The next morning steam filled the bathroom as Natalie stepped out of the shower and grabbed a nearby towel, wrapping it around her body. With a swipe of her hand she wiped the fog on the mirror and examined her reflection. New skin and dried scabs covered most of her still useless arm. The bruises on her chest and face had turned yellow-green but it wasn't the injuries that she was focused on. Peeking out from the top of her scalp were traitorous blonde roots. Her natural blue eyes narrowed in disgust and she stalked back to her room. Inside the austere room she dug through her rucksack attempting to find two small boxes amongst all her worldly possessions. Buried at he in the bottom was exactly what she was looking for. A half hour and another shower later a woman with red-gold hair and hazel eyes stared back at her. No longer filled with self-loathing she walked out of the bathroom a brand new person.
Mikey popped up in front of her and she let out a small cry of surprise, "So Dudette, you ready for some more Justice League?"
The right side of her mouth rose into a smirk, "Sure thing dude." The two nerds settled on the couch together and switched on the game console.
Across the room Leonardo leaned against a column and stared at her with narrowed eyes. "Is something troubling you my son?"
Leo turned around to face his father, "I don't trust her sensei."
The gentle pressure of Master Splinter's hand on his arm turned him back towards the living room. On the couch Natalie was educating Mikey on the differences between the comics and the cartoons, her hands emphasizing her words, and then something he couldn't hear made them both burst out laughing. "You were as eager to let her into our home as any of your brothers. What has changed?"
"Letting her stay here was the right thing to do," Leo admitted, "She was hurt with nowhere to go and with everything that she knows about us it would have been irresponsible to not take her in. But we know so little about her. She's hiding something Sensei, I know it."
"Patience my son," Master Splinter counseled, "I believe that all will be revealed in time."
Natalie opened the door while still trying to figure out what would be the most appropriate thing to wear for her first day at work. All of her muscles tightened and she felt the all too familiar anger well up inside her when she noticed that there was an intruder. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
Leo turned around brandishing an old photograph, "Following a hunch. So tell me, who are you really?"
She snatched the picture out of his hand, "I'm exactly who I said I was and if I have secrets that's none of your business."
With one step he was in front of her, staring her down with his best menacing glare. "It is my business when you're in my home, and a threat to my family."
She looked back up at him, face twisted into a fierce scowl, "I am not a threat. I'd lay down my life for you and your brothers, despite whatever ridiculous ideas you have in your head."
"Ahem," The sound of a throat clearing made them both turn to find Donnie standing just outside. "Am I interrupting something?"
Natalie returned her gaze back to Leo, "No he was just leaving." He pushed past her without a word.
Donnie stepped inside, looking behind him at where Leo had just been. "What was that about?"
"Nothing. You needed something?"
"Uhh yeah," He stammered, "I just wanted to go over the details of your work restrictions."
She took the doctors note and he watched her eyes dart back and forth across the page. "No lifting anything with my left arm, that's fair. No lifting anything over five pounds with my right hand, okay don't want to over exert it. No standing for long periods of time?" Natalie looked back up at him in disbelief, "Come on Donnie that's ridiculous."
"You're lucky I'm authorizing you to work at all. It's not just your shoulder you hurt you know."
"Believe me Donnie I know. It's impossible not to, but I know my limits better than you do. I promise not to lift anything heavy but I need to be able to stand for my whole shift."
He looked back at her trying to think of a compromise but couldn't get past her stubborn expression, "Fine but promise me you'll take it easy. Pushing yourself is only going to make your recovery take longer."
Her stubborn smirk turned serious, "I know. I promise not to push myself harder than I have to, wouldn't want to pull those stiches."
"You'd better not or I'll make you sew yourself up."
Natalie gave him a mock salute, "Yes sir."
"Smartass," Don muttered as he left.
In the living area he found Leo lounged in a chair reading a book while nearby Raph and Mikey played a video game. "Okay Leo what the hell was that about in here?" He asked pointing to Natalie's room.
His outburst got the attention of all of his brothers. "What are you talking about Don?" Mikey asked.
"Leo was just in Natalie's room and from what I saw they were fighting about something. So go ahead Leo, explain."
The eldest turtle put down his book with a sigh, "I've had a bad feeling about her since she showed up, like there's something she wasn't telling us and I was right." He showed them the picture he had pilfered from her room while Donnie had her distracted. Two identical blonde hair, blue eyed girls sat at on porch steps holding bottles of soda and grinning at the camera.
"So she's got a twin, big deal." Mikey said.
Wordlessly Leo turned the photograph over to reveal a description on the back, "Samantha and Natasha, '02. Whoever that girl in there is" He said pointing to Natalie's room, "She is not Natalie Mills. She's lied about her name, and changed her appearance. Clearly she's running from something, or someone."
Silence descended over the group as they thought about his revelation. "There's gotta be an explanation," Raph finally said.
"The evidence is right there Raph, accept it. She is not who she says she is and we need to find out what she's hiding."
