“And one, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.” Splinter said to himself as he moved around the dojo, trying to waltz. But he was struggling; Ninjitsu was somewhat easy for him, but dancing was an entirely different story. He spent most of the day trying to learn and practice, but he wasn’t getting any better.
“Why can I not get this right?” He muttered.
As he was practicing, April came in.
“Everything okay, Sensei?” She asked.
“April! Oh, yes, I am fine.” Splinter quickly replied; he stopped what he was doing.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to ballroom dance, but… I am having a little bit of trouble.”
“If you need help, you can always ask. I know a thing or two about dancing.”
Splinter paused; he remembered the day the Turtles saved the Earth from the Kraang and the Technodrome and he also remembered seeing April dance during their celebration. He gave her a puzzled look.
“Don’t worry, Sensei; I’m not that bad.” April said confidently; she walked closer to her teacher. “You’ve taught me so much already, so I’ll teach you how to properly ballroom dance.”
“You will?”
“Of course. But… why do you want to know how to dance this all of a sudden, Sensei?”
“Oh! Um, Celestia has invited me to a masquerade party this Friday and… I do not know how to dance. I’m afraid.”
“Sensei, you shouldn’t be afraid to try something new. Dancing can be easy, you just move to the groove. Take a chance, life is full of surprises. You tell us stuff like that all the time. I’ll be more than happy to teach you. Come on, what’ve you got to lose?”
Splinter furrowed his brow and stroked his beard, contemplating his situation. He didn’t want to get in any kind of trouble, but he also wanted to have a good time with Celestia. He looked back at April and smiled.
“Very well, April. Show me what you know.” He said.
“That’s the spirit.” April said with a smile. “Now, let’s start with a few basic steps.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Just a little tighter here and… there!” Donnie exclaimed as he finished tightening a bolt. “All finished.”
“Yo, Donnie! What are you up to now?” Raph asked as he, Mikey, and Leo entered the lab just in time to see their brother working on a maroon colored car; it resembled a convertible from the 80’s or 90’s.
“Whoa, dude! That is so cool!” Mikey cried.
“What is that thing?” Leo asked.
“Nothing too special, just a little something I’ve been working on for a while.” Donnie proudly answered, standing up. “It’s a custom-built car for Master Splinter. I just finished it today.”
“Wow!” Mikey said in awe.
“That’s really impressive.” Leo commented.
“Doesn’t look like much, though.” Raph added.
“Not so fast, Raphael.” Donnie said, wagging a finger and smiling. “It may not be flashy, but this simple low-rider is stylish and stealthy at the same time. You don’t need a key to start it. All you have to do is sit down, push the button next to the wheel, and it immediately starts. It can drive on almost any terrain and can go at phenomenal speeds without even trying. Cool, huh?”
“Wow… I guess that is pretty cool.” Raph said, nodding his head.
“But what should we call it?” Leo asked.
“Oh yeah. I’m still trying to figure that out—” Donnie started before being cut off.
“The Rat Attack!” Mikey yelled.
Raph, Donnie, and Leo stared at their little brother with wide eyes for a minute or two. Mikey just smiled, looking tall and proud as if he just passed a big test at school.
“What? It’s the perfect name.” The young turtle said.
“…That is the perfect name.” Leo commented.
“Well… wait until Sensei sees.” Raph added, looking back at the car.
“Hey, guys.” Casey’s voice chimed in.
The Turtles turned to see Casey casually standing in the doorway of Donnie’s lab.
“Hey, Casey.” Raph said.
“What’s up, dude?” Mikey asked.
“Nothing much. Just wanted to see what you were up to. Whoa, what’s that?” Casey asked as he spotted the Rat Attack.
“It’s a gift for Master Splinter. Mikey calls it the Rat Attack.” Leo answered.
“That is so cool!” The young man exclaimed. “Wait until Splinter sees it.”
“Yeah, I hope he likes it. Hey. Speaking of which, where is Sensei?” Donnie asked.
“He’s probably in the dojo. I’ll go get him.” Mikey offered as he exited the lab.
“Sure thing, little bro.” Raph said.
