Yesterday was very, very interesting. I was introduced to, who equivocates as, my ten year old daughter. How surreal. I once had a very drawn out conversation with Raphael about our ability to procreate with human women. It was an uncomfortable conversation. To my best knowledge neither I nor my brothers have had any sexual experience to even weigh out the possibility of pregnancy, not until Raph and Amber got together, that's one. And two, since I've come to the conclusion that I may never be so lucky as to stumble across a female who, not only could refrain from screaming at the sight of me, but who would consensually go outside of their species and consummate our meeting, I never granted myself the energy to desire having children. Even though our mutated genes are just point eight percent different than that of a human, I assured my brother that he can't impregnate Amber. Somehow I though the news would relieve him. But he left much calmer and quieter than he came.

And now, from the fancifully scientific mind of Dr. Jordan Perry, he took samples from my mutated DNA, reverted them back to regular turtle DNA with the Antigen, implanted my genes into a regular fertile turtle egg, waited for that hatchling to emerge from its egg, transformed it with Mutagen and named her Anya. He was a mad man. And I am forever his fan.

Anya is… strangely familiar. Watching her speak and laugh and wonder, makes me feel like I'm looking at myself in a mirror from my past. Granted, I was much more introverted that she. I never had anyone around who shared my love of knowledge growing up. I had to affirm myself in who I was and my abilities along the way. Only what my mind could build or make of fix garnered me any validity from my family. It's not their fault. They just don't tick the way I do. Here, Anya has encouragement pouring in like cherry blossoms on a warm spring day. I'm not complaining, I'm merely stating the difference. She's probably years beyond how developed I was at her age. I'm glad. If I had a child I'd want them to have better than me.

I guess I do, and indeed she does.

I go back to thinking about how excited Raphael had looked when he stormed into my bedroom. He had shut and locked my door. He was pacing across the hardwood floor. He finally held on to my dresser to stop his crazy dance and looked over at me. I remember that it was a sunny afternoon. The sun shone as sharp rays through the holes in my blinds.

Leo, Mikey and I had been living in the 3rd floor apartment above Amber's bookstore for almost a year by that time. Splinter was up stairs in his own apartment and Raphael and Amber were sharing the one right below us. We brothers had kept our teasing to a minimum about Raph 'shacking up' with her but we inwardly celebrated his and Amber's relationship. We hoped the best, hoped things kept getting better for them, and they did; yet Raphael had felt the need to hold me hostage in my own room, scared to pieces.

I held up my finger and signed off with one of my online students I'd been tutoring. It could have been Anya; maybe not. I looked at my fidgety brother and he was sitting on the floor stammering about how Amber had missed her menstrual cylce and he wanted to know if it was because of him. I told him, as simply as I could, of my scientific findings on the matter. He had asked me if I was sure. I'd told him yes. He'd asked me if I was really sure. I'd told him that it's common for women to be irregular from time to time. He'd asked me if we had healthy sperm. I'd told him yes and that if we had a compatible mate, a child could occur… I'm glad he didn't ask me how I knew about our sperm. He had asked me if I could be wrong. I'd told him that I was often wrong but the facts are always conclusive. That is when he thanked me and left calm and quiet-like.

I still wonder why Raphael had acted that way. Why would he and Amber want to have a child? Whatever it looked like, it wouldn't be a human or a mutant. Even if it survived gestation, it would be forced to live in this world, all its life, stuck in the middle. It was hard enough for us, growing up in the sewers hiding from the main populace, hated and feared and hunted by the few that discovered us. Why would my brother and sister want to bring that child into this world…?

Why did Dr. Perry?

I never thought someone like Anya could ever exist. I always thought that after me and my brothers were gone, there would be no one left to remember us, no next generation of mutants to carry on our 'heritage'. And now Anya is here. What kind of salvageable future could she have, being one against billions? I don't want to fear for her, but I do. Is it a parental trait, to worry about something so far in the future when it involves their child?

What's done is done, I guess. I know Anya now and nothing will ever change that. She won me over, even before our study session was over, and she charmed me during a greasy lunch of fish and chips. The rest of my day flew by with thoughts of her and I went to the dining hall and ate way too much chili. I finished my apple cobbler. And then Anya ran in. She grabbed two bowls and two more helpings of cobbler. She sat across from me and asked if she could have desert with me. Half of my 'Yes' was for her. The other half was because Ms. Devin is an outrageously good cook.

I roll over to the sound of a string quartet come through the speakers and my Screen Time awakening with the view of a sunrise over New York City. How long have I been laying here in the dark, letting my mind wander? I sit up on the edge of my bed and groan. I ate way too much good food yesterday. I take my time in the bathroom and throw on some sweats and a T-shirt.

