Hi! So, I've loved Spider-Man and the TMNT since I was a kid. I've always wanted to write a fic combining the two, but could never think of a good enough story. Then, with the introduction of the Spider-Verse, I realized: what if there's a reality in the Spider-Verse where someone not only gets the Spider-Man powers, but is also adopted by Splinter and raised as one of the TMNT? Even better, what if that reality's SHIELD wanted to recruit them?
Consider this fic a crossover between Spider-Man, Marvel's SHIELD, and TMNT. Petra Parker is a version of Spider-Man who was born female and lost Ben and May at an early age, thus being raised with the turtles. The personality is based largely off of traits I liked from multiple Spider-Man incarnations.
The TMNT parts of the fic are largely influenced by the 2003 series, although I took elements from multiple incarnations and changed a few details (such as at what age they meet April). I did not put Casey Jones in the fic because he didn't really add anything to the story. If I write a sequel, I might put him in. I left the character descriptions for everyone but Petra a little vague. Basically, just imagine the appearance of your favorite incarnation of that character and picture them in the fic (let's be honest, a lot of these characters have seen redesigns over the years).
Legal Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, I do not own the rights to SHIELD or any characters affiliated with it, I do not own the Spider-Man franchise, I do not own TMNT, and I am not writing this for profit but for the enjoyment of myself and others.
With that said, enjoy!
Chapter 1:
The storm sewers of New York were no place for a little girl. Most reasonable people would take that for a fact. So, naturally, there was no reason why the brown-haired, blue-eyed little girl should've been sitting in one.
And yet, there she was all the same. She was only four, and her entire world had been taken from her. Her Aunt May and Uncle Ben were dead, and she'd never known her parents. All she had with her was the clothes on her back. She had no home, no family, and no idea what to do. Petra Parker could do nothing but curl up in a ball and cry.
On top of her grief, the storm sewers were very cold. She'd pulled her red jacket around her as best as she could, but it wasn't much help. To make matters worse, she hadn't had anything to eat or drink in hours. But she had no way of fixing any of those problems. She was completely alone.
Someone help, please. I'm scared. She thought desperately, as if hoping that some heroic person in a cape would jump into the storm sewer and take her somewhere safe.
She was so lost in her fear and grief that the voice caught her completely off guard. She hadn't even heard them approach. She gasped and got up, taking a few steps back before landing her eyes on the speaker.
They were bigger than her, but shorter than most adults she'd met. Whoever they were, they were keeping to the darkest shadows, several feet from her. She could tell, however, that they were wearing a long, brown, old cloak that covered most of their body. Their head was hidden by the cloak's hood.
The speaker waited, then repeated his question. "Are you hurt, child?"
She shook her head. Her heart was broken, but she wasn't hurt. She tried to take another step back, but hit a wall.
"You do not need to be afraid. I will not harm you. Are you lost?"
"I-" Fresh tears spilled over her cheeks, but she managed to speak. "My mommy and daddy are dead. I lived with Aunt May and Uncle Ben but…but now they're…they're…" She couldn't get the last word out, and was wracked with fresh grief.
Before she knew what was happening, the person was right beside her, and had wrapped her in a hug. She was surprised, but hugged him right back, crying into his cloak. They stood there for a minute before he spoke again.
"Such a great tragedy for one so young…"
"I'm four." Despite everything, she wanted to defend herself. She wasn't that young. "I'm a big kid."
He gave a small laugh. "My apologies."
She fell silent, and looked up at him. Up close, the hood didn't hide his face as well. She could see that he wasn't a human.
She moved slowly, not sure if it was okay. But when he didn't resist, she grabbed the hood and pulled it back. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw what he was: a giant rat!
"Cool." She breathed, too amazed to be scared. She couldn't help herself, and stared at him for a moment. The creature patiently withstood her scrutiny before he spoke again.
"What is your name, child?"
"Petra, sir. Petra Parker."
"I am Master Splinter, though my sons also call me sensei, or 'teacher'."
"You have sons?" She looked around, as if expecting a handful of smaller Master Splinters to appear.
"Yes, but they do not look like me. They are a year older than you are, and we live in these storm sewers…although the area we call our home is much nicer than most of these tunnels."
Petra wanted to ask more questions (she always had questions), but then sneezed twice. In her awe at meeting a giant rat, she'd forgotten just how cold the tunnel was. Barely a second later, her empty stomach grumbled.
Master Splinter knelt down so that he could look her in the eyes. "Petra, if you truly have nowhere to go, then you may come live with my sons and I."
Her eyes went wide, her physical woes forgotten. Could she really get a new home? A new family?
"I-I'd like that. Thank you, sir."
"From now on, call me either Master Splinter or sensei." He stood, turned around, and kneeled again. "It is a long distance to our home, climb on my back."
She hesitated, then did as she was told. She gripped his shoulders tightly (if she hurt him he didn't complain) as he stood up and began moving down the tunnels with ease, as if he knew the way by heart (although he probably did).
Petra, as she took the strangest piggy-back ride of her life, looked around at the tunnels in awe. She'd only run into the storm sewers to hide from the bad man; she hadn't actually looked at them. But, as they raced past, she stared around wonder. I'm going to live here, she thought. Such was her joy at having a new home and family that she didn't even mind the cold or dampness.
