Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Declan? Come on, sweetheart. This is the third time this has happened in the past week. Time to wake up."

Declan lifted his head, his vision blurring, then lowered it again with a groan. His mother gave a quiet sigh, the kind that often showed she was frustrated, and reached out a cool palm to press against her son's head. It was alarmingly hot to the touch.

"Declan." Her voice was firmer this time. "Honey, you're burning up. I think it's high time you put your studies aside and get some rest."

Declan sat up and flopped back against his chair, groaning in exasperation. "Mom, I don't have time to rest. This paper is due tomorrow morning."

His mother moved to the kitchen counter, and switched the kettle on. She dodged between the open cupboards, removed the plate of cold soup from the microwave, and closed the fridge door that had been left open for longer than ten minutes. "And if you don't rest, you won't be able to write another word on that paper. You know why you're in this condition, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Declan pushed his pale blond hair out of his eyes. It was dyed, and he'd kept it that way since he started college. "Stress. You don't need to remind me."

"Contrary to popular belief, I do." Declan's mother pulled up a chair and sat down, her eyes shining. Her voice was firm, but her smile was kind. "Honey, I've been through college. I know what it's like, and sometimes I had to put my health first. When the stress builds up and you go to bed late, it compromises your immune system and leaves you suspect to illness. So you need to close the books and get to bed."

"You came here for a reason, right?" Declan asked with a yawn, pulling himself up with a great effort. "Not just to lecture me on all-that-is-holy about sleep? I'm not trying to be an ass, mom, it's just... I'm kinda sick of the whole 'Declan you can't be an engineer if you don't heed my scientific wisdom.' No offence."

His mother smiled uneasily in an attempt to hide that she was a little offended. "Well... in all honesty, I did come for that reason, but not that alone. I need to ask a favor."

Declan grabbed the kettle and went to pour boiling water into a mug, but accidentally poured it on the counter. He didn't seem to notice. "Yeah... which is?"

His mother seized the kettle and put it back in it's rightful place. "I think you've had enough coffee. Now, how do I explain this... you know who I work for, don't you?'

"I don't know, Saxophone someone..."

"Eric Sachs, honey. He's the CEO of Sachs Industries, and a brilliant scientist. I've been honored enough to be selected to work alongside him on his newest project."

"Uh-huh." Declan turned and walked out of the kitchen. "So, what does this have to do with me?"

His mother shifted uneasily. "We'll get to that in a moment. Sweetheart, I need to have a look at those pet turtles of yours."

Declan stopped in his tracks, then slowly turned to his mother. "No."

"Darling-"

"No, don't you dare start me on the 'darling' bullshit. I know what you're pulling, mom, and it's not fucking right." Declan snapped. "You're not using my pets as test subjects for some twisted experiment."

Eliza was certain that Declan knew nothing about the disastrous Project Renaissance- that was classified information. But when his mother, who was a scientist, asked for a favor and to examine his pets, he put two and two together and knew she wanted to use them as test subjects. Eliza was finding herself at an impasse- she'd promised Sachs test subjects, and he'd promised her a place on the project. The only thing she could do at this point was lie.

"Declan, just listen to me." Eliza said quickly. "Sweetheart, Mr Sachs has developed something that could very well be life-changing. It's a... serum that could actually extend the lifespan of any organism that receives the serum. We've already tested a mammalian organism, and we just need reptilians. I can promise that your pets will be cared for and not mistreated in any way. Just think about it... we're at a breakthrough, honey, and it could very well mean that you'll be able to keep your pets for many years to come. This serum could save lives. All I need is your pet turtles... just for a little while."

Declan raised an eyebrow. "How long is a little while?"

Eliza hesitated. "Two weeks."

Declan bit the inside of his cheek, glanced around, then sighed in exasperation. "Fine. But if anything happens to them, I'll walk straight into your lab and take them back. Deal?"

"You have my word." Eliza extended her hand, which Declan just stared at. Finding she was going to get nowhere, she straightened up and brushed off her coat. "Now, dear, may I see the specimens?"

"Oh yeah, and another thing." Declan turned to glare at his mother. "Don't call them specimens."

He sighed and gestured to a large tank in the living room. "They're in there. Be careful with them, alright? Cheyenne will freak if anything happens to them."

Eliza didn't hear what he said- she was busy staring at Declan's pet turtles. "Fascinating. And what gender are they?"

"All female." Declan said, running a hand through his hair. "Their mother died a few weeks ago after Anna and Sonia were hatched. Cecilia and Emilie were from last year's clutch."

"Sisters, then. Very sweet. Did their mother lay any other eggs?"

"Not sure... I don't think she was completely fit to breed. But she had these four, and they're doing well. Just be really careful with Anna and Sonia... they're still really young."

Eliza stared in wonder at the small creatures. Two of them were snoozing on a rock, another was contently swimming and the fourth was almost pressed up against the glass, floating in the water and glaring at her.

"That's Emilie." Declan laughed. "She doesn't like you."

"Isn't that a shame?" Eliza told the small turtle. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can put aside our differences and be friends."

The turtle just continued to stare at her. She didn't seem to trust the scientist.

"And who is the one swimming?" Eliza asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Anna."

"So the other two must be Sonia and Cecilia. Right, now that we've established that, I'll need something to carry them in."

Declan mumbled something under his breath, but reluctantly went off and came back with a small portable container. He carefully relocated the turtles to the portable tank, then handed it to his mother. "Just... be really careful. Please. They mean a lot to me."

Eliza smiled, reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her son's ear. "Only a mother could understand, Declan. I promise that I will do my very best to ensure they are well cared for."

Declan managed a small smile. "Yeah, well, if you don't... Cheyenne will flip. So can I... come see them every once in a while?"

"Of course you can." Her voice was soft, promising. Then she paused. "Just one quick question... how on Earth did you come up with such names for your pets?"

Declan shrugged demurely. 'Hmm... courtesy of an overly excited girlfriend."

"Ah. Makes sense." Eliza pushed her glasses up again. "Well, I'd better be on my way. I'll be in touch."

Before she made it out the door, she turned to smile at her son. "Thank you, Declan." 

Eliza's heart rate sped up with every step she took down Declan's driveway.

She'd just lied to her son's face. Yes, the project was run by Eric Sachs, but it's purpose wasn't to extend the lifespans of organisms it came into contact with. It was to test a mutagen that was supposed to have extraordinary healing properties. Eliza had her doubts that the mutagen would seriously harm the turtles, but she needed the money to pay off her debt for Declan's house. Her son came first and foremost.

The container holding the turtles sat on the passenger seat as she anxiously drove back to the laboratory. There was an unnatural fluctuation in her breathing patterns, so she gripped the steering wheel to try and calm herself. Thankfully she came to a red light which gave her a little more time to compose herself.

Thankfully she made it to the laboratory with no other problems. Tightly gripping the container, she made her way into the laboratory, where her colleagues were waiting with Eric Sachs himself. The man grinned when he saw what Eliza was carrying.

"Here she is, the woman who is going to get us the breakthrough we need." He walked over and stuck his hand out for her to shake. Cradling the container in one arm, Eliza reached out and shook his hand. His grip was firm. "You're just in time, Dr. Scott. May I examine the specimens?"

Who was Eliza to tell Sachs not to call them specimens? Shaking, she held out the container. "Of course, sir."

Sachs took the container, and peered at the small lifeforms. "Perfect. They're just what we need."

He smiled warmly at Eliza. "You promised me the test subjects, I promised you a place on the project. Welcome to the team, Dr. Scott."

Her colleagues broke into applause, and Eliza found herself positively beaming.

Sachs had explained the purpose of the project in detail, and Eliza had absorbed every word. It was a relaunch of Project Renaissance, which had ended in disaster last year.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Sachs had said to the group of scientists, "I have a good feeling about this project. It's the year 2000, and it comes with a fresh start. I'm fully confident that this year we will achieve something spectacular. Every single one of you in front of me is going to change the world."

Eliza knew that playing a role in the project would mean an income beyond her wildest dreams. She had immedietly opted to provide test subjects, which Sachs was more than pleased about.

"As some of you may know, I worked alongside Dr. O'Neil last year to develop a mutagen with intricate healing properties. However, our success was short-lived- the laboratory was set ablaze and Dr. O'Neil tragically lost his life. This year we will honour Dr. O'Neil by continuing his research, and we will reach the breakthrough that he would have wanted to achieve.

"Project Renaissance was conducted on four reptilian life forms and a mammalian organism. Because the fire struck before we saw any changes in the test subjects, it would be preferable to repeat the experiment on life forms of the same class. If any of you can provide suitable test subjects for the project relaunch, it would be immensely appreciated."

Eliza was just a laboratory assistant when she overheard Sachs speaking, and spoke to him afterwards. He had offered her a place in the project if she provided the test subjects.

"If you can provide the specimens," Sachs had told her, "I will be more than glad to offer you a place on the project. To have reptilian test subjects is by all means satisfactiory, but it is something else entirely to have test subjects of a different gender. If the mutagen has the same affect on females of the same species as it does males, we will have achieved something life-changing. Do you understand?"

She definitely understood- there was no argument. All she had to do was convince Declan to allow her to borrow his pets. She'd stopped by later that evening to find her son asleep on piles of notes at the kitchen table, the smell of soup wafting through the air and Green Day's latest album blasting from the stereo. Eliza supposed that it would take a weight off of her son's shoulders if she took away one of his responsibilities.

And now here she was, privelaged enough to be partaking in the Project Renaissance relaunch. She sat with one of her colleagues while she waited. Sachs soon returned, clad in a lab coat and latex gloves. Clutching her clipboard, Eliza watched as Sachs carefully removed Sonia from the container, who didn't seem disturbed by the sudden movement.

"Administering mutagen." Sachs held up a syringe, and Eliza turned her gaze away. Injections made her feel nauseous. "Dr. Scott, I need you to log the exact date and time the mutagen was administered, and the names of the specimens."

"Yes sir." She glanced at her watch. 1-16-00, 6:43pm, Sonia

Cecilia was next, and this time Eliza watched the process. Cecilia didn't seem to mind the injection- she just put up with it. Emilie seemed a little uncomfortable, but Anna flailed desperately to get away from the sharp object. However, the process was over quicker than Eliza had expected. She had recorded the required information, and colour coded each turtle. Soon they were placed in a glass tank, and provided with food. It was almost like they had never left.

Almost.

2 weeks later...

"Mom?"

Declan carefully made his way through the darkened laboratory, stepping over stray test tubes and crumpled notes. He nervously gripped the strap of his bag, and examined his surroundings. Okay, nothing looked officially shifty, but he was prepared to grab the turtles and run if some kind of freak of science jumped out at him.

"Come on, mom, you asked me to bring you dinner. It's gonna go cold."

He spotted a large glass tank, and smiled in relief. He gave his pets a once-over, ensuring they were just asleep and not dead, then pulled out a small container from his bag.

"Declan! What are you doing here?"

Surprised, Declan lost his balance and crashed into the table behind him. He pulled himself up, and started picking up the fallen papers. His mother stared at him from the desk beside the tank, her eyes visibly bloodshot behind the round frames of her glasses. She was obviously lacking a good night's sleep.

"Shit, mom, when's the last time you slept?" Hah. Coming from him, that sounded pretty hypocritical.

Eliza sighed in exasperation, took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "You haven't answered my question."

Declan stared at her, confused. "Uh... you asked me to bring you dinner, remember? Now answer my question."

"Have I slept?" Eliza stifled a yawn. "It doesn't matter. What's the time, sweetheart?"

Declan pulled out his old phone, which happened to be a prized possession. "Uh... five past seven."

"Shit!" Eliza cried. "I was supposed to administer the mutagen at 6:43 but I fell asleep... move aside, son, I need to get to the specimens..."

She trailed off as she ran to get the syringe, leaving Declan standing there. Declan tried to process what she said, and one word in particular stood out.

"Hold the phone." He snapped. "Did you just say mutagen? Mom, you told me it was a serum. Mutagens affect the base sequence of DNA and increase the frequency of mutations, and are generally categorized as carcinogens which are cancerous... Mom, what the hell are you doing to my turtles?"

"Exactly what I told you." Eliza yawned, taking Sonia out of the tank and injecting her with the mutagen. "Healing them."

"From what!?" Declan cried. "You told me you were attempting to extend their lifespans, not heal them! They don't need healing, mom, they're perfectly healthy! Unless..."

He stopped, his eyes on Cecilia who was currently being injected, and his jaw fell slack. "Oh no. No no no."

Eliza eyed her son, confused, then moved on to inject Emilie. "What?"

Declan put his face close to the tank, examining the turtles. "Don't fucking tell me you've been injuring them just to heal them with some cancerous crap!"

"Declan, you're jumping to conclusions-"

"Jumping to conclusions? I'm jumping to conclusions!?" Declan shouted. "Mom, they're my pets! I agreed to you using my turtles on the terms that no harm would come to them. You gave me your word that you wouldn't hurt them. You fucking lied to me!"

"I did no such thing!" Eliza retorted, turning so suddenly that she almost dropped Anna. "Declan, I told you the truth and nothing else. When I asked to borrow your pets, my intentions were to simply provide Sachs with test subjects. I told you that, didn't I? Sachs is a good man, and he has no intentions to harm these turtles. So you have absolutely no right to lay accusations on me."

Declan stared at his mother in disbelief with his mouth open. Slowly he closed his mouth, and his eyebrows knitted together. "That's it."

He stormed past his mother, glancing around the room. He disappeared out of Eliza's line of sight for a moment, then returned with the container he'd originally given to Eliza. On his way back he stumbled over an empty canister, knocking over a folder. Cursing, he picked it up, but paused when his eyes fell on the first page.

"Toxin... political advantage... mutagen..." His eyes darted over the page quicker than Eliza could move towards him. "Once the mutagen becomes adapted to the DNA of the test subjects... blood will build immunity of humans to toxic affects? So this guy is planning to release a toxin into the atmosphere only to showcase himself as the answer to the problem? That's both sick and nonsensical! How the hell can you administer humans with reptilian blood? Reptiles are cold-blooded whereas humans are warm-blooded. But the biggest problem is that this Saxophone asshole is planning to completely drain my turtles of blood for his pathetic political dreams!"

He crumpled up the page, threw it aside and walked back to the tank. "But as far as I'm concerned, his dreams are screwed."

Eliza could only watch as Declan reached into the tank, and relocated the turtles to the container. "Declan, stop it. Put the specimens back!"

"They're not specimens!" Declan spat. "They're my pets!"

This time Eliza raised her voice, which she hadn't done in a long time due to her high blood pressure. "Declan, put the damned turtles back!"

Declan put the fourth turtle in the container, and sealed the lid. "Trust is pretty fragile, mom, and you've broken it more than once. This time you've crossed the line. So I suggest to find yourself some new test subjects."

He pulled a package out of his bag, and threw it at her. "Here's your fucking dinner."

Declan turned on his heel and stormed out of the laboratory, carrying the one thing that Eliza had hoped would bring them closer together. She seized the folder and tore out every note she could find, stopping to tear each page into indecipherable pieces. Finding that was pointless, she grabbed the clipboard with the records of mutagen administration from both Project Renaissance and the relaunch, and tore the pages apart. How could Sachs repeat the experiment if he didn't have any physical record on how much mutagen he'd administered to the test subjects in the past? Maybe he would find a way. But not immedietely.

If the project meant Eliza had to lose her son's trust, then it meant absolutely nothing to her. 

"Declan, calm down. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're not listening, Cheyenne! I've said twice now that my mother wanted my turtles just to please some insane guy with dreams to, I don't know, rule the fucking city!"

"This is New Jersey. It's not like he'll be at an advantage here."

"I'm pretty sure his company is based in New York. But I'm being serious here, Chey, this guy was actually planning on releasing some kind of toxin into the atmosphere just to cure everybody and win their favour!"

"Was he even in the running for the local election?"

Declan groaned in frustration. "You're completely missing the point here! It doesn't matter about politics, what matters is that the people have a saviour! The dude thinks he's Jesus Christ reincarnated or something!"

Cheyenne sighed and shook her head, got up, and grabbed a container of blueberries out of the fridge. She sat down again, and held one out to Anna. "Look, Declan, it's getting late... can't we just talk about this in the morning?"

Declan stared at his girlfriend. "Doesn't this mean anything to you? My mother just lied to my face and practically poisoned our pets!"

"They seem okay to me." Cheyenne replied. She held Anna in the palm of her hand and raised her to eye level. "You're fine, aren't you, baby girl?"

Anna just ducked her head and continued eating away at the blueberry. Cheyenne seemed more than satisfied. "That's my girl. Yeah, she's fine. Declan, you should probably get some sleep. I think all this stress is wearing you out."

"And what are you gonna do?" Declan retorted. "Sit here and talk to turtles?"

"Of course." Cheyenne said matter-of-factly. She took more blueberries, and put one in front of each of the other turtles. "These are my home girls, and we've got some catching up to do."

"Oh, please." Declan scoffed.

