Something untoward was going on, she could feel it with every fibre of her being. An ominous atmosphere had been gnawing at her for days, but now she was going to get the proof she needed to call him out.
Perched uncomfortably on the fire escape railing, she peered curiously through the glass. He was in there. She could feel it. Her rival. That idiot who thought he was so much better than her. Well, she was going to suss him out, prove that he was a fraud.
Hope Brevin was on a mission, one she would stop at nothing to complete.
Belle's head was still buzzing as she walked briskly out into the night. Six hours she had sat working on her 2-D animation project since lunch, doubling her total time in the studio that day to 12 solid hours sitting at her desk.
Nevertheless a satisfied, contented smile graced her face as her footsteps echoed into the alleys she passed on her way home. For Belle Gregors was happiest when her mind was hard at work making pictures move across a screen.
She was just excitedly reminiscing the progress she had made that day when a sudden noise had her sweeping her eyes across every inch of the dark alleyway to her right that she could make out. Her eyes narrowed when the sound was evidently muffled, as though someone had hurried to stifle it before it was heard.
"Dammit!" Hope exclaimed as she lost her footing and hurried to steady herself. In hindsight, climbing up here was not her best idea, but it seemed like the only option at the time.
She needed to get inside, to see what was being done in his lab. It was obvious to her that his work was not completely legal, but the only plausible way to ascertain if her suspicions were correct was to break in.
Heart beating wildly with adrenaline, she slyly picked the lock on the fire escape door and snuck her way inside.
Belle took her time debating whether or not to investigate the noise. All the while, her ears were straining to hear any follow-up noise that might indicate the need to do so.
But surely, it could just be someone in a window, who was anxious not to disturb the ghostly silence that permeated the air. Belle was certain that, if she was not given a sign soon, she would have no need whatsoever to step into the shrouding darkness.
Alas, her feet seemed eager to move on their own accord. Shuffling awkwardly for a few seconds, Belle decided that one quick look into the alley would not be out of the question.
Mentally preparing herself for anything unexpected, Belle walked cautiously into the shadows. Always, since she had moved from Boston to New York, the knowledge that her mind was sharp and focused gave her courage. And this is what made her bravely stand her ground when her gaze shot upwards on a whim to see a suspicious, green flicker of light dancing in the window of the old building.
Searching the building took less time than Hope had anticipated, and before long she'd reached a large laboratory, void of people.
Opting to keep to the shadows, she wormed her way around some large metal tanks.
Out in the main area, she could hear voices, only one of which she recognised. It was him. It was her rival.
Getting close enough the listen in, she noticed that he seemed to be threatening the second voice. Sliding between two wooden crates, she managed to sneak a look. Her eyes widened in horror. It couldn't be.
Vaguely, Belle thought she heard a very faint yelling from inside. Her fingers twitched with the promise of adrenaline as she began to climb, sure-footed, up a cluster of old crates stationed beneath the window. Her reasoning was that, if the yelling proved itself to be any cause for concern, nobody could blame her for wanting to get a more educated- impression.
Right?
Her pale face looked like a spectre when it emerged into view. Though distant, the shouting was more distinct from this vantage. Belle's chest stilled as a hard, cruel slap echoed across the hard brick walls. Not seconds after the echoes diminished, followed closely by cold silence, did a long-dormant, almost maternal, protective instinct cement itself somewhere in her sternum, and Belle slipped as quietly as she could through the window and made her way inconspicuously along the wall towards the source of the green light.
A large vat of what appeared to be the mysterious substance known as mutagen was glimmering before Hope's eyes. She was no stranger to the liquid; she'd been studying it for many years. However this was not what had shocked her.
Standing on from of the huge tank was her rival, Bishop and he had what appeared to be a captive. A mutant. She didn't even think these creatures actually existed in the real world, only in her numerous experiments. He was tied up, but showed no signs of being afraid, a brave face shining through. What was he? A turtle?
It was the strangest creature she had ever seen.
Thick, scaly skin and a shell that looked like it could bear the weight of several trucks. It glared up at a suited man with an expression of resolve. Belle, who had always been good with her intuition, thought she could sense a hatred behind the eyes of the turtle creature as it looked at him.. No matter how much it looked like some kind of monster, she couldn't shake the uncanny feeling that this creature was far more human than its captor.
She turned her attention, somewhat reluctantly, to the tall, dark-haired man standing in front of the creature. He was half-hidden by an enormous tank of glowing green sludge that Belle guessed, by the toxic scent it emitted, would be devastating if it happened to spill free of its containment.
What should she do? Try and save the mutant? Attack Bishop? What choices did she have? Panic was settling in, making a little nest in her chest. She wasn't that strong.
