There's Moonlight in the Sewers

by Winged Lady Colette

Taylor is being hunted. And the only things that stand between her and her hunters are four giant turtles and their two human friends. And a past meeting between them might not just be coincidence. Something from long ago is coming back and it draws both human and turtle together in a very peculiar way. Possible torture. Leo/ofc

2. Pull through

Author's Note: So, there is a bit of buzz about this story and I'm really hooked onto the idea so I want to continue. Thank you for those of you that decided to give it a chance! I love hearing what you have to say! Here is the next installment! There may be a bit of inaccuracies as I'm basing a bit passed the timeline set for 2012 version with bits of 2003 version so... yeah. Sorry about that! Let me know what you think, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC and the story line.

Warnings: Nothing much, maybe a bit of language.

Words Count: 6,732

It was around noon when I woke up. My entire body ached unlike it ever had before. I could barely move without my body screaming in pain. I roll over onto my left side and pull up the sleeve of my tee-shirt to look at my shoulder and as I suspected, it's already turning a nasty purple color. I sit up slowly, my entire body protesting with the movement, with the exception of my head, which is actually feeling a lot better. That was good because the rest of me hurt at least ten times more than anything else.

I practically fall out of bed and limp to the bathroom to wash my face and take stock of my bruises. I get a better look at my right shoulder and it's all purpling. Then I lift my shirt to look at my gut to see that it has a slight purple mar bisecting me. There is numerous numbers of small bumps and bruises all along the entirety of my body and then there is the especially nasty purple mark on my knee from when I fell on the other roof because I wasn't paying attention. And I'm kind of a dumbass.

After I finish up in the bathroom, I head back into my room and change into a tee-shirt and jeans, then slipping on my worn old gym shoes. I grab my pants from last night and pull my wallet, house keys, and the flash drive that I still need to return to Andrew. I grab some sunscreen and lather it all over the exposed skin on my body, face, neck, hands, ears, arms, the 'v' of my tee-shirt and the back of my neck. I then braid my hair into a fish tail and pull on a baseball hat and sunglasses.

I quickly go through my kitchen making a list of food I'll need for the week. I don't want to, but there is almost nothing in my dinky little kitchen. I've needed to go shopping for days now, and have just been putting it off. Now I'm in a world of pain and want comfort food. Karma.

My apartment is far from being high class, but it could be more in the dumps. It's stable, and everything appears to be up to code and I never see my neighbors, or hear them, so I'd say I got out good. I have a kitchen, a large space that is both my bedroom and my living room and a bathroom. So it's not horrible. It's everything I need. And the neighborhood isn't horrible, either. Overall I like it. Except for now, because it's a good twenty minute walk to the store and my body couldn't be more against the idea of the walk.

Before heading out the door, I take more pain medicine and pull on a zip up hoody, pulling up the hood over the hat. I feel a little stupid, but I was attacked yesterday and I don't want to risk a repeat, especially since I am in so much pain right now. I grab a few cloth grocery bags and fold them up and take them with me. I lock my door behind myself and head for the stairs, walking down three flights to the bottom and then out onto the streets. I begin the long trek to the store, keeping my head down.

The glare of the light hurts me eyes, even with my sunglasses on and hood up, so I keep to the shadows and avoid looking up as much as possible. I take heavily traveled roads, slipping into the crowds to try and avoid drawing as much attention to myself as possible. I easily slip into the crowd and work my way to the store and try to avoid any and all eyes.

I get there and get all the groceries I need, pay for them, and head back home. It's on my way back, that I'm more aware that I should be keeping an eye out for anyone showing any sort of interest in me beyond what I'm used to. Those guys just looked like normal shmucks, last night. Hopefully while I'm mostly covered up, if there is anyone looking for me, they won't be able to recognize me. I make sure to avoid any of my normal routes home. I've seen stalker movies, I can figure how this works. People in routines are the most susceptible to getting targeted. I just never figured that would be me.

