Masked Mayhem

Beyond Mutated

Mutational Variance = marks of specialization based on significant growth periods in Mutant Turtles. File A.07

Knurls is a real word meaning formation to assist in griping items such as a bolt, washer or screw... usually must mean the teeth on tools. But, not today!

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Donatello was truly impressed with how his brother's mutations were so very willing to follow what they needed based on the stresses placed on their bodies. It had startled the genius originally, when he had found a secondary nerve plexus in Leo's wrist, one complex enough to explain his shear unnerving skill with a sword. Leonardo had simply reported the finding to their Father with a small smile, finally trusting that his body did know how to read edge placement and the resulting slices. Something no swordwielder younger than the Ancient One should be able to know.

A few weeks later, Leo had insisted on an extended patrol for April Fool's so he could show off how he could leave the city's usual incompetent offenders in nothing more than socks and underwear. Generally horrified but uncut many did not bother to return to crime, petty or otherwise. Donatello had allowed that there might be some post traumatic stress involved in contemplating doing anything that might get the same results. Mikey had insisted he'd broken ribs laughing and Raph had made Leo promise to join in on the occasional Purple Dragon humiliation. Casey had nearly laughed himself sick, the first time Raph held him back to just watch Leo's new confidence.

The Purple Dragons in turn made sure to insist that their newly inducted gang members actually wore underwear. Older Purple Dragons took to wearing the most outlandish things hoping they could sneak away with less bruises under cover of peals of laughter. 'Peeling Parties' eventually included photographic devices to allow posting evidence on the internet for April and others to enjoy repeatedly. The PPD site made a tidy income.

Later, when Raphael finally figured out meditation and decided he needed to prove to everyone that he could go without a punching bag he had come to Donnie to complain about joint pain running up his arms. A simple bone scan had revealed the hidden spurs in hands, wrists, elbows and even in multiple placements on Raph's shoulders that corresponded to power thrusts he commonly used to impale metal with his sais. They locked together reinforcing his strength and ensured the momentum was not wasted in any way. It was unnerving to all discovering just how symbiotic Raphael had become to his chosen weapons. Worse yet, in discarding his beloved bag and thus no longer continually stressing the unusual bone structures, they were breaking down and being reabsorbed. Donatello had spoken with their Sensei and then insisted Raph discuss his conflicted response to actually being physically dependent on punching things. The old rat had managed to get the conversation talking in circles until his other sons could return and tug their brother out to reveal several thousand dollars worth of punching bags in the main room.

Two hours later, the final designs for a series of punchable items was formalized and all the borrowed ones were returned with Casey's help. The entire red set only took a week to complete. The family's combined efforts paid off less than two months later during their biannual capture by the unusually stupid who relied on only a moderately reinforced door to keep the turtles contained. The specialty pieces that fitted over the central point of his sai to secure them to Raph's forearms and the bladed caps that screwed onto the handles to protect his knuckles got their first use. The results were to say the least spectacular. Despite Leo's disappointment in the lack of all ninja-like subtlety that brought the lead bad guy running and scared away a large portion of the henchmen who watched the door bulge, Donatello decided he only needed to work with a bit sturdier metal next time.

Mikey was happy to get home in time to watch his new show and Raph actually wished he hadn't been able to get thru the door as his youngest brother's musing about his unknown adaptations crossed the line into fantasy. It only took an hour after his show was over to annoy Donnie enough be told if he pestered the genius again while he worked to remake Raph's Door Crunchers, he'd get tranquilized. This threat actually got acted on in the midst of a rather worked up speech that Mikey could possibly cause a horrible strangling plague and wouldn't they all feel bad if that was the... then, *thud*.

Since Raph and Leo had been busy reassuring the food-bearing April and Casey that while the brothers HAD been once again captured but all escaped uninjured, Donatello marching to the couch with a decidedly loopy Michelangelo slung over a shoulder had not helped things. Humor had returned to the situation when Mikey had popped Casey one for poking him with chopsticks and really the rest of the turtles knew one does not stay within range of a disturbed from sleep Mikey. This was one of the oldest constants in the Hamato household and quite easily illustrated until the effects quickly wore off leaving a groggy Mikey clutching a conciliatory container of his favorite Chinese food. Splinter was reassured his sons were only up to their usual level of mischief though perhaps in an odd mood that night and so went to make himself tea to drink.

When April commented that it hadn't seemed as though Mikey had even thought about the unconsciously accurate moves, Donnie had gotten a thoughtful look and then a small device from his room. A quick scan had revealed nerve bundles along the spine at shoulder and hips that to Michelangelo's grave misfortune Don had compared to the tail brain found in dinosaurs. These bundles could respond with quick moves, that while not the most coordinated, would suffice in rapid self defense just like a dinosaur's tail could self-defend without accessing the cranium. It took exactly three seconds for the hothead to declare the youngest's new nickname to be "Dino butt."

Attempting to deferthatconversation, April had inquired after Donatello's uniqueness. She had long since learned he was mildly resistant to electricity in his hands. To that question, he had merely retrieved a popsicle and squished the tips of his fingers into the surface. When he presented the treat to her there were small imprints of, not flat fingers but, depressions from micromuscular knurls which explained why his thick fingers could grasp components her own had trouble with. He'd even made differing patterns appear on each impression-- lines, dots and one very like the head of a bolt. She thought harder and blushed. Casey plucked the bright icy pop from her fingers as she froze and watched Donatello lick his fingers to free them of the sugary stickiness while he looked thru the food cartons on the table.

"Huhn, I guess it's not that big a fightin' edge, huh Raph?" Casey looked over the popsicle turning it to the light as if he could figure out how to make self-patterning fingers useful. Michelangelo looked up from his next bite of food and glared at the human holding the popsicle. Then gasped shrilly a when he noticed which specific color his brother had picked.

"Donnie, why couldn't you have used one of your grape ones to show off your magic fingers? I like the orange ones," Mike's whining effectively covered April's tiny whimper at the term 'magic fingers.' Don just rolled his eyes and took a bite of noodles. Mikey broke off the whining and retrieved his sugar from Casey's hands to look at the shaped impressions then got a cagey look on his face. "You owe me for getting your dirty hands all over my popsicle, Mr. Smarty." Raph choked a little on his next bite and Leo pounded him on the back snickering. Don looked offended.

"Hey! I'm a civilized turtle. I washed my hands and the grape ones are too dark to show off that kind of detail." At the pout that promised an unlimited amount of annoyance in the near future, Donnie sighed, "Okay. Just come up with something small and tell me after I've finished the metal working tonight. Sheesh, it's just a popsicle."Content he had soothed over the minor incident, the oblivious turtle returned to his meal. Both Raph and Leo looked at Mike with the air of brothers pointing out the obvious.

"Oh, I'm sure I can come up with something to let you show off just how good with your hands you are, Donnie." With a smirk Mike started in on the popsicle. Leo and Raph both groaned at the phrasing. April finally buckled and clapped hands to her face with a wide-eyed squeak trying to stifle the inappropriate giggles. When Don reached for her to steady a quaking shoulder, she yelped and darted to an equally confused Casey in order to snicker into his shirt. Casey looked at the purple-masked turtle and summed up their understanding of the situation, "Girls, who knows what goes on in their heads!" At Don's agreeable shrug, Mike groaned and flopped back onto the couch cushions where Raph and Leo patted him sympathetically.