April O'Neil

Name: April O'Neil
Nicknames: Red, Ape and Copper Top (She reeeally hates those last two!)

Age: 23

Affiliates: The Turtles/Master Splinter/Casey Jones



Standing at 5'5" and weighing around 125 lbs, most would consider April 'small', but her larger than life personality more than makes up for that. She has natural red hair that is usually kept an average length, and half the time is tied up, especially during the warmer months. Her red hair compliments her green eyes beautifully. Light freckles are scattered sparingly across her face and shoulders. 'A red-head's curse', but she got off lucky.  Another red-head's curse is her pasty pale complexion that was the topic of cruel ridicule for teenage girls during her high-school years.

The good thing about being in her line of work and in the public eye is that April gets to wear nice clothes on occasion for special reports... but nothing too expensive. Like most young New Yorkers. she is on a budget and money is tight.  When the occasion doesn't call for something flashy, she works the field in a yellow jumpsuit. Whenever she is not behind the lens of a camera, April is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but loves jogging pants and work out shirts even more... it's all about comfort! Sneakers are her shoes of choice, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't know how to trade them for high heels when the time calls. She looks quite breathtaking in a yellow dress, too.

Other than pierced ears, April has no other body modifications such as outlandish and noticeable piercings, or tattoos. She figures her freckles are enough 'skin decoration'.




Strong willed and independent, April O'Neil has a 'take charge personality' and is a real 'people person'. The red-head is witty  and outgoing, and very curious by nature. It's that curiosity and sense of adventure that often times lands her in trouble. She stands firm on her beliefs and doesn't let the opinions of others effect her own.

April is also very loving and nurturing. She has always chalked this up as being an older sister, and spending so much time worrying about her and their less than conventional father. She is very protective over her friends and family and will defend them, even if it means putting herself in danger.. or worse. These quirks were only heightened when a family of mutants and a certain vigilante came into her life.


Being so humble and down to earth, it is easy to pass April off as the 'girl next door', but there's more to her than meets the eye. The red-head is quite intelligent and has a vast understanding of technology which helped her during her earlier job as a computer programmer. Her love for a good mystery would send her down a different path, however.





April grew up in a single-parent household where her constant was her father, Kirby, and younger sister Robyn O'Neil. Her mother left when she was very young. Her father was a  psychologist and aspiring artist that struggled to provide for his two daughters. His job kept him away from home a lot which forced April to grow up fast, and she took on the mother role for her younger sister. Being the sole provider of two young daughters, Kirby decided to sculpt his love for antiques into another source of income and opened an antique shop called 'Second Time Around' below his apartment.  


After graduating high school, April had mixed feelings about leaving 'the nest' and pursuing a career as an engineer, but after encouragement from her father and the relentless reassurances that he would be okay, April went away to fulfill her dreams. Besides, Robyn would be there to make sure that their overworked father remembered to brush his teeth, and went to bed at a decent hour instead of falling asleep in his studio.


To pay her own way through college, April put forth her knowledge of technology and became a computer programmer at a nearby shop. It paid better than the typical waitressing that girls her age seemed to be doing. Besides, April could never see herself as a 'server'.


During her early college years, April's love for journalism was resurrected and magnified, and this set the tone for her targeted career change. She also loved a good mystery, and solving and writing reports on her findings was always fun. At the age of 21, the red-head landed a job with Channel 6 news. It paid more than computer programming and was certainly more mentally stimulating. There was only so much you could learn about computers, after all. The great mystery that was known as New York and its breaking stories kept the young woman on her toes and engaged. It was fun not knowing what would happen from one day to the next. Life hardly ever became boring. During her first few months there, April met Irma Langinstein, the receptionist, and the two became best friends.

During this time, her father mysteriously disappeared and after searching for two years, all leads turned up as dead ends. Devastated, April moved back to the apartment to take care of things, and to keep 'Second Time Around' open for his devoted customers. It was one way to keep his memory alive, but she hoped that someday he would return and take back over. She hopes and clings to the hope that someday she will know what happened, but suspects that he went looking for their mother and obviously something went horribly wrong.


