2A/N: Anyone who's read my stories long enough will tell you that I can't enter a fandom without including an amnesia story at some point. XD Poor Casey, as if the situation wasn't messed up enough.
In April's defense, most people knew better than to go running up behind others, yelling, at night. It wasn't her fault that she had cat-like reflexes or nine years of practice with her adoptive brothers who could take a punch. Or two. To the face.
Oops.
But her point still stood, especially when something shot out of the stranger's wrist. April jumped back, but the object went just straight into the air, trailing cable for several seconds before a grapnel clattered to the ground.
"What…?"
April cautiously stepped closer to the stranger, who hadn't moved since getting hit. They were wearing a strange combination of normal clothes with various bits of armor mixed in, plus a cape that had spilled across the ground beneath them. The stranger's face had initially been hidden behind a hockey mask -painted with red crescent moons exactly like Leo's facial markings- but the mask had been knocked aside by April's strikes. Underneath, April saw the face of a boy with shaggy black hair and shadowed eyes who looked around her age. Blood dribbled from a gash in the boy's temple and one corner of the mask.
Double oops.
April looked back toward the university. She wasn't about to hang around waiting for the stranger who'd run out at her to wake up, but she couldn't exactly leave him laying on the ground. If she got the attention of a security guard, she'd leave the boy for them to deal with.
At least, that was April's plan until she glanced down again and noticed a picture sticking out of his armor. It was a picture of her, the boys, and Splinter!
April's eyes narrowed. Without another moment of hesitation, April grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him off the path. It was surprisingly easy. Despite the armor, the boy was incredibly light. She hauled in the cable and grapnel, then quickly wrapped the cable around the boy's middle to keep him somewhat restrained.
April ran back to where she'd dropped her phone and retrieved it, then returned to where she'd left the boy. With some careful adjusting of the two halves, April managed to get the screen to light up. She grinned, silently thanking Donnie for his nearly-unbreakable phones. She quickly dialed Raph, knowing she'd need help in getting the boy moved quickly.
"Yeah?" Raph answered on the second ring, sounding a bit breathless and annoyed.
"Everything okay?" April asked, worried she'd caught him at a bad time.
"Mostly," Raph grumbled, then more cheerfully. "What's up?"
"I need your help moving a body."
Raph was silent long enough for April to realize just how bad her request sounded. She smirked in amusement.
"April," Raph said slowly, "What did you do?"
"Haha, relax." April paused, glanced down. "He's still breathing."
"Why did you hesitate?!"
April winced at the yell. "Calm down, big guy. I'll explain; just meet me at the university, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, we just got back to the lair. Be there in a minute," Raph said with a sigh.
"Okay, so…" April trailed off as her phone vibrated. She took it from her ear as it powered down. "Great."
April stashed her officially dead phone in her backpack, then knelt. The boy was still bleeding, and April wondered if she should have taken care of the gash, then called Raph.
Luckily, April was used to carrying a first-aid kit around, thanks to how many cuts and bumps she and the boys got on a regular basis. She cleaned up the blood around the gash, then swiftly cleaned it with an alcohol wipe and taped gauze over it. The boy flinched at the touch, making April pause, but he didn't rouse or make a sound. She was cleaning the rest of the blood when Raph's low voice reached her.
"Over here," April said, waving a hand.
Raph ran over. He looked from the unconscious boy to April, then back.
"Who's that?" Raph asked.
"I don't know." April grabbed the picture and rose to show it to Raph. "But he's got this."
Raph frowned. "I don't remember taking that picture."
April looked at the picture more closely, just noticing that she was holding a book from the university in the picture while everyone else was clustered around her as if in celebration. She hadn't been going to the university for very long, and she definitely didn't remember taking the picture, either.
"Another question for him, I guess," April said, stashing the picture in her backpack. "But I think we should bring him back to the lair before he wakes up."
"Good idea," Raph said. He lifted the boy, then tilted his head. "This looks like Donnie's tech. And, hey, that's Donnie's logo on his cape."
April frowned, then picked up the mask from where she'd set it aside. "He's got markings like Leo's on his mask, too."
April and Raph's eyes met, then they turned and hurried toward the lair.
"Seems like overkill," Leo said not long after. "He looks harmless."
April rolled her eyes while she knotted the rope she'd used to tie one of the boy's arms to the chair. Of course the boy looked harmless, seeing as how he was still unconscious. Raph had to hold him up so he didn't slump while Mikey tied a rope around the boy's shoulders and the chair back.
