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“Hows it going Case? Where’s April?” “Meeting me here. She left earlier than I did, I figured she’d be here by now…” “Guess she’s running late.” Casey sat on the couch while Raph smashed at his punching bag. Leo was watching space heroes and Mikey was playing pinball. As usual Donnie was in his lab. Nearly an hour passed before Casey stood up and smashed his stick against the wall. “WHERE IS SHE?!?” “Chill out Casey, April is a ninja. I’m sure she’s fine just running late.” Michelangelo had switched from pinball to comic books. “She would call!” Casey pased around the room. “Take it easy Casey.” Raph stepped in his path. “She doesn’t have to call you if she’s running late you know.” “She doesn’t have to, but she would!” “Its true…” Leo sat forward thinking out loud. “Its not like April to be this late without calling.” “Uh…guys?” Donnie came out of his lab. “You may want to come see this…” The four of them rushed to the sliding door. “Not you Casey.” Donatello blocked his way. “Move it Donnie!” Casey shoved him aside. A recording running on the monitor showed April fighting off 5 purple dragons at once. She was doing fine, as was to be expected, until a sixth dragon stepped around the corner and caught her in the back of the head with a bat. Dazed, April fell to the ground. The blow hadn’t knocked her unconscious as the dragons had hoped, but it hurt her badly enough that they were able to tie her up and drag her away. “NNRRRAAAA!!!” Casey started to lash out but his four friends anticipated his outburst and held him. “This is our fault! We shouldn’t have been sitting around! We should have gone looking for her! Now who knows where she is?!?” “I know where she is!” Donnie said urgently into his ear. “When she didn’t show up I started looking through my footage and thats when I found this! I was able to track the dragons back to their location and they haven’t left yet!” All four of them needed to use a considerable amount of strength to keep Casey calm during one of his adrenaline fueled rages. “What are we waiting for! Who knows what they’re doing to her!” “Its not that simple Casey! The dragons took her prisoner on purpose! This is a trap!” Leo tried to reason. “It doesn’t matter!” He struggled against them. “We need to go help her now!” “If we don’t have a plan-“ “Where is she Donnie! I’m leaving now!” Donatello looked nervously from Casey to Leo, unsure what to do. “I…I agree with Casey…” Mikey said quietly. “Its April…We have to go get her. We can’t just leave her with them…” “Me too.” Raph let go of his friends arm. “Its three against two! We’re going!” Casey glared at Donnie and Leo. “Make that four.” Donatello crossed to their side of the room. They all took a moment to look at Leo and wait for his response.” “…this is a bad idea. They know we’re coming…But, I don’t like the idea of leaving April there one minute longer either…” Mike, Raph and Don relaxed their shoulders, glad to know their leader was on board.” “But we have to be careful!” Leo looked at Casey in particular. “Proceed with caution. Stay together. Keep calm.” Casey nodded in agreement but the knot in his chest was painful. His mind was racing at the thought of anything the dragons may be doing to her right that moment. Humiliation? Torture? Worse? He felt himself begin to hyperventilate. “Having a melt down won’t help her Casey.” Leo sensed his panic. “I need to know you can keep your head.” The turtles began to load up with smoke pellets and shuriken. Casey looked down at his hockey gear armor and baseball bats, now in his hands. He gripped them tight looking Leo in the eyes. “What ever it takes to get her back safe.” He pushed his mask down over his face. “We leave now.”
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“Let me go Hun!” April struggled against the ropes binding her. “How could you imbeciles grab the wrong one?!? Its Jones I want!” “We thought we had the right person boss, really! But it was dark and-“ “Shut up! It doesn’t matter. He will come for her and when he does we will kill him.” “You wish!” April continued to struggle. “When Casey gets here he’s gonna kick all of your asses!” “Oh no.” Hun was suddenly in front of her, inches from her face. She could see her own surprised expression in his sunglasses. “When he gets here, he will die. I am tired of him interfering. If he does not die tonight, then you will.”
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Casey wore a stern look as he walked in to the dimly lit warehouse with his four friends. The abandoned building was lit with several large metal trashcans, hardly safe considering the flammable substances around. But the purple dragons weren’t known to be the smartest of people. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He was worried for April but there was something more. Hun stood to gain a lot of money from his chemical plot and he had vowed revenge on Casey for ruining it. Casey scoffed at his own train of thought. He had hardly done it on his own, but Casey had been the one to fight Hun. It was always Casey that fought Hun, so somehow he had come to see him as the leader of their crew. “Get out here Hun!” Casey bellowed. “Jones. How good of you to come.” Hun led April in front of him. “Its no use Hun! We’ve beaten you every time! What makes you think this will be any different?” The turtles had their weapons at the ready as a large crowd of purple dragons spread from behind their leader. Within seconds they were surounded. “This time will be different.” Hun licked his lips. “This time, we will not be playing games.” He removed a butterfly knife and put it to Aprils throat. “April!” Casey stepped forward without even thinking. “Hun let her go!” The turtles quickly held him back. Hun laughed pushing the tip of the knife so hard against her throat that a thin bead of blood dripped down her pale neck. April tried not to cry out. The pain wasn’t what caused it, it was the fear of imminent death. “STOP!!!” Casey shouted, his voice echoing loudly off the ceiling of the warehouse. It took all four of his friends to hold him back. “What do you want Hun!” “I want you Casey Jones. I want your head on a fence post. I want every cop, every vigilante in this city to know what happens