[Open] Transmissions Echoing Away

[purplexing]

Who: Donnie (purplexing) and you..?!
What: Weathering the aftermath of Downburst events while trying to get back into some semblance of whatever accounts for normal around here
When: End of July into Mid-August
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: N/A
Notes: Will match pose pref!


i. Lost Child (Tiny Turtle 1)
It was supposed to be a couple of simple errands, a stop at the hardware store and then an automotive shop for some replacement headlights. Sure, he might've been able to scavenge those but finding purple-tinted ones is considerably more difficult when you can't turn on cars in the junkyard to check.

Donnie tucks his phone away, a corner coffee shop catching his eye. Well, maybe a stop there on the way back. He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his purple hoodie, crosses the street...

...

The first thing that hits him is the noise and the brightness. This isn't the sewers, it's not even an enclosed space. Not to mention there are humans everywhere!

It's the blare of an impatient car horn that sends the suddenly small bundle of purple and green running for the nearest cover in absolute panic. But when you're only about two feet tall, practically everything towers over you and is that much more scary.

The purple-hoodied tiny turtle cowers under a bus bench. Just breathe, just breathe. What did dad tell them to do in a situation like this?

...he has no idea.


ii. Runaway (Tiny Turtle 2)
He has decided that the world above is terrifying. While he's been somewhat surprised that not everyone seems to freak out at first sight of a small, glasses-wearing, green child, not everyone proves to be very nice!

Case in point, a couple of thuggish bullies who have apparently decided it's good sport to chase him down.

For the record, Donnie does not think this is fun! He's in tears as he does his best to get away from them, but he has tiny legs and not the greatest coordination.


iii. What Fun is Force if it Can't be a Little Deadly
For how effectively Donnie had managed to clear out the otherwise abandoned warehouse the last time he and Accelerator had made use of it, the place seems to more or less have become a default space to use for their choice of illicit activities. The tape's probably still stuck in some places from when Leo outlined the layout for their even earlier heist.

Today, it is for the purpose of testing out weapons. Donnie's been working on a few things, one being finalizing Accelerator's laser attachment for his crutch, which Donnie can't really test out in the penthouse.

And then there's his personal project he'd decided to sink some time into ever since those Arcadian guards had popped up and power neutralization was a thing: the resurrection of his beloved tech-bō, Version 2.0. This one's considerably pared down from the original model, sleeker and more subtle. True, it was hard to convince himself that he didn't need a flame thrower, or a saw, or even a third of what his fourteen-year old self had crammed into the original design, but he is pretty happy with what he's come up with.

He's even more eager to put it through the motions.


iv. Frequency - (first come, first serve)
It never fails; you're just walking along, enjoying your fancy cup of coffee when you suddenly get hit by some several hours' worth of memories that you technically hadn't even experienced yet. The sensation's jarring enough that it stops Donnie dead in his tracks.

A foiled heist gone wrong, The Foot Clan again, April dragging some unconscious kid into the Lair, aliens--!

His coffee's all over the ground now but his thoughts are still scattered between places, eyes twitchy like he's dreaming with his eyes open. It takes him a moment before he gasps, feeling like he'd just been submerged underwater.

"Uggh that was really weird and highly disturbing, let's not do that again," he groans, running a hand over his face.

Comments

[purplexing]

His arms pulled over his head, Donnie wishes he could tuck into his shell as easily as Mikey, not that it would protect him much. He squeezes his eyes shut, hoping the mean humans would just disappear.

The sounds he hears are a little scary and he's afraid to look, except that now there's a new voice. Carefully, the little turtle takes a peek, blinking up at a pair of green legs.

The bully yet standing continues to gape at Leo before bringing a hand up, pointing at his face.

"Another one!" they sputter, taking a step back while blindly grabbing at the other on the ground who's nursing a bloody nose.

[faceguy]

"Yep, another one." Leo takes a step forward, the grin slipping into something more angry. "And that's my little brother you're messing with. Big mistake."

Donnie will probably give him crap about that later, but right now he doesn't care. He's getting these guys away from Donnie, and then he's getting Donnie out of here. That's the priority.

(Worrying about why he's so tiny comes sometime after that.)

[purplexing]

'Brother'..?

There's only one brother who wears so much blue and has red markings. But that doesn't make sense. When did Leo get so huge!!!

Right now, Donnie's wondering the reverse of what Leo was, but he doesn't care too much just right now because there's someone he kind of knows and he's taking care of these scary people, maybe he can show him how to get home too!

The little turtle scrambles over behind Leo, peering around one of the taller turtle's legs.

The humans meanwhile are doing some quick recalculations of their recent decisions, the one nearly tripping over the other on the ground, and the thought of whatever retribution Leo might deliver upon them once their backs are turned is enough to spur both of them, half on all fours until they manage to lurch to their feet, into a hasty retreat.