"Any luck, Donnie?" April asked instead of responding to Leo.
"None," Donnie said, eyes on his gauntlet. "No facial recognition of anyone on record."
"Maybe he's from out of town," Leo suggested.
Donnie gave him a look. "My records include everyone in North America."
"...oh."
Donnie lowered his goggles, saying, "It's possible that there's mystic- sweet Galileo!"
Everyone reflexively jumped away from the boy… who still wasn't moving. April looked at Donnie, noting that he was curious and excited, but not worried.
"What is it?" Raph asked.
"He's just… covered in mystic energy!" Donnie said, inspecting the boy from all angles. "Mikey, it looks exactly like yours."
Mikey looked at his hands, then the boy. "You mean he has mystic powers like mine?"
"It's… wrapped around him, I think. It's crumbling." Donnie's voice faded into a mumble, then rose again. "No, it doesn't appear to be his. It's like he was exposed to a massive amount of mystic energy. April, did you notice him doing anything with magic?"
April shook her head.
"He looks normal without Donnie's goggles," Mikey said. "Why'd you bring him here, April?"
"Well, I said he jumped out at me," April said, digging into her pack. The brothers clustered around her. "But he also had this picture on him."
"What?" Leo shoved his head beside April's. April thought he was worried about who could have seen them, but he just grinned and said, "Who's the photographer, because I look amazing!"
One of Donnie's claws cuffed Leo on the back of the head. Pouting, Leo rubbed his head.
"Leo, focus," Raph rumbled. "Besides the picture, he's got some of Donnie's tech."
"What?" Donnie looked at Raph. "That's impossible; my work is patented."
"Maybe he had the idea fir-" Leo flinched backward, eyes going wide as he whipped out a katana. "He's alive!"
"Well, I hope so," April said drily.
Leo didn't react; he was staring past her. Suddenly realizing what Leo probably meant, April spun around.
The boy had his head up and was staring blearily at them with half-open eyes. He shifted a hand, glanced down at the restraints, then returned his gaze to them.
A long, awkward moment of silence passed.
"What?" the boy eventually mumbled.
Raph snapped to action at the word. He turned on the projector and turned the light into the boy's face, making him grimace.
"We're asking the questions here," Raph said, faking gruffness.
The boy blinked, then nodded. "Okay."
Raph faltered. "Okay?"
The boy nodded. "Okay."
April quickly took over. She waved the picture in the boy's face. "Where'd you get this picture?"
"And where'd you get my tech?" Donnie growled, pushing April aside to lean into the boy's face. "It's patented."
Before April could warn Donnie, his hand landed right on the boy's gauntlet. Or, more specifically, the release button for the grapnel. The grapnel slammed into Donnie's chin, dropping him like a sack of bricks, then shot past him toward the ceiling.
"Donnie!" Mikey yelled.
The grapnel hit the ceiling and bounced right back down!
"Look out!" April yelped.
April dove out of the way of the grapnel. She rolled to her feet, grabbing her bat as she did. Raph and Leo dove in opposite directions to avoid the grapnel and Mikey went straight to Donnie, shaking him. The grapnel continued to ricochet around the room, keeping the brothers dodging and Splinter… entertained. He didn't even leave his seat, just ate his popcorn and watched his sons almost get decapitated by a grapnel.
Finally, the grapnel bounced straight up and grabbed onto the ceiling. The cable immediately began to retract, yanking the boy -and the chair- into the air at an awkward angle.
"He's trying to escape!" Mikey cried. He jumped after the boy, but narrowly missed and hit the floor.
The boy was pulled halfway to the ceiling before the cable stopped retracting, leaving him dangling from the ceiling like a poorly hung pinata. If he hadn't looked so sincerely confused, April would have hit him again. On purpose this time. With her bat.
"That went well," Leo said from where he still laid on the floor.
"C-can we start over?" the boy requested.
"Shush," April said, waving her bat in front of his nose, making the boy cross his eyes to stare at the mystical flames. "We're talking."
The boy turned his hands outward in a "go ahead" gesture.
"First things first," April said, picking up the picture from the floor, "Where did you get this?"
The boy stared the picture, then at her. Tentatively, he said, "I don't have it?"
April rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb. You had this on you when you attacked me outside!"
"I… that explains the ropes."
