Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT (obviously; I'm writing fanfiction, guys ;P).


Ow.

That one word was all Karai could think of. Well, that and its obvious origin: pain. A dull, throbbing pain spreading evenly throughout her body. It felt like every cell in her body was ripping apart and then repairing, but repairing incorrectly, becoming something it hadn't been before. It felt like her actual body had changed, shifted, since the last time she woke up. It felt like… mutating.

Her eyes snapped open in fright and she attempted to leap up, but the action sent such a jolt of pain through her that she physically collapsed to the floor with a cry. She noted various wrappings on her body and wondered where she had obtained the injuries, before noticing something else.

Her skin wasn't scaled. It was human.

Ignoring how her muscles wailed in protest, Karai hobbled over to the nearby mirror. Her eyes were their old amber colour, she noted gleefully. Her teeth were no longer fangs. A moment of quiet focus revealed that she no longer had a feral beast tearing from the inside to get out. It was unbelievable. It was impossible. But it was true.

She was cured.

Karai just stared disbelievingly at her reflection, watching as her own lips turned up in genuine joy. Then as they sank, the realisation of where she was ebbing into focus. She knew this room all too well, and she remembered vowing never to enter again. Seems she hadn't had much of a choice.

The door swinging open and banging the wall made her jump slightly, which somehow unbalanced her into toppling down again. Cursing her weak, pathetic body (which she adored possessing so much she couldn't express it), the girl rolled herself into a kneeling position, despite having no idea how respectful she actually needed to be.

"About time you treated me with respect," came the rough snarl of Chris Bradford – or Rahzar, as Karai recalled Mikey insisting.

She glared up at him, but couldn't lift her own weight back up. "I thought you were the Shredder."

His snarl twisted into a shadow of a smile. "Thank you. Now, stand up."

"I don't have to do what you tell me." And I can't, anyway, she tacked on as a bitter afterthought.

A clawed hand dug into her shoulder. A shriek of pain slipped free before she could stop it. The mutant yanked her to her unsteady feet, and she fought the tears back as she struggled to stop swaying. Rahzar didn't bother to hide his amusement as he thrust her out of the door, outright laughing when her legs couldn't support her and she fell for the third time.

A clanking sound alerted her to Xever's – or, as she greatly preferred, Fishface's – arrival. "I must say, Bradford, it is most satisfying to see the arrogant girl so… pitiful," he sneered in his heavy accent.

"At least I'm human," she spat, without really meaning to. She was surprised by the regret clenching her stomach when his face appeared inches from hers. What was she worried about? He was Xever, for crying out loud! She could take him down with her eyes closed!

Not when you can barely stand, chided a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Leonardo. Don't do anything stupid, Karai.

For once, she was actually tempted to take Leo's goody-three-toes advice, remaining strong and silent as they insulted and mocked her. She was pulled to her feet again and roughly escorted to the Shredder's throne room. Bradford and Xever took no care in moving her, shoving her carelessly into sharp corners and jutting stones.

When she was certain that every part of her body was damaged in some way, she bitingly snapped, "Would Shredder approve of you two abusing me like this?"

Both looked infuriated, the painful truth that Shredder had done worse to her obvious in their eyes, but their treatment became less violent at the very least. Karai was glad of this; the less ailments she had, the easier escape would be. Not that she was in any state to escape now, of course, with a million minor inflictions and the worst ache she could imagine burrowing down to her bones, but she knew she had to plan ahead.

They arrived at the giant, menacing doors to the Shredder's throne room within a second of her convincing herself that she was really on her way to the execution room. Not that the two were mutually exclusive.

She didn't remember the echoing creak of the doors ever being as intimidating as it was in that moment. The girl wondered if the company she had begun to take to were softening her, and further pondered on whether it was good or bad. As she was marched past the glassy aquarium beneath the walkway, she caught her reflection and winced. Her face looked much worse distorted in the surface, and the assorted marks she had gathered on her journey just emphasized the larger welts they surrounded.

"Master Shredder," Bradford greeted. Karai was thrown to her knees and she squeaked in protest.

The familiar clicking of his armour informed her that the Shredder was standing, and his feet were in front of her within seconds. "Karai, my daughter…" A hand brushed through her hair, and she wished she had the strength to slap it away. Instead, she focused her gaze on the floor, intently studying the various scratches and scrapes decorating it. "Look at me, child." Even if she could lift her head, she wouldn't have done so.

He took care of it for her, angling her head with his fingers beneath her chin. She fought to keep her expression hateful, though her entire childhood screamed to accept the love in his mismatched eyes. Had she been kneeling before him like this a year ago, she would have been huddling closer and apologising for how she had wronged him, desperately craving that loving look.

But now, she knew better. She knew that real fatherly love didn't require grovelling on the floor and begging for forgiveness, though she would gladly do exactly that for her true father if given the chance.

"I… am not… your daughter," she choked out, the effort almost too much.

