Author's Notes

(1) i DO NOT own Ninja Turtles!

We stood over the manhole for several moments, alert to the fact that we may be pursued. After several minutes, it was clear we had jammed that manhole pretty well, and the chase was off...for now.

Then I looked around, and saw we were standing in alley, hidden from view of early commuters, and the sun was only just starting to rise over the rooftops. I breathed in experimentally and, despite the stinking scent of petrol being emitted from every nearby vehicle, it was the cleanest air I had breathed in; this was fresh air in a sense I couldn't remember. This was the surface where I belonged, and my bird wings would allow me to fly on the breeze as never before.

I had an unsurpassable desire to unfold my wings and ride the air currents, at least for a while.

Tzu brought me back to earth by grabbing one of my wings back into a position he had used a hundred times in fights, and I knew even the smallest pressure could either seriously damage or even break my wing.

"Listen to me, Takara," he said, putting all his weight on my wing, forcing me to drop to one knee. "We can't risk being seen, and I can't risk you being a loose cannon that can fly. We need somewhere to hole up first, somewhere no one would think to check in a search for us. Don't forget, we're on the run.

"I'm going to let you fly now to scout around. I know you're a fast flier, so your being seen isn't a problem as long as you don't do anything to attract attention. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," I said. "Now can you let me up? You're hurting my wing."

Tzu released me, and he looked a little ashamed at his behaviour in the few moments it took me to ditch the bag and laptop that I still had in my arms, unfurl my wings and push into the air, sweeping my wings back, pivoting in midair to prevent tangling myself in the washing lines. I travelled straight as a bullet ever higher until I passed above the height of the rooftops.

I will never forget that first flight in the open air, where I belonged.

This was what I had been mutated for. Due to my mutated DNA, my lungs were lined with air pockets that increased my buoyancy, making it easier for me to take off and fly. Those air pockets also meant I could cruise in the air without feeling the lack of oxygen at this height.

As I passed over the houses, I only had to dodge to one side to dodge a tall pole rising from the largest building in New York –yep, the Empire State Building itself. I practiced my manoeuvres over the city, spiralling and twirling in the air as I had been taught in the simulation chamber back at that underground cesspit.

Now I knew where to do and how to perform every move I had been taught outside.

There were, as I had expected, a number of small shops with homes over them in the part of town I was passing over. Some were obviously owned, but there were some ones that seemed to be neglected and full of dust and debris.

One was relatively small and I could see it was an ideal place to lurk until we had a better idea of our surroundings. I could see that it wasn't much when I perched on the windowsill, but there was no sign of occupation. There were no windows, but that was a plus to me. I could get in and out easily, and that would be crucial if we had to make a quick break for it. My eyes would have picked up whether any dust had been moved by footsteps, but there was no such sign.

It would be a good place to hide and digest a meal until we had a more definite plan over staying hidden and alive.

I let go of the windowsill, spreading my wings and gliding on the air currents. I had a decent idea where I had left Tzu, and I made my way back over the now waking city. We would have to move quickly if we were to reach our new hideaway before the city was bustling. Then we would have come up with some plan to get food without buying or stealing. A snake-boy and a girl with wings would be easy descriptions to remember, and we couldn't afford to leave any traces on paper.

As I approached the alley, I saw someone on a rooftop, waving his arms for attention. I saw at a second glance that it was Tzu, and I went down for a landing with a nose dive. I loved showing off my ability to fly, something he could never hope to copy.

"Well?" he asked as I pulled in my wings, tucking them close to my side, enjoying the warmth that coursed through them due to the exercise.

"I found somewhere to lie low," I reported. "It hasn't been occupied for ages, and it's not surrounded by other shop holders."

"Good," Tzu said. He was holding both the bag of food he had raided and the bag of tricks I had taken. As he holstered them over his shoulder, I spread my wings, readying myself to take his weight and the bags. My strength had been tested time after time in the laboratory, and I knew I was capable of bearing his weight, but not for more than an hour.

As soon as he was clinging on, I whipped my wings open, catching the air currents and swooping up high above the city before altering my course slightly to fly us into Manhattan. As I had felt once before, euphoria whipped through my veins as thick as adrenaline, even if I was carrying a very air-wary passenger.

