AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay in updating, things got crazy. I have been writing in a notebook here and there when an idea comes. Another thing, finally went and saw TMNT last weekend, I loved it. Can't wait for the sequel. Anyway, enjoy!
New York - Present Day
It was a warm morning compared to the cool chill of the night before. Andree walked slowly behind Donatello as they wove their way through the back alleys of New York. She hummed quietly to herself, looking around at all the tall buildings trying to remember the last time she had been there. It was just after she had taken the orders to Mars.
McCallister's reason for visiting then was to convince a fellow Marine and long-time friend to join her on the Mars outpost. Michael Sanders was looking for the fast track to a promotion to Major and was anything but interested in taking the mundane assignment. It took some convincing on her part, but Andy managed to hook Sanders on the idea.
Michael. She hadn't realized until just then how much she missed him. The two had been friends for ages, long before either of them decided to become a pilot. Their parents were friends and they had lived only houses away from each other. Now they were hundreds of years apart.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the distinct sound of a chain link fence being pulled open. Glancing ahead, Andy saw the turtle pulling on a gate that led into a small junkyard. It was only now, as she followed him through the entrance, that she noticed they had wandered down by the marina.
Don had been aware of the woman's quiet manner during the duration of their trip. He had been trying to think of different ways to start a conversation. It shouldn't have been hard considering there were so many questions he wanted to ask. Don also realized that there was very little he knew about McCallister and therefore did not know how to approach her with his inquiries.
Well, we're going to have to talk sometime, can't spend the whole day in silence. He thought to himself.
As Donatello headed straight for a pile of scrap metal, Andy occupied herself with studying the horizon and a prominent New York City skyline. It was definitely different from the one she knew. Standing there, she tried to clear her mind, to relax a little from the stress of the last twelve hours.
"Penny for your thoughts?" the voice came from behind and Andy turned to see Donatello standing a few feet away.
"Hm?" she had understood the question, but for some reason it hadn't registered.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind." he stepped up next to her, surveying the scene that was the lower Manhattan harbor.
"Not as much as you'd think." she sighed lightly.
"That's not entirely true." she gave him an odd look but Donatello continued, "You just went through a major ordeal. Being sent back in time, no clear way to get back, and only four giant turtles and a rat to help you. I'd have a lot on my mind right now."
Andy chuckled slightly at Donatello's reasoning. He had a point. She'd been doing more than her fair share of thinking lately and it was starting to wear on her senses.
"There have been a couple of times already that I've wondered if I'm going to make it back." she confessed, "It isn't easy coming from where I did and being stuck in a place that's not nearly as technologically advanced." as soon as the words has escaped her mouth she turned her head quickly, "No offense, that's just how I feel." Andy added in a somewhat apologetic tone.
"No, it's okay. I understand where you're coming from. I've felt the same way before," Donatello flashed back on the memories of him and his brothers going up against their time traveling foe, Savanti Romero.
A silence passed between them as both stared out over the water. Andree again tried to relax her mind as Donatello pondered a means to ask questions without seeming like the true technology geek he was. But what came next had nothing to do with gadgets.
"What do you miss most?" McCallister was caught slightly off guard by the question and had to take a moment to let it sink in.
"Flying." it was a simple one word answer.
"Flying?" his interest piqued, Don turned his back on the cityscape, resting both his shell and elbows on the guardrail.
"Yeah." Andy smiled as those adrenaline-filled memories came rushing back.
"You really love it don't you? Being a pilot."
"It's right up there with breathing." The light in her eyes returned more. Looking at Donatello, a thought began to form in her head.
"You know, I've been doing a lot of answering. I think it's my turn to start asking some questions." the turtle arched a brow at her, "You and your brothers know a decent amount about me, yet I know very little of you."
"Well, there's not much to tell really. We're just four mutant ninja turtles with a rat for a sensei and father. No big deal." he shrugged it off.
"I want to know more," McCallister crossed her arms lightly across her chest and leaned against the rail, "Tell me more about your family. Aside from the blatant obvious. Let's start with your brother, Leonardo. I've noticed he seems to be the self-appointed leader."
Donnie nodded his head, agreeing with Andree, "He's very studious. Raph calls him Splinter Jr." he shook his head a little, "Leo's a very strict follower of the code of ninja,"
"Bushido." Andy interrupted. Don inclined his head, slightly impressed. Even in the 21st century the art of ninjitsu was becoming overshadowed by other means of fighting. He figured that by the time the 24th century rolled around it would be obsolete.
