A/N: Alrighty folks! Things have calmed down at home a lot now and I finally found my muse again. There will be one more chapter after this one. Kaliyah's story is finally coming to a close. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter! And thanks for the patience with the last one. =]]
Chapter 23: Where do We go From Here?
The next time Kaliyah woke up all four of the turtles were sleeping. Kallie glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 5am. She looked back down at the boys and smiled. Part of her was still shocked that they were actually alive, but she was oh so very thankful and relieved. She pushed herself into a sitting position, hissing in pain as her busted ribs and aching back protested the movement. Once she settled again, she tried to push her hair out of her face when she felt a tug on her hand. She scowled at the I.V. that was sticking out of her skin. She started fiddling with it, trying to get it out of her hand when a soft voice broke the silence.
"Donnie won't happy if you take that out."
Kallie looked up and saw Michelangelo grinning at her.
"S'annoying." She told him.
"Well its making you better," said Mikey. "So it's gotta stay in.
Kallie sighed and settled back against her pillows.
"How're you feeling?" Mike asked her, his smile had diminished as concern filled his eyes. Kallie couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Much better now that I know y'all are safe." She replied, her voice still raspy and low.
Michelangelo's smile came back for a few seconds before it turned sad as he stroked her hair and cupped her cheek. Kallie sighed and leaned into the touch, reveling in the comfort it brought her.
"You really scared us." Mikey whispered, his voice shaking.
Kallie covered his hand with hers. "I know...m'sorry."
"Us too; for not getting to you faster."
"S'not your fault."
"It's not yours either." He retorted.
They sat in silence for a bit before Mikey grinned again.
"Dude...you are such a bad ass, you know that?"
Kaliyah couldn't help but grin back. "Right?"
"You kicked some serious ninja tail."
"Yeah, well now I've got a splitting headache though."
"What exactly happened," Mikey asked carefully. "With Robert and everything? We can't really figure it out."
Kallie felt a shiver run down her spine as she recalled what had happened that night.
"It's okay if you can't talk about it right now. I know it can be hard."
Kaliyah looked at Michelangelo and pain panged at her heart. If there was anyone who could understand what she had gone through it was him. The orange banded turtle had been through a similar, but much worse, situation. And he was brave enough to talk about it, so she would be too.
"No, no it's fine," she replied before calling out, "Alright you fakers, stop pretending you're still asleep and gather round, it's story time."
Mike and Kallie grinned as the others, rather sheepishly, made their way over.
"How could ya tell?" Raph demanded.
"I have skills."
Raph snored and Kallie quirked a brow.
"You snore and sleep on your shell, not your stomach." She pointed at Raph. She then turned to Donnie. "You sleep on your stomach most of the time and you talk in your sleep." She rounded on Leo next. "And you are the lightest sleeper on the planet so I know you were awake the moment Mikey and I started talking. Plus, you tend to tuck your head into your arms." Kallie finished, a smirk growing on her face as she stared at their shocked expressions.
"Dude! Do me next!" Mike said excitedly, not wanting to be left out after Kallie had nailed his brothers.
Kallie couldn't help but laugh. "You sleep all sprawled out with your arms and legs hanging over the bed. And you're a blanket hogger."
"And that's what happens when we let stalkers in the lair." Raph teased, Kallie just grinned.
"So, are y'all ready to hear about how much of a freak I apparently am?"
"I think you're in good company." Leo replied with a wry grin.
Kallie shook her head. "Trust me; I'm a whole new level of freak. Apparently I have...um...telekinetic abilities."
The four turtles said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
"Apparently my dad was the one who knew about is," she explained. "He kept journals about everything I did when I was younger. Robert, he-" she started choking up.
"Hey...it's okay." Leo comforted her, placing a hand on her arm.
Kaliyah took a deep breath and continued. "He uh...he killed my dad..."
The boys all gasped in shock at the news.
"He made it s-seem as if it w-was a roadside b-bomb, but he k-kidnapped my dad. He t-tortured him f-for information a-about me." She was crying now, couldn't help it." B-But dad never b-broke. H-He died protecting me."
"We are so...so sorry Kallie." Mikey said softly.
"Robert wanted t-to be able t-to reproduce my a-abilities, he wanted to market it...s-sell it to people." Kallie told them, trying to compose herself.
"For what?!" Don asked, flabbergasted.
"Money and power of course." Leo spat, disgusted with what he was hearing.
Kallie nodded in agreement. "He kept asking me to show him what I could do but..."
"But what?" Raph asked.
"I don't remember any of it." She said softly. "I can't even begin to even explain any of the few memories Robert brought up, I just...I don't know how I did any of those things."
"Your dad must've made you forget." Donatello commented.
"But how?!" Kallie cried.
"Oh there are many ways one can erase memories. There's hypnosis, certain drugs, herbs, and of course with enough head trauma you can make anyone forget anything."
"Ya know," said Raph. "Sometimes I really worry about ya Donnie."
"What?" Don asked, oblivious to the fact that his mad scientist was showing. Everyone else just laughed and it must've finally clicked for the genius turtle because he soon cracked a smile.
