Disclaimer: All I own is Lilly.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, but here is the third chapter to my first ever TMNT fanfic. Like I mentioned before, I am basing this off the movie, but with a few twists since I added Lilly. Enjoy!
The teenage girl groaned, tossing in her bed at the sound of loud knocking at their front door. Pushing her loose hair out of her eyes, Lilly glanced at her alarm clock on her dresser across the room: 6:30 a.m.
Ugh, who's at the door this early in the morning? Wait, this isn't good! The turtle brothers are here! If someone sees them, oh no! Slightly panicking, she threw off her plush comforter, threw on her robe over her pajamas, and left her room. The turtles had spent last night in their apartment after telling them that someone had broken into their lair, ransacked it, and kidnapped Master Splinter. Stepping into the hallway, Lillian heard her aunt answering the door and a male voice talking to her. Oh great. It's Charles, her 'boss'.
The young brunette inched her way down the hall as she listened to her aunt's boss saying that he felt it would be best for April to drop her newest news story. No shouts or talks about why four teenage mutant ninja turtles were staying in their apartment.
Whew, those brothers are good. But Charles is an idiot if he thinks Aunt April will ditch her story. After all it has to do with- whoa! Lilly jumped out of the way into their living room, narrowly missing April as she stormed down the hallway to the bathroom with her boss right behind her. Yep, definitely an idiot.
"Um Danny, what are you doing?" she asked as she noticed Charles's son Danny under the kitchen table. He was a tall, lanky teen of 16 with red curly hair and freckles all over his face.
"What's a stuff animal doing under the table?" he asked, ignoring her question as he came out from under the table with a stuffed panda bear in his hands.
That's the one I let Michelangelo borrow last night to sleep with! Did he see him in the mirror's reflection in the living room? Trying to retain a calm stature like her father had shown her, Lilly put on an embarrassed face. "Oh, I must have dropped it last night and forgot about it."
Danny did not look completely convinced, but was unable to question Lillian further as his father and April returned.
"Danny, can you tell your dad to relax?" April asked the teen.
"I wish." he told her as he joined his father at the door and with one more remark about being careful they left.
"Wow, that was a close one." remarked Michelangelo behind April as she shut the door, making her jump in surprise. "Whoa, time to switch to decaf April."
~True Love of A Different Sort~
"Your aunt's a good reporter." Leo noted as he and his brothers sat in the living room around a small TV with Lilly. Mikey and Donny sat on the hard wood floor closest to the TV, Raphael was on the worn-down couch against the windows, and Leo sat in the equally worn-down armchair across from him with Lilly standing next to it.
"Yeah, she is." Lilly agreed as she watched April work her magic as she was being interviewed and sent a jab at the chief of police, Stern. "She's not afraid to get in people's faces as long as she gets what she wants, that's for sure."
The news anchor was now asking April how she had escaped from a group of thugs yesterday.
"Actually, a citizen of New York came to my rescue." She was saying as she turned her glance to the camera with a faint smile. "I wish everyone in the Big Apple would look away, but if he's watching. Thanks Raphael."
"Woohoo, studly." whistled Donny as he turned around to look at his brother who had turned away crossing his arms. "Look, he's blushing."
"I am not!" retorted Raphael hotly.
"I think he's actually turning red." the purple turtle continued to Mikey. Raphael grasped his sai and threw it, landing in between the two turtles and sticking in the floor. "Or maybe not."
"So what do we do now?" demanded the hotheaded turtle as he leapt off the couch, grabbed his sai, and looked at Leo.
"What do you mean 'what do we do now'?" he asked.
"Splinter's out there somewhere."
"I know Splinter's out there somewhere." Leo told him. "April is our only lead to these guys, we have to have faith that she'll find something."
"Fight?" Mikey whispered to Don.
"Fight." Don nodded with a sigh.
This is obviously a natural occurrence. Lilly thought as she watched Michelangelo and Donatello head to the kitchen, then turned her attention back to the still bickering brothers. Eventually, Raphael got so fed up that he stalked away to the rooftops saying he would leave with Leo responding, "good we don't need ya." Ouch, harsh. I thought siblings were suppose to care for each other.
"Don't you think that was a little harsh Leonardo?" she asked the turtle. "You guys are brothers after all."
"He's the one who started it." he defended, though he did look regretful at what he had said. He turned away from Lillian as he talked, his head bowed. "He always does this! Going off on his own in one of his hotheaded moods. We need to remain calm and focused in order to find Master Splinter. Being hotheaded and hasty will just get us in trouble and make things worse."