when you mess with the purple dragons! When you mess with Hun!” Casey breathed heavily. The rage consumed him. “So, we trade then.” He threw off his hockey mask. “Casey no! He’s really going to kill you!” Tears fell down Aprils face. “Don’t worry Red.” He sounded calm but his eyes were sad. “You’ll be home safe in no time.” “Not without you!” She sobbed. Casey turned to the turtles. “Whats the plan?” Leo asked quietly. “No messing around Jones!” Hun sliced Aprils arm. “Don’t you dare touch her again!” Casey barked. “…Just…Let me say goodbye…” “Casey!” Leo whispered “whats the plan?!?” “As soon as you get April you get the hell out of here.” “What? No!” Raph growled. “Hey!” He grabbed his best friend by the shoulder. “Promise me! As soon as you have her you get her to safety!” “But we have to fight for you dude!” Mikey said sadly. “Not until she’s safe. Promise me, if things go wrong just get her out of here!” “It is your choice Jones!” Hun called. “Face your death like a man, or face a life without her.” “There is no choice here Hun. I’m coming. Guys? Keep her safe.” “We-we promise dude.” Raph said unsure what to do. Hun approached with April and a dozen Purple Dragons behind him and more scattered throughout the warehouse. Casey Approached, with four turtles behind him. “Drop the gear Jones.” Hun commanded. “Padlock too.” Casey took off his equipment until he was completely unarmed. “Casey, no.” April was shaking with tears. “P-please…” “Its all gonna be ok. The world doesn’t need Casey Jones.” “B-but…I do…” Hun held April by one wrist allowing the turtles to take her by the other. Casey offered his own arm in return. As soon as Hun had a hold on Casey he let April go. As he passed by her April leaned in to kiss him one last time. Casey’s eyes were glossy with sadness, but for one last brief moment she saw that look in them. The look as though she was the only person in his whole world. Before their lips could meet they were torn apart once more. As soon as she was safely among her friends Casey flashed her a sad smile. She screamed and tried to get back to him but they held her tight. He looked into her eyes- his expression confident, without doubt- as Hun dragged the blade across his throat. April howled in despair as a rush of blood ran from Casey’s neck. He put his hand up to his wound, his eyes wide. He held his throat but the blood would not stop. He fell forward on to his knees and then down into the blood soaked dirt where he lay motionless. “NOOOO!!!!!” Her eyes flashed. Several Purple Dragons were lifted into the air and smashed against the wall. “I don’t think so girl!” Hun stepped forward, the blade of his hand coming down right where her neck met her shoulder. April went limp into Raphaels arms. The left wall of the warehouse glowed and smoked. One of the garbage cans had been knocked over igniting the various bits of garbage and chemicals strewn about. As the light in the in the warehouse grew brighter Hun could be heard laughing maniacally. The turtles carried April out of the warehouse as a crew of purple dragons chased them onto the street. Hun strolled out of the flames watching as the turtles ran into the nearest alley. The building burned and crumbled behind him. He laughed once more as his gang of lackeys gathered around. “Spread the word across the streets of New York!” He raised his arms, silhouetted by the burning building. “There will be no safe place for anyone that dares cross me!”
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Aprils eyes shot open. The sewer ceiling was above her, the familiar feeling of the turtles couch beneath her. She sat up, her neck sore. The turtles were all sitting on the couch next to her looking grim. “It was a dream wasn’t it? Just a nightmare.” Her friends said nothing. “I came here after school like I always do. Casey is at hockey practice. It was a long day and I fell asleep on the couch.” “April…” Mikey said with tears in his eyes. She reached up to rub her aching neck. She stopped and looked at her palm. Blood. It soaked the front of her t-shirt and her right sleeve where her arm had been cut. “We have to go get Casey! The purple dragons have him! We have to go-“ “We already did.” Leo said looking down at his feet. Suddenly she noticed the four of them were covered in soot. “We went back to the warehouse. It’s burned to the ground. We couldn’t get Casey’s body-“ “HE’S NOT DEAD!!!” “…His throat was cut…that amount of blood…” Donnie stood up cautiously. “The purple dragons have him! We have to get him back!!!” She pounded on Donnies chest crying and screaming until her knees gave out. “We have to…get him…back…” She sank to the ground and curled into a ball. Raphael knelt next to her and lifted her into his arms. She continued to cry as he took her into the dojo. He set her against the tree and walked to the shelf where master splinters shrine was. Raphael put his hands together looking at his fathers urn and bowed his head. He then reached for a box of medical supplies they used all too often. “It never stops hurting.” He said softly as he crouched in front of her opening the box. “Once they are gone…for a while it still feels like they are there. Every time I walk into this room, I think he’s going to be here. Meditating.” He wetted a cloth with some ointment and dabbed it over the dried blood on her neck. “Casey was my best friend. I don’t know what I will do without him here to argue with me over whether to watch translated or subtitled TV shows.” Tears fell down her cheeks, silently, mixing with the blood and ointment on her neck. “He made us promise to keep you safe. He couldn’t bear to see you hurt.” “He was a Coward.” She whispered. Raphaels fist hit the ground forcefully. “I…I know…” His eyes were clenched shut. “I know he was a coward. I know that for anyone else he would have tried to find a way for everyone to live, just like any of us would. But he was afraid…he was afraid of facing life without you…He loved you April…” Her eyes flew wide open. “I-I never told him…” Her face was a mess with sweat, blood and tears. “Oh-oh god…I never told him I loved him… I was too stubborn…I wanted to tease him…Ahh! Oh god no!” Her voice cracked. Raphael put his arms around her and sat with her until she cried herself to sleep.
