Hey everyone. I know this is a really super late post - and overdue since I didn't post last week. Work has been especially busy for me and I'm working long hours and have had tons of after work things going on and writing time has been scarce. I worked especially hard to get this chapter done this weekend so I would have something to post. I apologize, but I'm afraid it might be like this for a little while anyway. Work is getting more hectic so my writing time will be less and less. I will always post as often as I can. Thank you again for those who take the time to review. I really appreciate it, it's so nice to hear from you. And now on to the story - have the turtles found their missing brother? Guess you'll have to wait and see. Thanks again. See you all again soon.

Chapter 6

"Where?!" Raphael was the first to respond to that as his hands went automatically to his sai, his voice tense, the question more of a demand for answers than anything else. His amber eyes flashed, his muscles tense, bunching underneath the dark green skin.

Leonardo held up his hand, stopping Raphael from launching out of the van before they had all the answers. "You sure, April?"

"Almost positive, Leo."

Raph growled his eyes narrowed.

"What did you find, April?"

"Casey and I were going to go search the park – check out the carnival. Just in case someone there had managed to get a hold of Michelangelo and wanted to make some money off of him."

Leo's jaw clenched and April saw a muscle jump. "Guys… I'm almost sure that he's close by. One of the residents here. We think he's in this apartment building."

"Why would he be in dere?" Raph snapped.

"Raph, I really don't know all the answers," April said meeting the red masked turtle's eyes steadily. "But we're pretty sure we saw Mikey's mask in one of the resident's pockets as she was heading inside."

"That's not a lot to go on, it could have been anything, April." Don said slowly, looking doubtful.

"We have to follow any lead, Don," Leonardo said softly, though he too looked strained and disappointed as if he wasn't sure if this really was much to go on.

"Well if it wasn't 'is mask it was somethin' that sure looked a lot like 'is mask," Casey said shifting on his seat, automatically grabbing a baseball bat and bringing it up and down, letting it smack against his palm.

"What do we do, Leo?" Don asked, turning to his brother.

Leo met Don's chocolate brown eyes for a minute before his eyes drifted to his amber eyed brother who glared back. He sighed. "We'll check it out. See if there's anything here. Thanks, April."

Melinda's arms ached as she put the groceries down on the kitchen table, grateful to have the heavy load out of her arms. She normally didn't buy so many groceries, but with her guest to feed – and obviously she couldn't just take him for take out food like she normally lived on with her hectic work schedule Melinda's grocery bill had been heftier than normal and the bags had been proof of that. By the time she'd gotten to the end of the block she was pretty sure that her arms were going to fall off and her breathing was hard after walking almost a mile and a half with the bags that had been weighing her down.

But it was worth it, she thought to herself as she'd made her way down the last block to her apartment building. She had to help this poor turtle creature and figure out what she was going to do with it. She really had no idea and for the first time in a long time she really felt as if she were out of her league on how to handle something.

She had always been the kind of person that would meet a situation head on and face it without hesitation. The kind of person that would dive head first into a project or new adventure just to see if she could beat the challenge. Growing up there had been almost nothing new that she'd been given the challenge of facing that she hadn't conquered. One of the exceptions had been horse back riding when her sister had challenged her to learn with her. She didn't understand what her sister saw in climbing up on a smelly horse and directing it with a couple pieces of leather and a bit of metal in its mouth.

But Melinda had never really been into sports if she were to be honest with herself. She'd been a book worm, she liked to swim and she liked to hike, but that was about the extent of her recreational activities. Of course out here in New York hiking wasn't the same as it had been back home. There weren't any mountains to climb here, no new heights to explore. No new challenges that needed to be overcome. There was Central Park of course, but Melinda didn't go there very often, she found it a bit intimidating, and when would she have the time anyway? And the predators in that park were a lot different than the predators where she had grown up were. Those predators were less complicated, the ones in New York were less predictable.

Melinda pulled the silky orange mask out of her pocket and put it down on the table next to the bags of groceries. It looked much better with it clean, the material almost glossy and soft to the touch. The color a rich bright orange that seemed so vivid now that it wasn't dulled with blood stains. There was a tear in the silky material just diagonal of one of the eye holes. The material was frayed there, a few silky strands slowly blowing back and forth in the warm apartment. Almost dancing. Melinda touched them, not wanting to rip them and further damage the mask. She bit her lip. Perhaps there was someplace that could mend this? She'd look online when she went back to work on Monday. Until then she'd keep it for him.