"I thought I was your home girl." Melanie, Cheyenne's best friend and their flatmate, entered the kitchen and walked over to the fridge. "Besides, what are you going to catch up with them on? Like, did they meet any nice boy turtles while they were playing test subjects?"

"That's a good question." Cheyenne gave Anna an inquisitive look. "Well, miss? Did you find love during your lab adventures?"

Anna seemed more in love with the blueberry than anything else.

"She's too young." Melanie laughed, and reached out to pick up Emilie. "What about you, Em?"

Emilie looked at her as if to say, "don't bother asking."

Melanie grinned. "She'll be a hit with the boys when she's older."

Declan had had enough at that point. "That's it, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, turtle whisperers."

"Hah, you're one to talk!" Melanie called, throwing a water bottle after him. She turned to Cheyenne. "I'm going to bed too, Chey. Don't stay up too late, alright? We have a coffee date tomorrow."

"Then staying up late won't be a problem." Cheyenne laughed. She carefully scooped up the turtles, and went back to the tank in the living room. "Goodnight, Mel."

"Night, Chey." Melanie called back.

Cheyenne grinned and carefully placed each turtle in the tank, then lightly tapped on the glass. "Goodnight, girls. Don't worry about what Declan said... he's probably just over-tired."

Cheyenne was an early riser, and that went without saying. Declan was the complete opposite- he slept in for as long as he could. But Cheyenne was usually up at 6am to go for a run and practice Jujitsu, which she'd been practicing since she was young. After she'd endured particular hardships, she figured that she needed to prepare herself mentally and physically.

Being careful not to wake Declan, she got up and quietly got changed, and pulled on a pair of trainers. Not bothering to brush her hair, she pulled the messy strawberry blonde locks into a ponytail. Figuring she could do with some protein before she left, she headed downstairs to make a smoothie, but stopped once she reached the bottom of the stairs. Something just didn't seem right. Maybe Declan was telling the truth, and his mother could have broken in to steal the turtles. It sounded crazy, but if the project was as important as Declan said...

Her heart pounding, Cheyenne walked quickly to the living room to make sure her beloved pets were safe, but she stopped dead in her tracks. She definitely wasn't expecting to see something like this.

"DECLAN!"

Chapter Text

12 years later...

"Declan!"

Exasperated, Cheyenne Scott picked up the stray sock on the landing of the stairs, and continued on to Declan's study. Once she was there she knocked on the door, threw it open without waiting for a reply, dropped her bag and held up the sock with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?" She asked, looking from the sock back to him.

Declan looked up from his work, glanced at the sock for a moment, then gave Cheyenne a bewildered look. "That's not mine."

Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Because I specifically remember you kicking your shoes off the other day, and you were wearing this and whatever else stupid sock it goes with."

Declan knew how to calm his wife down- make her coffee with her favorite hazelnut coffee creamer. He put his work down and got up. "Coffee?"

Cheyenne glared at him, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Her husband said cheerfully. "Do we have any of that hazelnut crap left?"

Cheyenne lightly hit him with the sock. "It's not crap!"

"Tastes like crap to me." Declan shrugged, making his way to the kitchen. He paused, realising he'd forgotten to do something Cheyenne had entrusted him with. He'd been so carried away with his work that it slipped his mind. Hopefully she forgot about it aswell.

Cheyenne took one step into the kitchen, looked around, and her expression hardened. "Declan?"

Shit. "Hmm?"

"Don't 'hmm' me. You haven't made dinner."

He stopped in his tracks and turned around, grinning sheepishly. "Ah. Right. You know, I was just about to get started on that but when you distracted me with the sock, it slipped my mind."

Cheyenne closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. "Declan. It's quarter to seven. We have dinner at six. You haven't even started preparing it. The girls are probably hungry."

"Okay, okay. I'll start making it now." Declan sighed. "What am I supposed to be making?"

Cheyenne glanced over at the kitchen counter, then back to her husband. "Does the stuff on the counter ring any bells?"

"CHEYENNE!"

She turned to the source of the childlike voice, to see Anna running towards her. She held up an empty tube, sniffling. "Cecilia poured all of my bubble mixture out the window!"

"Oh, honey." Cheyenne said sympathetically, taking the tube. "Why did she do that?"

"B-because she said I was being too loud." Anna spluttered, wiping her eyes. "She got really mad and snatched my bubble mixture, and poured out all of it!"

"That wasn't a nice thing to do.' Cheyenne said firmly. She reached out and gently wiped away Anna's tears. "Don't worry, honey, I can make some more bubble mixture for you. It's an easy thing to replace."

"Really?" Anna asked, her eyes widening. "How?"

"Dish soap and water." Cheyenne replied, smiling. "I used to make my own bubble mixture all the time. But before I make some for you, I need to have a word with your sister. CECILIA!"

The eldest of the sisters entered the kitchen minutes later, saw Anna there, and instantly put her guard up. "It was Anna's fault! She was singing so loudly I couldn't hear myself think. I told her to stop but she didn't listen."

"So you poured her bubble mixture out the window?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Cecilia, that wasn't fair. You should have moved to another room if she was bothering you so much."

Cecilia frowned. "I still would have heard her. Her voice was exceeding the optimum volume of which you call an 'inside voice.' In fact, the sound of her voice is incredibly obnoxious."

"Alright, that's enough from you." Declan said quickly, figuring he should save Cecilia from Cheyenne's wrath. "Cecilia, are you up for helping me with another invention?"

Cecilia instantly lit up. "Definitely."

Declan grinned. "Awesome. We'll get to work after dinner. Sound good?"

"Yep." Was all the excited mutant could say before she took off down the hallway, with Anna not far behind her.

"I'm not finished with you!" Cheyenne called. She looked at Declan, frustrated. "One day you'll regret not reprimanding her."

Declan shrugged. "She's a brilliant inventor, Chey, and she's the reason we're able to pay off our student loans. Cecilia needs encouragement to continue what she's so talented at doing."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that she needs to learn to respect others." Cheyenne said firmly.

Just then Sonia entered the room, and put a few letters on the table. "The mail arrived this morning, but I had to wait until it was dark to get it. I'm sorry about that."

"See, this is respect." Cheyenne told her husband. She turned to back to Sonia. "Thank you, Sonia, that was a generous thing of you to do. Just wondering, where's Emilie?"

Sonia rolled her eyes. "Listening to music somewhere."

"Of course." Declan said, picking up one of the letters and tearing it open. "Why don't you go and get ready for your training thing? I'm sure Cheyenne can fit in a session before dinner..."

He turned his attention to the letter to avoid Cheyenne's challenging gaze. As he continued reading, his face fell. He stood still for a moment, then held the letter out to Cheyenne, who read it in a matter of seconds.

"Outstanding balance... student loan... $60,000!? Declan, it's increased by $4000! You can't keep holding off the payment! 'If this is not paid in 30 days, we will take action to ensure the debt is collected." Cheyenne stared at the letter, her fingers trembling. "How the hell are we going to pay this off?"

"I don't know." Declan sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Keep inventing things?"

Cheyenne gaped at him. "You can't be serious. What's that going to do?"

How the hell was he going to tell her? Declan knew Cheyenne would be furious when she found out who he was selling the machinery to. But he'd vowed to never keep secrets from her. "Chey... a few months ago a friend of mine told me about a company that needed machinery because they had lost a lot of funding over..."

Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "Over...?"

Declan glanced at the ground. "A project."

She figured it out right away. "Declan..."

"I offered to provide them with the machinery that Cecilia and I invented. They offered me a lot of money for the inventions."

"You're kidding me." Cheyenne laughed, unable to believe it. "Declan, you said yourself that Sachs was an 'evil' man who wanted nothing but power over the city, and now you're helping him? You know what extent that guy will go to- he practically poisoned the girls!"

"You talk as if what they're like now is some kind of burden on you!" Declan snapped. "And I'm not helping him with his stupid dream. It's not like he'll make some device to blow up the city."

"He's a scientist, right?" Cheyenne asked. "I'm sure he'll figure something out. And the girls are not a burden on me- what's a burden is that they'll have to grow up hidden from humanity, who have become so judgemental that they'd never be accepted. It's heart-breaking, Declan. They've become daughters to me, and the last thing I want is for them to get hurt. And what you're doing is practically stabbing them in the back."

"Cheyenne, this company is paying huge money for my inventions, and there could be a career prospect ahead of me. It also means that we could find some sort of education for Cecilia."

"What, by sending her back to the lab and teaching her that all she'll ever be in life is a test subject?" Cheyenne hissed. "I don't think so. I want the girls to have a proper upbringing, and I don't want there to be any secrets in this family. So you'd better do some serious thinking about who you're really working for."

She gave him one last critical look, before leaving to train with Sonia.

It was unusually quiet at the dinner table that night, which made Declan feel uneasy.

They often all talked enthusiastically during dinner, but everyone ate in silence. Even Anna, who was the loudest and the most excitable. Sonia finished at a quicker pace than normal, quietly thanked Declan, and left. She'd heard him talking with Cheyenne- it was evident in her behaviour. Declan felt Cheyenne glaring holes in the side of his head.

When everyone was almost finished, there was a knock at the door. Cheyenne gave the three girls a quick glance, and they quickly got up and left the room. They'd managed to conceal themselves for twelve years, and they certainly weren't about to reveal themselves now.

Cheyenne gave Declan the 'you get the door' glance, so he reluctantly did. When he opened the door, a man who he recognized as his neighbour was standing there, looking confused.

"Hello." Declan said stiffly.

"Good evening." The man replied, forcing himself to smile. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to ask... is, uh... is everything alright?"

Declan stared at him, confused. "I'm sorry?"

The man cleared his throat. "See, we've been a little concerned. My wife and I have been living next door to you for twelve years now, and we noticed that for most of that time, you've seemed quite... reclusive. Forgive me for saying so, but you often have the curtains closed during the day. In such a lively and close community like this, it's a little odd that you don't often make appearances. Is everything alright?"

Other than the fact that we've technically adopted four mutant turtles? "Y-yes, everything's fine. I appreciate your concern though. We just... don't like people."

The man stared at him as if he was an alien who'd just crash-landed in the middle of the neighbourhood. "You don't like people?"

"Yeah." Nice save, Declan. "Look, no offence, you seem like a nice guy and everything, but we just don't get along with other people. I've been socially awkward all my life, so..."

Well, that was mostly true.

"Ah." The man seemed satisfied. "I see. Well... if you need anything, we're right next door."

Declan nodded awkwardly. "Thanks."

"Have a good night."

As soon as his neighbour had left, Declan closed the door and retreated to his study. On his way up the stairs he passed Emilie, who gave him a hostile glare. Emilie was shy and usually kept to herself, but she was never hostile. Not like this, anyway. Perhaps she'd overheard him speaking with Cheyenne aswell.

He sat down at his computer, and opened up his email inbox. Hopefully there wasn't another email about outstanding student loans or messages from his friend, who was holidaying in Australia. Sometimes he really wished he could just get out of New Jersey and travel.

But that wasn't going to happen. At least not for a long time. Ever since he'd dropped out of college to raise the girls, he'd been rendered unable to do alot of the things he wanted to do. He clearly remembered the night when Cheyenne called out to him, concerned because their pet turtles were somehow growing. Declan instantly knew it had to be the mutagen, but waved it off. The turtles continued to mutate to that of an almost humanoid state, and grew in the same ways as humans did. They started out as infants, and Cheyenne immedietely chose to raise them instead of getting rid of them. Getting rid of them wasn't even an option to her, though Declan had to think about it for a while.

Melanie, their flatmate, moved out as soon as she knew what was going on. Cheyenne was pretty hurt, but she understood that it would have been a lot for Melanie to take in. While Cheyenne continued studying to be a drama teacher, Declan dropped out of university to raise the girls. Cecilia adopted Declan's love for tinkering and designing, and so he taught her everything he knew which she absorbed with pure fascination. She was incredibly intelligent, however science wasn't her forte- unless it was physics. Cecilia was the kindest out of her sisters, but when pushed too far, she did become quite nasty.

Emilie was one of eldest, though she was more insecure than the others. Cheyenne had tried to make her come out of her shell, but she prefered to be reclusive. As she grew up she developed a passion for cooking, and often helped Cheyenne in the kitchen. It was one of those rare occasions where she actually openly communicated with anyone. She seemed to have trust issues, since really the only person she ever confided in was of course Cheyenne, but she was never actually hostile towards anyone. She was just incredibly shy, but obviously something had happened that made her despise Declan.

Sonia was younger than Cecilia and Emilie, but she was cognitively advanced in her years. She lacked the intellectual skills that Cecilia had, but her state of mind was far more developed than that of her sisters. Cheyenne had taught her jujitsu since she had could walk, and she dedicated all of her time and energy to training. Emilie and Cecilia began training several years later, however Sonia was the only one who actually practiced outside of the sessions. She did hold a low tolerance for her sisters' behaviours at times, especially Anna's- Sonia often berated her younger sister for her tendency to be excitable and obnoxious. While Sonia needed to learn about empathy and channelling her temper, she was resourceful, moral, and a natural born leader. Still, Declan often expressed to Cheyenne that Sonia needed to lighten up.

Anna was the most upbeat and enthusiastic of her sisters, though she easily became annoying after some time in her presence. She had been a vegetarian for as long as Declan could remember due to her respect for sentient life, and she was the most daring compared to the other girls. Anna could be quite absent-minded and unfocused- she joined training with Emilie and Cecilia, but would often sneak away during the sessions to the basement. She taught herself gymnastics through watching videos on Cheyenne's old laptop, and nobody actually knew until Emilie caught her practicing. Sonia had disapproved, but Cheyenne encouraged her individuality. Anna adored Cheyenne, but she had never really taken the time to talk with Declan. He supposed it was because he was focused on his inventions, and she prefered to be around those who were enthusiastic.

Despite their differences, the girls cared about each other immensely. Cheyenne encouraged them to bond since she had a sister growing up, whereas Declan was an only child. Of course Cheyenne was the perfect person to raise four mutant turtles, for God's sake. She was talented in far too many things for Declan to comprehend, and she had the patience and dedication that he only had when it came to inventing. Cheyenne taught the girls everything she knew- the only thing Declan had really contributed to was Cecilia's skills in mathematics and physics. There were times were Declan felt upstaged by his wife, but at the moment, he was too deep in debt to really care.

He was about to close his inbox when the subject of one email caught his eye. His heart pounding, he opened it up, and read the message over.

Then he read it again. And again- but this time he only focused on the most important words.

Eric Sachs. Sachs Industries. Machinery. Job. New York. $400,000 salary. His eyes darted over those words again, but his posture was still and his face was white.

Declan would have been convinced that the email was fake, if it didn't have document attachments, including a contract preview. It was also clearly stated in the email that Sachs expected a reply... shit! I was supposed to contact him tonight!

Declan searched desperately for his phone, sighed in relief when he found it, and entered the number given on the email. He paused for a moment, thinking about what Cheyenne had said... but he desperately needed the money. And though the girls weren't a burden on Cheyenne's life, they were becoming a burden on his.

He took a deep breath, and pressed dial.

One dial tone passed. Two passed. Four. "Good evening, you're speaking with Eric Sachs, CEO of Sachs Industries."

"Mr Sachs. M-my name is Declan Scott. I've been providing you with machinery for the past three months, and you emailed me with a job offer."

"Indeed I did, Mr Scott. Your inventions are quite brilliant, and they're just what my company needs. Though you have read the email, I'd just like to reiterate the details. I am offering for you to work for my company in New York by providing me with machinery, and your starting salary will be sitting at four hundred thousand a year. I could possibly even arrange for temporary accomodation for you. So... are you interested?"

There was a pause, then- "yes, sir. Yes, I am."

Cheyenne left for work at six in the morning, and entrusted Declan with taking care of the girls. Anna and Cecilia often slept in, while Emilie was an early riser and Sonia awoke early to practice. Declan worried for a while that those two in particular would catch him out while he was getting ready to leave, but since Sachs had already arranged for a fully furnished apartment, Declan figured he didn't need to take many possessions. Just items of sentimental value, really.

He kissed Cheyenne goodbye before she headed off to work, and she questioned his out-of-characterness. He just smiled and offered to pick her up during her break to go out for brunch, and she let him off for that.

Thank God. He thought, relieved. Getting Cheyenne to come with me won't be a problem. I just have to avoid the mutant-turtle-girls... whatever they are.

He packed his clothes and most of Cheyenne's, Cheyenne's jewellery and perfume, and any other possessions of serious value to them. Cheyenne's most prized possessions was her wedding ring and a bracelet that Anna had made her years ago, both of which she was already wearing, so Declan assumed he'd packed enough. Assuring that no one was watching, he snuck outside and threw the bags in the car.

Feeling almost guilty, he went back to his study, and opened up the safe where he kept the money that Sachs gave him for the machinery. He took enough to see him and Cheyenne through for about a week, and left the rest to the girls. He didn't know how the hell they were going to use it, but they would figure it out. Maybe.