No zoning out this time. I'm on edge the entire way home, which took twice as long as opposed to the route I usually took. I feel a bit better back in my own apartment with the door locked behind me. I know the smart thing to do would be to go stay at a friend's house or call the police but the last thing I want to do is endanger any of my few friends and from what I've heard, there is very little police can do in a stalker case, especially with what little I know about these guys. I'm not even sure I could pick any but the guy with the scar on his face in a line up. Even then I didn't really look to see hairstyle or color for his hair or eyes.

I put the groceries away and collapse onto my couch, body aching terribly. I turn on the television and flip through channels until I find something interesting. I quickly make myself some food and wolf it down. I lay on the couch and stare at the television without really watching it. I'd be inclined to believe everything that happened last night was a dream, but the bruises on my body and the pain is unmistakable.

Wrack my brains as I might, I still can't seem to locate any sort of interesting thing about myself. There is nothing about me that would draw the attention, let alone the ire, of anyone with enough people to warrant looking for me. It seemed like they had a picture of me on that one guy's phone. Which I can only assume was from the diner, so whoever is looking for me, must have been at the diner at one point of another. I hardly go out and do anything else anyway. It's the only thing I can think of.

That's the possible where, as to the why? That answer still eludes me.

I rub the loose strands of white hair from my forehead and toss my hat onto the floor in front of me. "What the hell is going on?" I groan, stretching out on the couch, only to flinch and curl up into a tight ball. I'm still in pain and probably will be for a while. It'll probably be worse tomorrow. I slowly push myself to my feet and walk over to my bed, dropping down onto it and picking up my alarm clock, I set it for an hour before work before trudging back over to the couch and curling up into a ball. As much as I don't want to, I still need to go to work today. Missing a single day of work could end in disaster for me.

I don't spend a lot of money on myself, but occasionally I'll splurge, but it scares me to death to have to choose between getting the bills paid or living out on the streets, mostly because I literally will die out on the streets with all that exposure to the sun and there is no way I'm going to seek out my family for help, should I be kicked out onto the streets. I've been living under their thumb my whole life, it's nice to finally be in charge of myself for once.

I blankly watch television, flipping through channels, trying to keep my mind off of my terrible ordeal last night and the amount of pain I'm in now and will be in for the next week. My downfall was when I pulled the covers from my bed around me and easily slipped back into slumber.

About two hours later, I wake up more exhausted than when I went to sleep. I glance over at my clock to see I still had time before I needed to get going to my job, so I snacked on some more food and went to get my wallet that I had thrown onto the counter when I walked in with groceries. I count my tip money from the night before, satisfied that it was a great deal more than I usually get and leave about twenty dollars in there and the rest of my tip money for the week and set it aside. One good thing about my looks; people tip the strange.

For those that know that waitressing is basically for people to live off tips, they usually give a good amount. For those that now about albinism, give a little bit more. As sad as it is, a great portion of my money goes to sunblock and hats and long sleeves. Even when it gets hot out, I still run the risk of getting burned while wearing long sleeves.

As weird as it sounds, I've been raised to fear the sun while loving it at the same time. I enjoy the heat, I really hate the cold, but I can't stay out there too long or I'll get a nasty burn, or worse, skin cancer. And for as long as I've been alive, that has been the fear that has been instilled into me. I was never really taught how to live when I was with my parents, so now that I'm out on my own, I don't know what to do. My work is nice enough to make accommodations, they let me work the late shift so I don't have to deal with the sun as much. They even pull the shades as the day is winding down to night to make me more comfortable while working.

Now, I am perfectly aware that if I stay outside for a few minutes without sunblock I won't just burst into flames, but I'm still just too scared about it to them that they needn't go too overboard. Still, the gesture is nice. Besides, I enjoy the night, up until yesterday is was peaceful to me. Now, I'm a little scared of it too. But if I limit myself anymore, I will just never leave the house again. And that's no way to live, unfortunately.

Once my alarm goes off, I redo my hair, bundle myself back up, hide the money I'm not bringing with me with last week's tips, pop some more pills and gather up all of my needed things, including the flash drive that I remembered at the last minute, before heading to work. Once again I take a long and complex route to work. I keep to the shadows and avoid eye contact while watching everyone else. This experience has left me paranoid.

