. “I think I scared them pretty bad when I figured out one of them was a mutant. But— I have a lead. It might be nothing but—”
Mikey doesn’t wait for her to finish, immediately starting to tug her along, towards the exit. “You had me at ‘I have a lead’— I don’t want to wait any longer when I’ve already been waiting thirteen years, let’s follow it!”
“Wait!” Mikey comes to a halt, looking back at her. “Should we tell Splints? He’ll want to know.”
Mikey visibly hesitates but shakes his head in the end. “I want to confirm it before I say anything to him. Dad’s a tough guy but… He gets sad when I bring up my brothers. I don’t want to give him hope in case there actually is another unrelated green mutant out there. It could be a yokai too but— I dunno, I doubt it. Dad says they don’t like to meddle in ‘Human affairs’ much.”
April nods. Splinter can act as tough as he likes but she’s seen his rougher days before. He does a good job of covering it up for her and Mikey’s sake but he’s still… Different. In a way that’s hard to explain.
They head for the sewer tunnels, Mikey grabbing a few of the usual things he takes when they head for the surface— nunchucks, provided by Splinter for one of his birthdays; his phone; whatever pocket money he has; and a few light snacks. The latter due to an incident where Mikey had gotten lost in the sewer tunnels for a couple hours after already missing breakfast and lunch. His exact words were, the hunger was unimaginable whenever she asked so clearly he hadn’t had the best experience and made strides to avoid it in the future, as unlikely as it was.
Mikey turns to her as she navigates her way through them to the best of her ability. “What is your lead anyways?”
“One of the Night Watchers knew my name.” April tells him. “They sounded like a friend of mine and the more I think about it, the more that out of anyone, it would make sense for her to be the vigilante. So it makes sense to follow that lead and see where it takes us. It’s the best I got. Oh— hold on!”
April holds up a finger and fishes her phone out of her pocket. It takes her only a moment to locate the right number and start texting.
April: Hey, I know it’s late and this is sudden but can I come over?
April: I need to talk to you about something, it’s important
The reply comes a second later.
Cass: Yes. Of course.
Cass: I just need a second to clean up.
April smiles and texts back her thanks. “We’re clear, let’s go.” She tells Mikey, and leads the way.
—
April has only been over to Cass’ house for a grand total of once. If her suspicions were correct, that might’ve been for good reason.
It had been back when she, Cass, and Sunita were all trying to work on their project together. The library had kicked them out due to Cass’ volume and they needed to work on it that day more than anything, with their schedules conflicting too much for later dates that came before the due date. Cass had felt bad for getting them kicked out so she offered her own home.
Cass had made them wait outside for a few minutes so she could tidy up. April had no idea what she did but she did hear a few loud thumps before Cass nervously opened the door to them.
The house was pretty decently sized, especially for New York City, but the thing that April couldn’t get out of her head was how empty it felt. Cass was the only one home, claiming her uncle was out of town for business, which was nice for privacy, but April wondered how Cass could stand it.
When they reach their destination, April barely has to say a word to Mikey before he’s blending into the shadows as she walks up to the door. He’s gotten a lot better at that— April remembers when he had first been training with Splinter in the art of stealth and just how bad he was at it. He was too obvious about it before, not quite getting how Splinter’s techniques worked. Now April can’t even see him, though she knows he’s still there and it’s a comfort to her.
Sucking in a breath, April knocks on the door. Cass flings it open only a second later, quickly inviting her inside. As Cass closes the door behind them, April notices a shadow flicker briefly in the window, and knows Mikey is watching closely.
She can’t blame him. The anticipation is killing her.
“So uh,” Cass turns to her, folding her arms behind her back. “Want any refreshments? Water, juice— I have snacks!”
April declines the offers, giving her a serious look. “We really need to talk. Are we the only ones in the house?”
Cass shifts slightly, nervous energy rolling off of her in waves. “Yeah, my uncle isn’t really around. He works out of state so— just us!”
“Okay good. Cass,” April claps her hands together, taking a deep breath. “I really don’t want to beat around the bush so I’m just going to ask outright: Are you one of the Night Watchers?”
“What!” Cass says a little too quickly, laughing but it’s forced. “No— what gave you that idea? Ha! Can— can you imagine?”
April narrows her eyes a little harder. Cass visibly sweats.
“No?” April asks. “Because one of the Night Watchers knew my name, and they sounded an awful lot like you.”
“Just got one of those… Voices!”
“So you wouldn’t know anything about… Mutants, then?”
Cass’ voice raises in pitch. “W— why would I—”
A loud thump from upstairs makes them both freeze.
April’s eyes dart to the stairs. Cass fumbles immediately. “Just the— the cat!”
April isn’t deterred. She bolts up the stairs without skipping a beat, Cass two steps behind her and desperately trying to convince her to do anything else.
There’s another, quieter but unmistakable thump when she reaches the top of the stairs, coming from the very end of the hall. April heads for the last door in that direction and flings it open.
She’s met with a giant, green mutant trying to stuff themselves under the bed and failing miserably. They go still when April lays eyes on them, but April’s attention is elsewhere, locked onto the spiky shell on their back.
Turtle. Without a doubt. Not the same kind as Mikey but she thinks the fact that it’s another turtle is enough.
The Turtle’s face immediately fills with panic. “Uh— meow?”
Cass quickly slips past her, putting herself between April and the Turtle with outstretched arms. “It’s— it’s a costume! My brother likes dressing up as— as—”
“Jupiter Jim Aliens!” The Turtle supplies, maneuvering themselves from out the bed and standing up. Ram-rod straight— just like Cass when she gets nervous. “I’m a big fan— really big fan— so I go all out cosplaying and uh— wear it around the house!”
Cass and the Turtle continue to spit out more and more obvious lies that make April’s head spin on top of everything else. She can’t seem to find the words of what she wants to say, too deep in shock that she’s finally found another mutant turtle, but doesn’t know how many more ridiculous lies she can take.
Fortunately, the problem solves itself when Mikey slides open the window from the outside and vaults himself through it, sending the room into complete silence.