Three Random Stories (About my OC)

by StarBlood666

These stories span three different universes. One is in the 2014 movie universe, and is a "non-canon" addition to ASBMF. The second is from the 2012 universe, an idea I had after watching the episode about reincarnating Shredder with the help of a demon. The last one is one of the first renditions of the LS,SW universe. Please enjoy, I won't be finishing any of them.

3. Ghost

(Forewarning: I wrote this one when I was an edgy teenager and I didn't grow up with big brothers, so for some reason the bullying got wayyyyy more violent than I remember. This gets violent. The gang isn't out of the norm of possibility, but Raphael's part gets rough. Just, a warning)

---

"I don't care WHAT you say, I still say it's a trap. We should've just left it there." Raphael snapped.

"She's barely able to crawl! You really think she's gonna kill us in our sleep or something?" Leonardo growled in reply.

"YAMIT!" Splinter harshly quieted his two oldest sons, holding the small baby girl in his arms.

"She is asleep. That is enough." Splinter told the two, gently rocking the girl.

"Look, I'm not worried about the kid herself. It's the band. How do we know it's not a tracker, or something? It could lead the Foot straight to us!" Raphael whispered.

Leonardo sighed. "Donnie's certain that there's no tracker on the band. He's looking it over, what more do you want?"

"We should've just left the kid in the box. Maybe she belonged to somebody."

"Yeah, sure. She belonged to somebody... Who wrapped her in a blanket, put her in a box, and threw the box into the sewers where they could forget she even exists. Who would do that, if they still wanted her?" Leonardo scoffed.

Raphael rolled his eyes. "I still say she could be a trap."

"Oh, come on, Raph! Look at that sweet little girl. You think she's a trap? What could she possibly do to us?" Leonardo sighed.

"Yeah. And if she is a trained assassin, then we'll see a fight that we may actually win, for once." Michelangelo joked.

"See? See, that's my point! We just barely got away from Shredder last time, he's probably ticked and looking for us. Who knows? Maybe he put a tracker somewhere else, on the kid, the blanket, who knows?! I don't trust that kid." Raphael growled.

"I said enough! We will discuss this no further until Donatello finishes with the band. Until then, I do not want to hear another word, understand?"

"Hai, Sensei."

"Good."

Michelangelo smiled at the little bundle of blankets cradled in Master Splinter's arms.

"Can I hold her, Sensei?" He asked.

Master Splinter nodded. "Be careful of her head." He instructed gently placing the girl in Michelangelo's arms.

Michelangelo smiled, cradling the baby.

"What are we gonna call her?" He asked.

"We're not calling her anything! As soon as we figure out where she lives, we're dumping her on the front step and ding-dong ditching." Raphael replied, arms crossed.

"Why don't we give her a nickname? At least until then?" Michelangelo suggested.

"Mikey... Raph's right. We have to find out where she lives. Somebody could be worried about her." Leonardo added.

"I thought you thought that she was abandoned?" Raphael growled.

"Look, we shouldn't have left her where she was... It's too dangerous. But we still need to find out if maybe she was kidnapped or something." Leonardo sighed.

"Can I please just give her a nickname? I promise I won't get too attached." Michelangelo pleaded.

"Alright. You can give her a nickname. But just remember that she can't stay here." Leonardo nodded.

Master Splinter left to the kitchen to get something for the baby girl to eat. After all, she was probably very hungry. And who knew when the last time she ate was?

Michelangelo looked at the little girl, thought a while, and finally said, "Ming. We're calling her Ming. Because she's as priceless and fragile as a Ming vase."

Leonardo smiled. "Ming. It's perfect."

He gently took the baby from his brother, holding her as though she could shatter at the slightest disruption.

Raphael scowled. "So what? Her name's Ming. Big whoop. Just remember, she is not staying." He firmly reminded his brothers, and stalked off to the dojo.

Or... He tried to. He was met halfway by a very excited Donatello, who crashed straight into him, and then leapt up and continued running to where their other brothers were.

"Guys, I figured it out! This is amazing!" He shouted excitedly.

"What did you find?" Michelangelo asked, curious.

"The band isn't a tracker, I take it?" Leonardo smugly cast a glance at Raphael.

"No way! The band is nothing, it's her DNA that's amazing." Donatello contradicted, taking the baby from Leonardo.

"Come again?" Raphael asked.

"The band is just a form of identification. The writing on it translates literally to Princess of Hellfire... Although I doubt that's really what it means. But in her DNA, she has unfamiliar and alienistic compounds. These could be special abilities, kind of like a mutation!" Donatello excitedly babbled.

"So... What are you saying, exactly?" Leonardo asked cautiously.

All the excited and loud chatter caused the little girl to awaken.

But instead of crying loudly, as the turtles braced themselves for, she simply gurgled.

"Da... ?" She cooed, peering up at the four strange, large creatures that looked back down at her.

The one that held her had funny eyes, and more than one pair.

This scared her, and she reached her hands toward the largest creature, the one with red over his face, the colour her father always wore...

"Da! Da!" She cried, reaching for the red faced creature.

The creature stepped back, shaking it's head.

"No. I'm not your dad-" Raphael told the child.

"DAAAA!" She cried harder, reaching for him.

"Oh, come on, Raph! It's the only way she'll stop crying!" Michelangelo urged.

Raphael sighed. He really didn't like babies, but this child was reaching out for him... Asking for his help...

"Alright! But just to shut her up." Raphael growled, taking Ming from Donatello.

She stopped crying, and cooed happily. "Da!"

"No. Not dad. I'm not your dad." Raphael shook his head, and then thought a minute.

"Donnie... What's the likelihood somebody's looking for this kid?" He asked.

"Not very likely. Considering she was left for dead in the sewers." Donatello replied.

"In that case..." Raphael looked down at Ming. "I'm not your dad. I'm your big brother. And I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He soothed, rocking the baby.

Michelangelo and Leonardo shared an amused look.

Raphael shrugged. "Okay, okay. You caught me. Maybe she's not so bad." He smiled sheepishly.

Master Splinter walked in, a baby bottle in hand.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw Raphael holding Ming.

Smiling, wordlessly, he handed the bottle to his son, who started to feed the baby girl.

She happily drank all the bottle, completely draining it.

"Oh, not sure if I mentioned this, but some of the components in her DNA-" Donatello started.

"Are alienistic and foreign. We know." Leonardo cut him off, rolling his eyes.

"That, and they also suggest that she could have special abilities. Or, in other words, magic powers."

"Cool." Michelangelo grinned.

As if in answer to Donatello's explanation, Ming waved her hand, and a bubble formed out of it, followed by more and more bubbles. She giggled.

"Bubba... Bubba..." She smiled. Bubbles kept rising out of her hands.

"Aww... Even her superpower is adorable." Michelangelo cooed.

Raphael silently agreed. She was rather cute.

Some time later, Michelangelo was playing video games when his adopted little sister toddled into the room.

"Mick! Mickie!" She giggled.

Michelangelo paused the game, smiling.

"Mikey. Say Miiiiikey." He picked her up and cradled her.

"Myyyyyyyyy... Key." Ming cooed.

"That's it. Mikey."

"Mickie. Myyyyy Mickie. My Mickie!" Ming hugged her brother happily.

"Yeah... Your Mickey." Michelangelo said quietly, hugging her back.

He could hear laughing from the next room.

"Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me. But your nicknames aren't any better. Waffle! And Whee-oh. And Dommie!" He yelled.

"Dommie! Want Dommie!" Ming cried.

Donatello walked in.

"Hi, Ming."

"Dommie! Myyyy Dommie!" Ming gurgled, reaching up to Donatello. He picked her up.

"An' my Whee-oh an' my Waff-u-ell!" She laughed. "Bubbas!"

Donatello sighed. Ming mixed up the words bubbles and brothers all the time.

He knew she was only small and just learning to talk, but he also knew that at her age she should be past the stage of speech she was at.

"Brothers. Your bruh-therrrs." He sounded the word out for her.

"Butters!"

"There you go. That's right." Donatello smiled.

Okay, it wasn't perfect. But again, she was still little.

Roughly, they had to guess her age. Donatello considered it to have been around 10 months when they had found her. That made the month she was born in April. They had decided to go with the number 23 for her birthday, because they had found her on the 23rd of February.

But now she was one and a half, soon to be two years old. Physically, she was developing at a rate faster than other children. Her toddle could easily turn into a run, and she had very quick reflexes for what was normal at her age.

"Dommie? Dommie! WAAAAHH!" Ming screeched, lurching Donatello out of his thoughts.

He jumped, and looked down at her.

"Shhhh... Hey, hey, it's okay! What's the matter?" Donatello rocked Ming gently.

Ming wrapped her hands around his neck.

"You nearly dropped her." Raphael explained, gently taking Ming from his brother.

"Oh my gosh! Ming, I'm so sorry!" Donatello apologized.

"Is okay." She sniffed, hugging Raphael.

"Sorry. I was just... Thinking." Donatello explained.

Leonardo nodded, having been watching from the doorway. "I know. Do you think we should drop her off at a hospital, to see if she's sick?"

"And just leave her there? Alone? How would we even get her back?" Raphael shook his head.

"That's the thing, though. We shouldn't have her in the first place. We should've tried to find her home a lot earlier. I mean, somebody somewhere could be sitting at home right now, crying, wondering where their baby girl is." Leonardo added.

"Da. Dada." Ming sniffed.

The turtles all stared at her.

"Say that again." Raphael whispered.

"Dada. Want Dada." Ming repeated.

The turtles all shared a look. Ming never called any of them 'Dada'.

The only time they remembered her saying 'Da' before then was when she was reaching out for Raphael. Since then, she had established nicknames for each of them, and called Splinter 'Spinta'.

"Dada! Want Dada! Want Dada!" Ming whined, beginning to tear up.

"Um... Who wants to explain to her what exactly her present situation is?" Michelangelo asked.

"Ming... No. We don't know who your dad is." Leonardo told her.

"No Dada?" She peered at Leonardo, wide-eyed and teary.

"Sorry. No Dada." He replied.

"Okay, Whee-oh." She sniffed.

Michelangelo breathed a sigh of relief. "For a minute there, I thought she was going to start screaming for her Dada." He explained.

"Want my Mickie." Ming pointed at Michelangelo.

"Here you go, Mickey. Have a sister." Raphael, who was standing hardly a few feet from Michelangelo, tossed Ming gently. Michelangelo caught her.

She laughed. "Gen! Gen!" She clapped her hands.

"No. Not again. That was bad." Donatello scolded.

"I bad?"

"No. Raphael bad." Donatello glared at Raphael.

"How many times do we have to tell you not to do that? You could drop her. She could get hurt." Leonardo growled.

"Aw, Ming could take it. She would whine for a bit, and then toughen up some." Raphael rolled his eyes.

"Whee-oh? Where Spinta?" Ming asked suddenly.

"I don't know." Leonardo sighed.

"No Spinta?"

"Not exactly... Master Splinter's just... He went out. He'll be back, don't worry." Leonardo assured her.