I make to work with just enough time to change into my uniform and clock in without being late. It's right at this moment that I hate the uniform, it shows off all the bruises on my arms and legs. Thankfully with the diner being cold, I am able to wear my jacket, unzipped, but that doesn't hide the nasty purple bruises on my knees and shins. Hopefully most people won't spend a lot of time checking out my legs. And that sounded weird just thinking about it.

"Hey," Sam says as soon as she sees me heading for the front of the store. "Are we still on for tonight?"

I falter. In the excitement yesterday, I had forgotten about our plans. I'm just in so much pain now, I really just want to lie down. But I was the one who wanted to meet up. And it is Friday so I wouldn't have to leave my apartment at all tomorrow.

"Um, yeah," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. "What did you want to do tonight?"

"I don't know," Sam says, running a hand over the back of her neck. "I wish you were old enough to come out drinking with me and my college friends."

"Sorry," I say, as if I could help it. "How about a movie or something?"

Sam shrugs, laying one hand against one of the counters and leans on it. "Sure. Lets just hope that we can close up early tonight."

I nod. "Yeah, tell me about it. So did you get your paper turned in?"

Sam groans, pushing off from the counter. "Yes, and it was hell, let me tell you. Hey, by the way, I heard that someone threw a brick through the window last night as you were closing." She leans in close as if it were some sort of secret. "Do you have any idea what that was about?"

I shake my head. "Not a one. Probably just some bratty kids. I didn't see anything so I guess I don't really know."

Sam sags a little, probably hoping that there would have been more juicy information in the story that I could provide but unfortunately not. "Well," she says, after a moment, "let's head out there and earn a living." I nod in agreement and follow her out, mentally reminding myself to keep an eye out for Andrew. I still have to give him back his flash drive.

---

Thankfully, Sam and I were out of the diner by ten-thirty and made it to the movies in time to see the new romantic comedy that she has been dying to see. It was actually pretty good, but the seats were uncomfortable and there were a surprising amount of people out to watch this movie at ten-fifty at night. It was passed one in the morning by the time we went our separate ways. Throughout the movie, I considered telling Sam about what had happened to me the night before, but I just couldn't think of a way to slip it into conversation and something stopped me every time. I just didn't know how to explain it without making it seem like I was losing my mind.

I head home as quickly as possible, keeping my hood up at all times. My white hair, especially in the moonlight, is like a beacon to my location for anyone looking for me. I make sure to stay near open stores in case I need to slip inside, but eventually, I reach an area, still a ways from home that are darkened out for the night. I spot the occasional light on in upper floor apartments, or small businesses finishing closing up for the night.

Every couple of steps I look over my shoulder at the fading lights behind me. I wrap my arms around myself and try to make my body as small as humanly possible while walking. It's right as I pass an alley with a large green dumpster that I hear a loud banging noise and the sound of the lid shutting. My entire body goes rigid as my heart rate picks up. I turn around slowly, stepping back into the alley to look at the dumpster. I inch closer, kneeling down to pick up a broken baseball bat thrown hazardously next to it.

I rear the baseball bat back in my right hand and touch the lid with my left before swiftly pushing it open and ready to beat the shit out of a scarred asshole when I spot green instead. He screams, I scream and for a moment I stare into blue eyes, just past the orange mask, just screaming at each other.

"Don't hit me!" Mikey yells, holding his hands up over his head. "I'm sensitive!"

I stop screaming and stare at him, covered in trash, protecting his face from me and the broken bat. It takes me a moment to remember his name. "Mikey," I gasp, lowering the bat. "Holy shit, you scared me! Where did you...?" I look straight up at the roofs in front of and behind us. "Did you fall into this garbage can from the roof?" I ask, shaking my head incredulously. What are these guys made of?

Mikey lowers his hands, laughing sheepishly. "Yeah. But it was all Leo's fault! If he stopped hitting me in the back of the head while we were following you, because let's just face it, Leo is really obsessed with you," he says, shaking his head, "then I wouldn't have lost my balance and fell." He looks up at me with a silly look on his face. "You can be creeped out. I'm a little creeped out."

I tilt my head. "What?" I look back up toward the dark sky. "Are the rest of you up there too? Donnie?" Two heads peak down at us from the roof I can only assume Mikey fell from and one from the one behind us.

