Warning: This does contain adult language, themes, situations, and content. All characters are over the age of 18.

Important information: I do not own TMNT or any other reference I make to current popular culture and/or movies, I am just a fan whose mind runs wild sometimes. The TMNT look will be that of the 2014 movie, I like that they have stylized clothing. The rest will be sort of a mash up. Like my own little multi-verse. Thank you for the reviews, you have no idea how much it helps me. I always love to hear from you. I enjoy both praise and constructive criticism.

Writer note: I'm really happy that the few brave souls are willing to travel with me in this fiction that I have started ;-) Like I said in the description this my first time sharing my brain with those other then select friends. So I get a little nervous when writing and lets not even start with editing, I know I have typos and a few errors :-[ I promise I go over these pages before I post. I would like you all to feel free to share your thoughts/suggestions/complaints with me. I will give no spoilers, it is as much a mystery to me where this is going as it is to you. Thank you so much for following me. Big heart's

Chapter 5

A peek in the dark

The room was dimly lit by the few burning candles placed behind the decorative paper screens. Two rows of ninja sat, stock-still, eyes forward, not daring to glance at the man at the head of the room. His breathing was so silent, eyes closed. His face a collection of scars.

The man cowering in front of this beast knew all too well of his cruelty. His missing limbs and rewired body a declaration of his brand of mercy. Dr. Stockman could feel his legs trembling, that is if he still had legs. But his phantom limbs were real enough. "Master." He said in a shaky voice. The man's eyes opened slightly. "The machine is ready. All I need now is your test subject to make sure it all goes according to your impeccable plan."

"Good." He hissed out. His accent visible with every word. "You will have you test subject within the hour." He sneered. "And Stockman. If it doesn't go better than perfect you know the price." The deadly venom of that threat sank into the doctor and burned his vain with the knowledge.

"Yes Master." Dr. Stockman paused. "And then after the test we will go after the girl?"

The man narrowed his eyes and the doctor jumped, taking his leave of the room. A hulking brut of a man slid out of the shadows. "Hun. Keep watch on that whelp of a girl. She must not slip through our fingers again. If she does." He let the sentence hang with an unspoken threat.

"I will go myself." Hun said, the deep cuts down his face still tingling from his last punishment. "Master Shredder. Who is this girl to you?"

The Shredder gave his underling a slow menacing glare. "She is the thing that will get me what I desire most." His face distorted in anger and contempt. "She will soon understand the price for crossing me is high."

"The old women?" Hun asked lowering his head.

A dark chuckle emitted from somewhere deep. "I will have her soon enough. She thought she was cleaver enough to fake her own death." A smile twisted across his face. "Unfortunately, she was not cleaver enough." He chuckled. "But fortunately enough for me, she has a soft spot for that girl." He turned back to the huge man kneeling to his side. "Now go and take a few of your best men, and a handful of drones."

"Yes Master, right away." Hun disappeared back into the shadows. Using the hidden door he slipped out of the room. The corridor was long and dark. Only those who knew which door could make their way around so it truly didn't matter how found it. He stopped at one of the walls. Pressing in one of the false bricks he waited for the door to slide to the side. Going down the spiraling staircase that lead to the lower dojo.

Hun had a few men in mind for the mission. He thought that the Master was being over cautions with the preparation, but he would follow his order. It was never good to disappoint the Shredder. Stockman and his mangled body were proof of that. Hun touched his face, a fleeting sign of his fear. The Shredder had backhanded him when the girl had slipped out of their hands the first night.

They didn't get much information from the survivor. He had a massive concussion and selective amnesia. But the Master and he suspected… outside help. And if it was who he suspected, things would get a whole lot more irritating.

…

Dr. Stockman was working frantically. The test subject had been pulled off the streets. 'This girl is adequately young and healthy. Good.' He thought to himself as a mechanical chuckle vibrated his remaining parts. 'She should have an easier time acclimating to her new way life before she is disposed of.' She was a lively one when she came in. Now the drugs in her system had her brain far away, for the moment. His eyes trailed over her naked body. Her tan skin glowed under the lights making her dark hair shine a little more. If he were a man, he would have found her slightly attractive. Now that he was nothing more than a collection of gears and wires encased in a metal shell. The only thing that live inside him anymore was fear and hatred.

He moved to the console. Putting in the algorithm and codes to start the machines functions. Dr. Stockman's mechanical fingers moved easily over the buttons. A soft groan made his cold eyes glisten with madness. 'She would now know what it's like to be a freak living among humans.' He thought menacingly as the large needles pierced the girls' skin without mercy, injecting the liquid into her veins.

