Chapter 1: amber

Dear diary,

This was my usual routine. Get up and get breakfast ready for everyone. Then there was my chores. I had to sweep up the floor, mop it, and take out the garbage. My life wasn't simple, but nor would yours be if your step mother worked all day and I have like 4 other step siblings. Don't even ask about my step father.

I know what you're thinking right now, 'Why can't I ask you about your. father?'

It's not because he was a bad father or anything like that, no. In fact I barely know my dad and all I really have of him is a picture in a locket. I just hate talking about him it brings up nothing but regret because I never meet him my real one. But that's a matter for another entry. Now if you want a real jerk that would be my uncle he is a cruel man. He trained me in the Ancient arts of the ninja sense I was very young.

He looked at me like I was nothing more then a weapon. He would beat me into a submission, threaten my siblings do about anything to get me to do what he wanted and most of the time I would until but a month ago my step mother found out and got a restraining order against him but my mental scars will take years to go away….

Anyway, today my friend is coming over for a movie night.

We're watching my absolute favorite show/movies: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. Most people think its weird, but for me it got me through life well that and doctor who gotta love those geeky things. It gave me a reason to enjoy life, believe in a better tomorrow.

Like someone once said, 'sacrifice what you need to to bring a better tomorrow'. That's how I live. I sacrifice my time to take care of my step siblings. And today I have my own victory. I get to spend my time with my friend in movie night and I plan to make it the best night ever.

Well I got to go. Bye diary.

M.B

At Allison's house.

It was a simple day like all life for Marissa. It was no different from any other day really. At least it should not have been. Her watching one of her favorite shows or movies was a great way to pass the time as well as spending the day with her friend, Allison. No, she did not find it boring if you were thinking that.

"What episode are we on?" Allison asked, watching contently from where she lazed on the couch, from her upside down position.

"On the 2012 Nickelodeon version, episode 1 season 1," Marissa answered her, ignoring her friend's grumbling. It was a simple question, but she still hated answering them; they were annoying and pointless.

Marissa sighed at the scene were Leo saying he has a plan and his orders needed to be followed without question As the T.V played the scene, weird symbols began flashing across the screen.

Marissa smacked the TV a couple of times. When that did not work, Marissa slightly turned to her friend and asked, "Allison, can you check the breaker box outside? There's obviously something wrong with the TV."

"Oh, alright," said Allison nonculntly. And then she tilted herself sideways and slowly stood up from the couch to go through the kitchen to exit out the back door. Going towards the left side of the house, she strolled over to the breaker box.

Since Marissa's family had no time to replace the broken lock on it, they had just taped it closed. This would only be until they found the time to replace the lock, of course. Allison peeled off most of the tape to access the power switches.

Marissa let out a sigh of boredom, as she waited for Allison to come back. She really wanted to watch the rest of the episode. There were times where Marissa wished she could actually join the action instead of just watching it much like when she fought her uncle and when she finally was officially a Konichi.

The symbols on the TV were flashing faster and faster, slightly scaring her. Suddenly, Marissa felt a strange force pulling on her and felt herself being dragged across the floor towards the TV. Marissa panicked and started trying to grab onto anything to stop herself from being sucked in. She wound up knocking over books, drinks, and anything else in the way in the process.

When she neared the TV Marissa gripped the sides of it in an attempt to keep herself from being pulled any further into it. Marissa was about to call out to Allison for help. Before she could, however, one of the living room's books hit her on the back of her head, causing her to lose her grip and be completely pulled into her TV.

The screen blacked out for a couple of seconds before it powered on again, the tv show now playing as it normally would have been. Allison came back into the living room a minute later and gasped in shock. It appeared that Marissa had a crazy party and did not bother cleaning up, but there was no party and, most importantly, there was no Marissa!

-Tmnt World 2012-

A few moments of her floating in oblivion. It almost felt like an eternity of her floating until a pure blinding light flashed at her eyes as if to trying to wake her up. Her long, waist length, curly platinum blonde hair began flowing upward along with her clothes as she began to fall instead of float.

When she finally blinked, she took in a gasped of air. Opening her golden eyes she began to frantically take in her surroundings. Her heart began racing as she realized how high she was. She began panicking as she fell to the ground. She fell faster and faster coming closer and closer to the ground until she finally landed with a huge thud on top of a building. Marissa groaned as she sat up and took in her surroundings. She saw that she was in a city. And not just any city, New York City. Marissa had no idea how she got here, but she knew could not stay on the rooftop. So she looked around for a way down until she found a door that led to the stairs.

Her heart pounding as she took in her surroundings once more on the way down. It reminded her of the new York in the computer animated shows even her wrapped hands looked like something created from those computer animated shows it was frightening and exciting.

When she noticed something two shadows in the window. Two people came out one being Bradford and the other she was sure was Xever. Bradford sat down at his computer and started typing something. Having recognized the events from an episode she remembered, Marissa got a feeling about what was going on, so she grabbed her phone and recorded what they were saying.

