A Meeting in the Rain
"Some days are made for rain." – Aaron Neville
The sky over New York was darkened by grey clouds, which were bringing the first of the spring showers. The threat of rain had cleared the streets of most pedestrians. April O'Neil walked down the street as quickly as she could, trying to reach her apartment before the clouds unleashed their burden upon the earth. She was only a few streets away when the clouds had decided that they couldn't hold together any longer.
"Dang it." April cursed as a car drove through a puddle beside her and got her shoes soaking wet. She griped her grocery bags closer to her and sped up her pace.
April had just passed in front of a dark alley when she the sound of someone crying reached her ears over the sounds of the rain. Despite her better judgment she stopped and took a tentative step into the alleyway.
"Hello?" She called uncertainly into the dark, "Is there anyone here?" Her only answer was the steady beating of the rain on the metal and concrete. The crying sounds had completely sopped, but as April listened carefully she found she could make out the sounds of heavy labored breathing and a few murmured words. As she slowly walked deeper into the alley she called out again, "Are you alright?" Her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she couldn't help but gasp at what she saw.
Bodies were strewn all over the pavement and the ground was covered in puddles of blood. She gasped as she took an involuntary step backwards and attempted to let out a scream as she felt something metal press against her throat and dropped her bags to the ground. Her scream died in her throat as a hand clamped down on her mouth, effectively silencing her.
"Don't move." The voice was female and came out as a weak breathe. April almost tried to scream again when she realized that the hand holding her mouth closed was wet with something that left a metallic smell in her nose and that the thing pressed against her throat was also wet. "I don't want to hurt you." This time April actually heard the voice struggle for breath and she felt the person holding her waver and lean into her back. April couldn't help but stiffen as she felt something warm and wet seep into the back of her shirt.
"I'm going to let you go," The person holding her was having trouble forming her words, "if you promise not to scream. Okay?"
April nodded slightly and the person released her. She spun around quickly to face her former captor and could only stare at the person before her. Standing there in the rain was a girl in her mid-teens; she was wearing blue jeans, a tight black shirt, and a large black overcoat that hung down to her knees. Her outfit was ruined by the large gash that had stretched from one side of her stomach to the other side and the blood that was leaking out of it. The girl brought one of her hands up to press on the wound in an attempt to stop the blood from leaving her. That's when April found that she was having trouble believing what she was seeing. The girl in front of her was green. Now that she looked closer she saw that the girl's hair wasn't really hair at all, instead it was some kind of plant looking vine that grew from her head.
April shook her self out of her shock as she saw the girl waver once more on her feet. "You've been hurt." April moved to help her but the girl moved away quickly. "Don't move." Ordered April as she continued towards the girl, "You'll only hurt yourself more if you keep stretching it like that."
The girl's knees suddenly gave out and April lunged forward to catch her. She lowered her gently to the ground and pried the girl's hands away from her stomach to see how bad the wound was.
"You're not afraid of me?" The girl's voice was weak and pained, but April could hear the wonder in it.
"Why would I be afraid of you?" asked April, "Well I guess you have a point, you did hold a knife to my throat, and there are what appear to be dead bodies all over the place."
"I mean, you're not afraid because of the way I look?" The girl's voice was quiet and April could see her fighting o say each word.
"Stop talking, you need to rest and let me stop the bleeding." April pulled one of the bags she'd been carrying over to her and pulled a roll of gauze, antiseptic, and medical tape out of it. "This will hurt." She warned as she opened the antiseptic and poured a god bit of it over the wound. The girl hissed in pain but didn't move. After cleaning the wound, April bound it tightly to keep it from bleeding. "That's only a temporary fix, just good enough to move you to somewhere where you can get better help."
"I'm not going to the hospital." Said the girl in a voice that, despite its underlying note of pain, brooked no argument. Then she ordered, "Don't tell anyone about me."
"Fine." Said April as she put her supplies back into the bag, "What are you going to do? The bandage probably won't hold if you try moving on your own, I can't carry you, and you don't want to go to the hospital. So what are you going to do?"
"When you put it that way it really seems to limit my options."
"If we could get to some friends of mine you could get a better bandage, but I don't know how we'd get you there."
"Your friends would be okay with me? They would keep my secret?" From the girl's voice, April could tell that she didn't like the idea of trusting more people and from the way the girls eyes kept trying to close April knew that in a few minutes the girl would be out cold.
"They'd be happy to meet you and your secret would be safe with them. I think you'd like them." As April thought about the boys meeting this girl she couldn't help but let a grin spread across her face. "Plus, they'd be able to help move you."
"If you're sure." The girl's voice faded as she slipped into unconsciousness. April stood and, after searching through her purse, pulled out her cell phone and made a quick call. Once she was done she pout her phone up and gathered her dropped bags together. She only had to wait a few moments before Casey's van pulled up to the alley. With Casey's help she was able to load the girl into the back.
"So," said Casey as he drove, "how'd you meet her? Did you get mugged? I saw that alley."
"No Casey, I didn't get mugged, but I think they might've tried to mug her." Said April, "How much farther do you think? She needs medical attention fast."