She began scanning the area looking for tools to use to her advantage. There nothing, the room was void of anything she may be able to utilise.
That's when she spied her. A young girl perched in a mirror pose to her own, across the room. Her eyes were fixated on the scene, a slight smirk planted on her lips.
Hope gawped at the woman, what the heck was she doing here? And what exactly was her plan? She hoped it was miles better than her own futile attempts.
Think, Belle. She gazed avidly at the two figures beyond the ooze. There were so many possibilities, and yet so many contingencies, for getting involved. This man was obviously at fault for the redness that was blossoming across the poor creatures face, explaining the loud slap she had heard earlier. In her books, that marked him as provoked and dangerous.
What she needed, she decided, was an accomplice. Simply one more factor in the equation could balance it out, and coming up with a plan would become so much easier…
Whilst scanning the room for inspiration, Belle laid eyes on the perfect candidate. A pair of light blue eyes, framed with locks of blonde hair, was staring at her from the other side of the room. With one look, Belle knew that the two of them were on the same side.
Smiling, she gave an experimental wave to the young woman across from her.
She'd been spotted. The panic nesting beneath her rib cage sunk in deeper, gripping her with long claws. The expression on the girl's face was not that of provocation, but rather, that of… well… hope.
The small gesture of her hand told Hope all she needed to know; this woman was an ally. One she desperately needed.
Returning the wave, albeit apprehensively, she pointed her eyes at the scene between them. When the girl nodded in reply, Hope made a shrugging motion, signalling that she was unaware of what to do.
Belle grinned at the girl across from her. So they were on the same page. That gave them a fighting chance!
Pursing her lips in thought, Belle contemplated the two figures by the ooze. If her, her new ally, and the turtle creature all had a common enemy, it was that man in the black suit. If. But how to make sure?
Making up her mind, she waved again to the mysterious blonde. Seeing that she was being paid attention, Belle pointed at her, then at her own temple, then sporadically gestured between the turtle and the suited man; staring meaningfully all the while at her audience.
What do you think of those two?
She held up both hands, as though tipping a scale from side to side,
Friend or foe?
Hope got the gist of what the girl was trying to communicate. She nodded her head towards Bishop, and bit her lip in contemplation. How to let her know that this menace was to be taken down?
Her eyes turned dark and the thought that it might need to be more than just take him down. She turned her gaze back to the girl and brought her index finger across her throat, indicating that he needed to go, by any means necessary.
Her lips thinned. Obviously, this woman was here on personal business. And that, she decided, was all the proof she needed.
She let her eyes rake over the body of the turtle creature. He was rather muscular, even if his arms and legs were on the stretchy side. If they were going to take down the suited man, they needed to set that creature free.
An idea readily formulated in her mind, Belle signalled her plan to the woman, whose eyes had lost their former glaze of uncertainty. Now, the woman stared back with fiery determination.
Go to the other side of the room, she gestured, circling the palm of her hand and pointing, and distract him! She pointed at the man and mimed attracting his attention.
Concern for the other girl's well being made Belle's hands scramble to relay a second message. She swiftly swiped her hand back and forth across her throat and pointed at both him and her, and then her own eyes, with two fingers; Don't let him see you!
Hope nodded in understanding and silently snuck around the edges of the room. Picking up a discarded wooden block she lobbed it as hard as she could to the spot where she'd been crouching moments ago.
The sound made Bishop whisk around and call out, "who's there?!" and Hope knew she'd completed this part of her mission.
Belle rushed in a crouch to a corner of the room where she was out of the line of sight of the man in the suit, just behind some large metal canisters. The turtle creature was looking towards the man as he searched where the blonde girl once hid. She noticed that he had a very bad squint. From this distance, Belle could clearly make out a tattered purple mask around his eyes. In all other aspects, he was quite bare.
He was also tied with a number of harsh-looking lengths of metal chord, which, in turn, were bound tight and secure by an equally thick, heavy lock.
As she was about to capture his attention to find out where the suited man put the key to his imprisonment, she was startled near to revealing herself when he called out,
"Guys? Is someone there?!"
Hope froze to the spot when the creature raised his voice. Shut up you idiot, you'll give us away! she cursed in her mind.
She was merely meters away from the girl, who had mimicked her paralysed stance, eyes wide with confusion.
There was nothing else to throw to distract Bishop, and Hope began to panic. She could see that he was about to give up his search and return to the creature, and her mind raced, desperately searching for a plan.
As he shrugged his shoulders and began to turn, which would have put him in the direct line of sight of the girl, Hope panicked and leapt from the shadows.
"BISHOP!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. His eyes fixated on her, giving the woman the time she needed to free the creature.
