Leonardo grimaced as the little girl's wails filled the Shellraiser. Mikey struggled to hold on to her, shushing her over and over again.
"It's gonna be okay, little dudette," Mikey said. "We're gonna take good care of you, don't you worry."
"Donnie or April should have made contact by now," Leo said, burning rubber as he turned a corner just a little too fast. "We need to go back."
"But what about the little girl?" Raph said. "I want to go help them as much as you do, but we've got to get her somewhere safe."
"Yeah, but who could we possibly leave them with? Mei and Splinter are still upstate at the O'Neil's old farmhouse, Casey is in South Dakota, and Karai—" Leo choked on the word.
Mikey raised a free hand. "What about Kirby?"
Leo nodded. "Great idea, Mikey."
"Those aren't words you ever expect to hear," Raph said, a devilish grin crossing his face.
"Dude, I'm not stupid," Mikey countered. "I'm just…inventive and unique. Something Renet seems to get and you don't."
"I don't care what your internet girlfriend thinks. You still haven't seen pictures of her and I'm pretty sure she's a 50 year old dude who likes younger guys. Besides, if she knew you were a mutant turtle…"
"Stop being jealous, Raph," Mikey said. He held up the little girl. "Besides, don't you think rescuing this adorable little girl is way more important?"
A little grin sneaked onto Leo's face. Mikey had matured a lot in two years. While he was still as…whimsical…as ever, more and more he was showing good judgment skills. Maybe that internet girlfriend is being a good influence on him, after all, Leo thought.
The Shellraiser screeched to a halt in the alley behind April and Kirby's apartment. The three of them clambered out of the old subway car, with the little girl still struggling the whole way. Mikey kept his hand clapped over the girl's mouth.
"Dudes…I'm gonna need rabies shots," Mikey muttered. "She's like, chewing on my hand."
Leo's heart sank. The poor thing was probably terrified of them. Even among the horrors of the Kraang, she was at least used to the sight of the droids, but probably not mutants. Maybe the sight of Kirby would calm her down some. "Let's get up the fire escape. I'll let down the ladder for you, Mikey."
Within moments, they reached the third floor and tapped on the window. Kirby peered out through the blinds before opening the window.
"Hello, Leonardo," Kirby said, smiling pleasantly. "What can I do for you?"
"Hey, Mr. O'Neil. We kind of found something while raiding a Kraang lab—they've been kidnapping kids, and we managed to rescue this little girl. Donnie and April got left behind, so we need you to watch the girl."
Kirby's eyes shot wide. "Of course. Come in."
The three of them climbed in through the window, Mikey following last with the struggling girl. Leo turned around to look and jumped as he saw the little girl in full light. "Wow…she kinda looks…"
Kirby gasped. "She looks just like April did when she was a little girl." His face grew stern. "What's going on here?"
"Well, we were attacked by an April clone…maybe this one's just not grown up yet."
Kirby fell to his knees and took the little girl into his arms. "Shh, little one, it's okay." He gently placed his hands on either side of her face and got a good look at her. She calmed down almost immediately, looking at him with wide blue eyes. "If it is a clone…hey, sweetie, can you understand me?"
The little girl nodded, smearing tears out of her eyes.
"Do you like being tickled?"
The little girl cocked her head in confusion.
Kirby gave her stomach a poke. She let out a little giggle. "Can you show me your belly button?"
Shyly, the little girl raised the hem of her shirt until her belly button was showing.
"This isn't a clone," Kirby said. "If it was, she'd have a birthmark to the left of her belly button."
"Oh yeah, I remember that," Mikey said, wrinkling his face.
Kirby shot him a dirty look. "How would you know?"
"Well, that time Shredder kidnapped her? She was…um…not dressed while we were rescuing her. I tried not to look, but I noticed it while I was unlocking the chains on her wrists…sorry, Mr. O…"
Kirby sighed. "It's not your fault, Mikey. Just…don't ever say stuff like that again, please?"
"Yeah, especially around Donnie," Raph said.
Kirby scowled.
"That's enough, Raph," Leo said hastily. "So, Mr. O'Neil, can you watch her for us?"
