Domeplayer
Catra kept her eyes closed and her breathing soft and slow, kneeling beside Master Splinter in the dojo, attempting to block out all noise even as her ears twitched, keeping her hands folded on her lap with her fingers linked in the gaps. She was meditating and calming her soul.
When she had asked him to stop holding back on her training, he agreed, seeing the fires of determination in her eyes. She didn’t realize that meditating was one of those aspects, though it might help her relax and calm her thoughts more if it gets more extreme.
She didn’t know how long they were meditating, but it was enough of an outcome to sense something new; usually, she would feel the calm of the emptiness she usually experiences when cutting off everything. But, it was slowly starting to feel like she could sense the universe around it and some of the power it could hold. She knew not to fear it but respect it.
It lasted all about ten seconds as the image in her mind shattered, ears twitching in annoyance hearing Mikey in the next room, “Guys, guys, get in your spot!
“Why…” Catra groaned, falling onto her face with a pout, tail drooped on the ground in disappointment. Then, tilting head slightly to look back at Splinter, “And I just got a new feeling but lost it….”
“As long as you can remember that sensation, you’re making progress. We can stop our training here for today,” Splinter sighed, hearing Catra’s brothers yelling about something. A small smile graced his face and helped her to her feet, “Come, let’s see what trouble they’re getting into now.”
Keeping their footsteps quiet as possible, not to alert them, they entered the large center room, which was currently a mess. A dozen empty pizza boxes lay around on the ground and some on the couches, same with soda cans. Now she was getting hungry from just looking.
Catra blinked and pointed quietly, “How did they make that in silence?”
The object of interest was a large wooden ramp that reached near the ceiling; Mikey was at the top holding his skateboard, while Donnie, Raph, and Leo were crouched before the ramp. Questioning how Mikey had seemingly talked them into performing the stunt.
They must have been skating around in the lair; Catra loves to skate as well but knew better than not in here.
“I’m equally impressed and disappointed,” Splinter shook his head, planting a look of anger on his face; Catra knew the others were going to get a lecture. Instead, watching as Splinter chose to call out as Mikey started descending the ramp, “What is going on here?!”
“Sensei!” Leo stood up in alarm alongside Donnie and Raph, though seeing the smirk on Catra’s face as she pointed behind them.
Mikey, for some reason, only alerted his presence to them when he was nearly on top of them, “Whoa!”
Catra snickered, watching them all tumble to the ground in a pile, seeing them groan from the unexpected impact, “Guys, we’re ninjas. You’re supposed to be good at noticing your surroundings.”
“How many times have I told you not to skateboard in the lair?” Splinter raised his eyebrow as she stared down at them.
Mikey was upside down on top of Donnie and Raph’s shells; Leo had managed to avoid the tumble as he was beside the on his stomach, having jumped at the last second. Mikey seemed confused as he looked at Splinter, “None, Sensei.”
“I shouldn’t have to tell you.” Splinter shouted.
‘I have a feeling if I had joined them, I’d be in trouble too, glad I focused on training instead,’ Catra sighed, silently watching as her brothers stood up.
“You’re right, Sensei,” Leo stood up with the others behind him, giving a slight bow of their heads as an apology, “We definitely should have known better, and we deserve to be punished. Eh, some.”
Splinter subtly winked at Catra before he leaned close to Leo while stroking his small beard in thought, “And what do you think would be a fitting punishment?”
“Well, uh, we—” Leo tried looking for support in Catra and their brothers, but she ignored his plea as the others pretended to be interested in other things. Finally, Leo gave a weak response, “We should clean up our mess? And then think about what we did?”
Catra raised her eyebrow and folded her arms, watching as they agreed, tail swaying while pointing a claw at them, “We’re teenagers, not toddlers. That’s just getting a tap on the wrist and getting off scot-free.”
“Very well, what do you think their punishment should be?” Splinter grinned at her; Donnie, Raph, Mikey, and Leo panicked at what her decision would be.
“They should still clean up their mess,” Catra shrugged gently, making them feel relieved, if only for a few seconds before grinning, “Maybe also be grounded for a week?”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s–”
“I’m cool with the thinking.”
“Really, that’s not necessary.”
“Maybe next time.”
“You’re grounded for a week!” Splinter agreed with Catra’s choice watching them all deflate and groan, though Raph gave a half-hearted glare. Like he was impressed but also annoyed.
Catra stared past them as the whole ramp leaned to the side before crashing to the ground and breaking apart; Catra rubbed her ear in annoyance at the noise.
