Updated chapter 4! I only own the OCs

"For the last time Mikey, don't bring drinks over here!" Donatello wrapped his arms around his workbench, as if to shield it from his brother's snacks.

"I'm not over it, Donnie. I'm workbench adjacent." He took a long slurp from his soda. Donatello could have sworn he made it extra loud and obnoxious just to be doing it.

"I don't care, either lose the drink or get out. Or you know what? Let's just stick with GET OUT!"

"Too late, I pick the first option. Rookie mistake." Mikey tossed the can towards the trash bin across the room. Before he could congratulate himself for an excellent shot, it was smacked at high velocity by a baseball bat that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. With a shriek Mikey dropped to the floor, leaving Donatello to block the missile with one of his wrenches.

"First Mikey with his food, and now Raph using me for target practice?! What is the matter with you people?!" He raised himself out the chair, holding the wrench higher. Whether he planned to use it to threaten his brothers or to defend himself further was debatable.

"What? Not like I was aiming for ya, dork. Blame Mikey for movin' outta the way too soon."

"That's enough. Why aren't any of you ready for patrol?" Leo stepped into the lab, conveniently placing himself between Don and Raph. Mikey remained crouched while he groaned at the last part.

"Dude, it's so early. Are you sure we need to start now? You've already got us staying out later than usual." Since they had discovered the feathers two weeks ago, they had found them several other times during their patrols, but had been unable to locate the creature they belonged to. As a result, Leo had determined that finding whatever was leaving them became even more important each day.

"Very observant, Mike. You should use those excellent skills of deduction tonight while we're out looking for big bird." Donnie alone seemed to share Leo's determination for finding their mysterious creature, though his was born of innate curiosity more than anything. The feather's apparent indestructibility had been fascinating to him during the past few weeks, as he still wasn't able to determine what they were made of or what could damage them.

"Let's get a move on. The later we wait, the more feathers we seem to find. This thing might be waiting for it to get dark before it becomes active." On his way out, he snatched the bat out of Raph's hands, earning him a scowl in return. Out of all the brothers, Raphael was the least interested in discovering who or what had decided to leave feathers all over the city. He simply had a hard time imagining what real concern they warranted, and felt their time would be better spent on their usual foes.

Once they were outside, they began to make their regular circuit over the rooftops. The weather had finally become warmer, making their nightly errands that much more bearable.

Sudden movement caught Mikey's attention. Stopping, he squinted into the shadows just beyond a door that led to the roof. For a moment he thought he could hear a slight rustling that sounded distinctly like wings beating.

The next instant Raph was next to him, cautiously looking in the direction he was focused on. "What it is, bonehead? Ya see somethin' shiny?"

"Shhhh!" Mikey tried to creep closer, stopping all at once when they heard the strange rustling noise again. By now Don and Leo had noticed them, and were quietly observing from afar. Catching their eyes, Leo motioned for them to advance while they circled around.

Inch by inch they moved forward, until Raph and Mikey where just around the corner. Tensed and ready, the latter held a shuriken up and held his breath. At once all four sprang out, silent as they hurled their weapons at their unknown foe.

"AAAAHHH!" Mikey was knocked back by the half dozen pigeons suddenly freed from their cage while Raph cursed and swiped at them with his sais, missing the terrified animals. One of their projectiles had managed to break the flimsy lock while the others bounces off the sides of the container, releasing the birds upon their hapless intruders.

Donnie simply sighed, feeling more pity for the owner of the birds than for his brothers. Leo shook his head and turned his back to them, ready to continue on with the patrol.

"Hey, we were looking for something with feathers, right? Well, I wasn't THAT far off!" Mikey backed away from Raph even as he said it. He was so focused on his annoyed older brother and his clenched fists that he paid no attention to Leo, who still hadn't made any move to leave the roof or encourage them to follow suit. Donatello was the only one who noticed how he had stayed standing in one spot, staring into the dark sky.

"Uh guys…" He started towards Leonardo, trying to squint and see what had caught his attention. Mikey and Raph had progressed to one chasing the other around the roof shouting less than fraternal promises to his sibling.

Suddenly, Leo sent another shuriken into the sky. Before Raph could threaten Mikey one more time, a shrill and terrifying shriek rang out in the night. Every movement came to a halt as they instinctively held their weapons ready and Leo barked out, "Get ready!"

