A/N: Alright, chapter 2 which turned out to be the longest chapter I've written yet. Now, I've got exams and crap coming up, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update the next while. In all honesty, I probably won't have much more before the Christmas. I'm still working out some kinks and stuff in the next few chapters, but bare with me. Well, on with this crapily named chapter. Honestly, if someone can think of something better, let me know.

Chapter 2: The Girls Meet

"I see," Dr. Right said to Dr. Blip, "So the flux generator is controlled by the engine recon starter."

"It is a simple matter of rewiring the carbon based capacitor," Dr. Blip explained. The two scientists worked together on upgrading Super Robo Mecha. Meanwhile the Princess spied on the two from the doorway.

"Who does she think she is?" the Princess asked.

"Is something the matter Princess?" Lunk came up behind her with Squeakums on his shoulder.

"Nothing for you to be worried about," the Princess stalked away. "I need to go moisturize my hair, oh yes."

Sqeakums screeched from his vantage point.

"You said it, Squeakums," Lunk agreed, "This can't end well, oh no it won't."

O o O o

Mikey looked up from the TV and saw that Donnie had come back with Laura Whitten in tow.

"Laura!" he exclaimed, jumping up from lying on the ground.

"How's it going Sunshine?" Laura greeted him.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Raph looked up from his pinball game.

"Good to see you too, Red."

"Where have you been?" Raph demanded, "We looked all over for you."

"That's the point of staying hidden," Laura smiled.

"Donnie, what happened to your face?" Mikey leaned in close, examining the welt that had formed on his cheek. Laura grinned and waited for him to answer.

"Hey, let's analyze those samples before they thaw out," Donnie changed the subject, not wanting to explain his encounter with Laura's ruler. Laura decided to let him off this time, she could feel the ice in her makeshift cooler starting to melt down her back. She followed him into the lab.

O o O o

Okay, here we go.

April had taken some time to compose herself and was now pushing through the turnstiles and entering the lair. The guys were all happy to see her again, it was like she had never left. Mikey even offered her a piece of pizza he called the Slice of Eternal Reunion, although it was pretty nasty. He ended up scarfing it down before anyone could stop him.

Throughout said reunion, April couldn't help but notice that Donnie seemed a little distracted.

"Got something on your mind?" she asked, the memory of the girl in the tunnel flashing through her mind.

"Actually, I think we're getting closer to finding a retro mutagen," Donnie got excited and was about to start spouting his findings when a thought struck him. "Actually . . . I should probably go check on the plasmid purification." And he rushed off to his lab, without a second thought.

"We?" April asked turning to the other guys, knowing where this was going.

"Yeah, that's right," Raph said, "you haven't met her yet."

"Her?"

"Laura, she's pretty awesome." Mikey said, "And get this, she's totally the Pulveriser's sister!"

"What?!" April didn't have fond memories of the organ monster that Donnie kept stashed in his lab. After all, it did attack her and Casey a while back.

"Long story," Leo took over, "Short version, she's a molecular genetics student from Baltimore and she's been able to get into some of the labs in the city to run some tests. She's been working with Donnie to try and thaw out the Pulveriser and find a retro mutagen."

"Why can't they just run the tests here?" April asked. "Donnie's been doing fine with what he's got up until now."

"Something to do with better equipment," Raph said, flipping through a magazine.

"Something wrong, April?" Mikey asked, leaning forward. He was always good at detecting people's moods.

"What? No, nothing's wrong," April reassured them and glanced longingly at the door to Donnie's lab.

"Well, there has been less explosions lately," Raph said, turning a page.
"And Donnie's actually been sleeping, for once," Leo added.

"And Raph gets smacked," Mikey said grinning.

"How about I smack you!" Raph jumped off the couch, his magazine forgotten and Mikey dashed off, evading capture.

"Wait, what do you mean?" April turned to Leo, who was rolling his eyes at his brothers running around. "Why hasn't Donnie been sleeping?"

Leo hesitated before answering. "Well, ever since you stopped coming around, Donnie's kind of gone into overdrive trying to create a retro-mutagen. I've had to drag him to bed a little too often. Even then, he'd sneak back into the lab before the sun came up. But now that Laura's been helping him, it's like half the load is off his shoulders. He doesn't have to deal with it all by himself anymore. And she actually understands what he's saying half the time."

April looked down at her hands. Did she really do that? Was she really that horrible? How could she have pushed away her friend when he was trying so hard to fix everything?

April looked towards the lab again. Was that other girl really so much better than her? Was she even needed here anymore? Donnie has this new girl now, so why should she stick around? The new girl was there when the guys needed someone. She can help Donnie find a cure. So why does it all feel so wrong?

April tried to make sense of the swirl of emotions; guilt, sadness, longing . . . anger? Why was she angry? She didn't want to admit it, but it was there. April was angry. Angry at the Kraang, for taking her father away again. Angry at herself, for deserting her friends. Angry at this new girl, who thinks she can replace her. April shook her head, trying to get rid of these thoughts.

