Family is Forever

Donnie's Gifts: Part 3

Aria's POV:

Leo: "Mikey, what'd you do?"

Mikey: "I don't know! It's this suit! Every time I do some razzmatazz, this thing inflates and throws me off my game! I need my razz and my tazz!"

Leo: "And every time I drop a killer joke bomb, this stupid collar zaps me!"

Raph: "Well, my gift just keeps nagging me. I don't need to be told how to think!"

Me: "I'm sorry, guys. I swear, I had no idea that this was what Donnie had in mind as 'gifts'."

They nod in understanding.

Mikey: "No worries, Ari. But, does he really think I'm a crazy kangaroo who needs to wear a padded suit so I don't hurt myself?"

Raph: "Yeah, does he really think I need to be told what to do all the time? I'm the team leader!"

Leo: "Right? And who doesn't love my one-liners? They fire up the team, right guys?"

He turns to us as we all stare at him in silence. He gives us an annoyed look in response.

Leo: "Anyway, someone needs to tell Donnie that he doesn't get to tell us what to be."

Suddenly, I'm faced with three turtles donning puppy dog pouts.

Me: "Oh, come on. Me?! Why do I have to be the one?"

Leo: "You're his girlfriend. He listens to you, more so than any of us. Plus, like us, he can't stay mad at you if it comes to that. Also, we've experienced yours & Dad's scoldings, and yours are the most affective."

I roll my eyes.

Me: "Fine. But if I go down, I'm taking you all with me."

I then pull my phone out of my pocket to see that, speak of the devil, Donnie was calling. I answer the phone with a calm, yet serious look.

Me: "Donnie, where are you? We seriously need to talk. I understand that the others can be ignorant & indecisive. But that doesn't give you the right to..."

Before I can finish, Donnie screams in terror. I take the phone away from my ear and put him on speaker.

Donnie: "Aah! Where did you guys go? They're all over me! They're gonna eat me alive!"

My eyes widen as I quickly form a plan to get us all out of this mess.

Me: "Hang tight, D. We're on our way."

I hang up the phone as I turn to the others with a serious look.

Me: "Ok, Raph, I know you're team leader, but I have a plan. I'm gonna need you all to listen carefully. We can't lose a member of our team. Agreed?"

They all give me a nod of confirmation as I continue with my plan.

Me: "First off, Raph, if that helmet wants a solid plan, let's give 'em one. Next time you go to punch Swaggert, place it over your fist. it'll break into pieces, and protect your fist from his attempts to absorb your energy."

Raph nods with a confident smile, excited to put an end to the condescending headgear.

Me: "Mikey, put your suit's inflation to your use. Position yourself somewhere above Swaggert, then leap off to land on him. I think you know what comes after that, right?"

Mikey nods as I turn to Leo.

Me: "Leo, when you get close enough to Swaggert, take off your collar & put it on him. Keep your one-liners coming so it'll shock him. He'll be too drained from the aftershock to fight back. Then, I'll distract him while you guys grab Donnie and we'll all head back to the lair for some rest."

They all nod as we run off to find Donnie & Swaggert. No matter how many arguments we have with one another, there's one rule that's unbreakable in this family. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.

Once we reach Donnie's place of entrapment via Meat Sweats, we discover that the mini versions of him have morphed back to his original form. Meanwhile, Donnie remains tied up on a stick roasting over a fire. I growl in anger over the audacity of this guy! The guys then leap towards them to put my plan into action. So far, it's going off without a hitch, not including Donnie's shouts of discontent at how they're using his inventions. I then run to untie him as he looks to me with a relieved smile.

Donnie: "Boy, am I glad to see you, Beautiful."

Once I untied him, I help him to stand with a smirk.

Me: "Oh no, you're not off the hook yet, Donatello Hamato. Talking helmets, shock collars, inflatable suits. Ok, that last one isn't as bad as the others. But still, what were you thinking?"

Donnie: "I was thinking that our team could use some influence to better their fighting skills."

Me: "Donnie, I understand that your heart was in the right place, but you can't change who your brothers are at heart! Each of us has our own way of fighting that's considered unique. Our uniqueness is what makes us who we are. And what we are, is a family. What's wrong with them being who they are?"

We then turn to see the others high-fiving as they walk away from an unconscious Meat Sweats and towards us.

Raph: "Donnie, thanks to Aria's plan, your gifts really brought out the best in us."

Leo: "I'm funnier."

Mikey: "I'm bouncier."

Raph: "And I'm smash-ier! Your gifts are the stuff!"

Donnie then turns to me as he realizes his mistake, as well as the point I'm trying to make. He kisses my forehead as a thanks before turning to the others.

Donnie: "Well, it wasn't quite what I expected. But Aria's right, you guys are great the way you are. Bring it in. Group hug!"

I laugh as we all share a group hug. We all freeze with fear, eyes widened in shock as Mikey's suit went off.

Mikey's Suit: "Impact imminent."

I deactivate the suit, before we all resume laughing as we walk back to the lair. With Donnie's arm wrapped around my shoulder for support after being tied up for so long, I begin to recollect everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. All in all, tonight's been pretty fun, exciting, and taught all of us a very valuable lesson. You can't change who your family is. But why would I? As far as I'm concerned, I've got the best family, and boyfriend, of them all.

End of Episode 3