A/N: You're about to get a big hint at who our "villain" is. ^_^
Samantha yawned as she strolled down the sidewalk. Working third shift meant that she was exhausted when everyone else was wide awake. Which usually made her look cranky, which in turn made people leave her alone. She preferred it that way though. She didn't like the noisy crowded streets of the daytime. She much preferred the dark. Her hand absently rose to her lips. And now she had a new reason to like the night. A smile crossed her face as she stopped at a crosswalk.
Up the street away she could see several teens shoving around another one. It angered her and she wished she had time to intervene. However, she didn't. She was already running late and the bank would be sure to close if she didn't hurry. When the light changed she hurried across the street, turning her back on the teens. A memory flashed in her mind of another set of teens.
-Flashback-
"Give us all your money!" The punk gripped the front of Joey's shirt, half hauling him off the ground.
"I-I don't have any money!" Joey protested with big eyes.
"Give it to us or we'll take the girl instead."
"No! Leave her alone!" Joey started to fight, while Samantha cowered against the alley wall. Although Joey was taller than the other boy, he was extremely slim and didn't have much power behind him.
"You Hawks are in the wrong hood." Someone said from up the alleyway. Everyone turned to the newcomer, who was backed by six more thugs.
"It's Lugnut and his crew!" One of the guys near Joey shouted.
"Let's get out of here!" The third guy yelped as he took off. He was quickly followed by the guy holding Joey's shirt.
Lugnut strolled up to the two and Joey backed up against Samantha, shielding her from view with his taller form. His eyes narrowed. "Stay away from her!"
The teen with a tuff of unruly blonde hair grinned at Joey. "You know you've got some spirit, kid. You might even be a force to fear, if you put some meat on those bones. We could help you with that. All you got to do is join our gang. Then punks like that won't bother you."
Joey frowned. "You'd protect us?"
"Yep."
"My sister too?" Joey asked suspiciously.
"Sure, why not." Lugnut looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Jersey Red."
"Yeah?" The red-head lumbered to the front of the group.
He gestured at Samantha peeking around her brother's shoulder. "Don't say I never gave you nothin'." Lugnut grinned at Joey. "She'll be well taken care of. Now, what do you say kid?"
"Alright." Joey gave a nod. He had to get them off the streets and if these guys could do it, then he was all for signing up.
"What's your name kid?"
"Joey."
Lugnut put an arm around his shoulders. "We'll have to change that. Nobody's scared of a Joey."
-End of Flashback-
Samantha sighed as she reached the front door of the bank. She had to cash her check before she could do anything else. There was a fair sized line ahead of her. She glanced at her watch. It was already getting late and she'd hoped to get her errands done early, so she could spend the evening with Leonardo again. Closing her eyes, she could almost feel the caress of his thumb on her cheek.
"You gonna move up, lady." Grumbled a voice behind her. She turned to see a portly man with a grungy beard glaring at her.
She ground her teeth and shot the man an annoyed look over her shoulder. Creeps like him were the reason she hated coming out in the daytime. She shuffled forward barely a foot and had to stop again. Over the murmur of customers, the door chimed as someone new entered. Samantha didn't bother to look as she figured it was just another slob wanting to catch the bank before it closed.
Suddenly, gunfire struck the ceiling overhead and the man behind her stumbled forward. She didn't have time to react as she fell, striking her head on the metal post that kept the line in order. The room fell away from her as darkness consumed her.
"Alright, everybody down! Nobody move!" Rocksteady shouted, swinging around his gun.
"Yeah, or we'll put holes in ya! Ya got that!" Bebop turned to a woman at the register and tossed her a bag. "Fill it up! Now!"
The cashier scrambled to do as she was told. "Y-Yes sir."
Rocksteady surveyed the room of civilians spread out like a blanket on the floor and spotted the security guard going for his sidearm. He moved forward kicking it out of the man's hand. "Don't try to be a smart guy. Got it?"
