Burning Passion: A ROTTMNT x OC Story

Episode 3: F.F.

NOTE: This episode is purposely written as if it was an actual episode from the series (ROTTMNT).

It's a beautiful day in New York,

the birds are singing,

the sun is shining,

looks like a perfect day to spend outside.

And now, here we are at the sewers where our four loveable heroes are currently—!

Wait, where are they?

...

"Wooo-hooo! Battle Nexus, baby!" Mikey said excitedly whilst pumping his fist up.

The four turtle brothers are currently lined up in queue for the withdrawal of tickets to the Battle Nexus. Raph figured that it'd be a great idea to watch one of the matches and learn some new moves from the fighters.

"Remember guys, we're only here to observe, not fight." He spoke seriously to his brothers with his hands on his hips.

"Oh mi gosh! I can't believe we're finally able to watch the Battle Nexus!" Mikey grinned excitedly, his eyes darting around the place. He was really willing to go here, but only because he knew they'd end up getting some food after watching.

"...Yeeeaah, eesh. It took some serious convincing and pleading for dad to let us go. Y'know how he is with Big Mama." Donnie uttered, shrugging. He agreed to come because he fantasized that maybe one of the fighters might've had some impressive high-tech gear.

Leo gets in between Donnie and Mikey and pulls them into a side hug, grinning smugly. "Guys guys guys guys— how about this: we get in there, kick their butts, and show 'em what the Mad Dogs are made of!" And then there's Leo, being his usual 'show-off' self. I'm guessing you already know why he came too.

"Leo! What did I just say?" Raph sighs and narrows his eyes at Leo in suspicion. "C'mon, Raph! Where's the fun in just watching and learning? I say we do performing and learning." He lets go of Mikey and Donnie, putting his hand on his chest as he speaks.

Mikey's eyes widened with excitement as he contemplated Leo's proposition. He turned to Raph, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "You know, Raph, Leo might be onto something. We could totally show off our skills and give those fighters a run for their money!"

Raph rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his plastron. "Oh, great. Now we're turning into Leo's personal fan club. Just what I needed."

Donnie chimes in, getting in between Raph and Leo. "Raph's right, Nardo. We shouldn't get carried away. Let's just stick to the plan and learn from the experienced fighters." Raph grins proudly and pats Donnie's back. "What Donnie said!"

Leo rolls his eyes and groans, "Uuuuggghhhh..... fiiiinnee." He said, not even bothering to hide his disappointment.

"I mean, considering the fact that we've made a lot of scenes in the Battle Nexus before. The Hidden City included." Donnie continued proving his point, putting one of his fingers up.

(Insert flashbacks to Portal Jacked!, Bug Busters, Turtle-dega nights: The Ballad of Rat Man, Donnie Vs. Witch town, etc.)

Raph chuckles nervously and sheepishly averts his eyes, clearing his throat. "...What Donnie said."

"Oookaayyy, fair point..." Leo said with his hand on his chin and his elbow resting on his freehand. He wasn't wrong, they have made enough appearances here and there, so they should really keep a low profile or else they'll get banned from ever going to the Hidden City and the Battle Nexus.

A while later, they finally turn in their tickets and get to their seats for the Battle Nexus. As they made their way there, they had to squeeze through a few yōkais. "Whoops, sorry!– coming through." "Ow–! Hey, watch the tail!"

They all sat down on their seats as they shifted to a comfortable position. Meanwhile, Leo suddenly has a bucket of popcorn on his lap.

"...Where did you get that?" Donnie questioned him with a raised eyebrow.

"Just now." Leo gives him a cocky grin, throwing in a few popcorns in his mouth.

"Oooh!" Mikey then snatches the bucket of popcorn away from Leo, leaving him devastated.

Leo's jaw dropped in mock horror. "Hey, give that back! That's essential ninja fuel!" He attempts to yank the popcorn bucket but gives up seconds later. Mikey just sticks his tongue out at him mockingly.

And so the Battle Nexus starts, fighters winning matches, a few being beaten. It was truly the perfect setting to learn some new moves and techniques from skilled warriors. Everytime a fighter was introduced into the arena, Donnie would use his high-tech goggles and scan them, automatically listing down their information in his lenses.

"Alright Donnie, who do we have here now?" Raph asked Donnie with an excited grin, leaning forward to have a better look at the fighter. The contestant steps into the arena and Donnie adjusts his goggles. "Hmm... ah! It says here that it's a frog yōkai."

Mikey suddenly grimaces, having a concerned look on his face. "Eeesh! Poor little guy looks like he doesn't wanna be here."

Donnie puts his hand on Mikey's shoulder and talks in a mock professional voice. "Angelo, we shan't judge the fighter just yet! 'Don't judge a book by its cover' as some say."