Ming nodded. Then she pointed to the kitchen doorway, and whimpered softly.

"Okay. I get the message. You're hungry." Michelangelo sighed.

She nodded again, as Michelangelo carried her to the kitchen.

After Michelangelo gave her some leftover pizza and put her down for a nap, the four held a whispered meeting about her.

"Guys... I'm a little worried. Ming doesn't babble the same way most toddlers her age would, and... Like I said earlier, I can't test for any mental illnesses or disabilities, so I don't have anyway of knowing if she has special needs or medication or something. I mean, I think we're good on the medication thing, but..." Donatello trailed away.

Raphael snickered. "Hard to believe how such a tiny little girl has made such a big impact on us." He smiled.

"Yeah, things have been pretty different with Ming around... But she is our sister now. And I don't want anything bad to happen to her." Leonardo nodded.

"Neither do I. Which is why we should find a way to get her to the hospital to check her over properly for that kind of thing, without losing her." Donatello added.

Michelangelo shrugged. "I don't know, guys. I think she's fine. After all, all kids develop differently. And if she really has an illness, well... She's got pretty darn fast reflexes for a sick kid."

"Maybe you're right, Mikey. The likelihood she has any mental illnesses is pretty low." Donatello nodded.

"I bet she'll be just fine." Leonardo added.

---

Eight and a half years later, a shadowy figure watched over Raphael as he did chin ups.

He leapt off the bar, listening. He had thought he had heard movement.

The shadowy figure launched herself at him, and was easily taken out and pinned down.

Raphael smirked at the girl he held down.

That girl... That was me.

"Don't try to sneak up on a ninja, kid." He said, still smirking.

I struggled against my second oldest brother's grasp. It did me no good.

"Raph! Let go!" I cried.

He laughed. "Oh, so you attack me, I defend myself, and then you think I'm gonna let you go? You're pretty funny, you know that?"

I struggled. "LEO! LEO, HELP!" I shouted.

My oldest brother appeared in the doorway, smirking. Behind him came Mikey and Donnie, both of which had the same amused and smug look on their faces.

"Help?" I begged, uncertain.

"Help? Why would I do that? You attacked Raph. I don't see why he shouldn't hit you." Leo smirked.

"Yeah. I should hit you." Raph grinned dangerously.

I struggled, and tried to fight him. I wasn't really getting anywhere.

"Mikey! Mikey, help! Don't let him hit me!" I pleaded, trying to appeal to my youngest brother, who had the most compassion and sympathy for me.

But even Mikey looked like he was enjoying this more than I would have liked.

"Nope. I'm getting you out of these situations all the time. This time, I get to have my fun." He grinned.

I groaned. "Raph! Please don't hit me." I closed my eyes and scrunched up my shoulders, bracing myself, knowing he didn't care if I got hurt or not.

"Too late." Raph spoke coldly, and the next thing I felt was his knee on my chest, reducing my ability to breathe.

Then, WHACK!

He smacked me on the head so hard that I saw stars for a few minutes.

I blinked several times, and then felt another hard hit on my head.

"Ow! Hey, stop-"

SLAP!

I felt a sting on my cheek, and then Raph dug his knee further into my chest. I choked, trying to breathe.

"Raph... I can't... Get... Off..." I begged, hardly able to speak.

Then, a sharp pinching on my arm.

I opened my eyes to see Raph pinching me hard.

"Already... Hit me... Get off!" I squeaked.

Raph grinned evilly at me. "No."

I felt him press his knee deeper into my chest. I gasped.

I was pretty sure I heard something crack, and something soft and squishy go POP.

Next thing I knew, Leo had joined in, and was pulling on my hair.

I let out a pained squeak, as opposed to the scream I would have loved to produce, had Raphael not been digging his knee so deeply into my chest.

Donnie kneeled down next to me, grabbed my arm from Raph, and proceeded to give me a snakebite.

"Stop... Stop... Please stop..." I whimpered, struggling for breath, tears streaming down my cheeks, my hair feeling like it was going to pull out of my skull and my arm feeling like it was on fire.

"Okay, guys. That's enough." I heard Mikey sigh.

"Oh, come on, Mike! We're having fun! Come join in." Raph sneered.

"Aren't we having fun, Ming?" Donnie asked cruelly.

I wanted to shake my head and reply with an extremely emphatic "NO!", but Raph's knee was still digging into me, making words impossible, and Leo was still yanking on my hair, rendering my head completely immobile.

Instead, I felt Leo grab my head and force me to nod.

"See? She's having fun." He snickered.

Mikey shook his head.

"Raph, she can't breathe! Get off of her!" He snapped.

I felt the pressure lift from my chest. I gasped, and felt a sharp pain with each inhale.

Donnie and Leo reluctantly released my arm and hair.

I lay still for a little longer, waiting for the sharp pain that came when I breathed to slowly ebb away.

"Come on, Ming. Get up. Don't be so dramatic." Raph growled.

I coughed and choked, a sweet, metallic taste in my mouth.

I rolled onto my side and puked, blood mixed with the bile.

I groaned, slowly sitting up. My chest really hurt.

I glared at Raph.

"I'm sorry, but you aren't exactly light as a feather, you know." I growled.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, you'll be fine! Unless you're a wimp."

I glared at him.

"Are you a wimp, Ming? Huh?" Raph took a babyish voice. "Are you a whittle baby who needs her diaper changed?"

"No." I spat.

"Then prove it. Punch me." Raph challenged.

I shook my head. What, did you think I was stupid? You don't just hit Raph. That's suicide.

"Come on, Ming. Punch me. Unless... Unless you're scared." Raph taunted.

"I'm not scared..." I contradicted.

My brothers laughed. Raph stepped forward.

"Yes, you are. You're too scared to hit me, aren't you?"

"I..."

"Wimp."

I hung my head as Raph and the others walked out, laughing.

The next morning, I walked to school early, getting out of the lair before my brothers got up.

I was in a hurry for two reasons. One, I didn't want to hear them teasing me about last night.

And two, I had stolen Raph's shirt, the one he had told me repeatedly that I couldn't have, even though it didn't come anywhere near fitting him anymore.

In fact, he had stopped wearing it when he was eight. I was ten, and the shirt was still three or four times my size.

I wasn't wearing the shirt for praise on my clothes. No way. I wore the shirt for revenge, even though I knew Raph was going to kill me when I got home.

When I did get home, after a whole day of torment twice as bad as usual, the first one to meet me at the door was Raphael.

And he was NOT happy.

"Listen, Pipsqueak. You'd better give me that shirt back." He growled.

I shrugged. "Okay. Fine. Give me a minute to get something else on."

"Hurry."

I ran to my room, changed my shirt, and threw Raph's at him.

"Hey!" He tore the shirt off his face and grabbed my arm as I went to leave the dojo.

"Wait just a minute, now. Where do you think you're going?!" He demanded.

I shrugged. "To... Leave?"

Raph laughed cruelly. "I'm not finished with you yet." He growled.

I tried to pull away. Of course, I couldn't. Raph has ten times my strength.

"Raph! Please!" I begged, trying to yank my arm from his grasp.

"No way. How many times have I told you not to touch that shirt? You are dead." He growled.

I struggled more. "LEO! HELP!" I screamed.

Leo appeared, shaking his head.

"You two are seriously fighting over a shirt? You act like a married couple." He sighed.

"Leo! Make him let me go!" I begged.

"Leo! Make him let me go! Leo, save me from Raphie! Leo, I'm a little wimp who can't take care of herself!" Raph taunted in a high pitched voice.

I kicked him. He kicked me back, way harder.

I think he broke my knee.

I struggled more. "Raph! Let me go!"

Raph sneered. "Uh, what part of, 'You are dead' don't you get?"

Then, he punched me in the gut, causing me to double over in pain.

Raph let go of my arm, but by then I couldn't run.

He hit me again and pushed me over.

I landed on my back, hitting my head on the floor.

My brother wasted no time in pinning me down, and digging his knee into my chest. He always dug his knee into my chest.

I gasped, wishing he wouldn't. I could hardly breathe, and it felt like something was going to break under the pressure.

"Hey, guys! Why's Raph beating up on Ming?" Donnie walked in, Mikey right behind him.

"Guys... Can't... Breathe..." I gasped.

"Donnie. Good ol' Donnie." Raph grinned evilly in a way I didn't like. "Can I borrow your Bo staff?"

Oh no. No, don't give him the staff!

"What for?" Donnie asked, pulling out his staff.

"Teaching Ming a lesson on stealing."

"Okay, move."

Raph got off me, and then...

Blinding pain.

I screamed. I wanted it to stop, I wanted it to just end.

"Stop! Stop it, STOP IT!" I screamed.

The pain continued.

Suddenly, I felt a different kind of pain, to mix with my current agony.

A sharp pain in my legs. I screamed again.

Finally, it stopped.

I lay on the ground, staring straight ahead. My legs still hurt, as though they had been cut.

I tried to see... But I couldn't move. I tried to move, but I couldn't. My muscles wouldn't work.

I started to get scared. What was wrong? Why couldn't I move?

My chest started to hurt. Each intake of breath felt like a needle was being poked into my lungs.

Finally, the shock ebbed away.

I forced myself to sit up, and gasped as every muscle in my body protested.

I peered down at my legs. They were covered in blood, and one had a ninja star coming out of it.

I reached a hand down and flinched as I pulled out the star.

I looked around. My brothers had left, except for Raph.

He grabbed me by the shirt collar and slammed me against the wall.

"Listen. If you ever take my stuff again, I'm going to stab you with my sai and use you as a sandbag. Got it?" He growled dangerously.

I nodded slowly, still gasping with pain and moving gingerly.

Raph threw me to the ground, and stalked out.

I stood and limped to the needle room, grabbing the First Aid kit and pulling out some bandages.

After bandaging my legs, I went to bed, not to sleep, but to think.

I still wasn't sure what had possessed me with the horrible idea to take the shirt. Besides, it was just a dumb shirt.

"Stupid." I grumbled to myself. Why the heck did I risk undergoing Raph's cruel torture for a shirt?

'No... It wasn't for the shirt. It was for my pride. I wanted to get back at him.' I thought.

Which was an even dumber idea. You just can't get even with Raph. As far as he's concerned, if you wrong him even slightly and he beats you up, you are even.

I sighed. Why did my brother have to be so mean?

And why did the others have to take amusement in my misery?

A few days later, I was walking home from school, when something just felt... Wrong.

I didn't know what it was, but I didn't feel safe.

Then, I noticed over my shoulder. A gang. The Tiger Sharks. They hated people on their turf, and enjoyed tormenting me more than Raph did.

I started to run, as the leader, Trap walked up to me.

I couldn't run for long, of course, and soon they were upon me, Buzz and Jim holding my arms and preventing movement, Trap in front of me, and the rest of the gang gathered in a circle, looking forward to watching the onslaught.

I struggled. "What do you want, Trap?" I growled.

"Where's our money, huh? You have to pay the toll if you want to walk on our streets, you know." He sneered.

"I don't have any money..." I muttered. My heart was beating at the speed of light.