A dark shape came falling of the air, snarling and hissing as it descended. Donnie and Leo jumped backwards to narrowly avoid colliding with it as it crashed onto the roof. For a moment, none of them made a sound as it laid there groaning and wheezing from the force of the impact.

This was truly like nothing the brothers had ever seen, which in and of itself would have impressed them if they hadn't just seriously pissed it off. Its basic anatomy seemed humanoid, having dark grey skin all over and shaggy black hair on its head. From its knees down it was covered in a thick, scaly hide. Its feet consisted of three raptor like talons at the end of each leg: two smaller and straighter, with a much larger and curved third one that was held aloft similar to a sickle. Broad, black wings sprouted from the creature's back; blood dripped from one, a gift it had unwillingly and suddenly received from yours truly.

Lifting its head, it focused its bright red eyes on the four of them, hissing all the while. It pulled back its lips to revealed sharp fangs that flashed whenever any of them moved even slightly. To say the least, whatever this thing was it had not enjoyed how they had gotten its attention.

"Dude!"

"Da hell is that?!"

"Whoa!"

"Don't get too close." The creature locked its gaze onto Leo, growling as it tried to get up. "Don, please tell me you remember tranquilizers."

"Way ahead of you." Said brother was quickly load one into a dart gun, never taking his eyes off it. The creature looked at him now, eyes widening as it watched him. It shrieked again, and for a moment Donnie could have sworn it had understood him. He tried to hurry up, but before he could it was on its feet and flapping its wings in an attempt to fly again.

"Now Donatello!" Though it was still unable to fly, it still managed to dodge the darts in time. Before he could reload, it jumped up into the air and forward. It couldn't get far, and instead of flying it merely ended up coming down in the direction of Mikey, its talons spread out towards him as it came.

This time Mikey didn't scream as he dodged the attack and swung at it with his nunchaku. He managed to catch it on the wing that had been injured, sending it howling to the ground in pain. As it went down, it turned and raked his shoulder with the smaller but just as sharp claws on its hands, surprising him and for a moment stunning the turtle. It wasted no time in pouncing on him, using its powerful legs to pin his arms to the ground.

"Get offa him, ya overgrown turkey!"

Raph charged the monster, ramming his shoulder into its side and knocking it clear off Mikey. For a moment they grappled on the ground, until he managed to send it soaring over the edge of the building. Unfortunately, this was after it had managed to tear at his arms with its fangs and claws, leaving him bloody and yelping from the pain.

"Raph!" Donnie rushed over and hauled him up. Though his plastron and shell had offered much protection, blood began to run down his arms and drip from the gashes it had left. Mikey ran to his siblings as the genius pressed a handkerchief to the wounds, trying to make Raph stand still while he tried to look over the ledge where it had fallen.

"Mikey, get over here and help me!" Leo had taken off towards the alley with the intent on making sure it was immobilized before it could hurt anyone else. Before they could even reach the end of the building, it shot out and above them, moving too quickly for even Leo to hit.

"How the hell did it do that?!" Raph screamed, trying to shake Donatello off. Mikey sent his own missile flying after it, but to no avail. By now it was fading quickly into the dark sky. "A minute ago the thing could barely move!"

"Wait!" Donnie peered at where the creature had struck him. Though he was trying to insist he was fine, Raph was bleeding far too much from many of his injuries.

"We need to get him back and stitch him up, and you two can't take this thing alone." Don managed to sound authoritative even to Leo, who was scowling in the direction the creature had flown in.

"Donnie's right." He said reluctantly. "We were careless this time and it cost us. Mikey, follow us from behind and watch out in case it comes back. I'll help Donnie with Raph."

"It scratched up my arms, fearless, not my legs." He growled, attempting to move ahead on his own while holding the cloth to one arm. Donnie stopped him again.

"These are more than scratches Raph. Some of them are pretty deep wounds, so let us try to stop some of the bleeding until we can get back to the lair." With their combined efforts, he and Leo managed to apply pressure to some of the worst.

Eventually, they made it home and were greeted with a shocked April and Casey on their couch. The two had stopped in hoping to visit with friends they hadn't seen in weeks.

"Whad'ya do this time, Raph?" Casey tried to crack a smile, but he turned slightly pale at the amount of blood on his friend. Though he had gotten messed up before, the monster had managed to tear his arms up enough that it counted as one of his better injuries. April did better than that, turning to Donatello with a scrunched forehead. "What do you need?"

