The Beginning

L.A.: Hi! I'm Lights aura and this is my first TMNT fic. This idea just came to me the other day, and I got the urge to write it. FYI South Seaport and Pier 16 do exist. I've been there and it is a really cool place. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. If I did, I would be one happy person right about now.

I was running, my feet padding hard against the cold cement. Rain was pouring from the night sky drenching me to the bone. But, I couldn't stop. If I stopped, they would catch me. If I stopped, they would win.

I ducked into a nearby alley and crouched behind an old trash bin. My nose wrinkled in disgust from the noxious fumes that seemed to seep from the bin. Having a sharp sense of smell was starting to be more of a curse than a blessing. I resisted the urge to gag as I peered out behind the bin. Catching a glimpse of my reflection in a nearby puddle, I grimaced.

I was defiantly a mutt. That, I was sure about. I looked like a white version of a golden retriever with blue eyes. My ears stuck upwards and were slightly bent at the tips. I looked a little worse for wear with the smeared dirt all over me and my drenched matted fur.

The sound of movement from up ahead caused me to look away from my reflection. There were three of them. I didn't have to smell them to know they were the ones looking for me. They were still in their lab coats with the strange red design on the back, too busy chasing me to take time to change. They held up their tracking devices as they scanned the area. Glancing down the alley, I realized that it was a dead end. I was trapped, and it was only a matter of time until they found me.

As the scientists drew closer to my hiding spot, I couldn't help but wonder how I had ever gotten into this mess.

2 Days Earlier

My name is Chloe Delmar and I am completely bored out of my mind. At sixteen years old, I have blond hair with blue eyes. I have a genuine interest in learning but even I can lose interest when it comes to a monotone condescending teacher like the one who was currently lecturing. Plus, you couldn't blame me for not focusing when my thoughts were elsewhere.

Tonight, a big party was being held down at Pier 16 at South Seaport. It was supposed to be the party of the century and my best friend Lindsey and I were going. Glancing over at my best friend, I saw that she was about to fall asleep. Lindsey Stones is a sixteen year old brunette with green eyes. With a smirk, I threw a wad of paper at her. Lindsey yelped as she looked around for the cause of her surprise. Seeing the wad of paper, she looked in my direction and glared.

I smiled innocently.

Leaning towards me, Lindsey whispered, "If you don't behave then I won't give you the ticket to the party."

I gave her my best puppy dog eyes. "But, you promised. Plus, how can you have fun without me?"

"Do you two ladies have something more important to discuss than my class?" The professor asked.

Lindsey and I grinned sheepishly.

After classes, we made the long walk back to our apartment. I was once again living with Lindsey since my parents were gone for another three week business trip. These business trips happened about five to six times a year. In fact, Lindsey's family had set up a room especially for those times I visited.

I know that I should be more upset that my family is never around. The truth is that I considered Lindsey and her family more of family. They were there all the time, listening to my stories, making me feel better when I was sad, and always getting me to laugh.

Once we reached the apartment, we quickly burst in nearly running Mrs. Stones over. Mrs. Stones is an older replica of Lindsey with glasses.

"Girls," Mrs. Stones said, "Where are you going in such a rush?"

"Sorry Mrs. Stones," I said sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry mom but we need to go get ready for the party," Lindsey added.

Mrs. Stones sighed. "Fine, but remember, you have to be back by midnight."

"Yes mam," We saluted her.

Mrs. Stones rolled her eyes as we bounded off to Lindsey's room.

"Okay," Lindsey said, "We have to choose something completely amazing for tonight's party… which means I have to borrow your sparkly black spaghetti strap."

"Only if I get to borrow your cute pink mini skirt," I said. I had the perfect outfit in mind.

Lindsey froze as she looked around the room. Holding her finger to her lips, she ripped open her closet doors. Grinning sheepishly back at her was a little blond haired boy.

"Todd get out!"

With a yelp, Todd flew out of the room.

"Stupid twerp," Lindsey murmured as she slammed the door after her.

"I think he's kind of cute," I said with a grin, "In a teddy bear sort of way."

"That's because he isn't your little brother," Lindsey sighed, "So, back to outfits."

By eight, we were ready to go. I had decided on the pink mini skirt with a black v neck tank while Lindsey wore the sparkly black spaghetti strap with a red flowing skirt. After saying our goodbyes, we hopped into a cab.

South Seaport was on the other side of the city, which like any New Yorker would know, would take forever to get to by walking. We idly chatted as the cab speed off. Once we arrived, we paid the cab driver. Looking around, we gasped.