I couldn't help but remember the Bo staff a few days ago. Donnie never really wanted to hurt me. None of my brothers did. They were only being jerks.

But these guys were different. They hated me. They really wanted to hurt me. Bad.

"No money, huh? Then how else are you going to pay us?" Trap challenged.

I thought about all the items I had on me.

Which included a watch, my iPod, headphones, and an old button I had found.

"I have my iPod..." I replied quietly, head bowed.

"I've already got an iPod." Trap growled.

"Headphones?"

"Got those, too." He snapped.

"Watch?"

Trap shook his head, making a tsk sound.

"Such a shame. Nothing of value. Well, then. We'll have to teach you a lesson, won't we?" Trap sneered.

I struggled more. "No... Please... Don't hurt me." I begged.

Trap smirked at me. "Hey, Ripper, check her pockets."

Another boy walked forward, pulling my iPod and headphones from my hoodie pocket, and patted down my pants pockets, which was really uncomfortable.

"Just an old button and these." Ripper held up the iPod and headphones.

"What's the password to it, kid?" A girl, about 18, asked me. She was among the oldest members of the group.

"6453." I whimpered.

They unlocked the iPod, and Ripper gave it to somebody else.

Trap walked forward, and tilted my head up to look at him.

"Better bring money next time. Or maybe something of more value." He sneered.

I had that one moment of stupidity, which caused me to spit in his face.

Angrily, he wiped the spit off of himself, and glared at me.

"Maybe we need to teach you that lesson after all. I was going to let you go, but... Since you insist..."

He punched my face. I shook my head and tried to pull away from Buzz and Jim. My efforts were in vain, as Trap punched me again.

I felt yanking on my hair, and my head was forced back. I gasped in pain.

My neck was now completely to Trap, who closed a hand around it. I choked, trying to breathe.

"Let her go." He commanded.

My arms were released, and whoever was yanking on my hair let go, but that was of little comfort, since I was being strangled.

I grabbed Trap's wrist, and sank to my knees, black dots surrounding my vision.

Somehow, I ripped his hand from my throat, gasping for air.

I felt contact on my head, and realized that Trap was kicking me.

One kick hit me in the mouth. I tasted blood.

I curled up in the fetal position, arms protecting my face.

Trap began stomping on my head. I curled up tighter, head down, hands protecting the back of my head and neck.

Somebody grabbed my arms, and yanked them apart, holding them still.

I kept my knees curled up to my head.

Trap grabbed my legs and held them straight.

Then, I felt something familiar to me. Too familiar.

Weight on my chest, weight that took my breath away.

But not as much weight as I had prepared myself for, and I realized that Trap was lighter than Raph.

And probably weaker, too.

I screamed, as loud and as long as I could.

Trap slapped me. I stopped screaming.

"What was the point of that? Huh? What was the point? Who's gonna save you? You don't have any friends. Nobody likes you." Trap growled.

He dug his knee deeper into my chest.

But still not as deep as Raph.

I tried to pull my arms from Buzz and Jim. I couldn't.

Trap punched me, over and over. He wouldn't stop, and soon I was bleeding terribly.

Trap finally got off me, and his friends let me go.

I wasted no time trying to run.

Key word: trying.

I kind of staggered, but soon I was running.

I stopped in an alley, and tried to pull the manhole cover off.

On a good day, it took me a solid ten minutes to lift the cover. My average was closer to twelve.

However, I didn't have ten to twelve minutes. I had less than three, based on Trap's decision to give me a head start before taking off after me again.

I tried to wrench up the dumb cover off the sewers, but I couldn't in time.

Ripper grabbed me and threw me into the side of a dumpster. My head hit the dumpster first, and a splitting headache took over.

I tried to crawl away, but that didn't go so well for me, as the rest of the gang caught up.

Soon, they were all there, beating on me.

Suddenly, they stopped. Trap dug his knee into my chest again, and pulled out a taser.

"Now, then. About that lesson... Here's the test." He sneered.

I stared wide eyed at the taser, remembering Donnie's Bo staff. Electricity. It really, really hurt.

Trap shocked me with the taser. I gasped, and screamed.

The pain was blinding and unbearable. It was worse than the Bo staff. Of course. Donnie had his staff on a low setting. Trap had the taser on probably the highest setting.

The pain stopped.

"Well? What's going to happen next time? Huh?"

"I'll bring it..." I squeaked.

"What was that?" Trap asked.

"I said I'll bring it." I repeated, more clearly.

"What are you bringing us?" Trap demanded.

I glared at him.

And more blinding, shocking pain. I screamed, but when I did, I felt a sharp blade in my shoulder.

I yelped. Trap stopped tasering me and stabbed my shoulder over and over.

"What is it that you're bringing me?" He yelled.

"Money! I'll bring money!"

"How much?"

I didn't answer right away.

Suddenly, something was being sprayed in my face. Straight in my eyes. I screamed, and I didn't stop screaming. The spray tasted of pepper, and it stung my face.

I kept screaming.

Trap stopped pepper spraying me.

"How much money are you going to bring me?" He growled.

"I don't know!" I cried.

"That's how you're playing it, huh?"

Trap grabbed my head, and slammed it against the sidewalk.

Then he punched me, beating me up.

When he finally got off me, I was a bleeding, whimpering mess on the ground.

"I want 20 dollars by this time tomorrow, or else we're coming to find you." Trap threatened, and the Tiger Sharks stalked off.

I stayed on the ground, and shivered.

I started to cry. I was hurting so bad.

I took a deep breath, and tried to shout for help, but all that came out was a squeak.

I lay on the ground for awhile more, too much in pain to move.

What felt like hours later, I felt a hand on my bleeding shoulder.

My eyes were closed, trying to ward away the pain of the pepper spray, so I couldn't see who it was. And even if my eyes had been open, it was pitch black in that alley.

I tensed, thinking Trap had come back for more.

"It's okay. It's me. Are you okay?" Donnie!

I blinked my eyes open, still trying to ward off the lasting effects of the pepper spray, and turned my head towards my brother.

"Donnie... Ow..." I whimpered.

"It's okay. I got you." I felt Donnie lift me off the ground. I groaned.

Donnie carried me home and into his lab, where he began to treat my injuries.

Leo, Raph, Mikey and Master Splinter followed us into the lab, to see what was wrong.

"Oh my god."

"What happened to her?"

"Are you okay?"

Somebody's hand closed around mine. I turned my head towards Master Splinter.

"Daddy..." I whimpered.

Master Splinter gently put his other hand on my head.

"It's alright. I'm right here. You're going to be okay." He soothed.

I started to cry again. I just hurt really bad.

Thankfully, the tears cleaned some of the pepper spray out of my eyes.

Master Splinter gently kissed my forehead. Mikey grabbed my other hand in his.

"Ming... What happened to you?" He asked.

"I got beat up..." I replied quietly.

"Well, duh. I can see that." He rolled his eyes, and gently pushed some of my hair out of my face.

"Who did this to you? I want full names and addresses." Raph growled, pulling out his sais.

I chuckled and winced at the same time.

"Guys. Come on. I need room to work, here. You can talk to her later." Donnie insisted, shuffling everybody out.

When we were alone, he turned back to my shoulder.

As Donnie tried his best to heal me, I couldn't help but worry about the Tiger Sharks. They wanted 20 dollars? How was I supposed to get 20 dollars by tomorrow?

I knew I had to get the money. What Trap just did to me was nothing compared to what he would do if I didn't get him the 20 bucks.

As soon as Donnie had finished with my shoulder, bandaged my head and tended to my injuries as best as he could, I went looking for Leo.

"Hey, Leo? I... I need your help." I told him.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

I grinned. Yeah, my brothers pick on me a lot. But they're still around to help me when I really need it.

I sat on his bed next to him. "Um... The kids who beat me up today... They... They told me if I didn't get them 20 dollars by tomorrow night, they're gonna... Come find me... Leo, what do I do? Where do I get 20 dollars?" I gulped.

Leo chuckled, much to my dismay.

"Chill. You're not getting 20 dollars. You can't let the bullies win." He put an arm around my shoulder.

"Then... What do I do?"

Leo smiled mysteriously. "Don't let them win. You're a smart kid. I'm sure you can figure something out."

I rolled my eyes. "Really? That's your help? Just don't give them the money? Do you know what they'll do to me?!"

Leo winked. "Don't give them anything. Not even satisfaction. If they think they can scare you into doing things or giving them money, then they'll never leave you alone. You'll end up becoming their main target, if you aren't already." He hugged me, then unhelpfully sent me on my way.

I sat in my room, thinking. Figure something out? Other than just giving them what they wanted and keeping my life, I couldn't think of anything.

But Leo was right. If I gave them 20 dollars, then they'd know that I was an easy target. I had to teach them a lesson. That I wasn't an easy target.

Unsure how to do that, I went looking for Mikey. Hey, he's the expert on avoiding bullies.

I explained the problem, and what Leo told me.

"What I need to know, is how I convince them that I'm not an easy target." I finished.

"But you are an easy target." Mikey said thoughtfully.

I shrugged. "I know. But I don't want them knowing that. How do I get them off my back?"

Mikey shrugged. "You're a ninja, ain'tcha?"

I sighed. "Not really. You've seen my last sparring match with Leo. That didn't end well. At all." I shook my head, and winced at the pain it produced.

"Then... Just hide. Don't let them catch you."

"Hide?"

"Yeah. Just stay home. Shredder hasn't found us, so I'm pretty sure a group of dumb teenagers aren't even going to think to look in the sewers." Mikey went back to his pizza.

That's it. I'm asking Donnie.

"Well... I agree with Leo. Don't give them what they want. But, at the same time, I don't think hiding is going to quite help, either. They'll just be worse when you have to leave and have no other choice. You know, for school?" Donnie smirked.

I shrugged. "So, then, what do I do?"

"Like Mikey said, you're a ninja."

I rolled my eyes. "An untrained ninja!"

"Then work your way around the problem. Just like if a tree falls in a river. The water makes a new path. That's part of being a ninja. Sometimes, you're problems seem bigger than yourself, or you can't face them straight on. Then you need to find a new angle, and shake things up a bit." Donnie explained.

"So, what do I do?" I asked, desperate. My brothers really weren't helping.

"Figure it out yourself."

"Donnie!"

My brother, my super smart, normally very helpful brother, shrugged and said, "I'm not sure how else to help you, really. Sorry."

I sighed, and left the lab. Just great. Advice sources 1, 2, and 3 were all malfunctioning.

I sat in my room, thinking. I didn't dare just walk around in the streets with nothing to give the Tiger Sharks. I didn't have a death wish.

I had no idea what I was going to do.

Until I remembered. I hadn't asked Raph.

I was pretty sure I knew what he was going to say. Either he'd yell at me to leave him alone, or he'd tell me to fight back myself.

Nevertheless, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and go talk to him.

"Hey, Raph?"

"Yeah, Pipsqueak?"

"I need your help."

"What's up, Pipsqueak?"

I bristled. "First, quit calling me Pipsqueak. And second..."

