"How the hell do you always get yourself into this mess?" the lithe girl spat at herself as she darted down a deserted alley, arms clutching a steel case to her chest. She could hear the echoes of their pursuit, the reverberation of their shouts as they gained on her. Casting a glance back over her shoulder, her eyes widened and she just barely stumbled out of the path of a throwing knife. It clattered noisily against a dumpster and she picked up her speed, hanging a left into a maintenance alley, grunting with exertion as she launched herself over an air conditioning unit. Sweat made her wild hair cling to her forehead and she knew that with her hands full, there was little chance of her free running her way up onto a roof and away from the Foot Clan goons hot on her ass. "Shit shit shit shit," she panted, her mind reeling as it fought for an escape, urged on by the fear of what they would do when they caught her. The Foot were never kind to thieves.

Just as something burned across her bicep, making her gasp in pain, she saw her chance. Up ahead covered in filth and the remnants of the rain that plagued the Big Apple during the spring, there was an opening into the sewers. A poison was burning its way into her bloodstream, making her arm throb and start to tingle where the knife had sliced easily through her under armor—more than a valid reason to escape by any means necessary.

Just before her arm went numb, she tossed the steel case into the opening with scary precision, turning and dropping a smoke bomb at her feet as her back slapped the pavement. Her momentum steered her right, and she watched the inverted view of the bomb going off in their faces before she halted through space and landed hard on her ass. Water sloshed up over her body, making her gag as she hobbled to her feet. "Ugh… Great," she hissed, rubbing her rear end with her good hand as she looked for the case. She could hear the clamor of the Foot ninja above her head, and she peeked through the opening with a triumphant smile.

They thought she had scaled the building, not gone under it. Not wanting to linger, she found the case and hefted it to her chest, her shoulder starting to tingle from the paralytic coursing through her arm. "Just when it can't get any worse," she winced as the pain ate at her fortitude. Knocking her useless wrist against her hip, the thick metallic band around it blipped and she called out, "Checking in, got injured and possibly poisoned. Package will take some time to cool off. Delivery may be delayed a few hours. K out."

The message sent and she set her jaw against the pain, starting deep into the sewers, away from the commotion behind her. She had a vague idea of where to go, but she hadn't been down here in years. The numbness spreading down her side and up her neck worried her, but she pressed on, swaying on her feet from exhaustion and exposure to whatever they had dosed her with. "Don't… You… Dare," she hissed as her vision blurred. The grip on the steel case tightened, and she hugged it to her chest tightly, cold sweat dripping from the tip of her nose. "Stay awake…"

Her body didn't listen. Just as she blundered into a crossroads, the rushing water drowning out the sound of her heartbeat, she fell to her knees. Panic flashed into her mind, falling onto her side to keep her face out of the water. She didn't want to drown here—die here—all alone in the sewers of New York City. The weak light filling the tunnel slowly darkened as she checked out, but she could have sworn someone was walking up to her, a big looming shadow. "N-no…"


Voices filtered in and out of her mind, like distant whispers coursing over her skin.

"Bandages are over…. She's been pois…."

"She won't let go of it…"

"Master, what should we…"

"Of course not kill her, but maybe…"

"Quiet…."

Slowly, as if trying to pull herself from a deep sludge, she started to become more aware of her surroundings. Her nose was filled with the smell of sewage and … pizza? Without opening her eyes, she took inventory on how her body felt. There was no more fire, just a dull tightness on her arm where the skin was sore from her wound; she ached like a truck had hit her, but it was bearable; and most importantly, she could still feel the cold metal against her chest. She hadn't been robbed. Good.

Cracking one eye open, she could hear hushed voices just outside of a curtain hung haphazardly over an archway, saw looming shapes and shadows moving from some light behind it. Alert, she sat straight up, surprised to find herself on a pile of miscellaneous blankets atop a podium of some sort. A table nearby held an open first aid kit, and a glance at her arm confirmed she had been treated. Was this some sort of Foot trick?

Careful not to make a sound, her breath held, she scooted to the edge of the bed and tested her leg strength. Her muscles trembled as she stood, but they held and she slid over to the curtain, peeking through a ragged hole in the dusky red material. All five of the things spun in her direction as she made an involuntary noise of shock. This couldn't be real. She had to be dead. A solid black set of rodent eyes flashed in the light, and the other things took a step closer, their mutant hands moving to their impressive-looking weapons.

Stumbling away from the curtain as they advanced on her position, she clambered over the bed and behind it crouching down as the curtain was noisily yanked to one side. She flinched and let out a short yelp, backing against the wall and letting out a timid, "St-stay back!" The grip on her case seemed more like a shield from them then it had moments before.

The biggest thing let out a short laugh, the red of his mask matching the curtain, and he remarked to the other ones, "Is that supposed to sound threatening?"