New York had really out done itself. The dock was decorated with lights and party favors. A live band was blasting away on the stage. Teenagers were everywhere dancing and partying the night away.

We looked at each other as a squeal escape our lips.

"Well, Chloe," Lindsey said as she linked arms with me, "I think this night is going to change history."

Thinking about it, there was such irony in her words. Unfortunately, I missed it at the time. I nodded as we delved into the crowd.

Two hours later, we were slouched by the bar drinking water. Partying the night away could be very taxing on the body. Lindsey giggled as she leaned towards me. "Hey Chloe, that guy over there has been checking you out all night."

I casually glanced in the direction Lindsey had indicated. A young man of Japanese decent was watching me. He was a few years older with short black hair and bright blue eyes. A grin spread across his face as he saw me looking at him. Blushing slightly, I grinned back. Seeming to be encouraged, the man made his way towards us.

"Oh my gosh," Lindsey giggled. "He's coming this way."

"Hello ladies," the man said with a grin, "How are you tonight?"

"We're fine," I said.

"My name is Kai and you are?"

"Lindsey," Lindsey said as she shook his hand.

"Chloe," When I went to shake his hand, he grabbed it and kissed the top.

"What a lovely name." Kai said as he flashed his perfect teeth once more. "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"

"Of course she will," Lindsey cut in as she shoved me towards him. "I'll be over here." She winked at me before walking off.

I'm going to kill Lindsey later, I thought as I awkwardly rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry about that."

"Not at all," Kai said as he led me to the dance floor. "If it wasn't for her I might not have been able to dance with you."

I was surprised at how gentlemanly Kai behaved. He even tolerated my nervous habit of talking nonstop while dancing. After a couple of dances, I was pretty sure I had told him my entire life story. The fact that he hadn't run away out of sheer boredom proved how amazing Kai was.

"Would you care to accompany me to the pier? I know an excellent spot to view the stars."

A goofy smile appeared on my face. "Love to."

We walked silently towards the pier. I let out a gasp as I raced to the end. "Wow, look at the moon, isn't it gorgeous?"

A smirk appeared on Kai's face. "You are perfect."

I turned back to him, a frown on my face. Something wasn't quite right about his voice. It seemed more sinister than before…more deadly. "Pardon me?"

"You're absolutely perfect," He said as his smile transformed into an evil grin.

A sharp pain coursed through my neck. Reaching up, I found a dart sticking from my neck. I pulled it out and stared at it dumbly. "What's going on?" I asked as my eyes fluttered close and I pitched forward.

Kai caught me. As my vision started to fade, I noticed that Kai was focusing on the shadows. "Alert the master," he said, "We have a new test subject." That was the last I heard before I faded into oblivion.

When I awoke, everything was blurry. I couldn't quite shake off the drowsiness either. Luckily, my ears still seemed to be functioning properly. Letting out a groan, I tried to move around but found that I was strapped down.

"She's waking up," said a voice that sounding an awful lot like Kai.

"Get another sedative," said a deeper male voice, "we can't have her aware just yet."

"Do you think Mistress Karai will condone what we are doing?" Kai asked as I felt something sharp stick into my left arm.

"What Mistress Karai doesn't know won't hurt her," the other voice said.

I slowly faded away into oblivion once more.

When I awoke again, I was screaming in pain. My body was going through spasms and my head felt as if it were on fire.

I felt myself being held down as I heard a voice say, "What is happening, master?"

"She's having a reaction," the deep male voice from before said calmly, "We need to try and stabilize her so that her body can adjust…"

I passed out once more, the pain too great to bear.

With a gasp, I awoke. This time, my body only ached dully. My head felt okay and my sense of smell was perfectly fine maybe even better than before. Glancing around, I noted that I was in what looked like a cell. My joints protested as I stood up on all fours. I felt slightly nauseous as I swayed back and forth. Something brushed against my legs. Glancing back, I froze. My eyes were widened as I tried to process what I was seeing. A white fluffy tail was swinging back and forth on its own accord. This can't be happening, I thought as I glanced down at my hands… only to find myself looking at paws instead. Trying to stay calm, I forced myself to crawl over to a glass fragment that lay on the floor nearby. Taking a deep breath, I glanced into it. When I saw my reflection, I completely lost control.