"Right." Don paused briefly, "For the most part he's pretty calm. Raph grates on his nerves a bit, and Mikey just gets on everyone's nerves," he cracked a small smile at the thought of his orange-banded brother, "but he manages to keep everything in check."
"Michelangelo is unique. Seems very full of life and eager to make people laugh."
"And it usually works, until he starts on Raph. Then things get a bit touchy. Mikey can handle him though." Donnie shot a side glance at McCallister, who was staring at a pile of twisted metal not too far off. She never broke her gaze as she replied.
"I'm rather intrigued by Raphael's personality." her voice echoed the sentiment, definitely catching Donatello's attention, "He comes off as very rough around the edges but at the same time, very well trained and disciplined."
"Raphael? Disciplined?" the observation was hardly accurate in Don's opinion. To him, Raphael was the more reckless of the brothers and hardly ever followed any given order. He was shaken out of his thoughts when Andree continued talking.
"Oh I know he may not show it outright, but it's there. Take it from someone who's got experience in that area." she uncrossed her arms and shifted weight from one foot to the other.
"You know someone like Raph?"
"Yep," a sly grin spread across her face, "Me." Don was now fully facing McCallister. Every word she spoke grabbed his interest more and more.
"In what way? If you don't mind me saying, you don't seem anything like Raphael."
"Hey, I thought we were talking about your family and not me?" McCallister's face came back to life as she broke sight with the junkyard before her and pivoted to look at Donatello, a mock show of accusation on her face.
"We were, but - " he began.
"No 'buts.' It's your turn. Tell me something about yourself."
"He's a turtle super geek!" the exclamation was followed by a chuckle and the sudden emergence of Michelangelo. He was followed soon after by Leonardo. Donatello scowled at his brother, pushing off the guard rail as if to take action, but stopped.
"Very funny, Mikey." Leo's calm voice cut the tension as he walked over to where Donatello and Andree were standing. He just shook his head giving Don a look of sympathy. Andy patted the tech-wise turtle on the shoulder.
"We came to help. Besides, April kicked us out of her apartment. Raph and Casey went off somewhere so we came here!" Michelangelo spread his arms wide with a grin to match.
"Yeah, well you can start by helping me pack this stuff up." Donatello pointed to a pile of salvage he had collected earlier. Taking a few steps, he grabbed Michelangelo by the tails of his bandana and dragged the energetic turtle toward the junk. Despite the objections of his brother, Don didn't loosen his grip. Both Leonardo and Andree watched as the two moved away. With a sigh, Leo looked back at her.
"I'm sorry about the way Raph's been acting. Despite being a bit of a hot head, he's usually not this bad around people." he explained.
"Don't worry about it. I can understand where he's coming from. He sees me as a threat, it's natural. There's no need to apologize, I think I can handle anything he sends my way." she reassured him.
"Hey, this is cool!"
"Mikey! Put that down, it's sensitive equipment!"
"Well, we better go help before you lose a brother." McCallister started for the two feuding turtles with Leonardo close on her heels.
"Don's really not the aggressive type." he commented as they got closer. Walking up next to Mikey, Leo took the piece of equipment from his brother and handed it over to Donatello. "Come on Michelangelo, help me with the rest of this stuff." Andy watched the two curiously. She admired the way Leonardo handled each of his brothers' unique personalities, a virtue of his own.
It took the four of them another half hour to collect and pack up everything Donatello had found. By that time it was getting close to lunch and Michelangelo was doing his part to remind everyone of that very fact. As if on cue he had begun moaning about being hungry as the last of the salvage was packed up.
"Can we leave? I'm so hungry my stomach's starting to turn inside out all over itself!" Mikey whined, grabbing his midsection.
"Did that make sense to you?" Andree leaned in, whispering to Leonardo, all the while giving the orange-wearing turtle a curious look.
"It's not supposed to. Michelangelo said it." Leo stated matter-of-factly, grabbing a bag and slinging it over his shoulder. McCallister just shook her head and followed suit. As soon as Donatello had grabbed his own duffle bag he started walking, pushing Michelangelo ahead of him.
"Let's go, Michelangelo."