"Good morning, Andrew."

"Good morning Donnie. It is Tuesday, March 12th, 6:15 am. Would you like me to tell you the details of the day?"

"Ok."

"You are to meet Drs. Gavnikov and Albright in the main lab, B100 at 8am. Lab time is scheduled for the rest of the day with an hour for lunch in between. On today's menu for breakfast: hard boiled eggs, cream of wheat, banana bread, and kielbasa. For lunch: Chicken noodle soup, open sandwich deli and spring greens salad. For dinner: Beef Wellington, garlic potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and red velvet cake for desert. Fresh coffee will be available throughout the day."

I smile, only because of the coffee. "I feel terrible Andrew, I need a gym."

"The Recreational Area is located in B107, equipped with weights, elliptical machines, treadmills, a yoga area and showering facilities."

"Thank you."

"My pleasure."

I walk out my door and Gleiv is standing out there waiting for me.

"Morning, Gov." He's chipper.

"Uh, good morning, Gleiv."

"We off to breakfast this early?"

"No, no breakfast for me right now. I'd like to check out the Rec-room."

"Sure. I'll workout with you. That way we build up a good appetite."

"It's my appetite that's guilt-tripping me into going to the gym." I say.

"Ms. McGaff's cooking is good, ain't it?"

We make it to the Rec-room in less than three minutes. I don't wait for him to lock up his weapons and change. I peel off my custom-made Tee and focus on my warm-up katas. I close my eyes and appreciate the low timbre of meditation music coming from the large Screen Time on the wall. I repeat my cycle three times and end feeling warm and loose. I go into my fourth rep and glance over at Gleiv standing next to me mimicking my positions. I inwardly shrug and continue the set. Once I'm done I stretch my arms and legs head for the treadmill. I've never used one before and I'm eager to try it out.

"Say Don, those were some really cool moves you were doing. I feel raring to go. How's about we spar a bit?"

"Spar?"

"Well, yeah. Used to do it all the time in combat training, not really anyone to train with now. Let's see how we fare." He says with a big grin.

I pause for a moment. It has been a while for me as well. "Ok."

We go back over to the yoga mats and set them aside.

"Ready?" He gets into a low stance.

"Ready." I bow.

We circle one another for a moment and then he advances. He throws very fast and far- reaching punches. He keeps his center of gravity low by keeping on his haunches. He can't hit me though. I bet he thought all turtles were slow. He hesitates on his left side so when he throws another left hook I dodge and kick him in the side, just hard enough to make him falter. He spins and tries to swipe me off of my feet. I stop his leg with mine and grab his ankle and thigh and flip him onto his back. He jacks himself up on his feet and comes at me. He chops at my arms and legs, knowing full well landing a strike on my plastron would hurt him more than me. I follow back with the same courtesy, wanting to keep the fight fair. He does kind of a fake jab and gets in close to tackle me. Now it's a bout of muscle. We both tense up as we try to push each other out of the 'ring'. I think that there is no way he'd be able to topple a two-hundred pound turtle. But he hoists me up over his head and slams me to the matted floor. He holds me to the ground in a not-too-lethal choke hold.

And then it hits me. I feel a small soreness in the back of my shoulders. I remember that this is the same asshole that shot me with heavy tranquilizers and hauled me off like a prized buck. I'm not one to hold grudges but I do like to keep things balanced.

He's not that heavy so I easily hop up onto my hands and knees while he's still climbed up on my shell. I stretch my arms wide and fall straight back, crushing him under my carapace. He slowly releases his hold from my neck and I roll off of him. I wait for him to stand. He shakes himself off and smiles.

"Ok Gov. This time, no holding back." He says with more excitement than anger.

I nod and he comes at me full force I try to block but he pushes me back by the shoulders and grabs my ankles and lifts me right off the ground. I fall back and dodge right and left as the sweaty Brit blasts his fists into the floor near my head. I grab the back of his dreaded head, yell and butt our brows together. I push him away and roll back up on my feet. He's right there and he weaves his hands together and bats me in the shoulder, punches my cheek and knees me in the plastron. I return with punches to his face and chest he blocks with his forearms, steps on my foot and returns a head-butt.

He grounds his feet and jams a palm up to my face. I flip back just in time, hook my feet under his arms and toss him over. He yelps as he flies out of the ring and crashes into the wall with a grunt. I'm still doing the handstand as I see Gleiv in a heap on the ground. I push up and land on my feet.

I stand over him and help him unfold himself. I squat beside him and smile. "Thanks for the work out; gave me a chance to return the favor from when we first me in the Lair."

He catches his breath and looks at me sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Gov. T'wasn't anything personal, I assure you." I offer my hand and pull him up. "Didn't think that it was actually gonna be you this time." He says.