"I told you to quit playing dumb," April said.
"I'm not."
"Maybe it's because he's upside-down," Leo offered.
"Also, good news, Donnie's okay," Mikey said happily.
Donnie contributed a moan.
"Guys!" April snapped. "Focus!" She turned back to the boy and waved the picture in his face. "Where did you get this?"
"Hang on," Raph said.
Raph reached past April to grab the picture. April scowled, expecting Raph, at least, to be able to focus on the problem.
"Look," Raph said, turning the picture around.
April stared at the rough sketch on the backside of the picture. It looked like some sort of totem. She didn't recognize it, but apparently the brothers did. Raph, Mikey, and even Donnie all narrowed their eyes at Leo.
Leo tapped his fingers together, then said nervously, "So, why's everyone want that, huh?"
"Maybe he knows," April said. She turned to the boy, who was patiently watching. "What's the big deal with that totem?"
"Totem?"
April rolled her eyes in exasperation. She snatched the picture back and showed the boy the sketch. He studied it for a minute, then raised his head.
"I didn't know that was there."
April was mildly impressed at how well the boy acted innocent. His expression was openly confused and his tone was asking her to explain.
"I say we go get it back," Leo said. Everyone looked at him. "What? We know where the Foot Clan is camping out right now. We can at least go check it out. You have to admit you're a little curious."
"If so many bad guys want it, then it would be a good idea to get it ourselves," Raph said grudgingly. "But we work together this time, Leo."
"Yeah, yeah," Leo said, waving Raph off.
"You said the Foot Clan?" Splinter asked, finally deciding to join the conversation.
April distractedly handed the picture to Splinter while asking the brothers, "What do we do with him?"
Raph shrugged. "Get him down at least."
"Softy," April mouthed with a grin.
"He's bled through the bandage," Raph said.
April startled. Of course hanging upside-down with a head wound was a great idea. The boy was starting to look dazed, and April couldn't help but feel a bit bad.
Raph grabbed one of the chair legs, then reached past the boy to grab the cable. He tugged twice on the cable, which caused the grapnel to open. Raph quickly moved himself and the chair out of the way of the falling grapnel, then set the chair down. April checked the boy's wound as Raph picked up the grapnel and, after a moment of silent deliberation, looped the cable around the chair leg.
"Mikey, get the first-aid kit from the office. This needs more than a patch job. And you." April crossed her arms. "So you aren't going to tell us about the totem. How about how you know us? And where did you get that picture, anyway?"
"I don't know," the boy said.
"Look, this will go a lot better for you if you just talk," April said. "Who do you work for? Are you alone?"
The boy looked around, then said, "I'm alone."
"Very convincing, he said, not at all sarcastic," Donnie said, very sarcastically.
"I'm pretty obviously alone," the boy said with an awkward grin. "I, uh… don't know where I even am."
"Good, that's what we want," April said.
The boy tapped a finger on the arm of the chair. "So, you don't know who I am?"
"If we did, would we be asking you all these questions?" April said as Mikey returned. "Hold still. Even if you're painfully annoying right now, I'm not going to let you just bleed out."
The boy blinked blankly at her, not reacting even when a drop of blood ran down the side of his face. Donnie made an uncomfortable noise and looked away.
April took the first-aid kit from Mikey. "Raph, you take over the questions."
"Okay… let's start over," Raph said. "What's your name?"
The boy opened his mouth, then closed it.
"Fishface, got it," April said sarcastically as she used a couple of butterfly bandages to hold the gash closed. "Look, you don't exactly have a lot to lose here."
"No, I… I'm not trying to hide anything," the boy said. He was starting to sound worried. "I just don't know."
"You don't know your own name?" April said skeptically.
The boy shook his head, disrupting April from wrapping a bandage around his head to hold the wad of gauze over the wound. April stepped back.
"Wait, seriously?" Raph asked.
The boy shook his head. His breathing stuttered, then he closed his eyes. Raph started to reach out, but the boy took a deep, level breath. He opened his eyes, fully focused even if he still looked uncertain.
"Do you know where you live?" Raph asked.
Another shake of the boy's shaggy head.
"Then what's the last thing you remember?"
The boy hesitated, then gestured vaguely to the room.
"April," Raph started.
"I hit him too hard," April said with a grimace.
Raph walked away, waving for April to follow. April and the brothers huddled in a circle near Splinter's chair.
