Anna was sitting on one of the many seats in the living room, waiting for the woman to wake up. "Budge over." Raph said, shoving her off the chair.
"Raph!" Anna glared up at him from the floor.
"Yes Angel?" He smirked at her.
"Raph." Another voice said. Anna glanced up at Leo who had seen the whole thing.
"Fine." Raph muttered, standing up and shoving Mikey off his seat and sitting down there instead.
"Hey!" Mikey complained.
"Thanks Leo." Anna smiled at him as she sat back on the chair.
"Anytime Maria." He said and she blushed at the name he rarely called her. Just then, the woman started to stir, muttering something about having a strange dream.
Sleepy at first, panic seemed to wake her when she saw the five turtles.
Mikey got into the humans 'personal space' with a grin. "Hi!"
"AHHH!" The woman screamed
"AHHHHHHH!" Mikey screamed like a girl.
Anna erupted into laughter at her youngest brother. "That was priceless!" She giggled and Leo looked at her with a smile.
"Please don't do that! I almost jumped out of my shell…" Mikey begged, holding up a hand.
"It…has…three…fingers!" The woman cried, pulling the pillow over her head before muttering about being asleep. Anna, who was still giggling at Mikey, pulled her legs up to sit on the chair sideways.
"I have to admit, this isn't going very well…" Don said.
"Well, we don't have much practice talking to humans! This'll just take a little time." Mikey said.
"Yeah it probably will." Anna had recovered from her giggling fit.
Raph, blunt and straightforward as a bull, walked up to the couch and tapped the human on the shoulder. "Hey, ya."
"Only Raphy." Anna chuckled.
"Huh?" The woman lifted the pillow.
"What do ya know 'bout those Mouser robot thing's?"
"Well…first, I thought they were to clean up the city's rat problem…but, then I got suspicious when Doctor Stockman said, oh no…I'm talking to it…"
Anna rolled her eyes as she walked to her room. "I'm out of here, Leo tell me when she thinks we are real enough." Leo nodded.
Anna went to her room. Just before she closed the door, she heard the woman scream again as Splinter revealed himself. She shook her head and chuckled before closing the door.
She grabbed her I-pod, placed the headphone's in her ears and turned it on. You Belong with Me by Taylor Swift came on and when the chorus came on, she started singing and dancing around her room.
"If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along, so why can't you see? You belong with me. You belong with me." She sung, twirling around the room before she heard a cough from her door. She whirled around and saw Leo and blushed.
"Please tell me you didn't hear all that." She said, embarrassed.
"It was… amazing. Why didn't you tell me you were such a good singer?" He asked, walking into the room.
"And why can't you make your bed once in a while?" He added, half-smirking when she blushed even more.
"I… shut up." She muttered.
"Come on, she's waking up." Leo said, still amused at the look on her face.
"Let's go then… and don't you DARE tell Raph or Mikey about that." She said.
"Promise." He grinned at her and she blushed, enjoying this rare side of him that she only managed to bring out.
The two went back downstairs and into the living room. April had a cup of tea in her hand.
"So…You okay now?" Mikey asked.
"Yes. Thanks. I've decided that this is either a really long dream I keep not waking up from, or it's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me…"
"It's weird enough living with these four." Anna chuckled.
"Angel." Raph scowled.
"What? And get off my seat Mikey!" She said.
"Aw shell!" Mikey said before standing up.
"Young woman, we have something of great importance to discuss." Splinter intervened.
"What?"
"We have never revealed ourselves to the upper world. You have placed us all in great danger."
"But, Master Splinter…She was in trouble and we helped her." Leo said.
"I think it's our fault more then hers." Anna added.
"Aren't ya always teaching us to do the right thing?" Raph asked.
"As you grow older, you learn there are many ways to 'do the right thing'." Splinter sighed. "But there is no going back…so we find ourselves at your mercy."
"Oh, I would never tell anybody! I mean…who would believe me?"
"She's got a point." Don agreed.
"Yeah! We're unbelievable!" Mikey stated and posed. Anna rolled her eyes, leaned over and smacked him. "OW!" Mikey rubbed his head.
"Geez, where's your off switch?" Raph said.
"Seriously, I promise." April said, smiling slightly at the look on Mikey's face. Splinter stood, walking up to April and looking her in the eyes. He seemed to be trying to look in her soul.
"…I believe you." Splinter finally said and Leo kneeled beside Splinter.
"Is this another lesson, Master Splinter? How to sense the truth?"
"No. This is called 'trusting your gut'." Splinter said.
"Everything he does isn't a lesson Leo." Anna grinned at the look on Leo's face
"So…If I'm keeping your secret…What exactly is it? What are you people? Er…turtles…um…whatever."
"It's a really good story." Anna nodded
"I have memories…" Splinter started. "Memories of when I used to be what might call normal…" Anna sighed contently as she heard the familiar story. "From a battered book on Renaissance art that I fished out of a storm drain, I chose names for each of them," Splinter continued the story.
