A/N: Huzzah for chapter 4! I just wanna say thanks once again for all the reviews. I'm so very addicted to them. It's a problem of course, but not one I'm looking to solve. So keep em coming! This chapter is very turtle centric! Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I wish I did, but I don't. I don't know how I'll go on, but I'll try…
Chapter 4: Master Splinter and Crazy Stories!
"That's pretty tech savvy." Kaliyah commented as the wall opened.
Donatello looked proud. "Took about a week to rig it like that."
"You did that?" She asked.
Donatello nodded. "We needed our home to be hidden."
"I don't think many people would think about trying to pull on pipes to see where a secret giant talking turtle colony was hiding." Kaliyah said amused.
"Ya'd be surprised." Raphael muttered as they walked inside. Kallie didn't think too much about the red banded turtles comment as the five of them made their way inside. Kallie had been too overwhelmed to really notice her surroundings last night. Now though, she could see that the place was full of life!
There was a living room with an old and lumpy looking couch, two recliner chairs on either side of it and a bean bag in the corner. There was a big screen T.V. that was currently off. On the right side of the large room was a kitchen, complete with fridge, stove, and sink. There was a microwave and a coffee pot that was currently steaming with coffee. Off to the left side Kallie could see a small doorway leading to a room that was beeping. She figured that was the lab she had been in yesterday. Right behind the living room was a room that had a bright light coming from it, she couldn't see inside of it though. Next to that room was another room that had its doors closed. The doors were very ornate though; with dragon carvings and Japanese symbols etched into it. There were stairs off to the side too, leading to what looked like a rather large balcony, but there was obviously a hallway and Kallie thought their bedrooms might be up there.
"Home sweet home!" Michelangelo exclaimed, stretching his arms wide and grinning widely.
"Nice place." She commented. And she wasn't lying, it was pretty nice. Well, except for the fact that there were pizza boxes strewn all over the place.
Leonardo scowled. "It's normally much cleaner when certain turtles do their chores."
Michelangelo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry bout that dude. I meant to do it earlier, but then this thing happened and I—"
"Let me guess, you saw something on T.V. that you just had to watch? A comic book was calling your name? Or were you late in saving the world on Halo again?" Leonardo asked, arms folded across his chest and a firm and scolding look on his face. Kallie had the feeling that Leonardo was like, the leader or something of their little gang. He had that whole 'I'm the boss' thing going for him.
Michelangelo continued to look sheepish, opened his mouth to say something but the look on Leonardo's face intensified and he closed his mouth again before sighing dramatically and walking over to pick up the pizza boxes.
"Sorry about that." Leonardo told Kaliyah.
"S'okay. My apartment just got a thorough cleaning because I've been too lazy to do it lately." She replied.
"Yeah well, this place is too big for just one of us to do it. We all chip in. Mikey's a procrastinator." Leonardo said to her.
Kaliyah laughed.
"Want some coffee?" Donatello asked her.
"Oh that sounds wonderful." Kallie said with appreciation.
"Donnie…" Leonardo said. Though it sounded more like a warning.
"Leo, I'm just offering our guest something to drink." Donatello said in defense, as if he had to convince Leonardo that he wasn't doing anything wrong.
"Yeah well, be sure you keep it at one cup." Leonardo said.
"What if she wants more?"
"I wasn't talking about her." Leonardo replied with a pointed look at the purple banded turtle.
Donatello rolled his eyes, but motioned for Kallie to sit down as he walked to the makeshift kitchen and got out mugs. Kallie let her eyes roam over the place, taking in her surroundings. These guys had truly made a home for themselves.
Donatello returned with two steaming cups of coffee and Kallie took it, trying not to gulp the thing down in one swallow. It was good. Like, really good.
"This is fantastic." She told him.
Donatello smiled. "I love coffee."
"Ditto."
"Even more than hot chocolate?" Donatello asked slyly.
Kallie scowled at him. "No, especially not cart hot chocolate."
Donatello laughed and soon they were joined by Raphael. Michelangelo was still cleaning up a bit while Leonardo had gone into the room with the dragon doors.
"Don't think just cuz Leo ain't out here means ya can drink that whole pot of coffee." Raphael said to Donatello with a knowing look.
Kallie laughed. "What, are you on a caffeine watch or something?"
"Yes." Donatello muttered.
Kallie laughed again.