Catra laid on one of the couches, head being supported by a pillow while she messed around with her phone, primarily messaging April. It might be the only thing she uses it for, but at April’s suggestion, the next time they meet up, she’s going to be putting a bunch of apps she said she might enjoy.
Mikey was lying down nearby, too, on the floor that connects to the back of the headrest, reading his comic upside down. Donnie was working on something in the lab, and she wasn’t allowed to know what he was making as it was supposed to be a surprise. She figured it had something to do with the chip they found the other day.
Then there was Leo and Raph, who weren’t doing much; one of them was sitting down with his elbow on his knee and resting his head on his hand. The other was pacing back and forth in annoyance and doing his best not to let all his anger out at the moment. So it was easy to tell who was who.
“Gah! This bites! I can’t believe we’re stuck down here for a whole week!” Raph finally voiced his frustrations but tried it more gently than bashing a dummy. Pointing at Catra, “Why did you even suggest it?”
“Firstly, It didn’t matter if I suggested it or not. He was going to ground you for a week regardless,” Catra put down her phone and turned her head to stare at him, “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Raph put a finger up to argue but, after a few seconds of thought, grumbled in agreeance, “What’s your second point then?”
“Well, it was more of a personal annoyance as I think I was beginning to grasp the same level of meditation as Splinter,” Catra sat up, still having a hold of the feeling. Then pointing at the three of them, “Then we heard the noise out here.”
“Oh, then, sorry about that, sis,” Leo cringed while listening to her words, amazed at how fast she was learning now. Raph seemed to relax a tiny bit, sitting down on the other end of the couch. But both their curiosities were piked as Leo asked, “So, what did it feel like?”
“Like I could feel the universe around me, and I have to respect its power, not fear it. I’m sure I’ll feel more next time,” Shrugging gently and explained it the best she could. She did notice that Raph still seemed bored, “How bored can you be?”
“Guys! Guys!” Raph ran into the room from the lab in excitement, “You wanna see what I made?”
“This is how bored I am,” Raph answered quietly to her, facing Donnie was faux joy, “Yes, Donnie. I do.”
“Ok, ok, ok!” Donnie couldn’t contain his excitement as he looked between them all, “Remember the other day I was scrounging in that military junkyard?”
The response he got was three unanimous ‘no’s’ and one ‘yes.’ Leo, Raph, and Mikey looked at Catra confused, so she answered, “I was with him. April informed us to see if we’d be interested.”
“And was she right?” Leo questioned with his intrigue rising, Raph was the same, but Mikey kept focused on his comic.
“Well, we found a chip, but Donnie probably could explain exactly what it does.” Catra turned towards Donnie; she knew the chip was unique, but didn’t know how special.
“The microchip we found has an incredibly advanced A.I., made from, Get this! Self-assembled-chain-linked copolymers!” Donnie shouted excitedly, going into detail about it; Catra managed to understand some of it as she does help sometimes build though it left them speechless.
Luckily Mikey paid attention for a short second before returning to his comic as he said, “That’s my favorite kind of copolymer.”
“Mine too! And I used it to make this.” Donnie grinned and revealed a small device.
It was large enough to be hand-held as its design which Catra seemed to have a flat top with a screen that was glowing bright blue; the underside was like a shell. Having a few similar symbols of a pause and stop, it didn’t take long for Catra to figure it out.
Tail swishing as she stood up and grabbed it from his hands with joy, his hold was loose on it, having already calculated her reaction, “You used it to make a music player? Awesome!”
It was about one or two weeks ago that Donnie had overheard Catra and April listening to music from her laptop, showing Catra all kinds of music, enjoying quite a few. April had suggested buying her an iPod to listen to music, but Catra insisted it was fine to listen together on the laptop.
So Donnie made it and put two songs on there; one was a song Catra enjoyed, one she didn’t.
Catra didn’t miss the look in his eye, smirking and flashing a fang, “Though, does anyone else want to listen to the music first?”
“I do! Toss me the Tpod.” Mikey agreed before Donnie could intervene, silently sighing, knowing his prank on Catra had already failed. But since it was Mikey, it guaranteed a good reaction.
“Tpod? I rather call it the DomePlayer.” Catra shrugged and tossed it to him; Mikey’s naming was sometimes interesting. But she wasn’t going to agree to Tpod if it’s going to be Turtle Pod.
Mikey wondered about the name and agreed with her, “Sounds radical. I’m going to make you the vice-president of nicknames.”
“Yay.” Catra cheered unenthusiastically.
“You’re really gonna plug an advanced piece of military technology directly into Mikey’s head?” Raph gazed at Donnie, unsure while tapping his head, before gesturing to Mikey, “What if it melts his brain?”
