April led me out of the main lair and back into the sewers, leading me down winding paths until we came to a ladder going straight up.
"After you,' she said, motioning to the creaky tower of metal. I gulped, not trusting the metal ladder. Nevertheless, not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of April, I grabbed hold of the first rung and started up. I closed my eyes, putting hand over hand and foot aver foot, going up and up and up. Then, without any notice, my head hit something hard. I opened my eyes and looked up. I had reached the top. I heard April laugh at me from below. I blushed.
"I think I found the top." I called down to her.
"I think you found it, too. Push the manhole out of the way and climb onto the surface." She told me.
I did as she asked, letting a flood of weak light fall into the sewers. At first I was blinded by the light, but my eyes adjusted quickly. I pulled myself up and out, jumping to my feet. April was beside me a few seconds later, brushing dirt off her jeans.
"The mall is that way." She said, pointing down the street. "It's small, but it should have everything we need. Help me put this manhole cover back, will you?" April struggled to get the metal disk back into the hole. I bent down, grabbed it with both hands, and shoved. The cover flew down the deserted street and hurtled into a lamp post ricocheting into a lonely brick wall on the other side of the street. The streetlamp, severely dented at the bottom, groaned and toppled down, heading straight towards April. What happened next was instinct. I opened my wings and shot into the air, grabbing the lamppost in midair. The lamppost, surprisingly heavy, pulled me down. I flapped my wings to slow our descent. My feet touched the ground a few seconds later and I shoved the lamppost away from April and I. It skidded across the ground and rammed into a car parked on the curb, completely denting the engine. A fire started in the crushed engine, casting a soft glow over the scene.
I stood there, panting, my wings outstretched, a terrified April cowering behind me. I had never felt this… powerful before. The post weighed at least a few hundred pounds, but to me it weighed no more than a large stick. My feet, when I had landed on the ground, had dented the asphalt. I stepped out of the rubble and approached April slowly. She was shaking violently.
"What the heck was that?" she practically yelled at me. "You just…. It just… the car… my coat! What have you done to my coat?"
I craned my neck, looking behind me. The trench coat was totally shredded where my wings had burst through them. I mumbled an apology.
"Well, at least you saved some of the coat for me. Honestly… Okay, let's go." She said, and got up and left. She didn't even say thank you for saving her life. I frowned, walked over to the fallen manhole cover, and slid it into place. There wasn't much I could do for the poor lamppost, so I left it laying in the street next to the damaged car. I tucked my wings back into the coat and sprinted after April. I liked her less and less as time went on.
I entered the lair carrying what seemed like my own weight in clothing. Bags hung from each arm and I carried a pile of clothes almost bigger than I was. As soon as I got into my room, I dumped them on my bed and fell on the floor, exhausted.
"I'm never going shopping again." I vowed.
"We haven't even gotten to shoes yet!" April protested from outside. I groaned inwardly and hid my head under a shirt that had fallen off the bed. We had been out for six hours, going from one store to the next and trying on outfit after outfit after outfit. It was awful. April seemed to enjoy herself, though. Finally, after visiting three different malls and every thrift store in this side of town, she agreed to take me home. Of course, I had to threaten to fly home and let her carry the bags by herself before she complied…
"I don't care! I'm done shopping for the rest of my life, you hear?!" I yelled in her direction. I really did not like that woman. Leo popped his head into my room.
"That's a really long time." He commented.
"Ugh! Not you, too! What do you want?"
"Nothing. I was just checking in on you."
"Oh, okay. Well, unless you can get rid of her," I gestured towards April, who could be seen from the doorway, "I don't think you can help much. I'm done being her personal dress up doll!" I threw the shirt over my head once again in annoyance. Leo looked back at April, then entered my room and shut the door.
"It was that bad, huh?" he asked.
"Pretty much. I lost count of how many outfits she put me in after about thirty or so. She can be really pushy!" I explained. Leo laughed, then clutched his side in pain. Immediately, I threw the shirt on the bed and rushed over to him to make sure he was okay.
""I'm fine." He promised. "Those guards just have a really strong roundhouse kick, that's all. Speaking of which, I meant to ask you something. Do you want to join my brothers and me this evening in the dojo? You don't have to fight if you don't want to today, but we all agree it would be a good idea for you to learn how to defend yourself now that you're a mutant. Humans don't tend to be accepting to creatures out of their own genotype, if you know what I mean."
I shook my head. "Me? Learn to fight? You've got the wrong girl, Leo. I can't even punch correctly. I'm not athletic or flexible or anything like that. I really don't think that would be a good idea…"
Now it was Leo's turn to shake his head. "Don't worry, little sister. If Master Splinter can teach Mikey to stand still for a full minute, I'm sure he can teach you to punch. Besides, you're stronger than you think. I think you'll do brilliantly. Meet me in the dojo in fifteen minutes, okay?" he got up and opened the door.
