Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT at all. Nope. Sorry guys. sigh

Thanks sooooo much for the reviews. Tell everyone else about this story will you? Thanx! I love writing and will update every chance I get! Hope that you like this chapter. I'm basing it off of the cartoon but due to my work schedule and funds my experience is based off the DVD's which are already missing a few episodes. The last I saw was Karai vowing to destroy the turtles. If I'm missing important features of episodes after that let me know. The next DVD comes out in January.

Chapter 2

Hero

The wind whipped the rain into his face, stinging it like a thousand tiny needles. His eyes squinted against the onslaught that they were nothing but tiny slits. Tired, so, so tired. That swim nearly did him in. His knees still trembled with the exertion that it had took; he was exhausted. But he couldn't stop now. He needed to find his mother, his family.

He saw a figure in the street and blindly stumbled toward it. Mother?

He stopped short when he realized it was a human. A female stood in front of a male with some mechanical thing on his shoulder, talking about something called 'Channel 9 News', whatever that was. He dragged himself away from the scene, careful to keep hidden and numbly wondering what could possess that crazy lady to stand in the raging storm like that.

That was over 20 minutes ago, now he lay in a trembling heap beneath some old boxes. So, so tired. His muscles twitched angrily at him, telling him that he'd pushed them too far for one day and that they demanded rest. So what was a 6 year old to do? His eyes closed heavily, his body numb to everything. Numb?

Startled he jerked himself up, remembering what his mother told him about his body. He could make his own body heat, just not nearly as good as mammals. His temperature was still greatly effected by outside temperatures. So it was important to stay warm, otherwise it would be a long time before he woke up.

The thought of a hibernating sleep terrified him and he forced his shaky, protesting limbs to move him forward still. Shelter. Find shelter; hide, sleep, stay warm...THEN look for mother.

Theses thoughts drifted across his mind like thin clouds, he was getting out of tune with himself. Not only was he tired and cold, but he was just a small child facing a seemingly impossible task in frustrating situations.

His skin felt like cold wax. So cold, so tired.

Maybe sleep won't be so bad... His thoughts trailed down the impossible. He wouldn't get warm quick enough in this cold rain to wake up soon, then it might be too late. He wasn't sure he really cared any more. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he thought of his mother. "Where are you Mama?"A barely audible whisper escaped his lips.He blinked and more tears came as he cried. "I'm sorry, Mama, I tried. I tried really hard." He looked around for a nice place to put himself down in the dark downpour when something caught his eye. A window. It was right at street level, probably a basement or cellar. But all he saw was the warm orange glow emanating from it, the unspoken promise of warmth and freedom from the chilly rain and wind.
Blindly he loped toward it, his arms swinging lifelessly at his sides and his head lazily bobbing with each step. He was beat. Crouching down he fumbled around the window, not thinking of the inhabitants inside or what he could come across; only of that tantilizing warm glow. Finally he found the latch. Thankfully it was unlocked or he would have given up right there. It creaked aside and he pushed the window open, his elbows knocking together with the effort. Suddenly it wasn't there anymore and for the second time in an hour he fell.

It was a much shorter fall this time, and he landed on boxes, not on a crashing, angry ocean. He landed flat on his shell and just lay there for a moment and stared listlessly into space; not being completely there. Then, as the warmth of the air slowly seeped into his tired muscles he blinked and his vision cleared. Tiny droplets of rain touched his face and he looked at the open window six feet above him. He was safe!

"What was that? Hey! Who left the window open!" A deep growling voice boomed. It seemed to bounce off the walls.

He gasped and scrambled up, noticing stacks and stacks of boxes and crates. He squeezed himself between them and scrambled deeper into the maze. His limbs were shaking, both from exhaustion and fear. That voice was exactly what he'd imagined a monster to sound like. Sweat dripped down his face as he imagined a hulking figure with fangs, claws, and a hungry belly. He gulped. The darkness between the boxes should be a good enough hiding place, right.

"I don't know boss..ah...er...Master. I'll get it."
He peeked in a slit between the boxes and observed a human male approach, shove some boxes aside and stretch to close the window. He was wearing what appeared to be all the colors of the rainbow, with bright orange and yellow hair with large pieces of metal attached to his nose. He had a picture of a purple dragon clawing up his ankle.

