TMNT

Mutant Kunoichi

A girl from our world is somehow transported to the TMNT world, where she is subjected to becoming a mutant not in body, but in spirit. Protected by the turtles, and hunted by Foot Clan, will she find protection or even love?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

So Much For Blending In

I was back at home, sitting in my old rocking chair. There was a baby in my arms – she was Bella Ann, my cousin's daughter. We were taking care of her for them, while they went out to see a movie. It was the first and only time they'd ever asked us to do that. I didn't like my cousin's partner, Rickie-Lee – none of us did, really. She was arrogant, very abrupt, liked to put people down and talk about them behind their backs, and she made Vernon Dursley from Harry Potter look like Jenny Craig. (Nothing against fat people, but Rickie-Lee wasn't even trying to lose weight). Plus, she used the TV as a baby-sitter for Bella, and didn't like to accept advice from anyone about how to raise her daughter.

As I held the sleeping baby in my arms, I remembered the first time I'd held Bella, the day after she'd been born. I'd gone to the hospital with my sister and her partner. I had never held a newborn before, so I'd had a little trouble, and Rickie-Lee had commented that it looked like I was going to drop Bella. I'd gotten very upset, and cried all the way home. It had been a downgrading and embarrassing experience for me, especially since I was a woman and may very well one day have kids of my own. Rickie-Lee had grown up taking care of her little brothers and sisters, but I had never had that experience before. What if I couldn't hold my own babies later on in life?

Looking down at Bella's sleeping form, I vowed then and there to be a better Mother than Rickie-Lee, and to show everyone – and myself – that I could do it.

I was surprised, however, to find that I was no longer holding Bella in my arms, but what looked very much like a baby mutant turtle.

She opened her eyes, and they were bright green.

I woke up very suddenly, and sat up.

"Okay," I whispered. "That was weird…" I was sleeping on the couch in April's apartment, and I glanced at the alarm clock next to me. It read six-twenty-five. Five more minutes until April woke up. Half an hour until Charles and Danny got here.

I stood up and stretched, before putting on a dressing gown because, lo and behold, it was snowing outside. It was the sixth day of February, and New York was finally getting some more snow. I'd never seen snow before, so I was pretty impressed. I knew, however, from reading multiple Baby-Sitters Club books starring Stacey that the snow wouldn't stay white for very long. Oh well, it was pretty while it was falling.

On my way into the bathroom, I poked both Karasu and Hato, who were asleep on the back of the couch. "Rise and shine, you two. The early bird gets the worm."

Come to think of it…what am I gonna have for breakfast?

I found out when I came out of the bathroom.

Standing in the kitchen were April, also in a dressing gown, and Leonardo. The latter was holding a bag, which turned out to contain a full authentic New York breakfast – bagels, smoked salmon and cream cheese. I'd tasted a bagel once, and liked it, so this breakfast looked pretty good to me.

"I figured you wouldn't have time to make breakfast, what with April's big news story and your first day of school." Leo told me, as we set up the breakfast and April made a cup of coffee for herself.

"Thanks Leo, I appreciate it." I said, pouring myself a glass of orange juice. "Will you be joining us?" I wanted to know.

He smiled. "Why not?" So, we all sat down and ate.

As we were finishing up, April went to the bathroom to have a quick shower, leaving Leo and I alone in the kitchen. As we were cleaning up, Leo cleared his throat, and handed me a little gift-wrapped package.

"What's this?" I asked, surprised.

"A good-luck charm." Leo smiled. "Open it."

I did, and pulled out a plush turtle key ring, that had been signed five times in Sharpie. "Oh wow, Leo, thanks!" I exclaimed, hurrying to attach it to my new book bag.

"Oh, and also this." Leo handed me a pink satin ribbon. "For your…hair." He said, a little awkwardly.

I giggled. "Arigatou, Leo. Now, you'd better go so I can get dressed, and April's boss will be here soon, with his son…"

"Yeah, about that…" Leo looked serious all of a sudden. "Michelangelo will be taking the first watch, Emma, so if anything happens to you on your way to school, he'll be right there to help you, okay?"