"All right! Pizza here I come!" Mikey ran off ahead of the group, dancing around and singing some made up song about pepperoni and cheese. As his voice faded off in front of the group, things became quiet. Don let out a sigh of relief and eased into a steady pace, falling into step with Andree and Leo, who were just behind him.
The trio walked along for a moment without saying a word. Andree glanced at the two turtles out of the corner of her eye. The way they lived, acted, interacted with their human friends, everything about them was intriguing to her. Their dedication in learning the art of ninja was equally impressive. She made a mental note to speak with Master Splinter more in depth about their origins.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" the sharp scream pierced through the air, shattering the silence of only seconds before. In an instant both Donatello and Leonardo dropped the bags and had weapons drawn. Andree took a step back behind them, looking in the direction of the wail. Everything fell silent again, save for the sound of pounding footsteps quickly approaching. A moment passed and the next thing they saw was Michelangelo tearing around the corner running full speed, a terrified look on his face.
"Help! Save me! There's a horrible monster back there!" he slid passed them in an attempt to stop, and once he had gained his balance ducked right behind Andree. She could feel him shaking as he stood behind her, hiding his head in her shirt. McCallister twisted a little, looking back at him. A few feet away, Leo and Don waited to see what would come around the corner next.
"Hahahaha! What a sucker!" the laughter echoed off the mountains of metal and Andy looked to see the two battle-ready turtles physically relax. Looking past them, she caught the familiar sight of Raphael walking toward them, with Casey not far behind.
"Hey, what do you get when you cross a chicken and a turtle?" Raphael asked with a large grin on his face. Leo and Don didn't say anything but went about picking up the bags. Andree just shrugged and Michelangelo slowly peeked around her arm to look at his brother. After no one answered, he continued with a laugh.
"Mikey." Raph laughed even harder, this time joined by Casey. Realizing he was the butt of the joke, Michelangelo moved out from behind McCallister and stepped a few feet to the side.
"Oh very funny, Raph. You should have seen that thing, though. It was the most hideous, grotesque looking, foul-smelling, monster I've ever…" he stopped in mid sentence. The light bulb seemed to turn on and a mock wave of realization washed over him. "Oh wait, it was just you, Raph!" the words rolled easily from his mouth and Andree got the sense that this was a common game played between them.
Andree bent down to pick up the duffle bag again, not paying much attention to the low growl the emanated from a few feet away. As she stood back up a wind blew against her skin and a flash of green and red went by. It was followed by a grunt and a thud. McCallister spun around, only to find Raphael on top of his brother's shell in a game of mercy. Seeing it was something not out of the ordinary, merely by the lack of a reaction from the others, McCallister shrugged and turned back, only to come face to face with Casey.
"Hey there, I don't think we were formerly introduced. I'm Casey Jones." his blue eyes flashed as he held a hand out to her.
"Andree." she shook his hand briefly, giving the man a small smile.
"Here, let me take that for ya." Casey slid the duffle bag full of scrap metal from McCallister and slung it over his own shoulder.
"Uh, thanks." Andy gave him a grateful smile as he took the bag.
"No, problem."
"Ow! Hey, Leo, tell Raph to get off of me!" the muffled whine beckoned out to his older brother. Leonardo didn't even blink as he responded.
"Raph, Mikey, let's go. Master Splinter is waiting for us in the lair." he didn't even look back at them, but instead began walking again. There were sounds of a protest and then another yelp from Michelangelo as he got a thump on the head. Soon enough they were all making their way out of the junkyard to a nearby abandoned warehouse.
McCallister waited patiently, watching as Donatello and Raphael went to the doors and pulled them open. She followed as everyone hurried inside and the two heavy wooden doors were closed behind them. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, coming out of the bright sun. The sight that came into focus was not one that Andy expected. There before her was a large moving van, normal enough, if not for the souped up engine exposed by the raised hood. There was also a line of motorcycles against the wall and various other gadgets and such scattered about.
"This way." Donatello called out as a strange machine opened up, revealing a small room. McCallister had never seen anything like it. She stared in wonder at the brightly lit patterns.
"Let's go, I'm starving." Mikey brushed by her, running through the door. Not wanting to hold everyone up coupled with her own hunger pains, McCallister made a mental note to talk to Don about this later. Stepping inside the small room, she waited as the door closed and they shot through the floor of the warehouse, descending into the sewer system below.