"Antiseptic. Second cupboard from the sink. And the red tin box next to it. He's gonna need stitches, and probably lots of them. Mikey, help him to the kitchen." He ran ahead and started to prepare his makeshift stitching kit. Over the years he had become proficient at patching up his brothers, but having April there to help had always been a blessing.

Splinter came silently into the room, fur standing up at the sight of his bloodied sons. Leo came forward as if to explain the situation, only to be met with a calm look that expressed the desire to wait until later. He laid a comforting hand on Raph's shoulders, who was trying not to yell out as Donnie began to pull the needle and thread back and forth.

"My son," He looked up at Michelangelo, who for once was standing there without speaking and with a concerned look on his face. "You are also hurt. Come closer."

Mikey looked at where the creature had torn at him. Compared to Raphael, his cuts were shallower and had already stopped bleeding. However, blood was still drying across his plasteron, making him look more injured than he actually was.

He smiled a little. "I'm fine, sensei. Raph was the one that dummied up while saving my shell." He looked uncomfortable, as if unsure how to be helpful.

"At any rate, you should clean your wounds so we can assess the damage." His father brought him a damp towel and insisted he sit. After he was sure he wasn't as bad off as his brother, he returned to Raph's side.

Between Donnie and April, they were finally able to clean and dress Raph's wounds, though it had taken much longer than any of them would have liked. The result was that he was left exhausted and shaken, though he never would have admitted it.

"You should rest." Donnie stood firmly in front of his brother.

"I should go find that giant-assed pigeon and pluck its feathers. But that ain't gonna happen either right now." He growled as he got to his feet unsteadily.

"Raphael." His father's voice made him stop and turn. "If you insist on being present for the following conversation, you must rest while you do so." With a wearied expression, Raph sank back into his chair as they prepared to try and explain what had taken place that evening.

"Alex!" Casper Kotea stuck his head out of the kitchen, trying to find his sister in the crowded dining area. They had been particularly busy with the dinner rush that day, which meant she had been trying to help run food out to tables between delivering take out as well.

"Alex!" He yelled louder this time. In their restaurant, shouting was an acceptable form of speaking when they weren't completely slammed, and became an absolute necessity on a night like this when the kitchen had gone completely insane.

She finally emerged from a clump of bodies by the hostess stand, looking disheveled but like she was enjoying the rush. Alex always had thrived on noise and excitement, preferring to stay busy when she was at work.

"You've got an order for the O'Neil woman." He handed her the bag and ducked back into the kitchen to try and restore some sense of order among its occupants.

Alex frowned as she turned to leave. For the past couple of weeks after her encounter with Mikey the talking turtle, they had shown the good sense of not making any contact with her. Arriving at their apartment, she made good on her word and stood outside on the stoop after she buzzed them. April came down, looking tired and a little stressed. From the clothes she had on that day, it was obvious that her belly was getting bigger. For a moment Alex felt a little guilty at making a pregnant women walk up and down all those stairs just to get her dinner.

April smiled and greeted her almost shyly, to which Alex responded with a short, "Fine, how ya holdin up?" without even making eye contact.

Just like that she had been paid and was on her way back home. Walking back into the kitchen, she was met with a flurry of movement and even more screaming than usual as Casper chased one of her younger cousins around the room. Apparently, a serious miscommunication had resulting in the sleeve of his jacket being set on fire. As he ran shrieking towards Alex, she reacted with a scream of her own and tossed the nearest object at him. That happened to be a pot of water that they had been planning on boiling until said cousin became the human torch. While it managed to put out the fire, it also hit him hard enough that it send him flying into Casper. The two of them went down, bringing at least some of the excitement to an end.

Her brother pulled him up and inspected his arm. "You're fine, didn't even burn you that much. Go run your arm under some cold water." After he sent him off, he turned to her. "Way to not panic, Alex."

"Hey, I put out the fire, didn't I?"

"Let's just hope he doesn't have a concussion or anything. Hey," He called after her before she could escape into the more controlled chaos of the dining room. "Ma and Dad are going to visit Uncle Jack after we close up. You gotta watch Misha tonight." Their father's younger brother had only recently been sent home from the hospital from an emergency appendectomy.

She groaned, "C'mon Casper."