I proceeded to tell him about the gang, Leo's advice, Mikey's little interest, and Donnie's unhelpfulness.

By the end, I had tears streaming down my face.

"And I can't fight them, or they'll kill me. I don't know what to do!"

Raph was silent, listening to me.

He remained silent, thinking.

"About how many of them are there?"

I counted in my head. "About eight or nine." I answered finally.

Raph smirked. "Eight or nine... Okay, I'll help you. Here's what we do..."

I listened to Raph's plan, and grinned widely.

"Thanks, Raph! You're the best!" I hugged him.

The next day, late in the evening, I was walking down the street. The Tiger Sharks' street. With nothing in my pockets but a brass knuckle.

Trap saw me walking past. The gang started to follow me.

"Hey! HEY! Did you get our money?" He asked.

I turned on my heel and looked at them.

I smirked.

"I'm not giving you anything. In fact... This street is my turf now. And I don't ever want to see you here again, or else there's going to be trouble." I told them, exactly as Raph had told me.

"Trouble, huh? Oh, there's going to be trouble, alright." Trap growled, and grabbed my arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Or else."

"Or else, what, wimpy?" Trap sneered, his face close to mine.

I punched him hard. He keeled back, swearing and releasing my arm.

"I want you all to leave now. And don't come back or give anybody trouble again. Or I'm going to have to call Raph." I threatened.

Trap grabbed at me, but I avoided him easily.

He snapped his fingers. Jim grabbed my hair. I gasped.

He pulled up so hard that he was practically lifting me off the ground by my hair.

Trap cracked his knuckles, walking toward me.

I kicked him in the gut, then kicked Jim hard in the knee.

Jim let go of my hair. I wasted no time in running.

The gang chased me. I veered into a dark alley, turned a corner...

... And skidded to a halt at the wall that stood in front of me.

'Dead end.' I gulped, afraid. Then I remembered my secret weapon.

I turned to face the gang as they walked towards me threateningly.

I smirked, and waggled my finger.

"I warned you." I trilled, and whistled.

Next second, Raph was pounding them bloody. I watched the onslaught.

Trap tried to run. Raph grabbed him and started punching him over and over, and then pounding his head into the sidewalk.

Raph then turned to me. "Which one was the leader again?"

"The one you're sitting on."

"Convenient." Raph sneered. He got off Trap and held him aloft by the arms.

"Hit him as hard as you can."

I nodded, and pulled out the brass knuckle. I punched Trap twice, hard as I could.

Raph threw him to the ground.

"NOBODY hurts my little sister and gets away with it." He growled.

I pocketed the brass knuckle, and Raph lifted the manhole cover. We made our way home.

"That was awesome!" I gasped as we walked.

"Yeah. Did you see the older girl's head connect to that dumpster?"

"See it? I heard it! She's gonna have a bad headache when she wakes up." I grinned.

"What about that other one? With the tattoo?"

"Jim? Which part, when you bloodied his nose, or when you broke his arm?"

Raph grinned. "Yeah. Definitely had fun with that little group. I just wish Donnie was there."

"Why?"

"So I could've tasered the little brats." He replied, and looked down sadly at me.

"Hey... I'm sorry. That I didn't know sooner."

I shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Raph stopped me, and hugged me.

Which surprised me completely.

"It is a big deal, though. And... I'm sorry for beating on you. If I'd known..."

I smiled, and hugged Raph back.

"It's all good. I was kind of a brat. I deserved at least some of it." I grinned.

Raph sighed. "Yeah, maybe some of it, but you didn't deserve getting tasered, or me digging my knee into your chest. And you definitely didn't deserve that pepper spray."

I grinned wider. "You never pepper sprayed me."

"But those little jerks did. I wish I could do to them EVERYTHING they did to you. Multiplied by ten."

Raph started to breathe in short breaths, and his teeth and fists clenched.

He turned and punched the wall of the tunnel so hard that it cracked.

He took a deep breath and calmed down.

I put a hand on his shoulder.

When Raph turned to me, I smiled gently.

"But you did. What you did to them was a million times worse than anything they ever did to me. Thanks for standing up for me." I hugged Raph again, and then continued home.

We talked about the fight more on the way.

When we got home, however, things weren't as lighthearted and fun times.

Master Splinter demanded to know exactly where we had been, considering how late it was.

Raph and I shared a look. If we told Master Splinter what had happened, we'd get grounded for life.

But if we didn't tell him the truth, the whole truth and nothing but, then we were gonna get-

"Hashi! Both of you! Now!" Master Splinter commanded.

We sighed and trudged off to the dojo, Raph grabbing his trike and knitting stuff and me grabbing my bamboo stick.

We shared another look. I grinned.

"Just so you know, it was totally worth it." I snickered.

Raph nodded. "Definitely worth it."

Sensei kept us in the Hashi for at least three or four hours, until he finally decided that wherever we were and whatever we had been doing wasn't as important, anyway.

After we put our stuff away, Raph grabbed my arm.

"Whatever you do, Pipsqueak, don't say a word to the guys about this, or you're in big trouble."

"Fine. Just... Stop calling me Pipsqueak." I nodded.

Raph smirked. "You're always going to be the pipsqueak. Whether you like it or not."

I rolled my eyes and smiled as Raph walked out. At least he cared.

Ah, brothers. The ones who will pick on you for your own entertainment and beat up anybody else who tries.

I thought all my troubles were taken care of. Guess I was wrong.

I hadn't seen the Tiger Sharks in nearly a week. I was walking home, content, feeling safer than I had in a long while, when guess who I met?

Trap, Buzz, Ripper, and another girl from the gang.

"Well, well, well. Hello, Wimpy. Got our money?" Trap taunted.

"I thought you learned your lesson, Trap. This is my turf. Don't make me call Raph again." I threatened.

Buzz laughed tauntingly. "It's the middle of the day. You can't call him. Or else he'll be spotted and captured by police."

I widened my eyes. The Tiger Sharks weren't that smart.

The girl laughed. "So. This is the kid that's caused us so much trouble. Well, then. The gang's got a new leader. Me. The name is Cindy. But you can call me Cyanide."

"Where's the rest of your friends, then?" I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

"They broke off. Didn't like taking orders from a girl." Trap replied.

I noticed Ripper move behind me from the corner of my eye. Shell. So much for running.

"What do you want? I don't have any money, and all I've got on me is my watch." I growled.

"We don't want cash." Cyanide shook her head.

Trap stared at her. Buzz did too. I'm pretty sure Ripper was also staring at her.

"We want you to be part of the gang."

I shook my head. "Over my dead, bleeding, burning, or rotting corpse, I will."

Cyanide nodded to Buzz, who grabbed my arm.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The fact that you've beaten and cheated the gang before means you've got potential. Come on. Join us. We can make that potential into your own skill. Your own style." Cyanide coaxed.

I sighed. "You aren't going to give up until I agree, are you?"

She shook her head.

"Alright, alright. Against my better judgement..." I took a deep breath. "I'll join the Tiger Sharks."

Each word felt like betrayal, as though every syllable was another knife I was stabbing into my family's backs.

"Welcome to the group." Cyanide grinned evilly, and Buzz dropped me.

"Now then, maybe we better teach ya how things work 'round here." Trap sneered.

Cyanide nodded. "First rule, we ain't gonna force nobody into doing drugs, but you can't refuse a cigarette if it's offered. And we don't do alcohol, either. That's what makes you do dumb stuff, gets ya caught."

"Second rule, I'm the right-hand." Ripper added. "Cyanide's rules are enforced by me and the left-man, Buzz. You answer to me. I answer to Cyanide. You have to answer to Cyanide, too, but you don't answer to Buzz. He just helps beat the crap outta anyone who don't listen."

I nodded.

"And final rule." Cyanide was suddenly really close to my face. "Any betrayals, any at all that we deem punishable... Well... Our punishments are very harsh."

I nodded again. "Understood."

"Good. Now, then. You gotta pass the test if ya want yer gang name. And nobody's really experiencin' the full gang experience without a gang name." Trap nodded.

I shrugged. "What's the test?"

"It's easy. Simple." Ripper grinned.

Oh, lovely. Leo's obstacle courses were "easy" and "simple."

This was going to be impossible.

"All you gotta do is steal something. Typically from a store. Or mug somebody. But you have to do it on your own. No help. Can you do that?" Cyanide explained.

I nodded. "Easy."

"Tomorrow night, then." Cyanide instructed.

"8:30. Same place." Ripper added.

We split, going separate ways.

I didn't say a word to my brothers. Not only would my family be disappointed in me, but Raph would be downright furious if he knew that I had just joined the gang that hardly a week ago he had beaten up for my protection.

I felt like the ultimate hypocrite and traitor.

The next night at 8:30, I met with Ripper, Trap and Buzz.

"Where's Cyanide?" I asked.

"Right here. Took me a little longer to sneak out." Cyanide appeared.

"Are ya ready fer this?" Ripper asked me. I nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I felt knots in my stomach.

I was ten freakin' years old! I was a good girl, and I had been raised right. Why the freakin' shell was I in a gang?!

I felt really bad about this, but being in the Tiger Sharks wasn't so bad, anyways.

I noticed a woman with a purse. She was alone.

I started following her at a distance. The gang followed me, to watch and make sure I fulfilled the test and didn't cheat.

The lady turned into an alley. I followed. Cyanide, Ripper, Buzz and Trap waited by the entrance.

I threw a shuriken at the only light, causing it to become pitch black.

I knocked the woman over. Her head connected pretty hard with the sidewalk, knocking her unconscious.

'Well, that was easy.' I thought, as I took her wallet from her purse and pulled out seventy dollars.

I started to leave, first casting one last glance at the unconscious lady. I felt really guilty. I had just stolen money from a helpless, innocent woman, who hadn't done a thing to me.

I left the alley, handing the seventy bucks to Cyanide. Ripper pulled out a flashlight and Cyanide counted the money, eyes twinkling.

"Well done! That's seventy moola in our pockets. That's going towards buying us a better hang out." She grinned, pocketing the cash.

"Now, have ya thought about what ya want yer gang name to be?" Trap asked, as Ripper pocketed the flashlight.

I shrugged. "Not yet. I was more worried about the test." I replied.

"Well, I have the perfect one, seeing as how easy you made that look." Cyanide grinned.

"What?" I asked, hopeful and nervous all at once. And still a bit guilty.

"How does Ghost sound to you?" Cyanide suggested.

I shrugged. That actually wasn't so bad.

I nodded. "Yeah. Ghost sounds pretty good."

The gang cheered.

"Alright, Ghost!"

"Welcome to the Tiger Sharks!"

I smiled, still with that guilty feeling twisting at my chest.

Needless to say, I had trouble sleeping that night. I still wasn't sure about the whole gang thing.

As the days passed, I started changing.

I got used to taking down innocent people for profit. And I could see what Cyanide had meant about potential.

I became the undercover, the silent assassin. My work was quick and clean, and nobody ever got a good look at my face.

I even started using my new skills in training at home. I think my brothers noticed the change, but they didn't say anything.