From behind his cover, Donnie shakes a fist after them.

[faceguy]

The humans make the wise decision, and Leo watches to make sure they don’t have any plans on coming back before turning his attention to Donnie. Donnie, who is wagging his little fist in the air, which is just…

stupid cute.

He has to resist a laugh, and thankfully his residual anger at those assholes makes that easier to do.

“Don’t think those jerks will be bothering you again.”

He swivels around and lowers down to a squat, grinning at Donnie normally now.

“Hey, Dee, you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

[purplexing]

The other turtle's attention now fully shifting to him makes Donnie all at once uncertain again, if for all of two seconds. He starts to nod at the question before shaking his head to the second question.

With Leo now at his level, he stares unabashedly at the other turtle, eventually reaching a hand out to trace the red markings on his brother's face. Then he pokes a finger at his nose.

"Why're you so big?" Because it has to be Leo. How many other mutant red-ear sliders does he know? And clearly this big turtle knows who Donnie is.

[faceguy]

Leo waits while Donnie runs a hand over his face (weird, but if it reassures him…) and then pokes at his nose (rude, but okay).

The inevitable question comes, and Leo has to think fast how to answer. If Donnie doesn’t remember being big, then trying to argue that Donnie is actually the one who changed here probably won’t get him anywhere.

He goes for a different approach, then.

“I’m… from the future!” Hey, time travel is apparently real, so why not? “You know Jupiter Jim issue 87? Yeah, I came back through a slipstream in time, because I knew you would need my help!”

[purplexing]

He's just making sure this turtle is real, eye bananas and all! The answer Leo gives him is something he is completely unprepared for.

Donnie's eyes widen behind his glasses, his mouth opening in a big 'o'.

If he were older he'd be dubious of that story, but right now? He is totally eating that up.

"Wooow! That's so cool! Can I time travel too?"

[faceguy]

Leo chuckles at that. “Maybe when you’re older.”

If Donnie remembers any of this later Leo knows he’s going to be hearing about it, but for now he just grins at Donnie and holds out his arms.

“How about we get out of here and I can tell you more later. Wanna hitch a ride?”

[purplexing]

Of course to that response, he pouts just a bit. Why's everything have to wait until he's older?

But Leo proposes an excellent idea, and bouncing in place, Donnie all but launches himself into Leo's open arms.

"Can we go home now?" he asks, nuzzling into his hoodie. He's so glad he's not by himself anymore. His brother's here from the future, so everything should be fine now. However that works.

[faceguy]

Oh man, that's so cute. Why can't Donnie be this cute and cuddly all the time?

...Actually, that'd be super weird.

He gives baby Donnie a good squeeze before standing up, holding him in his arms against his chest. After a bit he'll probably move him to his shoulders, so he has his arms back, but this is fine for now.

"Ah, well... We can't quite go home yet. That's part of what I have to help you with." He gives Donnie his most reassuring smile. "But don't worry - you and big bro Leo will have some fun until then, okay?"

[purplexing]

It's weird being this high up! Big brother Leo is much taller than dad! Donnie looks over Leo's shoulder, fascinated by this new perspective.

What his brother says next however is not what Donnie was expecting to hear. He blinks, his smile falling, but Leo seems to have a plan so everything should be okay. He nods, his smile coming back easily.

"Okay!"

[faceguy]

That could have gone badly (Leo was half braced for crying), but Donnie accepts his explanation pretty easily in the end. Which is good, because he would have no idea how to explain this to him otherwise.

He makes sure he didn’t lose his new book in all the ruckus, tucking it into his hoodie pocket before heading toward the street. He has to think of something that will be entertaining for little Donnie without overwhelming him, which means his normal haunts like the arcade are out. The comic shop would be much calmer but the lack of Jupiter Jim and their other familiar series might cause questions.

Man, what did Donnie like to do at this age? Leo barely remembers being this tiny. But then, this is Donnie, so there’s one thing he knows will probably always work…

“How abooouuut… we get some ice cream, and then I show you the big library?”

[purplexing]

There's already so much to see. As much as he'd like to go home, Donnie's still openly curious about his new surroundings. So this is what it's like, topside!

He points at various buildings and things, asking Leo what they are. Whenever they come across any people he burrows against his brother like he's trying to hide, and he probably is, not wanting an repeat of earlier.

And then Leo says some magic words, and the little turtle's face brightens instantly. He nods so eagerly he almost falls over.

[faceguy]

Whoo, that is some excitement! The plan is set, then.