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“Sweetie? April? Come on sweet heart, you have to eat something.” Kirby O’Niel put his hand gingerly on the lump of covers in the approximate location of his daughters head. “April, you’ve spent an entire day in bed you can’t do it a second day in a row…its not healthy.” “Go away dad.” She said, voice devoid of feeling. “I’m not going to do that. Look, the boys stopped by and told me about your friend…I didn’t really know him, but I know he was a good guy. He was a hero who wanted to do the right thing and he was a great friend to you. Believe me, I understand how hard it is to lose someone. But if you waste away in here I’m afraid I will lose you to this grief. Please, just come have some food and tell me stories about your friend?” April sat up, the large down comforter falling over her shoulders. She was still dressed in the clothes from that night. She could still smell the soot of the warehouse hanging upon her in a stale cloud. Her cheeks were swollen and red from crying and she had thrown up everything she had in her. She wasn’t so sure eating was the best idea at this point. But the look of concern on her fathers face often influenced her actions in these kinds of situations. “He…he was more than a friend to me dad.” “I know, he was your best friend since that Irma girl turned out to be an alien brain monster.” “No, I mean…we…we were…he was my…” “Oh? Oh!” Kirby suddenly realized. “He was your…wait…you were dating that dumb kid? But you’re so smart and he was-“ Tears began to build in Aprils eyes. “I’m sorry sweetheart, I shouldn’t have spoken about him like that, it was insensitive of me.” “Its not that…” She sniffed, tears breaking the plane of her eyelashes. “He really was dumb…But I needed him. I needed him to be dumb the same way he needed me to be smart. Sometimes he needed me to think for him the same way I needed him to stop me from thinking, It may seem like a strange pair to lots of people but…I’ve met lots of boys before and this is the first time I felt right. We went through so much to get there, we didn’t rush in to it or anything but…but I finally had him. And now…” “Come here sweetie.” Kirby hugged his daughter gently. “Come on, I’ll make you some tea.” He picked her up gently in his arms and carried her to the living room. She looked out the window at the skyline of New York city expanding for miles in the background. She would have to go back out there eventually. Back to a world without him.
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There was a light knock on the window. “Mikey?” April asked glancing towards the fire escape. “You shouldn’t be here! Its the middle of the day! What if someone sees you!?!” “I just wanted to check on you…Donnie said you still hadn’t gone back to school yet…” “Come in Mikey.” She sighed beckoning him into the apartment. “Where is your dad?” “He can’t stay home from work with me forever…Its been two days.” “Two days isn’t enough time to get over…to get over things.” She often forgot that Michelangelo had also suffered a recent loss. The boys had been taking the passing of their father as well as they could, but every so often she would see them remember his absence and their eyes would fall in a moment of quiet sadness. Mikey was the one in the group she often worried about the most. Despite what seemed like a constant care-free demeanor she had always wondered if his coping mechanism of humor was entirely healthy. “I know two days isn’t enough.” April sighed and opened the fridge removing some leftover pizza she had been hoping someone would eat. “According to Raph nothing is enough…” “Raph said that?” “He said it never stops hurting…” Her eyes fell into a hollow glaze as she put the cold pizza on a plate in front of him. “Thats not what he meant.” Mikey shoved the first large bite of pizza into his mouth. “How would you know?” She looked away a small amount of annoyance in her voice. “Sorry.” She said half heartedly at his sad expression. “April, what Raph meant was that you will never forget him. It may seem like people who are gone have disappeared off the face of the planet, but they didn’t. Look.” He held out the slice of pizza and removed a pice of pepperoni. “What about it?” She looked confused from the food to her friend. “You can still see where it was.” He pointed to the indent in the dried cheese where the topping had been. “Even if it goes away-“ He chewed on the round piece of metaphor. “You can still see where it used to be. You can’t change that. Something was always there.” April crossed her arms closing her eyes. She could remember how it felt to have him touch her skin so softly. The way he would look at her like she was the only girl in the world. She began to cry. “I’m sorry April!” Mikey dropped the remains of the pizza onto the plate and put his hand on her back. “I didn’t mean to upset you! You know how sometimes I say things without thinking…” “No…” She said “You’re right I think that is what Raph meant. I just…I don’t want that to fade. I don’t want him to be gone…I’d do anything to have him back…I’d give up my home, everything I own, just to see him one more time. So I could tell him I’m sorry for being stubborn…I probably wasn’t a very good girlfriend…I never told him…I never told him…” “I wish I had listened to master Splinters lessons more closely.” Mikey looked down and to the side. “He had so many things to teach me. Things he wanted to help me be better at. All he ever wanted was for me to be a better person…And now he’s gone and I can’t show him…” “Splinter loved you Mikey. He saw the best in all of you. His lessons weren’t to change you and make you a different person, they were to make the best of the person you are.” “What am I?” “Pure of heart.” She smiled tearfully.”You are exactly what your brothers…what I need to get through the tough times. I don’t know what I would do without any of you, but having you here right now…You’re special Mikey. Thank you for being here for me.” “I miss Casey.” The turtle chewed his food as his eyes glistened with memories of his friend. “I miss him too…” They ate pizza in silence for a moment until they were both exhausted from grief. They sat on the couch and watched bad daytime television until Kirby came home and carried April to bed.
