Mucho de thankies for the reviews!

Oh, and sorry it's taking me so long to update, I'm a little busy at the moment, and the school computers HATE me…

"What do you think they're up to?" murmured Don, peering at the cluster of Purple Dragons below them. The turtles were crouched on the roof of a warehouse, watching the thugs unloading a huge crate from the back of a truck, in an alleyway behind some warehouses.

"I don't know," muttered Leo, "But it's bound to be illegal, and probably pretty dangerous too."

"Fuckin' punks!" Raph growled. "They're gettin' cockier by the day."

The brothers hadn't seen any sign of the Foot clan for over a year, but since then the Purple Dragons had increased in confidence and numbers, and news of fights and murders were coming in from all over the city.

Suddenly, one of the men lost his grip on the crate, and it slipped. His colleague smacked him on the head.

"Idiot!" he hissed. "The boss wants this in as good shape as possible. How else is it gonna take out those green freaks for us?"

There's our cue, thought Raph, as with a nod from Leo all four of them drew their weapons.

"You want me to tell Hun how well you're carrying his cargo?" continued the Purple Dragon below.

"No!" cried his co-worker. "I won't drop it again!"

"Too right you won't." said Leo, as with the quietest of thumps he and his brothers dropped to the ground beside the men. With a yell, they attacked the Purple Dragons.

Ya know, thought Raph, slamming his fist into a hooligan's chest, ya never get a thrill like ya do beating up a few idiots like these.

He noticed two more men struggling to prize the lid off the crate. Why do I get the feeling I'm really not gonna like whatever's in there? With a grunt, he body-slammed into them, sending them sprawling to the floor.

"Ain't your mommies ever told ya dat crime don't pay?" he said as he approached, cracking his knuckles. Suddenly he frowned, as he saw the two men looking at something just behind his line of vision. Hey, what're they- oh SHELL!

He whipped round just in time to avoid a large fist that was speeding towards his face. Hun. Dammit, why does that prick have to show up whenever I'm having a little fun? He grabbed both Hun's wrists to stop him from attacking, and then head butted him hard in his immense stomach. Although sometimes he can add to the entertainment…

He grabbed Hun and threw him hard, sending him crashing into a wall. A second before the big man landed, a black shape whipped away, narrowly avoiding being crushed by Hun's massive bulk, and flung itself into the fray.

Raph blinked, surprised. It's that cat kid again. When'd she get here? He kicked a Purple Dragon, who had tried to sneak up behind him, in the crotch. The man doubled up and crumpled to the floor. Raph was just about to finish him when he heard the thudding noise of wood hitting stone ground.

He whirled round and saw that one of the thugs was again trying to open the crate. Leo and Don started forward, but they had barely taken two steps before the girl leapt on the man, raking his face with already blood-covered nails. The man howled with pain, but suddenly one of his associates hit the girl hard from behind, knocking her sideways.

She hissed in pain as the force of the blow knocked her into a dumpster, scattering broken toys and month-old nappies over the ground. The bin toppled over with the force of the impact, trapping her underneath.

Raph bashed a Purple Dragon in the face, breaking his nose, and knocked him out with a quick smack to the head. He frowned at the still-upside-down bin. Why hasn't she come outta there? She must be hurt.

He strode over to the dumpster and lifted it with ease. The girl had her back to him, and appeared to have been trying to haul up a corner of the dumpster to get free. Looks like she ain't exactly a weightlifter. But she seems to be okay. The girl spun around and suddenly dived at Raph, feline teeth bared.

Raph ducked – Why the SHELL's she attacking me? – and heard something rush past his head. A cry of pain sounded behind him. He turned and saw the girl clawing at a Purple Dragon, who was attempting to swat at her with a baseball bat. With a shock, he realised that the man had been about to hit him. Oh… looks like she saved my ass again.

The man rolled over, shoving the girl off him. With a grin of triumph, he lifted her up by the throat and drew back a fist. The girl scrabbled at his arms, leaving deep welts, but the man refused to let her go.

Raph reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, ya forgot something." The man turned, and Raph punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. "I always repay a favour."

The man slumped to the ground, releasing the girl's neck. She hopped to her feet and smiled at Raph. For a moment, something seemed to pass between them – a kind of mutual exchange of thanks, and of friendship, even though neither of them said a word.

CRASH!!!

The pair of them spun around to see that the crate – which Mikey had evidently been trying to keep closed – was now nothing but splintered pieces on the ground. The Purple Dragons, seeing that whatever had been inside was now loose, turned and ran. Mikey, meanwhile, was sprawled several feet away, clasping a gash in his arm.

Are those… claw marks? But the cat kid's right here, who else-

"GRRAAHHH!" A sudden roar from a spot several feet away made Raph turn his head. Aw shell…

A huge beast on four legs filled the exit to the alleyway. It vaguely resembled a wolf, but its razor-sharp teeth and claws were long enough to slice a man's arm off. Its huge body rippled with muscles, and even on all fours, it still easily topped five feet.

