Author's Notes:

Happy Fourth of July! For those who don't celebrate it, happy day!

I apologize for the delay of this chapter. I came across quite a bit of writer's blocks, had high stress because of what's been going on around here, and my rat Cornflower passed away last week (RIP, little-big girl).

Okay, not all of it is because of grimness; I also got into X-Men stuff again. XD I rewatched the original trilogy and the Origins movies, and watched the newest movies (including Logan) and episodes of X-Men The Animated Series and X-Men Evolution. That also caused me to lose some interest in this fic for a while, but I still hope to continue this.

Anyway, here we go...

New York

"What?! Why would he leave?"

Michelangelo looked at Raphael and Donatello, who had just arrived. "He said he had something to do first in Gotham, bro," Mike shrugged, answering Raphael's question. "Didn't say what it was, though. He said we could go when you got here."

Raphael looked ready to explode, which his brothers thought was normal for him. "Why would he leave without us? He knows how we feel about the people we know there."

"Kairi's dead."

The newcomers gaped at Mike, who was uncharacteristically grim. "What happened?" Donatello asked.

"Leo didn't say, but I'm not sure even he knows."

"Wouldn't be the first time he didn't know somethin'," the red-masked turtle muttered.

"Don't even start, Raph," Donatello said irritably, glaring at his older brother.

Raph sighed. "Sorry, Don." How do I keep forgetting that we all suffered that day?

"He said he had to go alone for some reason," Mike continued, "but said we could go once you got here, if you wanted."

"Did he say somethin' about seein' Bruce?" the red-masked turtle asked.

"Yeah."

"Count me in. Not exactly lookin' forward to seein' Leo, but it would be nice to see the old man again."

Don nodded. "I'd like to see both, but it's been longer since we've seen Bruce."

Raph raised an eye ridge. "Doesn't your company sometimes collaborate with Wayne Industries sometimes?"

"Yes, but sadly I'm not one of the lucky few to see Bruce. I have heard about him having two helpers, both teenagers."

"Both skilled in fighting?"

"Considering who they have to work with, most likely."

"Might not want to enter through the cave, then."

"Aww, why not?" Mike whined. "I want to surprise him!"

Don looked at Mike sternly. "Surprising him is not a good idea. Not only did he kick our shells last time we did, but now he has a heart condition—big reason why he needs help, from what I heard. Not to mention he might've beefed up security in the cave, what with the new Batman and Batgirl."

"Bummer."

"You sure the kids aren't Batman and Batgirl?" Raph asked with a raised eye ridge.

"Honestly, I don't know," his purple-masked brother answered. "The boy has a criminal record from when he was fourteen, and while the girl is said to be smart, her physical strength isn't up to par after being sick as an infant. I doubt Bruce would let them into the field."

"But who else could be Batman and Batgirl?" Mike asked.

Raph and Don looked at each other in silence for a heartbeat, then shrugged. "Only one way to find out," Raph commented, "and it ain't by sittin' around yappin' all night."

"At least not here, anyway," Don smirked.

"Whatever. I'll take my bike, you two take the van."

Mike frowned. "Uh, small problem with that plan."

"What?"

"Leo took your motorcycle."

"What?!" Raph exploded. "Why'd you let him?"

"How was I to know you'd want to use it right away? Besides, it won't be for long."

"Ya got that right."

Don shook his head despairingly. "I'm sure Leo would be happy to switch with you when we meet up with him and Bruce." Okay, maybe not necessarily happy, but at least accepting of it, he mentally atoned.

"Fine," Raph groaned. "But don't expect me to be happy."

"We know better than to expect that, bro," Mike smirked roguishly.

~!~

"Master, the turtles are on the move."

"Good. Follow them."

"Hai, Master."

~!~

Gotham

Coba smacked a punching bag repeatedly, ignoring the resulting pain in her healing ribs. An hour had passed since she came down to the cave, yet she had not stopped, not even to take a break. For the past few days, it had been the best way she could let out her frustration. Even though I know it tears me up.

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

The small teen half-turned her head at the sound of the voice, pausing her assault on the punching bag. "I'll rest later, Leonardo-san," she answered, trying to keep an edge out of her voice. I've lost count of how many times someone's told me to rest or asked if I should be.

"Please, Brooklyn-chan, call me Leo," the turtle said as he approached her.

She nodded in understanding. "Call me Coba."

He returned the nod. As she resumed her onslaught upon the bag, he noticed something. "Your ribs are fractured."

"Did Bruce or Grandfather tell you that?"

"No. I'm familiar with the stance, though."

Coba stopped again. "How so?"