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It was about 3am when April woke up in her room covered in a cold sweat. Every night she dreamt of his death. Every night it changed slightly. Sometimes Hun was a monster. Some times she could have prevented it but the floor was holding her like glue. Some nights Casey cut his own throat. This time she had tried to kill Hun but when she looked down at the body it was Casey’s instead, and she was dressed like Hun. She got up quietly and put on her boots. She walked into the park looking about at the street lights and swarms of bugs spinning about in their glow. She found a bench beside the park and sat down quietly. She wanted to cry but she was dehydrated and couldn’t muster even enough moisture to keep her lips wet. “Isn’t the park kind of dangerous at night for a girl?” Asked a familiar voice from the shadows. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.” “Her har.” Leo approached the bench and sat down. “How are you doing?” “I would like to say I’m doing as well as I could be under the circumstances but…” “But what?” “But I’m sitting on a park bench at 3:30 in the morning…” “Oh, right…” “What are you doing out here?” “…checking on you.” “Its not like I’m going anywhere.” “I know, but even if Casey hadn’t been your boyfriend, its a huge loss.” “I don’t…I don’t know what else I can do…” She looked down at her feet. “My dreams only get worse, I find myself wandering towards the park to help him with his trig homework. I’ve caught myself standing in the ice rink with almost no memory of actually walking there…” She wanted to cry but she had nothing left. “Stand up” Leo said walking onto the Central Park path in front of them and adopting a fighting stance. April obeyed and took a step forward. “Seisan kata.” Leo said calmly looking her in the eyes. He rushed forward punching out with his right hand. She blocked it as she had been taught and threw a reverse punch into his solar plexus making contact with the firm shell of his chest. She stepped forward and punched again as he spun away to her left, turned and came down from above her with both arms towards her head. She lifted her arms deflecting his attack downward and to the sides away from her body. As he stumbled backwards she turned her back to him catching him in the chest with her elbows sending him even further backwards. They ran through the rest of the Kata picking up pace as they went. Leos punches became stronger, his attacks more deliberate. April felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that came with a real fight. After some time they found themselves doubled over and breathing heavily. “Casey always wanted to learn some of those Kata moves.” April tried to smile. “I don’t think he had the ability to move slow enough to learn them.” Leo chuckled back. “He was usually distracted and running off to hit people by the time he got to the third punch.” “The third? I didn’t think he ever made it past the bow at the beginning!” They smiled softly remembering Casey’s legendary impatience. After a moment they sat in the grass and looked up at the dark night sky, the stars mostly hidden from the cities light pollution. “He was a good guy…” Leo said softly. “Yea. He was. He had his fair share of issues…But I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing him…” “Well…If you ever need to run through some more Taijutsu, you know where to find me. Come on.” He offered her his hand. “I’ll walk you home.” She allowed him to haul her off the ground. They began walking down the path in the direction of her apartment in silence. After a moment Leonardo could hear the sound of her weeping quietly in the darkness. He put his arm around her shoulder and let her lean on him as he guided her back home. As soon as Leo was gone April felt the sadness descend upon her once more. She went back up to her room and lay in bed awake, crying to herself every so often. “Why?” She whispered to herself in the darkness. “Why did you leave me? Didn’t you know how hard it would be for me once you were gone?” She turned on her side and watched the sunlight rise up the faces of the buildings out her window. The morning light was beautiful but bitter sweet. Another day without him. Another sleepless night.
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“~After four days of clean up the police still have little to say about the warehouse fire on the south side. Investigation of local gang members and elevated street activity has the public fearing for their safety as the police remain silent on the issue. Though evidence is still being uncovered from the wreckage it is not yet known if there have been any fatalities.~” “I’m sorry April, I’ll turn it off.” Donatello pointed the remote towards the news reporter. “No, its fine. I’ve been following the story too. I was kind of hoping they would have found his body by now but…” “…There was a lot of rubble on top…” She nodded. “You know, if its too much for you its ok to ask me and the guys not to talk about it…” Her friend glanced at her as if she was delicate. “Its actually a bit more comforting when you do.” She admitted. “Half the time I’m kind of stuck in a haze, not sure whats real and what isn’t. When other people talk about it I guess it kind of grounds me in reality…” “So…What do you miss most?” She gave her friend a sidelong glance. “When Splinter died I was surprised what I missed most about him. I found that what I missed more than anything was the way he called us his sons. We weren’t his real sons after all. And the more I thought about it the more I realized he could easily have simply made us his own obedient ninja clan. But he didn’t see us that way, he saw our individuality and talents. He raised us to believe in our unique instincts. He encouraged Leo’s leadership, Raph’s strength and drive, Mike’s heart and my Curiosity. I can’t thank him enough for that. I coudn’t have asked for a better father. I miss hearing his voice say My Sons.” April thought long and hard about the boy she had loved. What did she miss the most? What was it about him now that he was gone that was the hardest thing to live without? “I miss his smile.” She laughed sadly to herself tears running down her cheeks. “Or rather, I miss that dumb hole in his smile. He had some false teeth to fill in that stupid tooth gap you know?” “He did? I never saw him wear them!” “Me either! He just told me about them once! It was a little tooth insert that filled in his gums and made it easier for him to eat apples and things, but he never wore them because he said it was like lying!” She snorted from laughter. “Lying? How is being able to take a bite out of your food lying?” “I’m afraid you’d have to ask Casey Jones. In reality I think he liked the attention he got from it. I heard people at school ask him all the time how he lost his teeth. He changed the story every time. Sometimes he filled in NHL stories even though the whole school knows that our team has to wear full face masks. I think he probably just tripped and fell one day during practice! He never wears his stupid helmet when he practices.” She stopped laughing for a moment, her face softened with the memory of his smile. “But he was certainly right that it made him unique. No one in the whole high school had a smile quite like Casey Jones. And he was proud of that dumb gap in his mouth.” “I hear gap teeth are all the rage now a days.” Donatello smiled broadly displaying his own tooth-gap. “But how many people are missing 3 teeth out of their head and proud of it?” “Other than NHL players? Only Casey Jones.” “He was actually a really good player too. Not that I would know but, the other guys kind of hated him for it. They were pretty jealous of him. The dumb goofy looking kid who could carry the whole team if he had to.” “Well everyone has to be good at something.” April elbowed him in the arm, but smiled. “As much as he annoyed me, I’ve already found myself missing him. Mikey was being loud the other day while I was trying to work and I almost called him Casey when I yelled at him to stop.” His eyes fell. “I…I think I’m going to start going back to school…” April thought out loud to herself. “Do you think you’re ready for that?” “No…But if I wait until I’m ready I don’t think I’ll ever go. Its not like I can just turn off how much I miss him…” Her voice cracked and she began to sob harder. “Or how much it will hurt to be there without him…” She put her hands over her face as her shoulders shook. Donatello put his arm around her and rested his cheek on top of her head. “I wish I could tell you how to deal with this, how to get over the loss of someone you loved…but…but I can’t…I don’t think there is any real way...” “Being with you guys helps…” She rested her head on his chest and hugged him. “I don’t know what I would do without you or your brothers…You’ve all been such a relief…Without you I don’t think I could have gotten out of bed in the morning.” “Well, it was the same way for us when Splinter died…We needed you then and you were there for us. Its what friends do.” He held her at arms length and looked her in the eyes. “Now listen, you’re going to go to school tomorrow and you’re going to do your best! At the very least you can be certain that Casey never wanted you to stop living because of him. He loved you April, so I can say with certainty that he wanted you to go on. The best thing you can do for him now is just that.” She wiped her eyes and smiled at him. “And any time you need us…any time. We are here for you. Because we love you too. In the mean time try and stay busy ok? Think of some things to do.” “I already have…” Her voice became serious. She continued to hug Donatello but her mind was miles away. Had he seen her expression I would have been alarmed. Her eyes were sharp and angry, her lips pursed with bloodlust. She wouldn’t admit it to her friends, but she had found a way to cope, a way to get up and get dressed in the morning. Every day when she woke up from those horrible dreams she imagined killing Hun with her bare hands, and suddenly life had purpose again.
