Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
Chapter 1: Fanning the Flames
A/N: Well, here's the long awaited sequel to Truth and Lies. Sorry it took me so long, but I wanted to get at least five chapters written before I even attempted to post this. If you haven't read Truth and Lies, then I suggest you do so first or you'll be very confused about what's going on. This story will take place two months after the events of Truth and Lies. I hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot.
Summary: Two months later the Turtles are trying to heal, but when they encounter a mysterious girl, they are left wondering whether Robyn is still alive or if she's really dead. Sequel to Truth and Lies.
The flames were hot and he dripped with sweat. Leo was dangling over the flames trying his best to maintain his grip on the board he held. He couldn't see his brothers and wondered where they had gone. Just as he tried to pull himself up, Robyn appeared, smiling wickedly as she took in his plight.
"Leo, Leo, looks like you're in a tight spot," she taunted. "It's too bad your brothers can't help you." She gestured behind her, and Leo saw his brothers lying dead in a heap. Anger filled his eyes at the realization that they were gone and who had killed them.
"How could you do this?" he asked her. "Why did you kill them?"
"Because that was my plan all along," she replied. "They had to go, and now you'll be next. It's a shame you won't be able to see your father one last time."
"Robyn, you don't have to do this," begged Leo. "It's not worth it. Just pull me up." He thought that by pleading with her she would show mercy and help him up. Then he would strike and subdue her so she could be sent to jail for good.
Robyn laughed. "Do you think I'm stupid?" she sneered. "I know exactly what you'll do. I'll pull you up, and you'll subdue me so that you make sure I go to jail for my sister's murder. Well, that's not gonna happen, Leo. The truth of what happened will die with you and your brothers, and no one will be able to implicate me. I'll be able to do as I please, and no one will ever suspect me of killing my sister. But don't worry, Leo. I'll make sure to tell your dad you died an honorable death protecting me from the people who did start the fire. I'm sure he'll be proud of you."
Once again, Leo tried to reach her. "Robyn, you don't have to do this. We can get you some help. I'm sure you didn't mean to kill April and that you loved her. You just weren't in the right frame of mind."
Robyn bared her teeth at his words. "How dare you suggest such a thing?" she snarled. "I hated April and had every intention of killing her. I won't got back to that crazy house either. I'm getting rid of you and leaving New York for good. So, goodbye, Leo, and say hi to April for me."
"No! " cried Leo as Robyn kicked out, causing Leo to lose his grip on what he was holding, sending him into the fiery flames below.
22222
"Leo! Leo, wake up, bro!" begged a familiar voice.
Leo bolted upright in bed, his heart pounding. He looked around frantically, breathing hard until he realized that he was in his room and not in the antique shop. He turned and saw Raph looking at him, concern written on his face.
"Another nightmare?" Raph guessed.
Leo waved him off. "It was nothing, Raph," he replied. "Go back to bed."
"You were dreamin' about her again, weren't you?" Raph persisted, ignoring Leo's order.
Leo knew that lying wasn't going to work, so he answered, "Yeah, I was."
"You wanna talk about it?"
Leo shook his head. "Not right now," he answered.
"Are you gonna tell Splinter about it?"
The blue-clad Turtle nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell him," he said. "It's what he wants me to do anyway."
"Don't forget to tell him about last night, too," Raph reminded him.
Leo tensed. Last night had definitely been weird, but he didn't want to read too much into what they'd seen. He'd wanted to tell Splinter about it when they came home, but Splinter had suggested that Leo go to bed since he looked exhausted. Now he had to wonder if what they'd seen last night had triggered the nightmare he'd just had.
Raph was getting impatient. "Leo, are you gonna tell Splinter?" he asked him.
"Yeah, I'll tell him after practice," answered Leo.
"Good because you can't keep that from him," said Raph. "Hey, I know somethin' that'll take your mind off of your dream."
"Like what?" asked Leo skeptically.
