Chapter two

Ambush

To tell you the truth, I enjoy my life the way it is now. I have a family, I have friends, I don't have to…no, I do have to live a lie. Life hadn't really changed much since my parents passed away; it only became a bit lonelier.

I walk through the school halls every day, lonely, trying to get through it without a real friend. I'm not rebellious or short-tempered, I just prefer to spend time with people I can trust. I've seen the principle more times in a month than I do my own family and that's saying something. He constantly arranged meetings with my parents so we can sort out my loneliness problem, until I told him they were dead. Now he looks at me with concerned eyes and I know the thought that constantly goes through his mind: She must be so lonely.

I am proving that I can provide for myself so that changed his gaze on me every time he sees me. I work on weekends and during holidays to earn some form of income to help me but that is only enough to sustain me.

My brothers each do something different to help as well: Donatello gives advice over the phone for any technical problems, Michelangelo entertains little children at parties and Leonardo and Raphael…well… they just keep training while Father is meditating and supervising.

Today wasn't much different than any other but that all changed as I walked home. School's out and I'm walking the same route I do every day. I walk past alleys, various shops and even a few houses, and I give a few pennies to homeless beggars on the street. I truly have sympathy for them and I always try to brighten their day somehow.

I was walking past one of the creepiest alleys in the city and I always walk faster when I come close to it and slower once I'm past, but it seems that today my trip won't be like it always is.

"Hey there, Beautiful," I heard a guy sneer from the shadows and I faintly hear something that sounded like a knife being thrown upwards. "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?"

His cold and devilish voice sent a shiver down my spine as I stopped to locate the source. I heard more voices as laughter filled the air and I froze, knowing that those were the cackles of predators.

"We've seen you come by here quite often, my sweet," I heard another say and I turn to face him. I saw five men, I'd say they were in their mid-twenties, all gazing at me with hunger in their eyes and smirks on their hideous faces. "But you never stop to say 'hi'."

The other four started laughing again, but much more silently. Judging from the silence around me, I could tell it was just me and them, no passers-by or people looking for their destination. I narrowed my eyes and glared at each one quickly, silently making notes and taking in my surroundings just like Father taught me.

"What do you say, hm? Want to have some fun?" another asked and all five slowly began to approach me.

"That depends," I said, keeping my focus on them. "What's your definition of fun?"

The smirks grew wider and then one launched himself at me, knife in hand. I simply gave a small step to the side and he fell, having put all his weight on one spot, hitting the ground with a loud thud and sliding a few centimetres. Another came running and I stepped again and I soon began to do only that because now they were throwing themselves at me, hoping to catch me. I feel like I'm being attacked without a chance to really defend myself, so I can only duck and dive.

"Stand still, you little vermin!" one shouted and brought a knife closer to my face.

I grabbed his wrist and threw him over me, making sure to put the impact on his back. I heard something crack and I knew I hit my targeted area. I let go and spun around as yet another came charging at me, a chain connected with a steel ball hurling at me. I duck down, swung my one leg and tripped him, also succeeding in making his weapon backfire and entangle him as he fell on top of my first victim.

I stood up and gazed at the three remaining guys, all who were standing there as if hesitating. My first victim shouted for them to catch me and I smirked, knowing that they were somewhat afraid of me. I placed my weight evenly, pulled my left arm into a fist and next to my side and put my right arm in front of me and used two fingers to tell them to bring it on.

All three immediately rushed forward, one with a gleaming dagger, another with a wrench and the last with a chain, each with determination in their eyes. I side-stepped one, making him slip and knocked him on the back of his head to knock him out with my elbow, kicked the second in the stomach and he doubled-over. The third came charging, chain in hand and as he prepared to throw it, I side-stepped, grabbed his airborne arm and placed it behind his back and then kicked him right in the middle of his spine.

The chain dropped as his scream of pain rang through the air and I let go, watching him as he fell to his knees and clutched his aching back. Looking around again, I saw that three were down but two still remained. They looked at me with fear and were panting, trying to keep me in their sights. One was behind me, still clutching his stomach and the other was my first victim.

"I'll let you go pain-free if you tell me you surrender," I said, mischief gleaming in my green eyes and I knew I had already won this battle.

Both nodded eagerly and I gave a silent "hmmm" in approval.

"I had fun and we should do it again sometime," I said with a smirk as I walked past them and back on my original path. "I never knew beating people up was this entertaining."

I could sense the shiver that each felt as I laughed and continued on my way, heading towards my home with a smirk that couldn't be taken away. My path home was silent and I enjoyed every minute of it, knowing that I did something I enjoyed today: punishing wrong-doers.

Once I reached another alley, I walked in while keeping my breath in and my nose closed at all the garbage cans with rotten junk. I bent down, opened the manhole cover and jumped in, landing perfectly as I was taught to do. I closed the top and quickly picked my direction and headed in it, knowing the sewers inside-out. I reached a crossing and turned left, keeping my destination in mind. The sewers below were like a maze: great for when you want to think and know the way, horrible if you're absent-minded and don't have a good sense of direction to find your way back.