Speaking of the turtle, Melinda hadn't seen him on the couch. She frowned a little. Maybe he'd been lying down and she'd missed him? Making her way out of the kitchen she saw that the TV was on, the pictures illuminating the dark living room with an almost eerie glow. Melinda hit the light switch on the wall, bringing the room into brighter illumination. But her eyes hadn't deceived her, the turtle wasn't on the couch. She glanced automatically to the windows. But they were still closed and bolted, so he hadn't run out that way. Her apartment had been locked, and he didn't have a key – so he must still be in the apartment somewhere right?

Turning towards the bedroom she made her way down the short hall only to pause, the bathroom door was almost closed, but the lights were off. That wasn't how she'd left it. She slowly pushed the door open and turned on the light. The turtle was sitting with his shell against her tub, holding his head in his hands, his feet planted on the floor his legs pressed against his front, his elbows resting on his knees. His breathing sounded strained and Melinda could see his dark green skin glistening a little with what she suspected was sweat. Was he ill? Melinda was slightly alarmed by this. She had no idea what she would do with an ill turtle. Broken limbs she could set – but this could require an experienced doctor's… or in this case a veterinarian's care. But who would she call to try and explain this incredible situation to? Who could keep such a thing quiet?

As she hesitated in the doorway the turtle slowly lowered his hands and looked up at her, his pupils were wide and he blinked as he tried to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. Melinda got the feeling he'd been sitting in here for a while. She slowly made her way further into the bathroom and crouched down next to him.

"You alright?"

He simply looked at her for a minute then put his hands to his head again, she saw his fingers flex gingerly, softly against his temple as if trying to relieve some pressure there. The stark white bandage she'd applied earlier had a pink tinge to it now. Melinda frowned reaching for it. He flinched away.

"I need to check the stitches, you might have torn them."

"Don't."

She sat back on her heels a little, her frown deepening as she studied him with her eyes alone. He seemed more aware than he was this morning when she'd left him. Like he was starting to come to himself, and he was obviously in pain, and from the smell that was making her own stomach churn, she had a feeling the concussion was making him nauseated. But how did he know to use the toilet? Had someone… ? She let that thought trail off. She was learning not to underestimate this strange but incredible creature. He was clearly more than he appeared. If he could handle human food… maybe he could handle a simple pain killers? She had to try. His head had to be killing him, and from the way he was gently massaging it she could tell it was his way to ease the pain.

She stood up and went back to the kitchen, almost ripping apart her bags looking for the mild pain killers she'd picked up when she'd been at the store just in case. After searching through a couple of her bags she finally pulled out the small bottle of pills. She palmed a couple and grabbed a cup quickly filling it with water. She was sure if this creature knew what a toilet was for it would be smart enough to drink water out of a glass.

As she was heading back for the bathroom with her relief for the turtle the TV flickered, she paused, frowning as it flickered again and then went black just as all the lights in the apartment went out. She frowned and walked over to the window. The lights across the street were on. How strange.

"Got it, Leo. Lights and security systems are all down," Don said as his fingers flew over his laptop keyboard.

Raph turned from his pacing they'd been sitting up here for almost twenty minutes while Don had been working on the laptop for something that could be for nothing. He was frustrated and irritated. They should be out looking for their brother, storming the Foot tower and demanding that Karai release their brother.

It wasn't that he doubted April's word, but there was no guarantee that Michelangelo was here – or that it had been his mask that April had seen. It could have been anything. As much as Michelangelo drove him up the wall sometimes he was still his baby brother. The thought of never seeing him again was unthinkable. Raph didn't even want to know what he'd do if his baby brother never came home.

"Good job, Donny, let's move."

Donatello hastily stuffed his laptop back into his bag as Leonardo took the lead quickly scaling the fire escape and moving down to the alley below. Raphael's jaw clenched as Donatello quickly followed, with Raph tailing him.

The three brothers moved like wraiths in the alley quickly climbing up the fire escape and onto the roof of the building April had indicated. As Leonardo had directed the three brothers split up, they'd search for any indication that their brother was in any of the apartments or for the young woman April had described.

Melinda, glass of water and pills in hand headed back for the bathroom. If the lights didn't come back on in a few minutes she'd call the super. The janitor might have been messing with some of the wiring and made the whole building go dark. If that was the case she was sure he'd fix it, if he didn't… well Melinda had no intention of sleeping in a cold apartment all night. And she doubted it would be good for the creature either. Weren't turtles cold blooded?

A dark shadow moved in front of the window behind her, only for the briefest of moments before it disappeared. Even if Melinda had been watching she probably wouldn't have seen it.