Around the corner Natalie hid in the shadows eavesdropping. Fear made the blood in her veins run cold. She leaned against the wall in an attempt to steady herself. Taking deep quiet breaths she slowed her heart rate and assured herself that for once the fear was groundless. Schooling her face into an impartial mask she stepped into the light. "Well guys I'm off. I'll be back later tonight," Without a look back she exited the lair and left them to their fruitless mission. A cold breeze whipped past when she stepped outside and she pulled her jacket tighter. As she headed towards McDonough's she tried her best not limp.
Back down in the lair the four turtles stood frozen in the living, staring at the door that Natalie just walked through. "Do you think she heard us?" Mikey asked.
"I don't know," Donnie replied, "But I'm still not liking this plan. Yeah she's abrasive and introverted but should we really be betraying her trust like this? We'd be furious if she went through our stuff."
Leo held up his hands defensively, "I understand where you're coming from Don but don't you want to know exactly who Natalie is? Who we've let into our home? She knows everything about us and we know nothing about her."
Don looked up at his brother's firm gaze knowing that once Leo made up his mind there was no changing it. "It still doesn't feel right," he protested.
"You two do what you want but I'm not taking part in this crackpot plan of yours." Raph walked out of the room, anger charging his muscles with restless energy. Out of habit he found himself pummeling his worn out punching bag. She wasn't lying to them. All of his instincts told him that she was telling the truth, that they could trust her. He didn't know how he knew but he would bet his Sais that his brothers were wrong. There was an explanation and he was going to figure it out.
Early afternoon sunlight and a warm spring wind followed Natalie into the pub where she saw Grant getting it ready to open for business. "What's on the docket today boss?"
Once again he jumped at her sudden presence, knocking over a stool in the process. "Seriously would it kill you to make noise when you enter a room?"
She just gave a nonchalant shrug, "It might actually. Still doesn't answer my question though. What do you need me to do first?"
There was a dull thud as he set the fallen stool upright, "First thing you need to do is fill out a W-4 tax form. You may have worked under the table at other places but here it's by the book."
"I'm probably going to need help with that. I've never actually filled one out before." Natalie said with a sheepish grimace.
Grant cocked his eyebrow at her but rather than making a comment he pulled the tax form and a pen out of his pocket and set it down on the table in front of them. "It's simple," he assured her, "In the first section just document if anyone can claim you as a dependent or if anyone is dependent on you."
He watched as she wrote "1" in Box A, "Nope."
"Okay, next section even easier. Just put your name, social, address, and marital status."
The pen froze over the paper and for the briefest moment Grant thought he saw a flash of fear in her eyes. With a trembling hand she filled out the information and signed it, praying to the gods that her doppelganger in this dimension had the same social security number as her. "There. Done. Can I do some real work now?"
"Yeah sure," Grant said. He showed her how to finish getting the bar ready for the day all the while hoping that she wouldn't be as brusque with the customers as she was with him.
When the customers filtered in his fears proved unfounded. He watched her in-between his own customers and watched as she adjusted her demeanor depending on the customers' moods. For the angry, maligned blue collar workers she let them vent, getting indignant on their behalf when necessary. She let down the wannabe Romeos easy; assuring each one that if circumstances were different she would go out with them. One man even cried on her shoulder after he revealed that his wife had left him and taken the kids. He had to admit that each of her customers left feeling better than they had coming in and he wondered where she picked up those impressive people skills.
"So what happened to your arm?" It was the third time that night Natalie had been asked that question but Grant still looked over, wondering what story she would weave this time.
Natalie slid the beer over to her patron, "Well you see I was rock climbing this weekend when my gear failed. I fell into the bottom of a ravine." She suppressed a smirk as her audience's jaw dropped in horror. "So there I was laying in the snow with a broken arm, no cell phone service, and no way out. I must've been there twelve hours, watching the sun get lower and the forest get darker. Off in the distance I hear the coyotes howling and I thought for sure I was going to be their next meal. Then, like a gift from the gods a hunter happened to hear my calls for help. He called the park rangers who got me out."
"Wow…" was all the response that her customer could manage. He managed to shake himself from his trance and handed her a fist full of dollars, "You are either a great storyteller or one heck of a woman, either way you deserve a good tip for makin' my night."
Natalie flashed him her most dazzling and grateful smile, "Aww thank you sir. You have a great night."
"You too darlin'." He shuffled out of the bar and into the night.
She turned around to see Grant leaning against the bar next to her, "So far you've broken up a mugging, jumped out of a burning building, and now rock climbing accident. What really happened?" He asked, ticking each story off on his fingers.
Before she could answer another customer flagged her down, "Sorry Grant, duty calls."
She had been on her feet for a full eight hours, refusing to even take a break when she felt a tap on her shoulder. After handing of the beer she just poured she turned around to see Grant looking down at her. "What's up boss?"