"Uh," says one in front of us and to the left. "Hi, Taylor!" He waves.

"Hi Donnie," I say back flatly, leaning on one hip. "Are you guys going to come down or do I have to strain my neck like this?"

The three heads disappear for a moment before all three come flying in between the gap that forms the alley and land with unbelievable grace and silence. If I hadn't seen them jump, I wouldn't have been able to hear them land. I look around at the three other brothers. The turtle with the red mask - Raph, I'm to assume - crosses his arms over his broad chest and glares at the turtle in the trash.

"Way to go, knucklehead, so much for those years of ninja training," he growls. Mikey glared back at him.

"Well, if you guys stopped hitting me on the head, I wouldn't be the cause of half of the things that end up going wrong because of it!" He crosses his arms over his chest. "That's on you guys." He seems proud. Raph growls, then smacks him in the back of his head.

I turn to look between Donnie and Leo, both glaring at the other two before looking at me sheepishly. I look between the two of them with an annoyed look. "I could have beat the shit out of Mikey if the lighting here was worse," I tell them.

"I'm okay with that," Leo mutters, looking away. I shake my head, look down at the bat still in my hand and drop it. There is a moment of silence, listening to the clattering of the wood against the concrete. I wait until it's silent before turning my gaze to the blue masked turtle.

"I'm seriously, Leo, he helped save my life yesterday, what a way to repay him." That earns me a sheepish smile from both brothers in front of me. "But really, what are the four of you doing here? Shouldn't you be out there," I wave my hand around us ambiguously, "helping save people? Isn't that what super heros do?"

I hear Mikey pull himself out of the trash can. I glance back quickly to see him brushing the garbage off of himself before returning my attention to the two in front of me.

"Well, yeah," Leo says, scratching the back of his head. He looks a little embarrassed. "I'm just-"

"Creepily," Raph cuts in.

"-making sure-" Leo tries to continue.

"Stalking!" Donnie says, smiling when a glare is sent his way.

"-that you are okay," Leo says, rubbing the back of his neck looking really embarrassed.

Mikey laughs. "In a very weird and border lining extremely strange, kind of like Donnie's obsession with April!"

"Mikey!" Donnie and Leo both growl at the orange masked brother. He yelps, then smiles sheepishly.

"Sorry," he says, sounding anything but.

I look around at all four brothers. As practically an only child, it's kind of interesting to see them all interacting with one another. It's almost like they are best friends that, while they don't always get along, they can always rely on each other. It's actually kind of nice. I mean, I do have siblings. All older siblings that resented me for being the center of attention because of my albinism. But because I was the youngest, it was difficult to get along with them when I took all of mom and dad's time from the rest of them. I always needed them, or so they thought, and made them spend every ounce of their free time taking care of me.

I was a true blue, full-blown, accident. Both in the pregnancy-wise and then being as messed up as I am.

So, seeing these brothers, annoyed but unshakably faithful, to one another is kind of a wonderful thing. I can see it in their eyes. This is just bickering amongst brothers, nothing that they can't get passed. It was the type of thing that I was envious others had that I didn't. That and the ability to leave the house without complete and utter fear that I would die out in the sunlight. I know I won't just fall over dead, but the possibility is always there. For everyone. Not just albinos like myself. I don't want to get horribly burned. I don't want to get skin cancer. And if I can do anything to try and avoid that without completely derailing my life, I will.

"Well, I'm fine," I finally say, blinking out of my thoughts to realize all four brothers are now in front of me, side by side, waiting for me to speak. "Thank you for the concern but I'm in a lot of pain and need to lie down."

"Pain?" Donnie echoes. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "I should be wondering the same thing. I got the shit kicked out of me for running away. You guys actually, like, fought them. Right? Aren't you guys hurt?" I look between the brothers. They look back and forth too, as if the thought hadn't occurred to them.

"Not really," Raph says, then adapts a smug look. "We are ninja after all. We don't get hurt easily." Leo rolls his eyes, as if he begged to differ.

"That fall kinda fucked up my elbow a bit," Mikey says innocently, holding up his right arm. To be honest, I'm a little surprised by his language. I tilt my head to the side a bit.

