FINALE

: Chapter 17:

"Ok, now that you know the plan, tell it to me so it sinks into your brain" my own brain had totally shut off before we left the apartment. I forgot Mikey would need to actually go inside the hospital and I told him not to bring his cloak. He made fun of me the rest of the walk there about how I was wrong and he is always right. The hospital was cut off from the rest of the city so there were plenty of places to hide from the crowds of people who walked in and out those doors every few minutes.

"You go in, find what room your dad is in, tell me and if things get ugly you'll wave your hand out the window then I jumped up to rescue you" He swayed back and forth as he spoke with a childish smile on his face and I knew what that meant when people used those kinds of gestures.

"You don't think this will work do you?" I frowned

"Yes I do!" He snorted and held his fist over his mouth

I looked at him with a blank stare "I'll be back. Stay here in the shadows and don't move" I whispered

"But what if you need me to get you?!"

I slapped him on the head "Then duh, you can move!" I stomped away with steps hard enough to put cracks in the concrete sidewalks. Michelangelo's negative attitude isn't what was upsetting me, maybe in the back of my mind he was right that this plan was a failure with a capital "F."

I walked through the huge automatic doors and almost instantly cleaning fumes filled my nose and made me gag. Two security guards looked at me as I made my way to the front desk. What are they for? What are they afraid someone is ganna come in and terrorize the patients?! Who would ever….Oh right.

"Hello" I had a bright smile on my face when I met the receptionist. She slowly picked her head up from the computer and looked at me. She was sloppily chewing a piece of gum, like a dog when it ate peanut butter. She just stared at my eyes in the other direction.

"Can I…help yah?" She cocked her head and flicked her long red nails

"Uh yes actually, I'm here on visitation" I paused and she continued staring at me, dumbfounded.

"Well who are you here for?" She finally spat out, almost losing her gum in the process

"Lewis Westly" Saying his name made chills run up and down my spine

"Just a second" She typed some things into her computer and took deep breaths of air and let it out like the big bad wolf trying to blow a house down. "He's in room 42E. You're his first visitor. How sweet" She said with extreme sarcasm "I'll let Mr. Lewis know your coming"

"NO!" I yelled so loud the two security guards, put their hands on their belts and took a few steps towards us. "I mean…if I'm his first visitor, it should be a surprise. Wouldn't you like to be surprised if someone came to visit you in the hospital?"

Her mouth dropped open a little and her eyelids slowly descended to meet with her bottom ones. "I guess…"

"Great…can you point me in the right direction?" I asked politely. This was just too much fun.

She rolled her head and leaned over the counter "Go down that hall, make a left, take the elevator, go up to the third floor and ask those people where he is exactly."

"Thank you so much. I know that was a lot of work but thank you" I slowly backed away from the counter and walked back out the doors into the parking lot. I was smiling the whole way to meet Michelangelo but once I turned the corner to meet him…

"Oh dear…"

Donatello didn't look happy at all. His hands were on his hips and he was glaring at me. You could tell he was trying to get upset over the situation but just couldn't pull it off once he opened his mouth to speak. He stopped and crossed his arms and looked in the other direction.

"How did you know where we were?" I asked politely. I had a feeling he was one of those people who are literally like a time bomb. Just the slightest misjudgment and they go off.

"Leo and Raph got back…" He started, now looking at me but not in the eye "For some reason they knew where you were going but were in no condition to come get you so I had to" Mikey was sitting in the grass, plucking the small blades from the ground one by one with his head leaned against his hand. I started to get that feeling in my chest, that guilty feeling.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have dragged Mikey into this" Don raised a brow at me like what I just said was totally beside the point

"That's totally beside the point" His voice started to rise. Like I said, he was time bomb. "If you wanted to do recon you should have brought me instead"

I was frozen. "Wait…you're not ganna yell at me?" I was so confused. He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder

"Me? Yell at you? Never in a thousand years. I did yell at Mikey though. Well, I wasn't really yelling because I don't yell really…" He gave me a half smile in his failure to scrounge up the right words. I was so glad he was here and on my side too.

"Did Leo send you to yell at me though?" I asked

"Yea..." He looked at me innocently. I was so flattered and touched that he would go against Leonardo's commands and assist me.

I don't know why but I suddenly started bawling like a baby and hugged him like my life depended on it. I felt like I needed to just tell him my feelings for him and hope that he felt the same way but instead I heard gasping come from him and his little brother who know was in my face with his jaw dropped.