Belle might have kissed her savior but, not only was she furious with herself and the turtle creature for blowing one of their covers, she needed to act fast or the girl's incredible risk could be in vain. She began to creep silently towards a pristine white laboratory table on the other side of the tank of ooze.
The man, who she now knew was Bishop, as well as his prisoner, whipped their heads around to stare at the blonde girl, who stood awkwardly in front of him with eyes wide with panic.
Aside from being angered or confused, Bishop clasped his hands firmly behind his back and looked at the girl with what appeared to be a mild, polite interest.
"Ah…" He murmured in a low baritone that resonated with an undertone of amusement and… remorselessness. "Miss Brevin, if I am not mistaken?"
Trembling with unease at his unexpected display of apathy, Belle spied a thick key sitting on the desk that was clearly made with the same hard material as the lock on the creature's bindings.
Heart beating wildly in her chest, threading to break free, Hope took a deep breath, refusing to allow herself to cast her eyes towards the secret scene.
"Bishop. I knew you were up to something, but now I have all the proof I need," she said scornfully, stepping towards him. He made no attempt at rebuttal, so she continued, "I am going to show you in your true light!" Her voice echoed around the room, filling all its crevices with her words.
He chuckled delightedly, as though he were negotiating with a child. If Belle thought he was apathetic before, she was prepared to eat her words. This man had an air of instability about him. Quite frankly, he was creepy.
It was painfully obvious that this man was not indifferent as Belle had first suspected. In fact, it was as clear as day that he could not care more about Miss Brevin's arrival.
Beneath his cool facade Belle detected a cold, merciless fury. She sensed an impossibly impenetrable shield that he had guarding dark, terrible secrets of his being. His mere ability to maintain his acting so perfectly proved that Bishop, it seemed, was far worse an enemy than she could have imagined. His inhuman sadism terrified her to her core, and her hand was unsteady as it carefully took the key from the table top. Her realization about Bishop dulled her minds sharp focus, and her courage that had sustained her for so long leaked from her slowly. When Bishop next spoke, it made her freeze, so unsettled she was about his cold-bloodiness.
"Yes, you can see me quite differently in this light, can't you? Such a glorious amount I've managed to obtain, wouldn't you say?" He gestured to the tank behind him without looking. "I daresay this is enough to carry me out to the very end of my experiments, when I will finally have all the information I need."
"Come on, what are you waiting for, lady?" Donatello whispered urgently at the hesitating girl. He followed her apprehensive gaze to the scene opposite them. The blonde girl was swinging her arms around, clearly quite angry with his captor. From the manner in which they were talking, they were acquaintances of sorts, perhaps even rivals.
But none of that mattered now; he had to focus all of his efforts on convincing this girl to free him. At least then he may be able to fight, or at best find his brothers. Surely they'd be on their way by now? He'd been missing for days, and even though they weren't the brightest beings, he was confident that they'd work out the tracker on his t-phone.
Their eyes met, and even though the fear that crossed hers was apparent, he gave her his most reassuring smile and tilted his head towards the key.
As an understanding passed between the two of them, Belle found herself distracted from the goings-on between Bishop and Miss Brevin.
Here was living proof of so much that she had always hoped was possible! This level of sentience in a being so different and alien from herself was like a sign from God; All of Belle's understanding of the world she lived in should have been blown to smithereens the very first time she had laid eyes on this creature. But instead, she felt a faithful, trusting kinship with him. She took a millisecond to marvel at him. His eyes were soft, but expectant.
With her head buzzing with astonishment and wonder, Belle found that her mind had sharpened once again. Grinning with the thrill of bravery that rushed back like a river she dashed forward, staying silent and low to the ground. Coming to rest at the turtle's side, she bowed her head in respect and gratitude as she carefully inserted the key into the lock of his bindings. Her gaze locked on Bishop, waiting for the perfect moment to release the lock…
"You're not listening to me!" Hope bellowed at the exasperating man, "I don't care if you think this is okay, I'm telling you, it's illegal, immoral, and downright stupid!"
His complete lack of emotion was beginning to grate at her. At what point did it become acceptable to kidnap and experiment on mutants? Yes, she'd done her fair share of testing, but that was on inert tissue, not a living, breathing, for lack of a better word, person.
She'd now buried herself so deep in pointlessly arguing with Bishop, that she'd forgotten about the matter at hand. She daren't look round to see if the mysterious girl had done the deed, so she continued to rant at Bishop, silently praying that her distraction was not in vain.
Bishop took a menacing step forward, his dark eyes, like pools of black tar, glinted with malice.