Leo answers Donnie's questions (he's not surprised there's so many, given who this is) and gently rubs his shell any time he hides from people. A few passersby do give them weird looks, but no one is willing to mess with the much bigger and more imposing Leo.

They make it to the ice cream shop he was thinking of without incident, and Leo approaches the counter, leaning over the glass display case so Donnie can see inside.

"What flavor do you want, bud?"

[purplexing]

How can he not get excited about going to the library??? It's like an amusement park of books!

Donnie leans just a little further, as much as Leo's able to support him, looking at the assortment of ice cream flavors. There's. So. Many! How does anyone decide?

He gives an anxious bounce as he looks back and forth at the rows, squinting as he reads out flavor names before finally pointing. "Pistachio!"

[faceguy]

“Pistachio, huh? Alright!”

If Donnie weren’t basically microscopic Leo would have some things to say about that choice, but instead Leo’s instinct is to spoil him rotten. It’s probably good for everyone that Mikey is only a year younger…

Leo steps over to order for them, a scoop of pistachio for Donnie and some double chocolate chip for himself. The cashier only gives them a quick double take but gets them their cones and hands them off.

“Can you eat this without getting it all over me?” asks Leo as he gives Donnie his.

[purplexing]

ICE CREAM! Donnie holds his hands out, little fingers flexing in that typical gimmee-gimmee gesture before he finally wraps them around the cone. The clueless look he gives Leo is by no means reassuring, but he will try very hard!! No promises! Not that this stops Donnie from starting to eat his ice cream.

...there are probably going to be two very sticky turtles.

[faceguy]

They are definitely going to be sticky. At least Leo is bald so there’s no hair to worry about, but he hopes his mask tails escape. The hoodie he’s wearing is destined for stains, but oh well.

“Worth a try, I guess,” he says, before carrying Donnie back out of the store.

“This is probably your first time being topside, isn’t it? That you can remember?”

Leo is pretty sure their dad didn’t let them go out until they were at least a little older than this, but then, who knows. It all gets a little muddled for him, but Donnie’s memories may be sharp.

[purplexing]

At least Donnie is trying to be neat about it. Things haven't started melting yet so he hasn't had to lick his fingers off.

Even though he's intent on his ice cream, he nods at Leo's question. "It's too big."

[faceguy]

Points for effort, at least.

"Yeah, guess it is big, huh? Lots of people, too." Leo only ever remembers being excited about it, and whatever fear there was just made it more exciting. Of course, he never ventured out alone, not at first; he always had Splinter, and later Raph, to protect him.

"It's alright, though. Just don't wander off from me and you'll be fine, right?"

[purplexing]

It'd definitely be a much different experience with the rest of the family. Finding yourself suddenly out in the middle of a busy street and with none of your brothers or your father in sight is pretty unsettling, to say the least.

Donnie nods, determined to stick close to big brother because it's easy to think that there should be nothing that would draw him away when there might be other scary people about. For now all that consists of his world right now is Leo and ice cream.

[faceguy]

It's good that he's agreeing. Leo lets him eat his ice cream, licking on his own, and heads for the library.

By the time they will likely be very sticky. Once that ice cream starts melting, Leo can just see it dripping onto his hoodie. Oh well, at least Donnie is content.

Once they get to the building, Leo sweeps his hand at it and says, "Here it is! The library! Woo!"

He may not get excited about the library on his own, but he does want to see little Donnie's reaction to it.

[purplexing]

It's okay. Between licking his hands clean and wiping it on Leo's hoodie, Donnie's managed to take care of most of the stickiness by then. Mostly.

Leo's theatrics certainly do the trick, or at least add to the impressive sight before him once they arrive. Donnie's eyes widen behind his glasses, mouth opening with an awed gasp. It looks huuuuuuge! He can't even imagine how many books it holds!

He starts tugging at Leo's hoodie as though he can haul his brother inside by his own power. Muuuust go iiiiiiiin!!

[faceguy]

Great, so it's just his hoodie that looks like he was rolling around in garbage. Oh well...

"Okay, okay, we're going!" he says with a laugh, walking for the door. They get inside, and he puts Donnie down.

"Alright, uh, I think... kids' books are over there?" He rubs at his chin while he tries to remember the exact layout. "Ah man, I don't even remember... you aren't reading textbooks yet, are you?"

[purplexing]

Once they're actually moving towards the door, Donnie clings to Leo in eager anticipation, at least until they're inside.

He doesn't budge once he's set down, too busy staring. It's not lined from floor to ceiling in books, but it's still a lot of books. Where does he even start? He's too young to have such a dilemma!

While Leo's trying to work out where things are, Donnie seems to have decided that the only way to do this is start at one side and see how far he gets in finding anything interesting. Already it seems he's forgotten about the not wandering off, but at least he can't get too far.