"Raphael, one of my brothers, did that whenever his ribs were damaged. Does it keep them from hurting so much?"

Brooklyn shook her head without making a sound. It makes them hurt more.

Leo became even more concerned for his old friend's daughter, as well as for his own brother. "Take a break," he requested. "You look like you're about to fall over."

She frowned, but reluctantly complied, sitting on the operating table the turtle was standing next to. "Aren't you going to lecture me for punishing myself?" she inquired tartly. "The others already have."

"No," Leo replied, ignoring her tone. "Looks like you're enduring enough self-punishment as it is."

The girl blinked in surprise, then frowned once more. "I don't think I'll ever have enough punishment after failing Kairi and Mom," she murmured.

"What makes you think you failed them?"

With a shake of her head, Coba looked away, unwilling to speak more of her own feelings. "Why did Kairi ask you to continue teaching us?" she asked after several moments of silence.

Leonardo frowned as well. "I don't know."

"But you've taught before?"

He nodded grimly. "Yes, but it..." He trailed off with a sigh. "It didn't work out."

Sensing his unease, Coba placed a small hand on his shoulder consolingly. "I'm sorry."

The turtle blinked at her benignly. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

"What happened?" Upon earning a more grim expression, Coba shook her head. "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright, Coba. If I feel up to it at some point, I'll tell you."

She blinked, surprised. I wonder if I'll ever feel up to talking about Kairi's death... "How did you know Kairi?"

Leo was about to protest that he had already told the tale, but remembered that Coba had been down in the cave when he told Bruce, Dick and Terry. "My brothers and I had been on patrol one night when we heard cries for help. As we drew closer, we saw a middle-aged Japanese woman facing off against members of The Foot Clan, a group of ninjas led by The Shredder. We were confused, as the screams had been from a young girl, but Don—my brother, Donatello—saw a small mutant turtle hiding behind the woman. Although the woman was holding her own pretty well, we intervened, scaring off the ninjas."

"The woman was Kairi," Coba noted.

"Yes. She was respectful to us, even though we knew she felt somewhat disappointed that she didn't get to deal with The Foot all herself. She explained that she saw them chasing the girl, and asked if we knew her."

"But you didn't."

"Not at the time. Would you stop interrupting, please?" Leo asked, an edge of irritation in his voice.

Coba dipped her head apologetically. "Yes, sorry. Continue."

The turtle nodded in acknowledgement. "Introductions were made, then we went our separate ways, with the young turtle—we named her Venus de Milo, as she had lost all memory of her past and her name at the hands of The Foot—following my brothers and me home." He mentally noted Coba's look of sympathy for Venus, but continued. "A couple of days later, The Foot attacked Kairi to try to find out where Venus was, but Michelangelo and I got there in time to help Kairi. We let her stay with us until she could get to Gotham without trouble.

"During her visit, she helped me train Venus in the way of Bushido, and helped Venus pursue a martial art she showed signs of learning in her past: Shinobi. I had been struggling to before, as we had just lost our sensei, Hamato Splinter. When she started showing signs of supernatural abilities, Kairi helped me teach Venus how to control her emotions and concentrate on her abilities and surroundings." He chuckled. "All of us—except Mike—lost count of how many televisions and game consoles were destroyed during those days. Not that it fazed Kairi."

For the first time since losing her sensei, Coba laughed. "She never was one for using technology for fun, let alone at all."

Leo nodded with a smile, glad that he had managed to make the troubled teen laugh. His expression became grim once more. "It wasn't long until we learned that Venus and many others had been kidnapped by The Foot—as humans—to be experimented on with mutagen they'd stolen from the Utroms. Kairi helped us stop them from creating more mutants, as Venus did against our urgings to stay behind."

Coba could not stop herself from interrupting once more. "Because she wanted answers for why they tortured and experimented on her, and answers of where they were keeping her family."

The ninja blinked in surprise. "Exactly. Did you read my mind to figure that out?"

"Actually, that was just a guess," the girl replied with a shrug. "I would've wanted those answers, too, if I were in her place."

"So would I," he agreed. After a small pause, he resumed. "The battle was long and hard, but we managed to come out victorious. True to her word, Kairi left for Gotham after we recovered from our injuries. Still, she sent us letters from time to time over the years, and sometimes we'd all meet to catch up." Leo smiled fondly, though his voice started to catch. "Of course Venus would get excited about showing Kairi all she'd learned in between visits, and Kairi would praise me for teaching her so well."

Brooklyn blanched when she saw the love and pain in his eyes. He'd loved Kairi, but never told her how he felt because of their differing species. Now he never will because of my failure to save her.

