ROTTMNT x Oc: Reptile Mayhem

Prologue

November 22, 2008

The sun started to set on the city of New York, shining its last rays down on all the people heading home.
But deep below the surface in the sewers, a mutant rat was preparing to head out.

Splinter kneels on one knee, muttering nonsense to himself as he fixes up the zipper on 5yo Raph's jacket. Pulling up the hood to cover the young turtles head, he gives him a small pat. "There we go." Standing up, he places his hands on his hips as he looks down at his disguised children with satisfaction.

All wore their colour-coded hoodies. The twins, aged 4, already had their leashes on so they wouldn't wander off on their little outing. Mikey was strapped in a baby sling. Raph was old enough to walk alongside him.

"Alright boys, we're leaving now. Any questions?" The rat man asks. Raph holds up his hand as Splinter places his own disguise on. "Yes, Red?"

"Where are we going?" The red turtle tot asks. The rat mutant scuffles around for his wallet, finding it in between the couch cushion. "We are going to get some food, so please behave while we're out. Okay?" He says, directing the question to all of them.

The three older boys grumble, but nod. Finding his wallet, he places it in his jacket pocket, before grabbing the twins leashes and strapping Mikey onto his front torso. "Alright! Now, off we go!" With that, Splinter heads towards the manhole that'll lead them to the surface.

By the time he lifted the manhole cover, it was night time.

——

(An hour later....)

Holding a new bag of groceries in one hand, and the twins leashes in the other, Splinter began his trek home. The city was still brightly lit, so it was easy to make their way back to the sewer.

But it was too big a risk, since someone could see them. Ducking into a dark alleyway, he decided to take a detour.

The rat mutant didn't notice a small figure skulking in the shadows, following close behind the small family. They wore a dark hoodie that looked too big for them, with similar dark, baggy pants. Their hood was pulled over their face, obscuring their features. They crept closer, pink eyes glowing in the darkness.

Once they were close enough without the mutant knowing, they slipped a hand into his pocket, withdrawing his wallet.
They would've gotten away with it if Raph hadn't seen them.

"Hey! What're ya doing?" The red turtle tot asks. The figure tries to run away, but Splinter uses his tail to grab the thief's wrist, holding him up in the air.

The thief freezes, as the rat mutant looks down at them. "What do you think you're doing? Little boys shouldn't be stealing from their elders! Where are your parents?" He scolds.
The child doesn't respond. Not even any crying. At this, Splinter becomes concerned. Had he said something wrong? What if this child didn't have any parents? Now that he thought about it, this kid couldn't be any older than 4, by his size. Unless he was very small for his age.

That's when blue had the brilliant idea to pull down the thief's hoodie, revealing what was underneath. A small mutant lizard, feral and wild looking, as it looks around with wide, terrified golden eyes. Upon his hoodie being pulled down, the child tried squirming his way out of the rat mans grip.

Snapping out of his shock, Splinter immediately pulled the hoodie back over the child's head, looking around to see if any humans had noticed. Thankfully, no passerby's from the outside of the alleyway had.

Putting the groceries down and kneeling to eye level, he places a hand firmly on the child's shoulders. "Are you lost, little one? Do you need help?"

The child doesn't respond, just looks back down to the ground.

Splinter didn't know what to do. Should he go to the police to report a missing child? No, this is a mutant, or yokai. They'll probably send him to a lab or something. Maybe he could try and find another entrance to the Hidden City...?

No, he couldn't go back there. He only escaped from there 3 years ago. He never wanted to go back there.

Before he could think of a proper solution, Splinter noticed a man jogging in their direction. Getting up, he got in a subtle defensive stance. The man huffed, out of breath, as he reached them.

"I am so sorry. I hope my son wasn't doing anything bad, was he?" He laughs awkwardly, gesturing to the small hooded child (who had lifted his head to face him). The way he said "son" seemed off to Splinter. He already didn't like the look of this man, either.

"No, he was no trouble at all." Splinter answered the mans question. The man laughed awkwardly once again. "Oh, thank goodness. He's been a bit of troublemaker recently! I'll just be taking my son home." With that, the man grabbed the childs arm- hard- and began dragging him away.

Holding his own kids close, Splinter's brows furrowed at the man, then at the child. The hood had fallen back just enough to see the child looking up at the man, scared.
That's when he knew he had to follow them.

He turns to his kids. "Hey, boys! Uh, who wants to play "Who Can Be the Quietest Ninja"? Whoever is the quietest and the sneakiest wins!" Splinter proclaims. Raph, Leo and Donnie's eyes sparkled, determined to win the game. As they start to cheer, Splinter tried his best to quiet them down. "Okay okay the game begins now!"
The kids are silent.