The child looked at him curiously. Is that what a monster looked like? A funny looking human? He looked so ridiculous that for a moment a smile tempted his lips. If he'd known that he wouldn't have been so scared!

Those thoughts stopped as the booming voice resounded in the room again. He tried to squeeze himself into a corner, the forgotten fear remembered. "NO! I want to knowWHAT did it! We've had too many problems with those green freaks for us to be taking any chances! I want this place searched from top to bottom!"

"But master! We haven't finished unpacking from our last raid yet!"
"I don't care! It's not like you're going anywhere in this storm anyway! You do what I say, no matter what I say. No questions!"

A tired, pathetic chorous of "Yes master." resounded in the room and he could hear scores of slowly shuffling feet. Grumbles came from everywhere, as though the room was inhabited by tiny men with growling voices.

'Maybe they won't find me' he thought. He really didn't want to move, and he wasn't sure he could put up a good chase even if he wanted to. Especially now that he was still. His muscles, kept alive by moving now stiffened as he sat there, breathing sighs of relief; but it would be harder to get them going again. Maybe they wouldn't find him, he repeated to himself.

For the millionth time all thoughts left his brain as the box he was hiding under suddenly came out of its place, and he was staring into the face of one of those dragon rainbow people.

The rain slicked down their bodies, giving them a slight chill. Luckily the wind had pretty much died awayand all they had to deal with was the rain. The four turtles trecked to the area where the reporter was, each too miserable, and too lost in thought to say a word. Well, almost.

An already cranky Raph grimaced deeper when water splashed in his face for the umpteenth time. Mikey joyously insisted on jumping into every puddle he came across which; considering the amount of rain, was a good number.

"Nya hahaha!" He laughed as he planted both feet into a deceptively deep one. This one got all three of the turtles. Mikey leapt forward again but stopped short at the sight of three pairs of glaring brown eyes. He put on his best puppy-dog look. "Aw, c'mon guys! I was just having some fun!"

"Stop fooling around Mike!" Leo snapped at him. "This is important." With that he whipped around and leapt to the next building.

"Sheesh! Y'know Don? He's been really up tight ever since that last fight with the Shredder where Karai stabbed him. What'd you think..."

"Sorry Mike. I'd have to agree this time. This could potentially be life changing for us. Imagine, another of our species. I wonder what they're doing here." The purple-wearing turtle got a familiar lost look in his eyes as he turned around to follow Leo.

"Hmph. Any commentary from you Raphy?" Mike chirped, looking at his brother.

Raph simply glared at him and walked past...not before he gave Mikey a strong shove from behind landing him face first in a puddle. Mikey came up sputtering and coughing. He looked at the retreating figure. "Not funny Raph!"

Raph chuckled. "Man, I feel better already!"

They ranthe rooftops, leaping deftly from one to the other. They slowed down as they neared the area where the reporter was. Don peered at the area, now deserted. "Not really sure how to go from here, I mean the rain would've washed away any evidence of passing." The other three thought.

"Last time I saw it on the screen it seemed to be heading in that general direction." Leo said, pointing down the street. "We can assume that it tried to find shelter, since the wind was still pretty bad. Lets hurry, we promised Master Splinter we would try not to stay in the rain for too long." He leapt to the alleyway below, leaving the others to follow in his lead.

They reached the second alley when a child's scream, muffled as it was, somehow reached their ears. Immediately they headed toward the direction of the noise and spotted the window. Don pried it open a crack and the commotion going on inside reached their ears. Something was definetely going on down there. The child they heard before whimpered in fright and then they heard the unmistakable sound of Hun's laughter.

Leo drew his swords. "We have to help him!" All agreed they all rushed the opening then stopped short.

Raph scratched his head. "Ya think we can fit through that thing?" He asked, looking at the dauntingly small window.

Don scanned the area. "Theres a door,I'd guess from it's position that it leads to the iside. All we have to do is get someone to open itfrom the inside."
Raph rolled his eyes. "How d'ya expect us to do that, brainiac?"
Rubbing his chin, Don studied the window. "Well, who'se the smallest out of all of us?" Immediately all eyes turned to Mikey.

His eyes grew wide and he put up his hands defensively. "Oh, no no no my brother!"