"He don't know his limits. Last time he was up for three days straight, so Leo and Master Splinter cut him off." Raphael said with a smirk.
"They didn't cut me off. I'm just…not allowed to have more than four cups a day for a little while." Donatello replied a bit on the petulant side.
"Sounds like a good plan. Believe it or not, sleep is a good thing!" Kallie told him as if she were talking to a young child.
"You try sleeping when you're on the brink of the discovery of a new microorganism!"
Kallie looked at him as if he had just grown three heads. Raphael smirked.
"Donnie's our resident nerd genius."
"I think I'm starting to see that." Kallie commented.
"You could've kept the 'nerd' part out." Donatello told Raphael.
"Not as much fun." Raphael retorted.
"I notice y'all don't call each other by your first names…you hate them like I hate mine or something?"
"Well, like Mikey was telling you; it's mainly used by our father and when we're in some kind of trouble. Or when we want to be particularly annoying, but that's usually reserved for Mikey." Donatello replied.
"So…Leonardo goes by Leo, Raphael goes by Raph, You go by Donnie, and Michelangelo goes by Mikey?" Kallie asked.
Donatello nodded. "Pretty much."
"So if I called y'all by your full first name anyways…" Kallie trailed off with a sly smile.
"Ya won't hear nuttin' but Kaliyah come outta our mouths." Raphael finished for her.
Kallie scowled at him but he just smirked. Leonardo—er Leo, came out and was making his way towards them with a giant rat following behind him.
That's right. A giant rat.
"I guess this shouldn't really be any kind of surprise." Kallie commented.
Mikey was making his way towards them as well and he barked out a laugh. "Have I mentioned that I like her?"
Kallie stood to her feet as the rat and Leo finally made it to her. The rat extended his hand and Kallie grasped it. She felt completely weird of course, but considering she'd just been rescued by four ninja turtles, she really shouldn't be that surprised.
"Good evening child." The rat said to her.
"Uh…hi." Kallie replied, still a bit weirded out.
"What is your name?" He asked her.
"Kaliyah Miller, but you can call me Kallie."
Mikey snorted. "Good luck with that."
"Michelangelo." The rat chastised.
"Sorry Sensei." Mike replied, though he didn't sound or look very sorry.
"It is nice to finally meet you Kaliyah; my sons have told me about you." The rat replied.
"Kallie is fine. And did you say sons?" Kallie asked.
The rat nodded. "I am Master Splinter, these are my four sons. I assume they have already told you their names?"
Kallie nodded. "Yeah they did." She turned and looked at the four turtles. "So you guys are like, brothers?"
Leo nodded.
"So, are y'all quadruplets or something?"
Leonardo chuckled. "Not that we know of."
"Judging by size, maturity, and growth, Leo's the oldest, Raph is second oldest, I come in third and Mikey's the baby." Donatello told her.
"I am not the baby. I'm the youngest." Mike replied with emphasis.
Kallie laughed. Master Splinter was staring intently at her and she was getting kinda anxious.
"You are very interesting…" Master Splinter commented.
"Uh…how so?"
"I sense no fear in you…apprehension yes, but fear? No." Master Splinter said.
"Is that a bad thing?" Kallie asked.
Master Splinter smiled. "No it is not. I also sense no falsehood in you."
"Okay…" Kallie answered, still kind of weirded out.
Master Splinter chuckled. "There are many questions you have for us, am I correct?"
"I may have a few…" Kallie replied.
Master Splinter sat down. "First, I must ask you a question."
"Go for it."
"You are about to delve into a world full of things that you may never have heard of or seen before. It is a thrilling tale, but one that is constantly changing and growing. If you want to hear this tale and become a part of it, I must warn you; our lives bring forth trouble at times, there are many enemies out there that seek to destroy our family. If you become a part of this you are accepting these troubles and the possibilities of creating enemies of your own. Is this something that you truly want?"
Kallie didn't answer at first. What Splinter had just told her was…well, it was kinda a lot to take in all at once. For goodness sakes she just met these guys two days ago! She looked at all the faces around her. Leo, Donnie, and Raph all looked serious…yet hopeful, but it was a hope that was filled with doubt. They didn't think she would say yes. Mikey though? Well, Mike was grinning like a fool, his baby blue eyes filled with…confidence. He knew she was going to say yes. Kallie couldn't help but return his grin. It was that grin, Mikey's grin, that made up her mind. She wanted nothing more than to be a part of this odd little group. She didn't fit in anywhere else in this city, but here she felt like she could possibly belong.