"Do you believe him?" Raph asked.
"If he's lying, he's doing a good job of it," April said, shrugging.
Leo tilted his head. "What's the matter, Raph?"
"Besides this kid we've never met has a picture of us that we never took?" Raph asked drily. "I dunno. Something feels… strange."
"Strange how?" Donnie asked.
Raph shrugged. "Just a feeling."
"A feeling. Right," Donnie said. "Well, whether or not we believe him, we've got to do something with him."
"We can't leave him tied up," Mikey said.
"We can if he's dangerous," Donnie pointed out.
"I'm not dangerous!" the boy abruptly piped up.
"Stop eavesdropping," April said without turning.
"Sorry," the boy said sheepishly. "This room kinda… echoes."
"And there's the totem," Leo reminded them.
"Can we forget the totem you lost?" Donnie asked.
Leo bristled. "No. There's something important about it, I just know it."
"Hm… like Raph's feeling?" Donnie asked.
"More like if the Foot Clan wants something so bad, we should keep it from them," Leo said, uncharacteristically serious.
"I'll go with you," Splinter spoke up.
April and the brothers all looked at Splinter.
"What?" Raph asked.
"Blue is right," Splinter said. Leo practically preened at the praise. "There is something familiar about the design… so I'll go with you."
"I guess that mission's a go," Donnie said, switching sides without batting an eye.
"What about him?" Raph asked, jutting a finger at the boy, who was studying the ceiling.
"I'll stay with him and make sure he stays out of trouble," April said. "Oh, Mikey, I need to borrow your phone. Mine's broken."
Mikey handed it over.
"But do we untie him?" Raph asked.
April turned back to the boy. "Hey." When the boy looked at her, she asked, "How do you feel about staying tied up a bit longer?"
The boy shrugged as much as he could. "Okay."
"I had a feeling you'd say that." April shrugged at Raph. "I'll be fine. Besides, you guys won't be gone long. I'll call you if he tries anything funny."
"Like pull a rabbit out of my hat?"
Everyone stared at the boy for a full minute. The boy's slight smile gradually faded.
"I think I saw someone do that once," the boy said.
"Boy, you don't even have a hat," April said.
"Oh. Right."
"Ye-eah." April glanced at Raph. "Something tells me he won't be any trouble."
"You need a name," April said a few minutes later.
The boy blinked at April. "What do you mean?"
"A name. Something to call you until you remember your name."
The boy shrugged slightly. "You've been calling me 'you' and 'boy.'"
"That isn't a name."
The boy tilted his head, completely unconcerned by his lack of a name.
April studied him for a minute before commenting, "You're pretty calm about all this."
"About what?"
April gestured vaguely at the ropes and chair, then the lair in general.
"Well," his head tilted the other way, "At least nothing's trying to eat me."
April snorted. "Good one."
"Good what?" the boy asked, still… concerningly sincere.
April walked quickly away, telling herself to focus on one problem at a time. For now, the boy needed a name.
"Frank? Kirby? Angus?" April shook her head. "No, it's my fault he can't remember; I'm not nicknaming him after a cow."
Deciding she needed someone unbiased to the situation, April pulled out Mikey's phone. Before walking away, she pointed a jokingly severe finger at the boy.
"I'll be right over there. Don't go anywhere, got it?"
The boy nodded with a smile. He seemed to settle into the chair.
April stared at him for a second, noting that the rope around his right wrist was noticeably loose. How long had it taken him to get it that far, considering April hadn't noticed until then?
She'd figure it out later. April tightened the rope so it was snug, ignoring the boy's kicked-puppy look. She went to the corner of the room for a bit of privacy and texted Cassandra.
"This is April. I need a favor, but you can't ask why."
The response was immediate. "Shovels or body bag?"
"CASSANDRA"
"A less severe situation, then?"
"Yes. I need a boy name."
"Casey."
April rolled her eyes. "You can't name everything after you."
"Why not? Donnie does."
April stared at the response for a minute. Well, Cassandra wasn't wrong…
April turned to the boy to find him watching her. "Hey, how does calling you 'Casey' until you remember your name sound?"
The boy nodded amiably. "Okay."
April shook her head in disbelief at the boy, then texted Cassandra back, "Fine, I'll use it."
A/N: Ending this here because I just wanted to make the joke about Cassandra naming amnesiac Casey and coincidentally using his actual name. Everything else was written to set the scene. :D