A/N: Okay people! Chapter 6 is here! I know it's long, but I think its nessecery to make up for my lousy first three chapters. Well what are you reading this for! Read the story!
Chapter 6
An introduction and a plan.
Akasha paced up and down, muttering rebelliously to herself. She had tried vainly to contact her mother, only leaving furious messages on the answering machine. Now that the machine was full, she couldn't even do that. She finally tired and sank onto the couch, massaging her temples.
"Are you okay?" Leo asked her.
"No!" she snapped. "I am not okay! My mother sent an evil monster after me! How can I be okay!"
"Chill, Ash," Mikey looked concerned. "Leo was just trying to be nice."
Akasha looked a little ashamed.
"Sorry," she apologized to Leo.
"No, that's okay," he said hurriedly. They fell into an awkward silence.
"Has April come back from the doctors yet?" Akasha asked, breaking the silence.
"She should be due back any minute," Leo said, consulting the clock on the mantelpiece.
Donatello came into the room.
"April just phoned, she's on her way," he said.
Sure enough, a key scraped in the lock and the door opened. April stood there, her foot in bandages and crutches in one hand. Casey supported her through the doorway.
"What, is it broken?" Leo asked, eyeing April's foot.
"Nah, jus' sprained," Casey replied, helping April to one of the chairs. "Tha doc sez ta keep it wrapped up for a couple 'o days an' see if it heals."
"Did that happen when the monster dropped you?" Don asked.
"Yes," April answered.
"I should have caught you, I'm sorry," Don hung his head.
"It's not your fault," April said quickly. Casey, for some reason, seemed angered by this innocent exchange.
"Oh, sure, it's okay if Donny doesn't catch you!" he burst out.
"Wha – ?" April began, but Casey had already stormed from the room.
There was a long awkward silance, broken when Raph entered the room.
"Hey guys, what's up-?" he stopped at the looks on their faces. "What happened?" he asked.
"Nothing," Akasha said quickly. But as she passed him on her way out, she muttered, "Me and Mikey will tell you later."
He looked curious but said nothing.
They stayed in for the remainder of the day. Casey dissappeared and did not return. Presumably he had gone home for the night. At nine o'clock Akasha decided to go to bed.
"I'm going to bed," she yawned loudly, stifling it with her hand. "Night, guys," she flapped a hand at them and departed.
She changed into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth before getting into bed. She had been allowed to sleep in April's room on a camp bed. A stack of books beside her bed enticed her. She chose 'Lady Knight' by Tamora Pierce and began to read. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. She looked up.
Raph stood in the doorway, Mikey in tow.
Akasha frowned.
"What is it?" she demanded. "I just got to a good part."
"I was jus' wonderin', what happened earlier?" Raph sat cross-legged on the floor. Mikey followed suit.
"Oh, Casey got mad." Akasha recited the whole episode to Raph. When she was finished Raph whisled apprecieatively.
"He really likes her, doesn't he?" he asked.
"Who?" Akasha asked. "Don or Casey?"
"Both!" Raph snickered.
"Yes, but which does she like?" Akasha closed her book and pondered.
"What are you talking about?" Don came into the room.
"Ah, er, nothing!" the others stumbled, trying to come up with an excuse. Fortuantly they were saved as April herself entered on her crutches.
"Do you mind?" she asked them. "Akasha has school tomorrow, she needs sleep! Out, out!"
"Sorry April," the turtles muttered, trooping outside.
"Night, Ash!" Mikey called before April closed the door.
The next day dawned bright and early. Despite Akasha's complaints, April insisted that she go to school. So Akasha packed her backpack and left, grumbling.
"Now," April said, turning to the turtles as soon as Akasha disappeared. "If I know Akasha, she won't go to school, she'll either go home and wait until it would be safe to come back here, or, more likely, she will go somewhere else to hide out; I doubt she will go home after that monster attack. You need to follow her, and make sure she doesn't get into trouble."
"What about you?" Don asked April.
"I can't go anywhere with this foot, so Casey offered to come by and keep me company." Don looked a little taken aback.
"I could stay instead," he said.
"If we don't hurry, we'll lose her," Leo warned, watching Akasha disappear into a back alley across the street.
"Go ahead," April told Don. "I'll see you later, guys!"
They snuck outside using the roof door once again and followed Akasha. She had taken a sharp turn away from the school and now headed for a backalley not far from Central Park.
"Where's she going?" Mikey hissed.
Akasha took a quick look around before turning and bolting.
"You idiot, Mike! She heard you!" Raph snarled at his brother as the raced after her.
"She's fast!" Don puffed.
Akasha led them farther and farther away from April's apartment building. Finally they found her, crouching behind an upturned garbage can.
"She might think we gave up if we keep quiet," Leo whispered. They held still. Eventually, Akasha looked cautiously around before setting off at a brisk trot. Their plan had worked.
They tailed her for a few more blocks. Suddenly they heard something up ahead. Akasha heard it too, and slowed.
A roar; something huge erupted from an alley on Akasha's left. It was the monster from a couple of nights ago. Its elbow seemed fine now, and it lunged at Akasha with its massive spiked tail.
The turtles drew their weapons and prepared to launch into battle, but the monster suddenly stopped and considered Akasha. Then it spoke.
"What are you doing here?"
Akasha looked startled.
"You can talk?"
"Yes."
Akasha started.
"Chris?" she asked tentetively.
The monster's face contorted into something like a grin.
"I didn't think you'd remember me. Do I sound different?"
"A bit. Your voice is deeper. Why did you attack me and my friends a few nights ago?" she asked him suddenly. "It was you, wasn't it?"
