Chapter 22:

"Well, there's Seeper," Deidra looked down at her cell phone, "That was faster than I thought."

"Don't worry about it," Analise nodded to the phone, "Go ahead, we're not going to find the boys out here tonight. They may already be back at the lair looking for an extra shell cell to get a hold of us."

"Always the optimist," Deidra smiled at her friend and opened her cell, "Jenson."

"You think that's where they are?" Casey asked from the driver's seat.

"You heard her," Analise looked at the secret entrance to the lair garage, "I'm the optimist."

"Damn," Deidra said into her phone and looked over at Splinter, "I'll be there as soon as I can cross town."

Casey stopped the Battleshell in the garage, "You wanna a ride with me and April? We're headin' that way."

Deidra considered it until she got out of the Battleshell and saw Raphael's Ducati, "Naw, I think I'll catch another ride."

"Good luck finding his keys," Casey crossed his arms.

"You mean these?" Deidra pulled a set of keys hidden underneath his work bench. A stunned Casey stood in shock at her apparent magic skills. She walked by him and tapped on the bottom of his jaw, "Close your mouth. I'm going to go change and then head out."

"Good luck," Analise said to her before she went into the lair.

"Thanks," Deidra nodded to her and ran toward her room to change.

The rest of the group made it into the lair and checked with April and Shadow. The guys still hadn't made it home and April sat at the computer going through some files. Analise was the first to break the silence.

"Nothing new, huh?" she asked and sat next to April.

"Nothing new," she shook her head. She gave Analise a helpful smile, "Don't worry too much. They will find their way back. They always manage to."

"Ready to go home?" Casey asked and looked at April and a sleeping Shadow in her car seat.

"More than ready," she nodded and looked at Splinter and Analise, "Call us if anything changes."

"We got you on speed dial," Analise smiled slightly back to her.

The Jones clan walked out the front of the lair and waved to Deidra as she jogged to the garage and hopped on the Ducati. Analise looked to Splinter, "The lair seems so quiet."

"Quite so," Splinter nodded and looked upstairs where his son's rooms were, "Maybe some sleep is needed."

"I don't think I can fall asleep," she shook her head.

"When you don't think it will come is when it catches you completely," he took her arm and began to walk her up the stairs.

"This isn't the way to my room, sensei," she said in a confused tone.

"But I cannot think of anything more heartwarming than to come home to find someone you love waiting for you," he said and pushed her toward Michelangelo's room.

She looked at the door with a small blush and then turned back to Splinter who was already halfway down the stairs. She smiled and shook her head, "Damn ninjas."

Once in the room she took off the kasurigama from around her waist and placed it on a shelf to the other side of the room from the bed. She looked at the impressive comic book collection covering one wall of the room. The stuffed animals to the side of the bed was a nice touch. She also saw a few posters which told her that her old roommate wasn't the only one that was a fan of the Silver Sentry. There was also a smaller poster for Commander Titan and the Furies to the side of a desk that held the figurine of the Justice Force.

"Mikey," she shook her head and smirked at the items she found in his room. She found an old cat bed under some art books he had borrowed from Splinter. She frowned and looked at the name stitched on it, "Klunk. Hm."

She snatched up a plush doll of the Turtle Titan and hugged him to her chest. She took her hair down from her ponytail and laid over the bed. She turned on the small tv across from her for some background noise. Maybe she could find a boring show and it would loll her to sleep.

She hugged the plush doll to her closer and whispered to its head, "I love you… and I always will."

"Jenson!" Seeper met her outside the building. He looked at her ride as she took off her helmet and took a second to take it in, "When did you get the sweet ride?"

"I didn't," she shook her head, "It's a friend's. What's going on? You said we found Velmont?"

"A little too late," he looked back at the house where the forensic technicians were starting to file into the townhouse. Without another word, Deidra went into the home and began to climb the stairs with Seeper right behind her, "There was an anonymous tip from a pay phone not that far from here. The responding officer found two purple dragons tied up in the front room."

"A gift from the tipster?" Deidra asked and followed some of the technicians.

"Possibly, but we don't know quite yet," he shrugged, "One was saying that the vigilante and some chicks beat him up."

"Sounds like scape goat to me. Probably left behind by his gang," she huffed and walked into the room where she saw Cherise once again. This time she was surrounded by technicians and Algut stood to the side. Once he saw her he walked over with a frown.

