Beta pressed her webbed fingers into the soft, leathery surface of the bed and moaned. Then reality smashed into her like an eighteen wheeler and she wrenched herself upright, frantically blinking the haze of sleep from her eyes. Her bed at the convent wasn't leathery, and in any case, she hadn't fallen asleep there. She had crawled under a pile of garbage and a discarded tarpaulin to get some rest after a disastrous night searching for her sister.
Alpha. She had seen Alpha, for the first time in nearly twenty years. Then, in the cruellest twist of fate, the men pursuing her had snatched her poor sister away. Beta rubbed furiously at her eyes as the crushing weight of blame fell upon her. Alpha had been captured by the Colonel and his men, but they had been chasing her.
Beta shook her head in one final effort to clear the fuzz from her brain. Her eyes now clear, she was finally able to get a good look at her surroundings. She was in a large, high-ceilinged room that appeared to be part-lounge, part-warehouse. Staring at her was not just one or two, but nine mutants – including a giant rat.
"God preserve me!" Beta squeaked as she hurriedly blessed herself with shaking hands.
She looked from one green face to another, and her gaze stopped at the one wearing orange. He had been one of her saviours in the alleyway, what seemed like years before.
The rat, who was definitely the odd-one-out in the group of reptilian mutants, gave Beta a gentle smile and rested his gnarled pink fingers on a short walking stick.
"Please, remain calm," he said, for his voice was definitely male. It also had an accent that Beta could not place. "You are safe here."
Beta gulped and looked around the room again.
"Where am I?" she asked. "Why am I here?"
"You are in our home, in the sewers under Manhattan," the rat said. "My name is Splinter, and this is my family." He gestured at the group of reptiles. Beta could not stop one eye ridge from shooting upwards in disbelief. The rat, Splinter, gave her a wan smile and shook his furred head. "It will take too long to explain. You were brought here by my son, Michelangelo. He found you unconscious in an alley."
"Hey," the orange turtle said, waving at her. "We met before, remember? When me and my bro here," he said, jerking a finger towards the turtle in purple, "stopped some punks from turning you into mutant mush."
Beta nodded.
"I remember," she said. "But I need to go, right now." She jumped to her feet and began looking for the closest exit. "I need to find my sister, she's in danger and it's all my fault!"
Tears welled up in her eyes and Beta gave a feeble attempt at suppressing a sob. Splinter looked at her with his dark, intense eyes, and she tried to step backwards, but her heels were already against the couch.
"One of our own is also in danger," Splinter said, "and I believe that we may all be looking for the same person."
Beta shook her head and glanced around the mutants again. They were all looking at her, as if she was someone vaguely familiar, a name or face on the tip of their tongues.
"The resemblance is uncanny," the turtle with the purple bandana said.
The shorter mutant wearing red snorted and muscled his way to the front of the group. He marched up to Beta and grabbed her shoulder. His grip was fierce, unyielding, and his stare was furious. He looked into her eyes, and after a moment his stare softened to reveal a painful vulnerability. Beta wanted to reach up to touch his face, but he let go of her and walked a little way off. When he looked back, his eyes were hard again.
"She's definitely related to Mona," he said.
"Mona?" Beta asked. "My sister is called Alpha. I am Beta, or Mary Gabriel to the nuns. I don't know –"
"Where is she?" bellowed the turtle wearing red.
Beta fell back down onto the couch and dug her fingers into the worn leather.
"I don't know!" she said. "I saw her in an alley, I was being chased! But then the men too her, I think they thought she was me!"
"Who?"
The turtle in red began to stalk back towards her, but the one wearing blue who had yet to speak barred his way and grabbed his biceps.
"Raph, calm down," he said. "Frightening her won't get us anywhere."
"Get off me, Leo," 'Raph' said.
He glared at Beta, but walked a little way off instead of coming back towards her. The one he had called 'Leo' stood by Splinter's side and regarded Beta with a cool, calm stare.
"Please," he said, "who was chasing you? The more you can tell us, the closer we'll be to finding you sister – our Mona – and bringing her home."
Splinter nodded, and Beta found huge tears welling in her eyes again. They bore hot tracks down her cheeks as she told them everything she knew.
Cooper pulled another pre-cut cigar from his crocodile skin holder. He slipped his heavy silver lighter from his pocket, and savoured the sensation of lighting up another step towards victory. Through the one-way glass, he watched as the wayward subject from Project Super Soldier struggled against her bindings. Cooper exhaled and rested his gaze on her swollen stomach. The ultrasound had been unable to confirm whether the child lazing inside her was male or female, but they would not have to wait for much longer to find out. After a few more pointless tests to keep Parker satisfied, Cooper intended to take the next step using a surgeon he had a lot of dirt on.
As Alpha strained against the straps holding her to the gurney, letting out a scream that was silenced by the soundproofed room, Cooper inhaled again. As he exhaled, Le Clercq shambled into the room under a pile of paperwork. He coughed and his eyes moved from the lit cigar in Cooper's hand to the large 'No Smoking' sign above his head. However, he said nothing and placed the pile of documents down on the table in front of the glass.
