Chapter 4: Suckerpunch
It had been a few weeks since Autumn arrived on the East coast, and she had finally settled into a routine. Five nights a week, she'd make her way down to Brooklyn at around five thirty, pause at around five fifty two and glance up at the same building, hoping to catch another glance of her mystery heroes, look down in disappointment at five fifty four, then carry on walking and arrive at work for five fifty nine.
The other two days, she tended to just sleep, or surf the internet hoping to find some clues to her saviours in the shadows.
But, nothing.
"I need a freaking hobby…" Autumn sighed, one Thursday morning as yet another Google search proved fruitless. Both April and Casey had left early this morning, so Autumn had fixed herself some breakfast and retreated back to her room, assuming the usual position of sitting Indian style on her bed, her laptop balanced on her legs.
She glanced around her room, spotting her digital SLR camera resting on her bookshelf. As well as surfing, and skating, photography had also been a serious hobby of the younger O'Neil. Whether it was portraits, landscapes, or just snapping random shots, Autumn was all over it. And the fact that she had been in New York City for almost a month, without taking a single photograph, made her a tiny bit annoyed at herself.
Autumn peeled herself off her bed, and went for a shower, excited to finally get outside for something other than work. Forty five minutes later, she threw her backpack over her shoulder, camera around her neck, and skateboard under her arm, and headed out. First stop, Central Park.
OOOOOO
"Oh hey, I was wondering when we'd see you today," April smiled kindly as her younger cousin walked through the door, setting her skateboard down by her shoes.
"Hey, sorry, I finally decided to quit rotting in my room and pick up my camera," Autumn grinned, waving said camera at April and Casey. "I didn't actually mean to stay out all day but…this city is pretty big."
"No shit," Casey chuckled, ducking his wife's slap with expertise. "You get some good shots, kid?"
"I think, I'm gonna go through them on my computer in a bit," she shrugged, handing over the camera to Casey, letting him scroll through some of the pictures.
"I'm glad you finally decide to get back into it, Aut, I always loved your pictures," smiled April, glancing over Casey's shoulder at the camera as she placed dinner on the table. Autumn chuckled lightly as she sat down.
"You're kinda biased though"
"Maybe she is, but I sure as hell ain't. You got a good eye, Aut, these are really good!" Casey passed back the camera and Autumn set it down.
The family chatted quietly over dinner, mostly about their days, and last night's hockey game (this was Casey's input after he was done scarfing down his lasagna), and Autumn offered to do the dishes before once again retreating to her room.
Once her laptop had fired up, she removed the memory card from her camera, and carefully inserted it into the computer, eager to see her photos on a bigger screen.
Autumn had taken at least 300 photos today, admittedly getting a little snap happy, so it took a while to sort through them all, deleting ones that didn't quite look right, or the slightly blurry ones from where she had been knocked by a random pedestrian. When she had deleted over half of the images, she finally settled on the ones she wanted to keep, she got to work on editing them.
She got the standard Times Square, Rockefeller, Central Park and Empire State building shots, as well as a few shots of Battery Park, Lady Liberty and Strawberry Fields. The people in New York were so different to Laguna Beach, so…pissy and always in a hurry. It fascinated Autumn, so she decided to snap a few shots of the crowds going about their days in the city. She giggled to herself as she zoomed in to study the people's faces, the way they were walking, the random figures all dressed in black looking straight at her-
"What the fuck…" Autumn whispered to herself, a frown crossing her face as she zoomed in closer. She couldn't make out their faces. She felt her heart beat increase and her palms get a little sweaty as she checked the rest of her crowd pictures. Sure enough, in every picture, at least three of these black figures were stood, watching her. A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she quickly closed the lid of her laptop.
This city was fucking weird.
OOOOOO
"Shit!" Autumn cursed as the beer she was pulling from the tap overflowed and soaked her jeans. "Casey, I'm sorry, I-"
"Don't sweat it, kid, it happens, here" Casey passed his cousin a cloth. "You okay? You've been really distracted tonight."
"Y-yeah, I'm fine...I just...maybe I'm coming down with something," Autumn lied, gingerly touching her head for added effect. Truth was, she hadn't slept at all last night; the figures in black haunting her every time she closed her eyes. Now the usual happy go lucky young woman was looking over her shoulder every five minutes, and couldn't focus on anything. Casey frowned, reaching out and feeling her forehead.
"Hmm, you do feel a little warm, and you look kinda pale. Why don't you go home, kid, it's pretty slow in here tonight, we can manage."
"Casey, I-"
"Go. April'l kill me if I don't look after ya properly. Go home, get some rest, see how ya feel tomorrow, k?"
Autumn sighed. "You want me to call April for ya?"
"No, it's fine Casey, thanks. I'll head straight home." Autumn stepped out from behind the bar, picking up her bag and coat from the rack. "I'll see ya."
"Feel better kid, call me if ya need anything picking up." Casey waved her off as she left the bar, guilt twinging in her stomach. She hurried through the streets, heading down into the station, cursing out loud as she just missed her train. She sat down on a bench and patiently waited for the next one. The station was empty, making it eerily quiet, and Autumn shivered out of nerves. She pulled out her cell phone, resuming her game of Candy Crush from earlier, occasionally peeking up to see if a train was approaching.