Declan locked himself in his study until about 10:15 in the morning. Cheyenne's break was at 10:30, so that gave him enough time to get to the school where she taught. Once he picked her up, he would drive straight onto New York City. As soon as it hit 10:15, he put the keys to the house on his desk, and went downstairs.

His heart rate picked up again as he headed for the front door. Maybe it was a stupid, careless thing to do. Maybe he should forget about it and stay for Cheyenne.

But he was tired of living with his mother's lie. He'd tossed away his life because of her dishonesty, and here was an opportunity to take it back. An opportunity to actually have the life that was owed to him. There was no point in obsessing over the failures from the past when he had a new chance for success.

Declan Scott walked out the front door, the prosperity of a new life blocking all rational thought, and he never looked back.

Emilie watched through the kitchen window as Declan pulled his car out of the driveway and drove away, completely ignoring the fact that he'd neglected to tell the girls where he was going. She may have been only thirteen years old, but she knew who was fit to be deemed trustworthy, and she'd never trusted Declan from the start.

Cheyenne had accepted them regardless of who they were, whereas Declan was always reserved and quiet around them, except Cecilia. But that was just because she'd helped him earn more money than he could have ever earned on his own. Cecilia was the reason that Declan had been offered the job in the first place, and now he no longer needed her.

Emilie had overheard the phone conversation, since she was on her way upstairs to have a shower. The idiot forgot to turn loudspeaker off of his phone, so Emilie heard everything that was said. She instantly latched onto Declan's plans to drop everything and leave her and her sisters, but Cecilia refused to believe her. She was too attached to the guy.

He was careless. Selfish. A liar. And though it didn't surprise Emilie, she didn't exactly believe that he'd go to the extent of abandoning them. But he was like the rest of society- afflicted with hostility and apathy. At least that's how it was in her eyes. Her sisters were blind to the truth.

Emilie left the kitchen to find Sonia. She would be the only one who would actually listen.

She found her in the basement, training, and cleared her throat. "Sonia."

Sonia paused, and turned to face her sister. "I'm busy, Emilie. Can't you leave it for later?"

"Declan's gone." Emilie explained. "I just thought you'd want to know."

"And?" Sonia asked, giving her sister a critical look. "He'll be home soon. Since when did you care about this kind of thing?"

"He's not coming back." Emilie snapped. "I heard him talking to someone last night. He's getting a job in New York, and he's going to live there."

"Oh, grow up-"

"Don't tell me to grow up!" Emilie retorted. "You know what? Fine. Maybe you won't believe me now, but you will later."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Find out for yourself."

"He will come back." Sonia said firmly. "I'm sure of it."

Hours passed and there was no sign of Declan- nor Cheyenne. She usually got home at 5pm, and the hour passed rapidly. Anna became quite frightened when she realised Cheyenne wasn't returning, and this concerned Sonia. Maybe Emilie was right after all.

"Where's Cheyenne?" Anna asked for what was probably the sixteenth time. "She always comes home at this time. Sonia... I'm scared."

"She's not coming home." Emilie said, getting up off of the couch. "Who wants toast?"

Anna looked horrified. "What!?"

"Emilie, stop it." Cecilia snapped. "You're scaring Anna."

Emilie shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth. So do you guys want toast or not?"

"No." Anna said, and burst into tears. "I want Cheyenne to come home."

"And she will." Cecilia said gently, pulling her sister into a comforting hug. "Don't worry, Anna. Everything's going to be fine."

Sonia couldn't really comfort Anna, since she'd be telling her a lie. She had a gut feeling that Emilie was actually right, but she didn't expect that Cheyenne would desert them. The one thing that terrified her was the fact that they were going to have to fend for themselves.

If that was the case, Sonia knew she and her sisters had a lot of growing up to do. They would have to look after each other and stay hidden from the rest of the neighbourhood. Who knew what would happen if someone saw them?

Sonia mentally counted the factors that would contribute to their survival. Emilie could cook. Cecilia was resourceful, and a brilliant inventor. Anna could... well, she couldn't really do anything of importance.

Sonia herself was mature for her age, resourceful, and she could fight. Her mental awareness would prove crucial for keeping her sisters in tow. So if someone was going to take charge, it had to be her. Cheyenne had taught her that teamwork and family were some of the most important things in life. She was confident in her own abilities, but she had concerns about her sisters.

If they were going to have to fend for themselves, her sisters would have to prepare themselves mentally and physically. Sonia would have to teach them everything she knew in the art of jujitsu. Maybe then they would actually have a chance at surviving.

But she couldn't help but resent Declan and Cheyenne for deserting them. So they were mutants, but Sonia had grown to trust and confide in them as parental figures.

She learnt her first lesson in growing up then and there, when she finally understood the situation- trust was fragile, and it took seconds to break and forever to repair.

There was still a sense of hope that Declan and Cheyenne would return. But morning came and another night passed, and they hadn't returned.

All they had was each other- but it was all they ever needed.

Chapter Text

4 years later...

An officer sat in the comfort of his vehicle, enjoying a steaming cup of coffee with extra foam. It was at least 9pm, but he'd managed to find a place that was open and sold decent coffee. He reclined in the driver's seat, enjoying the peaceful night and the absence of crime from the area.

In his point of view, New Jersey was beautiful at night. It wasn't bustling with people or baking under the heat of the summer. In fact, there was a gentle breeze, which was a luxury at this time in the year.

Something flashed out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his full gaze to the rooftops on the buildings to his left. Nothing. Figuring he was just seeing things, he turned back to his coffee.

He jumped and spilled his coffee when there was another flash. Cursing, he wiped the offending liquid off of his uniform, and peered out the car window. This time he saw something. He couldn't see it properly, but from where he sat, it looked like some kind of tall, green freak. An alien? No way, he didn't believe in that bullshit.

"Aint it a little late for Halloween?" He muttered to himself. "Damn kids these days."

He was probably just seeing things.

"Don't ever do that again. If any of us are seen, we're done for."

"Lighten up, Sonia, it was just a little bit of fun! You need to learn about the meaning of fun. F is for friends who do stuff together-"

"Shut up, Anna. The sound of your voice pisses me off."

"Uh, rude!"

"Emilie, that was uncalled for. I think you need to lighten up."

"Oh, sorry if I'm not all glitter and rainbows, miss Know-It-All."

"Enough!" The other three girls stopped, and glanced up at the tallest of the sisters- Sonia. She stood at 6'2, and had a lean, sturdy build and broad shoulders, the result of years of hard training. Her eyes were more upturned and a warm brown colour but her gaze was hardened, and her lips were full. To those accepting of who she was, she would be mysterious and alluring. She was more fierce and serious compared to her sisters. "Emilie, Cecilia is right. If anyone sees us, who knows what will happen? Humanity can be cruel and deceitful, and by letting our guards down we will be making mistakes that will be almost impossible to fix. Do you understand?"

Emilie, one of the elder sisters glared back at Sonia. She was the shortest of the sisters and the most reclusive, and was gradually gaining a stocky build the more she trained. She had almond-shaped, hooded green eyes that were thickly lined with black eyeliner, and sharper lips. She had a penetrating glare, and her features portrayed her as more feisty and contemptuous. "Of course I understand. Been there, done that."

"It would be wise to watch what you say." Sonia said firmly, narrowing her eyes.

"Both of you need to watch what you say." Cecilia, the eldest of the group, stepped up to her sisters and pushed them apart. Cecilia had pretty features- wide pale blue eyes and long eyelashes, thinner lips that were coloured with a light pink lipstick- she had a softer, more kind appearance. However, her gaze was firm as she pushed Sonia and Emilie apart. "We can't afford to waste time fighting with each other- that will be the biggest mistake we make. We have to stick together."

"Sisters stick together." Anna said excitedly, wrapping an arm around Emilie's shoulder and hugging her tightly. She was youthful and enchanting, with a playful gleam in her more upturned, wide hazel eyes, and a broad smile. Her expression was that of joy, pure and sincere, which only just masked a true expression of adventurousness. Her voice was bubbly and high-pitched, and if someone were to be around her for a long time, they would end up finding her voice annoying. "Right, Em?"

Emilie just grunted.

"Stop being so cranky all the time!" Anna complained. She put on a serious expression, and put her hands on her hips. "I'm Emilie, and I hate everyone!"

Emilie lightly nudged her sister. "I do not sound like that."

"Actually, she sounds worse." Cecilia whispered to Anna, and they both giggled. Sonia shot them an irritable look, and they both shut up instantly. Emilie followed up with a sneer at them.

"Cut the unnecessary antics." Sonia said in a stern voice. "Right now we have one priority, and that's to get what we're looking for and return home undetected."

Cecilia tried to stifle a laugh. "You make this seem like an undercover mission or something."

"Ooh, we're spies?" Anna asked excitedly.

"If you two are going to make a joke of this," Sonia continued, "then why don't you go alone?"

A few seconds of silence passed.

"I didn't think so." Sonia reached behind her and withdrew her dual tambo, which she kept strapped to her shell. "Now get a move on, or we will be caught."

Anna, feeling the need to show off, executed a front walkover then broke into a run. She'd been teaching herself gymnastics through watching videos and gymnasts training at a gymnasium not too far from home. Her sisters were running at a steady pace, so she forged ahead and poked her tongue out at them. "Last one to the next rooftop has a soft shell!"

That made Cecilia run faster, with Emilie not far behind her. "Oh no she didn't."

Anna turned around to mock them, but Emilie darted past her and pushed her aside, sending her off balance. By the time Anna got to the next rooftop, the others were waiting for her with sly grins.

"No fair." Anna snapped. "Emilie pushed me."

Emilie shrugged. "That's what happens when you get too headstrong, soft-shell."

"Pft. I do not have a soft shell."

"Bet you wouldn't say that if I hit it with a hammer."

"You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet?"

"Hurry up!" Sonia and Cecilia called simultaneously, and the other two turned to see that they were already two rooftops ahead. Anna grinned at her older sister. "Race ya."

Emilie grinned. "You're on."

They chased after the others, laughing and leaping over the rooftops, ignoring Sonia's demands for them to be quiet. Eventually they reached a small rooftop where Sonia ordered them to stop, and she stood in silence, listening for something.

"What's she listening for?" Anna whispered, and Emilie shrugged.

"Shh." Sonia hissed. She stood there for a few more seconds, then gestured for Cecilia to follow. Anna and Emilie had to stay put and watch while the other two leapt off the side of the building and disappeared.

They landed silently on a platform that was shrouded by shadows, but they could just see a man nervously standing underneath the platform, his arms wrapped around himself.

"You've been holding out on us." The man jumped at hearing the voice, and glanced up to see a shadowy figure. His first instinct would be to plead, but God knew who he was really dealing with. He'd never actually seen them before in his life.

"I'm sorry." He said hurriedly, deciding to keep it short and simple. "Look, I just had a rough few months, and it was hard to come up with the cash. But I've got it here."

Sonia narrowed her eyes. "We had a deal, which was that you provide my colleague with whatever your business needs repairing, and you pay for her services each time you give her something else to repair. It has been four months and you haven't payed for the last repair. We've let you off too many times before, but this time, you'd better have the payment. Her services are not free."

"You women drive a hard bargain." The man laughed nervously, taking a thick envelope out of his jacket. "How much was it again?"

"Those who look for trouble, find it." Sonia growled. "Four grand. And if we find that you haven't fully paid your debt, we will find you."

"No need to worry, ma'am." The man said, holding up the envelope. The envelope was taken from his hands so quickly that he didn't even register it.

"I'm not worried." Sonia said darkly. "But you should be."

She gestured for Cecilia to move back to the rooftop, then glanced back at the man. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Cecilia finished counting the money, then returned it to the envelope. "It's all there Sonia. I've double-checked."

"As it should be." Sonia replied, crossing her arms. "He seems to think that he can cross us. We've been easy on him far too often."

"You guys didn't have to threaten him, though." Anna said wistfully, fiddling with her bracelets.

"Oh, and what were you going to do, huh?" Emilie asked, narrowing her eyes. "Invite him to a tea party and let him off the hook for another four months?"

"No." Anna crossed her arms defensively. "I just would have asked him nicely."

"The first time you ask is the only time you ask nicely." Sonia told her. "But when you have to ask again and again, you become firm and relentless. It's the only way you'll get what you want in the end."

"But if you're nice and understanding, doesn't that make you the better person?" Anna asked, lying back on the sofa as much as her shell would allow her.

Cecilia smiled at her younger sister. "You're right, Anna. Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you. If they do wrong, you still do it right. It's called integrity, and it's the most important principle for success."

"What she said!" Anna tried to sit up but her shell got in the way, and she fell off the sofa and started laughing. "I'm okay!"

"We never asked." Emilie snarled.

Sonia sighed in exasperation. "Anna, stop being stupid. Emilie, keep your comments to yourself. We're short on a few things and we need to organise who's going to get them."

Emilie got up and left the room. "I shotgun not doing it."

Sonia glared at her. "Emilie, sit down."

Mumbling, Emilie moved back to the sofa.

"I think it should be Anna." Sonia suggested. "She pretended to be sick last time."

"Oh, God..." Cecilia groaned. She knew that Anna was the worst one to send out.

"Well, it can't be Emilie." Sonia sent a quick glance in Emilie's direction. Emilie stiffened, sat still for a moment, then got up and headed for the basement. Sonia watched her with a look of sympathy, but her gaze became serious when she turned to Anna. "Cecilia filled in for you last time, Anna, so it's your turn."

"Why don't you do it?" Anna retorted.

Sonia's expression didn't change. "Grow up, Anna, you're sixteen years old. It's time you act your age."

"Yeah, well, you're not my mom."

"Wouldn't she be proud?" Cecilia asked sarcastically. "Seeing us getting along so well?"

"The fact that she's dead doesn't help!" Anna shouted.

"Stop screaming!" Sonia raised her voice, but not enough to be yelling herself. "She passed away before we mutated, Anna, and you're not the only one who misses her. But what's in the past is meant to be left in the past, and we shouldn't dwell on it but instead move on."

Anna just glared at the ground.

"And it goes the same for what Declan did." Sonia added. "We need to move on and let time decide our pathways."

"What pathways?" Cecilia laughed. "Sonia, get real. We're mutants. There's nothing out there for us."

"There is always something." Sonia said reassuringly, but she did feel doubtful now. "Anna, tomorrow you're going to go out and get what we need. Understand?"

Anna was silent for a moment, then, "fine. Okay, now that this is over, I'm going to go and ask Emilie if she's okay."

Cecilia waited until Anna had left the room. "You know it's crazy sending her out there. She doesn't take anything seriously these days."

Sonia didn't sway from her decision. "Maybe she will, once she understands what it's really like outside of her comfort zone."

"Sonia, you know what Anna's like. She thinks the world is just one big playground. If any of us are going to get caught, it's her."

"She'll be fine." Sonia replied, seemingly not concerned. "She's not stupid enough to reveal herself, Cecilia, she knows that it won't just impact her but us as well. Even though Anna doesn't pay attention in training, she pays attention to the importance of teamwork."

She got up. "I need time alone to train. You're welcome to join later."

Cecilia waited until Sonia had left, then sighed in frustration. How could they call themselves a family when all they did was argue?

Figuring things would work out sooner or later, she went down to the basement to practice archery. It was the one thing other than inventing that could allow her to relax and let go of her worries.

"I guess I just wish Sonia would drop it about... you know." Emilie told her younger sister. She frowned, tucked her knees in so they were pressed against her plastron, and wrapped her arms around them. "I know she's pissed off about what I did, but I just want to forget about it. I've learnt my lesson, blah blah blah. What does she want from me?"

"Keep your eyes open." Anna commanded, carefully applying eyeliner to Emilie's lower eyelids. She'd been crying so it was quite badly smeared, and Emilie hated being without eyeliner. "I don't know, Em. Sonia's just super strict all the time, and she seriously needs to lighten up. After what you went through... it's not fair for her to treat you like you're totally broken and can't get up anymore. You're actually holding up really well."

Emilie almost scoffed. "Me? Holding up well? Anna, I'm a mess. I can hardly sit in the same room as you guys without leaving because I feel like a total idiot."

Anna smiled, and finished lining Emilie's lower eyelids. "You're not a total idiot. You were mislead, and that's not your fault. He didn't deserve you anyway. Now close your eyes."

Emilie sighed, but did as she was told. "Yeah, but after what that asshole Declan did to us, I can't believe I was stupid enough to let my guard down. If there's one thing that Sonia's right about, it's that society is messed up."

Anna kept concentrating on the eyeliner. "Mm."

She finished her work, sat back, and grinned. "There. Done."

Emilie smirked. "How do I look?"

"Rad."

Emilie smiled in acknowledgement. "Thanks, sis. Hey... do you ever just... wish that someone would kinda understand us? I hate the idea of having to rot in this place for the rest of my life."

"Sometimes." Anna replied honestly. "But then again I've sort of grown up surrounded by my sisters, so I'm used to it. Man, I'm so hungry right now."

"Shut up, idiot, or you'll make me hungry." Emilie laughed, lightly punching her sister's shoulder. "No, seriously. Do you ever get bored just sitting around here?"