"That is... unexpected..." I murmur.

"What do you mean?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, I fell from like, seven stories up, I'd like to see you do that and walk away without any bruises," Mikey says, pouting.

"Shut up, Mikey," Leo says, smacking, what I can only assume is the youngest of them, in the back of the head. Mikey yelps in pain, then glares at Leo. The blue masked turtle ignores the look. "What's unexpected?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. I guess for some reason... I just assumed you guys were like... kids? You know? I mean, big kids... but kids." At their offended looks, I half turn away, suddenly wishing I hadn't opened my mouth to begin with. "Forget it. What do I know about turtles anyway?"

"You think that we're kids?" Leo asks, eyes wide. He sounds exasperated. "We're taller than you are!"

"Well, I'm five-three," I tell them, "most people are." That makes them share a look that I don't understand. "Well, whatever fine. How old are you guys?"

"Eighteen," they chorus, staring down at me.

Suddenly I feel like an idiot. It's at this point that I wished, when I heard Mikey landing in the trash behind me, that I did the smart thing any sane human being would have made when they thought they were being followed and high tailed it out of there. All four stare down at me, expectantly, probably waiting to hear what my age is. But oh my god that is embarrassing. It would be one thing, if like they are four or five or something, I know nothing about giant talking turtles, but to find out that they are only a year younger than me. After I just called them kids? That's embarrassing.

"See?" I say, my voice coming out flat, surprisingly. "You guys are younger. Case closed."

"Oh yeah?" Donnie says, crossing his arms over his chest. "And what about you? How old are you, Ms. Sophisticated? How many more years of wisdom do you have for us 'kids'?" He does air quotes around the words two of his three green fingers then stares down me expectantly.

I press my lips together and look around for any sort of reason to run away before I make more of an ass of myself than I already have. But then when my eyes land on the four of them, standing like a brick wall between me and freedom, and I knew I wasn't going to slip past them without answering. So I cross my arms over my chest, being mindful of my scraped elbows, and look up at them through my eyelashes. I hope the darkness obscures my face a bit.

"Just one more. I'm nineteen," I grumble, feeling the heat fill my face, trying to avoid their eyes. There is a moment of silence before all four start laughing. Like full-blown laughing, doubled over, fist pounding against the ground/wall. Now I'm extremely embarrassed. I feel my face getting red and so I turn away, glaring at them, trying to muster up the courage to just walk past them and head home, which is the probably the smart move.

I drop my hands and manage to stomp past them and out into the street, turning to head home. I only make it a few feet away before Leo is next to me, still trying to control his laughter.

"I'm sorry, really. You just... don't seem to be nineteen. You look more-"

"Twelve?" I guess, shooting him a dark look.

He seems unaffected. "I was going to say more fourteen or fifteen, but yeah. Sorry about that. We shouldn't have laughed." Although he said it, he didn't seem all that sorry. The other three catch up about ten seconds later. All chiming in their own brand of apology.

"Don't worry about it. Water under the bridge. But really, I got to get home, I'm really sore," I tell them, picking up my speed a bit more, but their long legs, especially Donnie, as he is the tallest, let them keep up easily. Leo smoothly steps into my path. I almost ran right into him, I back up a step and look up at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Are you okay? What sort of pain?" he asks.

"What doesn't hurt?" I mumble. "I got bruises up and down my body. If you guys are vigilantes, I can only imagine you guys know pain, huh?"

"We're no strangers to it," Raph says with what sounds like pride. I'm not sure if it was a turtle thing, or if it is a ninja thing, or if it is a boy thing, but I'm not sure pain is something to find pride in. I hate getting hurt, I can't imagine how someone could find anything short of displeasure in it. But I guess since I'm none of the three aforementioned things that I wouldn't.

I hum, staring at the red masked ninja, finally taking a moment to study him. He's not the shortest of the brothers - that's Mikey, to his left - with green skin that has a slight yellow tint to it. He's got dark brown elbow and knee pads and dark brown wrapping around his wrists. Then he's got white medical tape around his knuckles around his fists and then on the bends of his fingers. Finger knuckles? And a dark brown sash around his waist, holding up two three pronged... knife things. There is also dark brown wrapping around his feet leaving wiggle room for his toes, with a small crack on front left side of his chest. And then there was his eyes. A set of wide, vibrant green colored eyes. The red of his mask, really brings it out with the long tattered red ribbons following after him.