We flew over the city, and I could feel Tzu's grip growing steadily tighter. He was nervous. The sooner I landed and let him off, the happier he would be. This time I was going as fast as I could, aware that the moment I felt drained was the moment I would lose height and risk crashing, headed straight for our destination.

At last I slowed to a glide, coming down at the window in narrowing circles. When I drew level with the shattered glass, Tzu let go of me and clambered through. I knew he was testing the air for any sign that I had been wrong, so I contented myself with hovering outside, practising flying slowly and softly to avoid detection.

A few moments Tzu appeared at the window, gesturing me in. Without hesitating, I swooped into the room and landed gracefully a few feet inside. I took a better look around the apartment as I drew my wings tight to my sides. It was dusty, but still had a couple of couches and even a rather battered TV set. The wall under the window had a radiator to keep out the chilly bite of the night.

As the city woke up, we settled down to eat some of the food we had brought with us from the underground laboratory and then for some well-needed sleep. We had had a rather eventful night. I curled up on a moth-eaten sofa, allowing my right wing to lie across my face, creating a warm layer of insulation. Tzu tuned the radiator on, and curled up with his back to it, allowing the warmth to hit his cold reptilian blood.

*

I don't know how long we both slept, but I was first to wake. Tzu was still curled up against the radiator, his eyes shut and breathing regularly. It was quieter than it had been when I fell asleep to the sounds of sirens and traffic noise. But it wasn't yet night; in fact it was barely evening.

I eased myself from my position on the couch and looked around. Now we had found somewhere to curl up, I was curious to find out just what the shop had sold when it had been opened. There was a spiral staircase leading down to the lower floor, and I slipped down it. That was when I halted.

While the upper floor had shown no sign of recent use, the shop downstairs told another story. There were boxes and crates piled high, and there were clear signs that someone had been here very recently. In fact, several people had been here, judging by the number of footstep marks that had been left.

I decided to investigate further, but I couldn't risk leaving footprints that might alert whoever it was to the fact that someone besides themselves had been in here. I swept my wings open, hovering over the boxes even though I rose and fell with each beat. These cramped conditions were not ideal for flying, but I had no other way of travelling without being detected. I flew up until I was parallel with the top of the nearest pile and opened the box.

Inside sat a number of what looked like bric-a-brac of laptops, video recorders and DVD players. You didn't see this many valuable machines sitting in boxes in dark and abandoned shops –unless they were stolen. My guess –this was a hoard of stolen property that was just waiting to be moved. And I had a sneaking suspicion that I was right. If the gang came and caught us, we were in trouble.

I sneaked back up the stairs after closing the box and making sure there was no trace I had stood here. I had to tell Tzu, not because I thought we were in immediate danger but because I didn't want him to be unprepared for the fact we might have to move if they ventured upstairs.

Tzu was a bit moody when I shook him awake –he was even more worn out by the previous night's events than I was. Perhaps he had been worried about our future more than I was; as the leader, he was the one who had to come up with the plans.

"I think we're in a spot of bother," I admitted in a whisper. "There's a hoard of equipment downstairs, and I'd say it's stolen."

"What?" he hissed at me; he got to his feet and pushed me back hard so that I fell to the floor as he hurried to the stairs to check the shop below us. He had never been as shocked as he was now, and I couldn't help feeling I had not been careful enough. If we were caught, it would be because I didn't check well enough before returning.

Tzu was back in a few moments, and he held out a hand to pull me to my feet.

"I'd say that stuff will be shifted in a few days' time, and then it will be safe. Criminals never keep their stuff in one place for more than a few days in case it gets detected and reported to the police. So as long as we keep quiet when we're here and they don't come up here, we should be safe here."

"You seem to know a lot about how criminals act," I said, brushing myself off.

"Trust me, you don't live in New York without knowing how criminal gangs work," Tzu said. "Before I was abducted, I kept an eye on several gangs in New York. It was something I did in my spare time, for a friend called Casey."

I looked at Tzu and felt a sorrow hit me. He knew who he was, where his family lived, remembered his past life. I had no such memories, just vague pictures and faces I could not put a name to. Tzu saw his words had affected me, and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Takara," he said. "I promise, if we can ever truly be free, we'll find out who you are and return to our families. We'll be friends forever." He held out his hand.

I nodded, accepting his apology and joining him in the pact by shaking hands. Then I heard something: the vibrating rumble of a heavy vehicle approaching the area where we were hidden. Tzu hit the floor, motioning for me to put out the lights we had found on our arrival. I plunged us into darkness and found my way to Tzu by the dull light cast by a streetlight outside one of the shattered windows.