The turtle hadn't moved from his position in front of her tub, at least Melinda didn't think he had. She squinted her eyes trying to get used to the pitch black to make out the large shape she knew was in there somewhere. She moved slowly into the bathroom, feeling the soft bathroom mats under her feet and then almost tripped over the leathery leg.

"Oh… " Melinda was a bit startled, and smiled a bit apologetically, something she was sure the turtle couldn't see and was glad it was dark to hide her embarrassment of almost stepping right on him. She crouched down next to him, settling herself on her knees.

"Here, " she reached out finding his elbow she pulled his hand down from his head and tried to put the pills in his hand. "Try taking these they should help with the pain."

The turtle pulled away from her touch, drawing his legs up closer to himself. Melinda frowned in frustration. "I'm not trying to hurt you I'm trying to help. Please." She reached out for him again and felt him flinch away. What had gotten into this turtle anyway? He hadn't been flinching away from her this morning before she'd left on her errands. Now he was acting as if he was expecting her to brandish a gun at his head.

Rolling her eyes she grabbed his wrist and firmly put the pills into his hand and set the cup of water down next to him, she hoped anyway it was hard to tell in the blackness. She slid back a couple feet so as not to press him. He was obviously uncomfortable with her being so close to him. She got up slowly and headed back to the kitchen. If she left that milk out it would spoil, and she should put the eggs away too.

What was she going to do with this turtle on Monday? Her work schedule was hectic and with this big meeting coming up it was even more so. Could she really just let this turtle stay in her apartment while she was at work all day? She sighed she really hadn't thought this through. She was in way over her head. It was at times like these she wished Christine was closer. Christine would understand. Her happy go lucky full of life sister would have been happy to come over and keep an eye on the turtle while Melinda went to work.

Melinda grabbed the milk and put it in the fridge, frowning when it too was dark. She sighed. She had to call the super, she really didn't need her groceries to spoil because the janitor had made the power go out. Putting the milk back down on the table she grabbed her purse, pulled out her cell phone and began searching for a place in her small apartment where she could get a signal.

"Anything?" Leonardo asked of his brothers five minutes later when they met back on the roof.

Donatello shook his head. Leonardo looked at his red masked brother. "Raph?"

"T'ink I found da girl April was talkin' 'bout. Fits da description. She's on da ground floor. Last apartment on da south side."

"Any sign of Mikey?"

"Didn't see 'im. Not sure if he's in dere or not."

Leo frowned. They couldn't just go breaking into a strange apartment hoping to find their brother and risking being seen by someone, especially without further information. His other brothers seemed to sense this as well.

Leonardo sighed. "We'll have April look further into this girl, maybe scope the apartment and see if there's any sign of Mikey."

Disappointment and frustration hung over the turtles.

"So what now, fearless?"

"We keep searching. We'll expand the search." Leo glanced around the building his muscles tense."Donny."

Donatello nodded and pulled out his laptop once again, a few short minutes later the lights in the building came back on. Don slipped the laptop back into the bag and slid the strap over his shoulder.

"Come on we're wasting time," Leo said a bit stiffly. He led the way, his brothers following as they disappeared, three shadows into the night.

Elizabeth waited anxiously for the turtles return, hoping that Michelangelo would be with them tonight. That they would bring him home. Raphael said that they might have found him, and if they had they would bring him home. They just had to. But what kind of shape would he be in? Would he be injured? Battered and broken?

Elizabeth didn't even want to think about that. He would be ok. He had to be. Mikey was a fighter, she had seen him springing around the dojo like he had wire springs on his feet as he laughed joyfully while easily taunting his red banded brother and goading him until Raphael's temper snapped and Raphael lost all control whatsoever, leaving him more vulnerable to attack and easier for Michelangelo to get the advantage. His laughter was contagious and Elizabeth would find herself smiling despite Raphael's obvious frustration with his brother.

Elizabeth had put Akemi to bed several hours ago but was too anxious to go to bed herself. She'd tried reading – or even trying to meditate as she saw Leonardo do when he had to clear his mind of thoughts that seemed to bother him. Whether it be after a particularly hard fight that night while out on patrol or after he got home when he and Raphael had squabbled and he'd run off his initial anger but felt he still needed to clear his head of some thoughts that the run couldn't burn away. Neither had worked, the story had failed to draw her into its pages and try as she might the spiritual plane had seemed just out of her reach tonight.