He's just like...me. the teenage girl realized as Leo returned his focus back to the TV, though she knew that was not where his thoughts were. Raphael's just like me. That's why I understand how he feels. He lost his father to the same men who killed my father, the Foot. Leonardo understands how Raphael feels, just not the way he solves his problems. Hotheaded and rash...like me.
Lilly left Leo to mull things over as she went into the kitchen and was met by the sight of two turtles sitting around a circular table covered in food.
"Pork rind?" Mikey asked Donny handing him one.
"Pork rind." Donny said taking it.
"Are you guys sure this is okay?" asked Lilly incredulously. "It doesn't look good from where I'm standing."
"Relax Lilly." Michelangelo assured her as he looked up at her with unconcerned eyes. "Those two bicker all the time."
"Yeah, but," she said. "shouldn't someone go and, oh I don't know, talk to Raphael?"
"Nah, he just needs some time to cool off." Donny told her as they continued to eat various snacks. The young girl just continued to watch them incredulously.
Is this what it means to be a sibling or is it a guy thing? she wondered.
~True Love of A Different Sort~
The young girl once again found herself kneeling in front of her father's picture asking for guidance, something she had found herself doing a lot lately.
"Dad, I need your help, again." She said glancing up at her father's confident and comforting jade eyes. "I feel so confused lately. All these emotions are tumbling around inside of me. Like with Raphael, especially with Raphael. Every time I'm near him or brush up against him I feel like this electric shock is being sent through me. I feel as if I shouldn't like this, but I want to. He's just like me. I think that's why we conflict so much, but what does this mean? Should he and I...? Oh, I'm so confused!"
"Lilly!" called a voice making Lilly stare at her father curiously as if it was he who had spoke. "Lilly, come on! I'm gonna show the guys the shop."
It's just Aunt April. She must have come home from work. the girl thought with a sigh as she silently cursed herself for believing, for even a fleeting moment, that it had been her father's voice to give her advice and reassurance. Standing up and stretching, she bowed respectively to the photo and left her room, going down the hall to the living room where her aunt and three turtles looked up at her expectantly. Raphael never came back? And they don't find that strange? Is this really what it means to be a sibling?
"Well, now that Lilly's here," April said with a smile. "shall we show you the shop?"
April and Lilly lived in an apartment above an old antique shop that April ran in memory of her father who had loved antiques. The turtles messed around with the antiques for a little while before they all went back upstairs.
"Are you guys really sure about leaving Raphael alone? He's been gone for a long time." the brunette pointed out, shocked by her own concern for the hothead.
"Don't worry about it Lilly." Don reassured her. "He likes being on his own."
"Really?" she said unconvinced as they reached the living room.
"Yeah, he'll drop in at any moment probably." the turtle said as they heard the sound of breaking glass as an unconscious Raph hit the floor.
"Is he...?" whispered Lilly as they all ran to the turtle's side.
"No, he's alive." Leo confirmed, looking at his brother with concern. "But just barely."
"Uh, dudes? I think we have a bigger problem at the moment." announced Michelangelo as everyone turned to the skylight where dozens of ninjas clothed in black and wearing masks were jumping through.
"Yeah, we have visitors." Lilly said with a slight smile as she, Donny, and Leo stood up and unsheathed their weapons. "Oh where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself."
One of the ninjas charged her, but was too slow as she pirouetted out of the way and slammed the butt of her tonfa into the back of her attacker's head as he fell to the floor unconscious before moving on to her next opponent.
"Hey, one of these guys must know where Splinter is," Leo said as he held one of the ninjas up against the wall near the window. "so knock them all out so we can ask them later."
"I don't think that's gonna be a problem Leo." noted Mikey as he knocked out his own opponent, but they just kept entering from the shattered skylight like cockroaches.
Not good. The floor can't take much more of this. It's gonna, the teenage girl thought as the floor beneath their feet gave in and they plummeted straight down into the shop. cave in.
Lilly cast a quick glance at her aunt and Raphael confirming they were okay before turning her attention to a bright light which illuminated the room revealing...more ninjas.
"You have got to be kidding me." she groaned as a stern looking bald man motioned for his men to attack. "Here we go again."
But, before round two could truly commence, another player entered the store. He was a tall, lanky man with long brown hair and a hockey mask. He wore ripped blue jeans, a white t-shirt, a brown vest, black fingerless gloves, black sneakers, and carried a hockey stick.