"I was right about the house," he said in a low voice.

"I never said you were wrong," she said back.

"We could have stopped this," he pointed to the body.

"With that kind of fire power?" she pointed to the window where the large rifle still sat pointing out the window, "If we interrupted whatever happened here, we would have lost more men and more lives."

"Yeah, because losing hers is so much better," he scoffed and walked out of the room and down the stairs.

Deidra looked up at the ceiling for some kind of help and heard Splinter's words from earlier that night. She looked over at Seeper who stood next to her.

"It's not your fault. You're right," he said and looked her in the eyes as if trying to convince her of something, "We would have lost more men than necessary."

"It's okay," she smiled a little, "That wasn't the first time that someone blamed me for getting somewhere too late."

She walked over to the body and looked into her eyes again, 'I'm back with some reinforcement.'

"He did the same thing to this one like he had done to the others," Seeper said and stood on the other side.

"Did they find out how long ago she died?" Deidra asked.

"Coroner said about five or six hours ago," Seeper said and hissed at the look at the gashes, "He did more of a job on her than the others."

"As I told you before," she explained, "She did something to upset him, and she was no longer special. Not to him, anyway. Looks happy though, doesn't she?"

Seeper looked closer at her.

"I would say she does," Darson came beside Deidra, "I already took picture of her and her injuries. Edmunds said that he would meet me at the morgue to start on the autopsy as soon as we were done here."

"What could he be doing that's more important than this?" Deidra shook her head, "He think that she was another hooker? Jackass."

"Don't judge before you know, agent," Seeper tried to keep his unit together, "He was saying something about his dying grandmother to me earlier when we first started on the case. I told him to take the time if he needed to. We still had Darson here."

"Let's just get her back to her family. I know they would want some closure," Deidra sighed and went over to examine the rifle.

"Where do you think he got this from?" Seeper asked as they both looked it over.

"Don't know," she shook her head, "But if the dragons are in on this, like I know they are, then they probably have the underground connections to get stuff like this. I wouldn't doubt that."

"That's true."

"If he is working with partners, he has an advantage of numbers," Deidra looked down at a few of the patrol cars, "What did the punks you picked up say?"

"Other than being beat up on they were telling us that they were taking orders from a werewolf."

"A what?" Deidra looked confused at Seeper.

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his head and then looked back up at her, "He told us that he was working for this guy that did the experiments in the basement. Apparently he did some on himself and can change from a werewolf to human."

"Could it be true?"

"Agent, really?" Seeper almost stopped laughing when he saw her face, "You think it could be?"

"Think about it," she put her hands on her hips, "He can mutate these women into half canine mutants. What could stop him from doing experiments on himself and making him something more than human?"

"I don't buy it," Seeper shook his head.

"I wouldn't rule it out," she looked back as they zipped up Cherise Velmont into a body bag, "Not in a million years."

Four figures walked through the tunnels beneath the streets of New York. Finally back in familiar territory and safe from prying eyes that may or may not belong to the mutant they had just escaped from.

Michelangelo took a deep intake of air and grinned, "You know, turtle or human, there is no place like the sewer that brings the word home come to mind."

"I know of a few other words that come to mind," Raphael added on and noogied his brother, "But home does sound really good right about now."

Donatello smiled at the exchange and despite the physical changes his brothers interacted just as they had before. Leonardo led them the best he could toward clothing and then back home. Raphael stood strong to be their rock and form of strength when things took a turn for the worse. Michelangelo was the comic relief, even when it was unnecessary. And lastly, he used his knowledge to find the quickest and safest pathway through town and then through sewer. They were still the same minds and soul, just packaged differently.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Michelangelo smiled as they came to the front of the lair entrance. He began to walk forward until Leonardo grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Just hold on a second, Mikey."

"What's up, Leo?" Mikey asked and looked back at his brother.

"We don't want to surprise anyone with our new appearance, do we?" he pointed to him.

"What do you suggest?" Michelangelo asked back, "I can't re-grow a shell at the moment, bro."

"None of us can," Donatello mentioned and crossed his arms over his chest, "Not until I can get into my lab and try to find some reverse process for this."

"If there even is one," Raphael chimed in and leaned on the side of the archway.