"What did you call me?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
"What?"
"You called me 'little sister'. Why…?"
"You're part of the family now." He said simply. I gave him a small smile, still taken aback at his words. He smiled back and left the room.
Fifteen minutes later, I had changed into some of the new clothes April had gotten me and was sitting in the dojo next to Leo. On the way there, I realized that I still didn't have a name. I decided my name was going to be Angel. One of the thugs who captured me all those months ago had called me 'Angel Wings', and I figured Angel was fitting, what with my new wings and all. As we sat, Leo explained who Master Splinter was. That still didn't prepare me for when he actually appeared.
He was small compared to the turtles, but still much bigger than me. He had serious eyes and a firm mouth…and a tail. He was a giant rat. I stared at him for a moment, totally caught off guard. He met my gaze steadily and I quickly dropped my gaze. He walked over to Leo and me, studying me carefully.
"Stand" he told me. I stood immediately. Now that the initial shock was over, I met his gaze bravely with my own. "Who are you?" he asked. I swallowed, hard. Trying to steady my voice I said:
"My name is Angel. I am sixteen. I was taken by bad men and turned into a mutant like you against my will. Before the change, I was the oldest of four and was in the tenth grade. Your sons found me and took me under their wing, no pun intended." Mikey, who was on the other side of the room, chuckled at this. I continued, "Without them, my life would be very different. I am in their debt. I hope you'll forgive my intrusion into your home, but I seek your guidance and training. I realize I am young and wild and a threat to everybody, including myself. I ask you to teach me to harness these new powers within me so I am not so dangerous to those around me." Splinter stared at me, considering his decision. I decided to tell him the real reason I was asking for his help. Speaking in a voice too low for Leo to hear but that Splinter's sensitive ears would pick up, I said,
"Master Splinter, you do not know me and I do not know you. Your sons barely know me and yet they protected me when I could not do so for myself. I will forever be in their debt. Truth be told, however, I am terrified… terrified of this new power that runs through my veins. I cannot control myself, not yet. I ask you to teach me how to master myself and master my new power so that I may no longer be a threat to those around me. I don't know who else to turn to…. As soon as I can fend for myself, I will leave you and your family in peace. I did not ask for this life, but it has chosen me and I ask that you get me started on the right path, nothing more."
I dropped my gaze, ashamed at myself for being so weak. I hated this, not knowing how strong I was, not knowing what I was capable of doing, not knowing my limits, not knowing how much of a threat I was to those I loved and to those around me. To my surprise, Splinter put his finger under my chin and lifted my head so he could look into my eyes.
"You are right, I do not know you. But my sons seem to think you are a friend and I trust their judgment. You have shown that you have honorable reasons for wanting to be trained. I will train you. Know that you are welcome in our home as long as you may need it. We are all family here."
I could feel tears in the back of my eyes so I quickly ducked my head in a small bow, not wanting to cry in front of everyone. "Thank you," I whispered. Splinter smiled and motioned for me to join Leo on the floor. I sat down next to the massive turtle, how punched me gently in the arm.
"Welcome to the family, little sister. Now the real fun can begin!"
We spent the entire evening training. I sat out for the first hour or so, watching the others train, but soon I was itching to get onto the training floor myself. Splinter let me train with Leo at first, who showed me a few simple moves. I practiced those well into the night until I felt confident I had mastered them. I felt great that night, but in the morning I was so sore I could barely move. Even my wings were sore, even though I had only used them to keep myself balanced as I moved around the dojo. I decided to keep them tightly tucked against my body today while I trained.
I hobbled over to the kitchen, where a bowl of hot something-or-other was waiting for me. Where was everybody else? I ate quickly and ran to the dojo. Sure enough, everybody was already there. April was even there, much to my dismay. I stormed up to Leo, who was meditating in the far corner, and punched him in the arm as hard as I could. He didn't even flinch.
"Good morning." He greeted me, without opening his eyes. I frowned.
"Why didn't anybody wake me up?" I demanded. "How long have you guys been awake?"
"A few hours." He said, deflecting my next punch easily with his eyes still closed. "You were sleeping like a dead man in there and none of us had the heart to wake you up so early after how hard you worked yesterday. Besides, sensei told us not to."
I grumbled. "Fine. I'm getting up with you tomorrow, though, whether you like it or not." Leo laughed. "If you say so. Now, let's work on that thing you call a punch, shall we." He opened one eye and peeked at me playfully.