"So what happened next?" Leonardo asked, trying to get back on track.
"I didn't know how to do any of the things that Robert wanted me to do. I couldn't move or open or close anything with just my mind. Of course...he didn't like that answer..." Kallie gestured to her bruised and battered body.
The boys all wore expressions of absolute rage. Leo's hand tightened on her arm and Raph looked away, the muscles in his jaw working.
"He kept talking," she continued. "Demanding things and talking about what my dad had written about me. And then..."
"Then what?"
"I got really angry and all of a sudden he slammed against the door," she explained. "And then he started purposefully making me mad. He thought the key to this power thing was anger."
"Jackass." Raph muttered.
Kaliyah couldn't help but smile at that. "Pretty much. But just as he was about to start really getting into it some kid came in...and...and th-the kid told h-him that you g-guys were dead...th-that he h-had seen it himself." She started crying again. The memory of that moment was forever imprinted in her brain. The brothers all leaned in closer, patting her arm or petting her hair, all of them just trying to comfort her in some way. She composed herself quickly though, wanting to finish the story as it was getting harder to stay awake.
"Once the kid left, I spat in Robert's smug little face."
"Atta girl!" Raphael said proudly.
"He of course didn't like it and he punched me in the face. And I dunno...something in me just...just snapped. Robert grabbed his head all of a sudden and he started screaming. A whole crap load of Foot creeps came in and then...everything went dark...I...I had terrible dreams...and then I could hear you guys." Kallie was smiling now. "And y'all were alive."
There were a few moments of silence before Donatello finally broke it.
"You uh...you kind of liquefied his brain."
"I what?!"
"His brain literally melted from the inside," Don explained. "It was the most fascinating thing I've ever seen! The brain literally liquefied from the inside. The heat source came directly from the cereb—"
"Donnie." Leo exasperated. The purple banded turtle stopped mid explanation and saw everyone looking at him as if he had grown three heads.
Don rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, I just...it was pretty cool..." He was blushing a bit now and Kallie couldn't help but smile at him.
"I'm sure it was," She told him. "But I still don't understand how I did it."
"We're not sure either. We've just been concentrating on getting you to wake up." Don replied. "I haven't done any tests or anything."
Kallie looked at him dubiously, not entirely believing him.
Don held up two fingers. "Scouts honor! I haven't even tested your blood!"
Kallie laughed at that. "Alright Donnie, I believe you."
"But I can check a few theories I have...if you want me to..." He looked at her hopefully.
Kallie nodded. "Yeah, that'd probably be a good-"she yawned. "a good idea."
"Alright, that's enough for one night." Leo announced. "Get some rest Kallie."
"Kay." Her eyes were already closing and soon her breathing was even and all four turtles released a breath none of them had realized they'd been holding.
"Dudes...she's got...like super powers." Mikey said quietly, looking at his brother's with a slightly worried look. "Like, ridiculously powerful super powers."
"I'm going to get a blood sample as soon as she wakes up again," said Don, going over to his filing cabinet and grabbing out a file and then sitting at his desk, scribbling across the paper furiously. "This could possibly be a new discovery, a whole new strand of DNA. Who knows what kind of genetic coding she has!"
"Be careful there genius, ya don't wanna go overboard." Raph warned him. He could already see Don's brain working in over time.
Don scoffed. "I'll be fine."
Leo sent Raph a look. It was a look the two of them had perfected over the years; it said 'watch him.' Raph nodded in understanding and prepared himself for a week of little to no sleep as he would be undoubtedly watching over his little brother and making sure he does not indeed go overboard.
"Watcha lookin' at Donnie?" Michelangelo asked, moving towards where the genius turtle sat.
"I grabbed a bunch of files from Robert's hideout," explained Don. "Most of them were all about Kallie and what they had found in the short amount of time that they had her. I wanted to know what he was working on."
"What did you find out?" Leo asked, joining his brother's with Raphael not too far behind.
"Well if he had more time he could've done a significant amount of research...and damage." He added with a growl.
"How?" Leo asked.
"His notes state that he already had four buyers lined up for some kind of medical procedure."
"Medical procedure? What kind of medical procedure?" Raph asked.
"Looks like Kallie was right in saying he wanted to sell whatever it is that gives her this power. He had a team of scientists working on it."
"Had." Raph said with a smirk.
"Maybe we should've kept one of them alive..." Don trailed off.
Raphael snorted. "What for?"
"To tell me exactly what his plan was." Don answered. "I mean, his notes are telling me a great deal, but they're disjointed...almost manic. It seems like he was pretty desperate. His shorthand is all over the place, it's going to take me some time to decipher these."
"If anyone can do it, you can." Leonardo told his little brother. Said brother looked up and smiled.
"So…who's gonna call her mom?" Mikey asked suddenly.
"Change of topic much?" Raph snorted.
"Well…it just occurred to me that we haven't done anything to inform her of what happened to Robert." Mikey explained. "Plus, she's been trying to get a hold of Kallie for the past week."