One day, Cyanide called forth a meeting. Once a month, the leader was challenged for their role. Everybody had to participate. It was a series of one-on-one combat, until the continuing winner became leader. After everybody had gone once, you could challenge the leader again if you didn't like the results.

Afterwards, the leader chose a new right-hand and left-man. The left-man was always male, no matter what. It was a rule, and it was tradition in the gang.

One by one, Cyanide took down Trap, Buzz and Ripper.

I really didn't want to fight her, knowing I would probably lose, but, hey, who am I to bash any sort of tradition or ceremony?

I put up a pretty good fight, if I do say so myself, but in the end, the older girl won. Hey, she had 8 years more experience than I did.

Cyanide smirked. "The left-man is still Buzz. However, my right-hand is changing. Ghost, you're the new right-hand."

I nodded. "No hard feelings, Ripper?"

He nodded. "Nah. Didn' like bein' right-hand, anyways."

I felt like he was lying, but I wasn't about to press him to admit the truth. He was over twice my size.

Cyanide whistled. We all snapped to order.

"Anyway, I found a great new hang-out for us. However, we're still about 30 bucks short. Tonight, we're takin' things up a notch. For the first time since the break-up of the gang, we're going to rob a store. And not just any store. We're robbing Tux Plus, where you can rent only the swankiest tuxes. We're going to make a fortune."

It felt like Raph was digging his knee into my chest again. Sure, small muggings were one thing. But robbing a store?!

"Cyanide... I don't know if I can do that..." I gulped.

She nodded. "Don't worry. You're ready."

It was really dark, past midnight, as we walked up to Tux Plus. I pulled my hood on, low over my face. This was going to make me feel super guilty, I knew, but I was the right-hand, now. I felt a new responsibility to the Tiger Sharks, one that I had never felt.

Heck, I was in a higher position right now than I had ever been, and certainly higher than Leo ever considered putting me.

Buzz threw a brick through the window, shattering it. Cautiously, I, the smallest in the gang, climbed through the small space and unlocked the door, letting the others in.

We made our way to the cash register. Cyanide pulled out a bag and started putting money in it.

Suddenly, the door slammed open again.

We turned, and I practically froze in place, feeling the blood drain from my face.

Oh no.

"Don't move." Leo growled, katanas drawn.

Huh. I had never been on this side of a vigilante interference before. Unfortunately, I knew from experience that this side always lost.

The others looked like they certainly remembered Raph, and were scared.

"Put down the money and nobody gets hurt." Donnie reasoned.

Thinking fast, I stuffed thirty or forty dollars in my pocket, and grabbed Trap's pepper spray.

I sprayed the area, and took off through the window, breaking more of the glass away and cutting myself in the process. The others followed my lead.

We ran. We were about a block or two away, when I heard Cyanide scream.

"You guys keep running! Get home! I'll meet up with you tomorrow after school!" I instructed, and ran back, against all better judgement.

A wiser person probably would have left Cyanide to my brothers, therefore leaving her for the police.

Unfortunately, I was raised with honour, and knowing that if any of my brothers got caught by the police, it was bad. It was the same with the gang.

I skidded around the corner in time to see Mikey finish tying Cyanide to a light post. The turtles looked up at me.

I had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it.

"Ghost! What are you doing?!" Cyanide cried.

I didn't answer her. My hood covered most of my face, meaning my brothers couldn't see who I was, and my voice could certainly give me away.

I wasn't sure how I was going to untie Cyanide and run away without getting caught or revealing who I was. I would have felt better if I was wearing a mask, but, of course, I wasn't.

I threw a shuriken at the light post, creating pitch blackness.

I had learned to trust my ears since joining the gang, and sense when somebody was nearby, almost sense their thoughts and intentions.

Unfortunately, my brothers' senses were heightened in a similar fashion.

Somehow I freed Cyanide, who took off running, and ended up holding one of Leo's swords, deflecting the blows he dealt with his other sword.

The swords were pushing against each other, and Leo was physically moving me. I had a bad grip with my feet, and was slowly being pushed backwards, although I did try to fight it.

I clenched my teeth. If Leo pushed me into the wall, he could easily pin me there, and then the game was up. I couldn't let that happen.

I lightened my resistance against Leo, and dropped the sword, jumping away and starting to run in the direction the others had gone in.

I hadn't gotten far, when I felt a sharp pain in my ankle.

"Shit!" I swore, as I fell, my hood finally slipping to reveal my face.

My brothers ran up to me and stared.

"Ming?"

"What?!"

I groaned and sat up, looking down to see Raph's sai protruding from my ankle. I clenched my teeth and pulled it out, throwing it to the ground next to me, and tried to get up again, to keep running, even though I knew it was pointless.

I stood and felt immediate pain in my foot. I put my weight on my other leg, and, knowing I couldn't keep running, I turned to face my brothers, head bowed in shame.

Suddenly, bricks and rocks flew past me. I turned to see the gang running up to me.

My jaw dropped. Why would they come back for me?!

Buzz lifted me bridal style, as Ripper, Trap and Cyanide stood between us and my brothers.

"Come on, Ghost. Let's get out of here." Cyanide pepper sprayed my brothers, and we ran off.

We went into an apartment complex. Buzz lay me down on a black couch in apartment 3B.

"This is my place. We can hang out here for now, or at least until your ankle's fixed up, Ghost." Cyanide explained.

I nodded. "Why did you come back for me?" I asked.

"Because you came back for me. And you stood up against your family for the rest of us to get away." She replied.

My mouth hung open. "My... How did you..?"

Cyanide laughed. "Don't give me that! Remember a while back? When you got that large turtle to protect you from us? Well, I figured they had to be your family, especially after I heard you call him your brother."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"You put yourself at greater risk for me. And nobody in the gang had ever done that before. For anybody. You're golden, Ghost." She nodded.

I blushed. Ripper came out of the bathroom with a First Aid kit. Buzz started bandaging my ankle.

I was surprised by the way they were caring for me. Maybe it was because I displayed honour, which they had previously forgotten. Maybe it was because I was an important member of the gang. Or maybe it was because they knew that I wasn't going to be able to go home. At least, not for a while, anyway.

I handed the money I had gotten to Cyanide. She took it and counted it.

"40 more dollars! Like I said, you're golden!" She cheered.

I grinned, feeling good, like I had accomplished something. Like I was important.

I suddenly realized that I had never felt that way at home. I had never felt like I had contributed a lot to the team.

Maybe that was the real reason I had agreed to join the gang...

---

The brothers headed home after the gang left. Raphael wanted to chase them, but Leonardo didn't let him.

Master Splinter was immediately worried when his sons returned without Ming.

"Where is your sister? Didn't you find her?" He asked.

"Oh, we found her, alright." Raphael growled.

"She... She was... With a gang. They were robbing a store." Donatello explained, still in shock after seeing his sister's face under that hood, hearing the other people call her "Ghost", and hearing that swear escape her mouth. Ming had never sworn before.

"Are you sure?!" Master Splinter gasped.

"Hai, Sensei. It was definitely Ming. We had one of the gang members, and she came back for her friend. She nearly got away without us knowing who it was, but Raph threw a sai into her ankle." Leonardo nodded.

Master Splinter could hardly believe it. How could Ming, his daughter, that happy, bubbly little girl that he had raised, be part of a gang? Or steal?

He shook his head slowly, leaving to his room to meditate. The brothers discussed what to do.

"Has anybody noticed a change in Ming? Anything that could have hinted towards something like this?" Leonardo asked.

"Now that I think about it... She has been coming home pretty late for a while. And... Has anybody else noticed how her attitude seems to have changed, too?" Donatello replied.

Michelangelo nodded. "Yeah. At first I thought she just wasn't getting a whole lot of sleep at night. After a while, I didn't even notice it anymore. Now I feel really bad. Ming is... Was... My best friend. I should have realized there was something wrong."

Raphael turned and punched the wall. "Why that little- I go and take care of a gang for her, because they're hurting her, and what do I get? She turns around and joins this gang and goes behind our backs... And who knows how long she's been stealing? What if this isn't the first time?!"

Michelangelo looked down at the leftover pizza on the table, and pushed it away, his appetite gone.

Donatello sighed, shaking his head. "I just hope that wherever she is, she's okay, and those kids take care of her. They sure acted like she was important to them." He stood and left, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Michelangelo looked from Raphael to Leonardo.

"What do we do if she comes back?" He asked.

His brothers looked at him, and then at each other.

"I don't know!" Raphael groaned, sitting and putting his head on his arms, which were crossed on the table.

Leonardo thought a moment.

"Don't chase her away. Or antagonize her. And get her to Donnie. I doubt those kids can do much for her ankle, and I'm pretty sure they won't be dropping her off at a hospital, either." He told Michelangelo, and then turned to Raphael.

"Don't give her a hard time. Wake the rest of us and don't let her leave."

Michelangelo nodded. Both he and Leonardo went off to bed.

Raphael sighed. Why would Ming do this?

There had to be more to the story. There had to be something else, something they were missing. There had to be.

Raphael wandered into the living room, and plopped down onto the couch, thinking.

He had seen a change in Ming's skills and abilities, but he had thought she was practicing harder in training.

Or maybe, she was practicing harder, so she could be a better member of this gang.

Raphael had no idea what to think. He climbed up to his room, and climbed into bed, even though he wasn't tired. Even though his thoughts would certainly keep him awake.

He didn't want to admit to anybody else, but he was worried sick about Ming, where she was, what she was doing, and whether or not her so-called "friends" were taking care of her, or if they had just abandoned her in an alley, or something.

Raphael couldn't take it anymore, and got out of bed.

He had to find his little sister.

Leonardo tossed and turned in his bed. His sleep was plagued by dreams of Ming, nightmares, in fact.

The first one had Ming running from them, and Raphael throwing that sai again. Except, the sai didn't hit her in the ankle. It landed up in her back, killing her. The hood slid as she fell, revealing who it was, revealing that they had just killed their own little sister.

The second had them fighting again, with Leonardo's katana. She pulled off her hood, and as he stood there, gaping, shocked, she had stabbed him in the side and then slit his throat, killing him. Betraying her own brother. The nightmare continued with Ming on the ground, sobbing about her betrayal, and taking her own life because of it.

Leonardo shot up, and just sat there, staring straight ahead, hyperventilating and sweating.

Somehow, he fell back asleep, and slipped into the worst dream he had ever had.

Ming's gang had finished robbing the store. They had gotten away with it, but with her stabbed in the ankle. The gang left Ming in an alley a block away, alone to die. She somehow made her way home, but when she returned, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo advanced upon her, angry, their teeth pointed and their eyes glowing red. Ming reached for Leonardo to help her, but he couldn't move, and watched as they killed her, and, one by one, just... Disappeared.

Leonardo knew he couldn't get a good night's sleep while Ming was gone.

He gave up and got suited up.

He needed to find his baby sister.

Donatello lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, his mind clouded with worry, just like Raphael's and Leonardo's were.

He gave up on sleeping, and started to work on one of his inventions. Normally, that would help, occupying his mind and causing him to forget his worries.

