Tragedy Ever After

Don't Walk Alone at Night

        ~No one's POV~

     A young adult was walking down the streets of New York, only a single earbud popped into their ear so they listened out for any potential danger. On the rooves, a turtle with a purple titanium shell rested upon his shoulders. A pair of goggles were pulled over his eyes as he watched the human.

     This wasn't the first time he had seen a human, nor was it the first time he felt intrigued to try and speak to it. The first human he met, he had considered his friend. She was nice to him and his brothers, where did it go wrong?

     Was it his need to experiment? His need to alter himself and others? His titanium shell was necessary, it protected his only weakness; his soft shell. And his brothers. . . after he tried to "fix" them, they seemed upset with him.

     Who in their right mind would be upset about getting an upgrade? Without his tech, his smarts, they were obsolete. They were nothing without him and he wanted to prove that to them.

     Mikey, his younger brother, was prone to get hurt, and Donnie wanted to put a stop to that. Leo, his annoying twin who would joke around instead of focusing, Donnie hated it, he would stop that as well. Raph, their leader, and eldest brother, always led them in without a plan, and Donnie wanted to help with that.

      Then there was April, his old human friend. She had heard of the gifts he made for his brothers and lectured him long and hard about how wrong he was. Was that what made him dislike her? He didn't need to be yelled at for experimenting, he wanted to hear words of praise for his hard work. Would this human be any different?

     He flipped up his goggles and hopped down from the roof, claws from his shell shooting from either side to help his descent be silent. His eyes glowed a dim yellow in the alleyway the human would soon pass. How would he go about this? How did normal humans react to a 5'8 mutant turtle hopping out of the shadows at them?

     Instinctively, he huffed as his brain argued and that seemed to be enough to capture the human's attention. They froze in place, eyes fixating on the glowing yellow in the alley. 

     Was it a homeless cat? There was no clattering of it hopping onto the dumpster that was tucked into the alley. Certainly, a homeless man wouldn't have glowing yellow eyes. What was looking at them then?

     You know the phrase "curiosity killed the cat?" Yeah, so did this human, but satisfaction brought it back. They stuffed a hand into their pocket, flicking up a switchblade as they slowly moved closer to the alleyway. Whatever was hidden away was just far enough so the streetlight wouldn't shine on it, and it seemed to know that.

     "I won't hurt you," the young adult spoke in a soft voice, hopping to draw whatever it was out of hiding. "I can help."

     Who in New York would offer some random being in an alleyway help? Well, Y/n L/n would. A 20-year-old college student who was aiming for the top of their class. Having an interest in science and technology made things a bit difficult, maths was never a fun subject.

     "Do you need an ambulance?" they still received no reply. Donnie just stared back at the human, taking slow steps further into the alley to test how stupid they were. Were all humans the same? Or did this one have a sense of danger?

     They paused at the edge of the light provided by a street lamp. "¿Hablas español?" they called again, still no answer. The young adult was at a loss, ready to give up, already taking a step away.

     "I don't want to scare you," the soft-shelled turtle finally spoke up, only half serious. "I'm not like you," he watched the human's reaction as best he could without the enhancement from his goggles.

     "I won't be scared," Y/n's voice stayed soft as they spoke to the hidden turtle. "I just want to help you," they assured the turtle who kept his feet planted. He knew better than to trust a human because they "wanted to help."

     That's how you get experimented on. Donnie was the one to conduct the experiments, he wouldn't fall subject to them. "How can I trust you?" he asked warily. He wouldn't trust them so easily, he wanted them to trust him. He wanted to experiment on them.

     "My name is Y/n, I'm a student at Eastlaird University," they pulled their hand from their pocket and held out their student ID card. "Do you have a name?"

     "Donatello," he said shortly. He refused to give that stupid nickname he left behind with the rest of his family. "You can call me Donatello."

     "Well, Donatello, can you come out of hiding?" they tried to coax the mutant out as if he were a street cat. In some way, he might be like a poor, feral animal; unwanted, feared, but maybe that's how he liked it. He wanted this human to fear him.

     He took slow steps toward the edge of the alleyway, a claw of his shell scratching against the bricks as he watched the human. They were tense as if they were ready to sprint away the moment he showed if he was hostile or not. His head tilted to look down at them as they stood before him.

     A hand was still holding the ID tightly to show off to the boy, but their eyes stared into his glowing yellow ones. The clawed legs of the shell had not retracted in as he tried to make himself seem more intimidating. The human seemed to shrink back but did not run.

     Recognition shot through both of them. Donnie remembered why he wanted to watch this human. He had seen them in pictures with April, but they had never formally met. April wanted her only human friend to stay normal.

     Y/n recognized the boy for another reason. They had kept the name running through their head to try and recall why it sounded so familiar. The only person who matched up with an old friend of April's. Y/n remembered the day April came to class as a wreck, ranting to the young adult later on about what had happened in the past week.

     Donatello was Donnie, and from what Y/n knew, he was dangerous, or he tried to seem that way. If he stood straight, he would be taller, but he seemed to hunch because of the shell on his back. Neither of them spoke for a moment, just watching each other to see the other's reaction.

     "Do you need help, Donatello?" Y/n finally spoke again. "I have an extra room if you need a place to rest," they offered slowly, uncertain of themself.

     "Would that be all right?" he seemed to be testing the human. Were they being stupid to offer him a place? Or was it a smart choice? Was this for their own personal gain? Y/n nodded, confirming they would allow him to stay.

     "It'll be getting cold soon," they reasoned, trying to convince themself more than Donnie. "Turtles don't do well in the cold, right?" they asked Donnie, their brows pinching together.

     "No, I suppose they don't," he agreed as he squinted down at the human. "Lead the way, Y/n," he gestured that he would follow after them. There was no welcoming grin on his face to show his appreciation.

     To be fair, Donnie wasn't that thankful for the offer, he did just fine on the surface on his own. This home would be temporary, this human would have a chance to prove they were different. If they were all the same, Donnie would have no problem getting rid of them. . . all of them.

     Word Count: 1,326. Another story! I had to get villain Donnie out there, I love the idea. Enjoy!