"It's been a week and we haven't done anything" Elodie complained on a Saturday night.
"Listen… Elodie, it takes a lot of time and patience to work these things through" Master Splinter came up to her.
"But… they're bounty hunters" Elodie told him. "With luck, they are probably out of the city… Splinter, we must do something"
"I know it's tough" Casey looked at her from across the table. "But Master Splinter knows a lot about these creatures"
"Shouldn't we fight them off before they kill another family?" Elodie suggested. "These things are killers and are eliminating my kind. We have to do something. I know I am not the strongest of my kind but they killed my parents. I can't let another 15 year old teenager to go through with this. This might be our only chance"
"They won't go after another family" April spoke up while cradling Rain. "I've been researching them for some time now. Bounty Hunters will not move on to another family until everyone is killed off and they get what they want"
"Then let's go out and get them" Elodie encouraged even though her voice shook. "You suggested that they are after Rain, right? So that only leaves me until they get what they want"
"You going out on our patrols will only influence them to hurt you" Leo folded his arms over his chest. "We would be bringing you right to their doorstep. That's not something that we would want to do. You don't even know how to fight. There is no way that we would let you go out with us. It's far too dangerous"
"But they'll know my scent" Elodie told the leader. "Come on, Leo! This could be our chance. We need to stop this. I can't live in the sewers forever. I'm not like you guys. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that"
"Consider what we are doing for you as a favor. You think we want to be cooped up in here" Raph glared down to her.
Elodie felt her shoulders tense up as Master Splinter scolded his son. What she wanted to say was that she didn't want to live in fear. Elodie took a side glance over to Rain who of course knew nothing was going on. She probably wouldn't know how their parents would ever look.
"I'm sorry" Elodie got up to go.
"Don't worry about him, Elodie. He's always like that" Donnie quickly said to stop her.
"But I put this burden on you" Elodie spoke without even looking up to Donnie's chocolate brown eyes.
"Are you kidding me, Elle?" Mikey chirped up. "We've been bored to hell before you arrived"
"Hey!" Master Splinter said. "What did I say about cursing? Do you want to do flips? Behave. Respect the women"
"No, Sensei" Mikey mumbled. "It was the truth"
"My son is right. You are not trained for these kinds of situations. You are magically gifted but that will only cause more problems on the way"
"Then what can I do?"
"Stay with your sister. Develop a bond with her" Master Splinter turned and pet Rain's head. "She will have to grow up without the memories of her parents. Being 5 months old is too young to remember anything. She'll need you for the rest of her life"
"There is a way to help us" Donnie quickly said. "You can help us with the camera scans. I've been working on making coms units for my brothers. You can keep us up to date with what is going on. You'll be the little voice in our ears"
"That's a start"
"I don't want to hear her voice in my head" Raph complained. "She should stay out of this"
"That's the only way she would be the most effective" Leo responded.
As much as Elodie didn't want to admit, Leo and Donnie were right. She didn't have any ninja skills that she envied so much about them. But having magical abilities will only get the turtles, Master Splinter, and Rain into more danger than they already are in. She had to be behind the scenes in all of this hunting.
Elodie scooted up to the edge of her seat and looked down to in her cup. The soda's pop was all of a sudden gone from rejecting it for so long. More than anything she wanted to be back in her house with her parents. Usually on Saturday nights, if it's warm enough, they escape to the roof and stare up into the sky.
"So we're like secret agents" Mikey beamed. "So cool! What about jetpacks? Why not? It'll give us a better stealth escape. Especially with the bounty hunters. Who knows what those things are like? We need to be prepared. I say we even make ourselves a personal jet"
"One step at a time" Donnie waved his brother down. "Let's just stick with the coms right now"
"I'll need more practice with the computer" Elodie finally spoke up. "Hopefully when Donnie needs me to I'll be an expert. I just need to get used to the screens"
April shifted in her seat before picking up Rain and walking over to the girl's shared bedroom to set the sleeping baby back down into the room. When she came back into the main room she slightly onto Casey, making Elodie blush at how cute the couple were. Casey seemed to have gotten the message as he got up and smiled down to everyone. April checked her wristwatch before giving a final wave.
"Grown-ups got work tomorrow" Casey finally said.
April came over to Elodie and gave her a small hug. Elodie smiled as she wrapped her arms around the older woman. It's been only a week living with the turtles and April has easily taken Elodie under her wing. Like a big sister that she's always wanted.
"I'll try to research more" April broke the hug. "As for now, you're safe down here. The Foot Clan was after me more than just once. Each time I came to them, they never disappointed me"
"Thank you" Elodie nodded.
"Good night everybody" April waved. "Mikey, don't stay up too long"
"That was only one time" Mikey waved his hand.
"Right…" everyone in the room but Elodie said.
Elodie watched as everyone, including Master Splinter and Raphael had a smile on their faces. This was one happy family that no one in New York City knew about. On different circumstances she would've felt more than blessed to have met this group. But not as someone that they constantly had to watch over like a new pet.
"Be safe" Master Splinter nodded in their direction. "All of you"
"Wait! Where are you guys going?" Elodie asked as the turtles headed for the door.
"Patrolling" Leo answered. "It's something we haven't been up to date on. Don't wait up for us, alright?"