Three years later…

“Sensei’s not going to like this,” Kevin told his brothers, his green eyes darting around and taking in their current surroundings. “If he finds out we’re up here, he’ll kill us for sure.”

“Yeah, Kevin’s right,” A.J. agreed.

“Aw, c’mon,” Nick whined. “You promised you’d do this with us. We can’t do it by ourselves.”

“Why not?” A.J. questioned.

“It wouldn’t sound right, that’s why,” Brian snapped. “Now shut-up; someone’s coming.”

“Well, if we really are going to do this…” Kevin trailed off. “Be prepared to suffer the consequences if we get caught.”

“Master won’t do nothin’ ‘cause we ain’t gonna get caught,” Brian retorted.

They stood there patiently, until the person walking by was near, then they launched into their plan.

“Even in my heart, I see you’re not being true to me. Deep within my soul, I feel nothing’s like it used to be,” Brian sang. “Sometimes I wish I could turn back time, impossible as it may seem. But I wish I could, so bad, baby.”

“Quit playin’ games with my heart. Quit playin’ games with my heart. My heart. Before you tear us apart. Quit playin’ games with my… I should’ve known from the start. You know you gotta stop. My heart. You’re tearing us apart. Quit playin’ games with my heart.”

“I live my life the way, to keep you coming back to me,” Nick began. “Everything I do is for you, so what is it that you can’t see? Sometimes I wish I could turn back time, impossible as it may seem. But I wish I could so bad, baby.”

As they continued to sing, a crowd started to gather around them, all wondering whom the four kids in trench coats and fedoras were.

“They’re amazing,” they heard one woman say. “I wonder who they are…”

“Who knows,” the man she was talking to shrugged. “But whoever they are, they deserve a record deal.”

The four boys smiled, wishing they could get an actual record deal and perform live for the people who were gathering. But because of whom they were – and what they were – that would probably never happen. Besides, Master Howard would never go for it.

Once they had finished the first song, they went right on into the next. They had written these themselves as they’d been bored. And though the lyrics seemed a little old for nine-year-olds to be singing, they knew more about the world than your average nine-year-olds, thanks to their sensei.

“Baby, I know you are hurting,” Kevin began. “Right now you feel like you could never love again. Now all I ask is for a chance to prove that I love you.”

“From the first day that I saw your smiling face,” A.J. sang. “Honey, I knew that we would be together.”

“Oooh. When I asked you out, you said no but I found out,” Brian continued. “Darling that you’d been hurt; you felt that you could never love again. I deserve a try Honey just once. Give me a chance and I’ll prove this all wrong.”

“You walked in you were so quick to judge,” A.J. cut in. “But Honey he’s nothing like me,”

“I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, Honey that’s no lie,” they harmonized. “I’ll never break your heart…”

They sang a couple more songs, then carefully bowed, making sure to not lose their fedoras or to let their green hands show, before quickly hurrying back to the lair.

“I hope Sensei’s not there when we get back,” A.J. commented, then eyed his two younger brothers. “If he is, I’m blaming you.”

“Like Sensei will care whose idea it was,” Brian scoffed. “We’ll all still get in trouble for going up top without permission and in broad daylight.”

“He’s right,” Kevin groaned, as they slowed their pace. “Sensei won’t care who thought of it. We all disobeyed orders.”

“You’ll all get in more trouble than me,” Nick smirked.

“Why’s that?” A.J. demanded.

“I’m the baby, as well as the cute one,” Nick said. “I can get away with more than you any day.”

“Damn!” Brian riposted. “He’s right, you know. We’ll get in more trouble than he will, Kevin and I especially.”

“Why you and Kevin especially?” A.J. queried.

“I’m the oldest, as well as the model son, and Brian’s the hard-headed trouble-maker,” Kevin stated. “Man, do I ever hate it when he’s right!”

“Yeah, well, at least I don’t think I’m perfect every day,” Brian snapped. “Unlike you Kevin, I live in the world of reality, and not fantasy.”

“I’d say your head’s pretty high up there in the clouds if you think I’ve never faced reality,” Kevin retorted. “I’ve faced it just as much as you have, if not more so.”

“See what I mean!” Brian shouted. “You think you know more and are better than us just ‘cause you’re the oldest!”

“I do not!” Kevin rebutted. “You think you’re all high and mighty for no reason!”

“Nuh-uh!” Brian shook his head. “You’re the high and mighty one! Mr. I’m-Sensei’s-Pet-So-I’m-Better-Than-You!”

“Take that back!” Kevin yelled.

“No!” Brian screamed. “I won’t!”

In the next instant the two were fighting like crazy. Nick and A.J. looked at one another, shrugged, then entered the lair, only to find Howard sitting in his chair.

“Just where have you boys been?” Howard interrogated without looking up from his paper.

“Um…we went for a walk, Sensei,” Nick said after a slight hesitation, hoping his master wouldn’t notice his ‘um’.

“Mm hmm,” Howard nodded. “Where are your brothers?”

“Killing each other,” A.J. shrugged unconcerned.

“Again?” Howard groaned.

“Yep,” Nick nodded enthusiastically.

The two watched as their sensei got up and left the lair. He returned a couple minutes later with both of their brothers by the back of their trench coats.