"Now, does anyone wanna tell me what my green friend is doing over there?" asked the stranger as he glanced at his 'green friend' before doing a double take as he saw April. "Whoa, who's the babe?"
"Who, or what, is that?" demanded Leo.
"Wayne Gretzky, on steroids?" suggested Mikey as the fight continued.
"There's way too many of them." stated Lilly breathing deeply after a few minutes before a familiar smell filled her nostrils instantly bringing back terrifying memories. Smoke. Someone must have hit a cord and caused an electrical fire. We need to get out of here! And fast!
The young girl rushed over to her aunt who was already covered by the turtles as she tried to open the hidden passageway that led out of the shop. Sheathing her tonfas, Lilly dropped to her knees beside her aunt and helped her pry open the door that led to a passageway which led to the alleyway outside and April's van.
"Here, we'll take Raph." Donny told April as he and Mikey took Raphael.
"You go next Aunt April." Lilly said as April gave her a concerned look before heading down the passageway. Lilly then turned to Leo who was looking back at the stranger. "You coming?"
"Yeah, go on." he said as he asked the stranger if he was coming, he said he was. "Good idea. Let's move."
Somehow, a few minutes later, they were all packed in April's run down van with April and Lilly staring out the back windows at their burning home.
What do we do now? Everything's gone downhill. the teenager thought sadly as she thought about her father's picture slowly burning in her bedroom. Master Splinter's been kidnaped, Raphael's barely alive, we were attacked by an army of ninjas, and now our home and my father's picture are up in smoke. What are we supposed to do now?
"So, where to April?" Donny asked from the passenger seat after a moment.
"Out of the city to the countryside." she replied as she sighed and took one last glance at her destroyed home before turning around to face Donatello. Her green eyes were laced with tears, but she remained focused. They had to get out of there to somewhere safe where Raph could heal. "Our family has a farmhouse out there. No one goes there anymore. We can hide out there."
"Farmhouse huh?" said the long haired stranger in the driver's seat. "Alright then."
A couple hours later, the ancient van stuttered to a stop in front of a grand, white farmhouse surrounded by acres of land and a large, red barn. Muttering under his breath, the stranger climbed out of the van followed by April.
"Looks like we're here." noted Lilly as she looked out the front windshield where the man was demonstrating that the van was shot. "And we'll be staying a while apparently."
"You mean you haven't been here before?" inquired Leo as Lilly shook her head. "Huh, well we better get Raph inside."
"I'll help." she said.
"You sure?" Leo looked at her curiously as the young girl nodded with determined brown eyes. "Alright, but we're no light weights you know."
"I can handle it." Lilly assured him as she helped him carry his brother out of the van, into the house, and up the stairs to a bathroom. Leonardo told her to set his brother down on the bathroom rug as he slightly filled the bathtub with water. Then he helped Lilly lift Raph up and place him face down in the water.
"Is he gonna be okay like that?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're turtles remember?" he reminded her.
"Oh, yeah." Lilly murmured as she looked at Leonardo who watched Raphael with sorrowful eyes. Poor guy. I bet he thinks this is all his fault. I should reassure him or something.
Lilly laid a hand on his shoulder like her father had when she had felt down.
"It'll be alright Leo. Everything's gonna be alright." she told him with what she hoped was a reassuring look. "Raphael will be better in no time. You'll see."
"How can you be sure?" he asked, desperately she thought.
"Because he's stubborn, like me." she answered. "He won't let something like this finish him off. He'll come back for round two."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." he mused with a slight smile. "You like Raphael, don't you?"
"Huh, what do you mean?" she said blushing slightly as he looked at her with a smirk on his face now. "No, of course not. It's nothing like that."
"Right." he said.
A few days later, Lilly heard shouts from the upstairs bathroom and ran up to see what was going on.
"What's going on up here?" she asked as she entered the door past Donny and April.
"It's a Kodak moment." said Donny as he let her through. Leo was holding a conscious Raph in a brotherly hug with tears in his eyes.
"It's ok Leo. I'm ok." Raph was telling him.
"Man, we missed you." Leo whispered.
Maybe this means things will get better. Lilly thought hopefully. Well, at least the brothers are back together. This is so a Kodak moment.
A/N: And there you have it the third chapter to my first ever TMNT fanfic. Hope you liked it! Read, review, and show the love!