Splinter folded his ears back as tightly against his skull as he could, yet it did little to reduce the pain of the high pitched female voices reverberating through the room. He grimaced and cringed till thankfully, all at the same instant, they stopped. He waited a fraction of a moment, making sure they would not resume, before extending his neck back to it's full length from its' retreat between his shoulders. He shook his head back and forth, his upper body rolling with the motion as his ears released from their tucked position. There was still a slight ringing in his left ear, the side that had be closest to the table the VonHertz's and the female healer were gathered around.

Occupied in dispatching one of the vermin, he saw, too late, the squirrel being tossed and the door opening. He was too far away to prevent their escape, and so returned to the woman and child under his protection should one of the mutated squirrels decide to turn back, to attack once more. As he took his stance, ignoring the burn in his hip and knee from a poorly taken fall earlier in the cavern fight, he noted that the medic had made improvised weapons of his son's medical equipment. He felt a twinge of approval that quickly became tinged with wariness. He had heard of her marksmanship from his sons, but to see that her aim was true, even with substandard weaponry, meant that he would have to keep an eye on her should their alliance prove short-lived. Even a ninja could be incapacitated with a well placed shot.

The room cleared, leaving him, the females and three furry corpses. He was not pleased that five had managed to escape into the lair. Despite living in a place forfeited and forgotten by the city that had originally commissioned its' construction, Hamato Yoshi was proud of his subterranean space. He had worked hard for a decade and a half to carve a place for his family underneath the streets of a society that would never openly accept them. It was a point of pride. It was a place of safety. It was their home. He would not have it, or those whom he sheltered within it, defiled by these creatures.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, wanting to make her aware of his presence and ignoring the small jump at his touch. He leaned down past her and addressed Gwynevere, looking small and pathetic, covered in her own mess. "Are you unharmed?"

She gave him the tiniest eyeroll, clearly not thinking much about the question, then leaned her upper body into her mother's arms while the rest of her remained on the steel table. "My tummy still hurts." Her voice was hoarse and she turned to bury her face into her mother's chest, effectively shutting down any further line of inquiry.

A muted frown ghosted across his muzzle. While the healer had done well in dealing with the situation perhaps she had been too late or too harsh in the application of the treatment that the child had some unseen injury. He was still unhappy about Mrs. VonHertz appearing with these people in tow. It was still unclear how Elizabeth's wound, still raw and angry looking during the morning's bandage change, had almost disappeared. It was enough to convince him to allow her near Gwynevere, though he remained sceptical. He had thought he had perceived some moved of ki earlier but the moment had passed too quickly for him to pinpoint. It would offer a plausible explanation if the small woman was somehow trained in the art of reiki.

He looked around his son's lab and felt an unease about the openness of the space. Should the creatures come back in here he would be unable to cover all the approaches. He glanced at the woman and seeing their disheveled state concluded that at change of location may be prudent for multiple reasons. The bathroom was across the common area, that presented an issue, but once there he could easily cover the one entrance. It also had the added benefit of allowing the females to avail themselves of the facilities.

Decision made, he stepped around Elizabeth to take her child once again into his arms. Sensing his intention she maneuvered her ample hips to bar his way. "What do you think you're doing?" Her voice still held a note of fear but was now tinged with indignation.

He fought to keep his voice calm. Elizabeth VonHertz had a habit of questioning him at the most inopportune times. She could be an affable enough woman when she wanted to be but had a stubborn streak that could be most trying. He had come to learn that facts worked better with her than gentle coaxing in times like these. "We are too exposed here. The lavatory is a more defensible location."

She looked at him appraisingly, but deferred to his evaluation with a nod though she did not stand aside. Instead she shifted Gwyn and prepared to lift the girl herself. He made no protest, though Gwyn was at an age where height and weight were not evenly distributed, it would not be the first time he had seen the ferret-woman hauling her daughter around. It often occurred after the pre-teen had fallen asleep during a movie marathon with his sons. He had long ago given up such gestures, letting the boys sleep in the open if they so chose.

"Eliza," Splinter's eyebrow raised when the healer placed a hand on the ferret's forearm to halt her action. "you should let him carry her." A silent conversation passed between them and he was surprised to see Elizabeth fold to the healer's will with a sigh.

"Yeah. I guess so." She roused Gwyn and softly whispered what was happening while encouraging the girl to unfold herself from her mother's breast.

