A/N: This story takes place in the same timeline as my Predators and Prey story. I guess that officially qualifies it as AU. 2k14 turtles, but introduction of characters and elements from 2k12 verse.

Enter the Purple Dragons

For the fourth or fifth time today Donatello had Asha transforming. She was tired. Doing that was draining and he was also making her roar multiple times until her throat started hurting. Despite all that she willingly did it for Donnie. In the months after all the chaos, Asha and Donnie had become good friends. Always there was competition between the two about their martial arts skills, but it was always friendly.

"Just roar one more time Asha. I need it for my research." Donnie was recording it and writing notes. Asha had no idea what he was writing and really didn't care.

"That's what you said the last few times Donnie. My throat hurts man c'mon," Asha complained but prepared to do what she was asked.

Gathering her breath once again Asha let loose a roar that echoed through the sewer tunnels. When she was done she turned to find a satisfied Donnie writing notes and nodding.

"Are we done now? I gotta go to work. I'm gonna be late Don." Asha turned to head back to the lair to get her purse.

"Yeah sure c'mon," Donnie said finishing his notes and heading back towards the lair.

After a long search and a lot of heavy consideration Asha had found a job and moved out of the lair. She had told no one but Donnie what her job was. For some reason she was ashamed to tell Leo for fear of losing face in front of him, Mikey couldn't know for the constant cat calling so therefore April couldn't know either, and not Raphael because although they had been cool with one another they just weren't close enough for her to divulge that info with him. So that left Donnie. He didn't judge her and he didn't seem to change his opinion about her either. She was happy about that, because if her uncle could see her now he would be ashamed that the young woman he raised was now working at a gentleman's club as a stripper. Thinking of her uncle always brought feelings of sadness and guilt, but she pushed it away like she usually did.

However there was more to it than merely finding a job. She had to find the right one. One that allowed her to stay true to her real goal. Asha had not forgotten the Foot Clan, and those behind the kidnapping and murder of five innocent children1. She had sworn a vow of revenge after all, and would pursue it either to her end or to the end of the one who called himself the Shredder. The strip club afforded the perfect opportunity to engage people when their guards were down. Anytime naked women and alcohol were involved, there was always a morsel of information to be scooped up when it fell from the table. Not to mention this particular club was called Carl and Lance's Angel Nest, or C.L.A.N for short. Asha had done her homework and found that the owners had gotten a significant donation for start-up from Saki Corp. Sacks had changed the name to Saki Corp in order to lessen the legal blowback from the Sacks Group involvement in the terroristic plot against the city. Asha had yet to understand the connection between a high end strip club and a large company like Saki Corporation. It made sense to her for these men to create a place where they could relax among themselves, and perhaps do a little business without becoming suspicious to others. She felt she could gather important information by simply being in the right place, listening to the right people. She was far from a detective, but she was an expert at hunting. Hunting required patience above all else. Understanding of the environment, and observation of your quarry's patterns and habits. Do anything other than that, and you were asking for an unsuccessful hunt at least, your own demise at most.

They weren't too far away from the lair. Asha resumed her human form. She stretched as she walked trying to limber up for work tonight. Changing was exhausting. She wouldn't be able to change again until at least another 24 hours. There were limits and she was quickly approaching her ceiling for tolerating such drastic fluctuations between the two forms. Donnie noticed the grimace she was trying to hide. He'd gotten so wrapped up in gathering data from her, that he didn't think about the toll it was taking on her physically.

"Asha, I'm sorry," he said adjusting his glasses and placing a large affectionate hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have pushed the issue. You gotta stop me when I get like that next time. Don't let me get carried away with research, because I absolutely will."

Asha stopped dead in her tracks, hands in her pants pockets as she looked up at her tall genius friend.

"Stop you? When you're doing research? You must think I'm stupid or something Donnie. Nobody can 'stop you' when you have that look on your face and you know it," she said smiling up at him. He pretended to be oblivious to what she was talking about.

"What look, I don't have a look," he said grinning back. He had heard tales of this supposed certain face he made when he was concentrating. He had a hard time believing it. He most certainly did not make a stupid face while working.

"You know what Donnie, I can't with you right now," she said giggling at him feigning ignorance. He had the cutest look of innocence on his face. He just shrugged, still smiling.

"You get this really serious brow furrow going first off," she said smiling broadly.

"Impossible. I lack eyebrows," he said dismissing it.