"Let's think positive here," Leonardo pleaded with his brothers, "What would we do if Splinter didn't recognize us?"

"How could I not recognize those I raised as my own?" Splinter came into the entry way and looked over the four mismatched and confused looking men. His eyes glanced over them and the changes to their physical form. He closed his eyes briefly and found the same souls of his four sons in front of him. Raphael's sense of strength, Donatello's wisdom, Michelangelo's humor and Leonardo's leadership was all there. He opened his eyes to find all four of the men bowing to him.

"Please find us, father," Leonardo said with his head lowered.

Splinter stepped forward and put a paw on the back of his head, "I already have, my sons."

All four of them stood up a bit surprised.

"Your appearance first had me on alarm, but I felt your presence before I even saw your physical forms," he explained, "Welcome home."

Michelangelo smiled and felt like he was six again. He walked up to Splinter and hugged him tightly. He patted Michelangelo on the back of the head and looked at his other sons who joined their younger brother. After a few moments Splinter stepped back and looked at the group again.

"I suggest you all take a shower or bath and take a greatly deserved sleep."

"Where's Ana?" Michelangelo asked when he didn't see her from the entranceway.

"And Deidra?" Leonardo and Raphael asked in unison. They looked at one another with raised eyebrows.

"Analise has gone to bed and Deidra has gone to a townhouse where they have found Miss Velmont," Splinter said and saw his son's faces fall.

"They found her?" Leonardo asked.

"She has been claimed as his sixth victim," Splinter reported to them, "I am sorry. I know you had tried to help her. Be happy in the fact that she died swiftly and happy."

"Happy?" Raphael asked and growled, "How can you be happy being murdered?"

"Deidra asked the same question," Splinter smiled knowingly at Raphael, "I will explain all in the morning or when Deidra gets home. Until then, wash and then get some rest."

"Yes, father," they all echoed and raced one another to the two showers in the lair.

Twenty minutes later Michelangelo came out of the shower in a clean towel and wet hair. He smiled to Raphael who was waiting for him to get out.

"Took long enough," he grumbled.

"You snooze, you lose, bro," Michelangelo explained and began to walk toward his room.

"Michelangelo," Splinter called to him before he got too far. Michelangelo turned to find clothing thrown in his direction. Splinter held a smile on his face, "Some clothing we have accumulated over the years. Be sure to put some on before bed."

"Will do," he saluted Splinter and began to climb back up the stairs. He entered his room and quickly put on the clothing. It was a large t-shirt and pajama pants hand me downs, but it was going to do for bed. He thought about going down to say goodnight to Analise before he walked up, but she would probably freak seeing a stranger at the end of her bed waking her up in a towel. He smirked a little at the picture and then grimaced at the kick that she would probably deliver to his face.

He walked into the main portion of his room and saw the faint glow of his television. He frowned in confusion, he was sure he turned that off before he left. He then turned to his bed where he found a sleeping Analise with his Turtle Titan plush curled comfortably in her arms. Never has he felt so jealous of a plush doll before in his life.

"What's the dudette doing up here? In… my bed?" he whispered to himself and turned off the tv. She looked so peaceful and beautiful when she slept. Especially when it was in his bed. He paused when he saw her shift a little in her sleep.

"Mikey…" she whispered and hugged the doll tighter.

He smiled a little and walked toward the bed. She missed him; probably as much as he missed her. He knelt next to the bed and looked her straight in the face. He swiped a piece of hair from her eyes and over her ear.

"I'm here, Ana," he said softly.

"Mikey?" she asked in a stronger voice. She frowned and he knew she was waking up. Before he had time to hide again her eyes fluttered open with a smile. That was, until she saw a strange man at the side of the bed face to face with her.

She screamed and pushed him away as he screamed and scooted himself back against the stand with the television on it. He grabbed at the front of his t-shirt and tried to calm his breathing so he could do some serious explaining. She stood on the bed and held the Turtle Titan plush behind her, ready to launch it at the stranger.

"Okay dude," she said in a huffy breath as she and the man on the floor tried to gain a regular breathing pattern, "Who are you? How'd you get in here?"

"Ana, calm down," he held out his hands in front of him and looked her in the eyes, "Let me-"

Suddenly he found the plush in his face and it dropped into his outstretched hands. For a plush that thing had a bit of a sting to it if you hit a guy in the nose. He looked at the plush and then at Analise who now had a pillow in her hand ready to use. He held the plush in one hand and pointed to it as he looked at Analise. He tutored her way better.