The ninja master kept the healer in his peripheral vision as she left the table and moved around the room swiftly gathering up her makeshift ammunition from where it had failed to hit its mark. She paused momentarily to examine a small furry body before returning to the group just as Splinter took Gwyn in his arms. He held the child protectively when she whimpered and curled into his chest, giving her a gentle comforting squeeze.

"You lead the way. I'll cover the rear." The small woman said as she smiled and flashed the medical equipment in an expert grip.

It was not a position he would have preferred to put himself in, but he could tell that she meant no harm to Elizabeth or her daughter. Besides, there was a glint in her eye that said she would welcome some more payback on the creatures that had marked her hand and leg. He nodded and the group moved out.

Mrs. VonHertz opened the door, stepping aside to let Splinter to check that the coast was clear. At his signal she exited with the ninja master close and the healer just a step behind. They crossed the living area and were mounting the steps out of the far side of the pit when the bellow of a deep voice calling 'Mama' could be heard.

Everyone paused but Splinter nudged Elizabeth forward. The bathroom was just down the hall and he was focused on getting mother and child to safety. He could tell that the small woman was no longer at his back. No matter, he knew where his priorities lay, there would be time enough to deal with everything else later.

Phoenix bolted when she heard Acros calling for her, her heart filling with dread, her mind excluding everything except the voice of her son. She was almost in the common space when thought came back to her. Acros' cry had not been desperate, but rather the tone was as if he were calling her from his workshop and she was in the kitchen. It was not laced worth panic, but rather annoyance, as if he had been calling her and she hadn't heard him, therefore she had not answered. He wasn't in danger.

She felt a rush of annoyance, quickly replaced by guilt at having run from Eliza, Gwyn, and the rat mutant. Gwyn had complained that her stomach still hurt, and Phoenix had no doubt that it did. Those squirrelanoids were the same size as a regular squirrel, and Gwyn had had 8 of them in her stomach. She might have lacerations in the lining or muscle from it stretching. Phoenix hadn't done anything to Gwyn once the girl had vomited. She put her hands to her lips to make a megaphone and yelled, "Deal with it Acros!"

She turned and sped back down the hall just as the rest were reaching the door that she guessed was the 'lavatory'. She would have laughed under different circumstances.

"I can guard the entrance here, if you want to go and chase squirrels," she told Splinter.

"No," he said firmly, staring down at her.

She stood speechless for a moment, her breath taken away by response. No one had spoken to her that way since…shoot, Stephane was the last person to do that. At an utter loss for words, she said the only thing she could think of, "Alright then." She deliberately walked around him to stand next to Eliza, a clear sign that she wasn't going anywhere.

April turned her head to talk to Donnie only to find that he wasn't there. She frowned but was distracted from her annoyance by the sound of small claws scraping on the concrete. The teen caught sight of the critter ducking into the aforementioned turtle's room. She was quick to follow but was not fast enough to keep it from digging into the mounds of spare electronics and lengths of wire scattered about the techie mutants' room.

It always struck April as strange how Donnie insisted on a strict method of organization and labeling, everything in its' designated place, when in the lab, yet his room was closer to the salvage dumps he loved to frequent. Granted, April knew that most of the menagerie of parts were clean, despite the overall impression. As opposed to his younger brother, where dirt, food, toys and an eclectic collection of human undergarments abounded, Donnie's mess was mostly a mix of paper, metal and plastic clutter. Though the tall shelf on the back wall that housed the clear plastic tubs of Donnie's insect farms served to undermine that knowledge.

The red-head approached the piles with caution, using her folded tessin to move things aside in hopes of flushing the creature out. She really didn't want to get bit or worst by digging in too deeply. She wished Donnie would hurry up, his bo would be much better to use in shifting things aside. She looked up to see if there was a spare one in the room. Lucking out, she returned to her search.

"Find anything?" Donatello's voice came from directly above her left ear. She startled and then threw an elbow into his plastron, catching him off guard from where he was leaning over her. Though he grunted and took a step back April suspected that her now throbbing elbow was on the losing end of the encounter.

"Don't sneak up on me." She said crankily, not happy that they could still manage to catch her off guard. Ninjas. She stood and turned on him only to find Donnie giving her one of his bashful apologetic smiles. Some of her annoyance at him started to dissipate but was quickly replaced by the task ahead. "This is impossible. The darn thing is holed up in here somewhere in this junk pile and is not coming out."