They moved in and a sly grin slid across Raph's mouth. "oh I'm sooooo going to enjoy this."

He leapt to the side just in time once again. The Purple Dragons raved and cheered. Hun hefted the huge gun he had and grinned at the tiny turtle cowering at the other side of the room. He brought it to his eye and aimed again.

His heard thudded hard against his chest and his limbs quivered. He was't sure how much longer he could keep this up. It felt almost like he had no muscles at all. Tears leaked out of his eyes and the humans laughed, but he couldn't help it. All that he could think of was that he was tired, he hurt and that he missed his Mother. Like only a child could he wished she were here. She'd show'em a thing or two!

He squealed involunarily as another missile came towards him. He tried to run but his legs buckled beneath him. He crashed to the ground with the missile sailing where his head once was. The small explosion hurt his ears. The purple Dragons laughed.

The child just sighed, and tried to get up. He just slipped to the ground. He tried again but he could barely get an inch. His body had finally given up on him. The tears streamed harder and he just lay there, sobbing. Slowly his lids grew heavy and he sighed relief. Hadn't slept in so long, so tired. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if he hit him when he was asleep.

"Hit him now Boss er, Master! Get'im!"

Hun chuckled "With pleasure." helifted the weapon to his shoulder. He trained the barrel at the helpless figure before him. "He was good for target practice for a while, but now he's just used up. Guess that we'll have to recycle him." His finger squeezed on the trigger.

A loud thunk echoed in the warehouse room. Every single eye turned to see Mikey, his torsoe in the window, staring at them with wide eyes. For a moment everyone was silent.

"GET HIM!" All the Purple Dragons shouted and picked up every weapon they could find and stampeded to the window.

Mike squealed."Guys? GUYS! Help! I'm stuck! I'mstuckI'mstuckI'mstuckI'mstuck!" He kicked and twisted, grasping the window ledge.

"C'mon!" Don and Leo each grabbed a foot and pushed with everything they were worth. "He won't budge!"

"We have to get him out of there!" Leo shouted urgently.

Don looked at him frantically "But how!"

"MOVE" Raph shouted and instinctively the two turtles parted. The red turtle came leaping at them with a flying kick aimed right at Mikey's...

The kick hit home and Mikey popped into the room like a cork. He collided with a pile of crates. The first thing he did was dance around on his tip toes holding his bottom shouting "owowowowowowowowowowow!" Then the Purple Dragons changed direction and started charging him. Wincing a little, Mikey moved into the stance and brought out his nunchukus. Bringing them to a twirl he met the purple dragons halfway; bringing groans of protest as the hard wood collided with their heads.

Hun growled, then grinned and went for the child.
"Go for the door Mikey!" Don shouted from the window.

Mikey saw Hun and he felt a familiar sympathy whenever he saw a child or a cute kitty (Clunk!) Without thinking he leapt and soared over the goons. Hun wasn't expecting him to attack just yet, so Mikey had the advantage. He swung his nunchuku and it collided with the back of Hun's head. With a grunt his massive bulk crashed to the floor and Mikey landed beside him. Without missing a beat his foot barely touched the ground when he sped towards the child. Once there he scooped him up in his arm and pivoted on his foot. He feinted to the right, barely missing colliding with one of the punks.

Quickly he slung the child over his shoulder and weilded a nunchuku with one hand, beating a path for him. His feet flew and men fell, then he saw the stairs. Legs pumping he ran for them. Once reached he took them three at a time, with the still surprisingly limp child on his shoulder. The entire time purple dragons swarmed into the stairwell behind him. Then came the door.

Leaping nimbly he hit it with a flying kick similar to the one that Raph delivered to him earlier. The door came away easily and he skidded onto the street. Immediately he dashed down the alley.

New cries choroused in the air as his three brothers leapt into the fray of goons pouring out onto the alley. The purple dragons screamed as they fell down, then others tripped over them and fell down on them. Hun crashed through the door with brute rage in his eyes.

The four turtles took a stance on the end of the alley and what was left of the purple dragons and Hun glared at them from the other end.
Mikey hugged the child tighter and all their fists tightened on their weapons.

Suddenly a police siren pierced the rainy night air, responding to a complaint by the neighbors about screams. Both fighting parties took their eyes off their opponent and listened. It was getting closer.

