Chapter 2: Runaways
A/N: Well, I know you might be surprised to see the second chapter up since I posted the first one last week. However, I finished writing it quicker than I thought and decided to post it. So here it is. Now, I wanted to clear up some things that a reviewer asked me and pointed out to me. Mac asked me what color Mariel's hair is. I forgot to put that in her paragraph, but her hair is brown and she has hazel eyes. Mac also asked me who Kaia is most like, since all of the girls share some personality traits from the TMNT. Kaia isn't like any of them. She's just very quiet and shy, but she forms a bond with Leo, which you'll see later. Hope I cleared that up. And now to thank my lovely reviewers. Thanks to: Mikey's Kunoichi, Mac, Bear137, Cynlee, LEO'SGIRL80, misterfooch, and shellsboy24. Thanks a lot. Please continue to review. And now let's get to the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I wish I did. Well, my birthday's next week. If I wish really hard on my birthday candles I might get my wish. TMNT are owned by Eastman and Laird. I only own the characters not related to TMNT. All flames will be cut up by Leo's swords.
Foot HQ
Karai Saki paced the length of what had once been her father's office. She was waiting for her informant to report to her. What was taking him so long? He was supposed to be following the girls that Karai had seen earlier that week.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the informant entered the room. "Mistress, I have some news you might be interested to hear," he said.
"And what news would that be?" Karai demanded.
"I followed the girls as they went to get groceries," the informant reported. "They were set upon by some Purple Dragons. The Dragons were about to get the girls when the Turtles arrived and rescued them."
"The Turtles?" Karai repeated. "What were they doing there?"
"I don't know, Mistress Karai," the informant answered. "All I do know is that the Turtles beat up the Dragons and escorted the girls to the Rosewood Orphanage."
"I see," Karai mused. "This will be perfect. Is there anything else I need to know?"
"The one called Kaia has formed a bond with the Turtle called Leonardo," the informant said.
Karai's green eyes darkened in anger at the mention of the Turtle's name. "No matter," she said. "That will only prove to be useful to me in my plans."
"And what are your plans, Mistress," the informant inquired.
"I plan to adopt Kaia and teach her ninjitsu," Karai answered. "Then, when she's older, I will give her control of the Foot while I go and finish what my father couldn't with the Utroms. But before I do that, I will finish the Turtles once and for all."
"Do you want me to keep following them?" the informant asked her.
"No, I will take it from here," Karai told him. "However, you will be rewarded for your service." She walked up to a safe, opened it, and gave the informant some money.
"Thank you, Mistress," the informant said gratefully. "I can't thank you enough for this."
"That will do," Karai said. "You may accompany me when I go to the orphanage tomorrow. If I can take Kaia home right away, it will be easier for my plans to be successful."
"I hope they are, Mistress," said the informant. "Now, I must go home. I will see you tomorrow."
"Good," said Karai. "Do not be late." She watched as the informant left the office, a smile coming to her face. Little did he know that once she had Kaia, she wouldn't need him anymore. Yes, things were definitely looking up, and if all went well, the Turtles would be eliminated for good.
Rosewood Orphanage
Kaia woke up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She had to wonder whether the events of last night were real or imagined, but she knew that she hadn't dreamed it. Still, she knew it was wishful thinking that she would ever see the Turtles again. Did anyone else know about them? If so, were the Turtles in danger? Kaia knew that she'd never tell anyone about the Turtles and had to hope that Kaylee would keep this secret as well.
As it turned out, Kaylee wasn't event thinking of the Turtles. In fact, she wasn't even thinking about her blunder last night either. Instead, she was getting dressed and chattering about what she was going to do that day.
"There's nothing you'll be able to do today," pointed out Kaia. "Mrs. Jenner said that we can't go out of our rooms until further notice, remember?"
Kaylee sighed. "Oh, yeah, I forgot," she said gloomily. "I guess we'll just have to stay in here all day. But that's okay because we can play board games."