At twenty-three, April landed a story covering a place called Stocktronics, an empire built by the mastermind Baxter Stockman. This story was ideal for her. She would be combining her two passions and the place was more exciting than Disneyworld to a geek!  Stockman's technology was so advanced that he would certainly become a 'God' of his time. Noticing April's interest, Stockman invited her to hang out and tour his facility hours before the cameras were scheduled to roll. During this time, the red-head discovered how brilliant the man was, if not a little crazy. But there was a method behind the madness, or so she thought.

Among the many nifty inventions that the place had to offer were the MOUSERS. Little robotic devices with intimidating jaws that walked on two 'legs'. To her, they looked like mini t-rexes, minus the stubby arms and long tails. Their jaws were certainly as menacing as what she considered their dinosaur counterpart. Stockman explained that the robots had been created to control New York's ever growing rodent problem. Soon, they would be sent down into the sewer system to flush out and kill vermin. April had mixed feelings about this. Even thought rodents were pests and certainly a growing problem, being ripped apart by those metallic jaws seemed like a cruel way to go. There had to be a better alternative, but she would soon discover that Stockman had other intentions for his little creations.


During her visit, one of the facility's computers malfunctioned, setting production back. While Stockman was perfectly capable of fixing the problem himself, the man asked April to have a look at it. She was skilled in this department, after all. No need for him to tend to the 'little' things if he could have someone else do it. What the Mad Scientist wasn't counting on was April's curiosity. The computer was certainly an easy fix, and being left alone to 'work' granted the reporter time to snoop. While searching through the computer's files, she accidentally pulled up a web cam that had been attached to one of the MOUSERS during their 'maiden voyage'. The woman was expecting to see rodents being massacred, but that wasn't the case at all. She watched on as they tore through the floor of a bank and broke into the vault with the greatest of ease, filling their jaws with the citizens life savings. Shocked, April took a step back and stumbled into the madman himself. Now that she knew his secret, Stockman felt he had no choice but to kill her.


April sprinted away from the building, but a horde of the little robots were sent after her. She would suffer the cruel fate that she thought the city's rats would face. Scared for her life, the red-head found herself in the sewers, but the robots were unrelenting. Soon her back was against a dead end wall with nothing but her frantically swinging handbag to protect her. Never did she think that anyone would come to her rescue down here, but her 'angel' came in the most unlikely form. A huge mutant turtle garbed in a red 'dew rag' bandana. The shock of seeing him caused April to pass out, and she woke to four green faces and a furry rat hovering over her.


As the months past, April became close to her new adopted family, and she became very protective over them. She took on the role as big sister and has treated more of their wounds than she can recount. Her doors or 'windows' are always open to them. Raphael has crashed on her couch many times after a heated argument with Leonardo drove him away from home in order to cool down. She doesn't mind the company, however, having all four at once can certainly be a handful!


Through the Turtles, April met Casey Jones, a hockey stick wielding vigilante with a heart of gold. The man was a little rough around the edges and hardly ever said the right thing, but there was a certain charm about him that April found herself drawn to. Their friendship is still in the early stages, and a slight awkwardness evident, but the man certainly knows how to put a smile on April's face.



April is in the beginning stages of her training with Master Splinter. After forming a friendship with the Hamato Clan, the old rat decided that it would be beneficial for her to be able to defend herself. The Turtles have sworn to always protect her, but it's impossible to do so 24/7. She needs to be prepared. Just knowing them puts her life and danger. She is certainly no ninja by any means, but knows a few moves that will give her a better chance against thugs that call the streets home. She hopes that someday she can hold her own against the Foot. Big dreams, but nothing is impossible! Master Splinter is teaching her to master the Tessen, a war fan with metal 'ribs' hidden on one side, spiked at the tips. Beautiful yet deadly, it seemed to be the perfect fit for the young woman.