"Technically, while my materials do come from questionable sources, I consider these 'upcycling components'. Junk would denote that I have no purpose for my collection. I always have a something in mind for every resource I bring home." Donnie voice had drifted into lecture mood with a hint of indignation.

"Donatello."

"Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands in appeasement and then reached back and closed the door. Unbidden Master Splinter's lecture to everyone about the 'open door policy' from April's days of living in the lair lept to her mind. "We've got it trapped. We'll just go through the piles in a systematic fashion until we find it."

"Well I'd like to find it before it grows up all big and fangy." She scanned the room again. "Too bad kraang DNA didn't come with x-ray eyes. It would come in handy right about now."

There was silence and then the frantic opening and closing of drawers as Donnie rummaged through his desk.

"April you're a genius!" The tall turtle declared as he held something in his large hand, obscuring it from her view, then he bolted around the room, grabbing a few more components and tools.

"Umm… thanks." She said as she followed his manic progress. With his shell to her he dropped to a clear space on the floor and worked frantically. Without seeing April knew that his tongue was sticking out as he concentrated on his task.

"Eureka!" He declared and stood, turning back to her with a pair of mish-mashed but futuristic goggles in his open palm, extended for her to take one.

April smiled and took the gear, noticing that Donnie was placing his own on over his mask. Taking an extra second to settle her pony tail comfortably above the back strap, she slide the tinted lenses over her eyes. Donnie hit a button on the top of his contraption and she mimicked him then flicked her tessin wide. "It's squirrelanoid bustin' time!"

"Did she just say deal with it?" Medusa asked, turning to her brother, her black eyes wide.

Arcos blinked at her, and then looked down at Orange and blinked at him.

"Arcos!" Medusa wailed, "I can feel it moving inside of me!"

"What?" Raph emerged into the common space, glaring at the two siblings.

Orange pointed at Medusa, taking a step back as if he'd be accused of something, "She ate one!"

Raph turned to her, his face incredulous. "You did what?"

"I thought it was a squirrel!" she spat.

"It's a squirrel-a-noid," Orange corrected.

"Well, I know that now, don't I?" she moved her body from side to side as she spoke in an agitated manner.

"Why did you eat it?" Raph's voice went an octave higher than Medusa had heard it before.

"Because your brother said not to let it into the sewer!" Medusa's own voice was rising in pitch also.

"So you ate it?!"

"It's a squirrel, snakes eat squirrels!"

"It's a squirrel-a-noid."

"Shut up, Mikey," Raph snapped at him.

"Don't tell him to shut up," Medusa said.

"I can tell him to shut up, whenever I want," Raph leaned up on his tiptoes to get closer to Medusa's face, a menacing look on his. "He's my brother."

Medusa opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes went wide, and she shut it again. "Oh, I don't feel good." She put her hand to her stomach, which had begun to protrude slightly.

Arcos did not look like he was taking the command of dealing with it very well. He looked at his sister desperately, his brown eyes glancing down from her hands to her face and back again. He turned to Mikey, "What do we do?!" he demanded.

"We have to wait for her to puke them up," Mikey said, raising his hands defensively.

"Ooohhhhh," Medusa moaned, her body waving.

Raph and Mikey took a step away from her, both of their faces expectant.

"What happens if she doesn't puke them up?" Arcos asked slowly.

Raph and Mikey looked at each other, and then at the bear. "Uh…she'll explode?" Mikey ventured.

"Oooohhhhh," Medusa moaned again, and her stomach popped out a little more.

"Why wouldn't she puke 'em up?" Raph asked, taking another step back.

"Because I can't puke," Medusa wailed.

"Uh…" Mikey's eyes went back and forth trying to avoid looking at the bear and the snake, both of whom were looking at him expectantly, as if he should know what to do. He looked at Raph for some relief.

That, apparently, was the wrong place to look. "Whadda we do?" panic barely suppressed.

"How am I supposed to know?" Mikey demanded.

"You're the one who's read all of the comic books!"

"Comic books!?" Arcos asked.

Mikey didn't answer, everyone went silent as a squeak was heard in the direction of the garage.

"What was that?" Medusa whispered.

"It was a squirrel-a-noid," Mikey asked honestly, as if she truly didn't know.

"You stay here," Arcos put his hand on Medusa's arm. "And we will go deal with the squirrel-a-noid."