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She closed the sewer grate and turned in the opposite direction of her apartment. She had taken the long way around the past couple nights, through the bad neighborhood. Known purple dragon territory. The dark street was lit mostly by a flickering bulb from a bent light post. As she continued down the dangerous road she saw the graffiti on the walls. One of them was familiar. “CJ” the letter read. She wanted to reminisce about the fact that few people ever knew that Casey had been quite the artist. He hardly hid his vandalism in his paint stained sweater always smelling like chemicals. But instead of marveling at the small pieces of him he had left behind she found herself only saddened by his absence. Regretting the fact that she had never spoken to him about his art as she should have. After a moment she realized she had stopped in front of the wall and was staring at the little hockey masked character. She wiped a tear from her eyes just before she heard the sound of a can rolling in one of the back alleys. In seconds she was invisible, tucked into the shadows creeping along the wall on the edge of the streetlights range. She found her way to the corner and peered cautiously around it into the alley. “Can you believe that guy? That vigilante hockey kid was around for so long I never figured anyone would get him! I mean, he was hardly graceful, kind of just did whatever he wanted. Not like those mutants. But all the same, he gave all of us a run for our money. But to kill him like that? Hun has some cajones on him… I mean, he was just a kid!” “Certainly sends the message to the rest of the street gangs not to mess with the purple dragons…Hun doesn’t care who he kills! I hear that if the hockey kid didn’t show up he was going to kill a high school girl!” “I heard that too! But I heard she was a freshman!” Feh, I’m not a freshman! She scoffed to herself. “Does it matter? The point is this small time gangster is looking to join the purple dragons!” “You really think thats a good idea? Hun is ruthless!” “Exactly! Better to be on his side rather than in his way!” “Bad idea…” April called down the alley, her voice echoing off the walls. She shot her grappling hook quietly up to the building ledge and climbed the building as the gangsters looked around for the source of the voice. She crept silently on to the fire escape above them shifting her weight from one heel to the next as Splinter had taught her. “Whose there?!?” One of men called “One of those ninja freaks?!?” They removed their knifes and stood in a circle looking outward. “You could say that…” April threw her voice off the walls once more. “You might call me a Kuno Ichi. But you can call Nobody.” “N-Nobody??” “You know, Satan himself was an angel once. You low lifes probably think the do-gooders out there can only do so much to you. Let me show you how far I’ve fallen.” All they heard was the sound of her metal tessen bouncing off the cinderblock wall before it came flying into the light. Moments later she touched down on the ground removing a yellow can of spray paint from one of the unconscious gangsters pockets. Upon the wall she drew a heart with the letters “C.J” inside it, then with red she cleaved it in two. “If this doesn’t serve as a warning to the purple dragons I don’t know what will.” As she left the alley she saw Casey’s graffiti once more. Leaning in she kissed the hockey mask. “I’m sorry.” Her hand trailed off the image as she walked down the street to find her next target.
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April looked stoically at the flyer on the school wall. A goofy picture of Casey smiled toothlessly back at her. ‘Have you seen this boy?’ The poster read. They were plastered all over the street and around town. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, her cheeks were sunken and gaunt. It had been a week since Casey’s murder but his family simply thought he was missing. She couldn’t tell them. It would bring up too many questions that she couldn’t answer. So she was left to look at his face every day on the posters. She turned away from the wall and trudged off to class, forced to face business as usual though inside she was deteriorating. It was that very hall where she had first met him. Stick handling in the building like some sort of hooligan. He used to walk around so confidently, the way he had silently coerced her into tutoring him, his face was burned into her mind. “April?” Came her teachers voice as she walked into the classroom. “May I talk to you?” They stood off to the side as other students took their seats. “Are you feeling alright? You look…a little under the weather…” April raised her eyes slowly to meet the teachers. Every movement felt like hell. The pain of living overwhelmed her. “That missing boy, Casey, he was your friend wasn’t he?” April said nothing. “You must be worried sick about where he could be…” Probably in hell picking fights with the devil. She thought to herself. “I hate to speak ill of someone you are close to but he was a bit of a delinquent…He probably just ran off with some of his friends. Theres no reason to beat yourself up about it.”
Casey didn’t have any friends that didn’t live in the sewer. He’s dead you horrible woman. Leave me alone.