The turtle sighed, realizing the girl had read his thoughts and emotions. "Please don't tell anyone," he murmured.

"Hai, Leo," Coba acknowledged. "I know how to keep a secret." She looked around the cave. "Obviously."

He managed a weak smile. "I guess it does go without saying."

She nodded.

"How did you meet Kairi?" he asked.

Coba hesitated, knowing she would likely start getting emotional. Then again, Leo did just share how he met her, even though it wound up choking him up in the end. She gently sighed, then told him how Bruce had sent her and Terry to train under Kairi, as well as the tests the woman put them through to see their skills.

She'd done that with Venus, as well, Leo mentally noted.

Batgirl blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Hai. She wanted to know exactly what Venus knew—"

"—so Kairi knew what else she had to learn."

"Do you often—"

"—finish others' sentences? Yeah. Habit."

"Think you can break it?"

"Tried and failed, though it worked for a short amount of time."

"Interesting." Leo regarded her for a moment.

The girl looked down grimly. Yet another sign that I can't get things right.

Noticing her discontent, Leo pat Coba's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself." When she said nothing, he stood up. "Why don't we go up and wait for my brothers with the others?"

Although she disliked the idea of facing her brother after how he talked to her and would have rather stayed and practiced more, Coba found herself unable to refuse. In spite of not knowing him for long, she felt something of a kinship with Leo. But am I disrespecting Kairi by feeling so about Leo, who's trying to take over her teachings? She shook her head slightly. No, she'd want me to be happy. Wouldn't she? "Alright," she told him.

The turtle grinned, though inwardly he was nervous about seeing Raphael and Donatello again after so long. Mike was much more forgiving and understanding than I'd anticipated, but how will Don and Raph react? We weren't on the best of terms last time we spoke, though I can hardly blame them. He felt a small hand reach up and touch his shoulder consolingly, and once again he felt embarrassed. "I keep forgetting you can read my mind, Coba," he confessed.

"Can't say I blame you," the girl replied sagely. "It's not an ability everyone comes across every day. Anyway, you're not the only one thinking about sibling reactions right now."

Leo pat her head gently. "If it helps, Terry seemed a lot calmer before I came down."

Coba shrugged grimly. "I'm afraid it doesn't. He sometimes flares up again."

"Sounds a bit like Raphael."

She shrugged again. "Haven't met him, so I can't say for sure."

"Fair enough."

Fair...

~!~

"Well, that was interesting," Terry said that afternoon as he and Coba ate a soup-stew dinner comprised of sodium-free chicken broth, brown rice, tofu chunks and softened steamed vegetables with Bruce at the manor.

"Indeed it was," Coba replied with a nod.

"She says I lack discipline and leave myself open on the left side. Can you believe that?"

"If you want an honest answer, then yes." The girl smirked at Terry's scowl. "She told me I lack confidence," she continued, her expression becoming somber, "which is true. And that I can compensate for my... weakness," she said, gesturing to her crippled right foot. "I'm not sure of how true that is."

"I don't doubt what Kairi says," Bruce told the half-siblings. "Part of her job is to assess the individual skills of potential students, and I've heard she does an exceptional job of it."

Terry scoffed. "By getting her current students to help."

"It works, though," Coba pointed out.

McGinnis sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Your soups are getting cold," Bruce chided.

"Oh yeah? You're getting cold," Terry retorted.

"Uh, Terry?"

"What, Coba?"

Coba smirked. "He's already subarctic."

Bruce hid his amusement with his usual grave expression. "She has a point."

The young Dark Knight rolled his eyes. "Of course she does. But do we really have to eat this? It's so... bland. Can't we add seasonings or something?"

Wayne stared hard at the boy. "Would you rather have the eel juice Kairi reccommended?"

Terry and Coba shook their heads quickly, remembering how they had attempted to try it at Max's place earlier, as she was closer to the dojo and had a blender to mix the eel juice, brown rice and tofu together. The results included Terry nearly vomitting while Coba threw up what little was in her stomach along with the juice concoction. "Point taken," he said.

The trio finished their soup-stew in silence, aside from Coba nearly gagging at the tofu's texture and Terry's occasional disgusted snorts at the wilted broccoli. The girl got up to wash the dishes when they were all done, but Bruce stopped her. "I'll take care of this. You're both due back at Kairi's."

Terry face palmed. "Speaking of torture. Come on, sis."

Coba followed, but raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it's torture if we haven't even been taught yet?" Before he could reply, she figured it out and ace-palmed as well. "Oh, yeah. The dietary restrictions." Still, maybe she won't torture us as badly as she did with the food, right?

~!~

Wrong.