Hun turned and glared at the turtles. "Watch your backs, I'm going to get you sooner or later."

Raph spat. "Man, now THATS a fairy tale if I ever heard one!" Hun glared at him but the approaching sirens reminded everyone they couldn't stay there. Without a word but silent promises of future fights and violence the Purple Dragons scattered like scared mice. Hun, realizing he had no choice now that he was alone, slowly backed out of the alley.

The turtles climbed the fire escape of the nearest building and traveled for several minutes in silence before they calmed their adrenaline and stopped to look at their prize. For the first time Mikey stopped and looked. All of them gasped. "It...it's a turtle!"

The turtle child drifted in and out of consciousness on the way back to the lair, and now all five of them were sitting and staring at the wonder asleep on the couch.

The child barely topped two feet, almost coming to Splinter's shoulder. He looked just like a miniature version of themselves. His head was naked of any mask, and other than that he had just two 'clothing.' A belt was wrapped around his waist holding many small pouches all along the width. Around his right thigh there was another belt with an empty holder that presumably housed a knife when it was full. His small shell had many nick and a few scrapes but nothing that would signify a fight or battle. His skin was a mottled jade color with forest green freckles dancing across his beak. It was all the turtles could do but stare and wonder.

"He's so small. How old do you think he is?" Mikey inquired.

Splinter rubbed his chin, calling on memory. "If you four are any examples I'd say between five and seven." The old rat reached forward and stroked the child's head, his spirit softened by memories of his own sons as children.

Don looked at him, noticing his muscles quivering even in his sleep. "He must be exhausted. Look at his muscles, their taxed beyond their normal capacities." He wondered at him."Where do you think he comes from? And..." he looked pointedly at his brothers "he must have a family. A mother, a father. He must. He's too young to have been created by the utrom's ooze. So it's the only logical explanation."

Mikey perked up. "Wow! Wouldn't it be cool to finally meet some of our own kind! I wonder if he has an older sister...OW!" he rubbed his head and looked to see which brother delivered the blow.

Raph harrumphed. "I hate kids."

"Well, the big question is what are we going to do with him? If he has a family they are undoubtedly looking for him right now." Leo speculated and looked to Splinter.

The old rat thought for a moment. "We certainly can't take him out right now with the storm as it is. And the child does appear tired as Donatello states. I think that he should rest. I will meditate on the matter and we can come up with a decision tomorrow."

A thunk turned their heads to the couch...where the child was no longer there. Immediately the scattered in search. Then they saw him scramble from behind the couch to the pool. Leonardo intercepted him easily.

He stopped in fright at the sight of the huge male turtle appearing before him and scrambled in the opposite direction...only to find another one. And another and another! A rat came into veiw and he saw that he was surrounded.

He crouched and balled his fists, unsure of what to do. He didn't see the others wondering the same thing. They were just like in the scary stories that Aunt Shasha told him. The males were almost always the bad ones in the stories. He remembered about them telling how they thought females, children, elderly, sick and injured were weak and would be killed. Would he be killed?

Splinter crouched low and attempted to look into the child's face, but he only hid it beneath his fists."He is frightened. Of us."

Leo immediately crouched low to the child's level like Spliner was doing and the other's followed suite, trying to appear less threatening. Don smiled "Hello there." in the friendliest voice he could muster.

The child peeked one tear-reddened eye out and looked at him. Donny waved at him. "What's your name? I'm Don."

Oh, cripes. The thing was speaking to him! What would he do? In his fear he spoke back.

Don's face scrunched up at the garbled language that came out of his mouth. A different language? That wasn't something he considered. It seemed no matter where they went everyone spoke English. All the turtles looked at each other, perplexed at where to go next.

Splinter still went forward, a fatherly smile on his mouth. He slowly reached over and put his hand on his shoulder. Startled by the contact the child jerked and looked up. 'This one is old, elderly.' Slowly he looked around at the others. 'They're not trying to hurt me,' The rat spoke again. He pointed to himself and said "Splinter"then he pointed to him. He nodded.

"My name is..." All the turtles looked at him, startled to hear English. "Hero."

Sorry, gotta end it there. My stomach is eating me alive right now. PleaseR&R!