“You’re probably right.” April said with a fake smile. “Theres no use worrying about him. We weren’t that good of friends anyway.” April turned before her teacher had a chance to respond and found an empty seat in the back of the classroom. Her tears fell into her open notebook as she tried to convince herself that her words were true. That they hadn’t been good friends. That he wasn’t her best friend, her boyfriend, her lover. But it was no use. Every time she so much as blinked she saw his face. She remembered their time together. She wiped her sleeve across her cheeks. “M’am.” She stood up drawing the classes attention to herself. “I’m not feeling well, may I be excused?”
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She walked down the street eyeing the people as she went. She could see them, the gang members. Most of them small fry. Hanging around shops, shaking down merchants, selling drugs. She hated them. She wasn’t about to wait around and let them kill someone else close to her. On the corner she saw some familiar thugs. They had been there, that night, at the warehouse. Normally she avoided known dragons when she saw them during the day. They usually avoided her too. A crowded street was no place for a fight. This time she walked straight through the crowd of them. “Hey sweetie. Where’s your boyfriend?” One of them said in her ear. She stopped suddenly. “He’s down that alley just up ahead. Why don’t you help me find him?” She said without turning. She could hear the five dragons laughing behind her as their footsteps followed. She turned down the alley and spun slowly to face them. “Bad idea girlie. You shouldn’t have challenged us without your freak friends! Now you’re gonna die!” “No.” She said quietly. “But you will.” The gravity in the alley seemed to be nullified as the dragons lifted into the air. She relished their horrified looks, using it to fuel her telepathy. Once they were about 3 stories high she dropped them. The sickening sound of breaking bones filled the alley as two of them attempted to land on their feet. Two more got up and began to run. She approached the remaining 3 laying injured on the ground and removed her tessen. “No stop!” The nearest one yelled as she raised its razor sharp edge to strike. “Funny, I remember saying the same thing when you had Casey.” She slashed the fan down across his arm cutting the skin. The one remaining gang member with unbroken legs attempted to run. She threw the fan at him hitting him square in the back. He pitched forward into the street nearly getting hit by a car. “We were just following orders! It was Hun who wanted him dead!” She approached the speaker leaving the first to tend to his bleeding defensive wounds. “Your voice.” She said. “You’re the one who asked about Casey over on the corner there weren’t you?” “I-I didn’t…I shouldn’t have…” “No.” She raised the metal edge once more. “You shouldn’t. Now I’m going to use you as an example. I’ll leave your friend over there alive so that after you die from a slashed throat in this alley he can tell the rest of the dragons to be ready. Because I’m coming for them too.” She began to bring the fan down when someone at the end of the alley shouted. “What are you doing?!? I’m going to call the police!” A crowd of about 3 people had gathered hearing the screams. April shut her tessen and ran past them. She ran for about a block before she realized she was near the sewer lair. She found a grate and used her telepathy to remove it. She had run about 5 paces down the sewer tunnel before she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see a man in a red hoodie, one of the people who had stopped her in the alley. She removed her tessen and thew it. He held up his arms falling backward into the sewer wall as it hit him. “You have a lot of guts following me! You’re a purple dragon too aren’t you!?! You must have missed it when I said I was going to cut all of your throats! And when I’m done with you, I’m coming for Hun!” “April stop!” The voice was gruff but familiar. “Its me! Casey!” The man in front of her was about Casey’s height, but he was unshaven and wearing sun glasses, the black bandana tied around his neck further hid his appearance from her. He removed his shades and stared back at her with Casey’s brown eyes. “N-No…I’m asleep. I’m dreaming again…Either that…Either that or youre a purple dragon! Trying to trick me in to leading you to the turtles!” “No! I’m alive! Look!” He held up his open palm to show he didn’t intend to harm her then hooked his finger into his mouth exposing his upper row of teeth. 3 missing. “I…I saw you die…I’m hallucinating from lack of sleep… you aren’t real…” “Look, heres the mark on my nose from when I first met Raph.” He pointed. “And remember this? He lifted his shirt exposing his chest and a rough scar. “I got this the first time I met Tiger Claw. He threw be off a building.” He smiled that toothless grin that had haunted her. “And…this?” He pulled back his sleeve showing a still soft and fresh scar from where she had sewn up his wound herself. The flesh was still pink with early signs of healing. No matter how much her brain told her this was another dream she couldn’t deny that those were her own stitch marks. “Here, see, the cut didn’t kill me.” He pulled down the bandana exposing a patch of gauze with a small amount of blood on it. He tore that away to reveal some nasty stitches. “Damn.” He looked at the gauze patch. “Looks like it started bleeding a little…Come on, I haven’t talked to the guys yet, and I need to get some fresh bandages on this.” He took her hand and lead her down the tunnel. He certainly knew his way through the sewer like Casey…She looked at the back of his hoodie. There was no way…right? She was just dreaming. This was a complex hallucination due to grief, lack of sleep and food. “Casey?” Leo Mike and Raph said in unison. “No way! I saw him killed! This is just some trick by the Purple Dragons!” He brandished his tsai. Casey tugged at his lip again showing his lack of teeth. “CASEY!” The three of them shouted happily jumping over the couch and embracing him. “This isn’t possible…” Said the ever skeptical Donatello. “Your throat was cut. They hit an artery! The blood sprayed everywhere! And then THE BUILDING CAUGHT FIRE! There is no way Casey Jones was able to survive that!” “Thanks for the confidence gap tooth!” Casey said angrily. “I guess you’ve never heard of Clint Malarchuk! Or Richard Zednik!” “Who?” They all asked in unison. “Professional hockey players. As luck would have it I read Malarchucks autobiography for a school report! Both him and Zednik managed to survive a cut to the neck with severe bloodloss by putting pressure on the wound