We gazed over the windowsill as a black armoured truck pulled out outside the shop over which Tzu and I were hiding. The passenger door opened and a man stepped out. He banged on the side of the truck, and the rear doors opened, allowing even more to spill out. I counted at least twenty.

"Oh, no," Tzu moaned. He was looking worried; I could tell even in the poor light left by the streetlight.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a whisper. "Who are they?"

"These are Purple Dragons, the most vicious criminal gang in New York," Tzu said. "I've tangled with them before, and they show no mercy to anyone who gets in their way. And it's said that they have underworld connections."

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"We stay quiet as mice and hope they don't venture up here."

We heard a window smash downstairs and then the thud of numerous feet moving along the floor below us. We remained absolutely still, afraid that even the smallest sound of movement would bring them down on us.

"OK guys, get this lot to the truck as quickly as you can," said someone downstairs and there was a bustle down below us as men began moving boxes around. Over the noise, it was safe for us to talk in whispers.

"I guess they're moving out right now," I said. Tzu nodded, still very uptight. I knew we were dealing with major criminals, and if we were caught above their shop of hoarded stolen property then we would be in much worse trouble than we were in right now. Thankfully there were no boxes up here, so the only reason they would come up here was if they heard us. So we stayed crouched under the window through which we had seen their approach, hardly daring to breathe.

"It's too dangerous to stay up here right now," Tzu said. "Let's get onto the roof, and wait for them to leave before returning. Once they're gone, it'll be safe to go back in."

I nodded my agreement and raised myself onto the windowsill. Tzu crept lightly across to the bags we had left beside my couch as I perched where I was, ready to go as soon as I had the bag with my tools and laptop in it.

"Met you on the roof," I whispered before letting myself fall forward into the air. My wings unfurled and I beat them once to catch the air currents rising from the ground before spiralling upwards. Watching the window, I saw Tzu swing the bag of food over his shoulder and make a leap from the window for the nearest washing line.

I had thought he had it, but I was wrong. He missed his jump by about two inches and would have plummeted to the ground if I had not tucked in my wings and dived after him.

As it was, although I caught him, we were too close to the ground to allow me to pull up and recover. I didn't crash into a wall, but I did collide with a bin, knocking it over. I was sure the men would have heard that. There was no time for ceremony or care –Tzu, who had been left unscarred by my actions, dragged me out of sight behind a bin, pulling my wing close to my side and covering my mouth. I was in pain –I had seriously damaged my wing in that dive and failure to recover –but I was aware of the fact I had attracted attention from this ruthless gang.

"Perhaps it was just a cat looking for food?" one of the men's voices suggested.

"It made too large a noise to be a cat, or even a racoon. Whatever's done here is large," argued another.

"What if it's one of those kung-fu lizards?" asked another voice, sounding really nervous. "I don't know about you lot, but I've had enough of getting attacked by them."

"Don't be a coward," a fourth jeered. "Besides, they come out of the shadows, when you least expect them. Whatever's down here has no near way that sort of stealth."

I could feel Tzu tensing, and I guessed the Purple Dragons were closing in on us, armed to the teeth. I was in pain, in no condition to fight, and Tzu would be outnumbered about twenty to one. It would be so simple for them to catch us.

"Purple Dragons," said another voice, further away, almost at the end of the alley if my ears were still working probably. "Come out and play!"

"It's that vigilante!" said one of the Purple Dragons who was closing in on us. There was a harsh angry roar of the Dragons as they abandoned the hunt to attack the unknown man who had distracted them. The sounds of battle reached my ears.

Tzu moved to lay me on my front, ensuring we remained hidden from view from all the fighting humans. I could feel him running his fingers lightly over my wings one at a time. He paused on my right wing twice, just at the point where shoulder blade and wing joint, and also over one of the long wing bones.

"You've seriously hurt this wing," he said quietly to me, over the noise of the fight. "You've got a strain at the joint and a broken bone. It'll take weeks to recover, and you'll be fairly helpless until you recover."

"At least you're not dead," I panted.

"And you paid a high price to ensure my safety," Tzu said; he sounded stern, but he clasped my hand in a gesture of thanks. We were still together, and that was the most important thing to the pair of us.