After breakfast, the girls went downstairs to do whatever chores Mrs. Jenner had assigned to them. It was during this time that a woman entered the orphanage, closely followed by a man. The woman had black hair and green eyes that seemed to pierce anything she looked at.
"May I help you?" Mrs. Jenner asked her.
"Yes, you can," Karai replied. "I wish to adopt a daughter. My name is Karai Saki, daughter of the late Oroku Saki."
"Oh, yes, I remember him," Mrs. Jenner said. "Such a generous man."
"Yes, he was," said Karai sadly. "Anyway, I know what it's like to feel unwanted. I, too, was abandoned as a child, but by a miracle, I was discovered by Oroku Saki. He took me in and trained me in the art of ninjitsu. When I grew older, he taught me about business so that I could help him out in his deals. I just feel that he'd want me to do this for the good of honor. My husband also agrees with me." She gestured to the man standing next to her.
"I'm sure your father would want this," said Mrs. Jenner. "Well, all of my children are in need of a home. Is there any particular age that you want the child to be?"
"Yes, I was thinking of a young age," said Karai. "Maybe seven years old." She approached Kaia and looked down at her. "Hello, little one," she said. 'My name is Karai. What is your name?"
"Kaia," replied Kaia. "I'm seven years old."
"How nice," commented Karai. " How would you like to live in my home? I can give you many opportunities."
Kaia looked at her and decided she didn't like this woman. There was something about her that wasn't right. "I guess I'd like it," she replied. "But I don't want to leave my friends. We've been together for a long time."
"But, Kaia, you don't understand," said Karai gently. "You will make new friends when you come home with me. I'm sure Mrs. Jenner would let you write to them. Besides, it won't be long before they get adopted, too."
"You can adopt us," suggested Kaylee. "We won't be any trouble for you. Plus, Kaia can be happy, too. You want her to be happy, don't you?"
"Of course, I do," answered Karai. "But I cannot adopt all of you."
"Why not?" demanded Kaylee.
Karai laughed. "I've dealt with dumb blondes like you," she said. "I need someone who is Japanese to run the business."
"But Kaia's too young," pointed out Mariel. "It's illogically impossible for her to run a business."
"My, you are a little know-it-all," said Karai with a smile. "She will run the business when she gets older."
"Maybe I should go, too," suggested Mariel. "I'm very smart."
"I do not want brains," commented Karai. "I want beauty. And you, my dear, need to work on your beauty."
"You wouldn't know beauty if it stepped in front of you," snarled Destiny. "Obviously, you ain't anything to look at. You're butt ugly."
"How dare you?" snapped Karai. "If you were in my house, I'd have you beaten for such a remark!"
"Is that what you'll do to Kaia?" retorted Lisa. "Beat her and starve her?"
"Of course not," said Karai. "I will treat her with kindness, unless she disrespects me." She turned to Mrs. Jenner. "Can I take her home today?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss Saki," replied Mrs. Jenner. "By the way, why do you go by your maiden name? Shouldn't you be going by your married name?"
"My husband felt that it would be better to continue my father's legacy with my maiden name," Karai answered.
"Oh," Mrs. Jenner said. "Well, anyway, you need to fill out some paperwork that will be sent to the State Agency. It will take up to a week or two for it to come back. After that, I will let you know when you'll be able to take Kaia home."
"Very well," said Karai, bowing. "It was a pleasure doing business with you." She gave the girls a glare and left the orphanage.
As soon as Karai left, Lisa turned to Mrs. Jenner. "What are you thinking?" she exploded. "How could you let that woman adopt Kaia? She's evil!"
"Lisa, that's enough!" snapped Mrs. Jenner. "I always thought you were an obedient girl, but now I see that you're just selfish."
"Are you deaf?" retorted Destiny. "Didn't you hear anythin' that woman said to us?"
"Yes, and she isn't wrong, either," replied Mrs. Jenner "I'm extending the punishment. You have to clean the bathrooms for two weeks. Now, get to your rooms! I don't have the patience to deal with you!"
