A few months later….

It was snowing….the cold blizzard was common for New york, the winter always brought the citizens a hard time. Buildings were always covered in layers of bright shimmering snow and streets were always icey white, making it hard to walk on.

For the most part Brice was able to survive in the cold with no shelter, walking in the cold of night was different though. The mutant shivered as the coat she wore did nothing to protect her body from freezing temperatures. Right now she was looking for food….

Food….

If there was one thing she learned from her new mutant body, it's that it craved food more than normal. She always felt like her appetite could go from zero to one hundred really quick, it's almost like if food wasn't present…

'I need food, I feel like I-I might not survive if I don't-'

She shivered, holding her thick coat Brice walked down the dark cold street in hopes of finding warmth…

—-

Raph was patrolling around the snowy rooftops, with shredder activity lower than normal the turtles became cautious. After the "incident" with Scumbug and Baxter, the turtles became more active on city patroles, so it wasn't unnatural that they did it even when winter was around. Raph hated it though.

He shifted uncomfortably, his arms wrapped around his shell and his legs shaking. Even if he wore a thick jacket it didn't help to protect him.

He scoffed, 'Tch, it's bad enough Mikey ditched me to go get himself hot chocolate at that hotdog stand, but when he doesn't get me some-'

Raph couldn't wait to get his hands on the little twerp later.

But for right now, he had to focus on finishing this patrol. Despite his shaky legs and the chilly wind, Ralph jumped from rooftop to rooftop in hopes of finding any criminals….

And certain bugs…

Ralph gagged at the thought, it brought him bad memories thinking about mutant or humanoid bugs. Like the one he kissed
He slapped his forehead and groaned,

The teen could never forget what he did a few months back with that….bug lady. He always had mixed emotions when thinking about it. His brothers have also questioned him, asking if he was mentally okay. At this point Raph wondered the same thing.

He felt Anger that he had no control…

How he failed to protect his friends and family from baxter….

Disgust was mixed with the anger because he basically made out with a bug. Nausea built up in his stomach as he clenched his belly, shivering.

But the one emotion that clouded his mind the most these past few months was…

Guilt…

He basically grabbed a random person and kissed them without consent. She looked young too, around his age or older. Ralph wondered if his mistake affected her state of mind in any way, he wondered if she had the intelligence to understand what the kiss meant.

He blinked, landing near a billboard, panting with adrenaline coursing through his veins. He stared up at the dark cloudy sky of the winter night.

DID she have intelligence to begin with? Could she talk? If she was working with Baxter was she with shredder? Or was she just another minion mutated and mind controlled under Baxter? Kinda like how Scumbug was?

When it came to mutants, it was hard to determine their character,or if they were intellect or not. At least with humans, he could read their body language because they were prodicatable.

Mutants always had a knack for surprising him and his brothers.

So chances of her being a not so good guy were probably as high as they were low. So again, he and his brothers are always cautious.

But even if she was evil or not highly intelligent enough to understand words, it didn't excuse his behavior and would apologize if given the chance. Raph sighed, getting up where he was sitting and staring out into the bright city.

He hoped he didn't affect the mutant girl mentally….after seeing her run away….

Chances of finding her were low, especially in New york. He didn't even know if she was still in the city or if she was alive. He frowned.
Ralph hoped she was alive…whoever she really was…

The turtle in red jumped off the building and continued his patrol.

—-

Brice explored the back alley of a Chinese restaurant, hoping to find any garbage cans so she can find scraps. She managed to find some thrown away dumplings along with scraps of beef. It looked fresh enough to eat. Grabbing the dirty bag, her hands grabbed the old food and stuffed it into her mouth.

Brice used her mandibles to devore the food, consuming the meat in one setting. She looked deeper in the trash to find some more…

That's when the back door to the restaurant opened, it revealed an overweight man in his 30's taking out the trash, he stopped and looked at Brice.

Freezing, she didn't move and the man's face twisted.

"What the-!" He dropped the trash and attempted to grab her.

She gasped, dropping her food and made a run for it, but he grabbed her arm with an aggressive force.

"Oh no ya don't!

—-

Raph sighed, wiping the sweat off his face

The snow didn't help, his body felt a mixture between hot and cold. Scoffing, he leaned his body near a wall, letting his body relax. Getting his T-phone out of his pocket he checked the time.

2:00 AM….

He should probably head home…

That's when he heard the shouting

Standing up in confusion, he got in fighting mode and searched for the noise

'It's coming from the-'

Another shout echoed from down in the alleyway, in between the building he was standing on and the one right next to a sort of asian restaurant. He ran to the cornice of the architecture, and looked down to see what the commotion was.

