remembering the last few episodes theyâd watched. âShe
always
comes back.â
âYeah, but letâs face reality,â Raph said, realizing who they were really talking about. âAprilâs gone for good. Weâll probably never see her again.â
Donnie shuddered at the thought. He couldnât bear the idea of losing April forever.
âIâll be in my lab,â he sighed.
The moment he walked through the doors to the lab, he noticed a strange purple light blinking across the room.
âThe Kraang communicator!â Donnie inspected the machine their outer-space adversaries used to transmit messages. The Turtles had recovered one from the sewers shortly before the Kraang tried to invade Earth. After weeks of radio silence, the alien device was pulsating with life once again.
âGuys!â Donnie yelled. âWe have a problem!â
The Turtles patrolled the streets in their vehicle, the
Shellraiser
, looking for signs of the Kraang. Donnie stared at a stack of papers in his lap, trying to stay focused. He needed to stop thinking about April long enough to wrap his head around these Kraang translations heâd decoded. After all, it wasnât like April was thinking about him at that exact moment.
Wait, is she? No. Stop it!
Donnie scolded himself.
Get your head out of your shell!
He zeroed in on the numbers on the page before him.
âFrom what I could translate from the orb,â he explained, âit seems the Kraang are building some kind of advanced heavy weaponry.â
Leo looked up from the road. âAny guess what it could be?â
In the back of the van, Mikeyâs hand shot up like he was trying to catch the teacherâs eye in a classroom. âOooh!â he exclaimed, convinced he had the answer. âLasers disguised as â¦
burritos!
Yes! It all makes sense now.â
Mikeyâs âsolutionâ was met with silence and eye-rolls.
Raph knew how to handle this. He unbuckled his seat belt and approached Mikey. âIt
does
make sense,â he said, âif you have an avocado for a brain!â
âAll right, guys,â Leo said from the front seat. âLetâs stay focused.â
Everyone took a breath and returned to his battle station. It was time to get serious. The Kraang were out there, and that was bigger than any brotherly bickering or moping that was happening.
âWe find the weapon and destroy it,â Leo told his brothers. After a brief pause, he added, âAnd then we get Mexican pizza.â All this talk of burritos and avocados had made him really hungry.
They all smiled. Finally, something they could agree on!
Our first study session was a walk in the park.
Literally.
Apparently, Red loves to study at the park. She said sheâs been doing it for a few years. The fresh air helps her think clearly or something.
It didnât help me any. Because all I could think was HOLY COW, THIS STUDY SESSION FEELS LIKE A DATE. But, no worries. Just like on the ice, I was totally ready.
Deodorant? Check.
Best punk rock T-shirt? Double check.
Hanging out with the cutest girl at Roosevelt High on the swing set? Triple check.
Thatâs CASEY JONES FOR THE HAT TRICK!
I feel like we learned about each other. Like, I learned that Red is a Science Olympian. And I told her that I want to grow up to be a professional hockey star or international bounty hunter.
Yeah, okay, Iâll admit she did try to make me answer a few trig questions, but I told her school wasnât really my thing. So we just hung out. And then, as if our date couldnât get any better â¦
I SAVED HER FROM THE COOLEST-LOOKING MONSTER IâVE EVER SEEN!
This thing had to be at least twenty feet tall. Eyes and internal organs all mixed up and floating around in a box like a big spaghetti mess. It was totally jackedup, though. Dieselarms and legs made of green goo. And hands that dripped acid! It could melt ANYTHING it