"Of course!" Anna exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Dude, I hate it here, but it's way better than being dead. I just wanna get out more often, y'know? Go places. Embrace my inner adrenaline junkie."

"Dude?" Emilie laughed. "That saying is pretty much past it's time, dumbass."

Anna shrugged. "I like it. It has a nice ring to it. Okay, Em, I'm seriously getting hungry. Can I pleeeeeease go and get something? I promise I'll be right back."

Emilie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. And can you bring me something down? I'm getting hungry too."

"Why don't we get something to eat, then watch a movie?"

"No. Not Frozen again."

Anna giggled. "Nooo... I've only seen that movie six times. I don't have to watch it again."

"Anna. No Frozen. Lame movie."

"It's not lame!"

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"Isn't!"

Emilie sighed, and pulled herself up. "Whatever. I'm getting my own food."

She glanced around, then pulled Anna into a hug. "Thanks, sis. For just being there."

Anna grinned. "You're welcome."

"Idiot."

Anna hated having to walk around in such a stupid get-up.

When she or her sisters had to go into city to buy necessary items, they had to absolutely cover themselves in clothes to disguise themselves. People still stared at them, but no one said anything. She still felt embarrassed as hell.

She was dressed in a large jacket (courtesy of Cecilia's resourcefulness) that was zipped up and covered her shell, jeans that were annoyingly tight (she seriously preferred to wear shorts, and due to her petit build, they were generally an easy buy) gloves, a scarf that almost suffocated her, a wig that was currently annoying the hell out of her and oversized sunglasses. She felt ridiculous, but the faster she got the job done, the faster she could go home and take this stuff off.

People were giving her weird looks as she tried to casually move through the bustling city. Anna despised being trapped or in tight spaces more than anything, since she was a self-proclaimed gymnast and a total adrenaline junkie.

Just keep walking, Anna. You'll be out of here in- NO WAY! Is that Xbox selling for that much!? Nope, Celia would kill me. Just keep walking.

So what was she supposed to get again? Oh, duh. Food. A new wrench or something because Cecilia got the last one stuck somewhere. Eyeliner.

Anna herself wanted another pair of shorts, a braided headband and beads. Sonia told her to simply get the necessities then leave, because she didn't have the time to hang around. She had been captivated with the so-called "bohemian chic" trend that teenage girls tended to have an interest in, but she usually ended up frustrated because her stupid shell stopped her from wearing certain things.

Wanting to get away from all these staring people, Anna ducked in and out of particular stores to get what she needed, and avoided the gazes of the store workers. When she was sure she had everything, she went on a detour to her favourite music store to get something for Emilie to cheer her up. Being the closest to Emilie, Anna knew most things about her. Like her favourite colour was yellow and she loved music, especially grunge and rock. So her best bet was to get her a rock CD or something.

Sweet. Now she could go home. Anna headed for an empty alleyway, looked around, and quickly dropped the bags. The jacket was getting too stuffy, so she took it off and stuffed it into one of the bags. Okay, the cap and wig had to go too. She found space in another bag for them, and sighed in relief at finally being able to breathe. Why the hell did she have to do this stuff again?

"What the fuck?"

Anna froze, and slowly turned her head to see a couple who had stopped by the alleyway and were now staring at her in horror. Oh my God. What do I do!? Run? Maybe I can calm them down? It's worth a shot.

"Sarah, call the police." The guy told his girlfriend. "I don't know what the hell that thing is, but it's not human."

"You're calling the police?" Anna squeaked, now genuinely terrified. "No, please don't do that! They have guns, and gun wounds look like they hurt. Not like I've actually been shot before, but still... please just don't call the cops! I swear I won't hurt you!"

The dude looked almost as terrified as Anna did, and glanced at his girlfriend. "What the fuck is it, some kind of lizard-alien thing?"

"Turtle." Anna corrected him. Just run, Anna, you're so stupid! "And I think we totally got off on a bad foot, but I can forgive you guys for calling the cops. Can we just not go through this?"

By that time more people were coming over to investigate the commotion, and Anna found herself trapped. Her heart racing, she tried to think of a way to escape, and spotted a ladder on the building close to her. Slinging the bags over her shoulder, she ran at the ladder and leapt onto the fifth step, then pulled herself up to the rooftop. From there she didn't think- she just ran.

She got home safely, but as soon as she was inside, she dropped the bag and collapsed into a sobbing heap in Cecilia's arms. Instead of questioning her, Cecilia just comforted her. Even Emilie looked concerned. "Anna? What the hell happened to you?"

Anna figured she might aswell tell the truth. "I-I was... I was caught. I'm sorry..."

"You were what?" Sonia asked, shocked. She instantly became furious. "Anna, what did you do!?"

"It was way too hot to go home in that stupid jacket," Anna spluttered, "S-so I stopped somewhere where I thought no one would see me, took off the jacket, and someone saw me. I'm sorry..."

"How could you be so ignorant, Anna?" Sonia snapped. "You could have been seriously hurt, or worse, killed! Does "we must remain unseen" mean absolutely nothing to you!?"

"Back off, Sonia." Cecilia said in a testy tone, her arms still around Anna. "Anna's obviously shaken, but she's alive and unharmed, and that's all that matters. I'm sure this will all wear off soon... we just need to lay low for a while."

But it didn't wear off. Later that night there was a feature on the local news, where the reporters questioned "are we alone in the universe?" People were claiming to have seen a "lizard-freak-thing" and vice versa, but thankfully there was no actual footage of Anna. But still- people had seen her, police officers included. And people usually abided by the word of the authorities.

Anna was constantly spluttering apologies, though the others comforted her. Cecilia assured her that everything would blow over, but there was another report in the morning about earlier sightings of so-called "mutant reptiles" or of course the classic "freaks." Sonia grew increasingly alarmed at the rising danger in New Jersey, but assured her sisters that she would protect them.

What they didn't realise was that rumors often travelled fast, and the manager of the Sachs Industries branch in New Jersey had been caught in the web. He alerted Sachs, who immediately tracked down Eliza Scott, Declan's mother. She must have given them the location of Declan's old house, because later in the afternoon, employees of Sachs Industries were knocking at the door. "Mr Declan Scott? My name is Greg Carmichael, manager of New Jersey's branch of Sachs Industries. I'm here to discuss an interference in the recent Project Renaissance relaunch. I've been informed that you have knowledge of the test subjects."

The girls huddled in the basement, waiting for the knocking to stop. Cecilia looked like she'd definitely changed her mind about the whole 'this will all blow over' thing. "This isn't good."

"Testify, sister." Emilie said sarcastically.

"This isn't a joking matter." Sonia hissed. "We've reached a dead end, and there's absolutely no way we can evade the situation. Eventually he'll stop knocking, but he'll be back. And now that the city suspects there are mutants around, we won't be able to continue living the way we have been. Someone is looking for us, and I'm confident it's the man who landed us in this state in the first place."

Emilie smiled dryly. "No shit, Sherlock."

Anna giggled weakly, and Sonia glared in Emilie's direction. "As I said, this is not a joking matter."

"Okay, sorry. At least it cheered Anna up."

"So what are you implying we do?" Cecilia asked, narrowing her eyes. "We can't exactly live in the basement for the rest of our lives. We'd eventually starve."

Emilie looked disgusted. "To be honest, I'd rather die."

Anna's eyes widened. "I don't wanna die!"

Sonia sighed. "We're not going to die."

"Oh yeah, boss, so do you have a plan all lined up?" Cecilia's voice was rising, which wasn't exactly a good thing. She rarely raised her voice. "Because as far as I'm concerned, you're not really doing that great a job at playing leader. If you were any good at it, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"It's Anna who got us into this mess!"

"Well you're the one who sent her out there! If I was in charge, I wouldn't have sent her out there in the first place!"

Sonia narrowed her eyes. "Now is not a time to challenge my authority, Cecilia. There are people out there who know of our existence, and the greatest threat right now is the man at the front door."

As she spoke there was another knock, louder this time. An idea sparked in Sonia's head and she got up, and stood with her head held high. "We're leaving."

The others looked at her for a moment, shell-shocked. Cecilia stared at her younger sister. "Wait, what?"

"I said, 'we're leaving.'" Sonia repeated. "I don't know where we'll go, but we'll let the pathways ahead of us decide."

Emilie put up her hand. "Um, sorry to ask, but have you even figured out an escape route? We can't exactly walk out of this place."

Sonia nodded curtly. "Yes, I have. Now find whatever you believe is crucial or important to take with us, because we will not be returning. Obviously sustenance is the most important thing we need."

The other three looked at each other for a moment, then darted off to find their most important possessions. Emilie only really valued her eyeliner, her music collection and her round black industrial goggles, whereas Cecilia and Anna valued everything from perfume to movies and Anna's jewellery collection. Cecilia forgot about her prized bow and arrows and rushed upstairs in a panic to retrieve them, while Sonia simply added a few books and her training regime. They packed everything into Cheyenne's old duffle bag that Emilie found in the closet, and exited the house quietly around the back.

"So." Cecilia whispered to Sonia, walking silently beside her. "Where's this escape route of yours?"

"Several metres up the road." Sonia replied. "And if you all want to get out of here, I suggest you keep quiet and do as I say."

"I don't like this." Emilie muttered, nudging Anna.

"It's going to get worse." Sonia murmured. She stopped to look around, then gestured to something. "This is how we're getting out of here."

Cecilia came to a halt, and stared down with her mouth open. "You can't be serious."

"Gross..." Anna whined.

Emilie shrugged. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

"That's the spirit." Sonia said dryly. "Cecilia, Anna, we must stick together. I'm not leaving any of you behind, but this is our safest option to leave the city. Yes, it's not ideal, but it means we actually have a way out of this situation. So are you going to co-operate or not?"

Cecilia was silent for a moment, then she sighed reluctantly. "I suppose so."

Anna nodded, and managed a smile. "Mhm."

"Good." Sonia smiled in relief, and lifted the sewer lid. "So. Who would like to volunteer to go first?"

Cecilia grinned. "Well, you're the leader, aren't you?"

Sonia shrugged to loosen her shoulders. "Alright then."

With no complaints, she climbed down the ladder, and called up to them. "Next person forward."

Emilie pushed Anna forward. "Go on, unless you're a wimp."

Anna smiled playfully. "Ha, no way."

She approached the sewer, and easily climbed down. Emilie swore she heard Anna almost choking from the smell of the sewers.

"Good thing I brought perfume!" She coughed.

Cecilia groaned. "This is going to be a long and uneventful journey."

Chapter Text

Somewhere in New York...

"Carmichael. What's the situation?"

"I have attempted to speak with Declan Scott, sir. It appears he no longer occupies this residence."

Sachs immediately sat up, enraged. "Repeat that to me, Carmichael. It appears you've made a mistake."

"... Declan Scott no longer occupies this residence."

"You idiot!" Sachs barked. "Of course he doesn't! Declan is an employee of my main branch in New York, and he has informed me of the likely location of the test subjects. It is not Declan you're searching for, it is the test subjects! Do you understand? Because I'm struggling to understand which part of your orders you misheard!"

"Sir, your directive was to search for Declan Scott and interrogate him on his knowledge of the project relaunch. The first order was to locate Eliza Scott and ask her for the location of Declan Scott."

Sachs closed his eyes, and exhaled deeply through his nose. "Then you must have completely misheard. Your job was to interrogate Eliza Scott for the project records, then to locate and capture the test subjects."

"So where did Declan Scott come into this?"

"I gave you with information on Mr Scott's previous residence, which was provided by Mr Scott himself. You assured me that you understood exactly what your directive was."

"And it was to what, I'm sorry?"

"That's it." Sachs growled, clutching the phone so tight the plastic almost buckled. "You're fired."

"You're firing me!? Sir, I-"

"You have twelve hours to clear your office and leave your position. It's been a pleasant run, Mr Carmichael, but I'm afraid your work has been of unsatisfactory standards. Good riddance."

With that last comment he slammed down the phone, and banged his fist on the armrest of his chair. Was it really that easy to mess up on such a simple order? He couldn't comprehend it for the life of him. All Carmichael was required to do was locate and capture the specimens, which should have been a quick and painless task. But now he'd lost the manager of his company's New Jersey branch, and the mutants could be anywhere in the city. He doubted they'd leave New Jersey due to territorial reasons.

It was just what he needed- an incident similar to last year's. Dr. O'Neil's daughter had informed him of the mutant vigilantes that were derailing the Foot Clan attacks around New York, and it immediately registered that they were the result of Project Renaissance. As his master had proposed the idea of "curing" New York, Sachs created Project Renaissance to fulfil his master's wishes. At the same time, Sachs was on a desperate mission for funding to build a specific set of armour for his master.

Project Renaissance seemed to be a success, and soon scientists from different companies throughout the company were funding the project. However, the sudden success didn't last long- Dr. O'Neil set fire to the laboratory and destroyed the mutagen and any notes he could find. The funding that Sachs was going to use to build his master's armour was used to establish a project relaunch with another set of test subjects, and the project was made possible because Dr. O'Neil destroyed all but a small notepad on formula testing. Sachs had continuously experimented for almost a year to recreate the mutagen, and he was positive that he'd manufactured a perfect replica.

The project relaunch was also tampered with, though the offender was not caught, and the test subjects were supposedly set free. Sachs was desperate to please his master, but due to failure with both projects, it seemed he had no way of acquiring a working mutagen or continuing the project for building his master's armour.

That was where Declan Scott came in. Twelve years after the project relaunch disaster, Mr Scott began sending in extraordinary machinery of his own invention which was needed in the construction of the armour. Requiring more machinery, Sachs offered a job to Mr Scott, and he continued to invent the required parts. The machinery proved useful when two years later, his master had an impenetrable set of armour.

Due to the unintended assistance of Dr O'Neil's daughter, Sachs managed to capture the mutants of Project Renaissance in a final attempt to extract the mutagen from their blood, but yet again he faced failure. His master was supposedly neutralized and the release of the toxin into the city was prevented, which caused disturbance in the order of the Foot Clan. Their successor, Karai, was now the current leader, though Sachs had confidence that she'd simply be a stand-in for their master during his recovery.

So now the Project Renaissance relaunch test subjects had become victim to the mutagen, and were now supposedly running rampant in New Jersey. If Sachs managed to capture them, he could have another chance to extract the mutagen to fulfil his master's propositions of a city made free from continuous poisoning. Mr Scott was working hard in the meantime to build machinery to assist in the recovery process.

What Sachs didn't know was what the hell was he going to do to avenge his master? Sachs did want to fulfil his wishes, but he also wanted to be a little more original and use his own power-gaining ideas. Come on, it was 2015. It was time to get a little more creative.

He'd think about that later. Right now he needed those project relaunch test subjects. Maybe then he could consider his options. But he didn't exactly have a way of capturing them, since he'd just fired the only employee who could do it.

There was only one option. After his master's defeat, Sachs hadn't exactly severed the ties to the Foot Clan. And Karai, being one of honour was hopeful for their master's recovery, but if Sachs' plans had absolutely nothing to do with it, she would show no interest. So bribery was her best option.

She sends her soldiers out to capture the test subjects, Sachs provides the machinery to speed the recovery process, everyone's happy.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment from his own ideas, Sachs allowed himself to sit back in his chair and relax. "If you want something, you have to acquire it yourself."

It was unclear as to how long they had been walking, but it seemed to be dragging on forever.

Sonia was typically level-headed when they'd first entered the sewers, but she became less so the further they ran. She and Emilie were generally quite resilient and could go for miles without tiring, but at this point even Emilie was on the borderline of fatigue. Anna, being reasonably flexible, could withstand the strenuous exercise, but her limits were much less than that of her sisters- she tended to use up a lot energy in a small amount of time. Cecilia, on the other hand, hadn't adapted well to travelling long distances, so often complained that her legs were aching or that she was tired.

"Sonia, let's be realistic here." She said breathlessly. "We've been travelling for the best part of five hours, and so far we've only stopped twice. I get it, there's obviously somebody searching for us and we're not safe if we're within a twenty foot radius of New Jersey, but I highly doubt we're anywhere near it anymore. So... could we please take another break?"

"I'm hungry." Anna whined.

"I think the same goes for all of us." Cecilia growled. "Well, Sonia? Can we stop and take five, or is that too much for you?"

Sonia huffed in annoyance, and glowered at her older sister. "Five minutes, and then we continue."

Cecilia sighed in relief, and leaned against the tunnel wall. "Thank you. I seriously couldn't take any more."

Anna pulled a face. "I'm starving. Do we have anything vegetarian?"

Emilie, who'd been carrying the bag for most of the journey, sighed and dumped it on the ground. "Go ahead and take a look, bunny hugger."

Anna poked her tongue out, and crouched down to check through the bag. Her face fell. "There's no food in here. Like, none at all."

Sonia's eyes widened. "What!?"

Anna stared up at her sisters with a look of panic. "There's no food. GUYS, WE'RE GONNA STARVE!"

Emilie groaned and rolled her eyes. "For fuck's sake, Anna. Be quiet."