"But she's gonna explode!" Raph pointed a sai at her.

Medusa groaned dramatically.

"She's not gonna explode," Arcos said. "Come on," Arcos waved his large paw, and slowly started making his way over to the garage.

Mikey and Raph began to follow him, but Medusa grabbed at the boy closest to her, which happened to be Raph. "You can't leave me here by myself!"

Raph jerked himself out of her grip, "Yes I can, you're going to explode!"

"I am not going to explode," she said indignantly, her face twisting into one that might be construed as nausea. "I have, like, eight feet worth of stomach."

"Uhhhh!" Raph gave her a disgusted look, and went to follow Mikey and the bear, but both were already gone. He slumped his shoulders and glared at Medusa.

Eliza paused when she heard Acros' yell for his mother but Splinter's insistent pressure at her back spurned her forward and she bolted to the bathroom, door already open, as was common when unoccupied. They all raced inside and Splinter glared at the still open door where Phoenix appeared a moment later.

The ferret woman could smell the tension between the two and felt some of her earlier bravado leave her. She had grown very good at reading Splinter's physical cues by now and could see that he was reaching the point where his temper was going to make an appearance. His tail thumped loudly on the tiled floor and his hackles had stiffened but not yet risen from his neck as he rejected the healer's suggestion that he leave their defense to her while he joined the hunt.

Eliza glanced down at the small woman as she took a place next to her, face full of defiance and the waves of annoyance coming off of her making the ferret's fur prickle. Though Eliza was still on edge herself she could see that someone needed to make steps towards peace. Besides between the energy, body posturing and scent signals that were filling the smaller space she was feeling distinctly uncomfortable and was sure she was not alone in the feeling. Her eyes shifted between the two camps for a moment and then she took breath and let her pride go.

"Phoenix," she said too brightly in the tension filled space. "would you help me? I think Gwyn could use a bath and maybe you could use the opportunity to give her the once over?" She placed a paw on the woman's shoulder and turned her gently away from her stare down with the rat-master.

"Sure." the smaller woman said and accompanied Eliza over to the soaking tub.

"Thank you," Eliza responded knowing that her friend was doing her part in the ferret's efforts to smooth over the situation despite her own feelings on the matter. "While you draw a bath, I'll go get some towels and a change of clothes." She looked at her friend's state, nearly as bad as Gwyn's and added. "I'll see if I can find something for you too."

Phoenix looked down at herself and wiped at some of the drying mucus feudally. "Oh, you don't have to bother."

"Well," Eliza crinkled her nose just a bit, "we'll see." Turning away she heard the sound of the faucet running. She thought she also heard a surprised grunt and an amazed mumble that sounded like 'hot water' but dismissed it as she returned to where Splinter stood by the now closed door with Gwyn still in his arms.

She approached and stroked her daughter's head, causing her to open her eyes though she refused to uncurl from Splinter's chest. Her daughter could get extra clingy when she didn't feel well so Eliza knew that this was just par for the coarse.

"Hey hunny. How about a bath? I bet that will make you feel better." Gwyn nodded a tiny bit. "That's my girl. Then my friend is gonna look over you. She's a kind of doctor, ok." Eliza was pressed up against Splinter's arms in the effort to be close to Gwyn and speak softly, she could feel the tension in his muscles increase but ignored it. "I promise she just wants to make sure you're ok. She's a very nice lady." The ferret knew that she was talking more to the rat than the child. Her daughter loved new people and would have already made fast friends with the healer had she been feeling better.

"Okay." was the muted reply she got and Eliza beamed at her. The girl was a trooper.

The ferret-woman placed a gentle hand on Splinter's elbow and guided him towards the tub. She snatched the chair the boys used when patching up scrapes or putting on wraps and placed it near the tub but with enough space so that she and Phoenix could maneuver around it. Splinter placed the girl in the chair with Eliza's assistance and then removed himself a few paces but still close enough to observe. Gwyn folded over on herself, clutching her midsection but was aware enough to keep herself balanced and stably seated.

Eliza frowned as she rubbed Gwyn's back comfortingly. Despite the circumstances she was not happy with Splinter's position. She moved from her daughter's side and grabbed the large curtain that she had constructed and insisted that Donnie install in the room, creating a barrier between the stalls and the open bathing area. She paused expectantly at the halfway mark to wait for the ninja master to move. He looked unhappy at the not so subtle hint but eventually departed the bathing area, but not before giving the healer an intense look.