"Leonardo…Donatello…Raphael… …Michelangelo…but Annamaria was different, I decided to combine the names of two sisters: Anne and Mary Boleyn, to come up with her name," Splinter smiled at Anna who smiled back. "And together they are…"
"TURTLES FOREVER!" All five said, high threeing each other.
"Or something like that that we all shout at once." Mikey told April, leaning on the back of the couch.
Raph sat beside April easily.
"First rule, ignore Mikey. Yer life will be a lot easier." He said to April.
"So we have remained in secret…and that is our story." Splinter finished, standing again.
"But how did you know martial arts?" April asked.
"That is a story for another time." Splinter said.
"Hey, guys!" Mikey said pointing at the TV. "Look at this!"
"What?" Anna asked, turning her attention to the TV screen. It showed a bank, where a robbery had gone on in bright daylight.
"So…. Anybody wanna take a wild guess who did this?" Mikey asked.
"This must be what I heard Dr. Stockman talking about," April said. "He's got the Mouser's robbing banks."
"What do ya know 'bout this Stockman guy?" Raph asked with a bit of a smirk.
"He's a genius. He's also nuts. I used to work for him, but when I got suspicious, he turned the Mouser's on me!"
"That is why I find men weird." Anna nodded.
"Luckily, I ran into you guys."
"He destroyed our old lair." Leo said.
"Must've been one of his Mouser test runs." April said.
"But… that was our home!" Mikey whined.
"And now he's graduated to banks." Don said.
"Now can we go and destroy his lab?" Anna asked.
"What are we waitin' for?" Raph asked impatiently. "I say we shut down Mouser Central…" He twirled his sai. "Permanently."
Mikey grinned. "I just love those action movie lines. You write those yourself?" He asked Raph
"Oh my God." Anna giggled.
"It won't be easy…StockTronics is rigged with state-of-the-art security tech." April informed.
"Ha! Bring it on!" Mikey joked. "We've got our own secret weapon! The techno-turtle himself, Donatello Take a bow, Don!"
"Aw, cut it out…" Don chuckled.
"Can…We…Go…PLEASE?" Raph asked, almost shaking with anticipation.
"What he said." Anna pointed to Raph and Leo shook his head in amusement.
April was leading them through the sewers towards StockTronics, and the turtles were following her with Don behind April, then Mikey, Anna, Leo and finally, Raph. April held her hand up and Don put a finger to his lips. April crouched down and opened up a circle to reveal an alarm.
Anna was so surprised that she lost her balance and nearly fell into the water. Leo grabbed onto her by the waist and covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her shriek.
"Alarms in the sewers? Is this guy paranoid or what?" Mikey whispered.
"Would ya shut it?" Raph glared at Mikey.
"I'm just saying…"
"Could you give April and I some quiet? This is delicate work." Don said, annoyed.
"Oh…April and I! This is delicate work! Gimme a break…" Mikey folded his arms.
"Can I smack him now?" Anna asked Leo.
"Angel, do you want him to cause more noise?" Raph asked.
"I didn't ask you hothead." Anna folded her arms.
"Hey! Who you callin' hot… OW!" Anna had smacked Raph mid-sentence.
"I'm calling you a hothead, you idiot." Anna said sweetly.
"She got you there Raph," Mikey grinned. "Right Angel?" He chuckled, using Raph's nickname for her. "OW!" Mikey rubbed his head where Anna had smacked him.
"Only Raph can call me that." Anna growled at him. She looked at Don and April who seemed done. "Let's go." She said, her excitement growing. Leo released her and they continued on their way, managing to get into a ventilation shaft.
Leo went up before Anna and she put up her hand, he grabbed it and hauled her up.
"Thanks." She whispered as they made their way to an opening. Raph jumped out, moving across the hall with April to unlock the door. When the door opened, they all went inside, and April sat down in front of a computer.
"Okay, I'm in. I'm blanking the cameras down that corridor at ten second intervals, so you've got to keep moving." April said.
"We'll be right back." Don said. Before hearing April's response, they were gone. They ran until they came upon a large door opened to a huge, dark room. "This is too quiet." Leo said as they walked in.
"Uh, guys? My turtle sense is tingling." Mikey said and the door closed behind them. Anna's eyes widened as the lights turned on
"Intruders? Here to steal my secrets?" A booming voice said and Anna automatically covered her ears. "You leave here with nothing! Not even your lives!" The voice continued. Large machines lowered from the ceiling.
"Lasers!" Anna shrieked in fear, hiding behind Leo. The lasers started to shoot at them and they all scattered in different directions. Anna ran from side to side, trying to avoid the lasers.
She glanced over at Leo, who had blocked the beam with his katana. She grabbed her own swords, skidded to a halt and crossed her swords together. The laser shot a beam at her and she deflected it, shooting it back towards the machine.
The machine exploded as soon as the laser hit it. She ran over to Leo and Raph watching Don, who was on one of the machine, destroying the other machines.
"All right Donnie!" She cheered with Leo and Raph as Don blew up his machine. Mikey joined them and they ran towards the tower that concealed Stockman. Another laser was shot at them, and the group jumped out of the way. Raph managed to get against a wall below it, and motioned for Mikey.
"Hey, Mikey! Slingshot!" He said. Mikey ran and was soon airborne.