Few minutes later, the yōkai frog is carried out of the arena by the medics.

"...I take back everything I said." Donnie said in an unamused tone. Leo looks disappointed to see the frog being defeated so easily, he's distraught. "No!!" He says in a sorrowful voice.

"I was rooting for that little toad! I can't believe this!" He fake sobs into his palms. Mikey pats Leo's back comfortingly. "There, there."

As the yōkai frog gets to the nearby clinic, a new contestant pops out of nowhere into the arena, being lifted up from underground.

It was Carmen.

The crowd suddenly got louder and the cheers were echoing around the arena. Meanwhile, the four turtle brothers look at each other in confusion. "Why are they cheering so loud?" Raph questioned, slightly leaning forward.

Leo looks up from his palms and his eyes shoot open, in complete awe and curiosity. "Ohohohoho–! Who's that?!" He fully leaned forward, almost falling off his seat. The brothers have seen plenty of yōkais in the Battle Nexus before, but have never seen someone like Carmen. They're pretty hooked to know more about her.

Donnie clears his throat and speaks slowly. "Uh-huh... looks like she's–" Suddenly, Leo yanks Donnie's goggles and wears them, making Donnie extremely agitated. "Hey– Nardo! Give me my goggles back!" Leo just shoves his face away and reads Carmen's information aloud. "Ohhoohh! Let's have a looksie! Carmen Fayer, 14 years old..." He trails off, squinting his eyes. "...half-flamehead and half-human?! That's sooo awesome!"

Leo chuckles in amusement and abruptly stops, trying to pronounce the next information. "Was born in the Phili... pines? Philippi–" "Give me that!" Donnie yanks his goggles back, giving Leo a scowl.

Mikey gasps in awe and his pupils are shaped like stars, cartoon-wise. "She is on fire! Literally! Look at her go!" He whoops and raises his fist around, cheering for Carmen as he chants her stage name.

"Well, you don't see a girl like her everyday, huh?" Raph chuckles in awe and crosses his arms, watching her fight swiftly and strategically. He notices how agile she is and her strength, seemingly impressed.

The four turtles are extremely surprised and interested in what Carmen is and how she fights, especially her weapo– "Jumping Jack flash! Is she using a giant scissor to fight?!" ...Raph yelled with a huge grin on his face. He seems to be enjoying this a bit too much.

Meanwhile, with Leo... he seems to have something up his sleeve, something that he's having the urge to do. He keeps a mischievous smile on his face as he patiently waits for the match to come to an end.

And so when it does, his other three brothers start applauding her and whooping while he grins mischievously, gripping the armrests on his seat as if he's preparing to leap off.
His brothers start to notice as they glance at him, their face slowly turning to mock horror. "Leo... whatever you're about to do, don't–" Raph slowly reaches out his hand towards Leo, trying to stop him. "Relaaax! I'm just gonna have a chat with her is all." And with that, he attempts to leap off gracefully, but ends up tripping and stumbling through the rows of seats.

"Leo!!!" Raph groans and buries his face into his palms in frustration. Donnie sighs exasperatedly and watches Leo go down with a blank expression. "Aaaannddd, he did it anyway." "Can you tell her I said hi?!" Mikey shouted to Leo with a wide grin.

"Unnh! Oof..." Leo falls on the Battle Nexus arena, cartoon-wise. He groans quietly and frantically stands up before walking smugly towards Carmen with an obvious bounce on his steps.

"Hey, Carmy– Can I call you Carmy?" He spoke with a smug grin. "I was wondering if you could do lil' ol' me a favor."

Carmen turns around to look at Leo, giving him a raised eyebrow, staring at him with suspicion and skepticism. "A... favor? Who–" "Ah-bup-bup-bup!" Leo interrupts her, putting his finger against her lips. "Before we get to that, I wanna ask you a very important question."

Carmen already looks so done with him, glaring at him with clear irritation and annoyance. There's a few moments of silence before Leo starts speaking up again.

"...Are you, like, a pirate or something?" Leo wags his finger at her, speaking to her in a teasing tone.

"Not a pirate." Carmen bluntly replied with a palpable exasperation in her tone. 'Isn't this the guy who caused a scene in the Docks?' She thought to herself.

"You sure look like one, y'know?" His smug grin grows a bit wider. "C'mon, I know a pirate when I see one." He's clearly messing with her. "Oh, and by the way, my brother says hi." He quickly added.

She groans and pinches her nose bridge, furrowing her eyebrows in irritation. A nerve bulges in her forehead. "NOT A PIRATE." She angrily yelled before taking a sharp inhale.