"We're here." Casey drove the van into an old garage and closed the door after it. "I'll carry her if you'll carry the bags."
"Okay, just make sure you don't stretch her stomach. That bandage is just temporary." Said April as Casey carefully lifted the girl into his arms. April grabbed the bags and, joining him in the elevator, she pushed the down button.
"How do you think they'll react?" asked April. The only reply from Casey she got was a grunt. "What an articulate boyfriend I have." April commented wryly. Smiling, Casey made another grunting noise. April couldn't help but giggle a little at him, which only made his smile grow.
"You know you love me." Said Casey as he grinned at her.
"Against my better judgment." April smiled as her words made him give her a little mock pout. He was about to say something in reply when the elevator doors opened to reveal a room with a large TV standing against the wall with a couple of couches sitting in front of it. To the left there were three doors, two were open and one seemed to lead into a dojo while the other seemed to lead into a laboratory. The third door was closed. To the right there was a large alcove, which appeared to be the kitchen and dining area. On that side there were also stairs that led to a second level where there were four more doors all of which were closed.
Seeing that the lights in the laboratory were on April called out, "Donatello, I could use some help."
The door to the laboratory opened wider as Donatello came out.
"Hey April, Casey." He called as he walked towards them, "What's u-" his question died in his throat as he saw the girl Casey was carrying. After a few moments of staring he managed to saw, "Is that-" he had to pause again, "Who is she and what exactly is she?"
April had put the bags she'd been carrying down on the coffee table while he'd been trying to figure out how to speak again. "I'm not entirely sure about either, but she's got a bad stomach wound that needs to be fixed. I put a temporary bandage on it but I'm pretty sure it needs stitches. She's probably got a few broken ribs as well."
Donatello seemed to snap out of his daze at her words and began directing Casey to lay her on one of the couches. He disappeared for a moment into his lab to grab supplies. He came back with the medical kit and set to work on the girl's wound immediately. In a few minutes he was done. He'd cleaned the wound, stitched it up, and wrapped it with gauze to protect it. April had then wrapped the girl's chest since, Donatello had found that she had three broken ribs.
"She'll probably be out for a few more hours considering all the blood she lost, but other then that she should be fine, though she shouldn't be exerting herself too much in the next few weeks." Said Donatello as he put the medical kit away. He then went to get Master Splinter from his room where he was meditating. The two returned a few minutes later.
"So, this is our mystery guest." Said Master Splinter as he examined the girl asleep on the couch. "Ms. O'Neil, would you please tell us how you came to meet her?"
"Certainly." Said April. "But first, where are the others?"
"Mikey went to get pizza, Leo and Raph got in a fight so Raph's out cooling down and Leo's out looking for him." Sadly, April found that Donatello's answer was the same as it was the last time she had asked that question.
"Any ideas as to when they'll be back?" Then as an after thought she added, "How many have there been this week?"
Donatello understood what she was asking and sighing said, "Mikey'll probably be back in a few minutes, Leo will most likely get back in half an hour, and Raph will probably come back in an hour or two. There have been 8 in the last six days."
"I suggest that we continue Ms. O'Neil's explanation in the kitchen over some tea." Said Splinter who then began to hobble to the kitchen. The others followed along behind. They'd just reached the kitchen when a loud shout of "I'm Home!" reached their ears. This was quickly followed by a loud "Eeek!" and then a thudding noise. Donatello left the kitchen and returned with a very shocked orange clad turtle.
"Th-there's a g-girl in th-there." Was all he was able to say as his brother led him to a chair, which he sat down on heavily.
"Poor Mikey." Said Donatello as he sat next to him. "Don't worry the shock will fade in a bit."
"B-but, sh-she's g-green!" Mikey exclaimed and his eyes widened as his brain finally caught up with what he'd seen. "She's a mutant like us!" he yelled in excitement.
"Yes Mikey, that'd be the most logical reason for her coloring." Said Donatello in a sarcastic voice.
"Boys, settle down." Splinter Admonished.
"Yes Sensei." Said both turtles together.
"Good," said Splinter, "Now, Ms. O'Neil, please tell us how you met our guest."
April then spent the next twenty minutes explaining what had happened. Just as she was finishing they heard the door to the lair slide open, then the same thudding noise that had accompanied Mikey's entrance. This time both of the turtles went to retrieve their shocked leader. So April had to tell the whole story all over again.
"So," said Leo once the story was over, "we don't really know anything about her, other then the fact that she's a mutant like us and has some combat training.
"We'll have to wait till she wakes up before we can ask her any questions." Said Donatello.
"When d you think that'll be?" Asked Mikey.
"Well, considering how much blood she lost and the exact time when she fell unconscious," said Don as he calculated in his head, "she should wake up sometime within the next thirty minutes. Just as he said that the door to the lair opened for a third time.
"I am not repeating the story again." Said April as she stood up from the table and dumped her teacup into the sink. "One of you guys can explain it all to Raph." As she spoke she walked back into the living area. The turtles followed her, leaving Master Splinter and Casey to take care of the dirty dishes. Master Splinter set Casey to cleaning quickly.
