Author's Note: This fic is set in the 2014 film universe, set about three months after the events of the film. I obviously own Marie and Jaclyn, but no one else. Not sure where this plot is going, but there is definite RaphxApril and LeoxOC. Stay tuned!

Chapter One: Escape Route

"This can't be right…"

April O'Neil looked down to the scrap of yellow paper in her hand, hastily scribbled on and ripped from a legal pad. 693 48th Street. She looked back up at the antique shop that was supposed to be an apartment. It was closed, lights out. She looked around helplessly, then knocked on the door. "Hello?"

A moment or two passed, and she knocked again. She suddenly heard a grating sound from above, someone opening up a window on a higher floor. "Hello?" came a woman's voice.

April backed up from under the awning to see a brunette poking her head out the window on the second floor.

"Hi," she said. "My name's April, I'm here to see an apartment?"

"Oh, April, right!" the young woman said. "Come along to the side, I'll buzz you up."

April moved around the side of the building the woman had motioned to, finding a side door and pulling it open upon hearing the telltale buzz of unlocking. A flight of stairs led upwards to a single door, which opened to flood the stairwell with light that silhouetted the woman at the top of the stairs.

"Come on up," the woman said. "I'm Jaclyn."

April smiled in a friendly nature, mounting the stairs, eyes following the design painted on the walls on the way up, blue swirls forming an abstract sea of waves, broken up here and there with a pirate ship or a little waving mermaid. "Fun," she said cheerfully. Jaclyn nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Marie gets creative kicks that defy her inability to afford things like sketchbooks and canvases. She's upstairs ignoring adulthood, you'll love her."

April smirked and finished the climb. Since Taylor had moved out, she'd had to go apartment hunting. She couldn't afford the apartment on her own. Also, there were four turtles and a rat that weren't quite comfortable with her staying in her old place by herself, not when there was a chance that Sacks had gotten her address.

She followed Jaclyn, eyes widening as she stepped through the doorway. "Wow…"

It wasn't so much an apartment as a loft…an amazing loft. The entire floor plan was open, with dark wood floors and raw brick walls, accented here and there with more paintings, mostly more waves and ocean scenes. In fact, there seemed to be a lot of nautical bits here and there, a Jolly Roger hung on the wall above a well-worn leather couch.

"Yo ho," April said with a little smile.

"Ah, yeah," Jaclyn said. "We're rennies…renaissance faire regulars. That's how we met, back in Michigan, actually. And speaking of 'we'…Marie!"

A bit of scuffling from overhead, and April followed Jaclyn's gaze to a steel spiral staircase going to a second floor…or rather, half of a second floor, as it seemed the bedrooms were on a landing above, leaving half of the main floor with what had to be nearly a thirty-foot ceiling. Another young woman appeared, wearing a Batman t-shirt with black leggings under cut-off shorts, her dark hair embellished with a streak of artificial silver at the temple. For all of the classic girl-next-door style Jaclyn had with her pretty coral cardigan and prettily curled brown locks, Marie balanced out with an edgier style.

"Oh, hey," Marie said, painted red lips curving into a friendly smile. "April, right?"

"Yeah," April said, reaching out a hand to shake Marie's when it was offered.

She glanced around at the amazing loft. "This place is incredible," she said in an unsure tone. "Um…I'm assuming the Craigslist ad was a mistake...it said my rent would be $300 plus utilities?"

"Nope, no mistake," Jaclyn said. "Marie's great-uncle owned this shop for years, and slowly bought out the apartments upstairs, and his son converted it into a loft."

"He didn't have any kids," Marie continued. "So he basically left the place to my family, and no one wanted to move out of the ol' Mitten, besides me. And Jac here is pretty much down for anything involving moving and traveling, so here we are, with a kick-ass loft and a shop full of antiques for pretty much nothing other than utilities and insurance. So, ta da, dirt cheap rent."

"Can I grab you something to drink?" Jac asked. "Water? Tea? Whiskey? Rum? Ecto Cooler…oh wait, no."

Marie looked pained. "Ow. Too soon."

April laughed a bit, warming up to the other women. "Tea would be awesome."

Jac went to pour a glass of iced tea for April. April smiled and took it. "So, do you guys run the shop?"

"Not yet," Marie said, hopping up on one of the mismatched barstools next to the counter, gesturing to the other one. "Still working on getting the business license in order. Until then, it's bartending and odd jobs for me. Jac's the breadwinner, with fancy stuff like 'full-time employment' and 'health insurance.'"

April looked to Jac, who shrugged and boosted herself up on the counter to sit. "Apparently social work was a more useful degree than an English one."

"Who'd've thunk?" Maria said.

"What do you do, April?" Jac asked. April paused.

"I…I'm on Channel 6 news."

Silence.

"Oh."

"You guys don't watch TV?"

"Other than fourteen-hour Netflix marathon binges, not so much."

April smiled into her tea. They didn't recognize her. That was nice. Since the turtles had saved the city, her star had been on the rise. She'd become a legitimate reporter, even recognized regularly on the street. And while she was thrilled with the new upswing in her career, finding potential roommates that view her as just April was…well…refreshing.

"Oh, come on, you probably want to see the room, right?" Marie said, hopping up from the stool. April followed suit, trailing the tall woman up the stairs to the landing.

"Your room is the smallest," Marie admitted. "But there are a couple perks."

She opened the door, revealing a modestly-sized bedroom painted a vivid green—she smirked at the shade a bit. Fitting. Marie moved to the window, unlocking it and opening it, waving a hand to April to beckon her to follow her onto the fire escape. They climbed up one more level before hitting the roof. April blinked.

"Whoa."

The entire rooftop looked like it had stepped out of a storybook. A rooftop garden full of flowers and vegetables, a roofless gazebo perfect for stargazing…it was beautiful.

"Like I said," Marie said. "Perks."

"I'll say," April said. She grinned. "You know what? I'll take it."

Marie gave her a bright smile. "Awesome!" she said. "Come on, now we need a beer to celebrate."

April laughed. "Situation calls for it."

"Begs for it."

"Demands it."

"Writes a decree for it."

Marie laughed. "I like you. You stay," she said, making her way back down the fire escape and shouting into the apartment. "Jaclyn! The new roomie requires beer!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

From a rooftop across the street, ten floors above them, a looming figure watched. He was nearly completely still, save for the flickering of bright green eyes over the windows of the place as he watched her disappear into the building. The two other women looked friendly. But who knew? Could be an act…

The longer she stayed in there, the more tense he became, his teeth practically shredding the toothpick he frequently gnawed on. She appeared again, climbing up to the roof with the taller chick, checking out the admittedly impressive garden the two women had apparently thrown together up there. She looked…happy.

He was satisfied with that. But he wouldn't leave until she did.

Just in case.