Upon arrival at the dojo, Terry and Coba were immediately told to put their uniforms on and to balance a wooden chair on their foreheads. They were not allowed to wear their shoes to aid their balance, much to Coba's chagrin, as her crippled right foot made it harder for her to stay upright without anything on it to aid the traction, and her uniform—which had a green belt tied about her middle—being a size too large added to the difficulty. She had slipped once on the wooden floor already, which elicited snickers from a couple of other students before they were silenced by Kairi's stern glare.

"Keep your chins up," Kairi instructed her newest students. "It's all about balance."

Beside Coba, Terry was faring little better. Unlike his half-sister, he had no trouble with his feet or his new uniform, upon which he wore the white belt of a beginner. However, his slightly weaker left leg and lack of prior training made it difficult for him to maintain balance. He too had slipped earlier.

Kairi smirked as she got an idea. Using her chopsticks, she tossed pieces of fish to the floor where the teens were about to step. McGinnis immediately slipped upon contact with it and fell, managing to catch the chair with his ands before it could his his face. Brooklyn slipped a bit, but quickly pulled her right leg back and slid her left leg back a touch, managing to stay upright. Terry pulled a piece of fish off of his foot and glared at Kairi. "No fair!"

"Fair?" the woman echoed, her smirk turning into a frown. "Only fair around here is in September. Deal with it!" She turned her gaze to a surprised Coba, softening her demeanor. "Not bad, kid. You've got the moves of a master."

"I didn't know I could do that," the girl said, bewildered at her own reflexes. Upon speaking, however, the chair tipped and fell, but Coba caught it before it could hit Kairi.

"Show off," Terry muttered. He grunted when Kairi reached over and smacked him with a staff. "Fine, I'll get back to it." He placed the chair back on his forehead and kept practicing, as Coba had resumed doing as well.

After a while, Kairi let them take a break. Terry stepped through the back door of the dojo to get some air, with Coba following suit. The young man wiped sweat from his brow with a towel. The dojo's door opened again, this time with Zander exiting with two large men at either side. Must be his guardians, McGinnis thought. "Hey, Zander," he greeted. "Nice workout."

"Step aside," one of the brutish guardians said. He shoved Terry aside, causing him to bump into his little sister with a grunt.

Coba helped Terry stand upright once more. They watched as Zander and his guardians entered the black car waiting for them, which promptly left. "Who died and made him king of the world?" Terry snorted, referencing their classmate.

"Beats me," Coba replied. Though I'm wondering that myself, now.

~!~

"Coba? Coba, are you alright? You're bumping me into the wall."

The girl blinked and shook her head as she returned to reality. "Yeah, sorry. I'm fine, Leo," she said bluntly. "Just... remembering something, that's all."

The turtle nodded in understanding. As they entered the manor, he heard a familiar ringing. Reaching into a pocket of his leather motorcyclng pants, he pulled out a phone shaped like a turtle shell. Recognizing the number, he answered. "Hi, Mike."

"Leo, where are you?!"

"Whoa, whoa! I'm at Wayne's," Leo answered, caught off guard by his brother's urgent tone. From out the corner of his eye, he saw Coba pull out a device. "What's going on?"

"Don't tell him, Mike! Not like he can help us," the blue-masked terrapin heard Raph say in the background.

"It's either tell him or die, Raph!" Don yelled.

"We were ambushed," Mike clarified, grunting as his nunchaku collided with another weapon. "Someone followed us. We tried to lose them, but—" He yelled as he was struck down, causing the phone to hang up.

"Mike? Mikey!" Leo exclaimed.

"They're at a junkyard on Main Street and Black Road," Coba said grimly. Without waiting for an answer, Coba darted back down into the cave.

"Wait up!" Terry called after her. "You're not ready to go back out there!"

Grayson frowned. "She's not going to stop."

"No, but we can follow," Leo responded, narrowing his eyes, heading back down the stairs.

By the time they got to the cave, Coba had already suited up and was starting to leave via Batcycle. Terry pulled his Batsuit over his clothes as he and Leo raced toward the Batmobile. I hope we're not too late, they both thought.

Yep, all that just happened.

And yes, I included Venus de Milo (sorry, Peter Laird). However, since I haven't seen the series with her and only know things about her from reading the wiki pages, I'm doing my own version of her. Answers regarding her whereabouts will be answered later.

What about why Raph and Don would be upset with Leo?

That will be answered later as well.

And when will we read Coba's memories of Kairi's death?

Later.

Who followed Mikey, Donnie and Raph?

Again, later.

Ugh!

*Snickers cruelly.*

As always, please have a good rest of your (holi)day! :D Reviews are welcome as well!