But not this time. This time, the only thing he could think about was Ming. He felt betrayed, but he was also mad at himself. He shouldn't have let the gang leave with her, or he at least shouldn't have let Raphael throw the sai at her, so they still wouldn't know who she was, and she would at least be home, safe and sound.

Donatello sighed, and put down his tools, grabbing his Bo staff.

He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate until she was home safely.

Michelangelo was having the same problem as his brothers.

Sleeplessness caused by worry.

He was mostly mad at himself. He should have known this was happening, he should have seen the changes in Ming.

Now, she was missing and injured.

Michelangelo couldn't fall asleep, so he stopped trying, and just sat there, staring into space, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

He wondered if Ming cared about him anymore. He still cared about her.

Michelangelo yawned and climbed out of bed, heading for the door.

If Ming wasn't at home, safe in her bed, then why should he be?

He had to find Ming. No matter what.

The four brothers met at the entrance to the lair. They all knew what the others were thinking, and no words were needed as they silently left the lair and climbed to the surface, and up to the rooftops.

They ran in silence, first heading back to Tux Plus, where cops were on the scene.

They then followed, from the rooftops, the route that the gang seemed to have followed.

Donatello stopped at a corner, and peered into the alley, pulling his gizmo down over his eyes and looking closer. He grinned.

"Target locked." He nodded.

The brothers leapt down to the fire escape in front of the window to the apartment where, asleep on a black couch, ankle wrapped in bandages, Ming lay.

Donatello slowly lifted the window. The gang had left it unlocked.

Leonardo signaled to his brothers to wait for him on the roof, and then he slid into the apartment, and kneeled next to the couch.

Slowly, careful not to wake her, Leonardo slid one hand under her head and the other under her legs, lifting her from the couch and carrying her out the window.

He met up with his brothers on the roof. They started home.

---

I was fast asleep on the black couch, when I awoke. Not like, startled awake, but when you just kind of become conscious again, even though it still looks like you're sleeping.

I heard the window slide open. I didn't dare move or open my eyes. I was partially afraid and partially hopeful.

I knew it was my brothers. I didn't know if they were going to just check on me or take me home, but I secretly hoped that they would take me home. It would be less awkward than me going home myself and then facing them.

I felt a hand slide under my head, an arm supporting my neck, and another arm hold my legs. I felt myself be lifted from the couch.

I snuggled up to the plastron of my brother, the way I always did when they lifted me that way, asleep or awake. It was like a bodily instinct. I knew I was safe.

I was carried out the window, and upwards, across the rooftops, and then downwards, and then I heard the familiar sloshing and smelled the slightly nauseating stench that meant we were in the sewers.

I felt myself being lowered onto a flat, soft surface, and my head be gently set down on a pillow. Somebody wrapped blankets around me, and then kissed my forehead.

I heard whispering, and then I listened as they left the room, quietly closing the door behind them.

I opened my eyes and smiled to see that I was in my room, tucked into my bed.

I curled up and fell asleep again.

When I woke up, I felt like it was all a dream. Becoming right-hand, the whole robbery, my brothers discovering my secret, the gang looking after me... All just a dream.

Then I moved my ankle, and gasped at the pain. I pulled my leg out of the blankets to look at it, and I saw dirty bandages wrapped around my ankle.

I winced. Okay, so either Raphael stabbed me with his sai when I was sleeping, or it wasn't a dream at all.

"Aw, man." I mumbled, having been kinda hopeful. This meant I still had to face my brothers. And Master Splinter. He would not be pleased.

I got out of bed, and limped to the door, with the intentions of limping to Donnie's lab and getting him to look my ankle over better.

However, just getting to the door caused too much agony. It felt like my ankle was on fire.

I groaned. "Man, that hurts..." I sighed.

The door opened. Mikey was there, grinning widely. Donnie was there, too, but he wasn't smiling.

"Hi, Ming! Welcome back to the world of the awake and alive!" Mikey joked.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Hey, Mikey. Hi, Donnie."

Mikey hugged me tightly. I gasped for air for a moment, but then hugged him back.

"So, um... Donnie, c-could you look over my ankle? Please?" I asked.

He nodded, and kneeled down next to me. He gently held my ankle up in one hand. I held onto Mikey for balance.

Donnie unraveled the bandages, pulled his weird binocular things over his face, peered closer, and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's almost at the bone, but it's not. Thankfully. It'll heal on it's own. Until then, I can give you some painkillers, but you should still use crutches, okay?"

I nodded. "Thanks."

Donnie nodded. He and Mikey helped me limp to the lab, where Donnie handed me a pair of crutches and gave me a painkiller. I started to feel better already.

The door to the lab opened again. I turned to see Raph, Leo and Sensei standing there. I inwardly groaned, and hung my head, avoiding eye contact.

Nobody said anything for the longest time. It was awkward silence. I could hardly stand it, waiting for somebody to say something, somebody to ground me or question me. Something!

I took a deep breath, and decided to break the silence. It would be way less awkward.

"Um... Hey, guys. Nice to see you." I gave a small smile, looking up, hoping to lighten things up a little.

Leo smiled back, although it didn't look sincere. At all.

"Nice to see you, too. How's your ankle?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Well... I'm not going to say I didn't deserve it." I admitted.

"Good. Because you definitely deserved it." Raph growled.

"Raphael!" Splinter snapped. I guessed that Sensei had spoken to Raph earlier.

I bowed my head again. "Sensei, I..."

Master Splinter sent my brothers out. I sat in Donnie's big skateboard chair, head hung low.

"Ming, is it true that your brothers caught you helping rob a store?" He questioned.

I nodded slowly, holding back tears. I was in a heap of trouble, and I knew it.

"Why, Ming?"

I thought. That was a good question. Why?

"Because... We needed money... To buy a new hang out..." I replied honestly.

Master Splinter shook his head, clearly upset and disappointed, and walked out. He didn't tell me I was grounded, he didn't give me Hashi, he just... Walked out.

I started to feel really guilty for even joining the gang in the first place. I shouldn't have done it. Or I should have told my brothers that I was forced into joining a gang.

I buried my face in my hands. I felt really bad. And the worst part was, I wasn't in trouble for it. Sensei hadn't given me a punishment.

Which only meant that he believed I was being punished enough. Or that I was going to be punished enough.

I sighed, thinking about my brothers. I had openly gone against everything they worked so hard for. They were probably really mad at me. I didn't blame them.

Using the crutches, I limped back to my room, resolving to avoid my brothers as much as possible. Especially Raph.

Mikey wasn't such a big deal. He seemed to have already forgiven me. And I was probably going to need to talk to Donnie still. But I knew if I tried talking to Leo or Raph...

About a week or so later, Donnie looked over my ankle again.

"It looks like it's healing nicely. If you're careful, you can probably start putting a little weight on it now, but I still want you to use the crutches, okay?" Donnie instructed.

I nodded. "Okay."

Before I could get off the table and leave, Donnie grabbed my arm.

"Hold up a minute. We need to talk."

I scrunched up my shoulders and hung my head. Drat. So close.

Raph, Leo and Mikey walked in, closing the door behind them and probably locking it.

"Look, guys, I... I know you're mad and... I'm s-sorry. I didn't want to, I-" I stuttered.

"We aren't mad." Leo interrupted.

I raised an eyebrow, looking up at them and relaxing my shoulders. "You're pulling my leg."

Mikey shook his head. "We're not mad at you. Well... Okay, Raph's a little angry, but he's always mad."

Raph glared at Mikey, and then turned to me, softening his expression. "I'm not mad, either. I am disappointed, though."

"We all are." Donnie nodded.

I hung my head again. Of course they were disappointed in me. I had betrayed their trust.

A small suspicion arose in my head.

"I won't tell you where they are."

My brothers gave me confused looks.

"I won't tell you where my friends are. No matter what you say." I growled.

"We don't care where your... Friends are." Leo told me, hesitating at the word "friends", as though he didn't regard it as the right word.

"We just want a reason." Raph nodded.

I gave them a look of confusion.

"We want to know why you did this. Mainly the robbery part." Donnie explained.

"And how long it's been going on." Raph added.

I gulped, but, knowing they weren't going to let me leave until they got an answer they were satisfied with, I took a deep breath.

"I didn't really want to rob the store. We could've just as easily gotten 30 bucks from mugging more people, but-"

"Wait a second. Mugging?! You were mugging people, too?!" Raph gaped.

I cast my gaze down at the ground, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"I... Yeah." I sighed.

"Ming... Ming, look at me." Leo commanded.

I lifted my head, and sniffled, as the stupid tears began to fall.

Leo put a hand under my chin and leaned forward, looking deep into my eyes.

I tried to read what was in his sky blue eyes. I thought I saw a flicker of compassion, but it was mostly hurt and betrayal. I had betrayed him. I had betrayed them all, and I felt horrible about it.

"I'm sorry..." I breathed.

"It's okay. I forgive you." Leo kissed my forehead.

I started to sob, and flung my arms around my big brother's neck, seeking his comfort. Leo hugged me back, and stroked my hair. Normally, I would have protested to this, but right now, I knew that I needed it.

After a few minutes, Leo pulled away. I wiped my eyes, and took a deep breath.

"I'm really, really sorry, guys."

Mikey and Donnie both smiled and hugged me. "It's all good, little sis. You're forgiven."

I looked up at Raph, a little hopeful, a little expectant, and really... Afraid.

Raph looked at me for a long time, with a look I couldn't read. It seemed like he wasn't certain what to think.

"Ming... I need you to promise me that nothing like this will ever happen again." He instructed.

I nodded. "I promise. I'm really sorry. I won't ever do anything like this again."

Raph smiled. "Good. And you know how I know that you won't? Because if you do, I'm going to hit you so hard, you'll have permanent brain damage. Am I clear?!" He growled.

I nodded quickly. "Crystal."

Raph hugged me. "Good. Because you don't need to steal."

I was glad my brothers had forgiven me, and that we were talking again. But I was worried about the gang.

What did they do after I disappeared? Were they searching for me? Or did they even care?

I was mostly worried of what would happen when I could return to street level.

Not long after, my ankle was fully healed, so Raph and I were out on a run together.

I spotted Cyanide, Trap, Buzz and Ripper, with two others. A boy about 16, and a 12-year-old that I knew, named Rosie.

Raph was ahead of me a ways, so I snuck down to the street.

Cyanide was the first to see me.

"Hey, guys! The Ghost has returned." She called.

The gang turned to me.

"Ghost!"

"You're back!"

"Where've you been?!"

Buzz, Trap and Ripper greeted me.

"My brothers tracked me down. But it's good now." I replied.

Cyanide turned to Rosie and the other boy.

"Rosie! Fangs! Come meet Ghost. She's the best gang member we've ever had." Cyanide called.

Rosie and the boy, Fangs, turned to me.

"Little Ming Hamato? That's the legendary Ghost?" Rosie gaped.

"Wait till you see her in action, Rosie. Speaking of which... We got the new hangout, Ghost. We just need some decorations money. Are you willing to get us a bit?" Cyanide asked.

