-1DISCLAIMER: Not mine...but pure genius.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm back! Sorry for the rather long hiatus, but duty called, literally. I've been going to school and training the past 9+ months in the US Navy. Crazy how life changes just like that. Anyway, hope you enjoy this little intro chapter back into the story. I apologize as it may be a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to get this story going again as soon as possible.
"Well?" The words hissed through Raphael's teeth as he stared cross-armed at McCallister. She merely returned the look, realizing that convincing him she wasn't a threat was going to be more difficult. Shifting uneasily, Andree looked at each of them.
"You know, I saw a movie like this once! This dude was traveling through the jungle and- OW!" Michelangelo's sidebar was quickly halted by his brother Leo. Having quieted the loudest of his siblings, Leonardo focused on the woman in front of him. He stood as he spoke.
"Let's start from the beginning." he paced slowly in front of the couch, which made McCallister just a bit nervous.
"Where exactly did you come from?" the question came not from Leonardo, but Donatello. Andree shifted her gaze from the pacing turtle. She felt the butterflies start to subside. There was something calming about the way this purple-wearing turtle spoke. After a few moments of deliberation, she decided on a coarse of action. As many vague details as possible.
"Well, I didn't come here from Earth." Bad move. The anxious look on Mikey's face showed Andy that she had not chosen her words wisely.
"Really now? Care to elaborate?" Raphael's cool tone pierced through the Marine's train of thought.
"You're probably not going to believe me…" Andree began, but after looking at her hosts she thought otherwise. "Or maybe."
"We're not going to hurt you, Andree. We just want some information. Who knows, maybe we can help you get back." Donatello stated, matter-of-factly. McCallister nodded her agreement, though unsure if they really could help.
"It couldn't hurt." she glanced at Michelangelo's eager expression, "I came from Mars." she smirked as the words came out. It sounded so silly to her, to explain her origin in such a way. A loud snort erupted from next to her and she saw Michelangelo's shoulders shaking as he fought hard to suppress the laughter that threatened to be unleashed. She couldn't blame the turtle, she found it quite funny herself. So much it showed. Her own laughter caught the attention of the four brothers and April.
"What's so funny?" Raphael was beginning to get slightly annoyed. They were getting no where fast.
"I'm sorry. I know it sounds strange, but it's quite true." Andy caught the surprised look on everyone's faces. "I'm not some sort of Martian, or any other kind of alien for that matter. In fact, I'm about as human as they come."
"Then how can you be from Mars?" The question was out of pure innocence and McCallister smiled as she looked at Michelangelo, finding herself liking the young turtle's personality.
"It's where I work. "
"Seriously? Dude, that's awesome!" Mikey's exclamation was enough to send Raphael over the edge.
"I can't believe this!" he exploded, throwing his hands up in the air. Turning his back, Raphael walked away from the group and into the kitchen, Leonardo right on his heels.
"Raph, what's your problem?" Leo stood just behind his brother.
"This whole situation, Leo." he turned slightly, so his eyes met Leonardo's, "What are we trying to do? We can't get a straight answer out of this woman. We don't know where she came from or why she's even here."
"Have you ever thought that maybe she really is telling the truth? Maybe she did come from Mars, we've seen stranger things than this before." he walked a few steps to stand in front of Raphael. "Give her a chance, Raph. I know it's been a rough night, but we all need to be patient if we're going to get the answers we need. Now, c'mon. Let's get back in there." Leo placed his hand on Raphael's shoulder, pleading with his eyes for him to calm down. Raphael just huffed in agreement and walked back into the living room.
The two were met by a peel of laughter coming from their kin and the two women. Noticing their return, Andree turned back to look at them, a smile on her face. That smile shrunk a little, but didn't completely go away, when she noticed Raphael. His much calmer demeanor put her more at ease. The cause of the laughter had come from Michelangelo's impression of a Martian from outer space.
"Oh, Michelangelo, where do you come up with this stuff?" April asked as she wiped tears from her eyes. The orange-banded turtle merely shrugged, grinning.
"It's all those lame-brain movies and comics." Raphael stated as he took to leaning against the wall just behind April.
"Or maybe it's the video games." Donatello added.
"Culturally advanced, are we?" McCallister raised an eyebrow as Michelangelo.
"Hardly." snorted Raph.
"Let's not start." Leonardo broke in, stepping in to stop any type of fight that could start between the two. "Now, Andree, is there any thing you can tell us about how you got here?"