The girls left, but they didn't go their own rooms. Instead, they went to Kaia and Kaylee's room to talk about this disaster.
"This is ridiculous," declared Lisa. "Mrs. Jenner's a worse monster than I thought."
"I don't want to go with Karai," whimpered Kaia. "She's too mean. I could tell she was mean when I looked at her."
Destiny put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, girl, you're not," she said. "I've got a plan."
"What is it?" asked Kaylee.
"Wait, let me guess," said Mariel, pretending to think. "You're going to hunt down Karai and beat her up."
"Very funny, Einstein," said Destiny, rolling her eyes. "No, it's better than that. I say we run away from this hellhole."
"Run away?" repeated Mariel. "That's your idea?"
"Do you have a better plan?" retorted Destiny. Mariel remained silent. "That's what I thought."
"It just might work," said Lisa. "I don't like breaking the rules, but this is an emergency. We have to protect Kaia from this woman."
"Where will we go?" asked Kaylee.
"I was thinkin' we could go to Florida," said Destiny. "It would be better to go where no one will find us."
"Yeah, we could go to Disney World!" said Kaylee excitedly.
"There's just one problem," pointed out Mariel. "We don't have any money."
"Maybe the Turtles could help us out," suggested Kaia. "They've helped us before."
"But we don't know where they live," said Lisa matter-of-factly. "How could we contact them?"
"'We could always look on the roofs," suggested Kaylee. "That's where they were last time."
"It can't hurt," said Destiny. "I'm sure they'd help us if we're in a jam."
Mariel sighed. "So, when are we going to leave?" she asked.
"Tonight," replied Destiny. "The sooner we're out of here, the better."
"I agree," Lisa said. "It's better than staying here and not getting adopted."
"Or getting adopted by someone who's evil," Kaylee added.
"So, we're all agreed on this?" Destiny asked them. The others nodded. "Good. Now, let's get packin' so we won't be delayed when we get ready to leave."
So the girls headed to their rooms and began to pack. Then, they spent the rest of the day as they usually did so that no one would be suspicious. When it was time for bed, they got into their pajamas and settled in. Then, Mrs. Jenner wished them a good night and went to her own room to sleep. When it was quiet, Destiny, Lisa, and Mariel came into Kaia and Kaylee's room. They opened the window and crept out, Kaia the last to leave. She closed the window and followed her sisters down the fire escape.
"Don't you think we should change into clothes?" Mariel asked.
"We will in a minute," Lisa said. "We just need to look for a spot." She scanned the street until she found the best spot. It was an abandoned warehouse on the corner of Eastman and Laird. "We can change in here," she said. "Then, we can head out to Florida."
"I don't think we can get in," Kaylee pointed out.
"I think you have to punch in a code," Mariel said, pointing to the key pad on the side.
"Can you hack into it?" Kaia asked her.
"No way!" Mariel scoffed. "I may be smart, but I'm not that smart!"
"Maybe we can get in by a window," Destiny suggested. So the girls looked on the side, but they couldn't find a window. When they reached the back, they found it all boarded up.
"There's a hole," Kaylee said. "We can get in that way." One by one the girls crawled in. Kaia was afraid because it was dark, but Mariel found a light switch and turned it on. The warehouse was big, but there wasn't much in it, except for a motorcycle and some boxes in a corner.
Suddenly, the door that they had tried to get open started to retract. Then, the girls saw the headlights of an armored van come into the warehouse. It parked next to the motorcycle and the engine was shut off. Then, four figures jumped out of the van and looked at the girls.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Lisa gasped.
A/N: So who's in the van? Well, you'll have to wait until next chapter for that. Now, the next chapter may not be posted next week because I haven't written it yet. Plus, I have a paper due next week that I'll be starting to do on Thursday. I also have another book I have to read for another class. So, I'll be very busy. My motto is that school comes before fan fiction. You'll just have to bear with me on this. Please read and review.