DISCLAIMER: The TMNT's are the property of other people, not me. So, don't sue. I only own Tang Shen – and the circus.

Chapter one - Discovery

She awoke with a terrific headache, the pounding behind her eyes so severe, the thought of opening them made her ill. They felt almost ready to explode.

Yet, desperate to know where she was, Tang Shen blindly tried to sit up. However, in almost the next moment, she swiftly remembered the atrocities committed against her. Now, as the rest of her body screamed in agony, she remembered things best left to nightmares.

Groaning audibly, Tang lay back down again and tried to use her meditative skills to push away the almost overwhelming sense of pain. Keeping her eyes closed, she concentrated and slowly felt the tide of her discomfort ebb. Nevertheless, as she did, she felt a chilled breath of air pass over her body.

It startled her.

She snapped her eyes opened, despite the pain, and looked down at herself – and then she gasped. Tang was naked, completely and wholly naked without even a blanket to cover her.

And, she was lying on the cold, hard concrete ground of the warehouse, too.

As the girl's memory cruely beckoned to her, it slowly reminded her of why she was in this place to begin with.

Like a fog dissipating and evaporating to reveal the lay of the land, Tang Shen began to remember how she had brought dishonor to her family, a dishonor that should have meant her death. Yet here she was, still very much alive. Maybe she lived because He loved her; or maybe He showed leniency because of how she had successfully captured his enemy not long ago.

Either way, it mattered not to Tang Shen. Whatever the reason for his compassion, she was still suffering from his disappointment and from her disobedience.

After her trial, if one could call what she went through as litigation, she had been beaten, raped repeatedly, and then tortured until she had finally screamed in agony. For nearly the entire process, Tang had remained mute, refusing to utter even a single sound. Yet after the entire company of Elite had their way with her, after the remaining Foot pulled most of her hair out by the handfuls, after hours of torture from those whose expertise with such matters gave even her ex-lover the shudders, Tang finally relented and begged for his mercy.

Soon after, she had passed out, only to wake up just moments earlier in the holding cell of the warehouse.

As her endorphins sped to their appointed tasks and as she began to feel a slight bit of relief from the pain, the girl slowly sat up and looked around at her general vicinity.

Sighing, she saw that her tormentors thought it fitting to place her in the same dank and makeshift prison in which they were keeping their recently captured enemy. She swallowed, grimacing painfully against the jarring loss of several teeth and coppery taste of blood, and then looked over at the creature. It was easy to see that the poor beast seemed near death. With its eyes closed and its breathing labored, the mutant's bony arms strained against the manacles that held it prisoner. It was easy to see that he was quite exhausted, his legs almost giving out from having to stand for so long. Secured high to the chain-linked fence behind where it stood, the creature stood atop a box, and forced to stand eye-level to his interrogators. Tang could see where the skin around the creature's wrists had chaffed, where the cuffs clutched at him mercilessly. It was obvious to her that he was in misery, yet not a sound or complaint did he make.

Smaller than even herself, the mutant rat briefly opened one eye. Meeting her gaze, it gave her a long critical look, before closing it again. He sighed once and then once more, finally allowing his breathing to level out. His tail wrapped protectively around his feet and hugged them, as if to comfort him.

Tang noticed beads of perspiration along his face and muzzle, a sheen of moisture clinging to its coat. Where they were in the warehouse, the air was chilly, yet the creature still perspired. She could see bruising where her brethren had beaten it, colorful patches of darkened welts showing along the exposed skin of his face. Even her lover had his fun with the brute. Beaten to get the thing to talk, the creature had still refused to utter even a groan. Just the same, it seemed ludicrous to her that any creature like this one could communicate. For no matter how many times it was beaten and tortured, it remained mute. Had she not failed in her next assignment, she, too, would have enjoyed the task of finding out if the animal had, indeed, any intelligence.

Nevertheless, as the week progressed, Tang ended up reconsidering many things about her life.

She suddenly groaned in delayed reaction as she realized that this creature's suffering was all her fault.

Again, her memory crudely reminded her of this fact and one for which she now felt remorse.

Sitting there upon the concrete ground, Tang recalled that she had been the one to chain this creature. It had been an honor for her to do so at the time, after presenting the thing to her beloved. In fact, it was her finest moment and the approval in his eyes almost made her swoon.

Days earlier, she had accompanied her brethren to capture this aberration of nature, this one who seemed to take delight in upending her family's business. With the creature's lair discovered by one of the Elite, the man had reported that the mutant was the leader of four equally hideous creatures. Her beloved, and jonin of the clan, then sent his best to capture it, in the hopes that his apprehension would lead to the others. While the other four freakish creatures were gone, Tang and twenty of her comrades had overpowered this enemy in its own home in the sewers. The mutant rat had fought well, even though surprised by the attack and too elderly to withstand the skills that she and her compatriots had set against it. Yet, despite all odds, it had fought them and with an old style of martial arts that had mystified and intrigued the girl.

