Two months passed and turned winter into spring. The new year was a year of changes. And yes, a lot had changed. The bond between the Turtles and Naomi had had its ups and downs, mainly because Naomi wanted to join them on their patrol from time to time, but the Turtles didn't want her to. She wouldn't be able to keep up with them, but more importantly, she could be recognized. Eventually, she accepted the fact that they didn't want her to go with them. She did, however, receive the number of Donatello's Turtle Comm, so she could always call them if she needed help.
******
"Donatello! Guys!"
"You've gotta be kiddin'!" mumbled Raphael.
"Naomi, what do you think you're doing?" asked Donatello.
"Two things: one, this shield-wristband-thing is starting to break. And two, I wanna show you guys what I can do."
"You already did," said Leonardo strictly. "When you insisted to train with us, we gave in, and it turned out you're not fast enough to keep up with us."
"That's not true," protested Naomi.
"How long did it take for you to get up here?" asked Leonardo.
Naomi was still panting from climbing all the way up the rooftop they were standing on.
"Two minutes," answered Naomi. Leonardo crossed his arms and gave her a look. In these past two months, Naomi had noticed there was no lying against the Turtles. She sighed. "… Plus five," she admitted.
"See? We got up here in four, maybe five seconds," said Leonardo. "And we're not gonna carry you."
"Fine," mumbled Naomi. "But Donatello, could you fix this thing for me? I've… kinda lost my touch."
"Listen, I'll fix it someday," said Donatello. "But not now. We're really busy."
"But…"
"Go home, Naomi," said Raphael.
"Urgh! Fine! I'm going. But not because you told me to… Gregory House," said Naomi.
"Got it, weirdo," said Raphael with a smirk.
"We'll see you soon, ok?" said Donatello. A little wave from everyone and they moved on, leaving Naomi behind.
"Ok. Bye…"
******
Just who do they think they are, anyway? I can keep up with them if I want to… Still, they're always busy. After only a few months, they've already practically forgotten about me.
Naomi stopped walking when a thought popped up in her head.
Maybe they already got bored of me.
"Hey, watch it! You're blocking my way!" A man pushed her aside, but Naomi caught herself back on her feet before she could fall. She stared after the man, irritated.
Do they really even see me as a sister? Do they even still wanna hang out with me? Or is hanging out something they see as an obligation, because I want to see them? I'm the one who made them reveal themselves to me in the first place.
A gloomy feeling inside.
Am I a burden to them?
Her eyes started to fill themselves with tears as she walked on. She walked around a corner to find an empty street. She wiped away the few tears that escaped from her eyes.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Nay. You're not a kid anymore.
A car stopped in the middle of a street and a portal opened. A man came out and ran directly towards Naomi. Naomi reacted instinctively and moved aside on the last moment, so that the man almost fell over. He recovered himself quickly and turned to Naomi again, his fist ready to knock her out. Naomi found an opening when he held his fist up, and hit him in the middle of one shoulder. The man's arm collapsed, hanging powerlessly beside his body.
"You… little…" mumbled the man, shocked at the feeling as if his arm was gone.
"What the hell do you want from me?" asked Naomi, standing in a defensive position. "Who are you?"
Suddenly, she was in someone else's grip and a piece of fabric with a strange odour was pressed against her mouth. She was feeling dizzy. The world was spinning around her.
"Hello, Dianthe." The voice echoed and died away, and everything turned black.
******
Raphael laughed. "Incredible!" he said. "He actually wet himself when Michelangelo tied 'em up!" He burst out laughing.
"Shhh! You want all of New York to hear you?" warned Leonardo. "Save it for when we get home."
"Well let's go," said Michelangelo. "I really, really need to take a shower. This is too gross. My feet are all wet."
"Yeah, and the fact that you slipped in the stuff didn't help much, either," said Raphael. "Pee-yoo!" He held his breath, trying his best not to burst out laughing again.
"And I thought the sewers smelled bad," said Michelangelo.
"I know," said Donatello, pinching his nose closed. "If we beed ady bad guys ub here, Bicheladgelo's stench'll drive 'eb away."
"I didn't understand a word you just said, Donatello," said Leonardo. "Ok, this is really bad. We can't go unnoticed with this stench. Let's go home."
"Umm…" Donatello stopped. His brothers followed his example and looked at him. "I think I'll go to Naomi's and apologize."
"Apologize? For what?" asked Raphael.
"You saw the way she looked when we left," said Donatello.
"She's a teen," said Raphael. "Teens, especially girls, are way too sensitive anyway."
"'Frailty, thy name is woman'," quoted Michelangelo.
"I know, I know," said Donatello. "But you have to admit, we're not spending much time with her."
"True," said Leonardo. "That's because we can't skip our patrols every night and she can't come visit us at day."
"I know," said Donatello. "That's why I'm gonna talk to her about it. Maybe we'll think of something."
Leonardo stared at him for a few seconds before he said: "Alright then."
Donatello nodded and turned around.
"Say hi to the weirdo for me," said Raphael.
"From me too," said Michelangelo, raising his hand to wave. Raphael and Leonardo both took a step away from him.
"Michelangelo, please… don't wave," said Leonardo, covering his mouth with his hand like a mask. "You're spreading the stench."
"Oh… sorry," said Michelangelo. He lowered his arm. When he looked in front of him again, Donatello was already gone.
******
"Naomi?"
Donatello climbed through the window of her bedroom, but found nobody inside.
She should've been here by now, he thought. Something's not right. I've got a bad feeling.
He grabbed his Turtle Comm and dialled Naomi's phone number.
******
The sound of the "Banana Phone" ring tone coming from her pocket woke Naomi up. At first, everything was blurry, but her vision cleared as a man grabbed the cell phone out of her pocket and looked on the display. He laughed.
"Donatello?" he said. "Nice nickname. I like his work." He denied the call and threw the phone on the floor.
Naomi found herself cuffed to a wall, her arms spread and her ankles cuffed as well, so that she couldn't move at all.
"What the hell is all this?" she asked.
"I don't blame you for not remembering," said the older man. "After all, I have something to settle with your previous life… Dianthe."
"Who the hell is Dianthe?" asked Naomi, squirming in the uncomfortable position. "My name's Naomi!"
The man stood closer to her, too close, and laid his hand on her cheek.
"I've waited for this for seventeen years," he said. "You've become quite the beauty… even with this…" – with the other hand, he took the goggles off her head and looked at them – "… different way of dressing yourself." He looked back at Naomi. "I'm sorry, where are my manners?" he said with a smirk. He let go of Naomi and took a step back.
"My name is Alexio. I am a member of the Golden Wing. Does that ring a bell to you, young Dianthe?"
"Not at all," said Naomi, losing her patience. "And I don't care, just what do you want from me?!"
When the cell phone started to ring again, Alexio stamped on it until it stopped.
"Let me give you a little history lesson," he said. "A story about Dianthe: your previous life."
******
Naomi, if you're denying my calls because you're angry, then it's not funny. Still… I have a feeling something's wrong. Very, very wrong. I'd better call the others and look for her.
"Hey, Donatello. What's wrong?" asked Leonardo when he saw his brother's troubled face on the display of his Turtle Comm.
"Leonardo, Naomi's not here," said Donatello. His voice was shaking. "I think something happened. We've gotta find her."
"Ok, don't panic," said Leonardo calmly. "Stay there. We'll meet up with you."
Donatello looked out the window.
Naomi… Hang in there. We're coming for you.
Next chapter: the background story of Dianthe. I'll upload it as soon as possible ^^ Once again, thanks for reading!
P.S. For those who didn't know: Michelangelo's quote was from William Shakespeare ;-)