I was caught completely off guard. His words hit me like a punch in the gut. What did I do now? Do I trust this stranger, this mutant, or do I walk away. Walk away to what, though? More tests? No. No more tests. Not now, not ever. I trusted him, for some unexplained reason. Almost unconsciously, I shrugged the lab coat off my shoulders and let it fall to the ground. My wings opened up slightly into a more comfortable position, showing this stranger what I had become: a mutant like him. His eyes widened when he saw me and I gave him a halfhearted smile.

"Wow," he breathed. "they're incredible. If only Donnie could get a look at you… he would have a heart attack."

"If only I could see what?" a voice asked. I spun around, surprised to see a third turtle on the other side of the room. Apparently he had come in through the ceiling, as told by the gaping hole above him. The turtle, Donnie, caught sight of me and gasped.

"So you're the one… amazing. Look at those wings! At least a twelve foot wingspan! I wonder…"

"About time you showed up." The blue-clad turtle spoke to Donnie, taking his attention off of me for a moment. I threw him a grateful glance, and he responded with a small smile.

"Sorry, Leo," Donnie laughed, "but I got caught up kicking a few of the guards' butts."

"Sure you did. Can you get Mikey and me out of here now? They've been taking blood from us for a good half hour. I think Mike's in a coma…" Leo's head drooped and he struggled to remain conscious. Only then did I notice the large tubes running from his body to several large glass cylinders that were being filled slowly with blood. The turtle in the other cage, Mikey, had a similar set up hooked up to his already unconscious body. Donnie took one look at the whole scene and a dark look came over his face. He strode over to the computers controlling the holding cells and began typing frantically, his three-fingered hands flying over the controls.

I panicked, the flight part of my fight-or-flight instinct taking over (no pun intended), and I crept over to the massive hole in the ceiling Donnie had made when he came in. I stood beneath it, wondering if I should leave while I could or if I should stay and help these strange creatures who were now biologically closer to me than my own family.

My family…

I froze, remembering that I could never see my family again, at least not face to face. My heart skipped a beat and an indescribable despair took over my entire being. I stumbled backward until I hit the wall and covered my mouth, trying desperately not to scream. Sobs racked my body as I silently writhed in despair. My family meant everything to me, and now they were, in essence, gone forever. I felt utterly and completely alone. I went numb, not feeling the broken glass beneath my bare feet or the giant empty hole that now filled my heart where my family should have been. Something caught my eye and my gaze flicked upward to the turtles, who were almost free of their glass prisons.

"Hold on there, bro. Almost done…" Donnie pushed the last button on the computer and the doors to the holding cells popped open. Faster than humanly possible, he slipped into Leo's cage and undid the shackles holding his brother inside. He then carefully removed the tubes from Leo's body and moved on to Mikey, who was finally stirring.

"What the… grroff me… leavemee 'lone… don't wanna getupyet…" he mumbled. The purple-clad turtle ignored his weak protests and freed him from the shackles and tubes. Leo, standing on shaking legs, was getting out of his cell. Donnie threw one of Mikey's arms over his shoulder and helped his brother to his feet. These turtles were family. They were brothers. They would never give up on each other. Tears blurring my vision, I stood and slowly walked to the trio, still on guard for any unwelcome surprises. My gaze locked wit Leo's, but I did not have the strength to speak, nor the will to try. Thankfully, he seemed to know what I was trying to do.

"Come with us." He said. I nodded, but did not say anything. Without saying another word, he took off, straight for the window on the far wall. Before I could do anything, he flung himself out of the window and into the night. I rushed over, peering out of the now shattered window.

"Is he insane?!" I asked Donnie. "He'll kill himself!"

"Actually, we're only on the fifth story. A fall from this height might hurt a human, but it won't do him much damage." With that, Donnie picked up Mikey onto his shoulders fireman-style and leapt out of the window. I watched in amazement as he landed gracefully on the ground five stories below. He motioned with one arm for me to jump too. I heard voices outside the door and before my mind could convince me otherwise, I grabbed my lab coat from the floor and threw myself into the night.

I didn't fall, like I should have. Instead, my wings snapped out on instinct and I rocketed upward. It was amazing! My wings worked of their own accord, powerfully flapping through the air. I was effortlessly racing through the nighttime sky, oblivious to everything around me. After a minute, I circled back to the turtles and landed ungracefully on the grass beside them. Donnie stared at me with his mouth open wide.

"That… was… incredible."

"As incredible as our new friend might be, we really ought to be going. Raph just got here and he brought company," Leo panted.

On cue, a fourth turtle, much bigger in size than his brothers and masked in red, burst through the front gate on the opposite side of the clearing. He was laughing, sprinting away from at least two dozen guards who were hot on his tail. I shrunk back, hiding behind Donnie and Mikey. I heard fighting, then silence. Peeking out from behind Donnie's shell, I saw the last turtle stand in the midst of two dozen unconscious guards. He was breathing heavily, but wore a triumphant smirk on his face.

"'Bout time you showed up, Raph." grumbled Donnie, shifting Mikey's weight around on his shoulders.

"I would have come sooner, but those creeps were asking for it. I couldn't resist. Who's the pigeon?" Raph asked, motioning to me. He holstered his weapons, two wicked-looking sais, and sauntered over to us. I sidestepped until I was hiding behind Leo, suddenly very shy of the new addition to our party. Leo said nothing, just shook his head slightly. Raph didn't press the matter further, but I could tell he still had questions. On a silent command, the four turtles took off running. Leo grabbed my wrist and yanked me along behind him. I soon got my footing, however, and effortlessly kept up with their speeding pace.