Raph gripped his sai tight. That thing don't look too friendly. He glared at it for a moment, trying to place it, but the only name he could find for it was… werewolf. But that can't be right, it's a half moon.

Suddenly he saw the cat-girl leave his side, and with an elated whoop that sounded distinctly like "jackpot!" she attacked the monster, slashing her claws down its side and dodging between its legs. The creature lifted itself onto two legs and swung at her with powerful limbs. The girl waited till the last second to move out of the way, evading it's attacks with a euphoric cry of "missed me!"

Raph frowned. Is she tryin'a get herself killed?

"Earth to Raph!" With a start, he looked up to see his brothers racing in to join the girl. He shook himself. I gotta stop daydreaming in the middle of fights like this. Raph charged the beast, yelling. Without even turning its head, the animal kicked him hard, slamming one hairy foot into his plastron.

Raph flew backwards, as the force of the blow sent him hurtling through a wall. Note to self: big werewolf is seriously strong. Ow. He clamberedback to his feet and looked around. To his immense relief, he was in one of the empty warehouses. Good. I'm getting seriously tired of people pointing at me. He looked at the rubble scattered over the floor. Although I ain't jealous of whoever has to clear that up.

He ran back and attacked the creature again. This time, he tried to dodge its assaults, and attack whenever its back was turned. He could see his brothers attempting the same thing, but even with all of them fighting at the same time, it was impossible for them to get past the beast's massive limbs. The only one of them who could get close enough to hurt it was the girl.

How come she can out-move it but we can't? She ain't that much faster than us.

Raph jumped backwards to dodge another of the creature's swipes – and suddenly understood. She's doing damage 'cause she ain't trying to avoid getting hurt. But why? We can take a knock, if she gets hit she might not be getting up again…

He saw Mikey charge forward, blood still spraying from the wound in his arm, nunchuks whirling. The beast batted him away like a fly, but now its movements were slowing, its roars fading to a faint whimper. It dropped to all fours and backed away slowly.

The girl stepped forward. Peering at the animal curiously, she let out a gentle miaow.

The beast looked almost affronted. It snarled at the girl so viciously that they all leapt back in alarm, and then turned and bolted away. For a moment, Raph was tempted to follow it, but then he glanced at Mikey. His brother was pale, his right arm drenched in blood. No way's he gonna be able to chase that thing.

He looked over at the girl. She had her back to them, and was dusting herself off, muttering darkly to herself about bloody bins full of shitty nappies. Raph took a step towards her and she jumped – literally – leaping onto a nearby fire escape before spinning around to watch them.

"Are ya scared of us or some'ting?" he called out.

The girl seemed to consider this for a second, almost as though she had forgotten how to speak. "No," she said at last, "I just forgot you were there." A sudden wicked glimmer came into her eyes. "The question is, are you afraid of me?"

Raph threw his head back and laughed. Pulling out his sai, he flexed his muscles, making himself look as threatening as possible. "Whaddya think?"

"I think that's not an answer." The girl leaned forward, resting her elbows on the safety rail and propping her chin in her hands. "So I'll ask again: are you afraid of me?"

"Nah. Leo?"

"Not especially. Don?

"Nope, sorry. Mikey?"
"Well, a little…"

Raph whirled around to glare at his younger brother. "WHAT? Yer scared of a sixteen year old girl?"

Mikey flushed. "She's freaky!"

"So's your face." called the girl, but now she was grinning.

Leo frowned. "Your accent… you're British?"

The girl's smile dropped a notch. "English. They're different things. The same way a tortoise and a turtle are different things."

The four brothers paused for a second before Don worked out what she was asking. "We're turtles."

"Cool." The girl nodded for a second, and then cocked her head, listening to something only she could hear. "Time to go." In a single bound, she leapt onto the roof of a nearby building and away.

The turtles blinked at the spot where she had been.

"Why'd she leave?" said Leo

"Listen!" hissed Don. The brothers froze. Very faintly, they could hear the wail of rapidly approaching sirens. Without a word, Raph yanked up a nearby manhole cover and held it open, watching his brothers dive into the dark hole. For a single moment, he paused, watching the place where the girl had been.

Then he shook himself, and plunged into the blackness to join his brothers.

She sprinted away over the rooftops. She had waited just long enough to check that the strange turtle creatures had left safely, but she couldn't afford to stick around with the police on their way. Not even for my first conversation in months.

At least she now had names to match the colours. Blue was Leo. Purple was Don. Orange was Mikey. And Red was… nice. He'd helped her out. For a minute there, he had brought back vague, flickering memories – but as soon as she'd reached for them, they had gone.

She sped on through the night.