"You did great work tonight, for a cripple." Playfulness sparkled in his eyes, "Amanda is here to relieve you so go home and get some rest." He handed her share from the tip jar, "See you tomorrow."
Natalie pocketed the money, internally smiling at the evidence of her hard work. "Yeah see you tomorrow."
She went out the back entrance through the kitchen, instinctively looking up to the rooftop across the alley. For the first time in her life a turtle shaped shadow looked down at her. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement before heading back to the lair. They hadn't made it more than a block when two thugs armed with switchblades stepped out of the alley and into Natalie's path. "Here's how this works, you give us your money and we let you walk away unharmed."
Natalie shot Raph a quick glance and gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Understanding her meaning he took a step back from the ledge where he had been ready to pounce on the two lowlifes. "No. Here's how this is going to go. You turn around and walk away right now and I don't send you to the hospital." After years of practice her body automatically shifted into her preferred fighting stance. She swept her right leg in front, pulled her left leg back, turned her body so she was almost perpendicular to her enemies, giving them a smaller target to hit, and bending at the knees so that they would have a harder time knocking her off balance. Her right hand was held up in front of her half open so that she could switch from open to closed hand strikes with the necessary speed.
The thug with the purple Mohawk turned to his partner, "Aww would you look at that Johnny, the little injured birdie thinks she can fight." Johnny pulled out a length of chain and twirled it around in front of him while Mohawk produced a lead pipe from his sleeve.
All of the frustration and restlessness that had been building for the last week exploded as she felt the chain wrap around her arm. She grabbed onto the length of chain that stretched between her and Johnny and pulled with all her might. Once he was in range she swept out her right leg and sent him crashing to the ground. She heard him soundlessly gasping for air and knew from experience that with the wind knocked out of him it would be at least a solid minute before he was back on his feet. With a cry of rage for his fallen comrade Mohawk lunged towards her and his improvised weapon came crashing down onto her left shoulder. The empty street echoed with her scream of pain as she fell to her knees. Natalie looked up to see him towering over her with a conceited grin. "Fine," she spat, "That's how you wanna play? Let's play." From out of nowhere a dagger appeared in her hand and she drove it deep into her enemy's leg, twisting it for added effect. He crumpled from the pain, bringing them eye level with each other. Natalie managed to drag herself to her feet and it was her turn to look down. "Never underestimate your opponent," She advised before driving her fist into his face, The feeling of cartilage shattering beneath her hand told her that she had certainly broken his nose, and possibly his eye socket as well.
Satisfied that neither of them were a threat Natalie stumbled into the alley. Before she could collapse a strong pair of arms grabbed her by the waist and set her on the ground with practiced care. "Thanks Raph," She said, turning to lean against the brick wall behind her.
"Taking those scumbags on by yourself was pretty stupid." He chastised while inspecting the fresh bruising on her arm.
The smell of decaying garbage mingled with fresh spring air as she breathed deeply. "Yeah I know. I've just been on my own for so long I'm not used to someone having my back. Sorry" Raph refused to make eye contact, instead he focused on the newest damage to her shoulder . Unable to stand the silence she tried a new approach, "Nothing I told you was a lie."
That got his attention, "You heard?"
"Yeah, I heard," She said, "It's fine. If I was in Leo's position I'd be suspicious too. But my name really is Natalie. I changed legally it seven years ago when I left home to disassociate myself from my family as much as possible."
"And the other girl in the picture?" Raph asked, finally looking her in the eye and saw that they had become clouded a murderous anger and he wondered if that's what his brother's saw in his eyes when he snapped.
A loud bang echoed through the alley as she struck the dumpster, taking solace in the pain that traveled up her arm, "My twin sister Samantha, grade A sociopath whose sole purpose in life is to make me miserable. Anything that brought me joy or made me feel loved she stole, and if she couldn't steal it she'd destroy it."
"That's why you left home, to get away from her." He tried to meet her gaze again but she turned away almost in shame.
"And why I haven't stopped running since. I didn't dare get attached to anyone or any place. I was too afraid she'd find me, and ruin my life again." Natalie's voiced dropped to a whisper, "I'm still afraid. Even though she's a dimension away all of my instincts are telling me to run, to not get close to you guys because if I do she'll still find a way to take you away too and you're too important, your whole family. I can't…" Tears threatened to spill over and she bit her lip in an attempt to remain in control.
With a deep shaky breath she pushed her emotions back down, even as she felt Raph pull her into a gentle hug. "Hey it's okay to cry. You don't have to be strong all the time."
He felt her entire body stiffen, "Yes I do. I cannot show weakness." Even as she said it the gnawing feeling in her heart urged her to give in to the pain. All the years of loneliness and anger threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to let it all out, cry on his shoulder and just once allow herself to be weak but the walls that she had spent a lifetime building would not crumble so easily. Instead she hugged him back and allowed herself to take comfort in the fact that for the first time ever she had someone who cared. It wasn't much but it was a start.