“It won’t. I made it perfectly safe as it is a gift for Catra,” Donnie smiled and crossed his arms, though from the skeptical looks he got from them, even Catra as she knows not all his inventions work. All were turned to Mikey as he hadn’t paid attention as he put the earphones in, “And even if it did, who’d know the difference?”
“I love the gift, but if it melts his brain, I don’t think I can accept it.” Catra joked as her ears twitch, watching with anticipation.
Mikey slowly moved his finger to the play button as if it was some magical item, but what he got when he played it wasn’t, “Ahhhhh!”
Catra’s ears twitched as she could barely hear a song she could scarcely stand, only accepting it if April wanted to listen, “Glad I avoid that prank.”
‘Yeah, I need to work on my facial expressions not to give it away,” Donnie sighed with a laugh as they watched Mikey’s reaction.
Raph even gave a soft chuckle, “Oh, this is the best.”
“How long are we going to leave him like this?” Leo grinned.
“Make it stop! Make it stop!” Mikey’s shouting started to irritate Catra’s ears as she stepped forward and skipped the song. The beat changed to an incredible tempo, “Thanks.”
“Please tell me we aren’t going to watch him dance….” Catra muttered as she and her brothers just watched Mikey starting to get into the groove, though the noises were unnecessary. Groaning and going to the nearby wall, picking up her skateboard and sliding Raph his, “I’m bored, and this isn’t going to cure it. So I’ll keep quiet about this.”
“Something we can agree,” Raph stomped on the front of his board, causing it to spin up into his grasp. Moving to walk up the steps with Catra, “We need to work on your moves anyway.”
“Where are you going? We’re grounded.” Leo reached to stop them, but his response seemed lackluster.
“Technically, I’m not, and I don’t care if you sneak out,” Catra shrugged and crossed her arms, tapping her claws on her elbow, “I just rather skate about since I’m bored.”
“Weren’t you messaging April earlier? Can’t you still do that?” Donnie wondered.
Catra shook her head, having a slight pout, “No, she needs sleep as she has an assignment due tomorrow. When we get to the skate spot, can you record so I can show her?”
“Sure, she might enjoy seeing you fail at something.” Donnie chuckled, dodging a swipe for his head. Catra shook her head, embarrassed.
“Skate spot?” Despite having the music blasting into his ears, Mikey managed to hear what they discussed as he pumped his hand into the air, “I’m totally in!”
Leo turned his head to look back towards the dojo, facing them again, shrugging his shoulders while gesturing to the training room, “But what’s Splinter gonna say?”
“‘I don’t know what’s going on,” Raph tried intimidating Splinter's voice, though the voice wouldn’t match the goofy faces accompanying them, “‘Because they snuck out while I was asleep.’”
“Heh. Real mature,” Leo didn’t look amused with his eyes half-closed with annoyance, crossing his arms. Then, pointing at them as if he had found the solution, “But I’m your leader. And as your leader, I say nobody’s going.”
“You do realize that even though you’re the leader,” Catra causally explained, smirking showing her fang as Donnie and Mikey moved and joined her and Raph, “We’re heading out regardless.”
“W-Well as your leader, I’m going with you, to lead you,” Leo nervously replied, his eyes darting back and forth, denying the real reason he was going, “Away from bad stuff.”
“Just say you want to skate as well; no harm in saying so,” Raph laughed at Leo’s response.
Mikey’s shout of horror alerted them again, but it turns out he got spooked by Polka again, “We’ve got to get some more tunes on this!”
“You’re all going to have to deal with my taste of music at some point.” Catra grinned, planning to add songs later.
Catra was tempted to skate along the rooftops as they ran along, but her skills with a skateboard were less impressive than her brothers. So she stayed away from that idea; while she was interested in skating, she enjoyed other interests. But it didn’t stop her from jumping off objects, walls, or anything she could easily climb, even using her Nodachi to try to get some style points.
Only Mikey was skating along with ease, being the best out of them. Performing all different stunts while listening to the relaxed tempo, Catra figured he had the song on replay. Jumping the gap between buildings, gazing at Leo, “Where are we headed?”
“Found a new spot on patrol the other night, a few rails there we can grind on,” Leo whispered, trying to be silent as ninjas, but there wasn’t much point. New York has plenty of other loud noises to deal with, “Shouldn’t be anyone there at this time.”
“Hey, Donnie, Catra!” Mikey shouted and proved Catra’s point, as her curiosity was piqued at his following words, “Thanks for all the new songs!”
