Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. I don't make money from this; it's just for entertainment purposes.

Author's Note: Chapter 4 here. Sorry for the delay. We finally get to spend some quality time with the boys. I think this a little glimpse of what it felt like for me to get to meet some of the guests I did at the convention I attended at the beginning of September.

This chapter will reveal a few more familiar characters that I'm moving around like my own personal chess board (isn't that the point of an AU?) I've also got a few ideas in mind about episodic stories, like you might find on the show itself. But, one story at a time. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4

April joined the queue of backstage pass holders gathering on stage. The park was slowly emptying of concert goers and soon the after-party would be in full swing. The party would be meeting at the boat house on the lake in the park. About 20 other girls and guys besides April were attending the special visit. April noticed at once that all of them were beyond gorgeous, no doubt picked to give some attractive photos in the paper. April pulled her white sweater tighter around her thin body.

"If you'll follow me, please," said the same security officer who had escorted April to her seat. The crowd moved off to a large limousine bus and April quickly moved toward the back, feeling overwhelmed by the glamour of the whole scene, like something about of a movie. Another girl stepped onto the bus. This one was short, chubby and wore glasses. She had a very Goth look about her and several of the girls giggled.

"Irma Langinstein," the girl said, "I'm the junior assistant to TMNT's publicist. It's my job to make sure that nothing happens tonight that will embarrass the group or risk damaging their image. If it does, I assure you, ladies that you'll be out on those artificial rumps faster than you can toss your pretty heads. Are we clear?"

April giggled in spite of herself. She heard a few of the girls give insulted sniffs but no one said anything. Irma smiled.

"Good," she said and nodded to the driver. The door shut and the music began to play, of course, TMNT. Chatter on the bus began as it weaved down Central Park Driveway. April drifted off dreamily, staring out the window.

"Everything okay?"

April turned around to see Irma looking at her.

"Wonderful!" April said, "I can't remember the last time, if ever, that I had this much fun."

Irma smiled again.

"Somehow, I can believe that from you," she said, not unkindly. She moved off to the front and April resumed her gazing out of the window as the bus turned on to Central Park S and then onto East Drive, which would take them to The Central Park Boathouse. It was a perfect location for a bunch of mutant turtles to have a party. The bus stopped and the girls excitedly began to climb off. April didn't try to push, but her excitement did cause her to bump occasionally into the rest. Finally, they all stood outside the door. Inside, April could hear voices and the clinking of dishes and silverware. Security officers led them through the building to the waterfront where they stopped outside the doors of the private party room.

"You'll have about 30 minutes to spend with these guys," Irma said, "Then you're done and out. You all get me."

Despite the grumbling gasps and groans, no one argued. Apparently satisfied, Irma nodded and the officer opened the door.

The music was playing in the background as cameras began to flash. April poked her head around and was face to face with Leo, Raph and Mikey, all lounging comfortably in chairs and on couches.

"Whaddup, ladies!" Mikey crowed from his spot on the couch. Squeals of delight answered him as several of the fans surged forward. Mikey was instantly surrounded by girls and it seemed to only make his smile bigger. Leo sat politely on a chair as a couple of guys and girls came forward with CDs and tickets in hand to be autographed. April began to notice a pattern. The fans of Leo seemed to be more mature and even grown up, asking questions and sharing stories with him, not like the giggling girls Mikey was surrounded by. On the other hand, the small handful of fans that were sitting with Raph seemed tougher and definitely what April might have called "street." Raph was the bad boy of the group and attracted a pretty specific audience. The only one missing was Donnie. April tried to mingle about the room, helping herself to the snacks laid out on the table.

"And who might you be here to see, milady?" Mikey asked and April realized with a start that he was speaking to her.

"Oh, u-um," April stammered, "I-I wanted to see D-Donnie."

"You kidding?" Raph shouted from his corner. The girl who had been trying to engage him in conversation stumbled backwards and landed on the couch. Leo looked at her in concern and then at April.

"The boy-genius finally has a fan?" Raph said in disbelief.

"Come on, Raph, it's not that big a deal," Leo said, "Even Donnie would admit the math had to work in his favor eventually."

This resulted in a chuckle from everyone in the room. April blushed heavily. How could she be the only fan of Donnie?

"Now, hold on, bros," Mikey said, "Donnie has other fans. I've seen them."

