Chapter one
Everyone's story starts somewhere. Most are fantastically normal. And up until this night, Matilda Shepard's life had been normal too.
Matilda shrugged deeper into her coat, and pulled up the hood. She looked out of the vestibule, out into the drizzling April rain. She sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets. She could feel the wad of money there. Amateur night at The Loft always paid well. The Loft was New York City's Premier burlesque Lounge. She never left with less than $200.
Matilda stepped out into the rain and began her walk home. When she was few blocks away from her apartment, she began to get an ill feeling in her stomach. She started to finger the little knife in her coat pocket. She slid her hood off, so she could see better.
She felt them first, as their footsteps fell behind hers. She quickened her pace, and flipped open the little blade in her pocket.
"Hey babe, why don't you come home with us?" One said. She could tell by his voice, that he was young.
"Hey chica, we talkin' to you" Said another.
"Yeah girl. You know it's not nice to ignore people." A third chimed in.
Finally one made a grab for her. His hand fell on her shoulder. She flung it off and ran.
"hey! Get back here!" The first one shouted. He caught her arm. She pulled the knife out and slashed upwards towards his face.
"You crazy bitch!" He yelled, and covered her face. Matilda elbowed the other that was coming up behind her and ran again.
"After her! Don't let her get away!"
Matilda ran down a block and turned into an alley, heading for the fire escape. But the fire escape was too high for her to reach, and there was nothing to stand on. She took a few steps and heard the clang of a sewer cover. Picking up a broken pipe she shifted the manhole cover, climbed in, and slid the cover back.
"What the hell, man! Where did she go?"
"Damn. Probably took off into that store over there. Come on guys, let's go back. There's no pockets this way."
Matilda heard them walk away. She lifted the cover slightly and peeked out. She saw nothing, but waited a few more minutes, just in case. She finally moved the cover over and popped her head out. Nothing.
"Creep ass kids. Can't believe that almost happened." She said to herself. She shook her head. "Time to go home. Guess I'll be taking a cab at night from now on."
She used her arms and lifted herself up. She put her foot on a higher rung to push herself farther up. The rusted ladder started to give way, and Matilda started to slip. Her fingers couldn't grasp the rain slick ledge, and she fell.
"Shit!"
*Thwump-splash*
She landed in the sopping mess of leaves, mud, rainwater, and garbage.
"Well isn't this some crap." She said as she got up, and brushing some debris off of herself. She looked up at the ladder. It was in shambles, there was no getting back up.
"It's alright Matty; you just have to find another one." She told herself.
She started walking. When she came to what she thought was the next alley she stopped. But she couldn't find another sewer cover.
"Damn." She said, and continued. After few minutes, she started humming. She hated silence. She began dancing as she walked. Before she knew what happened, she fell in a hole.
"Crap!" She yelled.
She reached out for something, anything that might stop her fall. She felt the rungs of a ladder and clung to it, eyes shut tight in case it gave way. When she didn't fall, she opened her eyes. What she saw surprised her. It was an old subway station, maybe from the fifties. Though there wasn't a lot of light, she could make out an assortment of junk that had accumulated over the years. Either from homeless people, or kids looking for a hangout.
Matilda climbed down and took another look around. There was three train cars in the middle, still on the old tracks.
"This is very cool." She said to herself. There was a layer of dust over much of everything. Matilda was mystified by this place. A sudden clang from one of the cars startled her. She gave a nervous giggle.
"Calm down girl, it's probably just a rat." She said aloud.
She walked over to the car that the noise had come from. She slowed when she saw candle light coming from the car. She came to the door and peeked in. What she saw sitting there nearly made her fall over dead.
A rat like creature, at least four feet tall, stood with a tea kettle.
"Well, damn. Sometimes the things I'm right about scare me." She said, half to herself, half to the creature before her.
It looked at her. There was no fear, or aggression, in his eyes. But more, a peaceful curiosity. It sat down in front of a small table, and put the kettle down.
"Who are you?" It asked, in a voice that sounded like an elderly Asian man.
Matilda stared at the creature as it spoke. Her voice stuck for a moment before she could answer.
"I….my name is…is…criminey, Matilda. My name is Matilda." She said finally. "Who are you?"
The rat creature gave what she could only assume was a smile.
"My name is Master Splinter. This is my home." He said. "Please, sit. Would you like some tea?" He asked, as he motioned to the space in front of him.
"Uh…yeah, thanks." She said as she sat before him. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. I've had a rough night."
The rat poured tea into a small cup, and placed it before her.
"Thank you." She said. He nodded.
"What happened to you that brought you down here?" He asked.
Matilda took a sip of tea. The taste was incredible. It hinted of apple and chamomile.
"I was attacked on the street, by some kid thugs. I ran down an alley, going for the fire escape. But the fire escape was too high to reach. I ended up in the sewer instead. When I tried to climb back up, the ladder gave way and fell apart. I started looking for another manhole cover. I wasn't paying attention and fell through another hole." She explained motioning to the opening she had fallen through. "Curiosity got the better of me when I saw what this place was." She said, taking another sip of tea. "This tastes amazing, by the way. I love apples."