"I'm busy and he can't put himself to bed, so suck it up." He turned back to the kitchen. "Hey! If you're well enough to screw around then you're well enough to work. "

Ten minutes later he called her back while she was trying to run food out to an impatient couple.

"O'Neil just called. We messed up her second dish and sent the wrong thing. Run this over to her."

This time when she rang the buzzer, Alex had to wait a few minutes before she got a response. After she did, April's voice came through sounding a little distracted.

"I'll be down in a minute."

"Wait, Ms. April. I can bring it up."

There was a pause before she responded. "Ok, if you want to. I don't mind coming down though-"

"Don't worry about it."

She stood outside her door, not quite sure what to except when it opened. What she got was a tired looking woman with dark circles under her eyes.

"Thank you so much Alex."

"You don't have to thank me, we messed up the order in the first place." As she turned to leave, April stopped her."

"Alex? How late do you run deliveries?"

She took a few seconds to respond. "Only for about another half hour. My cousin gets back from school and takes over. Why?"

"Nothing. A friend of mine got hurt while out the other night. I guess I was just worried about you."

"Wow. So what, did he get mugged?"

"Kinda. He'll be alright, just a little banged up."

"Hope he feels better soon. Goodnight."

Later than night they had just finished with their last customers. Casper had left moments before, leaving Alex to start her chores in the kitchen while her youngest brother sat at a table coloring and watching tv. She was just about to take the trash out when she heard a knock at the door.

"We're closed." She shouted, but there was another knock. She wasn't sure if whoever was out there heard her over the noise of the television.

"We. Are. Closed!" She shouted louder.

She heard nothing else and assumed whoever it was left. Hauling the trash outside, she was about to dispose of it when she heard a voice from the fire escape.

"Um, Alex, right?"

Looking up she saw a dark figure crouched above her. Screaming, she threw one of the wine bottles she had in her hand at him, and started to run back inside.

"Wait, please, don't freak out!" The figure dropped to the ground in front of her. Bright blue eyes looked scared beneath a wide brimmed hat. He wore a trench coat that did little to hide his bulky figure. Before she could freak out again, he removed the hat to reveal a green, bald head.

"Geez, most people don't forget giant talking turtles." He grinned when she didn't renew her attack. Her brain was finally able to process the shock and she recognized him.

"What are you doing here?" She edged away slightly. He raised his hands to show he meant no harm, and to be ready in case she threw something else at him.

"Sorry, I tried to come by the front door, but you wouldn't open it, and April was feeling awful about everything, and I couldn't think of any way to help and she was really really really upset she forgot to pay you and seriously started to cry about it-"

"Ok," She finally stopped him. "You're going to have to slow down. What did April feel bad about again?"

"She said she forgot to pay you the second time you came over. She felt really bad about it for some reason. I wanted to do something to make her feel better, and on my way out I saw the cash she meant to give you on the table, and thought I could bring it over."

He beamed again while she just stared for a second. "Wait, why was she so upset? She didn't even owe me anything, we messed up the first order."

Mikey shrugged as he pulled the cash out of his pocket. "Dunno. I think she's just been stressed out lately. Whatever you do, don't ask if it's just pregnancy hormones. "

"You know," He started looking around, "I don't get why you're out here after those Purple Dragons tried to break in."

"I can't not take out the trash. The place will stink" She was starting to think she was insane standing here actually talking to him. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"Who do you think stopped them in the first place?"

Her mouth fell open. "That was YOU?"

"Well, me and my brothers. But mostly me. It's kinda our job, fighting the bad guys with our awesome ninja skills."

"It's the tooth fairy!" Misha appeared in the doorway. Alex silently cursed, and took a few steps to catch her brother before he could freak out. He ignored his sister as he ran outside and skidded to a stop in front of Mikey.

"Woooooow." He said, looking up at the turtle in his Batman pyjamas.

Mikey smiled and knelt down so that they were at eye level. "Uh, tooth fairy?"

"You were here the night the bad guys came! And when I woke up the next mornin', there was a dollar under my pillow! That was you, right?"

"…Sure!" He decided to just go with it and enjoy the sheer adoration in Misha's eyes.

"Wanna come in and watch tv? Casper doesn't usually let me stay up this late, but Alex doesn't mind." He grabbed Mikey by the hand and started to pull him towards the door. Alex had been standing there wondering how much trouble she'd get in for raiding the wine in the kitchen. She snapped back to reality at Misha's invitation.