I sighed. "I... Alright. But this is my last run."

Cyanide cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean, Ghost?"

"I'll explain later. And this time, I get the money alone. I'll meet you guys tomorrow night, midnight, same place. With the money." I turned and walked away, returning to the rooftops.

I ran in the direction Raph had gone, wondering if I could catch up to him.

I found him after a few minutes of searching.

"Hey, Pipsqueak, where've you been? I was gettin' worried about ya." He smiled.

I shrugged. "I was watching what I thought was gang activity. Turned out to be a false alarm. I was watching it so long that I... I got turned around. Wasn't entirely sure where I was."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Only you would get lost." He muttered.

I crossed my arms. "No. Mikey would, too. And so would anybody that wasn't a Yorker." I defended, and winced. That wasn't really a very good defence.

Raphael laughed at me. "Okay, Pipsqueak, let's go back. Nothing much is happening toni-"

A loud alarm cut Raph off.

"Spoke too soon?" I guessed.

We took off for the store being robbed. Second Corner and West Diamonds.

I froze when I saw the Tiger Sharks. Of course. This would be Rosie's test.

I shook my head. "Raph, I don't think I can..."

Raph turned to me. "You say you're sorry? Then you're going to prove it. Come on." He leapt from the roof.

I pulled my balaclava up tighter, hiding a little more of my face, and jumped down after Raph.

"Hey, kids! You know, you can just as easily get money by getting a job, you know." Raph called.

Cyanide glared at Raph. "Not you again. Somebody's gotta do something about you. Hey, Ripper! Emergency Freak Intervention Protocol."

Oh no. I remembered that protocol. It had been fashioned just before I became Cyanide's right-hand.

I tried to signal to Raph to run, but he wasn't paying attention, instead fighting Cyanide and Trap at once.

Ripper disappeared. I looked around in panic. If they pulled Emergency Freak Intervention Protocol off, then Raph was in danger.

A few minutes later, Ripper was back. And he had a gun that I knew was loaded with tranquilizer darts.

I started to fight Ripper, but I was a moment too late, as he shot the gun at Raph.

A dart hit him in the side of the neck. He turned angrily to Ripper and I. Ripper was trying to shoot me with the gun, but luckily, I was too quick.

Suddenly, Ripper was flying backwards into a dumpster. I turned to see Raph standing next to me. He faltered, and fell to the ground, unconscious.

I hurried over and pulled the dart from the side of his neck. Oh, Shell! Without Raph, I couldn't fight the Tiger Sharks.

Cyanide and Trap grabbed my arms, and tied me to a lamp post.

"The cops will be here in a few minutes to pick you two up. The freak and the vigilante robber. Have fun!" Cyanide waved, and she and the rest of the gang took off.

I struggled against the rope that bound me to the post.

"Raph! Raph, wake up! Wake up!" I begged, hoping against all hope that I could wake him up.

No such luck.

"Hey, Siri! Call Donnie." I cried, hoping the phone in my pocket could pick up my voice.

I heard the muffled robotic voice say, "Calling Donnie." I stretched my arm and moved my hip in a very painful way to grab my phone from my pocket and hold it up to my ear.

"Hi, Ming. What's the matter?" Donnie replied.

"I don't have much time to explain, but I need you and Leo and maybe Mikey. We're at Second Corner and West Diamonds. Raph's unconscious, I'm tied to a lamp post, and the cops are going to be here any minute!" I rambled.

"We'll be there in a bit." Donnie promised.

"Hurry! My hands are tied. Literally!" I hung up.

In the distance came the sound of sirens.

"Oh man!" I whimpered, pulling against the ropes.

---

Donatello grabbed his Bo staff and headed for the door.

"Leo! Mikey! We gotta head to Second Corner and West Diamonds! Now!"

His brothers wasted no time, and soon they were running across the rooftops to the jewelery store.

They stopped just before the store.

"Too late." Donatello sighed, watching as a couple cops untied Ming from the lamp post and handcuffed her, leading her to the car.

Ming looked up and saw her brothers. She started to struggle and pull against the police officers, hopeful for an extremely last minute rescue.

Donatello shook his head slowly, only able to watch Ming be forced into the car.

A few other cops were kneeling by an unconscious Raphael, as was a scientist.

Leonardo and Michelangelo shared a look. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

"What do we do?" Michelangelo asked.

Leonardo sighed and shook his head. "Unless Donnie has an idea, there's nothing we can do."

The three brothers watched the car that Ming was in drive away, and a group of people lift Raphael into the back of a van, which soon also sped away.

Michelangelo shook his head sadly.

"What are they going to do to Raph?" He asked.

Donatello shrugged. "I don't know, but it can't be anything good. I just hope Raph wakes up before they get there. Then maybe he'll be able to get away, and he'll be okay. Ming, however..."

Donatello, Michelangelo and Leonardo returned to the lair, and told Splinter what had happened.

Master Splinter shook his head sadly.

"This is not good. Ming will undoubtedly be tried for the robbery, and Raphael... We can only hope for the best for him." He sighed.

"Sensei, isn't there anything we can do? Any way to get them away from the police?" Michelangelo asked, hoping by some miracle that there was.

Master Splinter shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Michelangelo. We can only hope that I have taught Raphael and Ming enough."

---

(R's POV)

I groaned, my eyes slowly blinking open.

"It's waking." I heard somebody say.

"Be careful." Another unfamiliar voice replied.

"Yeah. We don't know if it's dangerous or not." Somebody else added.

"I just hope it can't break the glass." The second voice spoke offhandedly.

"It shouldn't. The glass is bulletproof." The first voice consoled.

I slowly sat up, rubbing my head, which ached. I tried to recall what happened.

Oh yeah. That robbery. Those twerps must have hit me with a tranq dart.

I looked around. I was in a room with white walls. I was laying on a table, but I wasn't strapped to it or bound or anything. The one wall had a window stretched across it, with holes cut in the corners, probably so I could breathe. There were two humans on the other side of the glass, and one in the room with me.

The human in the room with me had a lab coat and a pistol in a holster, probably for protection. He had glasses, and looked braver than his companions.

"Hello. Do you speak English? Do you understand me?" He asked slowly.

I nodded. "Where am I?" I demanded.

"You are in New York. That's on Earth. Planet Earth." He spoke slowly.

I glared at him. "I'm not stupid. I know where New York is. I mean, where in New York am I?"

"The police station." The guy replied.

I looked out the window, past the other two scientist guys. There was a glass door, and there were people moving around in what looked like a lab.

"Where's Ming?" I asked, not thinking.

"Where's... What?" The scientist asked.

"Where's Ming? My little sister. She was helping me stop the robbery. Where is she?" I growled.

"You were the only turtloid alien found on the crime scene." The scientist replied.

I gave him a look. What did he just call me?

"Dumb that down a notch." I requested.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What did you just call me?" I rolled my eyes.

"A... Turtloid alien?"

"Yeah, that! What does that mean?" I asked.

"Um... Somebody that doesn't come from our planet." The scientist looked thoroughly perplexed.

I groaned. This was worse than communicating with Donnie. At least Donnie knew what it meant to 'dumb it down'.

"I know what an alien is, you geek. What's the other thing?"

"A turtloid? That's any creature that has a shell and anatomy similar to a turtle. Where do you come from?" The scientist replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Kansas City."

I suddenly heard somebody scream my name.

Ming.

"Raph! RAPHAEL! No, let me go! Let me go! RAPHAEL!" She screamed.

I could see her through the window. The scientists turned to the screaming girl. She was being held by two cops.

Somehow, she ripped out of their grasps and ran to a door next to the large window.

The scientists grabbed her and started dragging her back. I could see tears of frustration falling down her cheeks.

"No, wait! Let her go!" I urged.

The scientists shared a look, and then let Ming go. She ripped open the door and ran to me. She practically leapt into my arms, crying and hugging me.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay, don't cry." I soothed.

"What did they do? Did they hurt you? They didn't experiment on you, did they?" She asked frantically, looking up into my eyes.

I smiled. "I'm okay."

"Good." Ming sighed, hugging me again.

"So... This is Ming?" The scientist guy guessed.

"Yes."

Ming nodded, and pulled a small cylindrical object from her pocket.

"What's that?" I asked.

She threw the object, and it hit the far wall, exploding. She then grabbed my arm and dragged me to the other wall, throwing another dynamite stick at it.

The hole in the wall revealed us on street level. Ming took off running. I followed.

We didn't stop until we made it across the rooftops and into the sewers.

And there, we took a second to breathe and reflect.

"Did that just happen?" I asked.

"Y-yes... Yes. YES!" Ming cheered. "Boo-ya! Take that, cops!"

I hugged Ming, picked her up and spun her around. "You genius! How did you find me? How did you get away, how...?"

"Easy. I kicked the guy that was holding me in the nuts, and I had seen the scientists moving that way. I put two and two together." She shrugged, grinning.

"C'mon. Let's go home and tell everybody how you saved us." I offered.

Ming nodded. "Good idea. I'm exhausted."

---

Donatello sighed, bored, afraid, and upset. He wished there was some way he could help Ming and Raphael.

Suddenly, he heard a joyous cry from Michelangelo. Curious, Donatello peeked out of his lab to see Raphael and Ming both standing there, both smiling and seemingly unharmed, although the girl looked tired and about three seconds from collapsing with exhaustion.

"Guys!" He grinned, swooping Ming up in a hug, and then hugging Raphael.

They embraced for a moment, then broke apart awkwardly.

Leonardo gently lifted Ming. "Come on. You look like you're going to pass out any minute."

He carried his little sister up to her room and gently tucked her into bed.

"Goodnight." He whispered.

"G'night, Leo. I love you." Ming murmured sleepily.

"Love you, too." Leo left, closing the door.

---

(Ming)

I awoke the next morning feeling the safest I ever had in a long time.

I sat up and stretched, yawning widely. I was home, and I was safe. I was no longer in a gang, and I was no longer in danger of any sorts.

It felt like a dream. Things weren't perfect, but they were wonderful. I was in the safest place on Earth. Nobody could hurt me again.

Until I remembered. I had to meet the gang tonight at midnight with cash. Great. How was I gonna get out of this one?

Then I remembered. Leo had lots of money he had been saving up. Maybe I could "borrow" some. Not like he would notice.

I opened my door and peeked around. I couldn't see anybody.

I tiptoed downstairs and peeked into the living room. Leo, Mikey and Sensei were watching TV. I could hear Raph arguing with Donnie in his lab.

I snuck into Leo's room. His door was open. I slid inside and leaned down under his bed, which he made everyday. I pulled out the little red box he put all his cash in.

Checking over my shoulder again to make sure nobody was there, I opened the box.

Holy mother-load! I counted the money quickly. There was at least 300 bucks!

I took two twenties. That should be enough for the gang.

I replaced the box quickly and stuffed the bills into my pocket. Then, I scooted.

I rounded the corner when I bumped into Leo. Literally. Bumped.

"Ow!" I gasped, falling over onto my butt and placing a hand over my nose. I felt blood.