"You have her phone?" Leo asked.
"Yeah." Mike answered sheepishly.
"Well…Kallie probably needs to talk to her mom as soon as possible," Leo admitted. "The news said that Robert was killed in the line of duty. Something about a warehouse bust and it exploding."
"Glad the demolition went as expected." Don commented.
"I'll be sure she calls Danika." Mike told them.
"Good now," said Don. "If you would all excuse me please, I have some serious work to get done."
"Need any help?" Raphael asked.
"Thanks but no thanks. I've got it covered."
"Alright Donnie, let us know if you need anything though."Leo told his brother. Don nodded and the rest of them left; wondering just how powerful their sister was.
OoOoOoO
"Yes mom. I know mom. I understand mom." Kallie was saying as Leonardo entered the room. She still looked exhausted despite what she told them. "I'm fine, I promise. I'll...I'll explain everything as soon as I can okay? Just...just trust me for now. Love you too." Kallie ended the call with a sigh as she leaned back on her pillows.
It had been a week since she first woke up and she had upgraded to the couch in the living room from the bed in Donatello's lab. She insisted she was fine but she still got winded pretty easily.
"Everything okay?" Leo asked.
"No. She's like, freaking out," said Kailyah. "She's a total wreck of course. Two of her husbands have now died; granted the second one totally deserved it."
Leo nodded in understanding.
"She wants me to stay with her." Kallie added.
Leo folded his arms across his chest, looking thoughtful before he spoke. "Well, the danger is clear now. Robert is gone and I highly doubt the Foot will be continuing his work without the funding. So you probably could stay with her."
Kallie was surprised by Leo's words. She thought he would've insisted that she stay with them while she continued healing.
Leo smiled kindly at her. "Of course, you're more than welcome to stay. We love having you here."
Kallie couldn't help but smile back at him. "I dunno…y'all still stink up the place after training."
Leonardo laughed at that.
"It's gonna be different being in my own place again."
"Are you going to live in the same complex?" Leo asked.
"Probably not," said Kaliyah. "I was actually toying around with the idea of getting a house somewhere outside of the city. A bit of privacy for possible late night visitors."
Leo grinned. "Late night visitors huh?"
Kallie shrugged casually. "Yeah, the company I keep are kinda shady."
Leo barked out a laugh at that. "You got that right."
"You're not really gonna leave, are you Kallie?" A voice asked from the doorway.
Kallie and Leo looked up and saw Michelangelo peeking into the living room from the dojo, a forlorn look to his face.
"Oh Mikey..." Kallie sighed, motioning for the youngest turtle to sit next to her.
The orange banded turtle of course immediately made his way to Kallie, sitting down next to her carefully. Kallie grabbed his hands.
"Mikey, you do realize that eventually I will have to leave the lair and get back to school don't you?"
Mike shrugged and said nothing.
Kallie smiled and tugged on his bandana tails. "But you better leave my current room alone for sleepovers."
Michelangelo's face broke out into a wide grin. "Sleepovers?"
"Of course! Who else am I going to have monster movie marathons with?"
"Dude! This is gonna be awesome! We should totally have one this weekend!" Mikey said excitedly.
"Mikey, she's got a lot on her plate at the moment, why don't you give it some time before you make any plans." Leo suggested.
Mike deflated a bit but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure your mom is freaking out huh?"
Kallie sighed. "Like you wouldn't believe. She's also made at me for not going to Robert's funeral."
"She doesn't know everything," said Leo. "Try to show her some patience."
"I know." Kallie replied reluctantly.
"Are ya gonna tell her?" Mike asked.
"Tell her what?"
"About everything! You know, the Foot, the Purple Dragons…us…"
Kallie sat back; in all honesty she hadn't really thought that far ahead yet. She knew she'd have to tell her mom about Robert being a jerkface eventually but…she wasn't sure how that was going to go. And what about the boys? How in the world was she going to explain them to her?! Her mom would probably just think that she was nuts! For goodness sakes, Kallie herself thought she was going nuts at first.
"I honestly hadn't thought about." Kallie admitted.
"Well, you need to think of something soon." Mikey told her. "The chick is probably going crazy right now."
Kallie nodded in agreement.
"What would y'all do if I told her about you guys?" Kallie asked.
Mikey shrugged before looking to Leo. Obviously this would be a decision for their Fearless Leader.
"I think I'll go and have a talk with Master Splinter about this," said Leo. "This affects our whole family and the more humans that know about us the bigger the risk of exposure."
"I would never—"
Leo held a hand up to silence Kaliyah's interruption. "I know you wouldn't. I trust you, we all do. But your mom is another story."
"If I think she even poses the slightest threat I won't tell her a word." Kallie promised.
Leo smiled at her, a lopsided one that warmed Kallie's heart. "I know you wouldn't. Sensei will be able to get a better sense of everything I'm sure." And with that he left in search of his father.
Mikey started playing with some of Kallie's hair. "I really hope you do stick around." He told her.
Kallie turned and grabbed Mike's face with her hands.
"Nothing could keep me away."