Now, sitting in her cell and facing this same rat, she found it horribly ironic that her would-be husband found it fitting to imprison her with the one she had, only days earlier and with her own two hands, chained up in victory.

Yet, as she recalled the turn of events from only hours before, she knew that her betrayal had actually begun a week prior to that.

It had been a Friday and she was out with two fellow clan-members for a night of relaxation and recreation. They had gone to see a circus, a gift to them from their leader, her consort, and the surrogate father to their growing family of thieves. By their efforts alone, they had enlarged the membership considerably and, pleased with their efforts, he had bestowed upon them a night of fun.

The event had been mildly stimulating, allowing them a bit of reprieve from their normally busy schedule. Most of the stunts they themselves could do, of course, but with the colorful array of costumes and the well-timed music, the routines seemed more impressive to them. With a twenty-minute break at the halfway point in the program, it gave Tang an excuse to fetch refreshments, and so she did.

As she worked her way towards the refreshment stand, she deftly avoided the shoving and pushing. Sidestepping left and then right, weaving in and around, she easily dodged around the mass of people to reach her destination unmolested. For a short time, she seemed amused with those who pressed against each other as they scurried along. Many played the wide variety of games of skill that, for the most part, took their money more frequently than award them prizes.

For a while, they were as entertaining to her as the performers inside the tent had been.

She blended in well with the crowd, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, with her hair pulled back into a French-braid. No one would ever suspect what she did for a living or with whom she was associated. She was like any other young woman, a teenager, out for a night of frivolity with friends.

Although smug and confident with that knowledge, she failed to notice, however, one pair of eyes that followed her every move.

With her arms now laden with drink and food, Tang decided to take a different route back to the performance tent. She was making herway behind a booth and out of view of the general area, effectively avoiding the mash of people, when a man suddenly cut in front of her. Forced to stop, she looked around furtively. Tang knew that where they were situated behind the que of game tents, this sudden change in her adjenda with the stranger would go largely unobserved. Still, she hestiated when he held up a hand for her to stop.

Although a bit concerned about his approach, she was far from afraid. What he wanted with her was irrelevant, yet she had to be careful, just the same. Although her friends would probably think she had only stopped to gawk at something interesting or was taking longer to buy the refreshments, she was mindful of the general rule of her clan. If there was one thing stressed to the point of pain, members were not to fraternize with the outside world; the only exception being when they were on assignment. Tang knew all too well about the 'escorts' most likely lurking nearby, those sent to shadow her and her friends, if only to ensure their loyalty.

Her lover never took any chances whatsoever.

Yet, along the route back to the main arena where this man had stopped her, Tang Shen found herself safely shielded behind a hawker's large tent, effectively hiding her. Still, she carefully kept herself aware of her surroundings, lest she sense anyone familiar nearby.

The man now looked at her with a hard, knowing expression, as if he recognized her. Then, he smiled and apologized, realizing that he had startled the girl. With his hands palm up and slightly outstretched, he implored, "I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to scare you."

Tang narrowed her eyes at the man, threatening, "Out of my way, please." The man was middle-aged and bit gray around the ears, with a receding hairline. Well built for his years and, more than likely, an aerial artist who handled the trapeze, his costume did well to show off his physique.

Just the same, Tang's skills in self-defense left little for her to fear.

Still, it was all too obvious to the girl that the man had confronted her with purposeful determination. Although he was a complete stranger to her, just the same, she quickly determined where to set down her purchases if forced to defend herself.

"I won't take too much of your time, Miss, but might I ask where you are from?" he inquired softly.

Snorting, she admonished him, demeaning the man with an arrogant glance, "From hell, if you do not get out of my way!"

The surprised look on his face told Tang that he was not expecting such an aggressive reply. He stepped aside to let her pass, more out of being intimidated, but before she did, he held up a trembling hand to stop her again. "Please, I must tell you this. Earlier this evening, I saw you as you and your friends came into the main tent, before the show."

"And, so what?" she seethed, anxious to get back to her seat so as not to miss the next set of performances. As she eyed her escape route and shifted her possessions in her arms, Tang was clearly aware of not wanting to draw concern from her friends, certain that they would not hesitate to look for her if enough time passed. Although friendships were strong within the clan, any hint of betrayal was quickly reported and without hesitation. Trained in that way, it was something everyone understood without question.