"Definitely." Kallie answered.
Mike's grin widened if that were possible. Leo looked impressed, as did Donnie. Raph tried to look indifferent but he smirked slightly.
Master Splinter smiled and the tale began. Apparently the old rat watched his owner and learned how to be a ninja. Some crazy dude named Shredder slaughtered his master and his family. A few years later Splinter found four turtles covered in some kind of ooze junk. He tried to get the stuff off of them but managed to get himself covered in it as well. Soon they all began to grow at an alarming rate, after growth came intelligence, and after intelligence came training. Splinter trained his four sons in ninjitsu, the sacred art of being a ninja. Apparently they were fully trained now and helped protect the city. Master Splinter said he passed the baton of leadership to Leo years ago. As the oldest and apparently most focused, he accepted and now leads the others in whatever it is they need to do at the time. Kallie gave herself kudos for spotting that earlier.
"So y'all just live down here and go up to the surface at night to patrol the city?" Kallie asked.
"Sometimes the boys in blue need a little help. That's where we come in." Leonardo said.
"Well, I'm certainly glad y'all are around." Kallie replied, barely concealing a shudder of fear.
"We normally gotta take things into our own hands." Raphael replied.
"My sons and I have been watching the city for many years now. We swore to protect it as well as each other. Our family may be strange, but it is what makes us strong." Master Splinter replied.
Kallie smiled. The idea of family was great, but Kallie didn't have a good experience with the whole 'family' thing. She remembered her family used to be close, until everything fell apart 7 years ago.
"Well that is certainly an interesting story. Who knew mutating ooze was real?" Kallie said.
"You'd be amazed at some of the stuff we've seen." Donatello replied.
"I'd love to hear some of those stories!" Kallie said enthusiastically.
"How about you tell us about yourself! You've heard our story, what's yours?" Mikey asked enthusiastically.
Kallie snorted. "It's nowhere near as entertaining as y'alls story, trust me."
"Dude, I gotta know where that accent came from! I gotta try so hard not to burst out laughing every time you talk!" Mike said, dodging away from the smack he was about to get from Raph.
"Michelangelo." Splinter chastised.
"Oh come on! I can't be the only one who's noticed she talks funny!"
Before anyone could yell at Mike again, Kallie laughed. "It's called an accent genius. I didn't grow up here." She told them.
"Where are you from then?" Donatello asked.
"Well, I was born and raised in Texas; a small town named Pearsall about an hour away from San Antonio. We moved here when I was a freshman in high school, my mom got a fancy job and then I got a scholarship to NYU. I was planning on leaving New York as soon as possible, but the scholarship was too good to pass up." She said.
"So that's where the whole 'y'all' thing comes from! You're a southerner!" Michelangelo exclaimed.
Kallie laughed. "Yeah, I'm from the south. You can take the girl outta the country but you can't take the country outta the girl."
"What are you going to NYU for?" Donatello asked her, his eyes brightening at the mention of the college.
"Music." She told him.
"You play an instrument?" Leonardo asked.
"Piano and the violin, but I'm mostly there to sing." She told them.
"Really?" Raph asked with a quirk of his brow.
"Yeah. I uh…I got the scholarship for singing. I've been doing it since I was little."
There was silence as five pairs of eyes stared at her intently. She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the staring. Finally her temper got the better of her.
"What?" She snapped.
"Sing for us already!" Mikey said with an eye roll as if it were obvious that that was what they were waiting for.
"Here? Now?" She asked, completely caught off guard.
"Duh!" Mike said.
"You guys don't have a piano or nothing!" She told them.
"Why not go acapella?" Donnie suggested.
Kallie blushed furiously again. She was normally never nervous, but for some reason she felt shy around these guys.
"I don't sound as good without music."
"I'm sure that's not true." Leo said.
"She's just scared." Raph commented.
Kallie whipped her head towards him, eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"Ya heard me."
"Okay, first of all, I am not scared. Second of all, take that back."
"No way."
"Raphael." Master Splinter chastised.
Raph looked amused but conceded. "Hai Sensei."