After a few minutes I reached a solid wall. Pipes were constructed above me and it seemed like a dead-end, but I knew better. I touched the brick right in the middle and a red scanner appeared. It illuminated a small portion of the brick wall and I gave my access code to gain entry.

The light disappeared and the wall was pulled into the ground at a very slow pace. Once it stopped, I stepped over it and it closed again.

"I'm home!" I shouted as I walked down the steel steps and into our living room.

Our home wasn't much to brag about, but it was good enough for our needs. We didn't paint the brown bricks nor the cement floor. We had a small pond in the middle of the circular room with a small bridge connecting the opposite sides. We had two green, three-seat couches with a wall made up of different sized televisions and a black gaming console in front of it. At my left side was a small grey kitchen, a fridge surrounded by green countertops and a stove with an oven. On one counter stood a microwave and away from that was a wooden table with six wooden chairs. A sink was built into the last counter and a dustbin stood at the end.

Straight ahead of me was a corridor that led to my father's office and a garage for all our vehicles. Before the opening were two flights of stairs, one going right and the other going left and both were coated in grey. Upstairs were eight different doors, the entire floor going in a circular motion around the lair to accompany the original sewer design. Six doors led to our bedrooms and the other two were bathrooms.

To the right of the corridor was a large electronic system that kept everything here in order. A large work table stood solid with an office chair and a computer on top, connected to a few other gadgets. Next to it was a large cabinet that contained tools and other equipment.

Finally, a door to my right led to a large training arena where I could hear someone taking out all his frustration on an innocent bean bag. I put down my bag near the couch and stretched out, releasing a sigh.

I always follow the same routine when I come home and that usually starts with me going to my father's office to greet him. I knocked three times and heard a croaky voice tell me to enter. I slid the wooden door open and closed it behind me. Candles were burning and bookcases lined the walls, each carrying books and ornaments. In the middle was a table and a red carpet. My father was sitting at the side opposite me on a red pillow and I went on my knees as I sat on the one in front of me.

"Afternoon, Father," I greeted softly has I bowed my head in respect.

I could feel my father smiling at me as he greeted me.

"Greetings, Simone. How was your day?"

"I ran into some trouble on my way home, but it went well as always. May I ask what you would like for lunch?"

"Some sandwiches would be nice, thank you,"

I stood up, gave a small bow and then left as he continued to do whatever he was doing. I headed to the kitchen and began to prepare some sandwiches for my dearest family as I listened to my brothers training, knowing they'll eat anything if they're very hungry, which they usually are when I come home every day.

I placed some sandwiches in plates and then headed to the training arena so I could greet my brothers. To tell you the absolute truth: only my father and I can cook in this household and this resulted in my brothers mainly eating pizza whenever they had the chance.

The training arena was quite large and had everything one needed… except another punching bag. Raphael was currently taking out his frustrations on the poor thing - I wonder what he and Leo were arguing about this time - and I couldn't help but feel sympathy towards the poor thing that was currently being pounded into oblivion.

"Hi, Raph, what did the bag sin this time?" I asked, walking up to him.

With one punch, the bag burst and its contents spilled before Raph's feet as he breathed heavily. He turned around, took two sandwiches from the plate and walked off, not even looking at me.

Anyone else in my shoes would've wanted to know what his problem was, but I'm so used to him being like this I stopped worrying about it a long time ago. I walked back out, wanting to go find my other brothers. I found Leo meditating in his room, Don doing something technical on the living room computer system and Mickey…

"Reading comic books again?" I sighed as I entered his room.

Mickey's head shot up and he looked at me in a very confused manner.

"Simone! When did you get here?" he asked, smiling.

"Well, about twenty minutes ago. What are you reading?"

"A comic book…" he answered hesitantly.

"Does it have a name?" I enquired as I walked closer to him.

"The Amazing… I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's a guy thing."

Oh sure it is.

"Well, anyway, here's some sandwiches. Eat up so I can kick your butt."

I placed the last plate before him and quickly left, knowing how desperate he was to get back to his reading. Deciding to eat with Don, I went back to the kitchen and prepared something for myself. I asked Don if I could sit next to him while watching him work. It would seem the woman on the other end of the line is quite clueless since Don was rubbing his temples in frustration.

"No, ma'am, that is not how it's done. You can't put a circle around the 'a' when typing an email address. You're supposed to… Yes, ma'am, I do know what I'm doing…"

#?#?#?#?#?#?#

Hurried and hushed footsteps jumped from roof to roof, hoping to soon reach their destination. They were out scouting potential candidates to join their group and found nothing, except the one girl they saw fighting in an ally. Her technique was almost flawless, her reaction-time was perfect and this came from someone who was still young. Surely, she was worthy enough to join The Foot.