The wolf-like creature bowed its gigantic head.
"Yes, that was me. But I only meant to try and communicate with you. When I saw that redheaded woman that was with you," – "That was April," Akasha supplied – "I thought it was you; You have the same hair, and are almost the same height. I wanted to speak with you: Your mother sent several of us to search for you, and bring you home."
"Did she?" Akasha growled.
"She was worried," Chris shook his head. "You should be a little more sympathetic, Akasha."
"Hm. Are you hungry?" she asked, changing the subject.
"What do you have?" the mutant asked her.
Akasha rooted through her backpack and produced a handful of granola bars, a bag of chips, and an egg salad sandwich. She also found a couple of juice boxes and a paper bag full of red liquorish.
"I am starving," Chris announced, snuffling through the bag of potato chips. He drew back, crunching on the chips with obvious pleasure.
Mikey's stomach growled.
"What was that?" Chris's head came up. A growl emerged from between his buisily chewing teeth.
"Mikey, you can come out now," Akasha sighed.
"Thank you!" Mike came out from behind the garbage dumpster and sat down as far from Chris as possible before grabbing a granola bar and digging in.
"I didn't have breakfast this morning," he mumbled, wolfing down the bar.
"These are the same creatures that attacked me," Chris eyed Mikey with distrust.
"Only because you attacked us." Akasha pointed out. "They're okay, really."
The other turtles came out, and arranged themselves behind Akasha, watching Chris carefully.
"So," Mikey said, helping himself to a grape juice box. "How come you two know each other?"
"Oh, you know when I said that my mom mutates people and animals into monsters? She uses her lab assistants as testers for her mutagen. Chris was one of them." She looked miserable. "He used to entertain me when I was little, and mom had to take me to work. He disappeared a couple of months ago, obviously because my mom was mutating him."
"What are you doing wandering the streets?" Leonardo asked the hulking figure who had abandoned the chips and was now devouring the egg salad sandwich with much enthusiasm. "April told us that Akasha's mom usually keeps her, er, experiments in her lab."
Chris licked the remaining mayonaise from around his jaws before answering.
"Dr. Andrews sent several of us to search for Akasha. She had received a call from the school, informing her that Akasha had not attended lessons there for a couple of days. She grew worried, and decided to despatch a group of mutants – such as myself – to find her, and bring her home."
"I see," Leo chose a piece of liquorish and began to chew it thoughtfully.
Mikey was now studying Chris intently, while sucking the last of the liquid from his juice box. When it was done, he crushed it and threw it into an open garbage dumpster.
"Ya know," he said. "You remind me kinda of the dudes from that creepy Foot mutating lab we found underground. Quary, Stonebiter, Razorfist, they looked kinda like you."
"Who?" Chris looked slightly confused.
"They were some people who had been taken from the streets to be used as guinea pigs for a mutagen that the Foot developed. Do you know who the Foot are?" Don asked.
"It sounds familiar… perhaps Dr. Andrews has metioned it. I'm not sure."
"Well, they are an elite clan of ninja warriors that originated in Japan. They specialize in crime of any kind, robberies and such," Leo explained.
"And they had a leader, the Shredder. He was our arch foe!" Mikey put in. "He actually turned out to be an Utrom, but we showed him!"
"Yes," Leo agreed. "But the Foot are still at large, and even without a leader, they are very dangerous."
"Thanks, Leo," Raph snapped. "We really needed that!"
"Wait a minute," Don cut in. "Chris, did you say that you thought Akasha's mom mentioned the Foot?"
"It does sound familiar," Chris admitted. "I think I may have overheard her mention it on the phone, perhaps late at night, when I was leaving for home… I'm not sure. The mutating process has affected my memory."
Don snapped his fingers.
"That's it!" he exclaimed, thumping the ground with his fist, causing a small puff of dust to rise into the air. "The mutants from the underground lab had almost no memories at all, right?"
"So?" Mikey shrugged.
"And Chris looks similar to them, right?"
"I'm still not following you, 'bro," Mikey shook his head.
"AND Akasha's mom was talking to someone about the Foot, right?"
"Okay, Donny, if this has a point, why don't you go ahead and make it now?" Raph growled impatiently.
"Ugh, you still don't get it? Look; what if Dr. Andrew's work is connected to the Foots' experiments?"
Silence. Then,
"You think my mom would allow her research fall into the hands of criminals?" Akasha asked slowly.
"No, nothing like that," Don began, but Akasha overrode him.
"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised," she said bitterly. "That is the sort of thing she'd do."
"Maybe they stole it?" Don suggested tentatively.
"So anyway, if they are connected, what are we going to do about it?" Leo wondered out loud.
They all stared at Akasha.
"Oh, no! I'm am not sneaking you in to snoop around! My mom's got an airtight security system."
"Lucky for us, we got an expert on airtight security systems," Raph pointed at Don.
"It can't be worse than the Shredders'," Don shrugged.
Akasha threw her hands in the air and sighed.
"When do you wanna do it?" she asked them dully. Leo grinned in triumph and leaned forward in a conspiritorial manner.
"Okay, this is what we do…" he began.
A/N: What did you think? You'll notice I've heeded the constructive critticism I recieved from Raven 001 and have began to create a Don/April/Casey love triangle. I agree, and think it would be more fitting, and a more interesting reading experience then just April/Don. (Feedback is appreciated, especially constructive critticism!)
NOTE:April is 23 (a friend got this from a web site), but in my story, I imagine heryounger.(Don't know why, just do.)For those who were wondering, Casey is 24, but he is alsoyounger in myfic.And while I'm on the subject of age,Akasha is 15 1/4.