“Wait, what new songs?” Donnie questioned as he was perplexed as this development, turning to Catra, “Did you add any?”
“I was going to later, so I don’t understand.” Catra’s ears shivered as a blast of wind collided with them jumping another gap.
“Keep it down, you guys!” Leo whispered loudly.
Catra pounced on the air-vent and used it as a jump-point to leap backward, landing in a handstand on top of Mikey's shell. Then, keeping her grip with her claws as her eyes landed on the screen, “No way.”
“What’s happening?” Donnie asked her while running alongside Mikey, as he didn’t have a precise angle.
“It has about a thousand songs already, and it’s still downloading with each second,” Catra briefly explained, eyes scanning through songs name to find any that interest her.
“So? I might need some explaining here.” Raph had joined on the other side of Mikey, impressed at Catra’s balance.
“So, I didn’t program it to do that. It’s reconfiguring itself somehow,” Donnie rubbed his chin in concentration before concluding. Pointing towards the DomePlayer, “It’s that chip!”
“You did say it was an advance A.I,” Catra wondered in thought, deciding to test something to see if it makes her an idiot or a genius, “DomePlayer, can you hold off on the downloading for now. I want a chance to listen to music, so for now, keep them in a log for me to inspect later? Please?”
The response was almost instant as the screen flashed green in response to her request; the downloading stopped as the DomePlayer created another file. It had a log of songs names for her to check later and decide whether to download or not. Donnie's eyes widened, “Fascinating, I never expected it to be this advanced.”
“Whatever it is,” Mikey started as Catra leaped from his shell to start running again, jumping off a small ramp, “It’s awesome!”
“Guys! We’re ninjas, remember?” Leo's whispering shouting was loud enough to be heard from lower rooftops, taking a lower route. Having listened to the whole conversation, “We move swiftly, and here’s the most important part, silently.”
What occurred next was far from quiet as with a quick shout, he fell off the roof as he ignored his path, crashing through the glass roof of a greenhouse—shouting in fear of bees as he crashed out the other side before falling down the fire escape landing on each platform. Landing in the trash below, unharmed but dazed and embarrassed.
“That wasn’t very silent, Leo,” Raph called out jokingly.
“Hey, Mikey, can I have the DomePlayer,” Catra asked, holding her hand out, not taking no for an answer, “If I’m going to skate, I want to listen to something.”
“Sure, sis, I might lose it if I hold onto it any longer,” Mikey readily agreed as he passed it towards her.
Catra swiped through the songs as they raced along to the location, as Leo had rejoined them. Then, picking a piece of music to listen to while learning to grind, they stopped at the roof edge as they looked towards the square. There was a whole set of stairs and rails out in front of a large building; the best part was nobody was around.
“Got to say, Leo, you found a good spot for us to skate,” Raph admitted as he was crouched down on the edge.
Hearing the grinding of metal, she looked down towards the street, spying something wearing a simple put-together armor, “That’s not usual attire, you see.”
“Who is that guy?” Donnie had his eyebrow raised.
“I don’t know,” Raph had a silent glare towards the slow-moving man, “But he needs a beat down.”
“Hold on, Raph, we don’t know that he’s gonna do anything wrong,” Leo halted Raph’s movement with a good reason; however, he couldn’t come up with anything further. Giving a nervous joking answer, “He-He could be on his way to church?”
“Wearing powered battle armor?” Raph laughed with a raised hand towards the man, feeling amused, “What kind of church is that?”
“A really awesome one!” Mikey interjected.
“Maybe he’s a brotherhood of steel recruit?” Catra suggested, tail swaying, smirking, joining in as well, “Though his armor is in shambles.”
“You’re really obsessed with anything about that game. We could always try and search if anyone threw away a console with the game?” Donnie recommended having witnessed April introduce her to gameplay videos, both having an affinity for them.
“I doubt someone would throw it away. Besides, we have something else to deal with,” Catra pointed to the man, who was slow from awkward walking as he entered the alleyway.
“Look, it’s my call,” Leo sighed, not seeing what was happening, “I decide who gets a beat down.”
“He’s currently trying to melt the lock of a garage,” Catra spoke flatly.
“That guy needs a beat down,” Leo replied in an instant.
“Yeah, have fun with beating up the brotherhood of steel knockoff. I’m going to swing by April's to make sure she is asleep, though if she isn't, we’ll listen to music,” Catra shrugged, deciding to leave her brothers to deal with this job. Then, pressing her tail on the play button of a song waving, “You’ll either see me later or tomorrow.”
As Catra raced off, the DomePlayer heard every word, installing songs from the franchise and learning everything it could about Fallout.