The guard swallowed. "Got it."
"Don't do nothin' stupid and nobody'll get hurt." Rocksteady told the living carpet of bodies. There was movement as a curly blonde pulled herself to her knees. She looked a bit disoriented, a small cut on her forehead bleed lightly. Slowly she turned to fully look at him and his heart skipped a beat. When she met his gaze, she squinted at him. He quickly averted his eyes. "Alright, let's go!" He told Bebop.
"Come on!" Bebop yanked the bag from the cashier. He snorted as they backed out of the bank. "Sorry for the inconvenience folks. Have a nice day." Then the two were running down the sidewalk out of sight.
Samantha blinked after them. His eyes…
Raph was flipping the channels lazily when his turtle-com chirped. He smiled at their old friend. "Hey, April. What's up?'
"I just got a report that two men wearing a rhino and warthog masks just robbed the First City Bank."
Raph frowned. "That sounds like Bebop and Rocksteady. It's been a while since those two have poked their heads out. We'll check it out."
"I'm on my way there now. I'll meet you there."
"Will do, April." He closed the com and jumped over the back of the couch. "Hey, guys!" Don appeared from his lab as Leo and Mikey came from the dojo. "Looks like Rocksteady and Bebop are taking up bank robbing now. Come on. April is going to meet us there."
Within moments they were in the van speeding through the streets. "I don't get it. Why would those two suddenly take up bank robbery? It's not their MO." Mikey questioned as he hung onto the seat.
"Yeah, and why are they suddenly showing up now?" Donnie mused. "We haven't seen them in several years."
"It doesn't matter. They are committing a crime, therefore we need to find them and stop them." Leo said firmly.
Raph snorted. "Those two are practically harmless, Leonardo. They barely have a brain cell between the two of 'em."
"They're still criminals, Raphael. And they could still be working for the Shredder." Leo pulled the van to a stop outside the First City Bank, just as April was wrapping up her on-the-spot report.
They climbed out of the van as people slowly started coming out of the bank. Leo's heart dropped as he spotted Samantha. "Oh, no!" He rushed to her side. "Sams!" He caught her shoulders and she blinked at him for a moment, still a touch disoriented from her fall.
"Leonardo?" Her eyes grew wide with recognition after just a moment and she threw herself against him. "Oh, Leonardo!"
He pulled her tight. "It's alright." He stepped back to look at her. "Were you in there, Sams?" She gave a small nod. His gaze shot to the cut on her brow, feeling his anger rise. "Did they hurt you?"
"No…I bumped my head on something." She absently touched her forehead and winced.
Leo frowned, turning to where the others were talking to April. "Donatello!" Seeing Samantha in Leo's arms, Donnie hurried over with the others just behind. Don looked from Leo to Samantha and back. "She bumped her head." Leo said in explanation.
Don frowned as reached for her cautiously. Leo still held her, but he allowed Don to examine the wound and then hold open an eyelid. "Did you black out?" He asked her after a moment.
Samantha frowned. "Yeah, I think so. Just for a minute."
It was Don's turn to frown as he met his brother's gaze. "The cut's superficial, but she could have a mild concussion."
Leo's grip tightened on Sams. He growled softly. "Those two cretins did this."
"It sure looks like it." Raph folded his arms. As much as he didn't like this crazy head-over-heels thing Leo was doing, he never wished Samantha harm.
Mikey's eyes bulged. "You were in there, Sams! That is so not cool!"
"Um, excuse me. I don't believe we've met." April smiled politely and extended her hand. "I'm April O'Neil."
Samantha released Leo with one hand to shake it. "Samantha Riggs." She immediately pulled it back, placing it warmly on Leo's plastron. She groaned softly. "I still have to cash my check somehow and then I have to wash clothes and buy groceries."
Leo shook his head. "You're not going anywhere, except home with us." She frowned, ready to protest. But he continued. "You've got a concussion. Besides Master Splinter said he wanted to meet you."
