A/N: AAAAND Chapter 3 in the house XD. Like I said, this was meant to be a one-shot thing, so I've pretty much written the entire thing already (except the last part, which I'm still working on) so I'll be updating this really fast :) I'm glad everyone's liking it so far!

I OWN NOTHING! I'M NOT STUPID RICH YET!

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Over the past fifteen years, Splinter had seen and had been through many strange things in his lifetime underground. Of course, he and his children were a very fine example of said strange things. However, as he watched his three eldest sons converse their plans with their near identical counterparts from a parallel world, he was certain he'd seen it all.

These four otherworldly turtles, whilst they appeared younger than his own sons, and supposedly lacking in strength due to their size, it was clear that they had experience, wisdom, and skills that were far beyond their years. Simply by observing them from a distance – the way the young Leonardo spoke so assuredly, the way the young Donatello aided his other self to locate oddities on the maps, the way young Raphael actually withheld the urge snap and bark harshly at his other self when he'd questioned his leader's orders – it was clear that they were indeed very strong, not just physically, but mentally, spiritually…

Their emotional state, however, was something Splinter found rather disconcerting. He could see it in their eyes, despite their best efforts to hide it and focus on the task at hand. These boys were anxious, angry…afraid…and rightly so. They were trapped in a world far from their own, with only two days to find a way to return and find their father, before it was too late.

The old rat wanted nothing more than to take them aside, assure them that everything would be alright. That they would find their father, and return them to where they truly belonged. They were not his children, but they were still a part of his family. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that Splinter wouldn't do for his family

It was whilst the six of them –seven including Splinter – were trying to pinpoint where the Kraang were hiding and come up with a plan to stop them that April finally arrived. After Donatello's insistence, Leonardo had called her up on her new cell phone, apologizing for interrupting her day off over urgent matters, but she hadn't minded a bit, promising that whatever they needed, she would be right over to help out any way she could.

As the young woman entered the lair and came into view, Splinter couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his rodent features. If there was anything that their Hogosha was, it was assertive, stubborn, and far too kind-hearted for her own good. And the boys and Splinter couldn't have asked for anyone as remarkable as April O'Neil.

"Hi guys," she greeted with a smile, setting her backpack down on the couch as she approached them in the dojo, where they were gathered around computers and maps of the city. "I came here as quick as I could. What's going –?"

She stopped mid-sentence, frozen in her tracks as she stared at three other turtles that she knew were not supposed to be here. The turtles in question looked up from their maps, mirroring her baffled expression as they gazed up at her.

Folding his hands behind his back, Splinter hobbled over to the motionless April with a knowing smile, reaching up and resting a clawed, bony hand on her shoulder. "Do not fear, April. These are my sons as well…from another world, that is," he explained, and was surprised at how calm he sounded. After all, his reaction to finding four more turtles in his home had been, to his sons, a rather hilarious experience.

Blinking rapidly, April's gaze shot from Splinter to the smaller turtles, then to his own sons, and back to Splinter. If not for himself, Splinter would've outright laughed; he'd never seen the young woman so flabbergasted before. And from the looks on his eldest children's faces, he could safely assume they felt the same.

"Wait a sec…you're April?!" young Donnie cried, pointing a shaking green finger in April's direction as he stood up, his brothers following suit, none of them taking their eyes off her. "B-But… you're not a teenager?!"

Behind them, Raphael smirked loudly, barely able to restrain the full on laugh as he slapped a hand over his mouth and turned away. Donatello and Leonardo were no different. April, on the other hand, furrowed her brows at the younger turtle. "…no…I'm not a teenager," she said slowly. "Is that a problem?"

Donnie blinked. "What? Nonononono, not at all," young Donnie said, quickly trying to make amends. "But it's just…you're a full-grown woman in this universe! And you're really pretty, like, 'movie-star pretty' – well, not that our April isn't pretty, in fact she's beautiful, but – wait, did I say all of that out loud?"

"YES," his brothers droned, slapping their hands over their eyes and shaking their heads in despair. By now, their larger counterparts were laughing hard, nearly falling over each other and wiping tears from their eyes. Splinter could do nothing but shake his head at their childish antics, but then again, what did he expect from teenagers? His teenagers.

Eventually, April found herself smiling too, shaking her head before raking a hand through her long brown locks. "Guys," she breathed, capturing their attention once more as they turned to her. "When you called me saying that this was urgent…you could've gone into a lot more detail, y'know."

"Hey, you're a reporter, ain't ya? Gotta expect the unexpected, am I right?" Raphael quipped with a shrug of his large shoulders. April sent him a look of fond exasperation, one that only Splinter knew only April O'Neil was capable of.

"Wait, you're a reporter?" young Leo probed, looking genuinely intrigued rather than surprised. When April nodded, the boy placed a finger against his chin, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, reminding Splinter so much of his own Leonardo that it almost hurt. "Then you can scope out the city for us, right? You can gather info on anything out of the ordinary…or in this case, 'not from this world' out of the ordinary?"

"That's partly the reason why we called her over in the first place," Leonardo explained, turning to grace April with a fond, knowing smile. "April's good at gathering intel on the 'supernatural' things that crawl around this city. And once she's on the trail something big, there's no stopping her."

At that, April placed her hands on her hips, her smile glowing with confidence. "Well, that's what I do best," she said, and Splinter couldn't have been more proud of her in that moment. "Just tell me exactly what I'm looking for, and Vern and I will get right on it. But first, I'd like a little explanation of why there are more than four turtles in this –"

"ANGEL CAKES!"

All heads whirled around as 'hurricane Michelangelo' made his appearance, with the younger Mikey sat high on his shoulders with a look of wonder on his face as he stared down at April. As Michelangelo skidded to a halt mere inches from crashing into the young woman, he let the freckled turtle slide off his shoulders before enveloping April in a warm hug that was just shy of crushing her.

"April, girl, what's good?!" he chimed, releasing her before she could suffocate at Splinter's stern look. However, after getting her breath and her sense of balance back, April only smiled at him and patted his arm, returning his enthusiastic greeting.

After that, Splinter took a step back and watched, still unable to wipe the smile off his face, as eight mutant turtles surrounded the young woman, the shorter ones bombarding her with questions as the larger ones did their best to keep them from crowding her. Even though this April was apparently very different from the girl they'd been familiar with in their home world, they still looked up to her and adored as though nothing had changed.

Indeed, they were still very much like his own children. No matter the differences, they still loved April O'Neil. They still loved and respected Splinter, even though at first they'd been hesitant about him. And, perhaps the best thing of all –

"By the way, April, you kinda look like Megan Fox."

–it mattered not what universe they were from; they were still his beloved children through and through, right down to their personalities…and their foolish outbursts.

With a soft sigh, Splinter shook his head. "Teenagers."

A/N: Ah Splinter XD I hope I did okay, and more are on the way! Stay tuned!