"Aus…" He pointed to the ground where I was standing and where my tears had fallen onto the cement. Small purple flowers began to poke there radiant pedals through the cracks, where my feet had stomped not too long ago.

"You are different…" Don said in a hushed voice as we watched the plants grow as big as a football until they finally stopped. Their scent seemed to travel for miles because people passing by were already beginning to smell their aroma. It was something I had never smelled before; it seemed to be a mix of things but they were a mix of feelings instead of actually scents. As the pedestrians noticed their presence they began to become emotional. If they were with a spouse, they would suddenly grab hands and kiss. If it was siblings, they would hug out of nowhere and cry together.

I knew I was different too, but all I knew was my ability to heal. Maybe I can heal more than outside wounds. Maybe I could heal the ones inside as well. I plucked one of the flowers from the ground but it instantly disintegrated in my palms. Without the ground it was worthless, just another thing that would blow away in the breeze.

"Leo told me that Hun had loads of information on you. That you could do things no ordinary man could. I know you came here to find out why your father was trying to kill you but maybe he could tell you about this as well" He grabbed the flower's ashes from my hand and held it close to his face. It suddenly began to dance in his palm then gracefully fall off and blend into the night.

"I'm just ganna take a nap now" Mikey fell onto the grass and moaned

"I better get moving then" I released myself from Donatello's warm embrace and watched in horror as the beautiful flowers that were created from my tears, shriveled into brown pea-sized balls then disappeared into thin air and they smell went with it, along with the once loving environment as people began to put distance between themselves. "That was…strange" I was so creped out by myself that I just wanted to get away from them before they started to look at me as some kind of freak.

Donatello had his duffel bag with him and I didn't notice he had it laid in the grass "I came prepared of course" He pulled out his cloak and hat and put them on. "I only brought one set unfortunately so Mikey…"

"I'm staying here, you guys have fun!" He grabbed Donnie's bag and ran up into a nearby tree. I don't blame him for wanting to put distance between us. I think we both had enough freaky for one day.

"Ready?" I asked "You know you don't have to do this"

"I know, I want to" He smiled and entangled his fingers between mine. As we walked towards the hospital doors I swear on my life I suddenly smelled a familiar aroma and watched the crowds of people, began to display their affection.

: Mike's POV:

I am so out of here! I stayed in that tree for maybe six seconds when the better side of me told me to get the shell out of there! Yeah, Austria is cool and everything but what just happened, with her emotions and all…I think my childhood is officially over cuz that was just bazaar! I ran through the shadows like a wolf in the night barely making a sound even with Donatello's 800 million pound bag.

I made it back to the lair in maybe seven minutes, using the rooftops as a faster transportation. When I walked through the doors I was bombarded with questions, questions and more questions! I just stood there and closed my eyes and dropped Donnie's bag then I stood some more until April and Casey shut the hell up.

Once they stopped talking I walked over to the fridge and grabbed some comfort food and I really needed it once I looked over in the living room. Leo and Raph where lying on either of the couches but they didn't look at all like the two brothers that left on a mission yesterday. They were almost colorless and like really skinny. They moaned as Master Splinter tended to their broken bodies. I dropped the pizza and ran over as fast as my little mutant legs could take me.

"Are they alright?!" I yelled but was hushed by my master.

"Mikey…" I was relieved to hear Leo's voice as I ran over and knelt by the couch. "You're so dead once I can walk again"

"Hey bro it was her idea" I laughed and he returned a smile "What happened to you guys? Did yah find Hun?"

Leo nodded painfully at the memory. I felt so helpless, and I usually am not the emotional, read you a story at bedtime kinda turtle. "Did Donnie tell you about Austria?" he said and I laughed now at my own memory.

"Bro, did he ever and have I got a story to tell you" I sat down on the floor and spilled the beans. I knew Don and Austria would kill me but I had this slight problem with keeping secrets. I told him about the flowers and the disappearing of the flowers and then the reappearing of the flowers it was just a mess. I also told him how the people did weird stuff when they were open. Sadly, I also may have accidently told him that Don is now helping Austria meet her dad face to face. Oops.

"What!?" Leo tried to get up but I put one hand on his shoulder and made him stay down. "Please tell me you're kidding Mikey!"