Then I look over at Mikey. Cute and innocently staring at me with big, dark blue eyes through a bright orange mask. It has the shortest ribbons of the four of them, probably about three or four inches. His green has a more prominent tint of yellow than his brother. He has light brown elbow and knee pads with light brown wrapping around his wrists and white medical tape wrapped on his knuckles, same as his brother. A dark brown sash, identical to Raph's wrapped around his waist with two orange and brown chained... things. I don't know what they are either. There is wrapping around his feet too, but his are an orangeish tan color.

Next is Donnie, with his kind, dark brown eyes behind a long ribboned purple mask. He was the tallest of the four of them with the most yellow tinted green skin, therefore the most light appearing of the bunch. The chest part of his shell is a dark brown as opposed to both Mikey and Raph peach colored chests. He has a slightly darker shade of brown knee and elbow pads than Mickey. He still had the white medical tape on his hands and fingers and even those around his wrists. A sash across his waist and then up over his right shoulder. A stick about as long as he is tall on his back with some white tape wrapped around the center, to probably make it easier to hold on to. His feet are also wrapped up, I note as I slowly draw my eyes back up to his face to see the smile on his face, revealing a row of straight white teeth.

And finally, in front of me is Leo. The blue of his mask makes his bright blue eyes seem even purer than I've ever seen in blue eyes. The green of his skin is probably the most green of all four of them. The bandages around his wrists are a cream color with the white medical tape on his hands and fingers. Light brown elbow and knee pads with a dark brown sash across his waist and then up over his right shoulder with those two... swords, those are swords, over his right shoulder. His feet are wrapped up in crisp white tape and his chest is a slightly darker shade of brown than Mikey and Raph but not as dark as Donnie's. The ribbons of his mask hang out over his left shoulder.

"Taylor?" Leo asks, looking concerned. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

I shake the thoughts away, feeling flushed, I pretty much just like awkwardly checked all four of them out while they were standing there around me. I've never done that before. I'm treading on unfamiliar territory now. I don't really know how to react about... anything.

"A little bit," I admit, wrapping my arms around myself. "My pain medication has already worn off. If this is going to take more time then I need to sit down, my legs are killing me." I reach down and rub both of my thigh, kneading them a bit trying to ease the throbbing pain. Mikey grabs one of my hands and when I look at him, he smiles sweetly and leads me over to the sidewalk, sitting down on the curb and tugging me down next to him.

It's almost embarrassing how slow it takes for me to lower onto the curb. Mikey was even nice enough to hold my hand, accepting my weight as I lean down to sit as if it were nothing, which I'm thankful for. His hand is large wrapped around mine, and it's warm.

"Better?" He asks, smiling sweetly. I raise an eyebrow but can't help the little smile that crosses my face. He is really sweet. I think I like Mikey.

"Yeah, thanks." I look up at Leo, who was still in front of me, hands crossed over his chest, foot tapping in thought. I watch the movement for a long about a minute, wondering what could possibly be going through his head right now. I reach back with my free hand and run my hand through my half unraveled fish tail braid, wanting to mend it, but not wanting to let go of Mikey's hand just yet. I can hear him humming slightly under his breath, looking around without a single care or worry in the world.

Finally, Leo kneels down in front of me and looks up at me with big blue eyes. "Can I see it? Your wounds? We should at least check to make sure you're okay," he makes a face, reaching to scratch his throat, as if embarrassed before he clears his throat and looks around at anything but my eyes. "Unless you already saw a doctor..."

"I haven't," I told him. "To be honest, I think I was in shock for most of the night and during the day today. I think now I'm slowly being pulled out of my shock in favor of reality." I look around at the four turtles around me, before looking down at my lap. I look over at Mikey, who's obviously oblivious to what's going on, then to Raph, his arms crossed over his chest with a curious look on his face. Then I look over at Donnie, who's looking down at Leo as if trying to understand something complex while Leo is shaking his head.