He saw two figurines, one smaller and wearing a thick jacket(Raph could tell they were young, maybe around their teens) , and the other seemed like a man wearing kitchen attire. The guy had the youngster pinned to the wall, while snapping at them in an accent Raph couldn't recognize.

"It's ya damn kids again, sneakin through my trash and littering it all over the place!" The man made a movement with his body that suggested he was going to do something violent, Rapheal was about to swoop in when the teen kicked the bigger figure in the stomach, a heavy "oof!" escaped the man's lips as he fell on the pile of trash. That's when youngster started running through the alleyway.

The turtle smirked, well done…

"AY! GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SH-"

Raphael didn't stay to hear the obviously enraged man speak his gibberish, instead he followed the teen who just defended themselves. A ping of curiosity awoke in him, all night he had nothing to do but freeze his butt off. So maybe he could at least make sure they make it home safely? It was, after all, hours after midnight.

He followed them as they ran through the alleyways behind the buildings, they seemed panicked and constantly looked behind them as if being followed.

'I have to make sure they're at least safe…'

The ninja pursued following….

—-

'Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck-"

She ran through the maze of alleyways, every turn leading to a corner or a new dead end. Brice dashed over trash cans and dumpsters. Was he still following her? She looked over her shoulder constantly, her highly sensitive night vision catching no one behind her. She concluded with a wave of relief, stopping by a dumpster and leaning her body on it.

Once she repressed her hard breathing a series of groans came. She slammed her fist on the ground, hissing at the feel of the concrete.

"Damn it Damn it Damn it!-"

The cops would be looking for her now! If that man made a phone call to the authorities about her then it would be dangerous for her to live in this area. Her mandibles twitched as anxiety bloomed in her chest. She slammed her hands over her cheeks to make them stop. As Brice's breath increased her eyes caught a fire escape.

She blinked.

'Maybe I can avoid them tonight on the rooftops….' it made sense in her head, if she played her cards right, then chances of being caught were low.

The ant got off her butt and jumped on the platform, running up the metal stares fast. Her feet felt sore but she managed. After running to the top she jumped from building to another, it wasn't easy given how tiring it was.

Finally, she stopped by a water tower, legs giving in and falling to her knees, her pink eyes watered from exhaustion. Her body felt rigid and weak, but she could relax.

Sighing, she gently took off her jacket, she wore a sweater underneath, ripped and torn but it helped keep her warm. With the weight of her jacket off, she crawled to the edge, leaning her body. She was really tired of running…too much of it happened tonight…

Brice knew that she needed to keep away from humans, she was lucky that the man who attacked her didn't see her face. Otherwise Brice had a feeling that he would have a VERY different reaction. Or….maybe the same one but angrier and more frightened.
Humans were always afraid.

It was hard walking around the city sometimes. Ever since she escaped Baxter she wasn't able to go home. Mostly because of her appearance, didn't want the family to see her this way. Her appearance contributed to her suffering these last few months, looking like a bug and not getting help from anyone. Brice felt hopeless.

The ant laid her jacket on the floor and dropped her body on to it, curling her body into a ball. Rolling her back over and watching the cloudy sky as the snow fell. She thought back to those mutant turtles, who they were specifically or what beef Baxter had with them was still unknown to her. Were they people like her who ended up being mutated? If so she wondered how many other mutants were roaming the street?. If Baxter was responsible then that made him a monster, not like she didn't think he was before but still.

She clenched her fists,

'I want to hurt him for what he did to me and other people.'

It didn't matter right now though, the fly could be anywhere. And Brice knew she didn't stand a chance against him and whoever he worked for. Shredder she believed,
"Shredder is my master and the one who gave me the honor of bringing his reign of control over the city back!"

A shiver ran down the teens spine at that statement, she was scared. So scared of the city coming to an end, she has had nightmares of what this "shredder" would plan.

Brice could find out later though….she needed sleep…

So she let her eyes drift.

Clank!

Her eyes snapped open and she spotted a mutant turtle 5 feet away from her. Specifically one in red….

The turtle nervously looked away but spoke awkwardly.

" Uhm…Hey."

'Oh shit'

He watched from high above as the figure, took off the coat and layed down sleeping on it. And when that happened his breath hitched and eyes widened.

No way…

Raph couldn't believe it, after all these months here she was. When following the stranger he didn't expect it to be her. One of the mutants he and his brothers were looking for was right in front of him. But it wasn't like any mutant, it was the Ant girl.

At first he was hesitant on what he should do. Should he speak? Should he contact his brothers? What would Leo do in this situation? He had no idea to be honest….