Turtles. They were turtles; big, hulking, talking, weapon-wielding turtles. The two smaller ones lingered back near the rodent, one wearing big mechanical looking goggles on top of his purple mask. She struggled to cope with this new discovery, facing five impossibilities of nature just after a really long night. The other big one, the one wearing a blue mask, placed his hand on Red's arm, and stepped closer. The movement made her slide the opposite way, her throat closing in fear. "Raph, stop it. We don't need to scare her any more than she already has been…" Blue turned to her, and she clenched her teeth together, reaching into her back pocket and closing her fingers around a globe. The movement made every one of them tense up, and Blue called out softly, "Now, Miss, please don't do anything stupid."

"She's got some sort of incendiary," Four-eyes piped up, his goggles whirring as he looked at her. Her blue eyes glittered with suspicion and fear as they darted between the things and around the room. She needed to get away, and fast. Orange just looked excited, and he took a place in front of the rat, whispering something to Four-eyes. He got a slap across his shell before they looked at her once more, the tension sizzling between them. "I can't tell exactly what it is; her bracelet is throwing off my readings."

"So why don't we just see for ourselves," Red growled, and took a menacing step forward. Before Blue could stop anything else from happening, she yanked her hand out of her pocket and threw a grenade at them. Red and Blue leaped back, but she was on the ground as the light exploded into the small space, blinding any who looked. As they all reeled, she seized the moment and launched herself over the bed and over their heads. Taking advantage of Red's hunched stature, she crouched on his shell and leaped over them all, rolling easily into a run and taking off for a corridor across the room.

They recovered quickly, but she had a head start, and she was off in a damp, dark tunnel before she heard them coming after her. "Can't I catch a break?"

She wasted precious seconds stumbling around in the poor lighting, and almost tumbled out into open air. There was a good twenty foot drop and a myriad of tunnels leading out and away from the things. Looking back, she shrieked as Red launched towards her, and she tumbled back into the dark, her cry echoing loudly off the walls. Tumbling through the air, she was roughly halted by a steel grip around her ankle, and she found Red easily lifting her small body up out of the air, and the inversion made her dizzy. She felt tears stinging at her eyes as she kicked weakly at him, trying to get away. "L-lemme go! Pl-please!"

Blue, Orange, and Four-eyes stood a ways down the tunnel, weapons drawn. They looked even weirder upside down, almost like bat-turtles hanging from the ceiling. Her gaze was drawn to Red as he hoisted her up and dropped her onto the concrete, making her whimper pitifully in pain. This was it, she was dead. She was gonna get eaten by things in the sewers. "M-make it quick," she whispered, curling up at Red's feet.

"We ain't gonna kill you," he snorted, and she peeked up at him through her spiky bangs.

"You're not? Then what—"

"But the next time you try some funny shit like that again, I might think twice."

A heavy sigh sounded behind her, and she peered back over her shoulder, looking at Blue and the others in confusion. "Raphael, could you not be a complete raging ass for five minutes, please? You're the reason she got so spooked in the first place." He had a fancy name for a turtle… It sounded really familiar, but she kept quiet as she looked between them.

"Up yours, Leo. She flash banged us."

"That's what she said," and just like that, everyone was looking back at Orange's wide, pleased grin. Raphael groaned inwardly and Blue—Leo put his face in his palm. All Four-eyes did was smirk, and she couldn't help but choke down a giggle. "What? Raph walked right into that one."

"Mikey, when we need your opinion, we'll ask, okay?" Raphael was a grump. And Orange's real name was Mike? Why did they sound familiar? And then it hit her.

"Holy fucking shit," she gasped, and she sat up straight, fear being replaced with an odd mix of excitement and anticipation. "Y-you're… You're them!"

They all looked at her like she had grown a second head, and she wobbled to her feet, leaning against the curved wall for support. A weak smile parted her lips, and she pointed up at blue. "Leonardo." Red. "Raphael." Orange. "Michelangelo." Four-eyes. "And that makes you Donatello… I thought you were just a myth, some piece of outdated information on the internet. Holy cow…"

Sadly, her knowledge seemed to only make them more on edge. They looked confused, and almost afraid. Donatello was tapping away on a keypad on his wrist, scowling.

"It would seem we have some things to discuss with our guest, my sons."

The raspy voice made them all jump, and her head swiveled to the opening of the tunnel, where the Rat was waiting patiently. His hands rested on a withered cane, and the beard showed great signs of age in its whiteness. He seemed much less scary to her now then he had a moment ago.

"Come, child, tell us your story."

He gestured with his head and she felt compelled by the kindness in his voice to do as he asked. She stepped away from the wall and her tired legs buckled, but a cool hand on her arm kept her from falling. Raphael looked down at her with eyes narrowed in suspicion, but his hand didn't hurt like she thought it would have. He scoffed at her and let her go, brushing past her roughly as he headed out of the tunnel. She shuffled forward quietly, her head bowed in embarrassment. Filing out behind the rat—Splinter, she remembered—she felt Leonardo come up at her side, his hand resting under her elbow to guide her through the dark tunnel.

"Thanks," she mumbled, and he shrugged, easily holding her up when she stumbled over the debris that littered the ground. These guys made her feel smaller than she already was, weaker in comparison to their impressive size and stature.

"Don't mention it."