 "Look, turtle boy, if you're only here to comment on my outfit and poke fun at me, you're gonna have to leave." She gets all up in his face, putting her index finger against his plastron in an aggressive manner. Carmen starts pushing him from behind, leading him to the exit and Leo starts panicking.

"Wait wait wait wait!–" He turns to face her and grabs her by the shoulders. "Please, just do me a favor." He looks at her with pleading eyes, she stares at him with a blank expression for a few seconds then groans, rolling her eyes. "Fine. What?"

Leo takes a deep breath and puts his hands on his hips. "I challenge you to a duel!" He spoke as if he was a game host, pointing a finger at Carmen.

Her eyes widen and she looks at him for a few seconds in silence before bursting out laughing. "Hold on..." She chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. "You want to challenge me to a duel? Sorry buddy, not gonna ha–" "I'll allow it." Big Mama suddenly popped out of nowhere, still in her yōkai form.

"GAH–!" They said in unison, Leo and Carmen jumped out of surprise from Big Mama's sudden appearance.

"Wait, what?!" Carmen exclaimed, looking at Big Mama in disbelief. Leo laughs in amusement and pumps his fist. "Sweet!" Carmen scoffs and holds Leo's face, gripping his face firmly with one hand as she makes distance.

Raph, Donnie and Mikey just watch in horror, feeling second-hand embarrassment for Leo. This was definitely the most stupid and impulsive decision he has ever made, or at least one of them.

"Big M– You know who this crackhead is?" She frustratedly whispered to Big Mama. "Of course I do, firecracker! I know everyone." Big Mama giggled. "Besides, it'll be entertaining and fun-loving! A duel match in the Battle Nexus will make every yōkai in town running to get tickets." She spoke with enthusiasm in her voice and a hint of excitement, clearly liking this idea a lot.

Carmen does not like it at all, not even one bit. She groans then pulls her hand away from Leo's face who had been muffling words for the past minute. He gasps for air and clears his throat, now standing in between Carmen and Big Mama with both his hands on his hips. "Spider-lady's right! It's gonna draw in every yōkai."

Leo cheekily smiles and playfully nudges Carmen's arm with his elbow. "And by the way, the crackhead has a name." He holds his hand out to her for a handshake, his smug grin appearing once again. "Name's Leo, Leonardo."

Carmen stares at him with a glare, then looks down at his hand for a few long seconds. She shakes his hand and raises an eyebrow at him with a blank expression. "Okay, Leo...

...Nice to meet you."

She yanks her hand back, but then suddenly gives him a subtle smirk. 'I could snap him like a twig.' She thought to herself.

His eyes widen a bit at her sudden smirk, and he immediately winks to her in response. 'Was she flirting with me?' Leo thought to himself. Carmen rolls her eyes at his wink, shifting her gaze back at Big Mama. 'She's totally into me.' He chuckles to himself, looking at Big Mama as well.

"Well then... firecracker, turtley-boo, I'll be expecting the both of you ready for the duel tomorrow." She giggles and boops both of their noses. "No take backsies." Both Carmen and Leo glare at each other, except Leo has a smug grin on display.

Carmen huffs and walks away with Big Mama, going up to the luxury box to have a little talk with her. "Bye Carmy!" Leo yelled out to her with a big grin, waving at her.

This was an unexpected thing to happen, but it wasn't surprising that Big Mama agreed about the idea. It was... odd, from Carmen's perspective: fighting some random mutant turtle who fell in the arena. But the guy really annoyed the shit out of her, so she thought it'd be kind of satisfying to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Once Big Mama and Carmen get back in the luxury box, Carmen's by the balcony, sharpening her giant scissor frustratedly, every stroke getting more and more aggressive.

"This is stupid. This is so stupid." She snarled, her head bursting into flames. "I'm not a pirate, what the hell was he saying? God, the nerve..." She huffs and stops sharpening, clenching her fists now.

"Save up your anger for tomorrow, firecracker. You'll need it." Big Mama spoke in a sing-songy tone, humming a tune with her signature devilish smirk.

"Oh, I'll be needing it alright."

"I'll show him."

...Meanwhile, with Leo and his brothers back at the sewer lair.

"You're gonna WHAT with WHO?!" Donnie yelled in shock, his palms up and his fingers curled. Mikey shakes Leo back and forth aggressively by his shoulders. "Leo! You have doomed us all!– let me come with you so I can get her autograph– Leo!! Whyyy!" He fake sobbed into his palms.

Leo chuckles and blows his lips, shrugging. "Guys, it's not that big of a deal! I've got a totally good plan." "You're gonna ask her out after, aren't you?" Raph asked in an unamused tone, as if he already knew he'd do something like this. Leo laughs nervously for a good minute in response before speaking up again in a sheepish tone.

"....No? No, pssh." He shakes his head, but he's clearly lying.