"…And I'm telling you, Miss Brevin…" He murmured dangerously. She took a tiny step backwards. "…I don't care if you think this isn't okay. And I assure you, it is ingenious, entirely for the greater good, and although it is hard to believe, quite within legal rights. You see, I am just a little bit more qualified than you might care to acknowledge. Why, the president himself signed and sealed the contract that enables me to 'explore' the mutagenic and biological properties of creatures like the fine specimen behind me…"
He had thrust himself into an egotistical monologue. And, though his words and subtle undermining jarred her nerves, Belle couldn't think of a better time to shove his foot into his mouth.
With a loud, satisfying click, the turtle came free. And Belle danced back as he leaped to his feet, a full two heads taller than the once-intimidating Bishop.
Hope stifled a scream, throwing her hand over her mouth. Her reaction had made Bishop spin around just in time to see the turtle's foot slam into his face.
He collapsed to the ground and his eyes rolled back into his head. Not dead, but definitely out of it enough for them to make their escape.
Hope could now fully appreciate what a wondrous creature the turtle was. Not meaning to gawp, but doing so nonetheless, she took in all his features: rough green skin, hard protective shell on his back, and three fingered hands. He looked like he'd been through a lot, but the determination on his face was striking.
There was a moment where the two women, and the giant turtle, all stared at one another. No one had the gall to break the deafening silence.
Belle glanced towards Bishop's unconscious body feeling a twinge of guilt.
She had never, ever, liked it when people got hurt. Although, she supposed, it was for the best this time around.
The turtle looked at both her and Miss Brevin, his head swinging from side to side. They were all slightly relieved when he broke the silence.
"So, um… Who the heck are you ladies?"
After another few seconds of silence Belle gave a nervous giggle, which turned into a laugh when the other girl joined in. Soon they were both clutching their sides and wiping their eyes of moisture. What had they just DONE?
Eventually, Belle had the thought of responding to his question, clearing her throat with a cough.
"Um… I'm, uh… Belle."
It was the shock, the craziness of the situation, it just set of a reflex in Hope that wouldn't stop. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she stuttered to a stop when the girl revealed her identity.
"Heh, hum, and I'm Hope," she choked out, wiping her eyes, and suppressing that last few convulsing giggles from her diaphragm. "Wh-what, who, pray tell, are you?" She directed her question at the mutant, curiosity rising in her chest.
The turtle seemed a bit concerned for their well-being while they were laughing, but looked a little sheepish when Hope asked him the same. He shuffled his feet on the cement floor.
"Uh… Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't really think I should tell you that."
Ah, but of course, Belle thought. He would want to keep his identity a secret or he might get captured and experimented on again… Hope, too, nodded understandingly but seemed a little bit reluctant, like how Belle felt.
"So…" He continued, casting inquisitive looks at the two of them. "What were you doing?"
At this, they both started laughing again.
"You were amazing though!" Hope praised, steadying herself on Belle's shoulder. "Seriously! Have you ever… been in a situation like that before?"
What was most puzzling about this situation was that the two girls seemed more engrossed in the fact that they'd just had a crazy adventure, then the strange mutant accompanying them.
"No! Never." Belle set her mind back to the steps she had taken that night to get to where she was now. "I guess, when the need arises, you just… just turn into a different person. I had no idea I could keep my head so cool."
The turtle sighed. "Leo…"
They stared at him, puzzled.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" He said, as though remembering they were there. "You just reminded me of my brother. He's always talking about focus and keeping cool while in danger…"
"You have a brother?" Belle blurted.
The turtle blinked and then face-palmed, turning away to mutter to himself.
Chuckling, she looked at Hope, eager to converse with her. "But, really… why were you here tonight? Who are you?"
This was getting curiouser and curiouser by the minute. Now they had some more new information: the turtle had a sibling. That meant there could potentially be more mutants within the city. The prospect internally excited Hope.
They began walking through the halls of the building searching for a way out. "That guy, Bishop, he's my biggest rival in mutant studies," she saw this piqued the turtle's interest, but he endeavoured to conceal it. "He's been making some huge breakthroughs in the field recently, and I was here to find out why that was." They turned the corner to find a huge metal door blocking their way. "Ugh, dead end," Hope sighed.
"I guess we could try going out the way we came in?" Belle suggested. "Unless…" She looked up at the mutant of the group, "…You want to go out a more reclusive way?"
"Uh… No!" He assured her, tearing his eyes away from a noticeboard displaying several complicated diagrams on the wall next to him. "I'll make sure you get out okay. I mean, it's best if we stick together."
The two girls smiled up at him and, as one, they turned to head back the way they came.
Belle was just appreciating that everything on the way back looked much different than what she remembered when the three of them heard footsteps on the floor above them. It sounded like a small group of people, very large, heavy people, were running in the same direction they were walking.