"C'mon bro you should have saw this coming. He likes her and stuff you know?" I tried to make the situation better but Leo just stared at the ceiling and breathed heavily with anger. So I tried once again but this time I tied to change the subject. "How's Raph?" I looked over to the dormant turtle on the other couch. He wasn't moving very much and his body was covered with a slick blanket.

"He's unconscious. Don fixed him up a bit before he went out to betray me." My big brother sighed and rubbed the top of his forehead. "I shouldn't have brought him. I should have just went alone"

I had to laugh a little at the irony of that sentence "That's what Aus said to Don about me" I giggled

"No, you should have known better and not gone out of the house" He said

I swear Leo tried to father me every chance he got. Don't do this and don't do that, eat your veggies; brush your teeth yadda yadda yadda. Well, he doesn't say all that but you get the point.

"Michelangelo" My Sensei walked up behind me and put a furry rat hand on my back "Let your brother rest"

I slowly got up but only moved a few paces to Raphael's couch and then sat on the floor next to him. "Hey Raph I know your kinda dead and everything…" I heard someone do a face palm and then I heard "Ow" and knew Casey Jones had probably smacked his forehead a bit too hard. "I'm here for you bro. everything is ganna be fine and dandy" I really have a way with words don't you think? Hey, I bet you he's feeling better already.

"Leo…" April walked up to him and knelt over a little bit "Do you want Casey and me to drive to the hospital and get them?" she asked. My Bro hesitated for a few seconds but eventually shook his head.

"This is Austria's fight and Donatello chose to be a part of it. Let them be."

: At the Hospital:

Don and I took the elevator up to the third floor. When we got out I hadn't realized how brightly lit this place was which is bad for a mutant turtle in disguise. Patients and nurses gave us second glances as we walked through the crowded hallway and to the reception desk.

"Hello, looking for room 42E" I said and the nice young man pointed to the room directly across the hall. "Thanks" I had ahold of Donatello's arm and dragged him the eight steps it took to get to my dad's room. I look at the number on the door and the name below it " 42E, Lewis Westly, Patient number 655" this was it. I put my hand on the doorknob but suddenly I couldn't move I was so scared. My heart started pounding and I could feel Donnie's too. We were both afraid, we didn't know what to expect but if he wasn't here with me, I probably wouldn't have the guts to walk through the threshold. I turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

"Do you want me to go in first?" He asked. I appreciated his concern for me but I needed to do this on my own or have to live up to the fact that I needed someone to help me meet my own father.

"I'm ok…just catch me if I faint" I laughed

"You won't, just take deep breaths". You can do this and I'm right here if he tries anything" he said with a delicate smile

I realized what he meant by that. He was going to wait outside of the room while I went in. He really did understand how much this meant to me. "I won't be long" I took a deep breath like he said, and walked in.

"Whose there?" I heard his unfamiliar voice. There was a curtain separating the door from his living space so I slowly pulled it to the side and revealed my face to him. His face looked horrified and he grabbed a small remote that was sitting on the side table next to him. "You're here to kill me aren't you?" The bed was definitely ten sizes too small for his fat, un-nurtured body. I felt bad for the person who had to help him in and out of that thing.

"I'm…not here to kill you. I just came for answers" I was calmer than I thought I would be but I think that had something to do with the protective mutant standing outside the door.

"I have nothing to say to you. Now leave before I call the nurse" His skin was pale which made his pimples more illuminate on his face. His slick black hair was draping over his eyes and looked wet. Beams of sweat dripped down his face and drenched his clothes and sheets. "You're friend nearly killed me Aus"

That was the first time in my life I ever heard him use my nickname. He always addressed me as "Austria" or "Brat." "Well you tried to kill me Lewis" I know he's my dad and that's how I should address him but I couldn't. It was like all my feelings for him were blown away by the wind and all that laid before me was a total stranger who had information I needed.

"I had a reason…they were…"

"Out to get you I know. You wanted to kill me to save your own ass" I crossed my arms and looked down at my feet in my own father's shame.

"No that wasn't why" His voice sounded so serious. I looked up at him with tears started to flood my eyes.

"What?" All this time I thought that was the reason, now he's saying it's not? Then again he could be lying but there was something about his look that made me know this was the real deal.