"Then the very tip of your tongue pokes out the corner of your mouth…"

"A common gesture signifying deep thought or concentration can hardly be considered a 'face' Asha…"

"If it's frustrating you, you scrunch up the small ridge of your nose like it stinks…" she said mimicking his look.

"I'm hardly ever frustrated by the research itself. Now maybe when the results weren't as previously calculated…" he reasoned with her although it was quite funny now that he thought about it.

"And if it's working out, your eyes go all huge behind the glasses and you lick your lips in anticipation of the outcome. It's positively orgasmic Donnie, the look you have when your projects go as planned." Asha was laughing loudly at Donnie's shocked expression.

"I do NOT have an, 'orgasm' when my projects work out. That's gross Asha," Donnie said laughing fully now, complete with snorts which he tried to muffle. Her laughter dying but still with a smile on her face, she grabbed his hand and pulled it down from his mouth.

"Stop doing that Donatello." At first he didn't know what she was talking about, but then he realized what she meant. He sheepishly looked away, his laughter now also dying down.

"You have a very cute and infectious laugh, and I wish you wouldn't try to muffle it."

Donnie just adjusted his glasses again and shrugged. Asha looked at him a moment longer as Donnie turned to continue towards the lair. He wasn't wearing his full armor this evening. No shoulder pads and no equipment on his shell, only his lower armor for decency sake, and of course his trusty staff. She had never noticed before that his shell was very beautiful with varying color patterns, and although he was leaner than his brothers he was still very muscular and athletically built.

"You coming or what?" He had turned back around, reaching his hand out for her.

"Yeah here I come." She grabbed his hand in hers and started swinging them. There was a brief silence as Donnie was thinking of how to broach the subject. He was wondering about what was going on between her and Leo. Obviously she was head over heels for Leo, but as for Leo, Donnie wasn't so sure. One moment he seemed to reciprocate her feelings, and another moment he appeared uninterested. Donnie didn't understand that reaction. Here was a nice looking girl that was not only sending the right signals, but being downright subservient to his older brother. Considering Leonardo's penchant for controlling things, Donnie would have thought that would have floated his boat but apparently not.

"So, I haven't seen you and Leo hanging out lately. You guy's okay?" It was clumsy but he asked her anyway.

"Would that there was a 'you guy's'. There's nothing between us really." Asha thought about how to continue. She was actually glad Donnie had brought it up. She had been thinking about it but didn't have an outlet for her feelings.

"Leonardo and I have kissed only once." Asha let out a loud sigh and her shoulders slumped. That kiss was all but forgotten like a lost dream that she couldn't recapture. Donnie's eyes widened.

"You guys kissed? When? How? Well not how, but you know what I mean."

"It was the day we first had a sparring match, then I had like the dumbest breakdown ever." He nodded as she continued.

"He caught up with me in the tunnels and we kissed. I think I officially wanted to fall for him then."

"Wanted to?" Donnie was curious about that. Was she in love with his brother? Now that the question had been raised, he felt some type of way about it and he didn't know why. Asha was just his friend, nothing more. So why did the thought of her being in love with Leo make a small knot form in his stomach? Donnie quickly dismissed the thought.

"Yeah well it was the first and I suppose the last. He's sending mixed signals and to tell you the truth I'm not feeling it. It's starting to feel like I'm begging him to be with me, and Asha does not beg for male attention no matter if he's a hot mutant turtle or not."

They were quiet for the rest of the short way to the lair entrance, still holding hands when they entered. Leonardo greeted them both looking at the entwined hands and then back into Asha's face. She smiled sheepishly and slowly took back possession of her hand from Donnie's grip. Donnie allowed it, but unlike Asha he did not shy from his brother's gaze. In truth this was a passive aggressive move on Leo's part. Donnie didn't think Leo cared one way or another, but knew that Asha would capitulate to the unspoken command.

Asha meanwhile walked over to the couch where Raph was watching television and got her purse.

"Hey Raph," she said nodding towards him. Raph shook his head in response. Asha shrugged it off and got going. It was nightfall already and if she didn't hurry she'd be late.

"Lemme come with," Raphael offered to the surprise of everyone in the room.

"Nah I'm good Raph. I can take care of..." she started but saw he was getting up anyway.

"She's a big girl Raph, she can take care of herself. Sit down and let her leave." Leo said dismissively. Raph turned towards his brother with an irritated look on his face, and glared at him for a moment.

"Make me sit down."

"Raph..."

"Leo, fuck off will ya? You may not give a damn about your so called girlfriend, but it's not cool to let her just roam the streets at night without even watchin' her back."

Pointing his finger at Leo he continued.