"Just come with me and you'll find out," replied Raph. He led Leo to the living area and told Leo to sit on the couch. Leo did so, feeling a little confused as to what Raph had in store for him. Raph grabbed the remote and turned the TV on making sure the volume was low enough that only they could hear it.
Then Leo noticed the show that Raph had turned it to. "Wait, we're watching Cops?" he asked his red-clad brother.
"Yeah, I figured this would be a good way to get your mind off of your dream," Raph told him. "See, they're doin' a traffic stop. I'm gonna predict that this person has a warrant for their arrest."
"No, they probably have drugs in the car," Leo contradicted.
"Okay, bro, whoever is right gets a point," Raph told him. "The one with the most points has to do the loser's chores for a week." Leo agreed, and they watched the arrest unfold. As it turned out, Leo was right as the person had marijuana stashed on him. The two Turtles continued their game until both became tired again. Leo was the winner, so Raph had to do Leo's chores for a week which he accepted fairly well to Leo's surprise.
Raph noticed the joyful expression on his brother's face. "You feelin' better, Leo?"
Leo smiled. "Yeah, I am," he said. "Thanks for suggesting this, Raph. It was fun."
Raph put his arm around his brother's shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Anytime, bro," he said. "We'd better get some sleep before practice tomorrow, or Sensei won't be too happy."
Leo nodded and headed to his room. Raph wanted to stay with him, but Leo assured him he'd be fine. The rest of his night wasn't marred by nightmares, and he knew he had Raph to thank for that. He only hoped that the rest of his nights would be that way, too.
22222
The next morning, the Turtles and their sister Miwa went to the dojo only to find that Splinter wasn't here. Confused, they went to find him and saw that he was in the living area next to the pool.
"My students, we will not be practicing in the dojo this morning," Splinter explained as they all assembled in front of him. "Today we will be conducting a new exercise." He motioned to the pool of water in the middle of the Lair. Instead of the tire swing that normally hung there, there were rings such as ones the gymnasts would use in the Olympics. "This exercise is very simple. One of you will attempt to cross the pool using the rings while your opponent will attempt to knock you down and prevent you from reaching your goal. Your objective is to cross the pool without your opponent knocking you down."
Mikey's blue eyes lit up. "Dudes, this is just like American Gladiators, right, Sensei?"
Splinter chuckled at his youngest son. "Yes, Michelangelo, just like American Gladiators," he replied. "Leonardo, you will be the first to attempt to cross the pool, and Raphael will be your opponent."
Both Turtles bowed to him and ascended the ladder that led to the starting point. Once there, Leo took a position and waited until Splinter gave the command to begin. Then he launched himself toward the first ring and then swung to the next one. After a short time, Splinter gave Raph the command to begin and he began pursuing his brother in an attempt to thwart his goal.
Leo was going at a steady pace but then his hand slipped, causing him to lose his grip. He recovered and looked down. But instead of the calm waters of the pool below him, he saw deadly flames and could feel the heat on his body. Alarmed, he turned to Raph to see if he noticed the same thing, but instead of Raph being behind him, he saw the form of Robyn O'Neil. Robyn's face was twisted into an evil smirk as she attempted to knock Leo off and to his doom.
"No!" Leo begged. "Stay away from me!" He kicked out at her, attempting to knock her into the flames but his foot missed, causing him to lose his grip on the ring. With a cry, he fell into the flames with no one to catch him. But when he landed, he felt wet instead of the hot flames. Why would that be? Then he saw that he was in the water and struggled to get out but he didn't have the strength. He was going to die here, and no one would ever know.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his arm and pull him to safety. He wanted to fight, thinking it was Robyn, but he didn't have the strength to do so and just let whoever it was pull him up. He felt them reach the surface and began gasping and coughing, trying to fight for air. Raph laid Leo on his side while water continued to pour from his mouth and he continued coughing. The red-clad Turtle rubbed circles on Leo's shell and soothed, "It's okay, buddy. Everything's gonna be okay."
"Mikey, get some towels for Leo and Raph," Don ordered.
Mikey did so and came back with two towels, wrapping them around his brothers. Splinter and Miwa ushered them to the couch so that they could get warm while Splinter went to make some tea.