Looking up, April saw that Raph had caught up to Mikey, who was now groveling on the floor in pain. Leo had turned on the TV, trying his best to tune out Raph and Mikey.

April stood up and walked over to the lab, opening the doors. The girl was sitting behind Donnie's computer, with Donnie looking over her shoulder. They both looked up when she came in.

"Can I help with anything?"

O o O o

"Come on, Donnie," Leo yelled, "we're going."

"I'm coming," Donnie yelled back, "just give me a minute." He jotted down a few last notes. It had been a long, exciting day in the lab and he didn't want to forget any of the many ideas and possibilities that popped into his head throughout the process.

"Get going," Laura cut in, pushing him towards his brothers who waited for him, "I'll finish up in here."

"Thanks," Donnie said as he grabbed his bo staff, "Don't forget to—,"

"I know how to clean up," Laura interrupted, "now go on, Grape. Kick some Foot, or whatever it is you do."

Donnie rolled his eyes at his nickname, but he'd grown used to it over the few weeks he and Laura had been working together, although it was mostly by phone call or video chat, since she insisted that they remain in the dark about her whereabouts.

She'd given each of them nicknames, although he wasn't sure where his came from. Leo's and Raph's were easy, just the colour of their masks, "Red" and "Blue". She called Mikey "Sunshine", which would have arisen from his bubbly, bright personality. But he couldn't make the connection between himself and the name "Grape".

"You coming, April?" Leo asked as the boys turned to leave on their patrol.

"I'll catch up," April said smiling.

Leo looked to Raph, who shrugged. The four turtles leapt over the turnstiles and Donnie turned around and waved to April before taking off after the others.

April's smile disappeared with the turtles. She walked back over Donnie's lab and watched the new girl bustle around, dismantling pieces of equipment and putting them in their respective places, as if she'd been working there for years instead of just a few weeks.

April though back to when she spied on this girl and Donnie in the sewer tunnels. They had acted so familiar with each other. That twisting feeling from back then appeared in her gut again and she felt that same emotion run through her mind. It made her angry . . . she didn't know why, but she didn't like this new girl.

Laura continued cleaning up, not noticing that April was watching her from the door. Laura was excited about the results they had gotten today. It was slow going, but they were finally starting to decompose the molecular structure of the mutagen. With the equipment she was able to use at Pin Tech, she was able to get data about all sorts of structural properties in the mutagen. With a lot of work, they may be able to breakdown the mechanism on how it seems to splice and intertwine two different strands of DNA.

Laura mused about the different possibilities: homologous recombination, transposition, something totally new! Laura giggled to herself and started humming the tune to Skillet's "Good to be Alive". The humming turned into singing, and the singing turned into dancing.

She was launching into the chorus when she twirled around and noticed that she wasn't alone.

"Shi—," Laura stumbled, startled by her company and almost dropped a couple beakers. She regained her composure and looked up at the red haired girl that stood quietly studying her. Laura stood awkwardly, placing the beakers on a bench top, where they wouldn't shatter on the floor.

April had been a little distant and quiet while helping her and Grape out in the lab. Laura wasn't sure what to make of her. From what Grape had told her over the last few weeks, because April always seemed to come up in the conversation one way or another, she was a good friend and a good person. The turtles had saved her from the alien guys and they had been friends ever since.

Laura had decided that anyone who can hang out with a bunch of giant talking turtles and not have a problem with it had to be open minded. But from what she'd seen in the lab today, she seemed a little hostile. Maybe she was still bitter about the reason why she had stopped coming around in the first place.

"Hi," Laura said, when she realized that April wasn't going to start the conversation.

"Hey," April replied cooly.

"What's up?"

"Not much."

Laura waited for her to say more, but the girl just continued studying her from the door way.

"Good talk," Laura nodded after a few moments of silence. She grabbed the beakers off the counter and walked over to the shelf where the others were located. Laura washed out the rest of the glass ware in silence, all too aware of the set of eyes following her around. When all was put away, Laura sat down behind Grape's computer and proceeded to write up the day's activities.

Laura heard a scoffing when she sat down. Looking up, she saw April roll her eyes.

"Is there a problem?" Laura asked, feeling annoyed now.

"Nope," April replied her eyes drifting around the lab, "no problem at all."

"Then is there something on your mind?"

"Why would you think that?" April replied sarcastically.

"Did I do something to piss you off?" Laura confronted her, "Cuz I'm really not feeling the love here."

April looked away, suddenly interested in something on the other side of the room. She didn't answer.

"Nothing? Okay." Laura turned back to the computer screen, typing out words at an impressive speed.

April watched this new girl, Laura Whitten, act like she owned the place. This was Donnie's lab, his place. April didn't know why she felt like this . . . but the thought of this other girl spending time her friend really unsettled her. She didn't like it.

"You know, it might help to talk about it," Laura sighed, "You know, if it's bothering you that much."

April looked back over to where Laura sat, confused.

"I get it," Laura said, smiling knowingly, "being a girl can suck major balls sometimes."