Then movement in the tunnel caught her eye.
She leaned forward further off the bench, squinting to try and focus on the swift but silent moving figure in the tunnel. She stood up, moving away from the platform, making sure her back was against a wall, letting out a sharp sigh of relief as another train pulled into the station. She quickly hurried onto the empty carriage, choosing a seat towards the front, away from the doors.
"It was just your imagination, Autumn, just breathe..." She muttered to herself, once again resuming her cell phone game. Fifteen minutes later, the train stopped at Autumn's station, and she quickly gathered up her things and got off, hurrying up the steps to the surface.
"Greetings, Miss O'Neil."
A strange voice echoing through the station made Autumn freeze halfway up the steps, her breathing heavy. She slowly turned in the direction of the voice, swallowing hard as she spotted the three figures from her photographs, all dressed in black and staring up at her. They were...
Ninjas?!
And she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her. Why was she so afraid of these bozos?! They looked ridiculous!
"New York ninjas huh? Guys, I hate to break it to you, but Halloween isn't for another like nine months. Although, props on the costumes, they're really...uh, authentic. Anyways, you can quit stalking me now, and I won't question how you know my name, okay? Fuck, this is a weird city...Have a nice night, guys-" she turned to carry on heading up the stairs, but was halted by another ninja dude standing right in her way. She glanced over her shoulder to see the other three moving towards her.
"We are not laughing, Miss O'Neil."
"See you say that, but how can I tell? The masks kinda make it hard. Now, it's late, I need to get home so if you don't mind-" she pushed past the dude in front of her.
"You are not going anywhere." The 'ninja' growled, grabbing her arm. "We are here to collect you for our Master."
Autumn responded by cracking a right hook to the guy's jaw, obviously catching him off guard as he immediately let go of her and stumbled backwards, clutching his face. As soon as he let go, Autumn broke out into a sprint, heading up the stairs and onto the street as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Shitshitshitshit" she panted, quickly glancing back and seeing the four men quickly on her tail. "Fuckfuckfuck"
Why must I always make jokes like that?! I've got some distance on them...if I dive into one of these alleyways I can find a good place to hide...
Without thinking, she did just that, sprinting down an alleyway in the dark, halting and looking around for a dumpster to hide in or something.
"Oh great, Autumn, nice job. You pick the only god damn alleyway in New York with no fucking dumpster in it!" She hissed to herself. She turned to run back out, only to see the four men from the subway heading towards her. She slowly backed into the wall behind her, there was no way she could escape this one.
This is it, I'm done for...
She gasped as a flash exploded in front of her eyes, and coughed as it was followed by a thick screen of smoke. She felt strong arms around her, and something hard pressed up against her body.
"Don't scream, you're safe. I'm getting you outta here, dudette ."
"Okay," she whispered meekly, before everything went black.
OOOOOO
"Well, this is just perfect, Mikey, now what are we supposed to do?!"
"I couldn't just leave her up there, Leo, she had four of 'em after her, she needed help!"
"And so your form of help was to bring her down here?! Even after everything April told us?!"
"I know I'm totally awesome and everything, but I didn't feel like getting my shell kicked by four of those assholes! Besides, she's safe down here, up there, she's not! I was just gonna get her out of the alleyway, but she fainted on me and I panicked, I didn't know what to do!"
"Quiet, I think she's coming round!"
"Miss? Miss, can you hear me? Do you know what city you're in?"
Autumn groaned.
"Manhattan, but I'm really beginning to wish I was somewhere else..." She answered hoarsely. She slowly opened her eyes, to be greeted with nothing but black. She immediate sat up in a panic. "Why can't I see?! I'm blind, I can't see! Oh god, oh god, oh god!"
"Miss, if you'd just calm down-"
"Calm down?! I'm blind!" Autumn yelled, feeling around her. "Not to mention, I don't have a clue where I am, or who I'm talking to!"
"You're not blind, dudette, I promise. I had to put a blindfold on you to bring you down here, but you're totally safe!"
That voice...she knew that voice...
"What?! What do you mean 'down here'?! Where the hell am I?!" She questioned, slightly relieved to learn that she was not actually blind.
"I'm going to take your blindfold off you now, and we'll explain everything, okay? But, please...don't freak out..."
And that one, she recognised that one too!
Could it be...?
She felt hands at the back of her head, gently undoing the fabric covering her eyes. It fell from her face and she opened her eyes, allowing herself time to adjust to the light. She blinked rapidly, looking around the unfamiliar place she was currently in that resembled some sort of...science lab?
She looked down, seeing she was sat on a hospital gurney, and swung her legs off the edge, lifting her head up to see who she was talking to moments ago.
And was greeted by the sight of four giant turtles staring back at her.
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened-
"Don't scream!" one of them, with a blue piece of fabric around his head, and dark blue eyes, reached towards her, his three fingered hand almost touching her. "It's okay, we aren't going to hurt you, Miss O'Neil."