"He does have a point." Don agreed. "You should be monitored for the next few hours in case that concussion isn't so mild."
She frowned up at Leo. "But when am I going to run my errands, then?"
He smiled wanly. "Later tonight, okay? Now come on." He took her hand and led her to the van, Don trailing behind them.
As they disappeared inside, April looked at the others. "Uh, what was that?"
Mikey gave a giddy chuckle. "Isn't it awesome! Leonardo's finally found him a girl!"
"Yeah, and Rocksteady and Bebop nearly ventilated her too." Raph pointed out with a frown.
April was staring at the van. Leonardo has a girlfriend? When did that happen?
"Well, we better get going. Let us know if you hear any more reports about those two boneheads." Raph waved as he and Mikey climbed into the front of the van.
As they drove back to the lair, Leo dabbed the cut on Samantha's head with a bit of disinfectant. He watched her as he placed a large Band-Aid over the spot. She seemed distracted, not meeting his gaze. He gently cupped her cheek. "Hey, you okay, Sams?"
At last she looked up at him. "I'm not sure. Those two that held up the bank…There was something odd about them."
"There isn't much that's not odd about those two whack-jobs." Mikey piped from the passenger's seat.
She frowned. "You know them?"
"We've been knocking around those two meat-heads for the past ten years." Raph turned into the drainage tunnel that led to their garage.
"They work for an old enemy of ours, named the Shredder." Leo explained.
"Well, they used to anyways." Don corrected. "We haven't seen them in a few years. Not since we defeated Shredder."
Leo squeezed her hand. "What exactly struck you as odd?"
She shrugged. "I don't know." She smiled weakly. "Let's not worry about that right now. You wanted me to meet your father."
The van came to a stop. "Yes." Leo took her hand and helped her out of the van.
Mikey joined them. "I hope Leonardo explained that he's a rat."
"Of course, I did, Michelangelo." Leo led them into the living room where the fore-mentioned rat was waiting for them. Samantha stepped up beside Leo and smiled politely. "Master Splinter this is Samantha."
"It is very nice to finally meet you, young lady." Splinter extended his hand and she took it without hesitation.
But she paused, blinking at his fur covered hand with sharp claws. She squinted at it and then at him. Splinter was doing much the same. His nose twitched at her scent and his eyes narrowed, while his brain tried to place her. Her eyebrows rose slowly. "You?"
Splinter almost laughed. "Karma is indeed a strange thing."
Leo looked from one to the other. "Um, are we missing something?"
Samantha released Splinter's hand to take Leo's, making the old rat smile. "Samantha and I apparently have some history." He moved off to sit in the arm chair and the others followed, sitting about the couch and floor. "The first year we mutated was by far the hardest. I was used to going into stores and behaving as most humans do. So, when I was forced to scavenge for food for all of us, it was very difficult at first. One night as I was digging through a certain dumpster, a young girl came across me."
"You mean, Sams?" Mikey asked.
Samantha blushed and Splinter chuckled. "Yes. She didn't realize what or who I was, of course. I hide in the shadows. But I had been seen."
"I just figured you were homeless and hungry." She lowered her eyes. "I know what that feels like. I just wanted to help."
"And you did." Splinter smiled. "However, you did inadvertently cause my sons to become addicted."
Samantha lifted her head with a curious expression before bursting into laughter. All four turtles looked from their laughing father to their laughing guest. Donnie finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Addicted to what?"
She wiped at the happy tears rolling down her cheeks, her rather bad day forgotten. "Pizza! I gave him a pizza!"
"Their very first pizza, I might add." Splinter's eyes sparkled with amusement as a new round of laughter filled the lair. Karma was indeed strange.
Mikey hugged her from over the back of the couch. "Dudette, you are my new hero!"
A/N: LOL! I just couldn't resist throwing in that last bit! Review please.