"Yeah, usually quiet, nerdy bookworms like him," Raph said, "Not like this hottie here."

April went as red as Raph's mask. She clutched her sweater tighter around her body. A few of the girls began to whisper to each other, casting haughty looks at April.

"Donnie doesn't come to these sort of parties," Leo said, unaware of change in the atmosphere of the room, "It's just not his thing."

"The brainiac is probably holed up on his keyboard somewhere," Raph said with a shrug, "He needs to learn how to live a bit."

"You said it, bro," Mikey agreed, "Put a little "fun" in "fundamental", as in "fundamental healthy pyramid." Going to parties have to be part of that."

"Be fair, though," Leo said, "He gets the best ideas for songs when we have nights like this. Remember our concert last year in Tokyo. The party went on all night and he cranked out three new tunes."

"Which I had to write lyrics for," Raph grumbled, "Just because he's got no life doesn't mean the rest of us should give up ours."

"Sorry, pretty lady," Mikey said, "You can hang out with us though."

April gave a warm smile but felt her heart sink in disappointment. On the pretense of agreeing, April got her pass signed by the three turtles and sat down on the couch. Mikey grinned at her and sat down, putting a friendly arm around her shoulders. The conversations picked up where they left off. Slowly, perhaps due to her years spent alone, April began to feel slightly claustrophic. And her stomach felt sick too. Perhaps the many helpings of noodles from Murakami had not been wise after so much time eating poorly. Feigning the real need to use the restroom, April left the room. A quick trip to the ladies room allowed April not only a chance to breathe away from the sudden closeness in the room, but she could get a decent look at herself in the mirror. April would never call herself a "hottie" as Raph had put it, but she always thought she was pretty. Now, wearing makeup and the dress, she felt much more attractive than usual. Her cheeks turned slightly pink at the thought. She took a damp cloth to her face in an attempt to cool her blush. She cupped her hands and drank some of the water which seemed to ease her stomach. As she left the ladies' room, she was confronted by a few of the girls that had been hanging around Mikey.

"Just who do you think you are?" one girl asked.

"That's 'whom'," April said, "And I'm just a girl."

"Never heard of "just a girl" getting the boys attention so quickly," said a dark haired girl.

"Hey, she's not interested in Mikey, Dellie," a blonde girl wearing dreadlocks, "She said she wanted to see Donnie, so what's the deal?"

"I don't like how she got them so interested in her," Dellie said, "And she's clearly a newbie fan."

"What does my being a 'newbie fan' got to do with anything?" April asked, starting to lose patience.

"Everything, to be honest," said blonde dreadlocks, "The turtle boys don't warm up right away to anyone, except Mikey, but he likes everyone."

"Just stay away from Mikey," Dellie hissed, "Or I will make you regret it." Dellie pushed her hard and April stumbled back against a wall.

It happened so quickly that April couldn't process how, but the next thing she was aware of was Dellie flying across the hall into the other wall as the remaining girls gazed in horror. April froze momentarily as Dellie gave her a look of shock and fear. Then April took off down the hall and out the door. She didn't focus on where she was going, only on getting as far away as possible. What had she done? How had she done that? Finally, she stopped to gasp for breath in one of the empty hallways. Faintly, April could hear music. One of the doors was cracked open slightly and she peeked in. Her heart went hammering wildly and her blood felt like it was suddenly light as air. Donnie said at one of the tables with his laptop and keyboard, playing slowly and experimentally.

"Kanashii hodo hikaridashita …," his voice, singing in Japanese, trailed off as he made a note in his sheet music.

April quickly darted back around the door, her face warming considerably. She was so close to him. And they were both alone; she didn't have to share him with his brothers or the other girls. So, why wasn't she moving to say hello?

"Flat here," he whispered and April heard the scratching of a pencil. A sudden banging in the kitchen caused April to jump. The sudden motion caused her to lose her balance and her back hit the door.

"Come on, seriously, guys?" Donnie said angrily. April began to panic and tried to find a place to hide. Donnie opened the door and April stood stark still, staring into his brown eyes. He blinked at her and smiled.

"I remember you," he said, "You were at the park during our practice the other day." He looked at her more closely, "I saw you outside the Asia Society Museum. That was you, wasn't it?"

April felt frozen in place. She opened her mouth to speak.

"There she is!" a voice shouted. Dellie was at the other end of the hall, pointing her out to two police officers.

