When April was 11 years old, her dad let her walk home from school by herself for the first time. It wasn't too far away; it was only about a twenty minute walk, but her dad always insisted on walking her to and from school, no matter when she started complaining when she was eight. Finally, starting the August after her birthday, her dad decided to let her walk to and from by herself, which thrilled April.

The first day of school was terrifying for April; not only was there the pressure of making new friends and dealing with new classes, but she was also slightly scared walking by herself, though she didn't want her dad to find out. If she complained, he would probably walk her to school until she graduated. However, she kept her head up high, and pushed her fear into the back of her mind, throwing herself into her new school life; she joined the school newspaper (she always was an inquisitive person) and also joined the track team to improve her running.

When October came, things seemed to fall into place; April was a reporter for the paper, one of the top runners on the track team, and had banished her fear of walking home long ago. The only thing missing from her life was a friend; no matter how hard she tried, it seemed that no one else was interested in hanging out with her. However, one particular day would change her life forever.

On her way home, she got a call from her dad; he was working late that night (which he was doing more and more recently) and to let herself into the apartment. As she continued past a churro stand, she noticed a group of classmates surrounding someone a few feet ahead. These classmates were the bullies of the group, and as April approached them, she noticed a younger student being tormented by the Bullies. Deciding that she should do something, she yelled at them.

"Hey! Stop that!"

They quickly turned to look at her, giving the boy the chance to slip out of their circle and run pell-mell down the street.

"Darnit," one of the bullies snapped, turning on her. "You'll pay for that, freak!"

"You're welcome to try," April replied smoothly, "if you can catch me!" With that, she took off into the alley nearby (though it was probably a stupid thing to do with the trash littering the path), and after a second, she heard the bullies following her. If it weren't for her athletic training, she would've been a goner, but she sailed down the alley, heading towards a wire fence that towered eight feet off the ground. Throwing her backpack over the fence, she leapt onto the fence, starting to climb it when she suddenly felt a blinding pain on her back, causing her to fall to the ground, her breath leaving her. She landed on her ankle bad, and she felt it twist, crying out in pain.

The Bullies towered over her, one of them, she noticed, devoid of their backpack. That must've been what they threw, she thought, trying to sit up but her sore back and ankle wouldn't allow her.

"That was easy," another bully said. "Good thing she ran down here; fewer witnesses." April started to panic, thinking of what they might do to her with no one around to stop them. She braced herself for the worst as one of them raised their foot.

Suddenly, there was a clang, and a giant puff of smoke enveloped the group, causing everyone, April included, to start coughing. She felt someone pick her up gently, and she was still too sore to fight back, carrying her through the smoke towards a small gap between two dumpsters. Whoever moved her laid her gently on the ground, and suddenly, the sunlight disappeared.

"Stay quiet," a voice whispered; it sounded young, like hers, but she didn't recognize it as a classmate's. Outside, the Bullies stop coughing.

"Where'd she go," she heard one of them exclaim.

"Heck if I know! How'd she do that smoke thing?"

"Let's just go; she probably ran off back to the street." April heard the sounds of their footsteps hitting the pavement fade away. She couldn't see where she was, or who saved her, but she could hear his nervous breathing.

"Thanks," she said, sitting up with some difficulty.

"Are you OK," the boy asked.

"Not really. One of those fiends threw their backpack at me, and if I didn't know any better, it was full of bricks!" She laughed a little at that, but the pain in her ankle cut it short. "Darn it. My dad's gonna kill me when he finds out I got attacked."

"My dad could probably help," the boy said, still invisible in the dark gap. "My brothers and I get hurt all the time, so he's pretty good at healing injuries."

"I dunno," she said. "I don't know who you are, and-"

"Oh, sorry," the boy said. "I'm Donatello; Donnie, for short. Reach out in front of you so we can shake hands." She reached out tentatively in the dark, and felt a hand that was calloused (which confused her, since the boy sounded about her age) and also, after feeling it, gasped as she realized it had three fingers.

"April O'Neil. What happened to you hands?" She couldn't help asking the question.

"What? Oh," he said, sounding a little embarrassed. "I-I was born like this."

"Oh," April responded, embarrassed as well; maybe he had one of those birth defects. "Can we leave now? I'd like to see the light of day again!"

"OK," Donnie said nervously, "but, I'm...kinda scared."

"Of what? The Bullies left."

"Yeah, but I'm scared of you, and what you'd think of me once you see me."

April looked at barely visible dark shape a few feet from her, confused. "Scared of me? What do you mean? Is it because of the three fingers?"

"It's not just that," Donnie continued. "It's just that...my brothers and I...we're...different from everyone else. And most people, when they see us, they get scared."

"Why? Do you have a scar like the Phantom of the Opera?" It was a musical character she once saw in a Broadway show with her dad, and had a CD of the soundtrack in her room.