and pinching the artery. Which was the first thing I did after hun slit my throat! Speaking of, do you guys have any gauze? I’m kinda bleeding here…” “How…How can you…You’d need immediate medical attention!” Donatello was still in shock. More so than April it seemed. “Don’t you think I know that? I thought if I played dead after he cut me you guys could escape and I’d get up and sneak away during the commotion. By the time I was able to get up the whole building was on fire, but at least no one saw me escape. I was still losing blood. Its pretty hard to hold your neck while you’re running. Once I got to the hospital I was able to find a nurse I knew and ask her not to admit me under my name. Thank goodness I have hospital connections. She actually understood that my family and even the hospital staff would be in trouble if anyone knew I was alive so she admitted me under a dead guys insurance.After a week in the hospital they didn’t want me to leave but I knew I had to get back here and tell you guys I wasn’t dead! I told that nurse I was going to the police to report the crime though…” “Let me see that!” Donatello strode across the room and examined Casey’s stitches. “That is hospital level suture…” He marveled. “Told ya. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys I was alive sooner but, I took off my phone when I got handed over to Hun and well, in my defense I have had two surgeries and a couple of blood transfusions since I last saw you.” Donatello stared at him for a moment then broke down and hugged him. “Yea, I missed you too Einstein.” They were all on board, to the turtles it was as if nothing had even happened. But April could only stand there and pass what had just happened over in her head. It couldn’t be real. There was no way. Dead people don’t just come back like this. Casey turned and saw her confused expression. “Um…Hey guys, do you mind if I talk to April alone for a minute? I didn’t get much time to talk to her before we came back here…I think we have some things to get straight.” “Yikes. I’d rather not be around for that conversation.” Leo said as they happily left to the kitchen. “Do you mind if we sit down?” Casey asked. “I’ve made a pretty good recovery but I still get light headed every now and then.” He walked over to the couch and splayed out the way he usually did. She approached and rigidly sat down a couple feet away from him. “April…I owe you an apology. I know you must be mad at me for not telling you I was alive sooner…But believe me when I say, I would have told you sooner if I could have…” “You got your throat cut because of me and now you are apologizing for it?” She asked. “Maybe you really are Casey Jones because thats the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” “Heh, yea I suppose so.” He smiled. “I hope…I hope you weren’t too…” “Too what? Too upset? Too distraught? I was contemplating mass murder!” “Yea…I, uh, heard that back in the alley…” He scratched the back of his head nervously. “How could you leave me like that?!?” She began to cry. “How could you think even for one second that I would rather you turn yourself over to that maniac Hun than fight?!?” “I didn’t want to! Casey Jones never backs down from a fight!” He put his hand on her knee. “But he had a knife to your throat! I didn’t see any other way! All I knew was I had to stop him from hurting you! It didn’t matter what I had to do…Seeing you hurt and scared like that…I just wanted to stop it. I just wanted you to be safe. I never cared what happened to me. The world doesn’t need Casey Jones, but it needs April O’neil.” “I need Casey Jones!” She wept, putting her face into her hands. “I’m sorry April. I never wanted to hurt you. I can only imagine what it was like thinking someone you care about is dead.” He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “Care…?” She said into his shoulder. His shoulder. It really was his shoulder. His scent, his touch, his voice. A wave swept over her, the emotions she had not been letting herself feel came all at once. Before this embrace it was as though she was talking to his ghost. But now…now he was really here. Really alive. “Ahh!!!” She held him clutching him like he would disappear. “Casey… “ She hiccuped between waves of tearful relief. “I never told you…I’m sorry. I was being stubborn because…I took the time we spent together for granted! But I…I…” “I love you.” He whispered into he ear. “Let me say it you jerk!” She smiled slightly tasting her salty tears as they streamed down her face. “Casey Jones, even if I wake up in the next 10 seconds, I want to tell you now…I have been in love with you since that night at the ice rink. I wouldn’t tell you sooner because…dammit you annoy the hell out of me. Your stupid confidence, and always referring to yourself by your own name! But that night, when you first opened up to me and showed me a side of yourself I had never seen before…I got a chance to see the real you…and I loved it. I love that there was someone under all that stupid confidence who was just…real…And I may not have realized it right away, but that was the moment when I knew I wanted to be near you…Spend time with you…But it became a game to not tell you. I liked torturing you. And then you died…and I knew I would never forgive myself for not saying it. I love you Casey Jones.” The last words had barely escaped her lips before his were upon them. His hands brushed her shoulders gently as he leaned towards her. “Ow!” He said sharply holding his throat. “Does it hurt?” She asked concerned. “Its fine, come back.” He pulled her towards him so he didn’t have to turn his neck. He met her lips again as they continued to kiss softly. “Casey I…I feel light headed. I want to lay down.” “Don’t worry about it Red. You look tired.” His hands guided her down onto the couch as she shut her eyes. “Mmm…I never thought I’d miss you calling me Red.” She felt his weight lifting off the couch. “No!” She shouted grabbing him by the wrist. “Don’t go!” “I was just gonna go talk to the turtles.” He pointed. “You can’t! I won’t be able to sleep without you here! What if I wake up and you’re…” “Shh, its ok Red. I won’t go anywhere.” He picked her up and carried her to the bend in the couch where he sat resting her head against his chest. He pulled a blanket over her and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She met his hand with hers as it dropped into his lap. She gripped his fingers tight, as if he would float away if she didn’t. After a moment he felt her hold on his hand loosen as she fell asleep. He laid his head against the back of the couch and in a few moments the two of them were sound asleep. The best sleep either of them had gotten for a whole week.