"I'll be right back." she promised before closing the curtain fully. Eliza walked towards the door, intent on retrieving the clothes she had promised when her arm was grabbed by a steel grip.

"Where are you going?" Splinter asked, talking low and bending his face close to her ear.

She responded in the same hushed tone. "Just to get some clothes and towels. I did a fresh load yesterday and hadn't put them away yet. They're still by the washer." Donnie had upgraded the laundry area for April when she lived with them, it was at the end of the hall, barely 6 ft from the bathroom door.

"Stay here." Splinter said in a tone that brokered no argument. "I will retrieve them."

Eliza nodded but said nothing, knowing that at the moment any rants about what she could do for herself would not be well taken. Splinter apparently was not done with her and she felt his hand flex causing her upper arm to warm and internal alarms to trigger, he was mad but still didn't exert enough force to actually hurt her.

"We will be having a discussion later, Elizabeth, about the definition of 'secret lair'." Eliza swallowed heavily feeling small, chastised and afraid, unable to answer. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." She said breathily and then he was gone. She took a second to breathe till her heart slowed then grabbed some soap and washcloths before plastering on a smile and walking back through the curtain.

Phoenix could hear the rat and ferret mutants hissing at each other, but she was unable to make out any of the words. He'd thumped his tail at her. He'd thumped his tail at her! Like she was some sort of...sort of...he thumped his tail at her! She took a deep breath, getting all fussed up about tail thumping- he thumped his tail at her-was not going to solve any problems at the moment. He thumped his tail at her! No one thumps their tail at her! Even Chategris didn't get away with that! Of course, he didn't thump his tail period, but if he did, he would not get away with it! She was going to have very forthright with this man, he obviously felt he could boss her around. Whether it was because she was in his home, because she was a woman, because she human, or because she was small didn't matter. It was not acceptable. Under any circumstance.

She took another deep breath, to calm herself. The first one obviously hadn't. Two more breaths, taken much in the same way she would breath when trying not to kill her kids, did the trick.

Putting her hand under the hot water, a touch of awe inched its way up her arm. They have hot water here, the thought seemed independent of the rest of her mind, sending all thoughts of tail-thumping away. They have a bathtub, that can be filled with hot water. Despite having told Eliza that she was alright with her mucky self, which was the truth, she had the undeniable urge to strip naked right then and there and get in the tub. She'd not forgotten what it felt like to have one's body submerged hot water, to have steam drifting up into one's face, to close one's eyes and just be in the tub. Maybe they even had candles around here somewhere, and she could light them and sink into the tub with flickering, gentle light all around her.

She shook her head to clear the fantasy and turned to Gwyn. "You're stomach still hurts, huh?" she said in as playful a tone as she could. The girl did not look impressed with her display. Phoenix had to laugh as she got up from her crouched position near the tub to come and crouched near Gwyn instead. The look had reminded her instantly of Ailurosa at this age, everything was stupid, grown ups were so dumb and didn't know anything about life or having fun, but Mama needed to be near, because when something was wrong, all of sudden, she could fix it. That the girl buried her face in both her mother's chest, and in Splinter's chest, was not lost on her. She was still young enough that she needed an adult to make it better, even if she didn't, in reality, need the adult to make it better.

She softened her eyes to look at the girl in the chair. Her torso was black, and then faded into a light gray, then a black again, the visual confirmation of a type of cramping. That would make sense, having one's stomach emptied of its contents caused cramping, and overfilled stomach caused cramping, and an underfilled stomach caused cramping. The poor girl had all three going on. She also had various splotches over her body that could indicate anything from a bruise or scrape to an overstretched muscle. She ignored them for now. They could be dealt with after the cramps.

Gathering the golden ants in her hands, she put her hand on Gwyn's shoulder. She was half expecting her to jump, but was relieved when she didn't. "You've got quite a few bumps and bruises on you. We can deal with them later, though. Your stomach is unhappy," she said, "because you've eaten three Thanksgiving dinners and then thrown them all up." Phoenix shook her head sadly, "That's what you get for eating squirrel for Thanksgiving." When the ants had all left her palms, she wasn't sure if she'd done any good with Gwyn's stomach. She much preferred injuries she could see than one's she couldn't.

She smiled up at Eliza as she came back over, in what she hoped was a nice smile-the kind that said, "Don't you worry, now. Everything will be alright."