"Not really, though Leo has some red marks around his eyes he's kinda embarrassed of."

"Leo?"

"My brother."

April shifted in her seat, her ankle still in pain. "Well, whatever you look like, I promise not to get scared. Or laugh," she added quickly.

"Are you sure? Even if our skin-"

"Skin color doesn't matter," she interrupted. "What matters is a person's character."

"That's what Master Splinter says!"

"Who?"

"Our dad."

"You call you dad 'Master?'"

"Yeah; we're adopted. But don't worry," he added quickly, "we're not slaves or anything; he's our martial arts sensei."

"Okay," April said a little nervously. "Can I leave now?"

"Yep," Donatello said. "But please...don't scream."

Scream, April wondered before the pile of boxes covering the gap was pushed aside, letting sunlight stream in, temporarily blinding her. As she blinked in the sudden light, she saw the outline of the boy Donatello, but she couldn't get a clear view at him. Finally, when her eyes adjusted to the light, she finally got a good look at him and gasped.

When he mentioned skin color, she assumed he was white or tan, but she certainly wasn't expecting green. He wore a purple mask over his eyes, like a superhero's and had a large green backpack on, though she couldn't see the straps. A second later, she realized that it was attached to him, and looked like a turtle shell. He's not human, she realized, her mouth slightly open. He was bald, and looking down at his feet noticed that besides three-fingered hands, he had two toes on each foot. For about a minute, April stared at him, shocked at how unexpected his appearance was. Donatello looked a little nervous, scratching his arm as he waited for her to say something.

"Wow," she said. Donnie's appearance surprised her, but he didn't scare her in any way. "You're…"

He nodded dejectedly. "A talking mutant turtle, yeah."

"That's...pretty cool," April said, and she meant it.

The turtle looked up, seemingly surprised by her response. "Really?"

"Sure," she said, scooting forward out for between the dumpsters, ignoring the pain in her ankle. "I mean, you're my age, probably, and you saved me!" Now the questions came: "How many talking turtles exist in the world? Can you breathe underwater? You're one of a kind!"

"Well," the turtle said, a small bit of blush on its face, "technically, I have three brothers. But, thanks anyway." Donnie looked back up at April. "You're...really not scared?"

April shook her head. "No." For some reason, April wanted to learn more about this talking turtle and his brothers. Maybe it was her inquisitive nature, or the fact that Donnie saved her from the bullies, but she wasn't scared of the turtle. Yes, she was nervous, but definitely not scared. She tried to stand up but fell back on her butt, her ankle in severe pain. Donnie looked at her with some concern.

"Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah, maybe I do need some help," she admitted timidly.

"OK, what to do...," he said, pacing in front of her while he thought about how to move her without hurting her. Or being seen, April thought. "I need help," he finally decided, and whistled a series of short and long blows, looking up at the buildings towering above them. April looked up too, and her mouth fell open when three more green figures seemed to drop from the sky.

The three turtles were different in varying sizes (and species, judging by their shells and body shapes), as well as the masks they each wore, like Donatello's. The largest one wore red, the smallest one wore orange, and the middle one, who looked around the same size as Donnie, wore blue, but had red marks around its eyes. That must be Leo, April thought. The three turtles looked surprised to see April, then the largest one turned on Donnie.

"Whaddya think you're doin', Donnie," it asked in a deep voice. "Ya know what Master Splinter said-"

"I know," Donnie said, "but she's hurt bad-"

"Not that bad," April interjected though her aching ankle said otherwise.

"-And she needs help. We're taking her to Master Splinter."

"Why not take her to a hospital," the small orange one said, his voice high and young. He stared at April with some apprehension and amazement.

"The nearest hospital's ten blocks away; do you wanna risk being seen? Or dropping her off a building?"

"Dropping me," she asked weakly, but they ignored her.

"Besides, Splinter's closer, and could probably help her." The three brothers looked at one another, obviously thinking about what to do.

"I mean," one in blue, Leo, said, "she's already seen us. And we could blindfold her going through the sewers."

"What," April yelped.

"Great idea," Donnie said, ignoring her comment, taking off his mask and kneeling down next to April. "May I?"

April, a little thrown off by the politeness of the question, nodded, and the turtle carefully took off her glasses, tied the fabric over her eyes backwards (so she couldn't see) and replaced her glasses. "Ready to go?"

"Wait," she said. "My backpack's on the other side of that fence over there."

"Mikey?"

"Got it!" April heard the metallic sound of someone climbing the fence, and less than a minute later, she felt her pack drop into her lap, and she clutched it tightly.

"Raph, can you help carry her?"

"Fine," she heard the large one say. "But if Master Splinter gets upset, don't blame me!" April felt herself being lifted up into the air by powerful arms. She smelled something not unlike sewers, and wondered what she'd gotten herself into.