Holly leapt over a gap between two rooftops, landing with much practiced ease on all four legs. A combination of excitement and adrenalin made her blood pound through her ears in time with her heart rate.
She had heard rumors of other mutants like her, ones that were not mindless beasts like the bugs she'd found in one of the Kraang labs. But since most of the stories she heard spawned from Purple Dragon and Kraang she had dismissed them as merely stories the two groups told among their ranks as a form of entertainment.
But there was no doubt in her mind now. There were other mutants like her, there were others that had enough of their humanity intact to be more human than animal, and there were four of them! And as an added bonus, they fought against the Kraang as well.
In her pure excitement, she had forgotten the rather large fact that she still needed to earn Leonardo's trust. But her joy had pricked up again when he suggested that they meet tomorrow night.
Holly climbed off the rooftops, being close enough to the fenced-in warehouse she called home to travel on ground level and not have to fear about being seen.
Her arms swung back and forth in wide sweeps as her mind began to wander back to Leonardo. Or, the way he fought to be exact.
When he had told her to stay put, Holly had been ready to protest but stopped when she saw him draw the two swords on his shell. She had watched in silent amazement as Leonardo fought. It looked more like some kind of dance rather than a battle in her eyes.
Each strike had been clean and precise, almost like a battle scene right out of a martial arts movie, only ten times better.
Holly reached the tall fence that surrounded a maze of disheveled warehouses and climbed over it.
Someone unfamiliar with the area would most likely be lost between the crumbling structures, but Holly had spent a great amount of time leaning where every nook and cranny was and where each passage lead. She even set up a few traps in case some dumb teens decided messing around by a bunch of abandoned buildings was a good idea.
The one she lived in was close to the center and was one of the few warehouses that were still in just about one piece, aside from the boarded windows. Holly trotted past the main door, boarded like the windows, and went to the right side of the building where a fire escape was attached to the wall.
Holly climbed the rusty fire escape until she reached the top. On the building next to her, there appeared to be another boarded up window. However, it was actually a wooden frame with a few boards nailed on it and attached to the top of the window with a pair of hinges so that it swung up and acted as Holly's front door.
"Home sweet home," Holly mumbled to herself as she stepped inside.
The interior of the top floor was as run down as the building that enclosed it, with wooden walls and floor that desperately needed a good sanding and paint job. On the right side of the window was a large mass of old blankets and pillows that she had found. On the left was a collection of boxes containing the various items she had collected from dumpster and stolen from the Kraang. And on the far wall was her work area, separated from the rest of the room with large pieces of plywood wedged between piles of brick to keep them standing upright.
With a long sigh, Holly collapsed into her makeshift bedroom, witch was actually quite comfortable, and let out a small laugh to herself, "Best to get some sleep, have to be sharp when I meet the rest of Leonardo's team." She turned on her side and pulled a stray blanket over herself. She silently wished it would all work out. She was so tired of being alone.
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Leonardo sat in the dojo on his knees, Raphael on his left, Donatello and Michelangelo on his right and Master Splinter standing in front of them.
Leo had told his family about the events from only a few hours before, with the mutagen, the group of Kraang and Holly.
The dojo was silent, except for the occasional whisper from Mikey telling Donnie how awesome having another mutant on their side would be while Don tried to look as if he was listen and keep his attention on sensei.
Raphael had his usually scowl, as if the idea of a new ally was appalling to him.
Master Splinter had his eyes closed and a very thoughtful expression on his face, letting his son's story about the mutant girl fully sink into his mind.
After a few moments, he reopened them and looked down at Leonardo, "You say Holly agreed to meet with you tonight?"
"Hai sensei," Leo straightened up slightly.
"And do you believe she is trustworthy?"
Leo hesitated a moment, "Well, I actually want to see if she is, that why I arranged the meeting, if she is with an enemy she might set up an ambush."
"Oh great, so you've made another date with the enemy."
"Raphael," Splinter redirected his dark brown eyes from Leonardo to the red masked turtle on his left.
Raph snorted and crossed his arms, "I'm just saying the last girl Leo meet turned out to be nothing but trouble. You sure you don't have a crush on this one too Fearless?"
"It's different this time Raph," Leo did his best to keep his voice calm. "Holly fights the Kraang too and she seem to know quite a bit about the. If she is really as informed about them as she says, it could be a big help to us."
"And how cool would it be to have another mutant on the team," Mikey chipped in with a large grin over his face.
Raph rolled his eyes, "And what if she does turn out to be bad news, what then?"
"Then we have another mutant to fight," Leo stated bluntly, while he mental hoped that Holly would really be on their side.
Leo looked up at Master Splinter, hoping to get some support, "What do you think sensei?"
"As I have told you many times my sons, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. If this Holly is truly on our side than her information about the Kraang could prove useful."
Raph growled and stood up, "So in short, were practically walking into a situation that could be a trap?"
"There is still a chance that it won't be a trap," Donnie pointed out.
Raphael didn't respond. Instead, he storm out of the dojo, muttering under his breath.
"What crawled up his shell?" Mikey looked from Leo to Donnie, as if one of them had the answer.
Leo shrugged and stood, "Not sure, but we should get ready for the meeting with Holly. If it does turn out to be a trap, I would like to be prepared."