"Can I do that?" Anna asked Leo eagerly. He nodded and motioned to Raph that Anna was going to do the same thing as Mikey. Raph smirked and cupped his arms and Anna ran at him and was soon flying through the air. She jumped into the hole Mikey had managed to create.
"Awesome wasn't it?" She grinned at Mikey who nodded as Leo, Raph and Don joined them. Leo pointed his sword at the startled scientist.
"Your reign of terror is over, Stockman." Leo said.
"You've been practicing that?" Mikey asked.
"You like it?" Leo half-smiled.
"What are you?" Stockman asked.
Anna was about to answer when the door opened behind him, showing April. "They're with me." She said.
"April? You're alive?"
"You bet she is." Anna smirked.
"And kicking, I've got enough evidence to put you away for years, Dr. Stockman." April said, walking in to the room. Stockman pressed a button on the control panel and Raph grabbed him.
"That's enough!" Raph growled.
"Ha! Too late!" Stockman smirked.
"What did you do?" Anna asked, her eyes narrowing at the look on his face.
"I've recalled the Mouser horde from their latest mission. They'll be here any second. They'll tear you all to pieces." Stockman widened his smirk.
"April!" Leo said.
"I'll have to shut the whole system down!" April stated as she sat down.
"I'll help!" Don offered.
"You're doomed. Listen." Stockman said and Anna could hear the familiar footsteps of the Mousers. Leo and Mikey looked down a ladder, seeing the machines start climbing.
"April…" Leo said.
"The system isn't responding!" April replied frantically as Stockman managed to slip from them and into the elevator, pressing the button.
"You should've never matched wits with me!" He smirked.
"He's getting away!" Mikey exclaimed, but he didn't get there in time. The Mouser's had reached them by then, and Anna was paralysed with fear.
"At least we'll go out fightin'…" Raph said.
"Actually, I don't wanna go out at all!" Mikey replied.
"Leo, I hope you have a plan B!" Anna said in panic.
"It's not working!" April stated, panicked.
"Keep trying!" Leo said.
"This is it…It's been fun, guys…" Raph said.
"Even me, Raph?" Mikey asked.
"Even you, Mikey. Especially you." Raph replied.
"Ah…I'll miss you guys up in turtle heaven…" Mikey said.
"Leo I…" Anna began but then, April must've done something, because the Mouser's suddenly stopped moving and froze. Leo tapped one with his katana, just to be sure. When nothing happened, all of them grinned.
"All right April!" Anna cheered, smiling.
"Good job, April! I've never seen anything like that!" Don congratulated.
"HA! Losers!" Mikey mocked, knocking one over.
"Guys! Guys!" April said seriously and they all looked at her. "I wasn't able to shut them down." She continued.
"They look pretty shut down to me." Mikey said.
"The only way I could stop them was by initiating an overload sequence…" April said.
"Uh oh…" Anna said as the Mousers started shaking.
"Anna come on!" Leo said as Don jumped out, carrying April. Anna was still standing there, frozen with fear as she watched the Mousers. "Anna!" Leo shouted a note of panic in his voice. She turned around.
"Leo… I can't…"
"Yes you can!" Leo said and grabbed her by the waist and jumped out as Anna wrapped her arms around him. "Run!" Leo said, shoving her towards the exit. "I'm right here with you." He said, as he ran with her.
Anna slowly came to her senses as they turned into the hallway and heard the explosions.
"Keep going Anna." Leo encouraged and Anna slowly started to run faster. In a blur she caught up to Mikey, then Don and April and finally Raph.
"Race ya home Angel." Raph smirked at her and sprinted faster.
"You're on hothead!" She called out as she started to run faster, catching up to him. In a streak of red, green and white, the two raced back through the sewers.
"You're not going to wait for Fearless?" Raph said and Anna slowed a bit before running faster than ever.
"Nope." She giggled at the expression on his face as she past him.
"Go Anna!" She heard Mikey cheer from somewhere behind her.
"You can win it Anna!" Don called out.
"Go Anna go." Leo said softly, watching her run gracefully. You can win it Maria he thought. She was the first one to make it back to the lair.
"I win!" Anna cheered before Raph shot past her.
"First one to the couch wins!" He called out.
"No!" Anna growled and ran after him. Raph sat down and smirked at her.
"I win Angel." He chuckled as the others joined them.
"That was some race." Leo said as he stood next to Anna and Splinter joined them and the news got turned on. Anna leant against Leo's plastron, catching her breath.
"What will you do now, Ms. O'Neil? You are most definitely out of a job." Splinter questioned.
"I'm not exactly sure…" April said.
"We'll help you get back on your feet." Don offered.
"You guys, you've all been…well…Great! And by guys, I guess I mean five big talking turtles and a giant talking rat." April said, looking thankfully.
"Here's to the new team!" Don stated, holding up his cup of tea. The others clinked their cups against it, Anna smiling at the happy expression on April's face.
Finally, a female I can talk to she thought as she drunk some of her tea before smiling at Leo who gave her a rare smile back.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Anyways, reviews please? Thanks so much for taking your time to read this!