So she sat on the tired old couch staring at the TV screen as the newscaster babbled on about crime after crime that never seemed to end here in New York City. She wasn't really paying attention to this either. A cup of tea was clasped between her hands, the steam rising up to caress her face like an old friend, the familiar warm aroma made her relax like nothing else had tonight. She could understand now while Leonardo liked this blend so much.

She glanced at the small clock as the news broadcast ended and then began flipping through channels hoping to find something else that might capture her attention until Raphael got home. Until all the brothers got home, Michelangelo with them. She was sure it wouldn't be too much longer now. Leonardo always made sure that they were back before sunrise, though she noted that wouldn't be for another few hours. But if they had found him surely they'd come back right away wouldn't they? Or Raphael would call to let her know that they found them. She knew that he knew she was just as worried about the orange masked turtle as he and his brothers were. Surely he wouldn't leave her in suspense. Unless he was too busy trying to help his brothers care for his injured little brother.

Elizabeth put the cup of tea down, the smell of the herbal tea no longer soothing, the warmth leaving her fingertips making her suddenly feel very cold. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, her heart thudding painfully against her ribs. She'd stay here. She'd wait - no matter what the outcome of the night might be.

The sun was just coming up when the manhole cover slipped back into place so smoothly that you never would have known it had been disturbed. Leonardo dropped down next to his waiting brothers. They were all tired and frustrated after a long night with very little results, and still no closer to finding their missing brother. The tension radiating off Raphael was almost touchable and Donatello seemed anxious to get back to the lair and do more researching, hoping to look into some private collectors who might have gotten a hold of Michelangelo, someone who might be keeping his existence a secret. Leonardo shuddered at the thought of his baby brother being kept in a cage like some kind of pet. But he knew that they would have to explore every possibility. That if they were to find their brother it was best to search every corner.

Leonardo would call April later when it wasn't so early and ask her to investigate the apartment building further if she could. See if she could find any sure sign that Michelangelo was in there, and if there was – they would go back tonight and reclaim what was theirs.

But what Leonardo couldn't figure out was if Michelangelo was in that apartment, why hadn't he come home? Unless she was keeping him there against his will.

None of them felt like talking as they made their way home. The night had been disappointing. Leonardo had the feeling that their brother was close, but just out of reach of their grip, and that was more frustrating than anything else.

Donatello quietly reached up and pulled the pipe, opening the entrance to their sewer home. The brothers stepped in. The first thing Leonardo noticed was the TVs were on and Elizabeth was on the couch. It was obvious she'd been there for a while, probably waiting up for them, but she'd lost the battle to stay awake. Her head was resting on the arm rest and her legs curled up against her body in what had to be a very uncomfortable position.

Raphael noticed this too and he headed for the couch, picking up the remote and turning off the TV before reaching for her. As he touched her, her eyes snapped open. She blinked and was suddenly wide awake.

"Raph, did you find him?"

Raph shook his head. "No, we didn't find 'im 'Lizbeth."

Elizabeth's disappointment was as great as theirs had been. "Did you find anything?" She looked back at Leonardo, standing up off the couch and wrapping her arms around her thin frame.

"We really don't have that much to go on," Leonardo admitted. "April thought he might be in the apartment building we found the blood next to. But there wasn't enough evidence for us to really investigate it too deeply."

Elizabeth's eyebrows narrowed. "Why would she think that?"

"T'ought a girl 'ad 'is mask."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. She looked back at Leonardo. "There weren't any signs of him?"

"We couldn't confirm whether he was or not. Don blacked out the building and we did a quick search but we didn't want to break into a strange apartment without solid proof of his being there. I was going to ask April if she could go out and scope out the actual apartment, look for signs that he might be there before we go breaking in."

"I can do it."

"No."

Elizabeth looked at Raphael who was glaring at her.

"Raph, it's not like I'm storming the Foot tower on my own, and I do know how to defend myself, but if April saw this girl, there's a good chance that she saw April too. She'd recognize her again – she's never seen me." She glanced back at Leonardo. "You said Donatello blacked out the building. I could tell her that the building has had some electrical problems and we need to check every apartment for problem spots. I could scope it out and see if Michelangelo is in there."

"'Lizbeth," Raph started, though he was obviously mulling the idea over, just as his brothers were.

"It's not a bad plan, Raph." Don said softly. "We could take the battle shell, stay nearby – she'd have her shell cell just in case she runs into trouble."

Raph looked at his girlfriend and saw the determination in her eyes. He nodded. "Ok, get dressed. I'll call April an' see if she can come down ta watch Akemi."