I paused. Did Leo know that Danny was a Foot Ninja? I hoped not. Maybe Leo was just being over-protective. "Okay, Leo, don't worry, I'll be fine. My injuries have healed perfectly, so I'll be able to at least move without hurting myself. Now go, and take those two with you." I pointed to Karasu and Hato, who both gave me indignant looks and flew out the window, followed in a very similar style by Leo.

I smiled, and held the ribbon in my hand for a moment, before turning on the radio and getting dressed. I put on a pair of blue jeans, with dark brown boots without a heel, followed by my new (padded) bra and a plain white t-shirt. I would put on my scarf and jacket (both pink) later on.

As I was fixing my hair with the ribbon from Leo, and the song Remember The Name by Fort Minor (this is Raphael's song, I'm sure) came on, there was a knock on the door.

Remembering my mistake from last time, I turned the volume down, and went to answer the door.

Of course, it was April's boss, and Danny was right behind him, looking like he wished he was anywhere but here.

April came downstairs and she and Charles began talking.

Danny and I eyed each other, but didn't say anything.

The song finished and a Disturbed song came on. It was The Night, my favourite song from the Indestructible album.

Without even being aware of it, as I gathered up my school things, I began to sing quietly.

I didn't realize Danny could hear me until the song was over, and he was now standing next to me. That's the second time I've been caught singing!

"You actually like this music?" He asked indifferently.

I shrugged. "Doesn't everybody?" I then caught sight of his t-shirt – a Disturbed one. I smiled slightly. "That answers that question. Look, I don't think we were properly introduced before," He glanced at me, and I held out my hand, feeling a slight burning in my chest. "I'm April's niece, Emma Jones."

"Danny Pemberton." He replied, shaking my hand.

"See, they're getting along already!" April said cheerfully, before coming over and giving us both a push towards the door. "Now, come on, or we'll all be late!"

Danny and I walked the few blocks to school – it's not a long way from April's apartment, so we didn't have to walk very far.

On the way, however, we began talking – Charles had confiscated Danny's MP3 Player, much to the red-head's chagrin, so the only thing left to do was talk. Ah, little did Charles know Danny would probably just go out and steal another one…

"You're fifteen, too?" Danny questioned, as we waited for the walk signal to cross a busy street.

"More or less," I replied, fiddling with my Yin-Yang necklace (old habits die hard). "I heard April say she'd be sure to try and get us into most classes together…for some reason or other…"

Danny just rolled his eyes.

"You don't like school?" I guessed, as we crossed the street. I should probably just point out here that talking quietly whilst walking through the busy streets of New York is virtually impossible, so I had to talk slightly above my normal volume.

Danny shrugged. "Who does?" He wanted to know, as we passed by a group of students wearing horn-rimmed glasses and carrying big heavy text-books.

"Uh, them?" I guessed, and Danny actually grinned, as we approached the school – a big building that looked like something out of High School Musical, complete with four stories and an actual rooftop you could probably walk around on. "Well…let's hope this goes better than it did back home…"

Danny glanced at me curiously but, just then, we noticed a large crowd of students milling around an area of snow-covered grass to our left. Glancing at each other, Danny and I hurried over to them, and Danny asked some random kid what was going on.

"That jerk Hillsby is beating up on another student again." The kid said.

I gasped. "So why isn't somebody doing something! ?" I exclaimed.

The kid shrugged. "Nobody tells Oliver Hillsby what to do." He said.

"We'll see about that." I said, handing my backpack to Danny. "Here, hold this." I thrust the bag into his hands and then pushed my way through the crowd.

"Is she insane, Pemberton?" I heard the kid ask Danny.

"Probably." Danny replied.

I pushed my way into the centre of the circle, and was stunned and sickened almost by what I saw. A big guy, who could probably put Rickie-Lee to shame, was standing over a smaller girl, who was shaking and trying to find her glasses. Her books were all over the ground, and some had been ripped and torn. The guy – Oliver Hillsby – had the girl's jacket, which was probably why she was shivering and, as she stood up, I realized that it was the girl who had helped me get my pencil case in the shop. Mary, Irma's niece.