"Well, in my line of work we get around a little differently than you might here."
"How so?" Intrigued, Donatello leaned forward in his chair, using his bo staff for support.
"We travel short distances very much the same as you, but going a much longer distance is different. We sort of just, transport there." she shrugged, explaining it as simply as she could.
"Hmm, interesting. Does this device transport through time also?" Donatello pushed further into the subject.
"That's the thing, it doesn't. Or at least it wasn't built to. Where I come from, time travel is a very sensitive thing and not something to be tampered with. From what I gather, my being here was by way of a malfunction." the words came easily for Andy as she spoke directly to Donatello, the turtle nodding every once in a while, communicating that he understood.
"So you're saying you're not from our time?" Leo spoke up. Andree nodded. At this point, having seen only a glimpse of what kind of turtles these were, McCallister felt she could confide her true nature. It was surreal that while traveling through time haphazardly as she had done, that she had lucked out in coming here.
"Correct. And if I may ask a question of you all, exactly what year is it?" she looked to and from each of them.
"You're in the early 21st century," the answer came from Donatello, though he didn't look at her directly. He was busy rifling through his duffle bag in search of something.
"Unbelievable. That means I've traveled over 300 years…in the past." McCallister fell back against the couch in disbelief. This couldn't be happening, she had to be dreaming.
"So you're from the future? How rad is that? Is there like, flying cars and stuff?" Mikey leaned in closer, his eyes full of wonder. Andree turned her head and gave him a small smile.
"No flying cars, at least none that work. They're all in museums now." she sighed, starting to feel a twinge of longing, to get back to her own time. "There haven't been hover cars for nearly a century. They became obsolete with the introduction of the transporter." she explained to him.
"And this was the device that sent you here to New York?" Donatello asked.
Andree fought back a yawn and nodded, "Uh-huh. Same one." she blinked a few times to clear her eyes of the sleep that was trying to fight it's way through. April took notice of this and stood up.
"I think it's time we call it a night. We can continue this little conversation tomorrow morning." she picked up the chair she had been using and brought it back into the kitchen.
"Ah, April, do we hafta? It was just starting to get good!" Mikey whined as Leonardo motioned for him to stand.
"I'm sorry, Michelangelo, but it's been a long night, especially for our guest. You can come back tomorrow." April gave the turtle a reassuring smile as she patted him on the shoulder.
"April's right, we should be going. Master Splinter will want to be informed of what happened." the ever-rational Leo spoke as he began ushering is three brothers to the window.
"Fine." Michelangelo muttered, before looking up at Andree, who by that time was standing, "It was nice meeting you Andy." he grinned in spite of his disappointment at leaving.
"The pleasure was all mine, Mikey." she returned his smile. McCallister followed the turtle as he exited the living room. Standing near the counter, she stopped Leonardo before got to the window. The leader shifted his weight to his back foot as he came to stand in front of Andree, a questioning look in his eye.
Andy, not being too good with words in such cases, paused a moment before choosing a simple phrase, "Thank you." No more words passed between the two as Leo simply nodded and left. In that single gesture, Andree knew he understood the message she was trying to convey.
Donatello was right behind him, and the last to leave of the four brothers. With his bag slung over his shoulder and bo staff in hand, he used it for leverage before stepping up onto the counter in front of the window. Pivoting, he turned back and waved at Andree and April before disappearing into the cool New York night. McCallister looked out the window at where the turtle had once stood, barely noticing April closing it. The woman's voice broke her train of thought.
"So whatdya think?" her question was genuine, "Most people freak out at their first meeting with four mutant turtles."
"Hmm?" Andy had barely caught the question and gave her a blank stare at first. A split second later she snapped out of it and shrugged her shoulders, "They saved my life. I owe them a great deal." it was all she could find to say at the moment. The earlier signs of fatigue were starting to seep in more strongly and all Andy could think about at the moment was sleep. Even her current problem of time displacement couldn't overshadow her unyielding need to rest.
"Yeah, well they're pretty good at that." April smiled, recognizing the tired look. "Here, I'll show you where you can stay." Andree nodded and began to follow April out of the kitchen and further into the apartment, but not before stealing one more glance back at the window. She had just met four new faces and personalities, each one so unique in such a way that they made the most uncanny of families. Yet, a family they were, and a strong one at that. McCallister made a mental note to find out as much about them and their Master Splinter as she could before leaving…if she ever left.