After the turtles had left, the lair was filled with a welcoming and ever-relaxing silence. The scurry of a few rats could be heard every few minutes, but almost not at all. The television's constant scratching and buzzing was the only sound echoing across the abandoned subway station, but even its forgotten gray screen wasn't enough to interrupt the peace the turtles' master found himself basking within. Inside the dojo and beside the magnificent tree growing in its center, Splinter sat with his legs neatly crossed in front of him and his paw-like hands perched atop his knees like delicate flowers. His ears remained held high above his furry head, while his eyes stayed glued shut, his mind without any distraction or any wandering thoughts.
However, thanks to his keen senses, he was quick to hear the fit of squabbles interrupting the silence outside, making one of his ears twitch along with his pink snout – forcing the strange glow coating his skin to dwindle down to nothing. He tried again, his brows tightly knitted together in concentration, but just as his Ki begun to reappear, a loud thump and crash forced it to flicker away once again. He had no choice but to rise to his feet in defeat.
"What is the meaning of this racket!?" He snapped, slamming the dojo's doors open with an unnecessary amount of force, making everyone except himself flinch, but when he saw what was going, his red eyes quickly widened in absolute dismay. There, grasped in each turtle's arms, hung an innocent girl. Leo and Raph each had a tight grip on one of her arms, while the other two mutants kept her legs above ground, April being the only one left to keep her silk, white hair from sweeping against the sewer's contaminated floor.
Yet, it was something entirely different that ailed their master – her eyes. Spread wide with a ghostly and dead stare, directed at the ceiling, with nasty burns surrounding their delicate lids, her eyes were left unblinking despite her unconscious state – it was haunting.
"What happened!?" Splinter barked towards his sons and watched them place her down on the couch while he rushed down the stairs from the dojo and towards the young woman.
"It was my fault." April intervened, peering over Splinter's shoulder while he checked her friend's pulse, and no matter how much she tried to stop it from happening, a crack in her voice revealed how hard she was trying not to cry or sob, "She's been acting strange lately – closed off, and I thought, if she met you guys, she'd become herself again. But then, when she..."
"She looked at us like a bunch of freaks." Raph interrupted with a furious growl, his arms tightly crossed over his chest like a piece of armor, "She brought it on herself when she ran-"
"Raph!" Donnie cut him off, the only one taking notice of April's guilt-struck face, something he of all people would understand, "Enough! Do you really think this is the time?"
"This is the perfect time, Don!"
"Would you two stop!?" Leo interrupted, but still they continued on, compelling Splinter's fingers to his brow, massaging the stiff muscles in exhaustion.
"If you hadn't let your crush on April get in the way, this would never have happened!"
"Come on, Bro." Mikey tried to stop the fight himself, stepping in between the two, "We shouldn't be fightin'!"
"Get out of the way, Mikey!" Raph merely hissed and shoved his brother out of the way, causing the younger turtle to twirl and tumble to the side, before Raph leaned closer towards Don with a threatening growl, "Wanna go!?"
"Enough!" Splinter finally snapped and made the entire team freeze where they stood, because they knew, if there was anyone they shouldn't disobey, it would be him. "Again I will ask you; what happened?" He demanded to know and could see everyone glancing at another, hoping they would speak up instead.
"She came into contact with mutagen, Mater Splinter." Donnie finally spoke before he scurried off to get his medical supplies, and sat down next to the girl on the couch – checking over her – making sure she was alright. Even though they all knew the results it would bring, Donnie still waved a bright light over her eyes to test their movement – looking for any dilation, blinking, or simple twitch, but like they thought, nothing changed about the white spheres.
"She really is blind?" April gasped and unwittingly rests her hands over her lips, but Donnie still kept perfectly silent, using one medical instrument after the other to see what else had changed. "Strange..." He hummed and scratched his head skeptically, "Other than the clear physical changes, her body seems to respond completely normal. Other than her hair and eyes, she's not mutated."
"That is quite odd compared to the changes we've seen." Splinter nodded in agreement and uncrossed his arms behind his back for a moment, just to run his long fingers down his beard in thought, "Strange indeed."
Their thoughtful wondering quickly came to a halt when a gentle hum echoed across the lair. It was brief and almost relaxing, but it made all their hearts jolt within their chests, even that of Master Splinter. Their gazes quickly shift down to the woman and watched her shoulder adjust and shift against the ratty couch, every moment feeling the tension build. Finally, they saw her scarred eyelids blink, but couldn't help but flinch along with her when the skin around her eyes stung with needles.
"Ugh… What hit me?" She groaned and slowly but surely sat up from the strange surface beneath her, but every inch she moved, she felt her head pound harder, and the farther the other six unknowingly shift backwards. "Did I go to the party?" She wondered out loud and reached forward, barely missing the people standing in front of her, "What idiot put out the lights?"
"Uhm... hello?" She called out into the dark void surrounding her, waving her hands more frantically, but the other six only dodged out of the way, almost like their lives would be taken by a single touch. "I can hear you movin', ya know!?" She snapped, her ears picking up every gentle crape of heels, "This isn't funny!"
"Uhm… Lumina?"
"April?" She gasped and finally wobbled to her feet, reaching forwards and towards the sound of her friend's voice, "Do you know what's going on?"
"Oh, Lumina." She heard April sniff before ten cold fingers wrapped around her own, making her flinch before she realized who's it was, "I'm sorry…"
"What? Was it you who turned off the lights?" Lumina assumed, but quickly felt the grasp on her hands tighten – it was like April was afraid she was going to disappear into thin air. "April?" She questioned slowly, feeling her nerves morph closer into knots, feeling dread clouding her thoughts more with every second, "What's wrong? What's going on?"