"Raph, I have to tell Sensei about last night," Leo whispered.
"That can wait, bro," Raph replied. "Just get warm first."
Splinter returned with two cups of tea. "Here, my sons, this will warm you up."
Leo drank slowly and fixed his eyes on his father. "Sensei, there's something I have to tell you," he began.
"What is it, Leonardo?" Splinter asked him.
"Leo, this can wait," Raph insisted.
Leo turned on his brother, his blue eyes filled with anger. "No, it can't wait," he insisted. "Splinter needs to know."
"Raphael, let your brother speak," Splinter chastised. Then he turned to Leo. "Go ahead, my son."
Leo took a deep breath. "I think the hallucination I just had along with the nightmare I had last night were both caused by what we saw last night on patrol."
"And what did you encounter last night, my son?"
"We encountered a girl," Leo answered and began to tell his father the story.
22222
It was another clear night in New York as Leo and his brothers went out on their nightly patrol. Miwa had begged Splinter to allow her to come, but he had denied her request, stating that the Foot were still searching for her and until they gave up, it wasn't safe for her to be out. Although Miwa was disappointed she accepted her father's decision and had stayed with him. Leo felt bad for her and had offered to appeal to Splinter on her behalf, but she had refused and had told him to just go on without her.
"Man, there doesn't seem to be any action tonight," Raph noted, snapping Leo out of his thoughts.
"Trust me, Raph, there will be action," Leo reassured him. "It's not like the Foot to just give up so easily. They'll be looking for any excuse to engage in battle."
"Hey, I brought a hackey sack," Mikey piped up. "We can play that while we wait."
Leo rounded on his little brother. "Mikey this isn't the time to play games," he lectured. "We have to stay alert at all times."
"Well, there's four of us, so one of us can keep watch while the others play," Mikey told him. "Not it!"
"Not it!" Raph seconded.
"Not it!" Don added. "I guess that means you have to keep watch, Leo!"
The blue-clad Turtle sighed in frustration. This was the one time he really hated the "Not It!" game, a game April had taught them and had stolen from some of the jocks in her class. He turned away from his brothers, but what happened next was something he wouldn't forget for a long time.
Someone giggled and said, "Hey, I know that game."
All four Turtles turned and took out their weapons at the sound of the voice. A figure came out from behind the chimney. Leo cursed himself for not sensing the human's presence earlier and wondered if he was losing his ninja skills. The girl stopped and studied the Turtles and they studied her. She had dark hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing a long sleeved shirt, jeans and sneakers. Her face was heavily scarred, and her blue eyes stared at them with curiosity but no fear. As Leo stared at her, he felt that there was something familiar about her eyes, and upon looking at his brothers' reactions, he could tell that they noticed it too.
She smiled at them. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost," she remarked. "You can put away your weapons. I'm not gonna hurt you."
Leo decided to speak up. "Why aren't you scared of us?" he asked her.
"Because I've seen you before," she answered.
"Wait, have you known us a long time?" Don asked.
"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," she said. "Stop looking so nervous, Donnie."
"How do you know my brother's name?" Leo demanded.
"Because I've been watching you this whole time, Leo," she answered. She noticed the scared look in Leo's eyes and smiled. "You look scared, Leo. Are you afraid I'm gonna hurt you?"
"You'd better not!" Raph growled, taking a defensive stance in front of his brother. "How did you get those scars on your face?"
The girl glared at him. "That's none of your business," she said firmly.
"What's your name?" Mikey asked her.
"My, you're nosy," she taunted. "My name's Lynn Obiero." Then she stared at Mikey and smiled at him. "I bet you're the type who likes to make a lot of friends."
"Hey, back off, Lady!" Raph warned. "He doesn't want to be friends with you."
Lynn giggled. "That's too bad," she said. "I really want to be friends with you guys. Maybe I will be one day. Well, I have to go now. I'll see you boys around." She waved to them and disappeared over the side of the building.
