Emmila cursed under her breath to high heaven and back as she followed her cat through the ally it had taken off in. She finally found the white feline perched on an overhang above her head. A pile of crates next to it explained how it had happened.
"Damn cat. I knew I should have left you back there. Not even a few hours and you're already causing me problems."
The cat blinked at her with its mismatched eyes before meowing.
"Don't you meow me you ungrateful brat. Stay there while I get you." Gingerly, Emmila began to climb the crates to get to her cat.
She was several feet off the ground when an ominous crack sounded out. The crate beneath the one Emmila was standing on had caved in. She barely had time to gasp out in surprise as her crate went tumbling down, taking the young woman with it.
It was only when her brain registered that her body had not impacted the ground that her eyes shot open. Green met blue as she looked into a very familiar face. One that she had not seen in person in many years.
"Leo…" His name came out as a whisper from the shocked woman. The mutated turtle carefully set her down, having caught her during her fall, and took a step back from the woman.
"I'm certain that we told you to not climb things in an ally before." He chided her. To hear his voice again brought back so many memories. It was deeper than before, but still the same. To cover up her trip in memory lane, she jabbed her finger in the direction of her cat.
"Tell that damn cat to stop going where she shouldn't then."
"I got her dudette." Another figure jumped to the ledge where her cat was. Emmila recognized Mikey as he scooped up her cat and landed next to her. The cat leapt from his arms and landed on Emmila's shoulder, a move so familiar that it had the orange clad turtle grinning.
Near silent thumps were heard as Raph and Donnie joined the group. Before Emmila had left, events like this had been common place. It had been the reason Emmila met the brothers, and after the first few times of watching her chase down the cat and getting into trouble, they had begun to go with her. But a lot had changed since then.
Emmila could feel the intense gazes of the brothers as they observed her, and likewise she took a good look at them. They had gained many battle scars over the past decade and grown in height and muscle. There was an air of wariness and tension about them that had not been there before. The four of them easily reached past six foot, though Mikey was still shorter that his brothers. It was Donnie who was the tallest, though he was more slender than his brothers. Raph was built like a tank, out muscling all of his brothers. But Leo was exactly how she pictured him to be as he stood proudly. It made her quirk a smile.
Just as they had changed, Emmila had changed as well, and the four of them took the changes in as they looked at her. Gone was the fourteen year old girl they knew. The Emmila before them was a twenty-four year old woman. Her brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and even though they could still see the warmth in her eyes, the hard and worn look on her face overshadowed it. It made Leo wonder what she had gone through in her absence.
"When did you get back?" Leo's voice was wary and Emmila had to fight down a frown. She had known they would not trust her after all.
"Only a few hours ago."
"Why'd you come back, after so long?" Emmila's green eyes met Leo's own blue ones, the look in her eyes very serious. It put the four turtles on edge.
"It's a long story, one you won't like too much most likely."
"We've got time." She had known he would say that.
"Very well. But not here." Before they could protest, Emmila cut them off with a bitter grin.
"I do have enemies. Many of them would love to have me shot in an ally." The brothers frowned. What had their friend been doing?
Emmila ushered them into her apartment before locking all the doors and windows and pulling the curtains closed. As she ran about, the brothers took in the place. Obviously she had not finished unpacking. Boxes were stacked in corners, overflowing with papers and binders. The dining room table was the only thing not covered with papers and it was there that Emmila sat, several folders in front of her. The four brothers took seats across from her.
Emmila slid one of the files towards them and Leo opened it. It was a file on Emmila and her research.
"As you know, I went into genetic research. But it was mutations that I specialized in." They looked up at her sharply before returning to the file. Another one was slid towards them.
"I worked with a lot of high ranking scientists and doctors. Some I'm ashamed to admit the names of." The file was about them. The amount of information in it made their blood ran cold.
"Where did you get all of this?" Leo was shaking, though his voice remained level.
"I won't tell you the details. But those files are why I made enemies." The rest of the files slid towards them. Some were far thinner than the second one; many of them contained the same information though.
"Those files are part of the reason why I came back. I figured you would want them." She steepled her fingers in front of her.
"Emmila, how did you get this?" Leo's tone was sharp. Emmila gave a smile that matched his tone.
"I stole them obviously."
