Author's Note: I own none of the things, which is why I am poor.

Chapter Five: Emergency

Jaclyn watched as the massive—man? Turtle?—pulled the manhole cover shut once again, and barreled past the three women. It was dark, only small shafts of light from vents and manhole covers to light their way, but the turtle sprinted as if it were bright as day, and April followed trustingly. Jaclyn had her doubts, but followed, pulling Marie along until her friend ran (or, rather, blindly stumbled) alongside her.

They remained silent as they moved, stopping at Raphael's sign to listen, making sure that they were not followed. It seemed like forever, a twisting maze of tunnels, the sickeningly unseen water soaking their shoes and climbing up the leg of her jeans, but then after one last pause of silence for safety, Raphael's pace slowed.

"Why the long route?" April asked suddenly.

"To confuse 'em," the turtle replied, voice gravely and clipped in tone.

"The Foot, or my roommates?" April said, brow lofted.

He didn't reply.

"Um…we're still here," Marie said. "And…well, confused, so mission accomplished, Jolly Green."

April looked at the turtle, who curled his lip a bit at the nickname and growled, moving ahead at a more casual, easy-to-follow pace. April sighed.

"Can someone please explain what the fuck?" Marie said, falling into step with Jaclyn.

The turtle was silent.

"Our house was just bombed and you showed up," Jaclyn said, tone demanding. "The least either of you could do is explain what the hell is happening."

April winced, and the turtle swung back to face them, hulking shoulders tensed. April looked to him, then back to the other two women. Jaclyn worried for a second that they were going to just keep walking again, leaving she and Marie to keep wondering what was going on.

"This is Raphael," April said, finally. "We…it's a long story."

"He's a—"

"What?" Raphael asked. "Turtle? Freak? Yeah. Astute, there, Tinkerbell."

Marie glanced down at the sparkly green top she wore as he began walking again, and scowled back up at him. "—a friend?" she finished, looking irritated at Raphael having put words in her mouth. Raphael glanced back at her, as if sizing her up, and continued. They followed.

"Yeah," April said. "He's good. Family."

Jaclyn could have sworn she saw Raph's mouth quirk upward in almost a smirk as he glanced at April, but with how dark it was, it could have been a trick.

"That was the Foot," April said. "That's who attacked us."

"The Foot?" Jaclyn said. "I thought they were were wiped out by those vigilantes you…talked…about…"

She looked at Raphael, suddenly understanding. "Ah. Vigilante."

April looked to Raphael with a proud smile. "One of four," she said.

"There are more of you?" Marie asked. Raphael nodded and stopped walking.

"Yeah."

And he knew that at least one of them wouldn't be happy.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Leonardo sat on the sofa painstakingly handcrafted by Raphael, half-watching Michelangelo play Borderlands while taking a whetstone to his katana. The younger brother was jerking around violently as if the movement aided him in his gaming, occasionally letting out choice words that earned a stern glared from Leonardo in lieu of Splinter being there to scold him, their father meditating in his room.

A small bell sounded, the tell-tale sign that someone has entered the correct code into their alarm system, and Leo glanced up, knowing that only one person outside his brothers and father knew the code. Raphael stormed in, along with April. No surprise.

Michelangelo looked up, brightening at the initial sight of their pretty, auburn-haired friend. "Hey, Angel—"

And the two ragged-looking women who followed in her.

"-….cakes?"

Leonardo was up like a rocket, and the sudden movement caused the two strangers to react instinctively, stopping short, the one with the two-toned hair laying a hand on April's shoulder as if she was her anchor to reality, the brunette blinking at him with huge, dark eyes. Raphael stepped forward, knowing that a lecture was coming.

"I had to, Leo."

"Who are these girls?" Leonardo demanded, glaring at his brother.

"My roommates," April said, speaking up to avoid the usual tension between the two eldest turtles. "The Foot attacked our apartment. It's…"

"Gone," the taller girl finished. Leonardo turned his attention back towards the girls. They were filthy, both from the sewer and from what looked like soot, perhaps? And the brunette was still staring at him, and he found himself caught in her frightened and fascinated gaze for a moment.

"Oh, man!"

Leonardo's attention turned toward Michelangelo, who'd hopped up from the busted recliner to move over to them, ignoring the girls' terror and uncertainty completely and grabbing them by the hands and pulling them to the sofa, bidding them to sit down.

"Ladies, please—April, you too, I ran out of hands—sit down, here, have some blankets, make yourselves comfortable, you want some Orange Crush? I'll get you some Orange Crush, you don't even have to pay me back for it, on the house—"

He was halfway out of the room and froze. Understandably.

Splinter stood in the doorway of his room, black eyes narrowed at the scene before him.

Raphael sprang to action. "Sensei, I had to bring them somewhere safe—"

Splinter raised a hand, and Raphael's shoulders hunched a bit, but he gave a tight bow and moved to allow his father to pass. Leonardo caught Splinter's eye, and some silent agreement crossed between them as the old master moved toward the girls. April's roommates gaped slightly, but did not faint or scream, and Leonardo felt a twinge of…respect? Gratitude?

"Are you hurt?" Splinter asked.

The women looked to each other from their spots on the sofa and then back to the rat before them.

"No," the brunette said. "Just…well…traumatized."

"And what are your names?"

"Marie Williams."

"Jaclyn Thomas."

"My roommates, Sensei," April said, moving toward him. "Our apartment was attacked by the Foot. They torched the place."

Splinter made a low noise in his throat, something between a growl and a sigh, and Leonardo watched the one named Marie duck her head, clearly overcome by the events and the loss of her home. After a moment, Splinter placed a hand gently onto her hair, stroking it gently. The girl raised her head again, eyes welling, before looking away, attempting a show of courage.

"You are safe, my child," Splinter said, voice soft. "All of you. Leonardo, tea, if you please."

Leonardo bowed, mouth tight as he glanced at Raphael, who glowered back. They weren't safe here. None of them were.

He glanced at the girls again, and met the brunette's gaze again, before heading to the kitchen to make tea as requested.