"Really, dudette?" he asked.

She took a moment and stared at him a little confused as she listened to his voice. Her hand with the pillow lowered a little, "What did you say?"

"I asked," he cleared his throat and pointed to the plush again, "'Really, dudette?'"

She hopped down from the bed and walked over to him to stare at his face. She narrowed her eyes at him, looked him over from his light brown-orange hair, to his freckles to the baggy clothes he wore. She then looked him in the eyes and some recognition shown, "Mikey?"

"Thank God you find that out before-" he reached a hand out toward her before the pillow hit him upside the head. The unexpected momentum threw him to the side and he landed on the floor. He looked up from the floor and frowned, "-you hit me with the pillow."

She stood over him and held the pillow between both ends to give it more of a hit. She frowned down at him and tried to make sense of the situation, "The last time I saw Michelangelo, he was a giant turtle."

"The last time I saw you, I was a giant, mutated turtle," he pointed out with a finger pointed up.

She narrowed her eyes in a bit of annoyance at the flippant attitude of this guy, "Say one thing that proves it."

"Looking in my eyes isn't enough?" he looked up at her.

"Eyes have lied to me before," she whispered and he could see her chin quiver a little. She was battling herself, he realized. Her mind was probably telling her she needed more proof. More reasoning, something she gained from her training in the academy she did back in California. Her heart on the other hand, he hoped believed that it was him.

He took a breath and said the first thing that he could think of. Well, sung was more of the action.

"There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes," he sung quietly and slowly as he saw her grip on the pillow loosen. He saw that and sung more, "A kind of pale jewel, open and closed within your eyes. I'll place the sky, within your eyes."

She was frozen above him with the same determined face staring down at him.

"Come on, Ana," he pleaded with her, "…but I'll be there for you. As the world falls down."

The pillow then dropped from her hand and with very little effort there was suddenly a body on top of his, hugging him around the neck with a head just beneath his chin. His stunned arms and hands wrapped around the smaller body on him and felt the shaking of small tears.

"Mikey," Analise choked out against his neck.

"Hey Ana," he smiled and kissed the top of her head. He hugged her to him and he smelled in that same citrus scent from her shampoo that he smelled on their first date. It felt so good to have her in his arms again. With everything that changed, nothing could ever compare to that feeling, "I was afraid that I lost you there for a minute."

"I was about to say the same thing about you," she said into his neck and then leaned up to look him in the eyes, "How?"

"The mutant we keep battling is Alfred," he said simply and sat up careful to keep her in his arms.

"He's… what?"

"Alfred- or the guy that took his identity- has done the same experiments to himself and found a way to turn from human back to mutant."

"Did you see his human form?" she asked.

"Only his hands," he shook his head.

"What did he do to you? Are your brothers okay?" she asked in quick sequence.

"We're all human, but okay," he smiled, "I don't know exactly what he did. I blacked out after he started."

She frowned, "It was that painful?"

"It's over," he answered to try to escape her worried expression. He picked her up as he got up from the floor with little to no difficulty.

She smirked a little, "Glad to see you are still able to do the ninja stuff."

"I think it's stored somewhere in my muscle memory," he shrugged and sat on the bed with her now back on his lap, "Donnie said something like that when we were walking back toward home."

"Ah," she looked at his arms around her and then at the bed, "So now what's the plan?"

"Sleep," he said simply and wiped some tears from under her eyes. He quickly laid down and took her with him. He cuddled her close much like she had done with his Turtle Titan plush. He put his nose in her hair and breathed in deep.

She smiled and giggled at his actions. She turned around in his arms to face him, "You know, you didn't come home like you said you would."

"I know, now I don't get that surprise," he sighed and looked at her with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "Do I get punished instead?"

"I think it is only fair," she nodded and tapped him at the end of his nose, "You are not leaving my sight, mister."

"I think I can live with that," he shrugged and put his forehead to hers. She smiled at the familiar pressure as he had done so before. He silently closed the gap between them and kissed her. One of his hands went up and tangled in her hair as one of hers returned the action. She pulled away just slightly and he frowned.

"What?"

"Your hair is softer than mine," she commented and smirked, "So not fair."

He only smirked and kissed her again.