just the way you are

the power inside her

Deep within the depths of the sewers, three figures gathered in a lab, completely unaware of the destruction that was about to unfold. Tension seemed to quiver in the air around the seated girl, and the inhumane object dangling from her neck.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Donnie?" Leo asked skeptically from where he was standing to Donatello's left. Donnie ignored the question. In fact, he was completely sure that nothing would go wrong this time, and they could find out what enabled that crystal to make his friend that powerful.

"Um, yeah," quipped April from where she sat, her tone frustrated. "Last time you hooked me up to this thing it made me blind and mentally connected to a giant fish-bird-worm thing."

"Don't worry,  I've upgraded it since then," assured Donnie, adjusting the dials on the machine connected to the circlet on April's head. "It's perfectly safe, I promise."

The machine blew upwards with a bang, letting out a plume of smoke. Donnie let out a cry of alarm, jumping away from the  device. He stared wide eyed at it for a second, arms in front of his face. He did not predict that...

April let out an audible sigh.

"Um..." Donnie started, fanning the air near the machine," your psychic powers have been expanding rapidly since you were given that Aeon crystal. It's imperative I test its limits, for your own sake!"

"I have it under control," the redhead said, crossing her arms and looking to the side. "Besides, if it weren't for my powers, we never would have gotten away from Shredder! You saw what I did to that mutated freak." 

"That's what worries us," Leonardo interrupted.

April turned her head to glower at him.

"I just need to examine your crystal," insisted Donatello, reaching out to grab it from April. If he could take a closer look at the strange mineral, he might be able to determine-

"NO!" April snapped, turning away from Donnie's outstretched hand. "I'm not taking it off." Donnie took a few steps back, taken aback by the look on April's face and the way she clutched the alien crystal. Her knuckles were white.

"Don't even ask again, Donnie. It's safe. As long as I have it."

Donnie ignored the bad feeling in his gut and turned around to face the machine's control panel. He would have to go with plan b it seemed. "Hmm. If I can replicate how this crystal increases your powers, that could provide a frame of reference-"

Leo stood up from his chair, eyes wide. "Increase her powers?" His voice was full of a concern that frustrated Donnie.

"Don't worry, only slightly!" he reassured, turning the dials and messing with the switches. "About maybe... point three percent." He hit the button to begin the process.

Leo took a cautious step backwards. Donnie looked at April, his mask slightly creased as if in thought. The brothers held their breath as they watched April clutch the crystal, her eyes shut tight. All of a sudden her eyes opened and she relaxed her position.

"April? Let me know if you feel anything okay? Tingling, headache..."

April exhaled. "I told you, I'm fine, just leave the crystal-" her sentence broke off with a scream of anger.

Donnie and Leo had no time to react before all the items in Donnie's lab suddenly lifted off the ground. The purple masked turtle threw a frightened glance at April, noticing how her eyes were white and empty in the heartbeat before everything started spinning. She clutched her crystal and the cry of outrage grew louder, the room spinning faster.