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This one involved ninja turtles, casey, april, splinter, manta man (street sharks) cameo appearance, a government agent ninja guy and surprisingly, me.

The turtles are set up in an old barn as living quarters and training thing, out in the country... the neighbourhood knows about them and surprisingly, accepts them. That's not the problem. The problem is, some force scattered the turtle brothers to over the history of the planet they are on.

Mickey went back to before there was life on this planet... he watched as it was sparked and began to develop. (aliens were involved)

Donny was there as humans began to develop and use tools, he was mainly responsible for that.

Raph was around after the bomb was dropped, when mutants like himself became the norm. He taught his skills to successive younger generations but missed his master and brothers very badly.

Leo was at the end of the planets life... he watched as it edged towards lifeless sterility, destroyed and barren and it's inhabitants fled for the stars. He didn't cope well either.


Now they are home again but they are just not themselves, a sense of apathy, of hopelessness lingers. They don't really train, they aren't a team and even splinter is at his wit's end.

We arrive to hear Casey saying through the barn wall, "Well, Donny is responsible for civilized man... cut him a break."


After watching a pitiful excuse for a training session, gov ninja, April and I just shake our heads... this is really tragic.

Later, April and I spar with Gov Ninja. He's only recently learned how to relax, laugh and have fun and is still a little awkward at it.
April and i are armed with staffs. April's is a bo staff and mine is a quater staff... I'm no ninja.
April jokes that Gov Ninja should take a handy cap and i laugh and say "nah, I can take him."
"Oh you CAN can you," Gov ninja grins at me. The expression looks odd on his serious face.

THIS is what the Turtles are missing, that sense of play, that joy of life. How do we tell them that though.

After the sparing session (we girl's held our own) we begin to talk seriously together. The large window in the barn is open to show the darkened country side outside.

Silhouetted by moon light and sweeping silently over the hilly, still mildly forested paddocks i see a familiar shape.

"Look," I call. "It's Manta Man." Then as if he's heard me the shape vanishes immediately.

"Where? Where?!" gov Ninja looks around eagerly but sees nothing. (Manta Man was one of his childhood hero's but is rumored to be deceased.)

"He's gone," I say a bit disappointed.

(It was Manta Man, though he ducked out of sight, hiding behind some old barrels the instant i spotted him. It seems he's just not ready to be confirmed among the living just yet.)

Further investigation shows various things that when taken together, could be mistaken for a flying figure... and that gives me an idea. I talk it over with April and she agrees.

The next evening we asked the Turtles and Splinter to gather as there's something we want to say.

April speaks for us. "Thank you," she says. "You were there at some pivotal, painful points in this planets history. Even if you couldn't do much you still bore witness and that counts for something. On behalf of all of us, thank you.
Even so, you shouldn't let what you've seen rip the life, the joy out of you. For all you know, that was merely a warning. Just as we can't confirm that Manta Man is dead (sightings keep happening despite his best efforts) We can't confirm that it was truly the past or future you saw. Despite how it looked or felt, do you truly believe that everything is predestined and we can change or effect nothing?'

The Turtles look at each other, troubled but beginning to think.

"I don't believe that. Here, now, in this moment, I chose to believe we can make our own way. I'm going to live my life one moment at a time. Sure I'm going to think about the future or the past, but I'm not going to try and live there.
What about you?"

Mickey looks from one person to another and then finally can't take it anymore and cracks up.

"Do you know what the worst thing about being stuck with those alien dudes was?" He asks. "No pizza... no pizza for YEARS."

The others laugh and then agree and slowly, begin to share their stories... Up until now, they'd kept everything to themselves.

April and I glance at each other smile and nod. We are in total agreement. Shout! Dance! Laugh! Sing! Express and capture that joy in life and never lose it. Even ninja need to let their hair down and be themselves sometimes...


And then the dog woke me up with random barking and when i went back to sleep the dream was gone.