The Words That Hurt Me

A Twenty Second Joy Ride

"Our clan was very secretive," Usagi responded, "We were the last Samarai clan in Japan, before we were ambushed by the Foot. I was but a baby when the Hamato clan was massacred, my family one of the few that made it out of Japan before the attack. We had been in New York since then,"

Usagi looked away sadly.

"Until recently, anyway,"

Kit leaned into her brother, solemnly laying her head on his shoulder. He nuzzled her head appreciatively.

"Um, can I ask how you turned into a mutant?" Goo asked tentatively, watching as Gen flinched.

"We use yo-guy, less, uh, negative connotations, y'know?"

"Oh! Uh sorry," Goo quickly said, turning to talk quietly to Mikey, "You never told me that 'mutant' was a slur!"

"I didn't think it was!" Mikey responded under his breath, "We never used anything other than 'mutant'!"

Usagi quietly laughed at that, glancing up at the two.

"It's not that it's offensive, it's just that I was mutated after the first invasion, when mutation became associated with invading aliens," He grimaced, "Most people don't remember it fondly, so I went with Yokai instead,"

Mikey looked back at him, offering a gentle smile.

"My family had managed to stay away from the Krang during that invasion," He continued, "And we had...been attacked before the second,"

He sat up straighter, eyes looking far away.

"I had been captured by a group called the Purple Dragons, and they turned me into this," He gestured at himself, "I had escaped soon after and when I sought out my family, I had found...I had only found Kit,"

His hands gripped his sweatpants.

"She...told me what happened, and how she escaped. We were the only two left of the Usagi clan," He refocused his gaze on Mikey and Goo, "There was nothing left for us in New York, so we decided to flee. And we ended up here,"

The group sat in silence for a few moments, all mourning what was and what could have been. Finally, Goo looked over Gen.

"So, how do you fit into all this?" They gestured at him with their empty cup. Gen smiled solemnly at them.

"Almost two years ago, my brother and I went on a trip to New York. We were taking a vacation, mostly 'cause Ryan was getting sick of managing all the businesses our parents left us," He said, "I was holed up in our hotel room from catching the flu, when a couple of thugs broke in and dragged me away, leaving a note for Ryan,"

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Now, Ryan wasn't the type to just let the police handle things, so he went out to find me on his own. And he did," He paused, taking a breath, "A little too late. The night before they said they 'had some new stuff to try out' and they splashed that stuff on me,"

He looked down.

"I was out while my brother was fighting them, and they nearly got 'im too, but when I woke up and saw what was happening, I just saw red," He shook his head, "Pretty easy to escape a cage when you've been turned into a rhino. I've never seen my brother look so scared before. At me,"

He stayed quiet for a few moments, and no one dared break the silence.

"Once everything was settled, and Ryan was sure I wasn't gonna attack him, we headed back to the hotel and trying to sneak me in wasn't easy," He chuckled, "And we didn't know what to do. Luckily, my brother's real smart, and he did some brainstorming on our way back home."