"Are you positive he will fall for it?" Xever asked Bradford.

Bradford laughed and said, "The dumb freak idolizes me and believes we're friends. He'd come if I invited him to bake cookies. Trust me, Master Shredder will get what he wants."

Xever rolled his eyes and watched as Bradford typed his invite to Mikey to play basketball with him. He grinned when Mikey replied yes.

"The freak is on his way, the trap is set," Bradford said after reading a reply on his computer.

Marissa stopped the recording before sending it to Donnie's email address. Hopefully they would get it before Mikey came.

-Turtles Lair-

Mikey was just about to leave the lair when Donnie shouted, "Mikey! Hold on!"

Mikey stopped in his tracks and saw his brothers running towards him with looks of fear on their faces. Donnie was holding his laptop close to his chest.

"What's the problem?" Mikey asked his brothers. "I gotta go meet Rad Brad."

"Mikey, that guy is not your friend!" Raph said in alarm.

"What?" Mikey asked in surprise. "Sure he is. What are ya, jealous?"

"Mikey, listen! Donnie just got this message from someone called Queen Of Angels Yuki in his email. You need to hear it," Leo said in a serious tone and then stepped aside for Donnie to open his laptop.

Donnie played a recording of Bradford and Xever before.

"Are you positive he will fall for it?" Xever asked Bradford.

Bradford laughed and said, "The dumb freak idolizes me and believes we're friends. He'd come if I invited him to bake cookies. Trust me, Master Shredder will get what he wants."

Mikey's eyes widened in shock during the message. His jaw dropped when he heard Bradford say, "The freak is on his way, the trap is set."

"I-I don't understand. I thought we were friends….. We shared pizza….. I introduced him to all my toes…." Mikey said on the verge of tears.

"I'd say whoever sent that video is more of a friend than Bradford." Donnie commented coming over to them. "April too."

"But why? Why would he lie to me?" Mikey asked, ready to cry.

"He called the Shredder master," Leo said, looking at the paused video. "My guess is he was trying to get to Splinter using you."

"And he would have succeeded if this mystery sender didn't send that video." Splinter said looking at the laptop before him.

"You're right, sensei," said Leo. He looking at his saddened brother and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Mikey."

"It's okay," Mikey said, sniffling a little. "At least we got the truth before something happened."

"Oh, Michelangelo. Come here," Splinter said while opening his arms to hug his youngest son.

Mikey ran over to Splinter and cried into his robe. Seeing Mikey this sad mad Raph angry. He swore that Bradford would pay.

"I think we should meet this girl," Leo suggested, catching his family's attention. "You know, thank her personally."

"Yeah how are we gonna find her through?" Raph asked crossing his arms.

"I'm gonna try asking her to meet. I have her email," Donnie said with a smile and then sat down and typed away.

[Thanks for telling us. It really saved our brother. Listen, we wanted to thank you personally. Do you think we could meet somewhere?] Donnie typed and then sent it.

"How do we know she'll say yes?" Raph asked, doubtfully while crossing his arms.

"Worth a shot," Donnie said with a shrug.

[Sorry. I'm not sure that is wise.] QOAY sent back.

Donnie let out an embarrassed laughed and said, "Well, that didn't work."

"Not surprised. I'm still curious who this girl is and how she knew your email." Raph said crossing his arms with a slight pout.

A light bulb went off in Donnie's head. "I might know another way to find her!"

The three looked at Donnie to question what he meant. Donnie started typing on his computer, his tongue sticking out as he did so. The three were really confused and then he smiled brightly and presented a digital map with a blinking red dot.

"Done!" Donnie cheered.

"What did you do?" Leo asked, and then quickly added, "Short answer please."

"I traced her email address to the device she used," Donnie explained. "And she's just two buildings away from the Bradford dojo."

-Northern New York.-

Marissa ran off landing smoothly on the next rooftop doing a small backflip.

"Sweet move, girl!" A voice excitedly said.

Marissa turned around and saw the turtles standing nearby. Mikey was the one who shouted.

She blinked for a moment before running off. The turtles quickly chased after her.

"Wait! Stop!" Leo shouted as they chased her. "We just wanna talk!"

Marissa stopped smirked blowing a kiss before jumping backwards landing on her hands on the other side of the roof and bending over to her feet before smirking.

The turtles jaws dropped when they saw that. Mikey even held up a 10 score card. Raph punched Mikey's arm.

She was running even further off she seemed incredibly fast.

"Man, this girl's, like, superhuman!" Mikey shouted in disbelief. "How are we supposed to catch up to her?!"

"And what is her problem?!" Raph shouted in annoyance.

"My guess is she's enjoying herself." Leo commented simply.

"Well it's not fun for us!" Raph angrily shouted, stomping his foot.

"True," Donnie agreed. "But I think if we wanna talk to her, we may have to play along."