Gulp

It was now or never,
He jumped off the water tank he was on top of the water tank he was standing on and landed carefully on his feet near her. Her body jolted awake and her eyes snapped open, eyes staring in surprise.

Raph gently took a step back, to try not to show aggression.

"Uhm…Hey"

At first she didn't react, and was too shocked to move.
Her big pink eyes bared no emotion, he assumed from the lack of pupils in them. It gave her an uncanny yet adorable appearance. The way they beamed almost made Raph want to look away. But he didn't, he knew he had no right to. Despite not caring who he was rude to, Raph knew she didn't deserve that. This was someone he accidentally scarred with his idiocy, someone he took advantage of. So whether he liked it or not, he was going to face this girl head on.

The bug girl flinched at his words, shifting her upper body and then-
She got up and started running to the end of the building. Raph reacted quickly though, jumping in front of her. He put up his hands in a non threatening way.

"Wait!, I'm not going to hurt you…." She scowled, stepping back slowly. He stepped away from her, and averted his eyes. Raph noticed that she was staring at his sai, sensing her distress he put his sai on the ground while still not moving from his position.

Tilting her head she spoke.
" What do you want…?"
Her voice sounded raspy, like it hadn't been used in a while. Maybe she didn't speak for a long time? That was possible, but depressing because of what that implied. Was it possible that she went through trauma? Raph shook his head, " I-I want to apologize-." she frowned "For what?"

He blinked, awkwardly responding "For kissing you.."

There was silence, both stared at each other with an unnerving atmosphere

She recoiled, whispering "Please, I don't want to be reminded of that…I-I already-." She seemed to be fumbling with her words, not sure what to say. " I just want to forget THAT ever happened.."

Raph frowned, "I think that'll be a little difficult, especially for me-"

Shaking her head, scoffing " And I want to forget you, Baxter, and everything else that ever happened a few months back…" covering her face and breathing rapidly she whispered, "I just want to move on…"

Raph's shoulders dropped, the guilt eating him up from the inside.

It was true then, she did go through some trauma.

'And part of it is my fault…"

Groaning, he breathed "I shouldn't have pushed you off of me the way I did…" looking down in shame, when she stopped breathing she asked "Why….Why did you kiss me? Why would you?"...gripping the back of his neck, confessing " I thought you were someone else, an old friend of mine…"

The bug girl raised an eyebrow, "A "friend" you would kiss?" his cheeks flushed, shifting his legs. " U-uH, no-Eh…she was just important to me thats all…." She blinked and then snickered. Raph huffed, crossing his arms while saying sarcastically " Look, she was very important to me when me and my family were going through some dark times. And she was the only one I could trust with my feelings." until I couldn't anymore…

"And I'm assuming she's not around anymore…?" Staring at the ground he slowly nodded his head.

"I'm sorry…" He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He wasn't gonna show his emotions, and Raph knew he couldn't be sad in front of a stranger, especially not HER.

"Were you hallucinating then? I noticed you seemed not metally there that day.." She asked while tilting her head. Raph nodded " Yeah i was uhm, seeing things, I was a real shell-brain yknow..?"

There was silence for a few minutes, the two teenagers not sure what to say. Both were extremely awkward when discussing their emotions, especially to strangers. Raph was still kinda nervous around her, she did look innocent but her bug-like features made him anxious. Her clothes were ripped, like last time he saw her. He then studied her body, her skin looks leathery and body was extremely skinny. Almost like she had some type of anorexia. Concern grew in him, how long had she been on the streets? Surely she got some place to eat? A flashback confirmed otherwise.

"It's ya damn kids again, sneakin through my trash-"

Oh…

"What is your name?"
Raph hesitated, but he replied "Uhh…Raph, you?"
She looked down, playing with her dark purplish/pink hair.
"Brice, Brice Jeffensen."
He nodded.
Brice nervously played with her hair stuttering, "Okay then well…" sighing " I know I said I want to forget and I do-" now he raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "-For my own sake,I need to know ...What happened to Baxter?"

Raph groaned, he moved from his position, walking to the nearby edge and sitting down. Shivering at the contact his bottom made with the ice-cold concrete, holding his jacket closer to his body.
Brice flinched at how close he was but didn't protest against it and only held herself tighter.

'This was going to take awhile to explain…so get comfortable Raph….'