"You'd mentioned that before." I notice a case of bottled waters in a small refrigerated alcove. I take and open two bottles and hand one to him. "You knew about me?"

"Well, yeah. From Dr. Perry."

We sit on a metal bench along the gym wall. "How did you know him?"

Gleiv leans toward me, starting to whisper, even though no one else is in here with us (and I'm pretty sure even the gym is being monitored). "I was one of the sentries who helped him and his baby turtle fly to Moscow ten years ago."

"Really?" I ask in disbelief.

"Honestly, it was me father who led the secret mission. I was only sixteen at the time but was allowed to tag along. It was a long, cold flight and it was my job to keep the doctor and little Anya company. I had never seen anything like her. She looked like a baby, but she was green and only had six fingers and four toes… Dr. Perry let me hold her." Gleiv held up his hands as if embracing an invisible ball. "She was so small and warm; her shell was still soft. She fell asleep in me arms. Dr. Perry told me stories of New York City and also about you, Gov. He said that little Anya wouldn't even be possible without you. I had said that Anya was a miracle and that I would promise to keep her safe, no matter what. I had told him that I wanted to meet you someday as well. Dr. Perry smiled and said that maybe I would. Once we got them safely across the Russian border, I never saw him again. 'Course Anya don't remember me, which is probably just as well." He shrugs.

"So, Dr. Perry trusted you enough to be here today, all because of that one flight?" I ask.

Gleiv purses his lips and blows out a puff of air. He looks at me. "Guess I can't get a thing past you….There was a traitor among us on that flight. I remember that there were two other men, besides the pilot, on the plane with my father; an Indian man and a white man with a bald head. The doctor, Anya and I had fallen asleep when the bald man attacked. He had broken into our cabin, knocked out the doctor, hit me in the head with the butt of his knife and kidnapped Anya. He thought he had taken me out but I recovered quickly and went after him. I had seen the slit the neck of the Chinese man and me father's broken leg outside our door. Father pointed to where the bald man had gone and he urged me to stop him. The man, I recall, was all muscle and although I was tall I had no meat on me bones. At the time, I was still in combat training. I had to put me insecurities and fear aside and get Anya back. The bald man had made it to the back of the plane when I caught up to him. He yanked on a large lever and the back of the plane opened up, bitter wind spewed inside. I heard Anya crying. And then I saw him jump."

"Oh, my God… so you guys got her back, obviously… but how?" I gasp.

"I grabbed a parachute and jumped out after him."

"Great Einstein's ghost." I exhale. "Have you ever done that before?"

He shakes his head. "I wasn't thinking clearly. It was the middle of the night, I was half-dazed by a blow to me noggin and I didn't have time to think about me mortality… I'm surprised I had enough sense to grab a parachute and make sure me bloody blade was strapped to me thigh. It wasn't until the rumble of the plane engines zoomed away, replaced with the deafening batter of wind in me ears and the piercing cold spraying me face, did I realize what I'd done. I was so terrified, I couldn't even scream. In a tumbling fit I secured the parachute to me back and somehow righted meself, looking for any sign of the bald man. Good thing it were a clear night and the moon shimmered on the water thousands of feet below. I saw him; his black shadow, like a boulder, blocking out the stars. He was actually above me and to the left. I spread out me arms and legs to slow my descent. I couldn't believe he didn't see me. I was practically beside him on his right side before I pulled out me blade and grabbed him. I was right on is back and yelling, "Give her back! Give her back!

"He reached for me and easily snatched me, pulled me in front of him and punched me right in the nose! He got away. I tried with all me might to get him back in me line of sight. And then I saw him, like a bullet heading straight down. I did the same. And this time I wasn't going to be civil. With me blade ready I blasted into him and made a clean cut, from the back of his skull down to his shoulder blade, also slicing thought his parachute pack. He screamed and grabbed his head in pain. I spun him around, held on tight to his elbows and kicked him in the jaw. He was out cold. I quickly and carefully unsnapped the four belts of the front pouch where Anya was concealed and attached her to me. I pushed the big unconscious monster of a man away. He'd soon be crushed against the hard waves."

"Meanwhile, you're still falling!" I say, more excitedly that I thought I would have.

"Yeah, I was clearly working on full adrenaline by then. I must have read the instructions five times before I got the nerve to pull the cord. I grunted when the blasted thing opened up and yanked me. Luckily I figured how out how to work the cords. I was also fortunate that I was close to land. I spotted a dark beach and did my best to land as carefully as possible. About thirty feet up I knew that would be impossible so I opted to tuck and roll. I hit the sand hard. But it was all worth it once I opened the pouch and saw Anya's eyes shining at me. I stood slowly and got my bearings. I pulled out my map and laid it out in the moonlight. I checked the stars and found that I was about fifteen miles from the abandoned landing strip the plane was heading to. I handled me blade and started running.