April felt some of her animosity melt away. Her smile was so soft, and welcoming. It was as if she knew exactly what was going on in April's head, so when Laura dragged over an extra chair, April sat down across from the new girl and buried her face in her arms on the table, letting out a frustrated groan.

"I don't know why," April said, her voice muffled in her arms, "but I don't like you."

"Way to be direct," Laura raised her eyebrows, "And what do you not like about me?"

"I don't know," April huffed, deciding to just let it all out, "I just feel mad."

"And why are you mad," Laura asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I don't know . . . I guess, it's just . . ."

"Jealousy?" Laura asked. It was a simple question that could be interpreted in many negative ways. But the way Laura said it . . . She wasn't trying to be smug, rub in that the presence of another girl in the lair had unsettled her this much. It was almost like Laura was as uncomfortable as April was with the whole situation. "I get it. You leave for a while and when you come back, there's some new girl here taking your place."

"Am I jealous?" April realized that this was the feeling that's been lingering in her gut since she saw Donnie come to pick up Laura in the sewer tunnels. She thought about her time with Donnie and Laura earlier that day, how Laura would talk with him in a language that she knew was English, but couldn't make heads or tails of it as they discussed enzymes and reaction pathways. April thought about how Laura would poke him with her ruler, and tease him with a light smile. She called him nick names and giggled at his scientific jokes.

She really was jealous. And she had good reason to be, "You're leading him on." April stood up, placing her hands on the table, looking angry.

Understanding donned on Laura's face as she finally grasped what was really bothering April.

Interesting, Laura thought, she likes him back.

"Who, Grape?" Laura asked aloud, playing it out.

"Who else is there around here that you're flirting with?"

"You call working together towards a common goal, flirting?"

"No," April stuck her hip out, balancing her fists on them, "I'm talking about calling him pet names, and patting his head, and acting like you've known him forever."

Laura watched her for a moment, "Why should it matter to you?"

"Because he's my friend. I don't want to see him hurt."

"Who says he's going to get hurt?"

"Well . . . it's just . . ." April fumbled for an answer, "This sort of relationship . . . well, it just wouldn't—"

"Relax," Laura said, letting her off the hook, smiling again, "It's not like that."

"That's not what it looked like," April huffed in response.

"Look hon, in case you haven't noticed, I'm almost, like, 10 years older than all of you, here. And I'm have no desire for a romantic relationship. Never really have."

"Than what was all that? Acting like you've known him forever."

"That," Laura said waving her finger in the air, "was how I would treat that idiot over there." She pointed to the containment unit that housed a frozen Pulveriser, "I won't say that Grape reminds me of Tim, cuz Tim's a moron, but there's a childlike quality to him that I just can't help but find adorable."

". . . Like the way he gets excited over chain-link copolymers?" April remembered the excitement in his face as he tried to explain the reaction scheme of how the monomers bonded together in a particular material.

"Hey, copolymers is some pretty exciting stuff," Laura started playing with her ruler, "especially when they're self assembled. But yeah, something like that. I don't know, I guess it's kinda nice to have a younger brother again. Tim's been missing for a while now, but even before that, I was away at school. We've never really had a chance to just hang out lately. And by the looks of it, I won't get to for a while. At least not until we figure out this mess."

Laura watched April who was nervously fingering the hem of her shirt now. It was kind of hard not to notice that Donnie liked April, what with all the stories he told her about how awesome she is. Laura had also noticed him stealing glimpses at her earlier while they worked. He's even got a picture of the two of them framed on his desk. Laura thought the whole thing was pretty cute, but it also raised the question about how it would work out.

"You ask me about leading him on," Laura started carefully, after a few moments of silence. She held one end of the ruler in each hand, "but what about you?"

April froze for a second, then averted her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Cut the crap. I mean really, it's hard to not notice that Grape really likes you. Now, I don't want to overstep my boundaries here, seeing as I'm still rather new to the whole mutant turtle thing, but aren't you the one kind of leading him on. Isn't there this other guy you've been hanging out with?"

"Where do you go off . . . I mean that's not . . . You don't understand . . ." a whirl of emotions crossed April's face as she tried to come up with an answer. She went silent for a moment, "I don't know, Casey's just the guy I'm tutoring, it's not like I like him or anything. I mean, we've had some excitement and all, but . . . It's just that this isn't exactly . . ." She struggled to find the right way of saying it.

"It's complicated," Laura smiled, "You know, I think we need some girl talk. There's way too much testosterone down here. How about we go top side?"

"Don't you have to stuff to finish here?"

"Nothing that's more important than a chocolate sundae topped with sprinkles and extra whipped cream," Laura saved her work onto a memory stick that she hung around her neck. With a few clicks the computer shut itself down.

April's mouth watered at the promise of sweet ice cream and chocolate. What girl can refuse an offer like that?

A/N: Aww, looks like Laura and April are gonna have a heart to heart. How nice. Don't worry, the sappy stuff's almost done. Onto the explosions!

Oh, and don't forget to tell me how i'm doing. Review and follow and all that crap. It makes me excited like the loser I am, but I embrace it cuz that's how I role.