Kallie scowled at him one more time before turning to the others. "I'll sing for y'all one night at my place. I'd invite you to The Duplex…but I don't think they'd take y'all too kindly."
"What's The Duplex?" Mike asked.
"It's a piano bar that I sing at three nights a week. It's my second job. I also tutor at the college."
"You work at a bar?" Donnie asked, looking shocked.
Kallie rolled her eyes. "It's a decent bar thank you very much. High class kinda joint."
"You're how old again?" Leonardo asked.
"20."
"You're not old enough to work at a bar." Leonardo told her, folding his arms across his chest as if about to lecture her like he did his little brother.
"Calm down Captain Rule Follower, I'm perfectly aware that I'm not of legal drinking age, but that doesn't mean I can't sing there." Kallie said.
Raph and Mikey burst out laughing, Donnie chuckling a bit.
"Captain Rule Follower! HA! That is pure GOLD!" Mikey said, wiping a stray tear from his eye. Leo looked a bit put off but couldn't help the sides of his lips quirking up slightly.
"That is certainly a first. I can honestly say I've never heard that one before." Leonardo said.
"I'm beginnin' to like her too. She's kinda a bad ass." Raph said.
"Raphael!"
"Sorry Sensei."
"I apologize for his language. It is a bad habit of his." Master Splinter told her.
Kallie blushed a bit. "It's fine, I have a bit of a foul mouth too. Used to drive my mom crazy."
"I like how easily this chick blushes. This is gonna be fun!" Mikey said.
Kallie shot him a glare that only made him laugh.
Master Splinter smiled kindly before standing to his feet. "It was nice meeting you Kaliyah. I would love to stay and talk some more, but I am growing tired. Please feel free to stay as long as you would like."
"Thank you." Kallie told him with a smile.
"Boys, be sure to get her home safely."
"Hai Sensei." All four of them replied.
"Until next time Kaliyah." Master Splinter said.
"It was nice meeting you too. And please, call me Kallie."
The old rat merely smiled before making his way back to his room.
"He's not gonna call me Kallie is he?" She asked.
The four chuckled.
"Nope. Might as well get used to it!" Mikey said with a grin.
Kallie sighed.
"We gotta introduce you to Casey and April as soon as possible!" Mike said suddenly.
"Who are they?"
"Our other human friends. We met April kinda like how we met you. She was in trouble and Raph saved her. Raph introduced us to Casey too, he was this vigilante who was helping keep the streets clean but he got a bit carried away and Raph and him got into some kind of big tempered hotheaded fight. Then they were friends." Mikey said with barely a breath in between.
"Hotheaded?" Kallie asked amused.
"Oh yeah, Raph has quite the temper." Mike replied with a smirk.
"Shut ya trap Mikey. No one cares." Raph muttered.
Kallie smirked. "I dunno, this sounds kinda interesting.
"Oh the stories I could tell you! I swear the guy can't take a joke! He's so sensitive—OW!" Mike didn't dodge the blow this time.
"I am not sensitive." Raph growled.
Mikey gave a look to Kallie that screamed, 'see what I mean?' Kallie laughed.
"You guys are funny." She said.
"Oh yeah, we're a real riot." Leo replied with an eye roll.
"Alright, enough chit chat, who wants some pizza?" Mikey asked enthusiastically.
"You guys eat pizza?" Kallie asked in shock.
"Of course we eat pizza! What else is there?!" Mike exclaimed.
"I dunno…I thought turtles ate like, leaves and junk." Kallie said.
"Way to stereotype!" Donatello said with a laugh.
"Hey, I'm new at this whole…teenage mutant ninja turtle thing alright?" Kallie said with a wave of her hand.
"I'll order it. Raph, start the movies!" Mike said, back flipping towards the phone.
"If I start em, I pick em!" Raph shouted after him.
Michelangelo didn't answer. Raph rolled his eyes as he got up and sifted through a box full of DVDs. Donatello and Leonardo walked over to help their brother in the search for movies. Kallie couldn't help but pinch herself, just to make sure she really wasn't dreaming. This whole thing…felt so odd. She was sitting on a lumpy couch, in the middle of New York City's sewer system with four turtles and a giant rat. She was about to have a perfectly normal night of watching horror movies, but there was nothing normal about the company. But it suited her just fine. She wasn't really normal herself. So she smiled and walked over to help them with their search.
Normal is vastly overrated anyways.
