#julia oc

The dishwater blonde glanced down at her watch. She couldn't help but wonder why Bebop had told her to meet him and Rocksteady behind Vinnie's Pizzeria on 29th street. The restaurant was closed since it was so early in the morning, the sun wasn't even up yet. She'd heard on the news about them breaking out of the armored van that was transporting them to a maximum-security prison, the Shredder himself also having also escaped with assistance from his Foot soldiers. She figured they were most likely on the run from the cops. "If they think I'm letting them hide out at my place, they've got another thing coming" she mumbled, glancing at her watch again.

"Julia?"

The woman turned fast at the familiar voice. "Bebop? Finally, you guys are here" She could hardly see them in the shadows since it was still quite dark outside and she had a feeling they were avoiding stepping into the light from a nearby streetlamp. But she could tell that something wasn't right. Even though she could only vaguely see their silhouettes, they were massive. Not that they were small in stature to begin with, but they seemed larger somehow. "If you two came to me looking for a place to lie low, sorry, you'll have to go looking somewhere else"

"Nah, that's not why we're here," Bebop said. "We don't have a lot of time, but, uh, well Rock wanted to see you. There's something you need to know"

"Well, what's going on? And why the hell are you standing in the dark?"

"We don't want you to freak out when you see us," Rocksteady said, his voice unusually quiet. He almost sounded worried.

"Huh? That's ridiculous" The dishwater blonde shook her head. "Just tell me what's going on, guys"

"Something went down yesterday," Bebop said excitedly. "Girl, you're not gonna believe it-!" He let the sentence hang as he finally moved into the light. "Check me out!"

Julia's eyes widened, her hands flying up to her mouth as she tried to hold back a scream. Instead of Bebop standing in front of her, there was a giant humanoid warthog. It couldn't possibly be Bebop, could it? "Oh my god!"

"Cool, right?" He definitely sounded like Bebop and she recognized his purple Mohawk and matching shades instantly. "I'm a...! What did Stockman say I was again?"

"You're a warthog, man"

"Oh yeah, I'm a warthog-man!"

"I...I don't understand..." Julia was at a loss for words, her throat feeling like it was going to close up. Her gaze shifted toward where Rocksteady was standing. "Rock?" She asked softly. "I-I want to see you..."

"Maybe that's not such a good idea-"

"Please don't be afraid to let me see you," Julia said quickly. "I won't be scared, I swear" Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. She glanced toward Bebop, still trying to wrap her mind around what was happening.

Rocksteady hesitated for a few more seconds before he sighed heavily, slowly moving into the light beside Bebop. He held his breath as Julia came face to face with his new form. "Hi, darlin'"

"Rock..." Julia slowly took a step closer. "What, who...who did this?"

"Julia-"

"Who the hell did this to you?!" She swallowed thickly. "Whose ass am I going to have to kick for this?!"

"Calm down, girl!" Bebop said. "We like being this way, right, Rock?"

"Uh...yeah..." The mutant rhino looked down at Julia anxiously.

"You..." She hesitated. "You really like this?"

"Sure do...it's awesome!" Rocksteady laughed nervously. "So, uh, what do you think?"

"I-I don't know, Rock," Julia said softly. She slowly looked him up and down, taking in his mutated appearance. He was at least three feet taller than he'd been before, towering over her and engulfing her in his shadow cast by the streetlamp. She reached up slowly, tracing her fingers along the large horn that protruded from the end of the rhino's nose. "Is this mutation permanent?"

"We don't know" Bebop shrugged. "but I sure hope it is!"

"You don't mind it, do you?" Rocksteady asked, hyper-aware of the hand that was still on his horn. He leaned into her touch and a small smile crossed her face.

"well it'll definitely take some getting used to, that's for sure. But I don't mind it"

"You don't?"

"Not at all"

Rocksteady sighed, clearly relieved. "So...you still wanna be my girl?"