Kirby took the little girls hands in his. "Not a problem. I—" He gasped.
"What? What is it?"
Kirby gently turned her arm toward them. On her wrist was tattooed the number 274.
"Yeah, all the kids had numbers on their wrists," Leo said, fighting back the rage that coursed through him at the thought of the poor kids who hadn't survived. "But theirs were four digits." Realization dawned on him. If those were experiment numbers…then thousands of children had been experimented on by the Kraang. His stomach tossed.
Kirby looked up. "What do you mean, all the kids?"
"Well…like I said, the Kraang have been kidnapping children and experimenting on them."
Kirby drew several deep breaths. "But this number…274…April's mother had a tattoo on her wrist, too. She told me it was the name of a stupid band she was in during her 20's." He shook his head. "How old is this little girl? She can't be more than three…maybe even younger."
"I'm afraid I don't know, Mr. O'Neil."
"This April clone who attacked you—what did she look like?"
"Um…like April," Mikey said.
Kirby glared at Mikey again. "I mean…was she exactly the same as April, or was she older?"
"I don't know," Raph said. "She moved so fast we couldn't get a good look at her."
Kirby gave a dismissive wave. "No. No, it's impossible."
"What's impossible."
"It's just for a minute I thought…April looks almost just like her mother. But there's no way the double you saw could be her. I saw Renee's autopsy report for myself. I watched them bury her." He sighed. "Renee has been dead for years and years."
Leo was respectfully quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. O'Neil. I really am. But I need to put the pieces of the puzzle together. You said that Mrs. O'Neil had 274 on her wrist, too?"
"What? No. Hers was 272."
It had been agony for as long as she could remember.
"That which is known as Experiment 272" were the most nurturing words she had ever heard during her childhood. She experienced painful injections given without explanation every three hours, on the hour. Bizarre testing was a regular part of life—sometimes psychological tests, sometimes tests to see if she could guess what was on the other side of cards, Rorschach tests, tests after tests after tests. If she failed, she was taken to a room and given electroshock therapy for hours on end, followed by more injections that turned her arm purple and swollen.
On top of this, she was given a regular education—taught how to read, write, do math, understand biology, all of the stuff that the Kraang summed up "that which is 'human education.'" She was also exposed to television, in order to study human behavior.
The rest of the time was nothing more than isolation.
As she grew older, sometimes she thought she could sense vague thoughts or feelings coming from the Kraang around her. But they were fleeting and irrelevant; all she could sense was the same oneness that emanated from each and every one of the horrible creatures.
By the time she reached 18, she was brought before Kraang Prime, the hugest Kraang she had ever seen. She sensed waves of malevolence surging from the horrible creature, waves of greed and cruelty—and she knew that this—this monster—was the reason for all her years of suffering.
"Kraang Prime's top scientists have determined that the one known as Experiment 272 is insufficient for Kraang's purposes," Kraang Prime had declared. "But DNA coding may produce desired results in offspring."
Experiment 272 had shuddered. Now they were going to breed her, like she was cattle?
"Therefore, the one known as Experiment 272 will be released into an organic environment until it finds a suitable mate and produces offspring. The one known as Experiment 272 will be given a name—it will now be known as the one known as…" Kraang Prime looked expectantly at a subservient Kraang holding a baby name book.
The Kraang held up the book and declared, "Renee."
And then, after a lifetime of horrors, she was given freedom. She got a job. She earned her way through college, studying fine arts and theatre. She swore to herself she would never choose a mate, because that was what the Kraang wanted. She swore she would never have children. She promised herself this as a covenant of life and death.
Everything changed when she was in a play with a student from the psychology department. Three words transformed her life and dissolved all her resolution.
"Hi, I'm Kirby."
Hey! Hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Also, I am so flipping excited right now you have no idea. I literally can't even. I have an ORIGINAL NOVEL published - think magic and dragons and stuff. I worked on it for six years, you guys. Unlike my fanfictions, it has been edited and revised like a dozen times.
If you want to learn more go to my profile bio for more info. It would mean a lot to me.