April and the three turtles walked into the living room area expecting to see yet another shocked turtle. Instead they were greeted with the sight of a shocked turtle laying flat on his back looking up into shocked eyes of the green girl that was pinning him to the floor. The strange sight caused the four of them to freeze where they were. They were all still for so long that Casey and Master Splinter washed and dried all the cups and joined them. Splinter was the first to break the frozen silence.
"Would you mind letting my son up." Splinter asked the girl in a gentle voice. In a daze she slowly got off the red clad turtle stood up and turned to face them. Her shocked eyes widened as she took in the other three turtles and the giant rat. "Raphael, stand up and stop staring. It isn't polite to stare at your guests."
Splinter's words seemed to snap Raphael out of his daze and he quickly stood up. "Yes Sensei." Raph's deeper voice seemed to snap the girl out of her dazed state and her eyes immediately flew to April.
"Where am I?" The girl's voice was much stronger then it had been in the alleyway. "Who are you people?" Her questions were asked in a way that demanded to be answered.
"You're in our home. It's somewhere in the sewers." Leo calmly answered her first question.
"Is that it?" She asked incredulously, "Somewhere in the sewers? Don't you know where your own home is?"
Leo looked a little taken aback by her response and his mouth was opened partially in surprise.
Raphael gave a small snicker at his older brother's expression and then answered the girl's second question when she looked at him. "I'm Raph, the orange one's Mikey, the purple one's Donny, and the Fearless Leader over there is Leo." He then began pointing to the other's as he gave their names, "That there's Casey, Master Splinter, and you already know April." After he'd introduced everyone he folded his arms across his chest. "So," he asked, "what's your name?"
The girl continued to look at the others for a moment before slowly turning and examining Raph, starting at his head, going down to his toes, and then going back up again. The she simply said, "My name's Camilla."
"How do you feel?" Asked Donatello. "I managed to clean and close your wound, but you lost a lot of blood before you got down here, enough to make you pass out. Do you feel light headed or anything?"
She just stood in silence for a minute and when she spoke her voice was much quieter, "I do feel a little light and you're faces do keep getting blurry."
"You should probably sit down and eat something to get your blood pressure back up." As Donatello spoke he saw her waver once on her feet.
"You're probably right." Her voice began to take on a quivering tone as her body swayed even more. "You sound just like Helen does whenever I get home from a fight." And with those words her eyes shut and her body toppled backward.
Everyone moved forwards to try and catch her, but Raph got to her first since he was closest. Picking her up he held her with one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees. Once he was supporting all of her weight and her head rested against his shoulder he looked up at the others and asked, "Now what am I supposed to do?"
"Well Raph," Said Donatello with a slight smirk, "Since you caught her, I suggest that you be a gentleman and give up your room so she can sleep there."
"What?" exclaimed Raph.
"Quiet bro." said Mikey as he grinned from ear to ear at his brother, "What'll you do if you wake her up?"
Raphael looked at him quizzically, "What do you mean? If she wakes up we'll just feed her or somethin'."
"Yeah, but what will she do?" Asked his orange clad brother cryptically. When his brother just continued to stare at him he said, "I mean you are holding her pretty close."
Raphael looked down at the green Camilla who was unconscious in his arms and his cheeks turned an even darker shade of green as he blushed.
Splinter saved Raphael from more embarrassment by saying, "The girl shall sleep in one of the spare rooms. Leonardo, prepare the room for her. Donatello, set up a monitor so that we will know when she awakens. Ms. O'Neil, would you mind getting some other clothes for her to wear?"
"I'd be happy to go get her an outfit or two from my apartment." Said April. When Splinter nodded to her in thanks she said, "I should be able to get them ready in a few minutes if Michelangelo wants to come along he can then bring them back."
"That would be fine." Said Splinter.
April nodded to him and then turned to Casey and Michelangelo and ordered, "Let's go then boys." The two followed her out of the lair with Casey saying a quick farewell to Raph as he got into the elevator. Leonardo left to make up the guest room, leaving Raph alone with Splinter and an unconscious girl.
"What should I do Sensei?" asked Raph as he looked at his father and teacher.
"Right now you must simply wait for the room to be ready." Seeing his sons unhappy look Splinter continued, "Consider this training for both your patience and your strength." Even though his son didn't look any happier Splinter said nothing more and went to his room to begin his meditations.
So Raph was left standing by himself in the living room holding an unconscious girl in his arms, waiting for his brother to finish making a bed for her. After a few minutes of doing nothing he began to get restless. So he turned his attention to the strange girl in his arms. He examined her face, hair, and arms before carefully looking over the bandages that covered her stomach. He then entertained himself by thinking up different weapons that could have caused the wound. He'd just thought of a cake cutter when Leo came back saying that he was done.
Raph quickly placed the girl in her bed and, much to Leo's amusement, tucked her in. Seeing his brother's smile Raph gave an internal sigh before walking pointedly past him and into the living room where he turned on the TV. Leo and Donny joined him and together they watched the 11:00 news as they waited for either the girl to wake up or for Mikey to return. Which ever came first.