"Dad! How was the conference?"
"Uh, great! Honey, wh-"
"Nice seeing you again Kirby." Donnie leaned on the counter as April greeted her father at the door.
"I'm glad to see you again, too. But may I ask why there are two mystery guests on my couch?"
"Their father was also taken by the Kraang. But he never returned." April gave a bit of insight.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kirby hung his coat up. "Are they an issue again?"
"No. It was back when mom was taken." She attempted to clarify.
"I'm Mack, and this is Robin. Nice to meet you Mr. O'Neil." My brother greeted.
"Nice to meet you, M-" He went to shake Mack's hand, but looking in his eyes, he saw something. Then he looked to me. Squinting he turned to April and Donnie. "What's going on?"
"Remember the talk we had about how I'm part Kraang? Just a small bit? So are they." April tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "We know mom had a tendency to disappear for short periods of time throughout her life, and turned out to be her and her family being experimented on..." She winced. "Donnie, I can't explain like you do. Help."
"After some help from April and a mitochondrial DNA test later, and I have enough evidence to prove that they're April's half-siblings."
"Half-siblings?" Mr. O'Neil looked back at us. My wife...? Mack waved. I avoided his gaze in case he was upset.
"My guess is they wanted the perfect Kraang-human hybrid so they tried to make it. When it didn't work with these two, they gave it one last shot with April, sending her mother down one last time. Now, I'm not saying that Mrs. O'Neil was unfaithful. I'm saying these two are test tube children that are more than likely to have been grown on the ship with their father's DNA versus with your wife."
"How old are you two."
"N-Nineteen." I stammered.
"Twenty-three." Mack seemed just as nervous, but remained hopeful.
"Twenty three years ago, we must have been just out of college. She went missing for a week around that time." He shook his head. "Nineteen years ago, she claimed to have had a family emergency. She was gone for another week." His eyes filled up.
"My dad and I went missing a lot as well, but there was a point in time where I don't remember anything but a bright white flash and we were back home with her." He pointed a thumb at me.
"According to my father's journals he left behind, he was distraught about the loss of his wife when I was born. Looking at photos of him, though..." I bit my lip, flipping through an old scrapbook. "He never got married. He went to college, got a great job in biochemistry and then there's a gap and a single photo of him with my brother. Mack never met a single maternal figure in his life, so I'm led to believe they brainwashed him into thinking he led a certain life."
"Also, we don't have bellybuttons." Mack lifted his and my shirt. I slapped his hand away. "We're supposed to have one, because of our uvula cords."
"Umbilical cord, dumbass." I whispered.
"That thing." He nodded.
"I don't blame you for being conflicted, Mr. Kirby." I sighed. "If I'm honest, I didn't think there were anymore of us either. I was prepared to live my life away from everybody and act like what happened with the Kraang and my dad never occurred. But if there's anything I've learned being here these last couple of days, it's that... Maybe things happen for a reason." I cringed at the last part. "Maybe my van was meant to break down and I was meant to get found by Raphael and meet April and in turn meet you. This might be the closure we four have been needing about our families."
"Aw! And you say you're no good with words." Mack squeezed me tightly. I struggled in his grasp. When he let me go I gasped for air.
"Robin?" Kirby called my name. I slowly glanced upwards. "Y-You're right."
"I am?" I was completely taken by surprise.
"I was stuck wondering if this tragedy only happened to me... To us. But you two show up and somehow, some things are starting to make sense again. I was so worried growing up alone with just me was going to be detrimental to her mental health. I was concerned she'd feel left out and lonely. You two, you'll start to be there for her when I can't. I no longer just have one piece of my wife left. It's like I'm turning over a new leaf." He rubbed at his eyes. Something within me went cold. Not one for waterworks? Leo looked at me with empathy. I shook my head lightly. Me neither.
"You're not biologically our dad..." Mack looked to me to male sure he said it right. I nodded. "But if you ever need us, we're here for you. No matter what."
"I don't think I can ask much more of you, other than be there for April."
"Oh, no issue there. She and Mack are joined at the hip." I elbowed my brother.
"You look so much like your mother, it's unreal." Kirby told Mack leaning down to his sitting level.
"Do I?" He blushed.
"You do have her eyes." April looked over her dad's shoulders. "And hair color."
"Robin." Kirby turned to me.
"You look just like April, strangely enough."
"So I've been told. However, I really do take more after my father than Mack." I tried to stay polite about it, but honestly, I don't think I look like our mom at all.
"Two more questions, if you don't mind."
"We don't mind. Trust us." I smiled.
"Are there more of you? I don't think my heart could take it."
"Oh. No. Just me and him."
"And the last one is, do you guys need to stay here? We have the room, I'd just like to be prepared."
"I have a fiancee waiting for me just three blocks down. I'm fine."
"I, uh... I don't really h-"
"Robin's gonna room with me until her van is fixed." April interjected, sparing me from the anxiety.
"Oh! That's fine." Kirby gave her a thumbs up.
"Thanks dad." She ran up and hugged him. That cold feeling returned, accompanied by a lump in my throat I couldn't seem to get rid of. I clutched my father's scrapbook tightly until my knuckles turned white.
"Robin. I just realized you left your phone down in the saddlebag of the bike." Raphael tossed my keys at me. His eyes met mine. I let go of the air I was holding captive and gave him a grateful look. "Actually, since it's getting dark, do you want me to come with you?"
"Please." I muttered.
"Alright, be right back!" He got up and put his hand on my back, escorting me out. The moment the door closed behind us I took a deep breath and slid my back down the wall. "Hey. Robin. We're okay, right?" He squatted in front of me.
"Y-Yeah." I put my hand to my chest. "I'm just overwhelmed."
"Do you need me to get Donnie?" He gently put a hand between my shoulder and my neck.
"Don't. Nobody except you and Donnie know about my heart issues. If Donnie has to leave after me, my brother will get suspicious." I bit my lip. "I just need to relax for a second."
"Your heart is going a hundred miles an hour, though."
"I'll be okay. I'm fine." My eyes caught his for a second, but I couldn't maintain eye contact. "This isn't new. The cardiac arrest was. But having underlying issues isn't. I was born with a hole in my heart but it closed up for a long time. Donatello told me it came back again. I've just gotta take it easy until it gets better."
"If you ever need help, I'm here for you. Y'know?" He patted my back.
"Yeah." I leaned my head on his chest and sighed. "Thank you."
