Alternate Allure

The Shellraiser screeches to a halt in front of the lair door, its metal frame rattling from the abrupt stop. From the side of the truck, you hear a panicked yell-

THUD!

Something-or someone-hits the tunnel floor with a solid faceplant. Don leans out the open door just in time to see the wannabe hero dude eat concrete. Ouch. Donnie's already halfway out the vehicle.

"We've got a problem..." He calls. "MC, I need a checkup out here! Now!"

You pop your head out, eyebrows furrowing as you catch Donnie crouched next to the crumpled human pancake on the floor.

"What the hell...?" You hop down with the rest of the guys close behind. Dropping to your knees next to Dee, you look between him and the boy in disbelief. "How the hell did he get here?!"

Donnie gently taps the guy's shoulder. "Hey, can you hear me? You alright?"

"Uh... sure" The Pulverizer's eyes flutter open, face still half-smashed into the tunnel floor. "You can survive with just one kidney, right?"

You and Donnie lock eyes, both of you wearing the exact same 'what the fuck did he just say?' expression. You try to stay calm while running your hands over his costume for anything cracked, bleeding, or otherwise not where it should be.

"Okay, buddy" You ask, gently prodding around his head. No blood, so that's a win. Probably. "What's your name? You remember that at least?"

"Uhhh... Timothy?" He blinks at you, super slow.

You let out a half-relieved sigh. "Cool. Nice to meet you, Tim. You're probably not dying. Just a little banged up. Maybe concussed"

"Great" Raph mutters. "First this guy ruins our beatdown with the Purple Dragons, now he knows where we live?"

"Oh, no problem" Still dazed, the boy waves a hand dismissively. "I blacked out most of the way here"

You slowly pull your hands off his head. "Yeah... that's not as comforting as you think it is"

Donnie groans under his breath, grabbing your arm to help you stand, before spinning back toward the boy. "Okay, back up-how do you even know we exist?"

"Oh! Saw you months ago! Well, not you-" He waves vaguely in your direction. "-but the turtles! You guys were fighting some big robot-man! It was awesome!" He gestures wildly at Leo as he recounts it. "You were like, 'let's finish this!'. And then you-" He jabs a finger at Raph. "-were all, 'You're going down!' And then he-" He flails both arms at Mikey. "-was like, 'BEEEEES!' "

You stifle a laugh at Mikey's scowl. Raph just shakes his head.

"Oh! And you!" Tim turns toward Donnie, looking at him with a sparkly-eyed grin. "You were the strong, silent type. Super cool"

Mikey leans toward Raph, whispering not-so-quietly, "Dudes. We have a stalker"

"Wow. Took you that long to figure it out?" You mutter under your breath.

"You inspired me to become a hero!" Tim grins proudly. "I saw you guys, and I thought: 'what have they got that I haven't got?' "

"Years of training under a grand Master of ninjutsu?" Donnie shoots back.

The boy shakes his head confidently. "An awesome costume!" He tugs proudly at his janky foam suit, which is now half-ripped and covered in Shellraiser grease. "Where'd you get yours, by the way?"

"Uh, we're not wearing costumes?" Donnie stares at him, unimpressed. "We're mutants"

"Riiiiight." He stands there for half a second before he straight up walks over and pokes Mikey's arm and then his shell. "Sick! How do I do that?"