After a while, her eyes started to close, and she drifted into a half-sleep. She might've fallen asleep entirely if she hadn't heard the sounds of young voices coming from a ways ahead. She perked up. They sounded like kids. Kids her age.
"We are here." Splinter slowed down, then kneeled a bit while slowly straightening his back. She let go of his shoulders, feeling a little unsteady on her feet after the long ride. Master Splinter held out a hand, and she took it. He led her into a large…She didn't know if she should call in a building or a room.
Master Splinter would later tell her that their home was a long-abandoned underground warehouse of some sort, with a high enough ceiling and enough structural support for them to make it into a home. At the moment, however, it was all Petra could do to simply take it all in. It was two stories tall, with a balcony providing flooring for the second level and a ladder leading up to it. In the middle of the room was a pond, with a bridge placed over it. Numerous doorways in the walls led to other rooms and areas. She could only catch glimpses of them from where she stood, and hoped that Master Splinter would let her explore…
She stopped looking around so much when she saw the source of the voices she'd heard. She could only assume that these were the sons Master Splinter had mentioned, but they were not rats. They were turtles.
She stared. She could see four of them, all of them doing something different. Two of them, one with a red bandana and one with a blue bandana, were doing what looked like karate moves at each other while standing on a mat. Another one, this one with an orange bandana, was playing some type of handheld game while lounging on an old crate. Yet another one, wearing a purple bandana, was sitting at a table and using a screwdriver to take the back off of what looked like an old computer. Despite her surprise at seeing the turtles, she longingly looked at the computer. She liked fixing things, almost as much as she liked building them…
"My sons." At the sound of Master Splinter's voice, the four dropped what they were doing (literally in the case of the orange-clad turtle) and ran to meet him. They all stopped short when they saw Petra. Suddenly the center of attention, she stepped back, feeling shy.
"Who's that?" The red-clad one said.
"This is Petra." Master Splinter explained. "She will be living with us from now on."
"Are you going to train her, too, sensei?" The blue-clad one asked.
"Train me?" Petra asked. Train her in what?
"We're ninjas!" The orange-clad one shouted.
"Or, we will be." The purple-clad one said.
"I am a master of the art of ninjutsu," Master Splinter told her, "and I am training my sons to one day become masters as well. If you like–"
"Can you train me, too, sensei?" Petra interrupted, her eyes shining at the thought of learning to fight like the heroes on TV did.
Master Splinter chuckled. "If you wish. Now, these are my sons." He introduced them to her, pointing at each one as he said their names. The turtle in blue was Leonardo, the one in purple was Donatello, the one in orange was Michelangelo, and the one in red was Raphael.
"Those are big names." Petra remarked.
"We have nicknames." Leonardo explained as he walked over. "You can call me Leo."
"I'm Donnie." Donatello added.
"I'm Mikey!" Michelangelo shouted.
"Raph." Raphael offered.
"If you're staying," Mikey stepped forward, "then you need a nickname, too. You can be…Pet!"
"...I like that!" No one had called her "Pet" before. She smiled, and was about to say something else when her stomach growled twice as loud as before.
"I believe it is time for dinner, my children." Their sensei told them. "After, Petra, we will show you our home, and where you may sleep. Tomorrow, we will begin your ninjutsu training."
"Thank you, sensei." Petra smiled.
After dinner, the turtles took her on a tour, with Leo and Donnie trying to tell her what and where everything was while Mikey was trying to drag her by the arm and race through their home. Raph hadn't joined them, staying behind to ask Master Splinter something. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but the turtle had pointed at his bandana. She didn't have time to dwell on that though, as Mikey seemed determined to either take her on the tour as fast as possible or rip her arm out trying.
It was a surprise to her how fast the turtles were; she'd been told that they were slow creatures. But her new housemates weren't slow at all. In fact, she thought that Mikey was faster than most of the kids she'd seen on the playground.
Eventually, Master Splinter told them all that it was time to go to bed. The four turtles whined, but their sensei was firm. Normally, Petra would fight about bedtime, too, but she'd had an exhausting day and, for once, went to bed when she was told.
The room that Splinter said would be hers had only a simple pillow and pile of blankets. Her sensei had said they'd find her a bed or mattress as soon as they could, but that night she was simply too tired to care. She kicked off her red sneakers and removed her jacket, then crawled into the pile of blankets in her white shirt and blue jeans.
Her mind wandered a bit as she started to fall asleep. She started to think about her aunt and uncle…and the bank…She shoved that thought away, and instead turned her mind to the people she now lived with. She gratefully thought about the stern but kind Master Splinter, and how he'd been so willing to take her in. She thought of the turtles, and how quickly they'd accepted her (especially after she'd beaten Mikey in a belch contest at dinner, to their sensei's annoyance). She excitedly thought about the next day, when she'd start learning to be a ninja.
Her beloved aunt and uncle were dead. Her parents had gone before she could know them. Her life had been completely uprooted. And yet, despite the lingering trauma from the event that had driven her into the storm sewers, she felt…happy. Petra Parker was perfectly content with her new life.