"Along the way Anya started to cry. I stopped for a moment and checked her over to make sure she weren't hurt. Supposin' she was just hungry I checked me pockets and all I had was a half-eaten chocolate bar. Not sure if babies should have chocolate, but I was sixteen and figured that it would be ok because it was milk chocolate. I broke off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. Her lips squirmed and she cooed. She looked up and smiled at me and was peaceful the rest of the way.

I cut me way through the barbed wire and crawled into the abandoned air field, not knowing if anyone would still be there. I started to run when I saw the plane take off. I thought I was too late. But then I saw the lights of a vehicle at the other end and I beat my feet ragged, screaming for them to hear me. The back of the van opened and it was me father. With one leg in a splint he hobbled over to me and crushed me into the most loving hug I'd ever gotten from him. The doctor was right behind him and I unclipped the pouch and handed him his daughter."

Gleiv took his water down in one swig and tossed the empty plastic into a bin. "And I suppose that's why I'm here today." He ends with a bittersweet grin.

"That's an amazing story. You're her hero. Does Dr. Gav know what you did?"

"Yeah, she knows. Not cause I told her though. It was in one of Dr. Perry's journals. First time Dr. Gav met me she gave me a kiss right on the cheek. Anya doesn't know. It's best she doesn't. Now it's just you and Dr. Gav and Carder who know about me little heroic tale." He chuckles.

'Speaking of Carder, what's up with him? I'm trying to understand how we all fit in here but the guy is stone-cold. Should I take his distaste for me personal?"

"Naw. He's in soldier-mode non-stop. Guess he just takes his job seriously." Gleiv says.

"Do you know anything about him… why he might have been chosen?" I ask.

"He says that he was the pilot who flew us to Russia on that secret mission. I was a little preoccupied, you know, baby sitting a mutant turtle and all, jumping out of planes and such, so I didn't take the chance to meet him back then."

We both laugh. I sober up first.

"I know this is a drastic change in topic… there's something else I need to ask, but not quite sure how to." I pause.

Gleiv nudges my arm. "Go on then. If I can tell you, I will." I believe him.

"You said that when you found me, you didn't know it would be me… I assume by the 'cured' animals in the kennel we passed, you'd been searching for a while."

"True. You see, Dr. Gavnikov didn't quite know where to start looking for you. We did confront a few other beings…Some of them very dangerous. The doctor had to turn them back. Although they were smart, none were timid and very few could speak. They weren't accustomed to being around humans and there really was no place in our world for them."

I nod my head. I can't argue. He is right.

"We lost a lot of good men." Gleiv says.

"How many… if you don't mind my asking?"

The tall Brit sighs. He closes his eyes and rests his head back on the wall. "There were seven of us to begin with. We lost three trying to take down a large mutant alligator." He snorts. "Who knew there are really alligators in the sewer?"

I nod and turn my head away. I think it best I keep some things to myself; from the doctor, because I don't want them to know I may I have known some of those mutants; and from my family, because I have enough bad news to deliver to them already. "Listen Gleiv, I hope you know… that last man who died in our Lair… Leo would have never… I mean, I know it was…"

"We all now it was a fluke, Gov… His name was Polk… and he knew the risks, like the rest of us." He smiles at me and I smile back.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I really hope all of this loss of life is worth my being here, or worth what I may be able to accomplish." I say.

My muscles tighten a bit when Gleiv slaps a large hand on my shoulders. "Trouble yourself not, Gov! Dr. Perry and now Dr. Gav, they're dreamers but they know what is possible, much more than most."

"I hope so." I say. I finish my water and toss the bottle in the bin.

We both turn our attention to the opening door. Carder walks in, stern as ever. "Rec time is over. Gleiv, you and I need to take Kame back to his quarters. Then we are to meet Dr. Albright at the kennel for dispersion.

"Dispersion?" I say.

"We're getting ready to set the animals free, now that they have a clean bill of health. Carder is going to ship them out tonight." Gleiv offers.

"That was not 'need-to-know' information, Gleiv. Be more careful what you say around Kame."

"You know, you are allowed to use my actual name, Carder." I stand and wrap a towel over my shoulders.

"Your desire for a closer relationship with me is touching. I'll keep that in mind. Time to move!" he says.

Gleiv takes up his gear, waves his hand at me and I follow him back to my quarters while Reverend Killjoy takes the rear.

…

A/N: Whoa, Gleiv is awesome… but Carder is kind of a tool! LOL. Any comments?