"Ming! Gee, I'm sorry. Should've watched where I was going." Leo grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Oh, your nose is bleeding." He sighed. "C'mon. Let's go clean that up."

I nodded, still pinching my nose with one hand. Leo took my other hand and led me to the bathroom.

Gently, he helped me clean up.

"Why were you running, anyway?"

"Huh?"

"You were running when you collided with me. Why?" Leo asked, handing me some tissues. I stuffed them into my nostrils to soak up the blood.

I shrugged. "N-no reason. Exercise, y'know?"

"No, I don't know. You could have gone for a run topside." Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Nobody wanted to come. I didn't wanna go alone."

"I don't recall you even asking..." Leo raised an eyebrow.

"You would've said no."

"Don't be so sure..."

I shrugged, smiling a little. "Okay, okay. No more running in the lair. I promise."

"Good." Leo ruffled my hair. "Next time, just... Watch where you're going."

I nodded. Leo walked out.

I shuffled to my room and pulled out the money, making sure I still had it all. Yep.

I let out a breath and hid the cash. Hopefully, Leo didn't count his money all that often. Now all I had to do was sneak out at midnight.

11:35. Time to start.

I grabbed my balaclava and black hoodie, tucking the cash into my pocket. I felt a twinge of guilt for stealing from Leo. Sure, I had mugged innocent people a lot, but this was different. This was my brother. I had robbed the most honest person (and turtle) that I knew.

I shook my head, clearing that thought from my mind. I had a mission tonight. I couldn't let guilt distract me.

I made it out of the lair alright, and met up with Cyanide and the gang.

"Ghost. Almost thought you weren't gonna come." Cyanide smirked.

"Why? I said I'd get the money." I handed the money to her.

"So, Ghost. When you said this was your last run..."

"I gotta quit the Tiger Sharks. I'm sorry, Cyanide, but I can't keep this up." I started to walk away.

"Now, hold on. You can't just quit." Ripper grabbed my arm. Buzz seized my other arm.

"Wh-"

"Sorry, Ghost, but nobody leaves a gang and lives to tell about it." Cyanide pulled out a gun. I gasped and struggled. It was pointless. Ripper and Buzz were both much older and stronger than me.

"Wait, no! Cyanide, no, please!" I begged.

"So long, Ghost."

I shut my eyes, begging for a miracle. I didn't want to die. Not yet.

The gun shot. I gasped. The bullet hit my leg. I didn't know if that was on purpose, to make me suffer before she killed me.

Ripper and Buzz dropped me. I fell onto my hands and knees, eyes still shut tight. I didn't want to watch. I didn't want to die staring into Cyanide's pistol.

"Look at me, Ghost." Cyanide commanded. I refused. Somebody grabbed my head and forced it up.

"Open your eyes." Buzz snarled.

"No..." I whimpered, terrified.

"Come on, open your eyes. Look at me, Ghost. Don't be a coward." Cyanide coaxed gently.

I opened my eyes.

"That's it." She smirked. "I want to watch the light die in your eyes."

I stared at the gun pointed at me, knowing anymore struggling was pointless. I was as good as dead.

The gun shot.

---

Leonardo hissed. He had forty dollars missing. He counted the cash every night. He had spent a long time raising this money.

"Ming..."

Normally, Leo would never jump to conclusions that way, but there was no doubt. Of course she wouldn't just stop stealing like that.

Leo listened. Somebody was sneaking out. He grabbed his swords. He had to stop Ming. Not only because he was mad about being robbed, but because he loved Ming. He wanted to stop her from making a huge mistake.

He waited a few minutes before following after her, so she wouldn't know he was following.

He searched for a while, until he saw her with the gang. She handed them some money.

"I knew it..." Leo whispered to himself.

Then, things took a turn. Ming began to walk away, when two of them suddenly grabbed her by the arms.

"What?"

They dragged her back to the girl the turtles had tried to arrest before.

She pulled out a gun. Leo gasped, but before he could do anything, the girl had shot Ming in the leg. The boys dropped her.

Leo jumped down from the rooftop and got closer, hiding in an alley.

"Come on, open your eyes. Look at me, Ghost. Don't be a coward." The girl coaxed gently.

Ming opened her eyes.

"That's it." The girl with the gun smirked. "I want to watch the light die in your eyes."

Ming's eyes widened in fear.

The gun shot, as Leo tackled the girl. Ming screamed.

"No!"

The rest of the gang took off running. Leo turned to his little sister.

"Ming?" He put a hand on her shoulder. She drew a deep breath.

"L-Leo...?" She gasped. The bullet had hit her in the shoulder, and blood was gushing out of the wound, covering Leonardo's hand.

"It... It's okay. Y-you're gonna be okay." He gulped, trying to swallow the lump in his throat as he lifted his sister onto his lap, cradling her like he used to when she was really little, and he would have to calm her back to sleep after a bad dream.

"I'm... S-sorry... I-I s-s-stole your money..." She gasped.

"It's okay. I don't care." Leo soothed, pushing her hair out of her face, and texting Donatello quickly.

"Cy-Cya-n-nide has... The m... Money..." Ming winced. Speaking seemed to be causing her great pain.

Leo gazed at the unconscious gang member. He reached into her pocket and pulled out the forty dollars.

"Ming..." He stuffed them in his pocket and turned back to his little sister. "I love you... Okay? I love you, and I'm not going to go anywhere. Donnie's coming, he'll be here soon... I promise, you're going to be okay..." Leo sniffled, tears finally pouring down his face.

"Y-you're c-crying..." Ming smiled. "I... L-love..." She started coughing, and took another deep breath. "Love... You, t-t-too..." Her eyes started to close.

"No, don't close your eyes. Ming, you have to stay with me. Please stay with me..." Leo begged, shaking her gently.

"I..." Ming gasped out, struggling. She didn't want to close her eyes. She knew if she did, she would lose consciousness and probably die. She didn't want to die. Yet, her eyelids felt so heavy. It was so tempting to just close her eyes and sleep.

Donatello and Raphael ran to them. "Leo!"

"Ming?!" Raph gasped, upon seeing his little sister.

"Donnie! Thank goodness!" Leo handed Ming to Donnie gently.

The purple clad turtle felt tears spring to his eyes, and he knew there was nothing he could do.

"D-D-Don...nie..." Ming gasped.

"Shh... It's okay. It'll be okay. Just close your eyes. Go to sleep." Donatello urged gently.

"What?! But, Donnie..." Raph protested.

"She'll never wake up!" Leo cried.

Donnie nodded slowly. "I know. But... There's nothing else I can do." He placed a hand over Ming's eyes, slowly closing them.

"N-no... Donnie... I d-don't... Wan... T-to..." Ming gasped out.

"It's okay. I know. Nobody does. I'm sorry." He started to cry, holding his sister close. All he could do now was hold her.

"Let's go..." Leo suggested. Donnie and Raph followed, silent and mournful.

Ming was still alive when they got home, but barely. Michelangelo gasped at the sight of them.

"Ming! D-Donnie... Is-is she...?" He gulped.

"She's still alive, but not for long." Donatello sighed.

"C-can I...?" Mikey held his arms out.

Donnie nodded, placing Ming in Mikey's arms. The orange clad turtle sat on the couch, cradling her.

"Ming... I-I don't know if you can hear me... But... I love you, and you're..." Mikey started to cry. "Y-you're my best... Friend... In this whole... Whole world..." He started full out bawling, hugging Ming so his face was buried in her hair.

"P-please don't die..." He begged quietly, knowing there was no way she could survive.

"Mikey..." Ming mumbled in her sleep.

It was dark. Only dark. Her shoulder didn't hurt anymore. Neither did her leg.

She could hear crying.

"P-please don't die..." Mikey was crying.

"Mikey?" Ming called. She was standing in a forest, it seemed. A dark forest.

She went to call out again, but she couldn't get her voice to work. So, she started walking, until she came to a small dark town.

It seemed almost Victorian aged.

Ming was about to enter, when something grabbed her arm.

"Don't go in there. You're not welcome." A rough voice growled.

Ming turned. A boy her age, with blonde hair and blue eyes held her tight. She opened her mouth to protest, but still couldn't make a sound.

The boy shook his head. "You can't speak. Don't try. This place... This is the world of dreams. Come. You have to go this way." He gestured, and began to walk down the path.

Ming looked back at the village. She felt the pull of curiosity, and made to go there.

The boy grabbed her arm again. "Can't you listen? It's not safe. You have to go this way." He began pulling her with him.

Ming gave in and followed. Perhaps he could explain what was going on.

She tried again to speak, but still couldn't work her voice, so she resorted to gestures. Tapping the boy on the shoulder, she attempted to convey her question of what was going on.

"I can't understand sign language." The boy shook his head. "But I probably know what you're asking. You see, I'm Prince Damien. I'm the son of the Devil."

Ming gave a silent gasp.

"I know, I know. Hard to believe. Even harder to believe would probably be the fact that you are me and I am you. We're twins. I know your name, your goals, your secrets, or at least, the ones you've told me. You know just as much about me. Your memory has been suppressed. You aren't as young as you think you are. You aren't a mortal, nor are you weak or powerless as you believe. I cannot speak your whole name now, and the chance that you'll remember this is slim. Here we are." Damien stopped. Ming stopped behind him, gazing at the large brick wall. It extruded on both sides for eternity.

Damien turned to Ming. "This door leads back to the waking world. If you remember anything, remember this: You are not just a weakling, and you are not a pipsqueak, as your brother calls you. You are much more. Oh, and upon waking, your shoulder's going to hurt like Hell. So's your leg. See you."

Ming stepped up to the big red door, and looked back at Damien. He nodded.

She took a deep breath. She had so many more questions. She didn't know if she could trust him, but there was nothing else to do. She knew partly what he was saying was true. Her mind subconsciously knew it was asleep. Her memory tickled with the fact she had seen him before. Her heart knew she was with Mikey in the real world, that she was laying near him, or in his arms.

She knew she was alive.

If she died now, she would be with her family. That was okay with Ming, as she pushed the big red door open and stepped through.

---

Mikey sat on the couch hugging Ming for 36 hours. All night, all day, and well into the second night, he just sat there, unable to eat for the queasy feeling in his stomach, unable to sleep for fear of nightmares, unable to leave Ming, feeling that his touch kept her alive, kept her heart beating, kept her lungs working.

"Please... Don't leave me..." He whispered every so often. His voice was hoarse because he was thirsty, and he had cried until he had run out of tears.

Ming was still alive, her chest was still rising and falling gently with her breath, but she had been asleep for the last 36 hours. Donnie said it was a miracle she hadn't died yet.

Every so often, his brothers would try to coax Mikey to eat something, drink something, let one of them take Ming so he could sleep, but Mikey couldn't. He couldn't part with his sister.

Leo came to sat on the couch next to him. "Mikey... I know this is hard, but-"

"No, Leo." Mikey's voice crackled.

The older brother shook his head. "If you would please listen. You know there's no chance she'll-"

"Leo...? M-Mikey...?" Ming suddenly gasped quietly.

Both turtles gazed at her. Her eyelids fluttered.