"Don't tell her to shut up, Emilie, it's your fault we're in this situation!" Cecilia barked. "You were supposed to assure we had sustenance, and obviously you neglected to do that! Now what the hell are we going to do!?"

Emilie shrugged. "Oops. Guess we'll just have to starve to death."

"If there is one thing we're not going to do, it's starve." Sonia said reassuringly. "But arguing certainly isn't going to get us anywhere. If anything, I think our best option is to exit the next manhole, and we'll think of something from there."

Emilie stifled a laugh. "She said manhole."

Ignoring that comment, Cecilia frowned. "Like what? Order takeout or something and knock out the delivery guy?"

Sonia seemed to consider it for a moment. "If we must."

"This is just getting more and more ridiculous by the second." Cecilia sighed. She paused, and looked around. "Wait, where's Anna?"

Emilie closed her eyes. "Shit, she's stupid."

A voice echoed off the tunnel walls, coming from directly ahead of them. "I'm not stupid!"

"You had us worried." Cecilia called. "Where are you?"

"Um... keep walking, losers."

"Are you kidding? We've only just stopped for a break!"

"Yeah, well, maybe we won't have to walk anymore. Come check this out!"

Intrigued, Sonia kept walking. Emilie and Cecilia shared a look of apprehension, but followed anyway. Anna was standing on the rungs of a ladder, and only half of her was visible. She'd found a manhole, but she was doing the one thing Sonia would have begged her not to do- making a scene.

"Anna, what the hell are you doing?" Emilie asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Get down from there before you're seen!" Cecilia hissed.

"No way!" Anna cried, her high-pitched voice bouncing off the tunnel walls. "Guys, it's like... a whole new world up here! This is so amazing!"

Cecilia moved towards the ladder. "Anna, don't make me-"

Sonia put out a hand to stop her. "Cecilia, be quiet for a moment. Anna, do you have any idea where we are?"

"Hold on!" Anna called. A few seconds of silence passed, then her voice floated back down again. "I think we're in New York!"

"New York?" Sonia repeated, taken aback. "Can you see anybody?"

"No, it's night-time and I think we're in an alleyway."

"Then how do you know we're in New York?"

"Because I can just see all these lights and pretty colours and buildings. I think it's New York anyway."

Sonia glanced at her sisters for reassurance. Cecilia just smirked. "You're the leader."

"Can we just get out of here?" Emilie asked, crossing her arms.

Instead of responding, Sonia moved to the ladder, and told Anna to get out of her way. As soon as Sonia had disappeared out of sight, Emilie climbed up the ladder, then a reluctant Cecilia. Worried that the bubbly and overexcited Anna would give them away, Sonia ordered them to advance to the nearest rooftop, which also gave them the opportunity to examine their surroundings.

"According to my geographical knowledge," Cecilia informed them, "we are definitely in New York City."

"I told you!" Anna exclaimed, punching the air in triumph. "But you guys didn't believe me, did you? Well, I was right!"

"We get it, dumbass." Emilie snapped. "Stop talking before I deck you."

"Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Because you're annoying. Now shut up."

"I would appreciate," Sonia growled, "that we cut the arguing for at least one night. That's all I ask- one night."

Muttering, Anna and Emilie turned away from each other. Sonia breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now, considering we don't know our way around New York City, I suggest we tread carefully and make our way across the rooftops to get a better idea of where we are. Would you all agree?"

Cecilia just waved her off. "I don't make the rules, nor are my opinions generally considered. So really that's a rhetorical question that you have to answer for yourself."

"Would you like to drag this out into a debate, Cecilia? Because discussing who has the better leadership skills is not in the best interest of the group."

"Pft, more like not in the best interest of yourself."

"It would be wise not to push me."

"What are you going to do, huh? Beat me up until I concede to subjugation? Because I don't think you'll go that far."

"Stop it!" Anna snapped. "You always fight about this and I don't like it! Why can't you both be leaders so you don't have to fight anymore? Just give each other a hug and say you're sorry!"

Emilie sighed and shook her head. "Really, Anna?"

"Yeah, really." Anna retorted. She turned away for a moment, and something in the distance captured her attention. "What's that?"

Cecilia followed her younger sister's gaze. "It's a port, Anna. What did you think it was?"

"I thought that maybe Christmas had come early and that Santa was leaving all the presents over there."

"You're... you're joking, right?"

Anna crossed her arms defensively. "No! I don't blame him for putting the presents there. There must be a lot of kids in New York."

"And wow, they just added another one." Emilie said dryly.

Anna giggled awkwardly, unsure as to whether it was a joke or not. "I think we should go check it out."

Sonia eyed her blankly. "No."

Anna shrugged. "I don't care, I'm going anyway. Come on, Em!"

"You're on your own, bubbles."

Anna had disappeared halfway through Emilie's sentence, leaving the words lingering meaninglessly. Unimpressed, Emilie turned back to the others. "Oh well, it's her funeral. Rest in pieces, Anna. You were so young and stupid."

"For God's sake, Emilie." Cecilia groaned. "That's why you should have stopped her. You know how reckless she is."

"Well, if you have any kind of hope for her, she'll eventually get lost and start calling out to us. Since her voice is so loud and irritating, we'll hear her, drag her to wherever we're supposed to be going, and everything will be fine."

Sonia practically glowered. "Because you let her go, you'll be the one to search for her. If all of us go, it will likely attract attention. So we will wait here until you return safely with Anna."

"Get over yourself. I'm not doing that."

Cecilia gave her sister a more gentle look. "Emilie, she's your sister. Sisters stick together. Now go and find Anna."

All they had was each other, blah blah blah... she'd heard it enough times already. "Alright, I get it. Fine. But if any of you touch that eyeliner, I'll bury you six feet underground."

I'm coming to find you, idiot. Don't do anything stupid.

"Hey, guys. Think I can hijack that boat? It'll be my personal party cruise. 'Hey, ladies... wanna take a ride on Mikey's bitchin' cruise liner? It's free of charge...'"

"Like anyone's gonna party with a mutant turtle, idiot."

"Come on, bro, you know the chicks will be lining up to get down with the one and only Miche-"

"He ain't gonna listen to me. Someone else tell him he's confused."

"You're just jealous that I'm the one with the girlfriend."

"What 'girlfriend'?"

"The hogosha, man!"

"I'll hogo-slap you in a second if you don't shut up."

The eldest of the turtles glanced back at them, narrowing his eyes. "Shhh."

"Don't fucking 'shh' me-"

"Raphael, when we're on surveillance, we're supposed to be silent. You're far from it, so could you at least keep your voice down?"

"Guys, I'm picking up minimal activity somewhere in this area. And I mean besides us."

"Is it the pizza guy? About time! He's like five minutes late! That's five bucks he's no longer getting."

"Hold on, Mikey. Donnie, can you figure out who- or what- it is?"

"It's too difficult to tell, but I wouldn't go getting my hopes up. I'd assume it's just a dockworker."

"Or the pizza guy." Michelangelo jumped off the shipping crate he'd been sitting on for the past twenty minutes, landing beside Leonardo. "Man, I'm starving. I'm gonna go see if that guy's here yet. Frankenmikey needs pizza before he starts decomposing."

"Mikey, can't you just wait a little longer-"

"Chill, dude, I'm totally responsible." The youngest of the turtles grinned, completely at ease. "Ish."

He sidled between the shipping crates, with absolutely no idea what he was doing. Well, you never really thought on an empty stomach. You either had to suck it up, or you attempted to kill whoever kept you waiting for so long. Mikey wasn't really a killing sort of guy, he was more of the unintentionally-creepy-threatening type. So the pizza guy would probably live for another day.

Pulling himself up onto another shipping crate, he noticed a shady-looking guy talking with one of the few dockworkers in the area. Looking closer, he realised that the shady guy was wearing the same uniform as- no way. It couldn't be. Weren't they off the radar by now? If that Shredder dude was dead, then why was the Foot Clan still around? Shredder was like, the foot or something, and the clan were the toes. Without the foot the toes couldn't move or anything. So without Shredder, the Foot Clan were pretty much useless, or so he thought. This was some real philosophical shit.

Mikey loved gossip and the thrill of dangerous situations, so he jumped to the next shipping crate to listen in. The sea breeze was astringent, rolling in like harsh whispers, as if to tell him he was making a stupid decision. It almost reminded him of Leo. Eh, what the hell. It wasn't like there was anything else exciting going on besides a re-run of Friends.

The Foot soldiers were speaking in hushed tones so Mikey couldn't exactly hear what they were saying. The portworker was putting up an argument so he was loud enough to hear.

"Look, I'm tellin' ya, you aint permitted to enter any of the container terminals without authorization. And the only way you can get authorization is to be an employee. I'm sorry 'bout that."

"I am not asking for permission; I am telling you to step aside."

"No can do, pal, you aint allowed further than where I'm standing. I'm callin' the police."

The Foot soldier began to advance. "That is not a wise choice."

One by one, more Foot soldiers emerged from the concealed areas behind the shipping crates, following their comrade with light feet as a means of intimidation. The worker held up his clipboard as a rather pitiful shield, and backed away until he was pressed against the cool ribbed metal of a shipping crate. Beyond terrified, he dropped to his knees with his hands raised in defence.

"Please, don't hurt me." He pleaded, tears beading in the corners of his eyes. The poor dude was defenceless. "I'm just doin' my job. Please, man, you don't wanna do this."

The nearest Foot soldier faltered, moved a hand to his belt, and withdrew a single-edged blade. "Your pleas are futile."

Okay, now would definitely be a time to kick ass. As Mikey prepared to intervene, he caught sight of an indistinct shape darting into the combat zone, with such fluid movement that it almost went over his head. A smudge of green blurred past his line of vision, and a Foot soldier made a strangled noise almost in synchronization. Great, one of the guys was stealing his thunder again. Probably Raph. He never got to have his own fun anymore. Scowling, Mikey dropped off the side of the crate, knocking over a Foot soldier. "Not cool, dude, I was totally about to wipe the floor with these guys. Oh well, I can forgive you as long as you left some for me."

Ignoring his ally and instead focusing on his own fight, Mikey turned to the nearest two Foot soldiers. Not a challenge in the slightest. Grasping the wooden handles of his nunchaku, he turned to elbow one opponent in the face, then released his grip enough to let the chain unfold and whirl in a repetitive 360. His fingers moved with precision and dexterity as he swung his weapons at the soldier running for him, earning the soldier a hard thwack to the temple. He dropped to the ground, comatose, allowing Mikey to give his full attention to the next one. He ducked as the vindictive soldier swung his leg up in a roundhouse kick, and swerved to the side as his opponent lunged, now seething.

"Hey, no need to be rude. I'm sorry about your friend, alright? It's nothing personal."

The Foot soldier didn't respond, but rather attempted to lunge again.

"Guess sorry doesn't cut it, huh? Okay, you've got five seconds to walk away and pretend this never happened. Five... four... three... two... one and a half... one... one..."

Instead of finishing the countdown, Mikey simultaneously swung the hardwood sticks of his nunchaku the into his opponent's face, hitting him hard enough to knock him to the ground. Figuring he should make his final move as epic as possible, he ran at the doomed, only conscious Foot soldier, and launched a kick to his stomach. As soon as Mikey's foot connected with his adversary's abdomen, the guy was out cold. Feeling a rush of adrenaline, Mikey positively radiated energy. Man, all it took was a good work-out to make him feel alive.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. You want a piece of me, huh? Better watch yo' step, bro, cause you gonna get your ass kicked. No one messes with the shadow."

He paused from his triumph to confront whichever brother had aided him in the fight, too full of pride to comprehend what he was doing. "Bro, did you see my sick moves? Course you didn't. I'm transparent... so fast you can't even see me."

Whoever he was talking to whipped around, and it took him a matter of seconds to realise it wasn't any of his brothers. In fact, he didn't even register anything until they opened their mouth and screamed.

As an immediate reaction, Mikey screamed back. The stranger screamed again, their voice high pitched, and lashed out at Mikey. Their hand connected with his face, leaving a red-hot stinging sensation, and he stumbled. He raised his hand to the throbbing mark on his face, stunned. Okay, so he would have sworn it was Raph if the stranger didn't scream like a girl.

"Whoa!" He cried. "Dude, what was that for!?"

"I'm sorry!" A feminine, high-pitched voice responded. "I-I didn't mean to hit you, it's just that you came out of nowhere and scared the heck out of me. I'm totally sorry! Are you okay?"

Once the fogginess left his eyes and his vision came back, Mikey looked up to see who was talking to. His jaw fell slack, and his eyes swept over the stranger before him. No way. This couldn't be happening. Like, it shouldn't be happening. At all.

He'd seen a few girls in his life, but nothing had prepared him for this. Looking back at him was no human girl. She had scaly green skin, was a couple of inches shorter than him, and was sporting a shell.

And then reality hit that there was a female mutant turtle standing in front of him. No way. No way no way no way. It's not possible. Right?

She looked even more shell-shocked than he did. "W-what the hell!? Um, are you- is this- are we- no way."

Mikey just stared at her. "That's what I was thinking."

The girl just stared back, her mouth open. "Are you..."

"A turtle?"

"... yeah."

"Not really your average turtle, but yep."

Her eyes widened. "... me too."

"Dude."

"Did you just say dude?"

"Well, you're like more of a 'dudette', so..."

"Dudette? I love it! It sounds so... rad."

He was grinning at this point. "Hey, you speak my language!"

"I do?"

"Yeah, slang is like my main language." Mikey laughed. He looked her up and down again, taking in her features. Hazel eyes, pretty features, petit figure, nice waist, voluptuousness in the chest restrained by her plastron- Ooh, Mikey, she's cute. "The name's Michelangelo, but pretty girls like you can call me Mikey or the Shadow."

She stared at him for a moment, eyes wide, and suddenly smiled. She was even prettier when she smiled. "The Shadow? Seriously?"

"I know. Awesome, right? The ladies go crazy for it."

"Eh... I prefer Mikey." She giggled. "No offence. I'm Anna."

"Has anyone ever called you 'angel'?"

"No... why?"

"Seriously? Just being honest, angelcakes, it fits."

Anna grinned. "That was super cheesy."

"Cheese... oh man! I totally forgot about the pizza guy!" Mikey exclaimed. "Raph's probably eaten all of the pizza by now!"

Anna looked confused. "Raph?"

"Oh yeah, he's my brother." Mikey said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He thinks he's cooler than me, but..."

"But he knows he aint stupid enough to say it to Raphael's face." Mikey turned towards the source of the voice, but had his face pushed back. "Right, numb-nuts?"

"Love you too, bro." Mikey replied, his voice muffled by his brother's hand.

"Raph, cut it out." Leonardo sighed, lightly pushing his brother's shoulder. He glanced at Mikey. "Mikey, don't run off like that again. We all stick together."

"Looks like Leo won hide and seek. Good job, bro! How did you find me?"

"We heard a girly scream and assuming it was you, we followed it." Donatello said matter-of-factly.

Raphael smirked. "The nerd made a funny. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Nah, man, that wasn't me, it was my new homegirl." Mikey explained. "Anna, these are my bros. Bros, this is Anna. She's one of ussss."

Even with four intimidating guys in front of her, Anna seemed to be perfectly fine, besides being shocked at the fact that there were other mutants in the world. "... whoa."

Donatello studied Anna through his high-tech goggles, seemingly trying to figure out if she was indeed a mutant. Raphael looked her up and down in disbelief, then grunted as if he couldn't care less. Leonardo stepped forward, calm but curious, then simply gave a polite nod of his head.

"I don't believe it." Donatello removed his goggles and adjusted his glasses, his incredulous gaze fixed on Anna. "As she looks to be in her adolescent years, I can safely say that it's impossible that she's also a mutant. According to my resources, we were the only test subjects to be administered with the mutagen, and even after it was destroyed there is no way it could be manufactured again unless it was a non-functioning prototype."

Raphael grunted again, and crossed his arms. "Whatever the hell he said. I ain't buyin' it."

Leonardo gave them both a testy look, before turning back to a bemused Anna. "Hello, miss. I'm Leonardo. Please forgive my comrades, they've obviously forgotten what it means to have integrity."

"Yeah." Mikey droned. "Rude."

Anna cleared her throat. "Uh... it's okay. My sister's always like that, so it's no big deal."

"You have a sister?" Mikey asked incredulously, taken aback. "Is she hot?"

That earned an elbow to his side from Leo. The look Anna gave him indicated that he was probably the first person to ever ask her that. She opened her mouth to reply, but faltered when someone called her name. "Anna? Where the hell are you? I swear I'm going to floor you as soon as I see your stupid face."

Anna bit her lip, and glanced around nervously. "Oookay, I should go now. It's not that I don't want to talk to you guys, because it's not like that at all. It's just that when my sister says stuff like that... she really means it. Um... see ya round, I guess?"

"Of course, babe." Mikey took Anna's hand, and lightly kissed it. Dude, you're so smooth! You've totally got this. "I'm available whenever you need me. Just ask and you shall receive."