A few hours later, armed with her props from Donatello, her long brown hair pulled back into a simple ponytail and clad in blue jeans and a formal looking work shirt courtesy of Casey and tucked neatly into her jeans but pulled out just a little loosely at the waist line to make it look baggier than it was Elizabeth climbed the front stoop and looked at the names above the buzzer. Ted Stevens, June Sanderson, Steven Tyler, Megan Thompson, and Melinda Peterson all lived on the ground floor. She could avoid Ted, and Steven's apartments. From the location of the apartment she'd try that one first when she figured out which tenant it was that might be hiding Mikey.

Pulling out the lock pick Donatello had giving her, knowing it would be suspicious if she had to ring the buzzer to get into the building, Elizabeth worked for a few short minutes before the lock clicked and she pulled the door open. She shook her head. Donatello was a genius, she doubted there was anything he couldn't get into if he really wanted to. Keeping a firm grip on her "tools" Elizabeth made her way down the hall to the last apartment. Reading the number on the door she rang the buzzer.

It seemed to take several minutes before she heard the dead bolt slide back and the door finally opened. The girl who stood there was probably Elizabeth's age, if not a little younger. Her long blonde curls were framing her delicate face, her bright blue eyes were wide and looked a little wary, her slender shoulders were tense, her hand on the doorframe, as if to block Elizabeth's entrance.

"Yes?"

"Good morning, Miss Peterson. My name is Elizabeth, was called in this morning because I heard you folks had had some problems with the electricity last night. We're checking every apartment for problem wiring to make sure there's no sign of damaged wires in all the apartments, standard procedure for things like this. Mind if I have a look?"

Elizabeth watched as the girl shifted, suddenly looking uneasy. "This really isn't a good time."

"Sorry about that Miss Peterson, but is protocol. Wouldn't want a damaged wire to start a fire," Elizabeth persisted, hoping she didn't sound too pushy. She saw the girl's eyes waver.

"No, I suppose not." She slowly lowered her hand from the wall. "Please come in."

Elizabeth moved into the small apartment, her eyes roaming around for any clue that Michelangelo was here.

"Excuse me for just a minute, feel free to look around in the living room and kitchen, I have a… friend who's quite sick in the bathroom, I need to check on him."

Elizabeth nodded and watched as the girl headed down the short hall to where the bedroom and bathroom was. Her eyes roamed the apartment again. There were several boxes of ace bandages, a first aid kit, and a pair of scissors sitting on the coffee table. A few soiled pink cotton balls sat there as well. Elizabeth frowned walking further into the apartment, The couch didn't look too old but there were a couple of stains on the cushions. Elizabeth frowned reaching for them. They were dry and stiff, flaking a little under her touch. She didn't like it.

She made her way around the small living room, there was a small desk in the corner, but it was within view of the bathroom. Walking to it on cat's feet she glanced towards the bathroom once again before opening the drawers. The top one was filled with files, carefully alphabetized and marked with special tabs that were obviously important notes for this girl. The second drawer was just as helpful with a phone directory, and day planner.

Frustrated and anxious Elizabeth tried the third, but found it locked. She frowned and glancing down the hall again, her nerves tingling she quickly scanned the top of the desk, then lifted the soft leather covering and grinned when she found the key there. She slipped the key into the hole and twisted it, the lock gave and she opened the drawer. She felt her chest tighten and her stomach clench.

She reached in and drew out the mangled shell cell and the nunchucks she knew just as well as she knew Raph's sai, Don's bo, and Leonardo's katana. She slipped them into her bag hastily and closed the drawer, slipping the key back into place.

By the time Melinda came back a couple minutes later, Elizabeth was pretending to be putting some complicated wiring tools Don had given her for props back in her bag, burying Michelangelo's things beneath them.

"Any problems?"

"Doesn't look like it, at least not in here," Elizabeth said smoothly. "Should check the bedroom and bathroom."

"Listen, my friend is really sick. Perhaps you could come back a little later," Melinda said, putting her foot down as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"If there would be a better time for you, perhaps I could reschedule for tomorrow evening?"

"I'll have my super call you. Set up an appointment."

Elizabeth forced a smile. She knew that they would have to come back before this girl could call the super and find out that Elizabeth really didn't work for any electrical company because the super had never hired one. "You have a great rest of the day Miss Peterson." She grabbed her bag and left the apartment. She felt Melinda's eyes on her and forced herself to walk casually down the hall until she heard the click and lock of the dead bolt.

She walked out of the apartment, down the stoop and around the corner where Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello were waiting for her return. She had the proof they needed. She'd found Michelangelo.