"You used ta know somethin' about that kinda shit, but I guess Asha ain't worth your precious time." Raphael had no more to say, but waited for his brother to respond.

Leonardo closed his eyes and took a deep breath and opened them again. He glared at both his brother and Asha, then silently turned on his heels and headed towards his room. Asha just looked on. One thing she hated was being fussed over, and more than that she felt she might be the cause of some type of tension between the brothers.

Raphael scoffed and caught up with Asha at the entrance. Mikey had been texting April when Asha and Donnie walked in. He still sat quietly and looked over at Donnie with his brow ridges raised, nodding slightly in Leo's direction. 'Wassup with him?' Donnie beckoned Mikey to follow him to his lab. He valued Mikey's insight and wanted his opinion on Leo's behavior towards Asha of late. Mikey was more than happy to follow, being the gossip hound he was.

He was his usual quiet brooding self. For one so large Raphael was exceptionally silent, his footfalls barely registering at all. He picked his way through the sewers effortlessly, ducking through restricted spaces almost before he came upon them. He was leading her through the sewer route after making her tell him the exact address to her job. He would have let her go on her own, but he had some things to get off his chest first. She thought he wouldn't speak to her the whole way there until he did.

"I never pegged you for bein' pathetic Thundacat." He said abruptly.

"Come again?" She asked taken aback.

"You know what I'm talking about. Why're you throwin' yourself at Fearless? Half the time he ignores you, it's gettin' hard ta watch." He was talking to her without even looking her way. His tone was aggressive as always, but underneath it was the actual interest in the answer. He really wanted to know why she was doing what she was doing.

"Why is he ignoring me?" She returned, dodging a question with a question.

"Nah, you don't get ta do that. Why can't you take a hint? You ain't a bad lookin' chick, so you don't gotta put up with that from a guy. Especially from mutants like us. You can get a guy, so why're you chasing Leo so hard?" They were still walking at a good clip with Raph leading the way. Asha looked at the back of his head, wanting to hit him for his forwardness, but knowing he had a good point. It wasn't the first time she had been asked that question, just that she'd been the one asking it to herself. She rolled his inquiry around before finally digesting it and answering.

"The lion is who I really am Raph. The skin suit is the camouflage. Only another shifter, or in you guys' case another mutant in general would understand what it feels like to not be completely human. To have this other side to you. No human can truly understand even if they accept," she said. Raphael nodded his understanding. He knew exactly what she meant. Ever the direct one, Raph ventured to ask the obvious thing, although he realized a few months ago this was a touchy subject.

"So why don't you get a lion dude? Get a shifter guy so he can understand you?" He wondered if she would be vague about it. Asha sighed heavily before answering.

"I've long been exiled from the shifter community. Not only when I was a child, but my little history followed me, as bad news and gossip always does. Only my uncle and his wife treated me like I wasn't a plague." She fought to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"He was the only shield between me and a group of people who would have outcast me at best, or killed me at worst. They respected my uncle, and would not dare raise a hand or word against his blood while he lived. Now that he's gone, there is no veil between me and them. The only two shifters who never left my side were my two best friends. I couldn't even go to his funeral Raph." Asha said this stopping Raph in his tracks to look at her. Her eyes were glassy as she thought over the fact that she never had a chance to say goodbye to her uncle properly. The last time she saw him was bloodied on the floor after the blast that killed so many2.

"Imagine your master Splinter dying, and you can't even say goodbye to him. Can't even attend his affairs as you know he would have wished!" At the thought of his father dying Raph had to turn his head from her. His jaw clenched, his eyes blinked rapidly trying not to let the emotion of the thought wash over him. He was annoyed that she would even bring something like that up, but didn't say anything against it. It had to be hard for her. Now he understood that her relationship to her uncle was very much like Splinter to them. Not just a martial arts master, but their father. He turned to her now with what he felt was a deeper understanding of just who she was, but still there was one more thing he wanted to know.

"What was it? The thing that got you kicked out from your home in the first place. What'd you do?"

"Master Splinter never told you guys?" She knew he hadn't.

"You kiddin' me? He would never tell something somebody said to him in private."

"I was nine years old. It was my first time really exploring what I was. I got into a petty fight with a young village boy, a human. I changed, I killed him…..then I ate him. Man eating is punishable by death, but because of my age my uncle pleaded for exile instead." There, it was out then. Raphael was flabbergasted. It was the 'ate him' part that did it. She actually ate people? On one of the few occasions in his life, Raphael was truly unnerved by another individual.