"What are you doing out here?" the officer said, "You're one of our VIP visitors. This area isn't cleared!"

April let out a terrified yelp. The officers moved down the hall toward her and one grabbed her shoulder. April's mind filled images of jail, going back into the foster system, back to the house of nightmares. The officer let out a gasp of pain and doubled over. The other officer stared in surprise and grabbed hold of April's shoulders. April gave a terrified shout and sent the two officers sailing through the window and into the lake.

"What just happened?" April whispered. Turning, she gave a horrified look at Donnie, whose eyes were wide with alarm and something else she couldn't name. Then she ran.

April didn't stop running until she was back at her subterranean home. She threw her body onto her bed and began to sob. It was over. She had her chance with Donnie and it was ruined. And she couldn't ever hope to get near him again now. They'd remember what she looked like. They might even be going to the police now with her description. When she thought of the look on Donnie's face, she cried that much harder. April continued to cry until finally, she fell asleep from the exhaustion of it.

Hours later, in the early hours of the morning, April woke up. She had fallen asleep in her mother's clothes, her makeup had most certainly run down her eyes and she was thirsty. She climbed out of bed and changed out of the dress, stowing it safely away in its plastic bag. Pulling on an old nightshirt, she found a bottle of water and poured some into her hands, wiping her face. Perhaps she could visit Murakami again and get cleaned up. Then she would start her search again.

Turning on her desk light, she checked the message board on the website. There was nothing new except an article about Kraang Inc. working to perfect a new device that would "help to ease certain brainwaves in mutants that experts believe cause irrational and dangerous behavior." April made a mental note to watch for more information about the device. It was definitely something that rang true of her father's expertise.

"Down here. I saw something out of place."

April's eyes went wide in alarm. People were coming down the steps. April turned off her light and hurried into the utility room. Closing the door as much as she dared, she slowed her breathing and watched closely through the crack. Two figures were walking through the utility junction, waving flashlights and staring around.

"How could anyone live like this?" one of them asked. The voice sounded slightly familiar.

"Poor thing," the other voice said and April blinked in surprise. It was Mikey. And the first voice belonged to Leo.

"Donnie, are you sure this is the right place?" Mikey called behind him. April saw Donnie come down the stairs and peer around.

"I'm sure," Donnie said, sounding more than a little offended, "The security videos from those two stores showed her running this way and down to this junction."

April squeezed her eyes shut in terror. She hadn't been nearly as careful as she thought when it came to evading people. How much had been caught on film? Had anyone else made the connection to her and where she might live? April began to gather her thoughts and made plans to leave her home for someplace new as soon as she could. Donnie came over beside his brothers and looked over her desk. April realized that her laptop was still open to the website. Raph, too, came over to the group, looking sullen and wearing a scowl.

"Well, if she was here, she's not here now," he said, "She's probably moved on."

"After leaving all her stuff here?" Mikey asked, "She's bound to come back."

"We can wait, Donnie," Leo said, "But have you thought about what you'll do when she shows up? From what you've told me, making her panic isn't a good idea."

"She wasn't trying to hurt anyone," Donnie said, "If we just talk to her, I'm sure she'll come with us. You didn't see into her eyes. She was scared and wanted help."

"Well, I ain't a boy scout," Raph said and turned to leave the station. Leo and Mikey followed after him.

"Donnie, you coming?" Leo called. Donnie turned to look at him and something seemed to pass between them.

"Be right there," Donnie said. Leo nodded and hurried up the steps.

As the other three left, Donnie waved his light around once more in his search.

"Please come out," he said softly, "My brothers and me just want to help you, if we can."

April didn't move. He knew she was there? How?

"I don't know why you're running or who you're looking for," Donnie said again, "But let me help you."

April stood with her back to the wall as Donnie's flashlight swept past the door. How long could she stay hidden? And did she even want to hide? She knew that she would risk a lot trusting in anyone and that the price for help would be high. But she was scared and alone and, something about TMNT, something about Donnie, made her feel safe.

Pushing the door open a bit more, she found her eyes locking with Donnie's. He stood in front of the door, within arms' reach, flashlight shining above her head. He didn't try and pull her out, but just stood still and watched before extending a hand toward her. And without a second thought, April reached out and took it.

To Be Continued.

Kanashii hodo hikaridashita is translated as "light about sad", if you're interested.