Chapter 4

Some thing wasn't wrong.

Lots of things were wrong.

With solemn silence the group of humans, mutants, and wayward time mistress surveyed the damage. All of the outer walls had been structurally compromised. In a corner lay bits of wire and tiny shards of broken glass, tinkling faintly when walked over, that was all that was remained of the entertainment center. Most of the ceiling had collapsed in on itself and, though much of the rubble had been cleared away, the lair still looked like an explosion had ripped through it.

Finally Master Splinter broke the silence, shaking his head and murmuring, "It is no wonder that Mr. Jones and Ms. O'Neil thought us dead."

Donatello stepped over small piles of mortar and stone and approached what had once been his lab. Kneeling, he picked up a test tube that had miraculously survived the cave-in. He ran his thumb over its smooth glass. He felt hollow, numb. Then a shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see April standing over him, eyes bright with unshed tears.

As soon as Don stood back up, her arms were around his neck. She buried her face against shoulder and whispered, "I'm so glad you guys came back."

Don swallowed hard. "Me too."

"Hey!"

April quickly released Don, and they both whirled around. Casey stood a few paces away, gesturing wildly, while Raphael tried to pull something out of the rubble. Don came trotting over, with April close behind. Once present, Casey proudly pointed down at Raph. "Check it out," he said happily. "Raph's bench press made it through!"

Don and April exchanged a look. But before either could say a word, Michelangelo bounded over and clapped a hand on each of their shoulders. "I can't believe that made it," said Mikey with a rueful shake of his head. "Actually, I can't believe we made it either. Donny, April—you're the numbers geeks. I mean, what're the odds of Cody snatching us up right before our lair got trashed?"

"I don't know exactly," Don replied, frowning. "Slim, though."

April cocked her head. "Cody? Who's Cody?"

"Oh, wow!" Mikey grinned, and his eyes went wide. "You will never believe—"

From out of nowhere, Leo's hand reached out and gently grabbed Mike's beak. Leo raised an eye-ridge. "Mikey?"

"Mmph?"

"What did Renet tell you, Mikey?"

"Mmph!"

Leo let go, and Mikey immediately assumed a crestfallen expression.

Giggling, Renet walked over to join the rest of the group. "I could be wrong … but I'm pretty sure I said that talking about the future would, like, mess up the timeline and stuff."

Don grinned. "Nope. You're not wrong."

"For a change," added Raph under his breath.

Falling into a meditative quiet, the small gathering regarded the relatively unscathed bench press. It was all that was left of the turtles' home. Ironic, too. The single piece of exercise equipment was one of the least practical things the turtles owned and probably one of the heaviest to move. Fate might have been kind, in sparing the turtles and their master from dying in the cave-in, but apparently fate was not without a sense a humor.

Leonardo was the one to speak first. "So, Sensei. What do we do now?"

"We do what we have always done, my son," replied Splinter. His voice rang throughout the high walls with unmistakable resolve. "We regroup, and we rebuild."

"And the rebuildin' starts right here, right now," Casey chimed in. He motioned April over towards the bench press. "Hey, babe, wanna help me and Raphy-boy haul this hunk o' junk outta here?"

April rolled her eyes but knelt down to plant an indulgent kiss on Casey. While Raph and Mikey hooted and catcalled, Donatello looked away uneasily. He caught Renet giving him a meaningful stare, one eyebrow cocked in silent accusation. As she mouthed the words "hung up," Don scowled at her.

In return Renet flashed him a broad smile. "Well," she said cheerily, "I think my work here is done."

Leo glanced over. "Leaving so soon?"

"Afraid so." She draped an arm around Leo's shoulder and gave an affection squeeze. "The busy life of a time mistress, y'know. Places to go. People to see. Time to, uh … master."

Master Splinter approached the young woman and bowed. "I wish to thank you," he said, with his usual gravity and sense of ceremony, "on behalf of myself and my sons. Without your assistance, I do not know when—or even if—we would have been able to return to our own time."

Renet shrugged. "No biggie."

As Donatello watched the time mistress do the rounds, giving each lair denizen a hug good-bye, he got the uncomfortable feeling that something was still wrong. Don frowned to himself as she grabbed the time scepter and headed for the sewer tunnels. Quickly making a decision, he followed her outside the ruined lair.

"I think it's interesting," he called out, his voice echoing hollowly in the wide tunnel, "that we got taken to the future just in time to avoid a highly improbable geological disaster."

"Donny!" Startled, Renet whirled around. She held up a hand to her chest. "You guys have got to stop pulling that sneaky ninja stuff on me."

Don's frown deepened. "I want answers, Renet, and I know you have them."

Renet looked away. An oddly sad expression crossed her face, which was otherwise bathed in shadows. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "There's nothing I can tell you."

"I'm a scientist. I don't believe in coincidences."

"Well, I'm a time mistress. And you'd be surprised by how much coincidence I see every day." She approached him slowly, using the time scepter as a walking stick. As she neared, Donatello noticed that the shadows made her look older for some strange reason. "The littlest things can matter, Don. A chance meeting … a single glance … a path not taken."

Don sighed. There was so much she was leaving unsaid, but he didn't have the slightest clue what it was or how it might fit in. Finally he asked, in a tone of defeat, "Will I ever understand what was really behind our trip to the future?"

Renet smiled as the time scepter began to glow. "Time will tell."

As the sewers of New York City faded into the brilliant light of the time scepter, Renet felt a pang of regret. She wanted to tell Don. She wanted so badly to just explain to him how she felt. But she couldn't, and not just because of that stupid redhead he pined for. No. She was a time mistress, and he was a mortal. He was trapped within a single timeline, and she wasn't. It would never, ever work. Lord Simultaneous would be enraged if he found out she'd even considered it.

Renet ran her fingers over the smooth edges of the scepter. This was her choice, to be a time mistress. And she was glad she chose this. She really was. Yet, at the same time, she was all too aware of the great costs. How could she not be? Everyone, mortal and time master alike, was a prisoner of time.

---

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay on the final chapter! I had the finale all written then, after reading through, realized I didn't really like it. So I tossed it and rewrote the entire chapter—thus the delay. As an apology, I'm going to post the original ending which I decided to scrap.

Hope the wait ends up being worth it. Thanks for reading, everyone! And a special thanks to those who encouraged me to expand this story beyond a one-shot!