I wandered the familiar streets of my childhood. Old restaurants and arcades passed by, and I plodded off to go find something to entertain me and fluffy whilst my moms were at work.
With my emergency brooch in my back pocket, And a mutant silverfish in my backpack, I wasn't worried much about being bothered. Fluffy could help with most small scuffles and the emergency brooch was a last ditch effort, due to my inability to control its effects. It's mystic power was off the charts, and using it could cause catastrophic damage, so it was for life and death situations.
New york was crowded as per usual, but it felt like home. The constant sounds of someone else or something going on helped take the mind off of things. An old pizza joint I was familiar with as a kid entered my sight.
Albeardo's pizzaria. Many considered the old animatronic bear a hunk of scrap, but I had been fond of him since a kid. Call me sentimental, but I decided to pay a visit and get some lunch.
I was seated at a booth nearby a rather rowdy group of kids, wrangled in by one desperate looking staff. Her dark curls pulled up into pigtails and revealed a tired face, most likely from the kids.
I made my way over, opting to help another girl in need, Female solidarity style.
"Hey runts, I bet you a hundred arcade tickets none of you can beat me at air hockey." I smirked. The kids took the bait, eager to try and beat me for the prize. "You're on lady! Come on!"
With that, I had singlehandedly started a competition at the air hockey table. I frequently played the game, so my reflexes were refined and I could easily take on all these kids. For the sake of that exhausted gal, I took matches slower and focused more on stalling than winning.
As the minutes ticked on, the fervor of my challengers dwindled until I was facing off against the birthday boy himself. "Think you can top all your friends?" I grinned, restraining me competitive nature for the game. "Absolutely." The runt snarked back.
The ferocious match began, and this kid wasn't incredible but he was about as skilled as the others. His buddies cheered him on as we faced off viciously and I saw the staff from earlier frantically calling someone on her phone while albeardo was apparently under repair.
As the stage reopened and the staff began trying to wrangle in the sufficiently tired out kids, I allowed myself to lose, gifting the ticket prize and wishing the kiddo a happy birthday.
With that done, I sauntered back to my booth and ordered pizza. Fluffy happily accepted the sacrificial pizza slices I offered, and for a small while everything was calm.
Until it wasn't.
Albeardo malfunctioned or something, and quickly my childhood icon turned hostile. Fluffy hissed from the depths of my bag as people screamed and ran, panicked.
The staff frantically called someone, and I herded people to the door, watching out for anything that could hurt me or fluffy. Soon enough chaos escalated when four strangely dressed folks joined the fray, each wielding different weapons.
However, the bear beat back everyone and as he was about to pummel the kids, I opened my backpack, tossing a slice of pizza at the bear.
The pizza smacked his face, and as he turned, so did the mutant silverfish I called my friend. The ravenous bug went to town on him like a hurricane of claws, teeth and unbridled appetite.
My childhood hero struggled against the bug, and the four took the chance to take down albeardo, my silverfish friend scuttling back into my bag with pizza clamped in its jaws.
I closed my backpack with a satisfied nod, and glimpsed the five glancing at me, so I hurriedly took off without noticing the lingering gaze of the blue clad figure. If I was caught doing something wild, my moms would blow a fuse.
So I dipped.
Trekking back home with some pizza, I opted not to tell my dearest parents about todays events.. for their safety... not mine.
-third person-
The group of five managed to only glimpse the fleeting girl, drawn to attention by the silverfish that had previously attacked albeardo running in that general direction. (No they don't know its yours)
A certain turtle couldn't keep his eyes off of the straggler, and it showed when his gaze lingered. He and his brothers took care of the threat, so his heart still fluttering was uncalled for in his opinion.
Deep inside he knew she'd probably freak out upon seeing him, so he swallowed the thrumming in his chest and tried to focus.
Unluckily for leo, that wasn't the only time she would be on his mind.