"After you uh left, Baxter kidnapped my brothers and friends. We were able to save them and defeat fly-face. But he ran off and I'm not sure where he is now. Probably god worshiping shredder or something." Brice's face contracted into something that resembled terror. Gulping she stuttered, "Y-you mean…he's still out there working with this "shredder"..?" Raph gave her a questioning look "Uh, yeah, did you honestly think he was dead or-?" Shaking her head she replied " N-no, I had a feeling he might be out there, it's just…" she looked down, though Raph couldn't see past her hair he could sense bitterness radiating off of her. Her teeth clenched and claws dug into her skin. "I wish he was dead and I want to kill him for what he did to me…"

The turtle's eyes widened in shock, never in his life had he met someone who actually wanted Baxter bloody terminated. Punished? Yes. Bullied? Definitely. Murdered? No… Shredder needed Baxter around and the mad scientist was too useful to the clan leader to get rid of him. In a sense, Baxter was one of Shredder's most loyal henchmen. It was so extreme that Raph thought it was a little creepy. Baxter would go to extremes to please his "master", even if it meant mutating innocent people to use as pawns for his own evil plan. Raph wondered what Baxter did to make Brice hate him so much. Well besides mutating her obviously. And seeing her body language, it wasn't just anger, it was a thirst for revenge.

An emotion he recognized oh too well.

He still couldn't see her face but she was definitely still shaking from anger. Raph coughed and spoke awkwardly. "I didn't know you hated him that much…"
Still not saying anything.
Raph continued " Y'know Baxter is just a wimpy bug face who's got nothing better to do with his life." Brice's body stiffened.

" And I know he mutated you but, I mean, he wasn't that cruel as h-" She pounded her fist into the concrete and let out a strangled whimper. Raph jumped back, completely shocked by her response.

Slowly she let out her words. " It's because of him I can never make friends, It's because of him I can't remember that much from when I was still human, It's because of him that everyone looks at me like a freak….

Raph scooched a bit back, not sure what to say as she continued her rant.

"...It's because of him I can never go to school, It's because of him I can never go to college, it's because of him I can never live a normal life…" she looked at Raph, burning rage and grief all over her facial features. "All these facts hurt me, everyday I wake up in a body that's not mine. I feel like I shouldn't exist, I'm a fucking walking humanoid bug Raph." tears poured from her cheeks now, looking away in shame. "But Y'know what hurts the most, Raph?" He sat there, staring at her, completely stunned.

" I can never see my family again, If my parents saw what their daughter had become." She shook her head and sniffled. " I think it's better they never find me."

Now Raph felt sad for her,
Did she honestly think her family would reject her? Had her parents not seen their daughter in the past few months? That explained why Brice looked starve deprived and why her mental state seemed to have plummeted. He could never imagine not seeing his family for that long, especially out of fear that they may not want him any more….

No wait, he DID

He DID know how that felt.

When Raph raged from certain things back at home, he found himself leaving the lair and saying "he quit '' the team. He didn't mean it, but Raph wondered if his brothers would actually kick him out. Like…they got tired of his uncontrolled anger and decided they didn't need him anymore. There have been times where he wouldn't come back for a couple days, he feared that his Sensei would tell him to leave. Like they got they didn't need him anymore…

He has always feared rejection

And if it came from his brothers then…

What was the use yknow…?

Brice managed to stop crying and an emotionless facial expression crossed her facial features. She almost looked dead, like all those months of being alone worn her out.

Raph was silent, he wasn't good at comforting people. That was Mikey's job as he was good at connecting to others automatically. The turtle groaned, if only Mikey was here to help. Actually, ALL his brothers would be able to help Brice more than he could.
Should he leave or…

'No'

He couldn't leave someone in this mental state. If he did that, what would Splinter think? Leaving someone with this amount of anxiety and anger risked them hurting themselves. Worse, they might end up hurting other people. Even if Raph felt sympathetic towards Brice he didn't exactly trust her to make the right decisions. He didn't know her, and his brothers have been looking for her for months. His brothers.

'What would Leo do?'

Brice sighed, "I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have-" Raph waved it off, pretending he was not bothered. "Nah, It's fine I get it, you went through a lot."

Brice looked down ashamed, and he patted her back.

'Alright, think Raph, you want to help her but how?'

He looked at her clothes…Maybe he could.

" If you want I can get some spare clothes…and maybe try finding you some food?" Brice looked at him surprised. " Y-you would be willing to do that?" Raph shrugged " Eh it's the least I can do, maybe I can get my brothers to help ya to." She tilted her head. "Your brothers would they want to help m-me to?"

Raph nodded, "Yeah, they'd be totally willing to help you."

Raph got up and stretched his legs. He then got his T-cell out of his pocket. " Just let me call them."

He dialed the numbers and waited.

Hopefully he could help her the best he could,

She deserved it.