"Sir," he said, his voice straining as he tried not to breathe in, "there are a few documents that need your approval before we can move onto the final stage of testing for the luck virus."
Cooper stared at the pile of paperwork and cocked an eyebrow.
"A few?" he asked.
Le Clercq made a brave effort not to squeak and nodded.
"Yes, sir," he said.
"No, no," Cooper said, idly flicking through the documents. "I don't want to sign anything, I don't want to look at anything. I know that the luck virus works, and I am sick of testing. We do not need more testing. We need to start manufacturing it."
"But sir," Le Clercq said, "the scientific committee have requested that more tests are carried out to ensure –"
"I do not care what the 'scientific committee' have requested!" Cooper said. In one fluid flick of his wrist, he knocked the entire stack of papers onto the floor. Le Clercq's face became a picture of dread and his hands began to shake. Cooper snarled. "I am in charge of this project," he said, "and I have final say on how we proceed. If I say begin manufacturing this virus, then that is what we will do!"
"Y-yes sir," Le Clercq said, getting onto his knees to begin gathering up the scattered papers.
"Give them my orders," Cooper said, flicking ash onto his aide's head, "and send for Parker. I need to speak to him regarding my other project."
He turned his attention back to the struggling, pregnant figure through the glass, and paid no heed to Le Clercq's rapid retreat or his glare of burning hatred. He did not turn back around until the metallic swish of the door opening heralded Parker's arrival. Cooper stubbed out his cigar under his boot and folded his arms.
"Yes, sir?" Parker asked.
Cooper beckoned him forward and pointed at Alpha's thrashing form.
"She has not stopped fighting since she awoke," Cooper said. "That is the strength I sought from Project Super Soldier. Hopefully, that strength will have been passed on to her child."
Parker nodded.
"I hope so, sir. According to our studies, it won't be long before she gives birth. It will most likely be within the next week, two at the most."
"We won't have to wait that long," Cooper said. Parker looked at him, his eyes slightly narrowed. Cooper grinned. "I'm not a patient man, Parker. I don't intend to wait one or two weeks. We'll know by the end of the day."
"How, sir? Surely you don't…?"
"Yes, Parker. I'm calling in a favour. As soon as he arrives in from Atlanta, an old associate of mine – a surgeon – will cut that baby out of our friend Alpha here."
"But sir –"
"No!" Cooper said, holding up a hand for silence. "I am not waiting. You said that the baby seemed healthy, and would likely be viable from now onwards. Unless you're going to tell me that you lied to me when you said that, there will be no more discussion about it."
Parker gulped, and Cooper grinned. There was no way the other man could win.
"Now," Cooper said, in a tone that declared that the previous conversation was definitely over, "go and find Le Clercq and check if he has managed to disseminate my orders on the other project correctly."
Parker nodded curtly, and Cooper simply laughed at the hint of defiance in his subordinate's eyes. What did Parker know? What did any of them know? Nothing. If the mutinous behaviour continued, the only thing that they would ever know again would be Cooper's wrath. Cooper grinned widely as the door slid shut behind a retreating Parker, and he turned his full attention again to the writhing figure on the gurney.
"Soon," he said, "I will have that child, and perhaps, I will also have my credibility again. I won't be outcast any longer. My soldiers will be the greatest triumph the US Army have ever seen!"
Cooper laughed, long and loudly, while watching his captive strain and struggle against her bonds.
"Well, that certainly explains a few things," Donatello said.
He was perched on the arm of one of the couches, his arms crossed over his plastron. The entire extended family had been gathered around the small robed figure named Beta, listening as she spilled her life's story to them. If what she said was true, it filled in a few gaping holes regarding Mona Lisa's origins, and how she came to meet the turtles so many years ago.
"Indeed," Splinter said. He had taken a seat beside Beta, and nodded as she sniffled into a handkerchief he had given her. "I believe that our young friend here is telling us the truth." Beta looked up at him at those words and managed a small smile. "We will have time to discuss everything in more detail at a later stage, but right now our attention needs to be focused on Mona Lisa, and how we can help her."
"If this Colonel guy has done everything she says he's done," Raph said, jerking a thumb at Beta, "then we need ta do somethin', and now."
"I know that, Raphael," Splinter said. "The next step will be to try and find this warehouse that he is operating from." He looked at Beta. "Can you remember where it was?"
"I… I think so," she said. "If you take me back to where you found me, I think I could find my way. I did not get to run far."
"You think? Or you can?" Raph snarled. "I don't wanna be goin' on some pointless trek when Mona is in danger."
"I can," Beta said firmly. "I've been exploring the city for some time now. I know my way."
"Well then let's get going," Raph said.
"Agreed," said Splinter. "Raphael, you will go with your brothers and our young friend here. The rest will stay here."
Donatello got to his feet, and after giving Desdemona's shoulder a brief squeeze, he took Beta by the elbow.
"Let's go," he said softly.
The young mutant looked up at him with round eyes, startlingly similar to Mona's, and he ushered her along after his brothers. Hang in there Mona – and baby, he thought. We're coming.