His brothers groaned in exasperation. Not expecting something like that, Anna looked from her hand back to her new friend and beamed, a spirited gleam in her eyes. Her name was called again, more impatiently this time, and she withdrew her hand and disappeared into the shadows. Mikey stared after her, dumbstruck.

"Did you see that?" He asked, his eyes lighting up in excitement. "She's so into me!"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Actually, Mikey, you seemed to be making her feel somewhat awkward." Donnie interjected. "So I'm gonna agree with Leo."

"You guys are just jealous since I'm the one all the ladies want." Mikey said triumphantly. He hesitated, realising something, and his eyes widened. "Hold up! She just took off and I didn't even ask her where she lived or for a number or anything..."

"I highly doubt she has a phone."

"But it doesn't hurt to ask. Not trying to be creepy or anything, but how am I gonna see my homegirl again?" He paused again, then chased after Anna. "Come back, angel, I need your digits so I can hit you up sometime! No creepiness intended!"

Silence drifted past them like a mild summer breeze, temporarily passing and leaving reality burning into the surrounding atmosphere. There were other mutants besides them. Meeting another mutant had shocked Leonardo to a degree, but the more he thought about it, the less surprised he was. Who was to say that there weren't any others like them? He wasn't going to be close-minded about it, but he certainly wasn't going to trust the situation nor this 'Anna'. Considering the purpose for their own creation, who wasn't to say that this other mutant was being used for the same reasons? None of them seemed to know the answer. They just stood there, rendered speechless.

Donatello was the first one to speak. "What just happened?"

"Don't know, don't care." Raphael growled. "But I'm gonna kick Mikey's ass when I see him. I'm starvin' and he's keeping me waiting."

Leonardo lightly pushed his brother's shoulder. "Hey. Remember that thing sensei keeps telling you? Patience is the key which solves all problems. So we find Mikey, get the answers we need, then we eat. Family above everything else."

"I still don't understand." Donatello maundered. "A mutation at that frequency can of course only originate from the specific mutagen that was tested on us. There is no way that another life-form could experience that mutation unless the same mutagen was used on them."

Leonardo didn't understand what the big deal was. "Then the same mutagen had to be used."

"To manufacture a perfect replica would take years."

So that was true, but if they could do it once, surely they could do it again. It was something that Leo wanted to think about later rather than now, as his youngest brother had just left with no indication of where he was going- besides the fact that he was chasing after Anna. Leo didn't want anything happening to Mikey, and he had so many questions that were just burning on the tip of his tongue, so he indicated for his brothers to follow and ran after Mikey.

Family was first priority, answers were second.

Chapter Text

Emilie took her time while making her way to the port, did a quick search for Anna, then gave up. She knew her younger sister was in the area, so she just let her wander around staring at the shipping crates. It at least gave Emilie some solitude, which she often depended on. It allowed her to heal in her own time. She still wasn't over... nevermind. Not wanting to think about it any further, she mentally warned the memory to 'fuck off.'

She waited another fifteen minutes, then started calling out to her younger sister. She wasn't having any of this shit tonight, especially after everything that had just happened. They'd left the only home they'd ever known to arrive in a place they were unfamiliar with, and it scared her. Sonia was confident once they started their journey, and now it was over, their only priority was to find somewhere to reside.

How the hell were they supposed to do that when they had absolutely no idea where they were? Sure, New York was the name of the place provided as a means of reassurance, but to place your feet on solid ground you had to explore the dimensions above first. You had to understand your surroundings and become comfortable with them to really know where you were.

After a few minutes of repeating Anna's name, she made her way around a few shipping crates to stand at Emilie's side before she took off again. Emilie noticed her younger sister was running at a quicker pace than normal, and she wore an expression of what Emilie speculated to be shock or mortification.

"Anna?" She asked, a slight trace of concern in her voice. "What's wrong with you?"

Anna shook her head, though her expression didn't change. "You're not gonna believe what just happened. It's like... the most awesome thing ever."

"Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

Anna just waved her off, so Emilie assumed she wanted to wait until she could tell the others. They took a shortcut to access the rooftops in concealment, then made their way back to the now-quite-frustrated Sonia and Cecilia. The moment Anna stepped foot on that particular rooftop, Sonia's "great lecture" began. Generally she carried on for quite a while, but this time she lost the opportunity to do so halfway through.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to you if someone caught you? New York is much larger in comparison to New Jersey, and we've never been here before. You could have been killed, you could have compromised the team... are you listening?"

"... I guess. But Sonia-"

"You guess? You think this is all a joke? Well you need to grow up, Anna, because it's not a joke. The way you're acting is immature, risking your life just for the thrill of it. We're not in New Jersey anymore, we're somewhere much bigger, which means more danger. I- we- can't lose you."

"I'm sorry, okay? It was just a bit of fun. And you won't believe-"

Sonia almost lost her cool at that. "Exactly, it's all fun to you! Well it's certainly not fun when you end up dead and we have to live with the fact that we've lost a sister!"

Stunned, Anna took a step back. Sonia was visibly furious with her broad shoulders tense and the taut muscles of her arms straining under her skin. Anna opened her mouth to reply, but was cut short when she heard Mikey's voice.

At least, she was sure she heard it. "Yo, angelcakes! You totally ditched me back there! And I thought we were hitting it o- whoa. You never told me you had three friends."

Bubbling with excitement, Anna turned away from Sonia to greet her new friend. "Mikey! What are you doing here?"

Emilie's jaw fell slack. "Who the hell is that!?"

Alarmed, Cecilia rose her bow to her shoulder in an impressively fluid motion, and pulled back the arrow. The point hovered dangerously, it's full focus on the stranger. Sonia stood in a particular stance, more than ready to attack if necessary.

"Wait, don't hurt him!" Anna exclaimed, moving to stand in front of her friend. "He's... uh... he-"

"I'm awesome? Handsome? Attractive?" Mikey asked, trying to find the humor in the situation. "I know. I get that all the time."

"Anna." Sonia demanded. "Explain."

"I just met him!" Anna blurted. "There was this fight going on so we kicked butt together, I slapped him, and then we started talking about cheese. I know this sounds crazy, but... he's like us. You know... a mutant. Obviously."

Cecilia didn't shift from her position with her bow and arrow at the ready, whereas Sonia resumed a normal posture, seeing as there was no threat. Emilie stared at Mikey, wide-eyed with disbelief. "Are you telling me... t-there's another mutant besides us?"

"Mikey!"

Mikey cringed. "Uh oh. I'm boned."

He turned towards the edge of the rooftop, and glanced back at the girls for a moment. "Can I put you guys on hold for like five seconds?"

Leaning over the rooftop, he looked down at his brothers and waved ecstatically. "Dudes! I'm up here! You're not gonna believe this but you know my new homegirl? She has friends!"

Leonardo's voice floated back up. "Mikey, quit playing around and get back down here."

Raphael spoke next. "I thought you said you wanted answers."

That made Leo hesitate. "I was getting to that."

Sonia, who'd been listening to the conversation, approached the ledge and glared down at Mikey. "You. What are your intentions with my sister?"

Mikey didn't notice her. "Nothing out of line, dudette, I just wanted to chill with her! Your sister's awesome!"

"Your statement implies you're lying. And I'm not letting you near Anna. I don't want her being influenced in a way worse than she already has."

Did she just call him a bad influence? Because that comment kinda stung. Pissed off, Mikey got up, ready to give it straight back. "Okay, that was rude on so many levels. Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the one and only Michelangelo and I'm one of the sickest ninjas out-"

His glare softened once it fell upon the tall, lean and brown-eyed beauty, and he was rendered speechless. "- there."

She narrowed her eyes, which were gloriously sharp and unyielding. So Anna was pretty, but her sister... she took the word "captivating" to a whole new level. Her lips were full and inviting, her eyes were dark... she was so unlike the others- her emanation was magnetic. Her features were crafted in such a way that she just naturally radiated mysteriousness, and that was what had him hooked. In Mikey's eyes, there was only one word to sum her up- beautiful. He was instantly hypnotized.

Even he was surprised that he could be rendered speechless so easily, and even more surprised that his attraction towards a girl could have that effect. Mikey wasn't one to be easily silenced, so his brothers and Splinter told him often. But now he stood rooted to the spot, wide eyed and at a loss for words. This was, as Splinter would have said, unnatural.

She observed him with a glare capable of perforation. "... what are you staring at?"

Her voice, though sultry, was equally virulent. He could listen to her all day if she didn't sound like she was about to castrate him. "... nothin'."

Now she looked at him as if she despised the ground he walked on. "Do you intend on fraternizing with my sister?"

Come on, Mikey, get a hold of yourself! "That's like being friends with her, right? What's the big deal?"

She ignored him. "Who are you?"

Here was the opportunity to impress her. He knew he'd get her swooning as soon as he was done. "You mean you've never heard of me? That's harsh, baby girl. I'm Michelangelo, kickass ninja and full-time ladies' man. I'd give you my card, but my, uh... agent hasn't made any yet."

She raised a brow ridge. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Oh, she was feisty. Definitely his type. "You will, baby. You always believe it when you see it!"

Confused, Emilie nudged Cecilia and Anna. "Can someone tell me a) what the fuck is going on, b) who he is, and c) why he's stalking Anna?"

"His name is Mikey, and he's not stalking me." Anna protested. "He just wants to hang out some time."

Cecilia had evaluated the scene enough and lowered her bow. "Can we address the fact that there is another mutant besides us of the same species?

"Let me stop you right there. Guys are a different species entirely."

"Emilie!"

Anna started giggling.

Emilie reached out and pinched her arm. "What?"

Anna gave a half-supressed laugh. "I think Mikey's trying to flirt with Sonia."

And he didn't seem to be succeeding, either. She looked beyond impressed. "You're kidding. Does he want to get his ass kicked?"

"He's going after Sonia." Cecilia didn't seem convinced. "I think he's insane."

Judging by the fact that Anna lit up when Mikey appeared, Emilie thought she'd be quite upset by him trying to hit on Sonia. But she was just grinning. "I think it's cute. Maybe he can get her to lighten up."

Emilie smiled to herself. That's my sis. Doesn't let anything get her down.

"So you approve?" Cecilia asked, smirking.

Anna's eyes twinkled. "Totally approve."

A voice floated up to them, husky and distinctly male. "If you don't hurry up, Mikey, I'm gonna drag your ass down here! I ain't waitin' on you any more!"

"There's more of them?" Emilie cried. "Am I missing something? Because you guys seem pretty damn calm about it!"

Cecilia sighed. "How's this- I am maintaining a calm and composed outward form, however that is all a pretence. I am internally struggling to comprehend the situation."

"Oooh." Anna murmured.

"In English, Celia." Emilie snapped.

"I'm freaking out but I'm just not showing it."

"And why didn't you say so?"

"Because I wanted to confuse you."

"Thanks a lot, asshat."

Anna watched as Sonia and Mikey continued talking. Poor Mikey was smitten with the seriously-serious Sonia, who never laughed let alone felt joy. Her life was centered around jujitsu and jujitsu alone. Anna was pretty concerned for Mikey since it seemed like he didn't have a chance in hell, but she wasn't going to be narrow-minded about it. She was willing to believe that romance could bloom between the two... if Mikey tried hard enough. Sonia certainly wasn't a push-over.

She was jolted from her pensive state when Emilie let out a shriek and scurried behind her, grabbing the younger mutant's shoulders and digging her nails in. The pain caused Anna to stumble and she fell over. Just as Cecilia was about to ask why Anna was laughing hysterically, a bulking figure caught her eye. Her jaw dropped. "Oh my."

"Look!" Anna giggled. "I'm spinning on my shell! I didn't know this was possible!"

"Who..." Emilie pointed at said figure and rose her voice, "... THE HELL is that!?"

On instinct, Cecilia rose her bow and arrow again as the figure came into view. Now quite nervous, she took a step back. The mutant before her was massive build-wise, considerably taller and sported a red bandana. He bared his teeth, straining the cut on his upper lip, and bit down on his toothpick. His steely gaze moved to Cecilia's bow, and he reached out and snatched it off of her. Cecilia almost screamed.

"You want this back?" His voice was throaty, intimidating. He eyed the bow as if it were an insignificant piece of wood. "I could think of a 'lotta ways to use this."

"Please give it back." There was really nothing else she could say at this point.

He seemed to think it over, but only briefly. "You aimed at me, so I ain't giving it back."

Defeated, Cecilia lowered her head. Emilie noticed this, which caused her temper to flare. If there was one thing she wouldn't tolerate, it was people other than herself victimizing her sisters. With a sudden air of confidence she stepped forward, eyes alight. "Give the bow back and there won't be any problems."

He paused and slowly turned to her, silently daring her to keep talking. Now looking at him full-on, she noticed he was a lot taller than her and rather attractive. "What are you gonna do, half pint?"

Emilie would have tried to assail him had Cecilia not have stopped her. "Who the fuck are you calling half pint, Bruce Banner? Let's see how tough you are when I send you home with your half-inch tail between your legs."

That seemed to really piss him off. "Bring it on, princess."

Emilie lunged, fists clenched and at the ready, but Cecilia had her restrained. For the shortest of her sisters, she was considerably strong, so holding her back was a task. Cecilia would have been concerned about the muscle-bound mutant having a go at Emilie, but Mikey appeared out of nowhere and dived in front of him. "Whoa whoa whoa! Raph, chill out! Can't we all just get along?"

The bigger mutant growled. "Get out of my way, Mikey."

"Not until you say sorry for being a jerk." Mikey said airily. He turned to Emilie. "And you should say sorry for calling him the Hulk. That wasn't nice."

"I'm not the only one who understood the Bruce Banner reference!" Cecilia cried.

Emilie sneered. "I don't need to apologize."

Sonia strode towards them, her jaw set as a sign of frustration. She grabbed Emilie's arm, and swiftly pulled her back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to kick the living shit out of tall, swole and ugly here." Emilie muttered, pulling her arm away. "He took Cecilia's bow and it pissed me off. I wasn't gonna let him pick on her."

Sonia rested a hand on her shoulder, her grip reassuring. "Fighting isn't the best way to solve things. Sometimes it's easier to just turn around and walk away."

Emilie instantly tensed up. "I know. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Just don't let it happen again."

Emilie pursed her lips together, knowing she couldn't make any promises. "Where's Anna?"

"Sitting on the far side of the rooftop."

There was a swelling ache in Emilie's chest, which she could only lessen by talking to her younger sister. She slipped away without saying another word. She didn't have to. Sonia knew Emilie was troubled, that she had a scar as deep as her emotions ran, and she was vulnerable. Sometimes words weren't needed- all it took was silence to show how large the burden on one's shoulders really was.

Putting her concerns aside, Sonia turned to the one who'd angered Emilie. "Whether it was deserved or not, I apologize for my sister's behaviour. She's irrepressibly temperamental."

He grunted. "Whatever."

"What he really means is 'I'm sorry' but he's too cool to say it." Mikey interrupted, grinning. "Right, bro?"

"Wrong, bro."

"Don't worry about it, Mikey." Alarmed, Cecilia towards the source of the voice, and realised that there had been another two mutants there the whole time trying to restrain their companion. The one who spoke was stocky, wore a blue bandana and had piercing blue eyes. "He's not going to apologize, even though he should because we don't want any trouble. Do we, Raphael?"

"He won't say sorry unless we fall off a building again." Mikey chuckled.

Raphael just glowered. "You're askin' for it, bro."

The one with the blue bandana reached down and picked up Cecilia's bow, then turned to her. "Is this yours?"

Cecilia nodded, unable to form words for the time being. "Mhm."

He dipped his head politely, and handed her the bow. She thought it an honourable act. "My apologies for my brother's behaviour. He's... a short fuse."

Cecilia smiled demurely. "I can understand that. Thank you, by the way."

"Anytime." He replied. "Donatello, how much time have we got left?"

"Donatello" was taller and slimmer than the others, wore a purple bandana, and had accessorised with an abundance of wires and mechanical paraphernalia. He adjusted his taped glasses. "Twenty minutes."

Sonia cleared her throat. "May I ask what exactly is going on?"

The blue-masked one eyed her curiously. "We came to... collect our brother, however-"

She raised a brow ridge. "However...?"

"We need answers." He continued. "How. Why. I'm sure it's all self-explanatory."

Sonia understood. She straightened up, keeping her gaze fixed. "Very well. From the beginning?"

The look he gave them was an answer enough.

If it hadn't made sense before, it now did. Sonia started at the beginning, and finished at the end. She was clear and consistent, and explained everything in a way that they could process. Leonardo listened intently as everything seemed to sew itself together, creating one seamless narrative. Though some things still appeared strange, he had the answers he needed, hence he found it easier to accept the fact that there were other mutants out there.

Michelangelo sat beside Leonardo, wide-eyed and absorbing every word with fascination. Raphael sat in silence, acting as if he couldn't care less, but Leonardo knew he was listening. Even Donatello, who had initially been deep-seated in his opinions, paid attention. Sonia explained most of their history, though Cecilia made small scientific contributions when Donatello asked for them.