"I see. Well, I am glad you are not harmed. Now, I imagine you have plenty of questions of your own." Master Splinter said, smiling at her. Matilda's eyes widened, and she nodded.
"Oh, uh, yes. Well, I guess my first one would be how you came to be like this. I mean, you're like four feet tall, and you speak. It has to be quite a story." She said.
Master Splinter laughed quietly.
"It is a story. But perhaps not so fantastic a story as you might think." He said, and began to recount the tale of his origins. Old enemies, murder, and surviving the sewers of New York.
"It is in these very sewers where I found four baby turtles, crawling in a strange green liquid. I took them in. In the time that followed, I noticed the changes that began to affect us. Speech, the ability to read, and to understand." He said. "My sons and I have lived in these sewers all their lives."
Matilda was in awe. She thought Master Splinter and his sons sounded amazing.
"Your sons, you gave them names right?" She asked him.
"Of course he did." A voice said from behind her.
Matilda whipped her head around, and her mouth gaped. A turtle, a few inches taller than her, stood in the doorway. He wore a blue mask over his eyes. Splinter stood.
"Ah. Good, you are home. Come; Let us go out to where there is more room for us." He said. He made his way towards the door, and the turtle moved away. Matilda stood and followed. As she passed, she gave the turtle a small smile. He only stared. Matilda let it go, and followed Master Splinter to an area with two large couches and a chair. In this area, were three more turtles. Each wore a colored mask over the eyes. One was purple, another orange, and the last was red. Matilda sat on the edge of the couch closest to Splinter. On her other side was the turtle in the red mask. She smiled at him as she sat down, he nodded.
"Matilda, these are my sons; Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael." He said, indicating who was who.
'ok; Leonardo is blue, Donatello is purple, Michelangelo is orange, and Raphael is red. I can remember that' She thought to herself.
Matilda felt a sudden surge of shyness under the eyes of these new people. She shrugged it off and introduced herself.
"Uh, hey guys. My name is Matilda. But you can call me Matty, most people do. It's nice to meet all of you." She said, giving a small wave.
Michelangelo burst into a toothy, child-like grin.
"Same here, dudette!" He exclaimed. Matilda couldn't help but give him a big smile back.
Leonardo leaned forward in his seat and gave her a very scrutinizing look. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"you're awful calm for someone who's just met five talking mutants. Where are you from?" He asked her. Matilda felt it sounded just a little judgmental. But, she smiled at him, and answered.
"I live a few blocks from here topside. I've spent most of my life in foster care, so I've met all kinds of people. I mean no one like any one you of course. But, I guess I'm used to meeting so many new and different people." She said. "Don't get me wrong, it is a shock to know someone like you exists. But no one has offered me any harm, so there's not really a reason to be afraid, or freak out."
Donatello spoke next.
"How did you end up down here?" He asked.
"I was walking home and was attacked by some stupid kids. Got one of them with my knife, and managed to get into the sewer without them seeing. But when I tried to get out the ladder broke. I went looking for another one and fell down here." She told them, showing them the pocket knife.
"There's some rotten luck for you." Michelangelo said. Matilda nodded.
"That's for sure; my butt still hurts from the fall." She said, wincing slightly as she remembered the pain. Leonardo was still staring at her.
"Why where you walking home alone? It's dangerous this late at night." He said. Matilda shrugged.
"It was amateur night at The Loft, and they make us draw number to see who goes on when. I drew the short stick tonight and went last. Normally, I manage to get an earlier slot, so it's not so late when I leave so there are more people on the street." She explained. She looked at Raphael, who had been staring at her intently. "What?" She asked.
"That was stupid of ya. Ya could'a called a cab. That piddly little thing ain't gonna save you every time." He said snidely. Matilda smirked at him. He had an attitude, she liked him already.
"Suppose it was kinda stupid. But I'm still alive. Can't complain about that. Plus, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met any of you." She said. Then she leaned forward and poked him in his shoulder. "And if you insist on insulting a girl at first meeting, you could at least look her in the eyes. You've been staring at my boobs for the last ten minutes." She said, smiling. Raphael looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"The piercings are cool. Dermals, right?" He asked. Matilda laughed and nodded.
"Yeah. They're the newest. My snake bites were the first thing I got when I turned 18. I got my Flower tattoo two years ago, and then the dermals about three months ago." She said. Michelangelo left his seat and came closer to Matilda.
"Did they hurt?" He asked, looking at them. Matilda shook her head.
"Nah. The thing that hurt the worst for me was the part of my tattoo that goes across my spine. That hurt like a son of a bitch." She said.
For the next two hours, Matilda sat on the couch and talked with her new friends. She wondered if she would ever get over her wonder of these fantastic people. She decided she didn't care what happened; she wanted to be around them, and know them for as long as life would allow.
This was surely the beginning of something amazing.