"Whoa there buddy." She stopped him before he could haul the much larger turtle any further. "The, uh, 'Tooth Fairy' is very busy tonight. He can't stay."

"But Alex!" Misha kept pulling despite what his sister said. In doing so he pulled Mikey's overcoat down some, exposing the gashes he'd received recently.

Misha gasped, but still held on tightly to his arms. "You're hurt!" Alex flinched when she saw the long cuts along his shoulders and collarbone. "Quick, come inside! I can take care of you."

"Misha!" Alex spun him around to face her now. "That's very sweet of you but he's leaving now-"

"Alex." He interrupted her, looking at his sister with a serious expression. "He's hurt. We have to help him."

Under normal circumstances she would have laughed at his tone, but at the moment she was something about it that made her uncomfortable. There are few things in this world that humble older siblings more than to have their younger brother or sister judge them on issues of morality. In Misha's mind, there was someone in front of them who was hurt, and he wanted to help them. It was as simple as that.

She sighed and let go of him. "Alright, fine. But only for a few minutes." Mikey looked confused until she stepped aside and motioned for him to come inside.

"Actually kid, I'm fine. Really, someone already patched me up-"

"You might as well come inside. He won't give up until you let him help." Alex shrugged her shoulders and walked back into the kitchen. Still a little stunned at what was going on, Mikey let Misha lead him inside and sat in the chair he pushed towards him. Then the child disappeared for the moment, leaving him and Alex staring awkwardly at the floor.

"So, um-" He looked everywhere but at Alex. "Nice place you got here."

She shoved her hands in her pockets and muttered thanks.

"Is that your family?" He motioned towards a collection of pictures taped on the wall.

"Yup. Well, most of it anyways. There's kinda a lot of us."

"Ah. Is that one of your brothers?" He gestured to one of her and a tall, fair haired boy. They looked like they were at a baseball stadium, grinning widely with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Before she could respond Misha hurried back into the room, a light strapped to his head and his arms full of Band-Aids and antiseptics.

"That's Alex's friend Robby." He said, climbing up on another chair so he could reach Mikey's shoulder. "He moved far away a few weeks ago and she's been sad ever since."

"Misha!" She hissed, turning bright red. He didn't seem to notice as he began sticking Band-Aids all over Mikey. Laughing, he forgot that he was supposed to be playing doctor and went through an entire box before Alex stopped him.

"Alright Buddy, your patient's all better now. It's time for bed."

"Thanks kid! These Batman Band-Aids sure do make me feel better." Mikey flashed him two thumbs up, but started to remove some of the ones on his face when Misha wasn't looking.

"G'night Tooth Fairy!" He called as Alex carried him upstairs. "Come back another night and we can watch tv!"

When Alex came down he was putting his coat back on. "Sorry for all the trouble." He placed the money on the counter.

"How did you get so torn up?"

He took a long time to respond. "My brothers and I got caught up with something the other night. You should see my brother Raph. He's way worse off than me, so I don't really have any room to complain."

Alex wondered if this had been what April was talking about earlier. She picked up the money and shuffled from one foot to the other. After thinking about it for a moment she shoved the money back into his hands.

"Thanks for bringing this by, but I don't feel right taking it since we messed up her order. Could you maybe sneak it back to her, or get her something to make her feel better?" He nodded as he accepted the money. "Awesome. Hope you and your brother feel better soon."

He grinned, looking more relaxed. "Thanks. Don't worry, he's already up and running. Nothing keeps us down for long!"

With that he stepped outside and was gone, leaving Alex to think that for a mutant, talking turtle, he was actually pretty nice.

Except for the faint smell of sewers that seem to hang around him. That would take some getting used to.

Medea hissed when the harpy returned and reported what had happened.

"You let them see you?!"

The injured girl flinched, refusing to meet her gaze. "I didn't mean to, it was almost like they were looking for me. Medea, these creatures, they weren't humans."

Medea stayed silent for a long time before she stepped forward and placed her hand on the other's shoulder, her gaze still boring into the crouched figure.

"Whatever these monsters are, they pose a great threat to not only us, but to our entire plan. Helena, come here."

Quietly, the other harpy flew to her side. "Yes, Medea?"

"Come with me tonight. We have work to do."