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“Casey? Casey you awake man?” “Y-yea…Ow!” “Every time dude…” “Hey, you try remembering you have 20 stitches in your neck every morning.” “Here man, I got you this.” Raphael handed him a small bottle. “What is it?” “Its a liquid bandage. Here look.” Raphael reached out and pulled the gauze patch off his friends throat. It had some small dots of blood on it. “You spray it on the cut and it kinda seals it. I asked Mikeys friend at the pizza joint to get it.” “Wow, thanks dude, I -YOW!!!” Raphael sprayed the contents on Casey’s stitches. He bit his lip as the liquid stung his wound. “Oww oww oww…” “Once it dries you’ll thank me.” “I’ll thank you to let me put it on myself next time!” “And maybe clean it first you morons!” Donnie called from common room. Casey had been sleeping in the Dojo for 2 days now. At first April had refused to leave his side so he spent the first night next to her on the couch. “Still not awake Jones?” Came her sassy voice from the door. “Its nearly noon!” “I don’t have school remember Red?” “Thats what you think.” She dropped some books at the foot of his cot. “If you don’t keep up with your homework you’ll never graduate. And in case you forgot, to cash in on the hockey scholarship you have to get your GED first.” Casey groaned and then held his neck again wincing. The injury he had received was surprisingly minor considering the circumstances. His external artery hadn’t been completely severed, so despite extreme blood loss the surgery he had undergone had been relatively minor. The first surgery had repaired the artery, the second the surrounding tissue. Hun hadnt exactly cut him with a scalpel. The bruising had been fairly severe and it still hurt when he struck a certain octave. “So…uh…Casey…Your dad has been asking me more questions…I’m worried he’s gonna call the cops soon if we don’t tell him whats going on soon…” They had to tell Casey’s dad and sister that he was safe, but without the inclusion of his vigilante night life story and the mutant underworld there was only so much they could say and Casey was worried the purple dragons may be watching his home since his body hadn’t been found in the warehouse rubble. “Oh no…” Casey put his head in his hands. “Can you ask your dad to talk to them? Maybe if they got some information from a doctor they wouldn’t be so worried.” “Speaking of my dad…Can you come by my house tonight?” “Why? Will your dad be gone?” He grinned and raised and eyebrow. “I’m leaving.” Raph said exasperated at his friends implication. “Casey!” April blushed. “My dad wants to talk to you!” “W-what?!? Why!?!” “I…uh…had to tell him we are going out…” She looked away. “What?!?” “I know, I know its probably the last thing you wanted to deal with but…Well when you died I had to tell him about it…I was distraught…And when you came back I had to explain THAT to him too and then…well he got all quiet and said he needed to see you…tonight…” “Aww man…why couldn’t Hun have just killed me?”
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Casey pulled his red hood over his head and brushed his split end bangs further down over his forehead. His facial hair had grown a bit longer making him feel a bit more comfortable that none of the street punks he had whooped would recognize him. He arrived at Aprils building and swallowed heavily making his would hurt again, but he ignored it. He pressed the buzzer labeled ‘O’neil’ and expected the worst as he trudged up the stairs to meet Aprils father for the first time as her boyfriend. April opened the door looking nervous. “Don’t worry too much Casey.” She reacted to his expression. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t lay into you too hard or anything.” “Hey, you didn’t tell him that we…uh…you know?” “NO!” She shouted, blushing. “April?” Her dad called from around the corner. “Come on Casey.” She led him into the living room. “And don’t say anything about that.” He put his hands into his front pockets, lumbering into view of Kirby O’neil. Casey looked up from the ground appearing rather pitiful. “So…I suppose I’ve never properly met you Casey Jones…” Kirby stood. “N-no sir…” April looked nervous at her fathers stern expression. He examined the tall, thin young man in front of him looking him up and down. Finally he stopped and took him into an embrace. “W-wha-?” “Thank you for saving my daughter…April told me you risked your life to save hers.” “I-it was nothing sir…” Casey was still shocked. “I’d-I’d do it again even!” Kirby released him and smiled. “I suppose a father can’t ask much more for his little girl. Let me see that wound of yours. April tells me you haven’t been back to the hospital in 4 days. I want to make sure you’re taking proper care of it.” “Yes sir.” He pulled the bandana down from his neck exposing the horrible scar. Kirby’s eyes widened in shock. “This is what they did to you?” “The nurse told me I lost over a liter of blood before I got to the hospital…” “You…You walked to the hospital?!?” “I didn’t have much choice…But thats nothing! You should hear the story of Eddie Shore when he got his ear ripped off during a game! He refused anesthetic and even watched as the doctor sewed it back on to his head!” Casey began to get amped up talking about hockey heroes. “A game? Vigilantism is a game to you?” Kirbys expression was confused. “Well… No, sir. Hockey is a game. A game that only the toughest people can really play and honestly its all I’m good at. I’m not great at even being a regular person. People think I’m weird and violent but…since I met the turtles and started fighting, I feel like I belong someplace other than the ice rink. I have your daughter to thank for that.” “Thats surprisingly poetic young man.” Kirby slowly tilted Casey’s chin back looking at the horrible gash. Casey removed his hood and glanced nervously at April who was beaming at his kind words. “Well, It doesn’t look like its too bad. It has certainly been healing well, but I can tell you have aggravated it quite a few times since leaving the hospital. Thats going to extend the time it takes to fully heal. I’ll get some antiseptic so we can clean it out. You know, if you wrap the bandages all the way around your neck it will restrict your motion a bit more and prevent it from opening up every time you turn your head.” Kirby left the room. “That wasn’t so bad.” Casey turned to April and winced. “I think thats what my dad was talking about.” “I sure wouldn’t mind a little less pain.” “Not that you aren’t used to it.” He grinned at her. “I kinda thought he would try to beat me up, and I was gonna have to let him!” “Honestly? So did I…” “Psh, thanks!” He scoffed. “But uh…Maybe you can put the antiseptic on for me, yea? I don’t think I want your dad to put his hands round my neck…”