By Kali Gargoyle
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Chapter one: The Mutation
***
The sewers of New York could be dangerous. There were few humans who would venture into the darkness without a government paycheck. It was home to rats and other stray animals. One lone rat roamed the tunnels in search of food, and shelter from the storm that had begun to flood the sewers.
This rat was named Splinter, once the pet of ninja master Hamato Yoshi, who had been murdered not too long ago. Now, the rat had to find a home alone, scavenging the sewers for food.
He walked around a waterfall created by an open manhole. He paused as tires screeched above him and a tire bounced over the open hole. There were more breaks and a crash, then something fell down the hole.
Splinter ran to take cover from the flying glass. When he emerged, he saw five baby turtles crawling through the broken glass and green ooze. He spied a large coffee can and tried herding them towards it. He got four in, but when he turned back for the fifth he saw it crawling too close to the edge. Before he could reach it, it fell down into the flooding sewer water and was washed away. He tried to follow but the current moved too fast, and the tiny turtle vanished around a corner.
Splinter returned to the coffee can and watched over the turtles until they had all fallen asleep.
***
The next morning Splinter was awakened by a soft nudge. He opened his eyes and was startled by a large turtle.
Large? He looked around. The four baby turtles he had found the night before had now doubled in size. He noticed that he, too, was growing. Things that had been random nonsense before now took on a new sense of clarity. Especially Hamato Yoshi's ninja training Splinter had mimicked from his cage.
Splinter picked up a nail and banged it against the side of the coffee can. The four turtles lifted their heads towards him.
"We are…changing," he said in broken English. "I will…care…for you."
***
As the weeks passed, they all mutated into more humanoid forms. Splinter managed to steal a kimono for himself from a Salvation Army truck, along with an old art book he planned to use to teach the young turtles to read.
A month after that fateful accident he decided to give his adopted sons names. He took the art book and four strips of material and called his sons into the center of their lair.
"My sons, today you will be given names, and tomorrow I will begin teaching you the art of the ninja." He took the blue scrap and opened to a random page in the book. He tied the fabric around one of his son's arms. "You will be known as Leonardo."
Another snatched up the orange material. "I want this color!"
Splinter smiled and turned the page. "You are Michaelangelo." The young turtle grinned and tried to tie the band himself. Splinter helped him, then picked up the purple strip. He flipped towards the end of the book.
He knelt beside the third turtle, who was sitting on the floor reading a textbook that had fallen into their lair last week and landed on his head. He'd been trying to read it even since. He regarded Splinter with quiet curiosity. "Donatello."
"Raphael."
Splinter turned to his last pupil, who stood over the book with the
red fabric tied around his head like a bandanna. Splinter nodded and closed
the book.