The man hesitated, looked around a bit, and seemed shocked again, by the force of her words. However, glancing her way and making eye contact, he finally answered, "Well, you remind me of someone I used to know." He swallowed, as if unsure of his own words. Licking his lips nervously, he waited for her to respond.

"Oh, really, is that so?" she remarked sarcastically, "I'm sure there are many here whom you would like to know. I am well informed about circus people and how they prey on gullible customers." Tang snorted derisively, "However, I am not one of them, you can be certain!" The girl tried to slip passed the man, but he persisted, stepping in front of her once again. Now, he was more nervous than before. Why, she did not know, but he trembled noticeably. Still and despite the fear she sensed from him, he persisted.

In all honesty, she would have enjoyed dispatching this one, if only to get back with her friends. However, she knew the clan rules about drawing attention to themselves while out in public. Under the cloak of night and within the dark of shadow, she would have not hesitated to kill him. However, therein the middle of the arcade and in a well-lit area, no less, she had to tread carefully. At the very least, her concern was more for those 'shadows' sent to watch her than doing harm to the man now standing and trembling before her.

She could tell that this man was not going to deter from getting in her way. The very idea that he thought he recognized her was unnerving. How could he even know her when this was the first time she had ever been to his circus? Even if their paths crossed while she was doing 'clan business', her black hood and mask would have prevented him from seeing even her face. There wouldn't have been any way for him to recognize her.

Suddenly and before she could sidestep around him a third time, he pulled something out from the pants pocket of his costume. Now, holding up a photograph, the man quickly presented it to her before she could react, pressing the picture in-between Tang's fingers as she tried to hold onto one of her drinks.

Stepping back and shifting the beverage container to cradle it in the crook of her opposite arm; she took the photo and held it out in front of her to get a better view. Why she was even giving this man any consideration confused her and, yet, she felt compelled to do so.

Did he look familiar to her?

Squinting at the picture,now,and then looking up at the man, Tang listened as he went on to explain, a deep sadness clearly edging his words, "Eleven years ago, three members of our circus died in a trailer fire. It was a very suspicious and stubborn fire, where it burned unusually hot. Once the fire department put the flames out, all that was left of our friends was ash. They had a daughter that died with them, or so we believed. She would have been seventeen, now, had she lived." He swallowed and seemed to be studying her, waiting for some sort of response that would assure him of his suspicions.

Tang looked up at the man, her arrogance slowly dissipating. She looked at the photo again, her eyes widening ever so slightly, now, as she studied the picture.

Tang was seventeen, too, soon to be eighteen and soon to be married. Looking down at the picture and shaking her head, Tang listened as the man continued, "The child had her mother's hair and eyes." He studied her, now, not just looking at her, but looking her over as if, more than ever, certain of what he saw.

All Tang Shen could do was to stand there and hold her breath and stare intently at the photo. The longer she stared, the more the picture became familiar. The more familiar it became, a small memory suddenly began to resurface in her mind.

All at once and quite unexpectedly, she nearly gasped aloud.

There, in the photo, wedged within the arms of a young and beautiful woman, was a child, maybe three or four years of age. A man, dark haired and as handsome as any Tang had ever seen, embraced the two from behind. Both adults smiled into the camera, their teeth gleaming white, while the child beamed with an equally joyful expression. They were all in costume, including the child, with the shimmery fabric teal in color and bordered with silver sequence. The trio seemed genuinely happy.

Then, rocking her world even more, a sudden voice echoed up from the past, filling her mind…

"Hey, there, girlie," it sounded out from the deep recesses of her subconscious, "Smile big for your Uncle Smitty. That's the way, yeah, smile like you do when your daddy takes you up on the wire…"

Just as suddenly, though, the voice faded out and was quickly gone.

As strange at it sounded to her, Tang could not deny the familiarity of the picture nor the words she had heard in her head.

"No, this – cannot be…" she uttered in denial under her breath, clutching the photograph tighter in her hands.

Now the girl was the one who trembled, her breathing quickening as a rare panic bubbled up from deep within. As she studied the picture, she noted that there was a striking resemblance to the woman and herself. Looking anxiously at the girl again and, for reasons that defied all logic or explanation, Tang suddenly, as if waking from a nightmare, recognized her.

The little girl in the photo, sporting a mop of long, curly red hair and with large eyes of shocking blue, stared back as if taunting her. Her cherub creamy cheeks, blushed pink with joy, teased her, the toothy grin of youth mocking her very presence. As Tang took in the impossibility of it all, one thing was certain and undeniable. As she looked harder at the picture and as much as she wanted to deny it, the child was none other than herself,

Her sudden recollection nearly made her ill.