“March,” he told the two once he’d put them down. “And not a sound either.”

“Hai, Sensei,” they mumbled, as they headed for their room.

Howard eyed the two watching the scene. “Just why where you four wearing your trench coats if you went for a walk in the sewers?”

“It…it was…” A.J. trailed off as he thought.

“Cold,” Nick supplied.

“Yeah, that’s it,” A.J. nodded. “It was cold, so we grabbed our coats.”

“In the middle of summer?” Howard said skeptically.

“Well, it’s not as hot down here as it is up there,” Nick stated. “It’s cooler down here ‘cause of the water and stuff.”

“And just how would you know if it was hotter up there than down here?” Howard queried raising his one eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“We…we just assumed it was,” A.J. piped up.

“Yeah,” Nick quickly agreed. “We assumed.”

Howard eyed them both suspiciously, then sent them off to play, seeing as their chores and practice had already been taken care of.

A.J. and Nick played, quietly talking about the crowd they’d attracted at the park. Suddenly, they heard words that chilled them to the bone.

“There was quite an attraction in Central Park today,” the newscaster said. “Four young boys dressed in trench coats and fedoras put on quite a show for the people passing by. The young quad sang their hearts out for the people of New York, stating that they’d written the songs themselves. The whereabouts of these boys is unknown, as are their identities. Well, boys, wherever you are, if you’re watching this right now, the state of New York wishes you all the best of luck and hopes your dream of being musicians comes true. Now, in other news…”

The two nine-year old turtles looked at one another wide-eyed, and quietly began to inch themselves out of the lair.

“Freeze,” a voice commanded. “About face.”

They froze and slowly turned around only to look into the angry face of their master.

“Colder down here than up there, now is it?” Howard replicated. “You just assumed it. Well, boys, looks like you assumed nothing, except that you could get away with disobeying my strict orders.”

They gulped, and lowered their heads some, but still kept their eyes on their sensei.

“Kevin Scott! Brian Thomas!” Howard called. “Come here! Now!”

The two scurried out of their room and into the den.

“Yes, Sensei?”

“So, you boys were in Central Park today, were you?”

“Alright, who told?” Brian demanded, glaring at his two already shamefaced brothers. “I’ll beat the life outta you.”

“There will be no beating the life out of anyone, Brian Thomas,” Howard told him. “Your brothers did not inform me of your disobedience - the six o’clock news did.”

“Oh,” Brian said sheepishly, as he too looked at the floor.

Howard eyed them all carefully. “You boys know the consequences of sneaking out and going up top without permission, more or less, in broad daylight.”

The four shrunk their heads into their shells some, from shame. A.J. shrunk his partly from shame, but also partly because he could feel his face going red.

“I am very disappointed with all of you,” Howard stated. “I can not believe you would break such an important rule. And why? Because you wanted us to get caught!”

“We did not!” Brian cried, his eyes blazing. “We don’t wanna get caught!”

Howard turned on his son. “Then why did you go up there?”

“To sing!” Brian growled. “We wanna sing!”

“Oh. So going up top to sing for humans is a brilliant idea, even though they could cause our family great harm,” Howard returned sarcastically.

“No!” Brian rejoined angrily. “We just wanted to know what they’d think!”

“Why are their opinions important, when you know if they found out what you really are, they would study and dissect you without a second thought to what they were doing?”

Howard had made a mistake by saying ‘what you really are’, instead of ‘who you really are’, but was too enraged to notice at the time.

“Because they make music!” Brian shot-back. “We wanna make music!”

“Music!?!” Howard bellowed. “You are ninjas and not some ‘manufactured’ music group! Ninjas are to stay hidden and live in the shadows! Not wander around the city in broad-daylight, thus endangering their family!”

The others stared at their master in shock, for never had he raised his voice like that to them, while Brian stood glaring at him, fury still evident in his eyes.

“Just ‘cause we gotta live here with you don’t mean we can’t have dreams!” Brian snarled. “We’ve rights too, you know!”

“Rights? Your rights?” Howard repeated some. “I will tell you your rights, young one. Your rights are to remain restricted to the lair for a month, extra chores, and extra practices!”

“Like hell they are!” Brian hollered. “You can’t control us forever!”

“I am your father, and you will show me respect Brian Thomas!” Howard confirmed.

“Treat us with some respect then, you evil, shit-headed rat!” Brian screeched.

“Rooms!” Howard growled. “Now!”

Kevin, Nick, and A.J. all stood staring at him wide-eyed, while Brian still glared at their father angrily.

Howard grew impatient. “Would you like for me to take you all over me knee right here and now while I am very upset with you?”

Their eyes still wide, the three shook their heads, then scampered off to their shared room.

Howard turned only to find Brian still giving him the same Look.

“Brian Thomas, I am not about to repeat myself.”

Brian gave him an icy look, then spat at him.

Howard had had enough then, and immediately whacked Brian’s bottom sharply with his walking stick. “Your room, now!”

Brian glared at him once more, though there were tears in his eyes, and ran to his room to join his brothers.

Howard sighed frustrated as he sat down. “Kids,” he muttered to himself. “They figure they are grown and know everything at age nine.”