Love Never Lost

Panic in the Sewers: Part 2

Brooke's POV:

The four of us walk into the lab to see Donnie working on a vehicle while wearing a welder's helmet.

Raph: "You're still working on that go-kart?"

Donnie lifts the helmet off his face as he turns to Raph with an annoyed look. He then shows us the blueprints with an excited grin.

Donnie: "It's not a go-kart. It's an all-terrain patrol buggy with detachable sidecars."

I look over the blueprints, Raph looks at us with a bored expression, Leo looks to Mikey, & Mikey looks at the buggy.

Mikey: "Dude, hasn't Splinter been riding us hard enough? You gotta find away to relax."

Leo: "We all deal with stress in different ways, Mikey."

Me: "Yeah. I train, Leo watches Space Heroes, Raph reads magazines, Dad meditates-"

Donnie places a hand on my shoulder in thanks.

Donnie: "And this is how I deal."

Mikey: "Well, this is how I deal."

Mikey throws a water balloon toward my & Donnie's heads. I duck down as it hits Donnie square in the face. I turn to him with an apologetic look. Donnie turns to me with a small smile before turning to Mikey with a glare & growls as he throws his welder's helmet to the ground. Donnie then gives chase to Mikey as he calls out to me.

Mikey: "You're next, Queen B! Dr. Prankenstein makes house calls!"

I cup my hands around my mouth as Donnie & Mikey rush out of the lab.

Me: "Don't count on it, Angelo."

Raph: "I do more than read magazines."

I turn to Raph with a smug grin.

Me: "Do you?"

Leo snickers as Raph nudges my shoulder.

{Time skip}

Leo & I stand before the rest of the team to lead them in a collaborative training session.

Leo & I (Translation): "Hoko no kamae." (Hoko's stance)

Donnie & Mikey follow our lead as Leo & I enter the proper stance while Raph looks on with his arms crossed.

Leo: "Raph, hoko no kamae!"

Raph waves his hands at us.

Raph: "Hoko no way. It's bad enough Splinter's driving us into the ground, now you too?"

Leo: "We have to keep training, because, right now, we don't stand a chance against Shredder."

I nod in agreement.

Me: "Leo's right. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not stand witness to the damage & destruction of those I care about. Not again."

Raph & Leo look at me in concern at the wavering of my voice during that last part.

Leo: "Brooke, if you need a minute, we can-"

I shake my head with determined look.

Me: "I'm fine, Leo. Just a little tired from this morning."

Donnie offers his take on our approach to take the heat off of me.

Donnie: "I hate to say it, but the fact that we've been laying low might be the only reason we're still alive."

I turn to Donnie with a grateful smile, to which he responds with a nod of understanding.

Me: "Exactly, so until we're ready, we stay down here."

April: "Unfortunately, that's not an option."

We all turn to see April standing a few feet behind Mikey, Raph, & Donnie with a confident grin. Her right hand is on her hip, and her left is waving her phone around.

{Time skip}

The five of us huddle around April, Splinter standing across from her, as she replays a recording from the device she taped to the bottom of a pizza box she delivered to the Purple Dragons' hideout.

Fong: "We're meeting Shredder tonight. He's got a plan to destroy the turtles."

Voice #2: "How? He doesn't even know where they are."

Fong: "He says they're in the sewer somewhere, and that's all he needs to wipe them out."

Voice #2: "What about that girl? You've seen her, and she doesn't just go down without a fight."

I mutter my agreement.

Me: "You got that right, meathead."

Raph chuckles as he wraps an arm around me.

Fong: "He says he plans to take her hostage for information regarding the whereabouts of an old friend of his."

My eyes widen as Raph growls at the idea, his grip around me tightening protectively. We all turn to Splinter as he takes a few steps toward us.

Splinter: "Our home is no longer safe. The Shredder must be stopped."

Leo: "How can we stop a plan we don't even know?"

I turn to Mikey as he holds up another water balloon. I grab a ninja star from my belt and throw it at the balloon. Mikey whimpers in disappointment as it pops. Raph removes his arm from around me as he takes a step forward with a look of seriousness.

Raph: "We have to go topside and find out what they're planning."

Me: "Raph's right. There's no other way."

TO BE CONTINUED