"So let me get this straight." Leonardo interjected, leaning back on his arms. "Even after the, uh... ooze... was destroyed the first time, Sachs gave the project another shot?"

Sonia nodded curtly. "In the following year."

"But it can't have been the following year." Donatello argued. "I did the math, and it would take at least two years to create the mutagen up to testing standards. The formula alone-"

"If he made it once, I'm sure he could have made it again." Cecilia replied. "Scientists tend to have a brilliant sense of memory, especially when they've achieved a particularly memorable breakthrough. And I was told that he still had a journal of notes from the original project."

Raphael shook his head. "The guy's batshit crazy."

Mikey stared blankly ahead. "I so didn't understand any of that."

Sonia closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "Sachs was desperate enough to relaunch the project. We were the test subjects."

Cecilia flinched, though Sonia was unaffected. She seemed to used to hearing those words, which was in a way admirable. People were generally sensitive to words. Some endured the pain and became impervious to it, whereas others wore the scars for the rest of their lives. Sonia seemed to be one of the lucky ones.

Accept and move on, like Leo was taught to do. At least they were on the same wavelength, which made everything more believable. He'd grown up hidden from society, and never imagined the possibilities nor had the opportunity to come across other mutants. Now that everything had been explained, he felt more at ease. Sure, it was unsettling when Leo met Anna, but he wasn't bigoted. He wasn't raised that way.

Cecilia spoke up. "The mutagen was supposed to be a prototype, but... here we are. I guess it worked, huh?"

Sonia gave her a sideways glance. "And it looks like we weren't the only ones."

Raphael scowled. "And you were raised by surface-dwellers."

"That's right."

He grunted. "Like I'm gonna believe that."

"Raph." Leo hissed.

"What, you believe them? 'Cause I don't think any surface-dwellers would adopt mutants. Who would? It sounds fucking stupid."

"There was only one person who wasn't as censorious as the rest of society." Sonia said firmly. "At least I thought she wasn't. Cheyenne. She's the reason we didn't have to face spending our lives in a laboratory."

"And Declan." Cecilia added.

Sonia shot a glare in her direction. "Cecilia. Don't."

"He was just as much a part of our lives-"

"And yet he was willing to forsake us for his own egocentric reasons." Sonia snapped. "Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because my focus isn't revenge."

Mikey coughed. "Does anyone else think this is a coincidence? Raph? Leo?"

"Nor is revenge my focus." Sonia replied, getting up. "But I learn from my mistakes."

She glanced at the boys. "Please excuse me. I have to check on my sisters. I'm afraid they may have done something stupid."

"I can relate." Leo smirked. "Go ahead."

Sonia smiled wanly, and glided off. Mikey watched her, enthralled.

"Did you guys see that smile?" He asked. "When she smiles it's like... opening twenty cans of Pepsi."

His brothers and Cecilia stared at him.

Mikey shrugged. "Y'know- bubbles. You feel all tingly and stuff. She's so beautiful..."

Donnie shook his head. "Oh no..."

"Not this again." Leo sighed.

"I thought the hogosha was your girl." Raph muttered, the slightest trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah, she's still my number one girl. For now."

"Maybe you should tell your brother to take it easy with Sonia. She's not easy to win over." Cecilia told Leonardo. She smirked at the thought. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"You guys said you're from New Jersey. Why did you come to New York?"

Cecilia hesitated, bit her lip, and glanced around nervously. Finally her eyes landed back on Leo. "Long story short- Anna was seen and the authorities were involved. I guess the rumours moved quickly because soon we had a guy working for Sachs at our doorstep. He was asking for Declan to "hand over the test subjects" or something. Who knew what extent he would have gone to if we'd just stayed put? We'd eventually be caught. So we left, and ended up here."

Leonardo was about to speak when Mikey interrupted. "And you just got here, huh? Welcome to the Big Apple!"

Cecilia smiled timidly. "Thanks. It's nice to have a change, I guess. I just don't know what we're going to do from here."

"Get food." Cecilia glanced over her shoulder as her sisters proceeded towards her. Emilie flopped down next to her, letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't know about you, know-it-all, but I'm starving."

Raphael gritted his teeth. "I ain't done with you, little miss sunshine."

"Call me 'little miss sunshine' again and I'll punch your lights out."

"You talk shit and don't back it up. Come on, princess, here's your opportunity."

Leo grabbed his brother's arm. "Raph, don't. You know we don't start fights."

Cecilia grinned uneasily, wrapping an arm around Emilie's shoulder. "And Emilie here just likes to talk herself up. I think we got off to a rough start, so maybe we should take a different approach. Like a proper introduction. Emilie, this is Raphael. Raphael, this is Emilie. I don't think she appreciates being called 'little miss sunshine,' so we should stick with 'Emilie.' Now can we all just get along?"

"Dropkick." Emilie muttered under her breath.

"Emilie. Enough." Sonia said firmly. She politely bowed her head in Leonardo's direction. "We best be leaving, since we're exhausted. But we... enjoyed the conversation and company. Hopefully we will meet again."

"Wait." Sonia turned, raising a brow ridge. Leonardo pulled himself up. "You're on the run from Sachs, right? You can't just hide from the guy. I'm pretty sure he's posted in New York."

"Sachs' Industries main branch is based here." Donatello informed them. "Leo, we're half an hour late. We should probably get out of here."

Sonia thought for a moment, but managed a smile. "We'll figure something out."

Mikey didn't even realise what was going on until the girls started walking away. Panicking, he tried to think of something to say. They were about to walk into something they had no idea about, let alone into a place they'd never been to. How were they supposed to find somewhere to stay if they didn't know where they were?

"Hold on!" He exclaimed. The girls turned again, giving him inquisitive looks.

They certainly weren't expecting what came out of his mouth next. "You guys should come crash with us! Right, bros?"

Donnie's jaw dropped. "Mikey-"

"Not gonna happen." Raph said instantly.

Leo lowered his voice. "I don't think that's a good-"

"Come on." Mikey hissed. "They just got here and they don't have anywhere else to go. Plus, that Sachs dude could find them, no sweat. But if they stay with us, he won't and we can all party and be happy turtle friends or something."

Leonardo thought it over briefly, then indicated for his brothers to form a huddle. "I'll be honest, I think Mikey has a point. Donnie, what do you think?"

Donatello frowned. "See, I'm not really sure... I don't know... I'm kind of on a par. I don't really see what's so bad about it, but I can't conclude whether it's a good idea or not."

Leo glared at Raph. "I already know what you're gonna say, but you may aswell-"

"I'm sayin' no." Raphael spat. "We don't know 'em, and I sure as hell ain't puttin' up with little miss sunshine."

"They seem pretty legit." Mikey offered blithely. "And it's not like they're surface-dwellers, right? Come on, bros, they don't have anywhere else to go. Look into your hearts... have a little Christmas spirit..."

"It ain't even close to Christmas, idiot."

"Nothing wrong with having the spirit early. Leo, you agree with me, right?"

Leonardo was one of honour and modesty, and one of his morals was to help others in need. Then again, they could possibly achieve some sort of allegiance over the Sachs problem. "Actually... yeah, Mikey, I'm gonna agree with you. There's nothing wrong with helping those in need. Besides, they're on the run from the same person who was after us. Who's to say he's not just after them but us as well? Because I think he's the kind of guy who would try and get revenge."

Donnie stayed silent. Raph was a little more vocal. "You're fucking crazy, Leo. I'm out on this one."

"I guess I can see where he's coming from, though." Donnie said honestly. "They know things that we don't, and if Sachs is obsessive enough to repeat the project, he could-"

"Revive the Shredderrrr...!" Mikey droned. "Seriously, though. That dude is evil. Maybe we could all team up and save the world!"

"Don't be an idiot." Raph growled, pushing his younger brother.

"Let's just focus on the fact that they need help." Leo said, glancing around at his brothers. "We'll be doing the right thing by letting them stay, so I'm for it."

Raph shook his head. "Come on, Leo, this is stupid-"

"I'm sure you can put up with it." Leo said reassuringly. He straightened up, and turned back to the girls. "Sorry about that. We needed time to think it over. But we've decided that-"

"You can come stay in my crib! Uh, sorry. Our crib."

Leo ignored his younger brother. "We've decided to allow you to stay with us, if that's what you want."

Sonia stared at him, shocked. Which was rare in her case. She took a moment to discuss the offer with her sisters, then turned back to Leo when they'd made a decision. "We appreciate your offer, and we accept. Thank you."

"Does this mean I'll get to hang out with Mikey?" Anna asked excitedly.

Mikey grinned at her. "You bet it does, angelcakes!"

"Yay!" Anna cried. "This is the best day of my life!"

Cecilia took a step forward, and smiled politely at the boys. "Honestly, I can't thank you enough. It really means a lot to me. To all of us."

Leonardo shrugged. "Don't sweat it. Alright, guys, we're probably way over check-in time, so we'd better get home before sensei sends us in the hashi again."

"It'll be the second time this week." Donatello narrowed his eyes. "I can just imagine him waiting for us. Smiling. 'Looks like it's back to the hashi...'"

Raphael glanced down at the morose Emilie. "Think you can handle the sewers, fun size?"

Her lip curled in a disparaging smile. "Anything's a cakewalk unless you're involved, steroid."

"Hey guys!" Michelangelo called. "I kinda just realised something. Is it too late to bring this up?"

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "Probably, but say it anyway."

"What's Master Splinter gonna say when he finds out?"

Chapter Text

Regardless of the circumstances, she never sat by one's bedside. She always stood.

To sit, Karai believed, was a way of letting your guard down. It was crucial to remain alert, and most importantly silent, at all times. Even in the most caliginous moments.

All she could hear was the soughing of the southerly wind and the gentle susurration of tree leaves. A thin shadow extended from a tree branch outside the window and fell across her master's face, creating the impression of an unsettling sombre concave. He laid motionless, silent and with his eyes open, studying the tapestry they'd moved into his bedchamber while he was recovering. Karai knew it was best not to disturb him.

She stood in quietude at her master's bedside as he loured at the fraying edges of the fabric, an issue which he'd ordered his henchmen to fix immediately. It held a legend that was of great significance to him, and at a time when he was at it's weakest, it was what he required to heal. He was confident that the chronicle had no ending, allowing him to create his own, stitch by gradual stitch. To Oroku Saki, this was a sign of an opportunity for redemption.

Her eyes fell on the flickering candle beside his bed, which was the only source of light in the room. Impatient, she quietly hummed to herself.

Minutes passed, and his eyes were still fixed on the intricate artwork. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, scowled, then leaned back against the wall.

"I do not believe in fairytales."

Karai stepped forward. "Otosan."

He turned his head towards his successor, his gaze hollow and his expression arid. He spoke in a string of broken Japanese. "Bring him to me. You may resume your duties."

"Hai, shishou." She spoke in a hushed tone, and bowed briefly. The candlelight cast a slight glow on her silhouette, sharpening her features and giving her an air of confidence. "Kishi kaisei."

She left the room in silence, all the while keeping her expression blank. She approached Sachs, who stood patiently in the hallway. "He will see you now."

Sacks noticed the tension in her posture. "Something is troubling you."

Karai eyed him disapprovingly. "I am being forced to watch as my father suffers. What else would trouble me?"

"For one," Sacks held his hands behind his back, "the sudden power over such a diverse organization. It seems to be weakening."

Her expression immediately became grave. "If I were you, I would take the opportunity to learn my place and keep it. Now get out of my way."

She tried to side-step him, but he mimicked her pathway. "I have a proposition."

"I am not interested."

"You fear for him, don't you?" Sacks lowered his voice, assuring only she could hear. "He took one hell of a fall last year, and the only thing that kept him alive was that armour. But his dream has survived, and I have the perfect opportunity to expand on it."

Karai stopped in her tracks, intrigued. She raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Sacks smiled wanly. "Perhaps I should fill you in on the current and past affairs. 15 years ago, I conducted a relaunch of Project Renaissance using four female reptiles in hope of achieving that dream-"

"Get to the point."

He frowned. "Patience is a virtue, is it not?"

"I have places I need to be."

"Of course. As I was saying... those test subjects are alive, and somewhere in New Jersey."

Karai did a double take. "More vigilantes?"

"I'm not sure if they're vigilantes this time." Sachs smiled. "Which means an easier capture, and a higher chance of achieving our master's goal."

She narrowed her eyes. "It is not wise to repeat history."

"I am confident this time." He assured her. "So here lies my proposition- I have an excellent engineer who is currently building machinery to assist in our master's recovery process. Of course, the process can only be sped up with this state-of-the-art technology, which I will provide if you make a contribution."

"What kind of contribution?" She asked suspiciously.

"Simple- send your ring of misfits into New Jersey, detain the females and lock them up in my company's laboratory there. I'll take care of the ones who caused us so much trouble last year."

"And just what are you planning to do?"

Sacks shook his head. "That will just spoil the novelty. But let's just say I have a little... treat in store. So... do we have an agreement?"

Karai thought it over for a lengthier amount of time than Sacks desired, but it turned out to be the answer he wanted. "Very well. We have an agreement... as long as you keep your word. When do you wish to have them detained?"

"Patience." He told her. "First I need double the amount of nitroethene your men have been taking from the port while I get a lead on the freaks of nature. Then we'll figure out things from there."

"If you delay, I will take it upon myself to exact retribution for my father." Karai murmured, her tone virulent. "Your petty desires mean nothing to me. So waste any time and I will do things my way."

With that last brazen comment, she turned on her heel and left with her head held high. Sacks lingered for a moment, vexed, then entered his master's bedchamber. The weakening warrior sat motionless on the bed directly across from the tapestry Sacks had come to know so well.

He bowed, and spoke calmly. "Master Shredder."

Shredder bowed his head briefly. "Gakusei."

"How are you feeling?"

"That was a foolish question."

"Allow me to take a burden off of your shoulders." Sacks replied, moving to sit at his master's bedside. "Something phenomenal has happened. The relaunch of Project Renaissance was not all a failure. The female test subjects mutated successfully, and are still alive."

Shredder sat up. "Alive?"

"And roaming the city of New Jersey, according to my sources. If we do the basic math, there are eight mutants out there. We only need four to manufacture enough antidote for one city."

"What is it you are suggesting?"

Here it came. The perfect plan, which he'd conjured up to fit in with the creativity of the new year. "We acquire enough nitroethene to recreate double the amount of toxin. We set up containment units in the New Jersey laboratory, and drain every last drop of blood from the females. The process will be repeated on the males. Finally, we release the toxin into New York and New Jersey, one after the other. If the release times are further apart, it will have a heavier impact and the government will likely send us a larger cheque."

"I will not make the same mistake again." Shredder murmured. "As soon as you are finished with the turtles, I will slaughter what remains of them."

"I'll add it to the 'to do' list. But just imagine it... double the chance of success. If one fails, we still have another chance." Sacks droned. "I'm willing to believe that we're going to have a favourable outcome this time."

"And if we do not?"

"We expose them." Was Sacks' simple reply. "Reveal them to the rest of the world, and offer a solution to rid the world of these... unwanted creatures. But both cities could be under your control, as long as you are their saviour."

Shredder was silent for a moment, then, "both. In time, my student. We will cure society's common disease."

The girls had been taking to the rooftops as a means of transport for four years, but they certainly weren't used to travelling at this kind of speed. All of them except Sonia, anyway. Keeping up with the boys wasn't much of an issue for her.

Cecilia struggled the most with keeping up, since she wasn't used to running for such long periods of time. Anna decided to show off by cartwheeling across the rooftops, which did earn applause from Michelangelo. At one point Anna tripped and almost fell off of the edge of the building, though Donatello grabbed her arm and pulled her back just in time.

"That was close." He said uneasily. "Are you okay?"

She grinned up at him. "That was wicked. But thanks for stopping me from going splat."

"Well, it would have hurt, that's for sure."

"Hurry up, Anna." Sonia called, already three rooftops ahead of them.

Anna smirked at her rescuer. "Race ya."

Donatello wasn't really one to race, but figuring they were quite far behind, he accepted her challenge. He still came out victorious by the time they reached their destination, where the others were waiting.

"Bout time you got here!" Mikey exclaimed, beaming at Anna. "Those were some insane skills, angelcakes. You totally left Donnie in the dust."

"Technically, Mikey, I cleared the finish point before-"

Leonardo silenced them with a quick glance over his shoulder, then stepped up onto the ledge of the rooftop to address the group. "Boys, you already know the drill. So if you wanna go, go. I'm not stopping you."

Raphael gave Emilie a mocking sneer, then leapt off of the rooftop and disappeared into the manhole about six meters below. Emilie, who hated being upstaged, stepped forward and glared at Leonardo. "So what, all you do is just jump into that manhole?"

"It's a little more complicated than that-"

"Sounds easy." Emilie retorted. She briefly rolled her neck and cracked her knuckles, then without any further discussion she jumped after Raphael. Leonardo watched her, then turned back to the others. "Is there really any point in finishing what I was going to say?"

"Grab a buddy!" Mikey exclaimed, linking arms with the effervescent Anna. "This is like our own personal pipeline slash waterslide, 'cept more extreme. Vamanos, my amigo!"

