First Story: Mutation

Hamato Yoshi’s whole body hurt. He wondered if the strange men he saw had beaten him up. He looked around and his eyes were able to see quite well in the dark and all the smells seemed to be amplified. He felt nauseous and placed a hand on his stomach. He froze as his hand encountered fur. Looking down at himself, his heart quickened.

He was covered on brown fur and his hands had only three fingers and a thumb. They came up to his face to feel the long fur covered snout and wet nose. Tears streamed down his face as he took it all in. 

His legs trembled as he tried to stand on strange feet. He looked around to see his clothes shredded at his feet. With trembling hands he removed his wallet and keys from the pocket of his pants. He looked down at the receipt that he had pulled out with his wallet. 

He remembered that he was carrying baby turtles that he had just bought for pets. He searched and found them crawling nearby unhurt. He gathered them up and placed them in the pile of clothes. He then noticed the broken canister that was leaking an odd glowing substance. 

Instinctively he sniffed at it, but did not touch it. He sat back and an overwhelming since of dread came over him. He was forever changed and alone. Who would help him? He wasn’t even a legal citizen yet. He wrapped his arms around himself and let the tears fall. Now he had truly lost everything. 

He stared at the strange substance and figured that it must have been the cause of his change. One of the little turtles chirped and he looked over at them. He couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened to them if the substance had gotten on them. 

Without thinking he picked them up and placed them in the ooze. 

Note: If you watch the opening credits, it looks like Splinter places the turtles in the ooze then they mutate. That inspired this. 

**

Second Story: First Winter

Rated: G

Light warning: This is not 100% happy. 

Winter hit New York hard. Yoshi kept the little turtles pulled close to him in an attempt to keep them warm, but his efforts were for naught. They all slipped in to a deep hibernation and no matter how hard he tried, he could not wake them. 

He had grown quite fond of them and had come to view them as his children. They filled the void left from the tragedies in his life and he could not bear the thought of losing them. 

The little nook he had found for them was not much and he hardly left their side in the past few months. But, he knew that it was not safe to say. Knowing that they were not going anywhere he covered them as best he could against the cold and went to search for better place to live. 

He ran through the sewers only to have worry draw him back to his children. He would uncover them and check that each was still breathing before heading out again. By sheer luck, he found and abandoned subway station. He entered searched the entire area. 

The structure looked to still be stable and there was a pool of fresh water, a rarity in the sewers. He entered into a large room and was amazed to see a living tree growing. He saw it as a sign and hurried back to collect the turtles. 

One by one he placed them under the tree, swaddling each against the cold. Satisfied that they were safe, he went to work bringing his few belongings into the new lair. He busied himself through the long winter months setting up their home. He would scavenge though the sewers and even venture to the surface to search the junkyard. Every night he would sleep around them in an attempt to keep them as warm as possible. 

By the time spring had arrived he was ready for them to wake and eagerly watched them for any signs of it. He started to fear the worst, but then one started to stir. He rushed over and helped Leonardo out of his covers.

He didn’t have much by way of food, but gave Leonardo what he could. He managed to warm some water and gave it to the little turtle to help warm him. A few hours later Leonardo was up and running, his giggles echoing off the walls as he explored his new home. 

As the days passed others woke, Donatello was next then Raphael. Michelangelo, the smallest, took a week to wake after Leonardo. They played together around the tree, returning to life after months of near death. 

After another week Splinter lifted the one that did not wake, keeping it bundled so that the others did not see. He wondered if they would remember or if they were too young. Michelangelo seemed to watch him for a moment while he moved the bundle, but Splinter did not show him what it was. 

That night as the others slept he took the bundle to the dump, the only place he could think of where it would not be found, and buried it deep. He allowed himself to cry before heading back to the lair and the four survivors and swore that next winter he would be ready.