"I'm sorry." April repeated, compelling her friend's brows to knit together in annoyance, finally getting irritated from the lack of clarity.
"April." She warned, "If you don't…"
Along with absolute disbelief, the memory of four green mutants flashed through her mind and almost forced her arms to jerk away from April, ripping her hands out of her friend's. The image was too clear to be a dream – four turtles loomed over her like a black mist, and their eyes pierced into her soul like blades. Everyone watched her eyes stare off into nowhere, but the fear that glossed over those white orbs were clear.
"Not this again." She could hear a deep and annoyed voice groan to her left, but all she could do was jump back and let her head snap the turtle's way, no clear focus in her eyes. She wasn't sure if it made her fear worse or not, but she couldn't see a single thing. It was like a dark and endless void surrounding her, only the faintest of sounds echoing in the distance from time to time – not even color was left to gaze upon.
"Please, my son." Splinter stopped Raphael from saying anything more and tried to step closer to the girl, trying to calm her down, using his training as a kunoichi to move as silently as possible, but still he watched her jump back and trip against the ratty couch, slumping back down in her place. He stopped, but his eyes quickly narrowed – something wasn't right. "Curious." He hummed out loud, letting his fingers once again trail down his beard.
"What is going on here?" Lumina hissed through her teeth, getting impatient with the 'delicate manner' she was being treated with – she just wanted answers. "What did you do to me!?" She barked and heard one of the turtles whimper under her demanding voice. Mikey was the only one who was affected by the stranger and felt chills from her tone, quickly making him scurry behind Donnie with twinkling eyes. "She scares me." He whispered, barely loud enough for the others to hear, but somehow, to the white-haired girl, it was as clear as a roar and made her blood boil.
"And you should be scared of me, you freak!" She screamed and shot back to her feet, "Especially if you don't start explaining what the hell you did to me — why can't I see anything!?"
"Please, Lumina." April tried to calm her heaving friend down before placing her hands on her shoulders and pushing her back onto the couch, "Just sit down… this may take a while."
Splinter, Leo, Raph, Mikey, Donnie, and even the silence around them – they all stayed perfectly still while April begun to explain everything to the newcomer. First, April asked Splinter if she could reveal their secrets, but once he gave a hesitant nod, the words flowed from her lips with no end. Lumina didn't move either—her blind eyes kept staring up at the ceiling while she listening to April's explanation with no reaction, or even a speck of proof that she was paying attention. But she was listening. To every word, she was listening with all her heart and with every fleeting speck of hope she had.
She was blind.
Lumina felt her heart sink at those words. It was like a thousand anchors was being chained to her slender form and binding her to where she was in life – she had nowhere to go anymore. What kind of life was she going to live now? A part of her didn't want to believe what she was hearing, but the rest knew it was the truth.
"I was mutated?" She questioned and could hear a small shift in front of her, the only evidence of April's nod other than a small murmur that she couldn't make out.
"With the same mutagen that mutated these five; Leo, Rpah, Donnie, Mikey… and Splinter?"
Another nod.
"I was mutated by a mutagen that was created by the Kraang?"
Another nod.
"Who are looking for you?"
Finally, April froze with a heart-wrenching realization, one that she could feel clouding her organ with guilt. She knew exactly where this was going and she wanted to voice some type of excuse, to try and tell her friend it wasn't her fault, but like a curse, her voice got caught in her throat.
"I was mutated…" Lumina repeated through her teeth, her voice turning louder while her pale hands clenched against her knees, "…because of you?"
"Woah, Dudette!" Mikey interrupted as quickly as he could and scurried up to Lumina's side, his feet feeling heavier than lead, "April didn't know."
"Shut up!" Lumina screamed and swung her arm towards the voice without even the slightest of hesitance, instantly feeling the tinge of satisfaction when the back of her hand collide with cold, reptilian skin, "I don't care! I'm the one who's blind!"
Donnie quickly caught Mikey before he could fall and watched his brother whimper from the sting against his cheek, a red hand-print bulging on the skin.
"Mikey!" Both Raph and April gasped in alarm, but it was Splinter who caught Lumina's arm before she could harm anyone else.
"I understand your frustration." He told her, his voice stern and raised, "But I will not let you harm any of my sons, nor my pupil."
"Don't touch me." She merely hissed in return and tried wrenching her wrist from his grasp, only to feel her joint pop and stretch from the force, "They aren't even your damn sons, genius!"
"Great job, April!" Raph yelled at the redhead still seated on the couch, ignoring Leo's advice to remain calm, "Meet your friend, huh? That's just absolute genius! She's going to tell our secret the first chance she gets!"
"She wouldn't do that-"
"Of course I would!" Lumina continued to scream, now using her free hand to try and free the other, keeping her mind from focusing on the painful pounding resonating from her wrist, "Why the hell would I keep secrets for freaks, which coincidentally, blinded me!"
"Then we have no choice..." Splinter spoke, and even if he hadn't continued yet, everyone – everyone – halted with whatever they were doing. The words weren't even spoken yet and each already had a complaint for a different reason, like they knew exactly what horrors were about to befall them.
"Until we can trust you and you can find it in your heart to both forgive and trust us in return, you have no choice but to stay here."
Little did Master Splinter know, his conditions took more than a month before they were even close to being met.
Please comment... it's my only motivator. Advise is always welcome if objective.