"You're kidding me." Raph angrily grumbled.

"Fraid not," Donnie said with a sigh. "We may have to try and outsmart her."

Raph roared as he ran after her annoyed with it.

"And he's not listening….. Again," Donnie said in annoyance.

"Yeah, well, what can you do?" Leo asked with a shrug. "Let's go before we lose him too."

On that note, the three turtles leapt forward to keep up with their brother.

Raph, in the meantime, charged at full speed in pursuit of Marissa. He looked around for any trace of her.

Marissa jumped down onto his back. "Peekaboo."

Raph growled and yelled, "You're a real pain!" And then reached to grab her. "Can't you just stay in one place?!"

Marissa jumped off his back and onto the ground. "I'm staying in one place now, aren't I?"

Raph crossed his arms and said, "Yeah, now. But how long's it gonna be until you decide to run off like a roadrunner again?"

"Well I did say I didn't think meeting in real life was a good idea." Marissa countered.

"Look, what you did really saved Mikey. And we're grateful to you for that," Raph said, genuinely appreciative.

"You're welcome." was her nonculunt tone. "By the way I left a stink bomb in their dojo so…."

Raph looked really grossed out. "You are serious awful."

"Yet you kinda gotta love me." Marissa laughed.

Raph smirked and said, "You're right. I kinda like you. Name's Raph. Short for Raphael. What's your name?"

"Mari. Short for Marissa."

"Marissa. That's a pretty name," Raph commented with a smile, and then his brothers showed up. "Hey, guys. What kept you?"

"Seriously?! You ditched us!" Leo shouted angrily.

"They're pretty slow for ninjas." Marissa commented.

"Only because you and Raph got a head start!" Leo angrily shouted.

"You were two steps away from me. I didn't get a head start you're just really slow." Marissa remarked.

"Say that again! I dare you!" Leo shouted.

"Oh great. Leo's mimicking Raph," Donnie said with a groan, plant his face in his palm.

"You're just slow." Marissa repeated.

"That's it!" Leo shouted and got ready to attack. Fortunately, Donnie and Mikey held him back.

"Easy, Leo! Remember what Splinter said! Anger is self-destructive!" Donnie reminded him.

"And we already have a Raph! We don't need two!" Mikey yelled, trying hard to hold his brother.

"Oh let him go I can take him." Marissa said with a smirk.

"Leo, as much as I'd like to see Mari wipe the floor with you, she is responsible for Mikey being safe," Raph told his big brother. Leo stopped struggling and he, Donnie, and Mikey looked surprised. "That's her name, Mari. Short for Marissa. Marissa, this is Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo, my brothers. I call them Leo, Donnie, and Mikey."

"Nice to meet you and it was fun when you chased after me." Marissa said with a gentle smile.

Leo took a calming breath and said, "Okay. Thanks for what you did. How about we make it up to you by getting you home safely?"

"If I had that would be a wonderful idea. Since I don't not such a great idea." Marissa smirked happily as she went to the edge of the building.

The turtles felt bad for the girl. No home, no family to speak of. There had to be someway to help her. And then it hit them, there was.

"Mari, wait!" Mikey said and quickly grabbed her arm. "How about you come home with us?"

Marissa blinked surprised by the offer. "Are you sure?"

"You helped save me and my family. It's the least we can do," Mikey said with a sweet smile. "We've got plenty of room. And pizza."

"Sure it would be nice to have a place to stay." Marissa said happily.

"Great!" Mikey and then hugged her. "Master Splinter's gonna love you!"

"We should give you a heads up about his appearance," said Leo. "It might be a bit of a shock."

"Nah its fine let's go." She said simply.

-In the sweres-

As the turtles and the girl walked down to the sewer, Raph randomly asked, "You're not afraid of rats, are you?"

"Nah I've had a pet rat, a pet snake, a pet cat, and a few other creatures." Marissa hummed as they walked.

"Oh, good," Raph calmly said while walking with his arms behind his head. "Then I guess seeing our sensei won't scare you."

"Ok cool. I can't wait to meet him." Marissa said as they walked.

Once they reached the turnstiles, they all entered the lair together. They were greeted by a tall humanoid rat.

"Would you boys care to explain why a stranger is in our hidden lair?" Splinter sternly asked.

"Oh my gosh. He's so cute!" Marissa said gushing.

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "Cute?"

"This is Marissa. She's very interesting." Leo said crossing his arms.

"She's also the one who sent us the video of Bradford and his friend," Donnie added.

"Ah what can I say right time right place." Marissa sweetly said stretching.

"And she doesn't have a home," Mikey added while putting an arm around the girl. "Can she stay here?"

Splinter stroked his beard a little, thinking about it. This girl did save his family. Also, he felt that there was something familiar about her.

"Yes," said Splinter, smiling. Marissa smiled instantly hugging Splinter. Splinter hugged her back and said, "Welcome home."