Anna was fascinated. "You speak Spanish?"

"Yeah. Dora's actually pretty educational, but Master Splinter said I'd learn more from watching grass grow. Still gotta test that theory."

Stepping up onto a ledge 6 feet above ground level gave Anna a sudden rush of vitality. She stared down with an adventurous gleam in her eyes. "This is like that movie where the girl jumps off a building and lands on a net. Is there a net down there?"

"Nope."

Anna paused for a moment, then flippantly shrugged it off. "Sounds awesome. I'm ready when you are. TO INFINITY AND BEYONNDDDD!"

"GERONIMO IS SO 1985!" Mikey shouted, launching himself forward and taking Anna with him. They disappeared in seconds, leaving the others gaping. Donatello went next without hesitation, then Sonia. Cecilia stood on the ledge for a matter of seconds before she got back off it, shaking. "I seriously can't do this."

Leonardo glanced at her. "Why not?"

Cecilia stood rooted to the spot with her arms wrapped around herself. "I can handle rooftop running to an extent, but... I'm just afraid of heights. I know it sounds irrational."

"It's not about being afraid of heights. It's about being afraid of falling."

Huh. When he put it that way, it sounded logical. She admired the blue-masked terrapin's insightful outlook- he simply told it like it was. "Yeah. I guess you're right. But the thought alone of jumping off a building is pretty challenging."

His expression was forbearing. "Don't think, just jump."

He stood on the ledge himself, though he patiently waited for her to work up the courage to go first. Inhaling deeply, Cecilia stepped up to reach his level, and closed her eyes. She ignored the tug of the squally winds and paid no heed to the distracting row of lights dotting the skyline ahead. Heart racing, she rocked back on her heels, feeling nothing but the world come to a halt around her. Suddenly she felt weightless. Alone. Devoid of rational thought.

Don't think, just jump. She allowed herself to be bereft of all thought. Taking a breath, she propelled herself forwards, feeling the rush of wind upon her shoulders before gravity took it's toll and pulled her under.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die-

Her eyes shot open when she collided with the tunnel wall, and slid down the sloping concrete. Her heart thundering in her chest, Cecilia glanced over her shoulder to see Leonardo land safely where she had just been, and within seconds he was ahead of her. "You made it. Good job."

Still shaken, Cecilia dissolved into laughter. "T-thanks. I seriously thought I was going to die."

"Yet you're still alive. By the way, you might wanna move to the left."

Cecilia had no idea what he meant until she encountered a near miss with an array of metal pipes. After she'd finished shrieking, she scowled at the amused Leonardo. She tried splashing him, but he was too far ahead. Beads of murky water cascaded down her legs. Gross.

The others were already waiting by the time she reached the end of the tunnel, and Cecilia couldn't help but smirk at Emilie. Seething, she stood with her arms crossed, covered from head to toe in droplets of water.

On seeing her sister's grin, Emilie gritted her teeth. "Don't. Say. A. Word."

Cecilia shook her head, still smiling. "Honestly, I don't have to."

One at a time they made their way through a narrow pipe, following Leonardo's instructions to remain quiet. They ended up in an expansive area decorated in graffiti, where the boys stopped to stow their weaponry. Cecilia stared at the finely crafted objects, intrigued. Leonardo had previously explained that they were trained in ninjutsu, but Cecilia never really noticed they had weapons until now. She was too caught up in trying to process the situation. Glancing down at her crappy bow, Cecilia frowned. It was only a matter of time before the elastic limbs broke apart, but it didn't really matter. She wasn't that skilled in archery anyway.

"Whatever you do," Leonardo told the group, "don't wake Master Splinter. I really can't deal with going to the hashi tonight."

"Who's Master Splinter?" Anna whispered.

"He's our dad." Mikey replied. "And our guru."

Anna was now imagining a mutant nonconformist for some reason. The thought of psychedelic garb, peace symbols and tinted sunglasses made her grin.

"He sounds awesome." She said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, he is." Mikey replied, walking further ahead. He glanced from left to right. "When he's not mad anyway. Mad Splinter is scary Splinter."

"And he's gonna be pissed if he sees us." Raphael growled. "So get your ass out of the way, Mikey."

"No way. Gotta check if the coast is clear." Mikey disappeared into the shadows, and moments later a light came on. "Ta-da! Welcome to my crib, ladies. Or as I like to call it, 'Bag End'."

It took a while for the girls to take in their surroundings, as they weren't expecting such an impressive abode in the sewers of all places. It was decorated with miscellaneous objects and crafts, including a unique lounge suite made out of pizza boxes. Sonia thought it an awe-inspiring use of resources.

Anna was taken with the wall of boomboxes in the dining area. "Are those boomboxes? That's such a retro idea! This whole place is rad!"

Mikey was wrapped with the fact that someone admired his ideas. "Told you guys she's chill!"

He hooked his arm through Anna's, grinning. "Come on, angelcakes. Allow me to give you Le Grande Tour!"

The others followed in silence, paying attention to Mikey's extravagant narration. He was eager to show off his prized comic book collection to an excited Cecilia, though Leonardo told him "now is not the time." Anna took a liking to Donatello's inventions, especially the Shell Raiser, causing the erudite turtle to fumble for words. Sonia quietly appraised the décor, whereas Emilie stayed silent and introverted.

Finally, they arrived at jagged concrete archway that led to an area with an old pool table, large bean bags, a trampoline and a Gamecube hooked up to a TV set.

"The lair was kinda blown up last year, but it made another room." Mikey explained. "So this is our games room. We're still working on it. Donnie's rewiring a pinball machine, but it's taking ages since he's missing some stuff."

He hesitated for a moment, then turned to his brothers. "I just figured out where they can sleep. In here!"

They stared at him.

"I know. I'm a genius, right?"

"I guess it's our only option." Leonardo glanced at Sonia. "Do you think you'll be okay in here?"

Sonia didn't need to give the room a second glance. "We'll be perfectly fine."

Cecilia was generally fussy about sleeping arrangements, but it was better than nothing. "I second that."

Emilie shrugged nonchalantly. Anna, on the other hand, was happy with the arrangement. "What they said!"

"Sweet. So that's sorted." Leonardo turned to his youngest brother. "Since you're the one that thought it all up, you can sort everything else out."

"Aw, come on, man! Why can't you do it?"

"It's only fair since you didn't clean the dojo like you were supposed to yesterday."

"Raph's fault, not mine. He distracted me." Mikey protested. "Okay, okay. Do we even have, like, blankets or anything?"

Raphael glared at him. Deciding that asking was a bad idea, Mikey went off to find out for himself. He returned minutes later with blankets over his head and draping down his shell like a cloak.

"The force is strong with this one." He joked.

Cecilia and Anna laughed fondly. Just before Mikey could crack another joke, Leonardo told him to "quit messing around." Disappointed, Mikey removed the blankets, and handed them to the girls.

"This is only temporary, angelcakes." He told Anna. "We're totally gonna build a pillow fort with a sign saying 'No Losers Allowed'."

Anna was ecstatic. "And shout "you shall not pass" at anyone who tries to come in!"

"One does not simply walk into Mordor!"

"Fly, you fools!"

Donatello tried cutting them off. "Guys-"

"They have a cave troll!"

Instead of saying anything else, Donatello elbowed Mikey in the side, causing the younger turtle to turn and see Master Splinter standing in the entryway, his arms held behind his back.

His voice was deadly calm. "You are late."

"Sensei, we-" In a matter of seconds, Leonardo was on the ground. Cecilia cringed.

Splinter's tail swirled around his ankles. "The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour. It is far past your time limit. Explain to me why you are late."

Mikey was first to answer. "Therewasafootclanproblembutitwastakencareofandtherewasthischickandwefollowedher-"

"There is no need to speak so quickly, unless you are hiding something."

The youngest of the boys slowed his voice down. "- and she had friends but they had nowhere to go so we said they could stay with us."

"I had nothin' to do with it." Raphael objected. "All on those three idiots."

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? So you dare to invite anonymous surface-dwellers into our home? That is beyond unacceptable-"

He noticed the girls, and his eyebrows ascended in surprise. "Oh my."

"Guess this means we won't be going to the hashi." Mikey whispered to Donnie. The older turtle shrugged.

Splinter slowly approached Sonia, since she was the closest in proximity. Sonia watched him, astonished. He was a wizened rat with glossy black eyes and thinning hair that was greying at the roots, and he gave off a humble impression. There was something about him that immediately made Sonia trust him.

He considered them with an incredulous expression. "I don't believe it."

Sonia smiled warily. "I'm assuming you are 'Master Splinter.' It's a pleasure."

Splinter politely bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I am. And it is certainly a surprise, though a pleasure, to meet you. We do not encounter fellow mutants on a daily basis."

Cecilia cleared her throat. "We can relate."

At this stage the boys were slinking away, though Splinter had not failed to notice this. He just chose not to reprimand them in the moment.

"I understand there is a story to be told." He said. "But now is not the time. You all appear to be exhausted, so it is only equitable if you rest. There will be time for answers in the morning."

"Of course. We will tell you everything you need to know." Sonia replied. "We are thankful for your hospitality."

"You need not thank me." His tone was serene, endearing. "Have you all eaten?"

The girls exchanged apprehensive glances. Finally Sonia answered. "No, however-"

Splinter held up a hand. "I will not allow you to go hungry. I believe we have plenty of fried rice and half a pizza leftover from last night's meal, which you are welcome to. I will return shortly, so please excuse me."

He padded out of the room, leaving the girls in a daze. Several minutes later he returned, carrying a large steaming bowl of fried rice, a slightly battered pizza box and utensils. They usually ate with chopsticks, but kept silverware for occasions such as having April over for dinner.

He placed the supplies on the pool table, as realistically there wasn't anywhere else to put them. "Help yourselves. There should be enough for four, unless it is my sons."

Though slightly cautious, they thanked him profusely. After assuring they were going to be comfortable, Splinter bid them goodnight and left to rebuke the boys for suspiciously bringing four females to their home. Moments later Splinter barked an order along the lines of "to the hashi", resulting in a series of groans from the exhausted terrapins.

The girls ate in their customary refined manner, and spoke in hushed tones. Anna, not being as refined as her sisters, took her time picking each piece of pepperoni off of her pizza and gave them to Emilie. Emilie had been silently seething over the disagreement with Raphael since their arrival in the sewers, but with a bit of sustenance she seemed to perk up.

"So," she sighed, finishing her mouthful and lying back on a beanbag. "You have a boyfriend, Sonia."

"Oooh!" Anna murmured.

Sonia looked up and narrowed her eyes. "Don't be stupid."

Emilie shrugged. "Yeah, well, the guy looks like he's head over heels for you. Don't deny you feel the same way."

Sonia's jaw tightened. "I do not feel 'the same way', nor do I feel anything towards him besides gratitude. We've just met."

She straightened up, her eyes trained on Emilie. "Besides, he's not my type."

Cecilia laughed. "Since when did you have a type?"

"For long enough to know that 'Mikey' is not my type."

The eldest of the turtles rolled her eyes. "Whatever. He seems like a pretty cool guy, so I think maybe he could teach you how to have a bit of fun once in a while."

"Ew, Cecilia, you're one to talk." Emilie snaked her foot out and lightly jabbed Cecilia. "I saw you with Da Vinci. You guys looked like you were hitting it off."

Cecilia's cheeks flushed. "He's just a nice guy."

It was Emilie's turn to roll her eyes. "Yeah, sure. It's been like two hours and you're already crushing on the dude."

Anna looked crestfallen. "You said 'dude' was past it's time!"

"Yeah." Cecilia grinned devilishly. "Little miss sunshine."

Emilie glared at her. "Say one more word and I'll-"

"Enough." Sonia growled. "It's late, we've been on our feet all day, and we need rest so we can figure out what to do tomorrow. If you want to argue, that's fine. Just do it where you won't be disturbing anyone."

Cursing under her breath, Emilie grabbed her blanket and pulled it up over her head. Cecilia often laid awake for a short period of time, so she lay on her beanbag with her gaze fixed on the sewer ceiling. Anna, as per usual, was out like a light.

Exhausted, Sonia settled into the plush beanbag and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, breathing in the faint scent of paint fumes, Orange Crush and stale perspiration.

The sisters woke early that morning to speak with Master Splinter, who requested to do so in the dojo while his sons slept. He sat on his knees with his palms flat against them, exuding poise and confidence. The girls sat in a semi circle before him, cross-legged, while Sonia explained their history and the reason for their presence in New York.

"And you say that Eric Sacks is searching for you for reasons unknown."

"As of yet." Sonia answered. "It was explained to us that we were test subjects for a Project Renaissance relaunch, but we were never told of his motives."

Splinter stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Wealth, of course. Wealth and reputation."

Cecilia shook her head. "It seems to be a common influence throughout society."

"It's impact was more... heavy on Mr Sacks, considering the lengths he went to in order to achieve those motives."

"Heavy." Anna giggled. "Sacks. Get it, Em?"

She was silenced by a glare from Sonia, who turned back to Master Splinter. "Out of concern, could you please elaborate? It would help to put our minds at ease."

"Very well." Master Splinter exhaled deeply, and sat up straight. "After the failure of Project Renaissance, I believe that Sacks was desperate to find other methods that would assist him in winning the city's gratitude. One of those methods must have been the second project attempt, which also appears to have failed. Just last year he discovered that my sons were still alive, and they were captured and were almost rendered exhausted of blood.

"Why did Sacks attempt to take their blood? It's rather complicated. He wished to release a toxin over the city, and introduce an antidote made from the healing mutagen found in the turtles' bloodstream. This was not merely Sacks' motives, in fact, he was... a pawn. For Oroku Saki."

"Who's Oroku Saki?" Cecilia asked, curious.

"That is a story for another day." Splinter continued. "But he went under the alias "the Shredder," and led a criminal organization called the Foot Clan. For years they terrorized the innocent people of New York... until the turtles stopped Shredder last year. Without a leader, the Foot Clan would become corrupt. Michelangelo claims he saw six members last night."

"I saw them too." Anna interjected. "I think."

"So if the Foot Clan are still terrorizing the city..." Cecilia said slowly, "then they must have a new leader or somehow this 'Shredder' is still alive."

"I would assume that Eric Sacks, on one final attempt to finish what he started, is now leading the Foot Clan," Splinter speculated, "and he is searching for you for the same reason he did with my sons- he requires your blood."

The girls stared at the elderly rat in shock, which gradually turned to mortification. Cecilia spoke up. "You can't be serious. Isn't that plan a little vintage?"

"He is obsessed with the prospect of gaining recognition from that one idea." Splinter clarified. "I have seen the extent that Sacks has gone to on behalf of the Shredder. You are all in danger."

"With all respects," Sonia began, "we're in danger wherever we go. New York is literally a minefield, and we're no safer in New Jersey. What can we do? There's no way out."

Splinter closed his eyes and considered the options. Simply put, he would not allow them to walk out directly into something they were not prepared for. Sonia had explained that she had been training in jujitsu for many years, but she had much to work on, as did her sisters. It would not be a means of erasing what they had learnt, but rather building on what they already knew.

Then and there, Splinter had made a solid decision. He would train the girls in the art of ninjutsu as much as he possibly could until they were able to defend themselves to a certain extent, while monitoring their behaviour in order to deem if they were trustworthy. If he could prepare them mentally and physically, they would be able to avoid the impending dangers surrounding them from left right and center. Of course, they could not achieve such feats as his sons, considering that they had trained for the best part of a decade. But it would be enough to keep them alive.

"There is another way out." Splinter rectified, slowly getting up. "And that is to fight your way out."

"Fight?" Anna asked, cringing.

Splinter gave a short nod of his head. "After the rain, earth hardens- adversity builds character. If you are strong enough- mentally and physically- then you can overcome hardships that would have set you back for the rest of your lives."

Sonia raised a brow ridge. "I'm not sure I understand."

Splinter's following words was enough to surprise them. "I will teach you the art of ninjutsu should you choose to accept, and allow you to stay in our home for as long as you must. I cannot train you to the level of expertise that my sons show, for they live and breathe ninjutsu and have trained consistently for years. Your training will be gruelling, but I can promise that it will be worthwhile. I will give you a moment to consider it."

The girls glanced nervously at each other, quite taken aback by the offer. Whilst talking amongst themselves, Emilie disagreed completely, though Cecilia managed to convince her to change their mind. Once they'd reached an agreement, Sonia stood up to confirm their decision.

"Have you decided?" The question was burning, but she was sure. Her sisters were sure. And that was the most important thing.

"Yes. We accept."

Chapter Text

Heya! Whoa, it's been 8 years since I touched this fic, that's nuts! I know it's pretty obvious, but I'm not going to continue with it. My interests are vastly different now and I'm 25, working full time. I started this story when I was 16 and that is NUTS. I thought I would just put out an official see ya as there are a couple of visitors here from time to time it seems.

Thank you to anyone who has read this story and all the best to you! I really appreciate the love people have given to my mahi over the years.

Love,

CJ