She fully expected a slap, and was surprised when none came. He chose to hold her quivering form tighter, caressing her cheek. "Why must you pain me like this, Karai? I rescued you from the fire, I raised you from infancy, and I trained you in ninjutsu. What more could I have done?"

"Told me the truth."

There was that slap. The stinging in the back of her head was no bother to her, as she had grown used to the feeling. "You ungrateful little brat! After all I have done for you, you speak to me like this?! You should respect and honour your father!"

"I do." Karai heaved herself up to stare at him. "But my father is Hamato Yoshi."

This time, the impact of the hit sent her staggering backwards, the loss of balance knocking her to the floor again. The Shredder's fingers clutched a fistful of fabric at the front of her nightgown to drag her in, growling in her face, "You will never say that in my presence ever again. Do you understand, child?"

Her lips curved into a wicked smile. "My father is Hamato Yoshi."

His blades extended, cutting into the flesh of her ribs. She winced, but repeated the phrase again. Another enraged smack to the head, though she theorised this one may have drawn blood. Not that it mattered if it had, because Karai repeated the phrase again and again, even as the Shredder grew sick of beating her and ordered his subordinates take her away.

She hadn't the slightest clue how many times Rahzar and Fishface bashed her against objects on the way back to her chambers, but she also didn't care. They flung her on the bed nonchalantly and handcuffed her to the headboard, her arms stretched above her head. It was only then that she realised the window was boarded up from the outside, and the door had extra locks installed on the front.

"You do realise that imprisoning me in here is pretty much the same as in a cell, right?" she commented dryly.

"Indeed," agreed Fishface. "But Master Shredder requested that you stay in the comfort of your own quarters."

"And before you even think about escaping," Bradford entered her view, "everything that could help you has been removed."

The spare weapons that usually lined the wall were gone, and she was sure her additional armour would be too. Her bookshelf had been emptied, and she presumed her bedside table had too. Even the old photo of Tang Shen that she had left on the table was gone, she spotted sourly. Perhaps Shredder had thought it too provoking for her.

After cuffing her ankles to the base of her bed, Shredder's two henchman left laughing to themselves, apparently satisfied in seeing Karai in such an indignant position. The girl scowled even after they were gone, trying to formulate a plan for escape. But the prominent pain combined with the remnants of the sedative in her system made her almost dizzy, and she found herself laying back against the bed sleepily. She had always preferred the floor-level beds in Japan, but in that moment even the bed she lay on felt wonderful. Feeling the deepest of angers at herself and her situation, Karai began to drift off to sleep once more.


"I just don't understand!"

Donatello whacked his head against his desk in frustration repeatedly, before a gentle hand cushioned the blow. He glanced up to see his father and Sensei stood behind him. "Harming yourself is never the answer, Donatello." He smoothed a hand over his son's forehead. "Now, what troubles you?"

"I… I just can't…" Donnie hesitated. He was struggling to create a retro-mutagen that would work on Karai's special mutation without much luck, but he wasn't sure if he should tell Master Splinter that. Especially considering how much time he had spent meditating to calm his mind over the loss of his daughter. Finally, he sighed, "I can't get the retro-mutagen to work."

Splinter exhaled calmingly. "I see. Do not make overwork yourself, my son. I wish for my daughter's return exceedingly, but not at the cost of your wellbeing."

"Thank you, Sensei," the turtle bowed his head. "But I'm determined to find a cure for her."

His father's hand remained on his shoulder a few moments longer, before Donatello found himself alone again. He groaned as his notes swam in front of his tired eyes again, but he forced himself to concentrate. "You need to help her," he instructed. "Before Shred-head makes that mind-control chemical…"

Regardless of the fact that Karai had stayed in their company less than two days, Donnie couldn't deny the effect her absence was having on the whole family. Splinter and Leo had both been distraught, for obvious reasons, but Mikey's cheeriness was false and exaggerated. Raph had dedicated more and more hours to beating their training dummies' brains out, and Don himself knew that most of his waking hours had been spent trying and testing formulas. Even April and Casey seemed different, though he theorised the former's change may stem from her empathetic abilities. And while they had never met her, they were all well aware that Casey had a sister of his own, which may have stemmed his desire to search.

Thankfully, Leo quite frequently allowed Donnie to miss the searches, as long as April and/or Casey took his place, so he had more time to perfect a cure. But Donnie was certainly not stupid enough to believe he was going to actually make a breakthrough at this point, with the weight of pressure and exhaustion clouding his intelligent mind, which was why he set his head against his desk one more time gently, deciding a few minutes of rest could be afforded.

He didn't stir when Raph picked him up and carried him to his room, nor when his usually abrasive brother tucked him into bed and turned off the lights.


Figured I'd add in a cute little bro-moment there, since we won't be seeing the guys next chapter. Also, I think this is quite clearly AU as of Clash of The Mutanimals with the mind control (OMG the last episode though D':), but other than that, I'll stick as close to canon as I can.

Thank you for reading, and please review :)