"W-w-wha-" Autumn stuttered, words failing her. She rubbed her eyes several times, convinced this wasn't actually happening. It was just a dream, or a hallucination, or something..."wha..."
"Well, at least she ain't screamin'," chuckled the biggest one, who was sporting a red bandana, and piercing green eyes. "Makes a nice change."
"Are you feeling alright, Miss O'Neil?" A kinder, gentler voice asked, coming from the slightly leaner one of the bunch, who was clad in a purple bandana. He gave her a kind smile, showing a small gap in his otherwise perfectly white and straight teeth. His soft brown eyes studied the extremely nervous young woman. "You weren't injured when Mikey found you-"
"M-Mikey?"
"That's me!" The fourth and final turtle made himself more visible. He was clearly the youngest, judging by his height compared to the others, but he still towered above Autumn at a solid six feet. He sported an orange bandana over his youthful face, which was dotted with a few freckles, and his bright blue eyes were fixated on her. "How ya feelin' dudette?"
"Y-you...you're the ones who saved me from those guys in the alleyway that night!" Autumn was finally able to string a sentence together. "You're Venice Beach!" She pointed at the orange clad turtle in front of her, who grinned and chuckled.
"Well, it's actually Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey!" He extended a hand towards her, which she stared down at. The green skin...the three massive fingers...she carefully reached out with her own hand and shook his, surprised at how...normal it felt. "These are my bros, the one in blue, that's Leonardo, or Leo. Raphael is the one in red, but call him Raph otherwise he gets pissy. And your doctor is Donatello, but we call him Donnie!"
"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" She looked up at these giant creatures, and the one introduced as 'Donnie' shook his head. "Please say I'm dreaming..."
"I'm afraid not, Miss O'Neil, you're very much awake."
"Oh." Autumn simply said. The room began spinning and she let out a small groan.
Before promptly passing out again.
"Dude, she's totally April's cousin. You remember how she passed out the first time she met us?!" Mikey chuckled, glancing down at the now unconscious young woman on the gurney.
"Yeah, at least this one ain't piercin' our ear drums though." Raph mused, cracking his knuckles. "This could be a long night."
"And she hasn't even met Master Splinter yet..." Leo sighed, glancing at Donatello. "Is she going to be okay?"
Donnie nodded.
"She'll be fine, it's just the shock. She's had a rough night-"
"More like a rough few weeks, poor kid's been gettin' herself into all kinds a' trouble," snorted Raph. "Sound familiar?"
"Speaking of April, should we call her?" Donnie questioned, gently taking Autumn's wrist in his hand to time her pulse.
"Nah, bruh, as far as April knows, she's at work-"
"And how do you know that, Mikey?!" Leo shot a glare at his baby brother, who shrunk a little, grimacing as he realised he had just landed himself in it. "Because you were only top aide to wait for the pizza, right?!"
"This oughta be good," chuckled Raphael, folding his arms and smirking at the youngest turtle.
"I...uh..I...she-"
"Mikey's been keeping a close eye on her for the last few weeks. He follows her to and from work, making sure she gets home safely." Donnie sighed, placing Autumn's arm gently back down and shooting an apologetic smile towards Mikey. "They were bound to find out some time."
"Dude come on!" Mikey threw his arms up in exasperation as the other two turtles eyed him questioningly. "Way to screw up my game, bro..."
"Game?! What game, Mikey?! She's April's cousin, and April told us to stay away from her. You ain't got a chance with dis girl, bro, hate to break it to ya. So ya better stop crushin' on her right now, cos we're gettin' her fixed up, then takin' her back to April, and stayin' away. For good." Growled Raph, jabbing his finger into his brother's plastron for added effect. "We ain't got no business with humans, Mikey, not anymore. Not after da way dey treated us."
"As much as it pains me to say, Raph is right, Mikey," said Leo, placing a gentle hand on the orange clad turtle's shoulder. "It's better if we don't get involved, any more than we already are."
Mikey sighed, looking down at the girl currently unconscious on the hospital bed. Truth be told, Mikey simply couldn't help the way he felt.
To him, Autumn was the most breath takingly beautiful girl he had ever seen. He felt this powerful urge to care for and protect her, like nothing he had ever felt before, and it pained him to know they could never be more than passing acquaintances.
Donnie studied his younger brother carefully and softly sighed, but was soon distracted from feeling bad for Mikey as Autumn stirred once more, slowly opening her eyes.
"Are ya done with the whole faintin' thing now, sweetheart?" Raph questioned, glaring at Leo as he elbowed him sharply.
"I-I think so, maybe ask me that in a couple of hours," Autumn mumbled, sitting up once more. The brothers chuckled amongst themselves. "I have to ask though...now I know I really am not not dreaming, or tripping on anything...what are you guys?"
All four turtles hesitated. "Please, I've had a really...messed up few weeks and j just want some answers. You don't have to worry about me telling anyone about this, I don't know anyone in New York...I just wanna know what the hell is going on..."
The brothers glanced at each other, all pulling up a seat as Mikey responded to the blonde haired beauty in front of him.
"I hope that bed is comfortable, dudette, cos this is kinda a long story..."