"Guys, did you just see what I saw?" Don asked his brothers.
"Yeah, there's somethin' fishy about that chick," replied Raph.
"No, I'm talking about her eyes and her face," insisted Don.
"Her face was heavily scarred," commented Leo.
"And her eyes looked just like April's," added Don.
"Wait, you think that Lynn is Robyn?" asked Raph skeptically.
"There was something about her that was familiar," mused Mikey. "She acted like she's known us for a long time."
"No way!" scoffed Raph. "Robyn's dead."
"Raph, think carefully about this," said Leo. "Her face was scarred like it was burned in a fire. Her eyes are the same shade of blue as April's and she acted like she's known us for a long time. Who else could it be?"
"A girl who's just playin' with us," replied Raph. "Look, next time we see her, we'll ask her about April and Robyn. Then that'll prove that she's not Robyn O'Neil."
Leo really wasn't sure how any of them could prove that, but he wasn't in the mood for arguing about it. "I'll talk to Sensei about this and see what he says. In the meantime, let's just finish our patrol and go home."
22222
"So, you assume that the woman you saw was Robyn?" Splinter asked him when Leo was done with the story.
"Only Leo, Donnie, and Mikey do," Raph replied before Leo could answer.
"It makes sense, Raph," Don told him. "I even wrote out her name, and it matches as an anagram for Robyn O'Neil."
"Uh, Donnie, her name is Lynn Obiero, not Anna Graham," Mikey corrected him.
"Mikey, an anagram is a word that can be rearranged to make a new word," Don told him.
"Donnie, this is ridiculous," said Raph. "It's all just a coincidence."
"Or maybe she really is Robyn using a different name," Leo interjected. "What do you think, Sensei?"
"I must say that this is a very unusual case," Splinter replied. "There is no way of knowing what is true and what is not. My advice would be to get to know her a bit more and see if she will talk about herself and her past."
"So, you're saying we have to befriend her?" Leo asked him.
He nodded. "It's the best way to learn the truth."
"Uh, no offense, Sensei, but in case you've forgotten, we tried that before and almost got killed," pointed out Mikey.
"I am aware of that, Michelangelo," answered Splinter. "But if you avoid her, you will never know for certain whether she is Robyn or not."
"Maybe I could help out," Miwa offered. "After all, I know how being evil works, and I would be able to tell you what her true motivations are."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Mikey agreed.
"I agree that one cannot have too many eyes and ears out," Splinter remarked. "But for now it would be ill-advisable for you to do anything until we are certain the Foot have given up searching for you, Miwa."
"We can always just take her out with us," Don suggested.
"Yeah, she'll be safe with us," Leo pointed out. "She can't hide forever. I think it would be best if she came with us and faced the Foot. She'll be safe because we'll be with her, and she's more than capable of taking the Foot on herself if she needs to."
Splinter sighed. "You are right, Leonardo," he said. "Miwa has proven that she is skilled enough to take down any foe she encounters. I am acting like an overprotective father who lacks confidence in his children and for that, I apologize. You may go tomorrow."
"What about tonight?" Miwa asked him.
"It's supposed to rain tonight, and the roofs might be too slippery," Don pointed out. "We try not to go out when it's raining so we don't get hurt."
After the arrangements were settled, they all went their separate ways. Leo retired to his room to think about what had been decided. While befriending Lynn was the best way to find out whether she was Robyn or not was the logical thing to do, Leo couldn't help but feel some trepidation at the thought of it. What if she was Robyn and tried to kill them again? Wasn't Leo putting his family at risk by agreeing to this? Then again, what if she wasn't Robyn at all and was just teasing them? What would be the harm in being friends with her? Deciding not to worry about it at the moment, Leo settled down and closed his eyes.
Little did Leo know just what harm it would cause and what this mission would lead to.
A/N: Wow, that was a long one, huh? Almost fourteen pages! I really didn't think it would be that long. So, things are really heating up now. Is Lynn really Robyn, or is she just a normal girl who's playing with their minds? You'll have to read on and find out. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.