After a few seconds of listening to Mikey talking about his realizations, he spoke.
"Carmela? That's a pretty good name! Because, you know, you're a mutant lizard and there's a lizard that's called a cameleon and-" Mikey cried with bright eyes before getting punched on the arm by a certain red-masked turtle.
"Ow! What was that for!?" Mikey whined.
"You know why.." Raph growled at him.
Suddenly, they heard a big growl. Everyone started their battle position. They all took their weapons, ready to face the monster.
"What was that?!" April asked, taking out her fans.
"I don't know but, it sounded angry." Raph said, holding tightly his sais.
"Actually, that was my stomach." Carmela said, embarrassed. "I'm hungry."
Everyone had wide eyes and stood in their normal positions, embarrassed. They never heard a stomach growl that loud.
"Have the KRAANG feed you since you were in there?" Donnie asked.
"Sometimes. They don't feed me when they punish me." Carmela sighed.
"Punish you for what?"
Carmela paused for a moment then answered, "I knew where the rest of the mutagen were. Since I refuse to tell them, they don't only electrify me but, they also don't feed me for a week.."
There was silence in the room until Carmela continued, "They have a plan BIGGER than the invasion of New York. That was just Plan A."
"What could be bigger than the invasion of New York City?" Donnie said, rubbing his chin.
"I knew it! They are making a cow mutant! But only BIGGER!" Mikey gasped.
Everyone glared at him except Carmela, who was hiding a snicker. She thought Mikey had a lot of funny imaginations in his head. Suddenly, a realization came to her head.
"The KRAANG must be looking for me. I don't think it's safe for me to be here."
"Don't worry, you'll be safe with us." Leo assured her.
"Yeah, we can take them! We always do!" Raph said, punching his hands together.
"Besides, we do this every single day!" Mikey said.
"So, how did you get mutated?" Donnie asked, curiously.
"Long story but for short, a bottle of mutagen fell from the top of my head and I woke up like this." Carmela explained.
Carmela's stomach growled once more. Splinter smiled and said, "I suppose you are very hungry, Carmela. Come to the table. We still have some noodles left."
Carmela nodded and followed Splinter into the kitchen. It felt so unreal to be out of the tank. It's been so long since she hadn't stood up and felt walls and floors. Still, they're still things about her that the turtles didn't know about. But, she'll save that story for another time.
The whole day seemed great for Carmela. She bonded quickly with April, played on the arcade and messed around with Mikey for a bit.
Finally, the night had come and it became quiet in the living room until,
"Carmela! You wanna head to the rooftops with us?" Mikey asked with bright eyes.
Before she could respond, Leo cut her off by saying, "She can't, Mikey! Remember, the KRAANG must be looking for her so it must be dangerous for her to be out."
Carmela rolled her eyes in annoyance and headed to the sofa. If only he knew. She watched TV for the evening. For the first time, she felt like she was at home.
It was evening and April and Casey entered the base. Casey was surprised to see a female lizard watching TV in the secret hideout.
"Who's she?" Casey asked, pointing at Carmela.
April looked at where he was pointing and answered, "Oh! I forgot to tell you! The turtles rescued her from the KRAANG. They found her being tortured by them. But, she's fine now that Splinter healed her. She's staying here for a while."
Carmela looked at who had come to visit the turtles. She looked surprised. There was April and... A guy?
"There is another?" She thought to herself.
The guy looked like a mix of emo and rebel, he wore a bandana on his forehead and he carried a hockey stick. Was he here to play hockey with the turtles?
Carmela walked to the two, greeted April and asked, "Who's this?"
"This is Casey. He helps the guys on their missions like I do, sometimes." April answered, introducing Casey.
"With a hockey stick?" Carmela chuckled.
"Watch the action before you judge, princess!" The hockey player said before loosing balance when he was kneeling on his hockey stick.
Both girls laughed. Once calmed down, Carmela started introducing herself. "My name's Carmela."
"Nice to meet you, Carmen! So, did the guys get some pizza?" Casey said before rudely walking off and looking for a meal. Carmela took some time to process. Did he just called her Carmen?
She came back to reality when she heard a yell. She turned around to see Mikey skateboarding around the base. April, who almost got hit by Mikey, yelled, "Watch it, Mikey!"
"Sorry, April!" Mikey yelled back while doing some of his tricks.
Carmela joined April on the sofa and both girls talked. It was weird for them to bond so quickly. It was like they knew each other since forever.
"So, how did the KRAANG caught you?" April asked, suddenly.
Carmela was caught off-guard until she answered, "I wouldn't say they "caught" me.."
April gave her a strange look to tell her to continue. Carmela continued, "I was raised by them. At the time, I didn't even know they were aliens planning the invasion of earth. They use their human forms to trick me into thinking they were my parents. Sometimes I would question myself to why other kids could go outside and play all day while I had to stay inside all the time. Sometimes I would sneak out of the house and go have fun or go to my secret gymnastic classes. One day, I stumbled upon millions of mutagen in a old hideout place. At the time, I didn't know what it was so, I quickly ran off and forgot about it."
"And then?"
"On my 15th birthday, I finally found out the truth. I found out what they actually wanted to do with me. So, I started to run away when the bottle of mutagen came falling down. I woke up finding myself inside a water tank. Like I was some fish. I'm guessing you know the rest.." She finished.
"What did they wanted to do with you?" April asked.
"They waited until I reached the age of 16 to use me as a weapon. They knew I was sneaking out and they took this as a advantage. I found a blue-print that showed what they were going to do with me. They were going to turn me like a freakin' cyborg!" Carmela said.
"Why the age of 16, though?" April asked again.
"I don't know. Maybe to get to you." Carmela said.
April paused for a moment. This girl had been through so much. Her whole life was a lie. She had to get through that torture everyday. It reminded of her. Everyday, she tortured herself by thinking why her mother left her. Why her father, her only family, to be taken away so many times. Why did she have to be a target? Why did she have to be half KRAANG? Why did she have to lose everyone she cared for? She shook her head.
"How long have you been there? If you don't mind me asking.." April asked once more.
Carmela paused for a second. "I don't know how long. I lost track of the days. But it seems like a long time. Maybe a year.."
"I'm so sorry.." April said, feeling sorry for her new friend.
"It's all in the past now. What matters is that I'm out of that place. And I'm safe."Carmela assured her.
For now..
The next day, the turtles were planning on going inside the KRAANG's lab to find out what exactly they were planning with all those mutagen. But, it seems it won't be easy as they thought it would be.
"What do you mean the KRAANG's building is on lockdown, Donnie?" April asked again, still confused.
"It seems that the KRAANG doesn't want us finding out about their little plan. So, everything in their building are full of booby traps. The building is a dead zone." Donnie said, showing the traps the KRAANG had set up. It was true. Everything in the building is full of deadly traps. The turtles can't dodge that much traps.
Mikey snickered. "He said the B-word."
Donnie gave him a glare. "So, how are we going to do this?" Raph said. "There's no way will make it out alive with all of those traps."
"I can help."
Everyone turned around to see Carmela. She walked to the group. "I know everything on that building, even the hidden doors from the outside. I can show you."
"It might be dangerous." Leo said, unsure.
"Trust me on this. I dealt with the KRAANGs all my life. I'll be alright." Carmela assured Leo with a smile.
Leo thought about it then sighed in defeat. Carmela smiled. "So, where to?" Raph asked.
"There is a woman there that could probably help us. She's imprisoned in a secret base similar to mine.." Carmela said.
"How do you know we can trust her?" April asked, suddenly.
Carmela paused for a moment and sighed. She turned to April.
"She's your mother."