"I'm sure you have figured it out by now. You're a smart girl Austria and I always knew you would become something great. That was until you were seven years old. They wanted revenge for my betrayal, The Purple Dragons, they found out about you and wanted you dead because they knew how much you meant to me"

"Stop" I was wiping tears from my eyes like they were coming from a faucet. I knew all I had to do was give the word and Don would get me out of here but I knew I needed to stay. "You never cared about me"

"Of course I cared about you. The dragons told me if I got rid of you they would stop trying to kill me but that wasn't why I tried. They wanted me to bring you to them, so they could have your powers for themselves. Austria, you're a superhuman. I stole from the Dragons on a heist to help create you and your mother never even knew about it until I slipped your egg into her womb with a needle while she was asleep. When you were born I was the happiest man alive but not because my research was successful but because I got what I always wanted, a baby girl"

I had to sit down in a chair before I lost my balance and fell over. "How can I believe you?"

"Because that's why I tried to kill you, to save you from the torture the dragons were going to inflict on you one day" He tried to smile

His heart monitor started to beep rapidly and his breathing became heavier the longer we talked. Donatello slipped quietly into the room, probably getting anxious from the noise. My dad looked surprised. "Is he?..."

"No he's not the one who attacked you. This is Donatello. He's been protecting me from The Purple Dragons" I quietly said

"You listen here son, you keep this girl safe. Even at the cost of your own life you keep this damn girl safe. She's not just some mutant made in a lab, she's part of the bigger picture. The Dragons can't have her and I am ashamed for thinking her death was the answer. I am so sorry" I saw tears run down his face and his voice cracked. I found myself crying as well but Donatello stood strong and unmoved by his emotions.

"I'm sorry for being so hard on you baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't want your mother to suspect anything" He wiped the tears from his face and sniffled. The numbers on his monitor started to climb and the beeps became closer together. My father was dying, and he wasn't going out a monster, he was going out as Lewis Westly, my dad.

"You're going to be something great Aus, I wish I could have been more of a father to you." He reached out his fat beefy hand to me. I hesitated and looked at Don. He shifted uncomfortably but didn't say anything so I walked up to my dying father and took his hand in mine. "You are so full of life. Here, this belongs to you" He reached over with his other hand and took something out of a bag hooked onto the sidetable.

"My camera!" I said as he handed it to me with gentle movements

"I was going to smash it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Back at the house, I have a white lockbox with everything in it you need to know about yourself. I want you to get through this; I want you to show those Dragons what you're made of." He squeezed my hand harder as the beeping seized into one straight sound. He looked at me and opened his mouth "Austria I…" His eyes began to turn into a gray haze.

"What daddy? Don't go!" I shook him and started pouring tears from my eyes.

"I love you baby girl" He let out one last breath, then his grip on me loosened and his hand dropped over the bed.

"Daddy?" I was in utter shock. His eyes were lifeless and they stared across the room with emptiness. Nurses rushed into the room, screaming orders and pushing me and Don out. They shut the door behind them and I just stared at the number on the front of it "42E, Lewis Williams, Patient number 655" they were going to try and revive him but I knew they wouldn't be able to. I felt his soul leave his body; I felt his last breaths as if they were my own. He was gone and he left this world a hero. I held my cannon camera in my hand and tossed it from side to side. Somewhere in my house back in Brooklyn there was a room, in that room was a chest, and in that chest was a white lockbox, in that white lockbox, was my entire life on a few sheets of paper.

I turned to Donatello who took my hands in his and mouthed the words "I'm sorry" But I knew he wasn't. I sensed that even though my dad turned out to be a good guy, he still hated his guts. But all that didn't matter anymore, he was dead and that was that.

"What do we do know?" I asked him

"We find this box and figure out who you are" He smiled and hugged my shivering body. I felt a passionate sensation fall over me as I grabbed the back of his purple bandana strings and twisted them to shape my thoughts.

"It's you" I figured out

"Huh?" He pulled me away but kept a firm grasp on my shoulders

I wished I could tell him but I couldn't. He was the spark in my life, the thing that kept me going. I think I connected with him in some way no one could to another person. It must have something to do with me being "Superhuman" because I could feel everything about that made up his selfless personality. I know he couldn't possibly feel the same way I do unless he too can cry tears that turn into large purple flowers. I knew he would be with me to the very end and I didn't even have to ask him to know it was true. And then it hit me because that was why the flowers were purple.

THE END

JK! Lemme hear you scream "Sequel Sequel Sequel Sequel!" Of course there will be a sequel! I will take a break from this and try to write some other stuff. Oh and read the prologue…I'm going to label it "PROLOUGE" and I know, I hate too prologues but their important.