I pull my hand from Mikey's and roll up my sleeves. I hold my hands out to Leo and he takes them, slowly rotating them around, looking at the dark marks, making sure not to put too much pressure on them. He checks both arms and then I roll up my pant legs, happy that I had the foresight yesterday to shave my legs. I never would have done it otherwise. I mean, my hair is white, but still, I walk around in a skirt for a living, no need for everyone to see my legs all hairy.

"Ow!" Mikey says, leaning close to look at my left knee while Leo, with creases between his eyes that only seem to deepen, stares at my right knee.

Raph leans in a little to get a look before he uncrosses his arms. "Mikey's right. That looks like it hurts."

I nod. "Well, it does. But it also looks a lot worse than I'm sure it is. My skin is so pale that it kind of shows up looking like... ten times worse, I'm sure."

Mikey reaches out and presses a single green finger against my bruised knee. I yelp and jerk my leg back, almost kicking Leo in the face. Donnie and Raph are quick to smack the orange masked turtle on the back of the head to which he sheepishly apologized for. Leo glares at him for a moment before the look fades and he returns his gaze to my knees for a moment.

"Okay, that cuts it," Leo says, looking over at the purple masked brother. "Donnie?"

The stick wielder nods, pulling out a small device that looks like a turtle shell about the size of his palm. He kneels down next to me and holds it out for me to take. "This is a shellphone, it has all our numbers programed inside of it, that includes April and Casey's numbers. Calls us if you need anything, anything at all. Okay? It also has GPS tracking, can get onto the internet and has unlimited text and minutes," he says proudly, beaming at me.

I stare down at the... shellphone unable to decide if I'm being punked or if that phone really is the cutest thing in the world. Just thinking about the name makes me smile a bit. But then I realize that they are giving it to me. It's like my own personal bat signal. I call them if I need help. As kind of amazing as that sounds, I can't seem much difference to when I was at home. Only now, my helpers are further away, their turtles, and they are trying to protect me from people, not mother nature.

"Guys, I can't take this," I say, shaking my head.

"Why not?" Raph asks. "You don't have to use it. Just think of it as a 'just in case' measure." He shrugs his shoulders.

"Yeah," Mikey says, curling his hand into a fist. "Like, just in case those guys need another ninja turtle smack down!" He pumps his fist up into the air. Raph gives him a look before nodding slowly.

Leo looks at Mikey, mulling his words for a moment before nodding and looking back over at me. "Raph and Mikey are both right. You might end up needing help and that is the fastest and easiest way to get into contact with any or all of us. We were lucky last time, but I'm not willing to bet on that luck holding out," Leo says, glaring over my shoulder with a foreboding look on his face that leaves my stomach unsettled.

I want to deny it further, tell them that they don't need to worry about me. That I'm thankful that they helped me out earlier but I was under the impression that it was a one time thing. I didn't expect to get my saviors on speed dial, nor do I really think I'm worth it, but at the same time, they went through all the trouble of getting this, or however they managed to acquire this cute little phone and all they are asking is that I use that if I need anything. I was already told I didn't have to use it.

"Okay, fine," I say, taking the phone and cradling it between my hands. "But no more following me, alright? Go out and save the world or something. There has got to be more pressing matters going on out there than me." I push myself up to my feet. "Okay, Leo? Donnie? Raph? Mikey? No more following me?"

Mikey grins, throwing his arms behind his head in a very boyish motion. "No promises, Leo can get pretty obsessed." Leo appears right in his face, growling loudly, making the younger slip back, waving his hands around in surrender.

I'm not sure what to say to that. I'm not even sure I really understand. All I do know is that I want to go home, take some medicine and go to bed. So, I pat Leo on the shoulder as I pass by, albeit awkwardly because how else would it be? He's a giant turtle and taller than me. And head home. After a few steps I turn back to thank them again for the, huh, shellphone clutched tightly in my right fist, only to see the spot where they all once stood to be empty. I take a moment to just wonder if I had imagined them there at all, but the phone warming up in my grasp seemed proof enough that they were.

And in about thirty seconds of my back being turned, they managed to disappear without a sound and leave no trace of them being there. True ninjas, if I've ever seen some.