"Of course I do" Julia chuckled. "After all the shit you've pulled over the years, do you honestly think you becoming a mutant rhinoceros is the thing that would drive me away?"

"Uh..." Rocksteady's ears twitched as he thought a moment. "Yes?"

Julia sighed, shaking her head. "Rock, I don't care what you look like. As long as you're happy being this way, it doesn't bother me"

"Well, that's a relief!" The mutant rhino laughed, clearly at ease. "I thought I was gonna lose ya"

"If you haven't by now, I don't think you ever will," Julia said. "And neither of you has answered my question yet. Who the hell did this to you?"

"Dr. Stockman!" Bebop said. "Well, technically it was the Shredder-"

"Wait, Shredder?! Dr. Stockman? Don't tell me you two are working for them!"

"We, uh, we kinda are," Rocksteady said. "But don't worry, we know what we're doing"

Julia sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. "I sincerely doubt that" She mumbled. "Look, I know you guys have been around the block a few times, so to speak, but Shredder is bad news, even compared to you two"

"You don't have to bother worryin' about us, Jules" Bebop said, laughing.

"I just..." She sighed again, glancing up at the rhino towering over her. "I just want you to be safe, okay? I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you two"

"It'll be alright, love" Rocksteady said, slowly reaching out and putting his hand on her cheek. "We'll be back before you know it"

The dishwater blonde smiled slightly, covering his hand with her own, a bit alarmed for a moment when she felt just how huge his hands were now. Yep, this whole mutant thing was definitely going to take some getting used to. "You'd better be. I don't want to have to hunt you down and kick your asses for making me worry"

Rocksteady chuckled. "I'll be sure to call ya, let you know how the mission is going"

Julia nodded. "Good. Where exactly are you headed, anyway?"

"Brazil!" Bebop cut in. "And speaking of that, we'd better get going, Rock. Don't want to upset the boss"

"Right" Rocksteady nodded, turning back to Julia. "Oh! I almost forgot, Beebs and I both got new phones, can't be traced easily. You have your phone with ya, darlin'?"

"Sure do," Julia said, already getting the hint as she took said phone out of her jacket pocket, punching in the numbers that Rocksteady told her.

"I'll contact you as soon as I can"

"You'd better," Julia said, a slight smile crossing her face. "Please be careful, both of you"

"We will be," Bebop said. "And don't you worry about Rock, I'll make sure he gets back to ya in one piece!"

"Thanks, Beebs, I appreciate that" She hesitated a moment before moving forward and wrapping her arms around Rocksteady as much as she could. Her smile widened when she felt his arm slip around her, doing his best not to crush her. "I love you, Rock"

"Love you too, Julia"

Bebop's phone suddenly rang, startling the three of them as Julia reluctantly pulled away from Rocksteady. The mutant warthog shrugged to quickly get his phone out of his pocket, grumbling under his breath before he finally answered it. "Hey, boss! Oh, oh yeah, we're on our way right now, don't you worry!" He hung up, glancing at Rocksteady. "We'd better get movin', man, our plane's leavin' in forty-five minutes"

"Yeah..." Rocksteady and Julia looked at each other. "I'll call you later, darlin'"

"I'll be waiting," Julia said, nodding as the two mutants lumbered off, Rocksteady glancing at her over his shoulder a few times as Bebop started babbling on about something. The rhino suddenly turned his attention to his friend, laughing and shoving him in response to whatever he'd just said.

The human woman sighed, slipping her hands in her jacket pockets as she watched them until they disappeared around the corner ahead and she couldn't see them anymore.

That afternoon, as she was putting away her dishes from lunch, her phone rang, indicating Rocksteady was contacting her through a video call. She smiled as she hit 'accept' and the familiar rhino's face appeared onscreen. "Hey, darlin'! Calling ya just like I said I would"

Julia chuckled as Bebop suddenly appeared beside him, trying to adjust the phone so they could both be in the frame.