Mikey went into the dojo, only to find Master Splinter and April trying to dance. He suppressed his laughter as he watched.
“And one, two, three. One, two, three.” April instructed as she and Splinter moved across the floor. “You’re getting better, I’ll give you that.”
“Uh, guys?” Mikey asked.
April and Splinter froze to see the orange-masked turtle standing in the doorway.
“Yes, Michelangelo?” Splinter asked, clearing his throat.
“Donnie wants to show you something in his lab, Sensei.” Mikey answered as he left.
Splinter remained silent, regained his composure, and followed his youngest son to the laboratory, April followed close behind. When he saw the Rat Attack, he didn’t know what to say. He stroked his beard in thought as he examined the car.
“What do you think, Sensei?” Donnie asked.
“Hmmmm… very interesting, Donatello.” Splinter answered. “But why would you make this for me?”
“I just thought you might need it, in case of an emergency. You wanna give it a test run? To see if it works?”
“…Very well. Just one test. But I must warn you, I have not driven a car in years so I might be a little rusty, as they say.”
“It’s okay. Just do your best.”
Splinter reluctantly climbed into the vehicle and buckled up.
“The ignition is right here.” Donnie pointed to the button next to the steering wheel.
Splinter raised an eyebrow and pushed the button, which made the engine roar to life.
“And don’t worry.” Donnie ran over to his computer and typed something; a small tablet-sized screen on the dashboard flashed to life and an image of the purple-masked turtle appeared. “The guys and I will be with you the whole time, telling you which buttons and switches do what and how fast you’d be going. Okay?”
“…okay.”
“Are you ready?”
The door leading out to the subway suddenly flew open and Splinter got himself ready. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the steering wheel.
“As ready as I will ever be, my sons.” He replied.
“Okie-dokie. On your mark, get set… GO!”
Splinter stepped down on the gas pedal and the Rat Attack sped out of the laboratory and through the tunnel. The turtles, April, and Casey stared at the doorway as their Sensei and the Rat Attack vanished from view.
“He’ll be fine.” Casey said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What has gotten into you, Luna?” Celestia demanded; she was sitting on her bed while her sister was pacing the floor of their room.
“Me? What’s gotten into YOU, dear sister?” Luna asked accusingly. “Why are you so invested in this random guy? I mean, YOU JUST MET! And you barely know anything about him!”
“Ugh, I just don’t get it! Why do you dislike Yoshi so much?! You’ve never even met him and you know him even less!”
“I don’t have to! Men from this city are all the same! They’re all arrogant, egotistical, untrustworthy brutes only out for themselves.”
“Hamato Yoshi is NOTHING like that! He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s wise, he’s kind, he’s sincere, AND he’s a family man.”
“Family man?”
“He has five children, four sons and a daughter.”
“Then… where is his wife? Hmmmm?”
“His… wife?” Celestia paused.
Suddenly, a very loud and abrupt noise came from outside, it caused the sisters to jump and run to the balcony to see what was going on. Celestia was shocked to see a car she didn’t recognize jumping over the rooftops and screech to a halt on the roof closest to the hotel. And she was even more shocked to see Master Splinter at the wheel; he was breathing heavily and had a tiny glint of terror in his eyes. It was rather dark out, but she could still tell it was him.
“Yoshi, are you okay?” Celestia called out.
“THAT’S Yoshi?” Luna hissed in shock.
“I am fine, Celestia. I was taking my new vehicle out for a test drive and I suppose I got a little carried away… literally.” Yoshi answered.
Celestia giggled.
“I also wanted to tell you… I will see you at the party on Friday.”
“You’re going?”
“It is worth a try. I shall see you then, Celestia.”
“Until then, Hamato Yoshi.”
They waved at each other before Splinter drove off in another direction. Luna stared at her sister with wide eyes.
“You invited him to the masquerade party?” She asked.
“So what if I did?” Celestia argued, going back into the room. “Though I am a little confused as why he didn’t call.”
“And you gave him your number?!” Luna groaned in frustration and stormed inside.
“Of course. How else are he and I supposed to stay in touch?” Celestia closed the balcony doors behind her.