"I don't eat people Raph. It was a onetime thing. Sorry if it put you off your lunch, but you asked."

"Yeah now I wish I didn't ask." He said starting to walk again. A few minutes later they were climbing out of a manhole. He walked her to the very edge of the alleyway. Across the street was the club. They could hear the music pumping, but no one was outside except the bouncers, and a few people who apparently weren't being allowed in.

"Well, here we are. I need to get going, I'm a little late and they're assholes about that kind of stuff." Asha said about to step out onto the sidewalk when she felt Raph's iron grip on her upper arm holding her back. His green eyes were sparkling, and his toothpick rolled slowly in the corner of his mouth. Uh oh Asha thought.

"So you work at a strip joint? Is this the big secret?" He asked looking down at her, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Yeah, old Whiskas is shaking ass for cash Raph. I guess you can run tell Leo now," she said smiling and teasing him about it.

"Pfft, I ain't telling Leo a damn thing…" he looked back over at the club then back down to her, appreciatively this time. "But you owe me for keepin' it hush."

"How much Raph? Or beer, you want some alcohol?" She said, fully prepared to give him her tips for the night if that would keep his mouth shut.

"Nah, you don't get off that easy Thundacat," he said with an evil little grin curling his lips.

"Whatever it is, no."

"Lap dance, me and Donnie, tomorrow," Raph said grin spreading to see the horror cross Asha's face.

"Heeelll no! And don't drag innocent Donnie into this either." Asha had a sinking feeling that even though he was smiling, Raph wasn't playing.

"Donnie been keepin' your little secret longer, and he been nice ta you too. I say you owe him a little sumthin' sumthin'." Raph saw her discomfort and got a little annoyed by it.

"If you can do it in front of these scum bags, you can do it for us," he said satisfied at her mortification.

"I don't give lap dances, Raph," she said. It was sort of true. As the new girl she had to still wait tables and only dance the early dances. She hadn't earned prime stage time.

"Whateva." He said loosening his grip and then retightening it as something else crossed his mind.

"Raph come on I gotta go. I'll give you your stupid lap dance…" she was going to continue complaining until a large green finger shushed her. She looked up at him and saw the gears turning furiously in his mind. Due to his meathead tendencies it was easy for one to be unaware that Raphael was smart as hell. It never took him long to put two and two together and come up with four.

He noted the symbol of the Foot Clan on the armbands worn by the bouncers, and emblazoned on the doors. Anyone not in the know thought it was just a fancy drawing of a flame, but Raph knew better. He tightened his grip a little more on her arm, starting to hurt her. She winced but didn't try to pull away. He looked down at her concern mixed with anger on his face.

"You got a freakin' death wish or somethin'? What the hell do you think you're doin' around this joint?"

"First, let me go because you're hurting me," she said looking at his hand and knowing there would be a bruise there later. He didn't let her go, but did loosen his grip again realizing he was probably hurting her pretty good.

"Second, I know what I'm doing Raph. They don't know who I am. Out here I'm Asha, in there I'm 'Nigeria'. I'm dee Ahfreecan gurl who don't know what dey talkin'." He was still wary but did eventually let her go completely.

"But this is a Foot Clan joint. If you forgot lemme remind you that they're lookin' for the girl who killed Rocksteady and a whole gang of foot soldier sleaze balls." Asha wagged her finger at him.

"Correction, they're looking for the lion mutant who killed Rocksteady and whole gang of foot soldier sleaze balls. Do I look like a mutant or a hot piece of ass?" She smirked at Raph. Sarcastic remark in 3, 2…

"Neither. You ain't neva been a hot piece of ass in ya life Thundacat," Raph said smirking back at her. She walked right into that one.

"Yet you want a lap dance. I wonder why?" Asha was starting to cross the street as Raph was fading back into the shadow of the alley.

"That's just business," he said. She couldn't see his face anymore but heard the smile in his raspy voice. She turned around but his voice grabbed her attention one more time.

"Hey Whiskas, knock some heads and get some info. I wanna know what these douche bags are up to in there." She heard the faint scrape of a moving manhole cover.

"Will do Raph," she said as she gave a salute in his general direction, and ran across the street to work. Knocking some heads sounded good, but only after there was nothing left here to do. Asha went in the back entrance for employees. She was greeted by smoke and the smell of alcohol. It was gonna be a long night.

In my previous story Predators and Prey, the Foot clan kidnapped five shifter children then murdered them in cold blood after torturing them.

Asha's uncle died in the attack on their dojo. The small children were abducted at that time.