"They turned me into a dog!" I yelled. Instead of words, barks, howls, and growls came out of my mouth. This had to be some completely messed up nightmare. I glanced down at my tail again. It twitched and I completely broke down. I succumbed to open mouth sobs. If anyone were listening to me, they would think I had rabies with all the snarling, howling, and whimpering.

"Geez, would you cut down on the racket," a high pitched voice said angrily. "You're hurting my poor little ears."

I stopped short in my sobbing as I looked around the room. "W-who's there?"

"Down here, mutt," the voice said. I glanced down and found myself staring at a rat. "So," the rat continued, ignoring my dumbfounded expression, "are you sick?"

"You're talking," I said in disbelief. "Rats don't talk."

"Uh, hello?" the rat said as he wrapped my paw. "Earth to mutt? All animals talk, it's the humans who can't."

I frowned. I was getting tired of the rat's condescension. "I am not a dog. I'm a human."

The rat laughed. "Oh, and I'm not a rat. I'm a lion."

"I'm serious," I said in exasperation, "Those guys did something to me." I looked around desperately, "I need to find a way out of here." I glanced back at the rat. "Do you know a way out?"

The rat quirked an eyebrow. "Not unless you are a rat." The rat froze as it noticed me starting to tear up. "Don't tell me you're going to cry again?"

"No," I said, my voice a pitch higher than usual.

The rat sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll see what I can do." He quickly scurried back to his hole in the wall.

Cocking my head, I could hear it running around in the walls. Moments later, the grate to an air duct popped loose. The rat looked rather pleased with itself as it appeared in the duct. "Come on, this way."

I frowned. "How am I supposed to get up there?" The duct was a few feet off the ground. If I were human, I would have been able to jump up and grab it easily. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Just jump."

I sighed. What did I have to lose? I backed up a couple of paces to allow myself a running start. "Here goes." Taking a deep breath, I ran forward and jumped. I fell a little short but I was able to grab the edge of the duct with my front paws. With a slight whine, I flailed my back legs as I tried to pull myself up. After a moment, I was able to get a good hold and pulled myself in. It was a tight squeeze but luckily I was able to fit in.

"Follow me," the rat said as it headed down the duct. I tried to be as quiet as possible, afraid that they would notice my disappearance.

After a few minutes, we came to a fork. The rat paused as it sniffed the air and looked both ways. "This way… I think" it said as it headed off to the left.

I winced, wondering if it was wise to follow the rat. After ten more minutes, we came to a dead end at a grate. The rat unscrewed the grate as if it were nothing, letting it drop on the other side.

"You've had a lot of practice doing this, haven't you?" I asked.

The rat smiled mischievously. "What can I say? I am a rat of many talents." He motioned to the now open duct. "There's your exit."

I peered out of the air duct and gasped. The ground looked to be about ten or fifteen feet below. "Are you crazy? I can't make that."

The rat sighed, "Oh honestly, do I have to do everything?" The rat bit my tail. I let out a yelp and spun away. This move made me lose my balance, and before I knew what was happening, I was falling out the grate.

I let out a loud howl as I plummeted to the ground. This is the end, I thought, I'm going to die as a dog!

With an oomph, I landed on a pile of garbage.

"Hey!" the rat called, "Are you alright?"

"You did that on purpose," I said angrily, "I could have died." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "And now I smell like garbage."

The alarm to the building went off.

"Run!" the rat yelled, his whiskers whirling. "They know you've escaped."

There was no need to tell me twice.

Cowering behind the trashcans, I let out a gasp when they were tossed aside. The three scientists grinned when they saw me. "Alright doggie," the one on the left said. "It's time to go home."

I growled knowing it was useless but determined to not go down without a fight. From out of nowhere, a figure emerged tackling the three scientists. I watched in amazement as the figure made quick work of them with some sort of long stick. Once the three scientists were incapacitated, the figure returned the stick to its holder and faced me. I squinted as I tried to make out my savior. He seemed off somehow.

"Hey there," the figure said, his voice sounding gentle and sincere. "Are you alright?" As the figure stepped into the light of a street lamp, I let out a gasp.

A giant turtle stood before me. He wore a purple mask across his eyes. He wore elbow, wrist, and knee pads and a belt was tied around his waist.

All that had happened to me had finally taken its toll. The adrenaline rush was gone and I found that I couldn't hold my weight up anymore. My eyes rolled up into my head as I collapsed on the cold ground.

L.A.: Well that's the first chapter. I have the next one which I'll post in the hopes of enticing more readers and reviewers. Please do review. I love to know what you think.