It took about almost a half hour for April to come around again and she still looked a little worried when we all came back to the living room but thankfully, the worst of her terror was over with. Leo had offered to make her tea which she carefully yet, gratefully accepted.
Mikey walked over with a small, warm smile on his face. He was being cautious, careful not to scare her for the third time, "So... You okay now?"
April nodded though she was clearly still a bit weary, "Yes, thanks. This is definitely the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."
Master Splinter kneeled in a recliner chair across from her, "We have something important that we must discuss. We have never revealed ourselves to the upper world. You have placed us all in great danger."
April eyed me sitting on the armrest of the couch. I shrugged, "I'm an exception."
"I'm afraid we find ourselves at your mercy," Master Splinter continued slowly.
April gasped suddenly. I was kind of unsure why she had to make such a sudden noise, "Oh no! I would never tell anyone! I mean... Who would believe me?"
Donnie bobbed his head, "She's got a point."
"Ya! We're un-believe-aBLE," Mikey joked in an almost sing-along voice.
Raph gave him a much needed hit upside the head, "Geeze! Where's your off switch?"
April put her hand over her heart, "Seriously, I promise."
Master Splinter took a moment and stared at her. It was the same look he had held on me when he first found me in the sewer. I would never forget it, "I believe you."
Leo stood over his shoulder curiously, "Is this another lesson Sensei? How to sense the truth!"
"No, this is called trusting your gut," Splinter replied, with a hint of sarcasm that rolled into his voice.
April continued to study my brothers and Master Splinter while giving me a few glances as well. I tried to look as encouraging as I could,"So if I'm keeping your secret, what exactly is it? Who are you people? Uh turtles... Whatever."
Master Splinter began to tell the story I had heard many times over the years. I could almost mouth the same words that escaped off of my father's tongue. He was a ninjutsu artist with his brother Hamato Yoshi way back in the day. In Japan, there were two main groups of ninjas. Hamato Yoshi and Hamato Splinter were a part of Koga Clan. Elite and mobile. They stood for what's good. At first, the other group of ninjas were too. The Foot Clan. Both very different but held the same purpose until the Foot Clan began being led by two men named Oroku Nagi and his brother Oroku Saki. The Foot Clan went sour and began to do the deeds led out by assassins and those of the bad. Disputes between the two ninja clans carried on for decades before a final confrontation between the leaders occurred. To keep it short and sweet, Oroku Nagi killed Hamato Yoshi and Hamato Splinter killed Oroku Nagi. Splinter and Saki fought for hours on end before Saki thought he had defeated Splinter. What Saki didn't do, was check to make sure he finished the job. Splinter barely held on and lived to see another day. Saki may not even know if Splinter is alive to this day.
Years later, Splinter sailed to America and ended up in New York. He had a job and even held the love for a woman who, coincidentally, also traveled from Japan. Tang Shen. They were engaged when Tang Shen's ex-boyfriend-man found out about her love with Splinter. There was a night of absolute terror when Tang Shen was murdered by her ex. Splinter was forced to hide and he choose the sewer. Down there, he spent the night and woke up the next morning with a rat on his chest. It was the last animal he touched before coming across four turtle submerged in a slimy green substance oozing from a nearby canister. That exact substance turned him into what he is today. And it turned my brothers into what they are as well.
When the tale had been completed, each of my brothers gave their names.
Leo stood up and gave her a slight bow, "I'm Leonardo."
"Donatello."
"I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey!"
"I'm Raphael."
Mikey laughed. "All the good ones end in 'O'!"
Donnie and I snickered as Raph slapped the orange banded turtle across the back of his head again.
April nodded her head to me, giving me another slightly suspicious look, "Then who are you?"
I gave her a weak smile, "I'm Jade. I'm kind of their..."
"Adopted sister," Mikey finished for me, giving me a lopsided grin. I nodded.
April tipped her head in confusion, "How is that possible?"
Everyone turned their eyes on me, "I've been with them for eleven years and they don't even know the story yet," I glanced up at my brothers, who all nodded their heads for me to continue. They deserved to know. Unfortunately, so did I, "I wish I knew too."