April prefers not to fight, but won't hesitate to defend herself or loved ones if a danger presents itself.




:::~Likes~:::

*The Turtles and Splinter


* Pop music

* Computers and technology

* Italian Food

* Yogurt

* The color yellow.

* A nice cozy fire place and a good book.

* Warm fleece blankets.

* Casey Jones.

* Her crazy conversations with Irma.



:::~Dislikes~:::


* Stocktronics.

* Baxter Stockman.

*Her Boss.

*People that downgrade her opinions.

* The Purple Dragons.

* Being called Freckles, Copper Top, and Ape.

* Cold Pizza.








2:08 AM


April took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she took in the sweet, heavenly scent of her hot chocolate. Waiting on the beverage to cool was certainly agonizing, but it was one of the many things that she enjoyed about this time of year. Well, you could enjoy hot chocolate year around, but it just wasn't the same nor was it desirable in the middle of a heat wave. Yeah. Chilly October nights was the perfect time to indulge in its deliciousness. Blowing across the still steaming drink, the red-head finally braved a light sip, slightly burning her tongue. Obviously she needed to wait a bit longer, and with a sigh, placed it on the small end table beside the recliner that she was inhabiting for now. The room was cloaked in darkness, except for the soft glow of the nearby end table's small lamp. The woman was adorned in her soft, comfy PJ's, her red hair tied behind her head. A journal was clinched in her hands, deciding to add tonight to her ever growing entries since sleep was eluding her once again.




'It's 2 AM... do you know where your Turtle is?'


'It happened again, unfortunately. Two hours ago I heard the knock at my window and knew it was going to be another long night. I always know what.. I mean *who* to expect when I pull back my curtains over the sink in my kitchen. Raphael. And sometimes another of his brothers but more times than not, it's the bad-boy of the clan that rescued me months ago. It funny how quickly you can become a part of someone's lives, so much so that they seek you out when their world is spiraling. Even though Raphael would seem the toughest of his brothers and the least likely to look for comfort.. aka.. *me*, he has the hardest time dealing with things and his emotions.  One thing that I've learned from these extraordinary brothers is that like most siblings, there are rivalries. This seems more intense between Leo and Raph. It's almost as if they're trying to establish a hierarchy, even though Leo is the appointed Leader. I guess it must be difficult with that much testosterone being confined underground, and when tempers flare, the evidence can usually be found sleeping on my couch...'


April's gaze drifted over to the lump that inhabited her couch, buried beneath a few blankets. Only a large green two toed foot was visible, protruding from beneath the numerous covers. The sight earned a quiet chuckle from the red head. It was amazing that he could even fit on her small couch, but the red-clad turtle always refused to take her bed when she generously offered. She was much smaller, after all, and could comfortably sleep on the couch, But Raphael wouldn't have it.  



'Normally teenagers this age would be trying to find their place in the world, but confined to what they are, the brothers will need each other far more than human siblings ever could...'


April paused for a moment, thinking about her younger sister, Robyn. The girl had left the nest while April was away at collage, choosing to find her own way and moved out to California. She rarely kept in touch, and stalking the youngest O'Neil's social media revealed why. Her beautiful natural red hair had been bleached out blonde, and she had become quite the partier. April always entertained the idea of Robyn meeting Michelangelo. She could see those two becoming best friends, but she knew that exposing the Turtles to anyone was out of the question. Deep down, April knew that Robyn's downward spiral was due to their father's disappearance. They both dealt in their own way.



'Tonight, I treated busted and bleeding sinuses as best as I could, despite the protests of Raphael. I'm no doctor by any means, but I know enough.. and it's a good thing. Donatello is the family medic, along with being so much more, but I guess he is lacking that motherly touch. Maybe in time the two oldest brothers can figure out a way to co-exist. Maybe this is just that rough patch in their lives where their egos are too swollen for their own good. Until then, and even after-- I will be here to help pick up the pieces.'