"Now boarding Flight 39 Chicago O'Hare to New York City JFK." The voice on the intercom had spoken and her limp body slowly rose, grabbing her carry-on backpack and pulling her ticket out. It had been six years since she had been in New York, and now she was going back. It was a tough decision for her to make, but her grandparents allowed it. Her school credits from the community college she had went to had been transferred over to her new college, New York University. With her father being gone for about seven years now, the money she had inherited from his had grown over the years and now she could have her dream to become a writer. A heavy sigh escaped her soft pink lips and she stood in line, handing her ticket to the flight attendant and receiving it back.

"Enjoy your flight, Miss Cole," the flight attendant had spoken to her, a small smile peering from her lips as she shoved the ticket back into her backpack and zipping it shut. She loved flying on airplanes, but alone was too lonely for her. Her small hand touched the airplane, a tradition by her and her father when they went on trips, before escorting herself to her seat and sitting by the window. Her orange backpack slid under the seat in front of her as she sat back, her head resting against the seat and her earphones shoved in her ears. About twenty minutes had passed before the pilot had announced seat belts and phones to be off, and shortly the plane had taken off. She opened up the shade to her window, looking over Lake Michigan as she said goodbye to her temporary home. Another two and a half hours, and she would be off to college in the Big Apple.

Brown locks flowed past her chest as her head rested against the seat, her eyes slowly fluttering closed. She kept her headphones in her ears for the whole flight, dreading every second of it. New York was the last place she had ever been, and she didn't know if she wanted to go back. Somewhere deep down in her heart, it was home. And she had four unlikely friends from her home. Her mind slowly went into darkness as she remembered that cold, unforgettable night.

"Stephanie! Wake up! Hurry!" Her small ears had heard her father screaming, her eyes opening up in alarm as she looked at her father who had entered her room.

"What's wrong, daddy?" Her voice croaked, being too tired to even speak but she managed. Her father grabbed a lot of her things and threw them in her backpack, grabbing her and putting it over her shoulders.

"The apartment is on fire, you need to get out of here! We must go, hurry! To the fire escape!" Her eyes went wide, but her father looked scared and determined. She listened to him, smelling the smoke coming from outside her door. It was hard to push through the smoke and fire slipping through their front apartment door. Her small pale hand had covered her mouth as her father pushed her through the fire, running over to the kitchen as quick as possible. The fire had spread quickly, snatching onto her father's leg as he let out a burning cry. Her face went white as her eyes went wide.

"Daddy! Hurry please!" Her father shook his head, opening the kitchen window and pushing her out onto the fire escape.

"Go, Stephanie! Now!" He demanded to her, pools of water running down both of their faces and her head shaking frantically.

"No daddy! I won't leave you!" Another blood curling scream came from him, his lower half of his body on fire and there was no way to stop it from burning. He looked into his daughter's eyes, holding her hand for the last time and speaking with a cough.

"I love you baby girl, don't ever forget that." His hands pushed his daughter more towards the fire escape, a scream coming from her lips as she slipped, her hands clutching to the rails and looking at the now closed window full of fire, her mind elsewhere.

"Help! Help me please!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hearing the faint noises of the fire and police department below her. Living at the very top of the apartment complex had it's cons, and now was one of those cons. Her hands were sweaty and wet, her body becoming more nervous. She couldn't handle being alone, she was only thirteen! What was she supposed to do? She tried pulling herself up until her foot slipped on the rails, and she was falling.

A scream escaped from her lips until a giant hand reached out for her, grabbing her and pulling her up quickly onto the rooftop. She shook, not out of cold, but out of nerves as a giant body held her close to them. She took a deep breath and looked up to her savior, which was no human. Fear struck in her until she realized, this creature had just saved her. All she could do was stare at him, taking all of his features and keeping them in her mind. What stood out the most to her, was his blue bandana covering the outsides of his eyes, and all she could do was stare.

"You're safe now." Her small figure had jumped from the sound of his voice. Her fingers entwined together over and over as her nerves hit her, her head slowly nodding at his words. Before she knew it, three more of the creatures had popped up behind the one in blue, noticing they, too, wore bandanas. Purple, red, and orange had all looked at her and she didn't know what to do. Her head tilted up to the one in blue, and spoke ever so quietly, almost as a faint whisper.

"Thank you." The tall creature above her had smiled, patting her head and turning to look at his bothers and then back at the young child before him.

"What is your name?" As he spoke he knelt down to her level, her eyes never leaving his. She felt as though she should run, scream, hide, something besides standing there and talking to an unknown creature, but she couldn't. She needed to talk to this creature.

"Stephanie Cole. What's yours?" Her small voice made the creature before her smile softly, before he had spoken once more.

"I am Leonardo, and my brother's behind me are named Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael." She turned to the brothers as soon as he spoke about them, each one waving to her as the one named Leonardo spoke their names.

"Leo, c'mon, we need to get going." The largest of the four creatures had spoken, the one named Raphael. Her small jaw had dropped as she looked at the size of him, and slowly turning her gaze back to Leonardo as he spoke to her.

"Do you have parents?" Before Leonardo knew it, her eyes had filled with water and she let out a small sob as she shook her head.

"My daddy got burned, and he didn't make it." Her small hands had covered her face, and she heard a groan from one of the creatures before hearing Leonardo speak to her.

"This is what I can do for you, Stephanie. I can take you to someone who can help you find somewhere to stay. Will you let me do that?" Her hands slowly came down from her face as he spoke and she nodded, before quietly asking him a question.

"Who are you guys?" A smile came from Leonardo after her question, and he slowly stood up, holding out a hand for the young child to hold.

"We're the Ninja Turtles."

The feeling of the tires against the ground had woke her in shock, not realizing she had fallen asleep. A deep sigh fell from her lips and her hands covered her face for a brief moment before looking out the window, seeing JFK airport crowded as usual. The plane had come to a halt and she unbuckled her belt, reaching forward to grab her backpack and placed the straps over her shoulders before walking off the plane and back into the sunny days of New York City.