"What do you mean?" April asked, showing the same puzzled face as the rest of my family.
"I mean..." I inhaled, "I can't remember. All I know is that I was taken when I was really young. I don't remember my family before but I was there for a long time. A really long time. And then I escaped and I hid in the sewers. I got lost and I probably would have stayed lost if Splinter hadn't wandered across me," There was a lingering silence that followed. No one seemed to know how to reply to that. It was almost like I could physically feel everyone's thoughts in the air. I wouldn't expect great deals of hugs and words of wisdom but the silence wasn't real helpful. I tapped my foot impatiently, "Soo…"
"Why didn't you tell us?" Leo asked.
I shrugged, "What was there to tell? I didn't even have a name until Splinter found me. You guys took me in and that was the end of it. You guys never asked me where I came from, you just accepted me. I never really had to think about it. Besides, it was a long time ago. Does it really matter anymore?"
"It matters Jade. Whoever kept you for so long didn't leave you unmarked," Leo said.
"Okay, well. Those scars came from a long time ago too so like I said, does it really matter anymore?" I didn't like this topic. My attitude was dropping at a rapid. I tried to make that painfully clear by the glare I put on my oldest brother. Somhow, I knew he wasn't going to let it slide. Not this time.
"What about Baxter Stockman?" The sound of his name rolling off Leo's tongue made me cringe.
That raised a few flags throughout the room. Donnie asked first,"What about him?"
"When we saw him on the news, I could swear I'd seen him before," I explained though I wasn't happy his name was brought up, "If he had something do with my... Whatever it was, then maybe I'm not crazy."
Another short silence followed as everyone was lost in their thoughts. Even April seemed to have her thinker on. Thankfully, it didn't last too long as Mikey bumped the remote and turned the TV on. The news channel was still on but this time, was reporting a bank robbery.
"... And the police are completely baffled by tonight's bank robbery that was boldly executed in broad daylight. If anyone has any information, the police urge you to call the crimestoppers hotline."
The screen then switched to a view of the inside of the fault. A massive hole in the middle of the room was the center of attention but all the dust and fumes from the broken flooring had set some very familiar footprints. Mouser footprints. April squinted at the screen, "So this must be what I heard Doctor Stockman talking about. He's got the mousers robbing banks!"
Well, would you speak of the devil then. I sat down on the couch with my chin resting on my hands, lost in thought. Why did this guy have to come back into my life? Raph flopped down next to me seeming concerned with my glum mood now, "So whatta ya know 'bout this Stockman guy?" He asked April.
"He's a genius but absolutely insane. I started getting suspicious about the tests we were running. The mousers have a signal that runs back to the lab when we let them loose. Some of the mousers on the last test run were streaming back as unoperational. I found it odd but Stockman didn't seem to care. I thought that maybe it was some kind of glitch in the system but when I started rummaging through Stockman's computer, he turned the mousers on me! Luckily, I ran into you guys."
I looked up, "He destroyed our old home."
April put her hands on her hips, "Must have been one of mouser test runs."
Raph suddenly got to his feet. He turned to Splinter determinedly,"Then whatta we waitin' for? I say we shut down mouser central. Permanently."
"It won't be easy. Stocktronics is rigged with latest up-to-date security tech," April remarked, putting a finger to her chin in a thinking gesture.
Mikey slapped Donnie on the shell, "Ha! Bring it on! Allow me to introduce our very own secret weapon! The techno-turtle himself… Donatello! Take a bow Don!"
Donnie pushed him away gently, pretending to blush slightly. He chuckled, "Aw, cut it out."
Master Splinter gave us his blessing to leave the lair after a few long moments. I was surprised with his decision. This would be our first time truly leaving the lair together as a team for a mission that wasn't anything to do with finding functional home furniture. This was our first time going to the surface using our training. It had to be hard for our father, letting us go like this but the world up top wasn't going to wait for us anymore, "Be careful, my children."
I noted how he looked to me as he said that.