I spotted her glasses on the ground by my feet, and picked them up. "Mary!" I called to her, hurrying over to her. She turned to me, and I handed her the glasses before turning to her attacker. More courage than I'd known welled up inside of me, to protect the poor girl. "Alright you, hand over the jacket!" I ordered firmly, in my shiny voice.

Olive's ugly face (I'm sorry, but he's no oil-painting) twisted into a sneer. "Ooh, some feisty new chick's gonna tell me what to do, is that it?" He and a few of his friends laughed. "And why should I?" Good question.

"Because you will be on detention if you do not, Mr. Hillsby." Said an older, authority-filled voice, and a woman who was clearly a teacher appeared through a gap in the crowd, which miraculously began to thin away.

"That's Ms. Dunston, our homeroom teacher," Danny, who was beside me and Mary now, said, as we began to gather up Mary's books for her. "She can be a real witch, by the way."

"She is not, Danny Pemberton, she's a very nice woman." Mary whispered, almost fiercely, as Oliver gave me a very cold glare, before leaving. "You just don't like her because she gives you detentions!"

"Whatever." Danny rolled his eyes, before handing me my backpack and walking into the school without a backwards glance.

Mary and I exchanged a glance. "Thank you." She whispered.

I replied: "Doitashimashita – you're welcome."

We smiled at each other.

Ms. Dunston handed Mary her jacket. "There you are, Miss. Bishop, now off to homeroom." Mary followed in Danny's wake, and Ms. Dunston turned to me. "Now, you are…?"

"Jones!" I said, quickly. "Uh, Emma Jones, I'm a…"

"Ah, yes, the new transfer student from Australia." Ms. Dunston nodded. "You will be in my homeroom, Miss. Jones, that's in room F4. Kindly follow me, please."

And, so I did, wondering what would await me when I went back for a second chance at high school.

Michelangelo's P.O.V:

I watched as Emma followed the older woman into the school building, from my high vantage point on the roof of the building across the street.

Then, my Shell-Cell rang, and I answered it.

"Everything okay, Mikey?" Raph asked me.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Yeah. She almost got into a fight, protecting another student from a bully, but a teacher came along."

Raph groaned. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Maybe because she's just like you?"

"Shut up."

Emma's P.O.V:

I was standing there; every cell in my body was frozen. This was too horrible, too cruel to even bear, but somehow I had to find the courage to do it.

I opened my mouth and, just then, we all heard running footsteps and, the next second, Keno leapt dramatically into room F4.

As the other students in the homeroom laughed, Keno grinned sheepishly and asked: "I'm not late, am I?" Then he saw me, and did a double-take. I waved meekly.

"No, you're just in time, now take a seat." Ms. Dunston replied, and Keno hurried to take a seat. I wondered if the seating arrangement was in alphabetical order, because Mary Bishop (Bishop?) was sitting towards the front, but Danny was towards the back because Pemberton begins with a 'P'.

Ms. Dunston nodded to me, and I swallowed nervously. "Uh, okay, right then…my name is…Emma Jones. I'm from Perth, in Western Australia. Uh…" I glanced at Ms. Dunston again.

'HOBBIES.' She mouthed the word to me.

Right. I thought. Because the last time I had to introduce myself to a class full of strangers was…well…NEVER. Well, not complete strangers, anyway. I knew Danny and Keno, and Mary, so that was something. I said: "Umm…I like reading and writing, drawing anime, and video games. I like all kinds of music, especially heavy metal. My favourite sports are rollerblading, equestrian, archery and martial arts. If I could live anywhere in the world it would be Japan, and my favourite animals are birds and turtles!"

The class stared at me, and I stared right on back at them.

"Very good, Miss. Jones." Ms. Dunston smiled at me. "Please take a seat there," She gestured to an empty seat by the aisle, next to a boy who looked clean-cut and nicely presented. "Next to Greg Jacobs."

I did as I was told, and sat down to examine my time-table, wondering what the rest of the day had in store for me.