Her scream torn though the lab as his concoction seared through her. His eyes wild with delight at her suffering. She writhed as her bound hands clawed at the table, trying to escape the transformation but it was a useless act. He felt the fleeting sensation of arousal as he watched her body morphed into something new. Bones cracked as her skin peeled away, until the only thing left that was hers was the scream that came from her. Even that was changing into something else.

Unlike the others, she was still breathing by the end of it. 'Success one.' He thought as he checked the all the read outs of her vitals. An uncontrollable laughter seized him as she started to move again, her falling tears going unnoticed.

…

Pain. Unbelievable pain. Darkness. It engulfed her. Her body twitched uncontrollably and with each new movement pain ripped through her. 'Why?' She cried out. Did she cry out? 'Is this hell?' Yes. It must have been because she could hear the devils laughter echoing in her mind. 'Is it in my mind?' Her brain a tangled mess. 'Please stop.' She tried to speak but nothing but a gurgling sound came from her throat. She tried again. Opening her mouth a strangled cry came from someone close. 'No. Not from someone.' She sobbed. 'From me!' Her mind screamed at her. She moved again and her body protested violently. She could feel herself getting ready to throw up, as a tube came out of nowhere and made its way down her throat.

"Now now, we can't have that." A sinister voice cackled. "The master will be please with your… success." She could hear how he caressed the last word, like a serpent coiling around its prey. The hissing sound of hydraulics from a machine rasped in her ears. Another pinch of pain as a needle pierced her skin, then her eyes felt heavy again. Unlike last time she let it spread as it engulf her.

…

Dr. Stockman rushed up to tell his master that the test subject was stable. He would be doing further test to make sure it was just right. It seemed at the moment her vocal cords were reforming making her speech difficult. But the new mutagen in her system should repair that in time.

He was excited that this newest incarnation of the formula he had been working to create was making such progress. It was slower than the higher concentration, making the transformation slower. And when used on human subjects he discovered it gave them less of a mutated look. There were a few flaws, but his next test should yield even better results.

This test subject looked like she had a luster to her skin, when in fact it was tiny scales. Her hands and feet became leaner and longer as her nails took on a more talon like shape. The subjects face elongated slightly, but in all honesty all these were minor details. She must have come in contact with something reptilian before he got to her. It was a shame, she was almost perfect. Here he thought just removing the clothes would stop a reaction like that. In his excitement he forgot to scrub her down completely.

The guard at the door acknowledged him and Dr. Stockman waited patiently. Walking in to the dark room always made him nervous. The only good thing about the Shredder was that you always knew what you would get. Succeed and you get to live. Fail and you get death or you would wish for death.

He stepped in quickly and gave his report.

…

Hun sat atop one of the building that lined the street to the girls' apartment. It had been a fairly quiet day and then she came home with her friend. He knew of her. He had watched her dance a time or two. He smiled at his luck. The Shredder and he would both get some things that they wanted tonight.

He watched as the lights flicked out one by one. His anticipation growing. The last one was about to go out when he saw something land at her window. It was a fucking turtle! Where there was one, there would be more. More meant trouble. He watched the brief conversation, then the abomination slipped through the girls' window. Disappearing into the dark.

Hun growled, low and full of menace. "We will leave for the night but keep one man posted. I have to report back to the Master about this." The closest ninja nodded and vanished to tell the others. 'These turtles are like cockroaches. And if all goes according to plan there will be some new exterminators in town.' Hun let a wicked smile play across his face. 'Those freaks will get what they finally deserve.'

Hun jumped down from his perch and made his way back to headquarters. The Master may like this new turn of events. He always liked to toy with his prey before he killed it.

…

Dr. Stockman had finally made it back to the lab. It could have went better. At least the Shredder didn't remove any more body parts. He looked at the formula again and asked himself, 'What am I missing? Why was this one more reptile like? What is the key?'

His test subject was still laying naked and sedated as he took another blood sample. He had no choice but to find the answer. It was so close. What was he missing? There was a nagging at the back of his brain that he was so close to. So close. Where was it? In which DNA sequence was it in?

A day later. A small break through shone a little light on a missing puzzle piece. He looked over at the subject. "You have proved to be most useful." She flinched as he stroked her cheek. Her eyes now a copper color with a ring of yellow around the pupil were wide with fear. "Shhhhh, it's alright. You'll grow use to the new you." He chuckle. "When I'm finished with you, you'll thank me." He whispered in delight. To his joy, a noise was produce from her, something between a whimpering sound and a light croak. She may just be able to talk, minor words maybe, but it was promising.

Dr. Stockman turned. He would need more of her blood before long. She was a wealth of genetic knowledge, never had they been able to bridge this gap before. It was always by chance the subject would turn out this good. Able to comprehend, able to learn quickly. It was either they were too much of an animal and all instinct, animal with human intellect, or other. He always hated the other. Other was a failure.

He worked long into the next night. As well with the blood test, he tested her ability to heal, her intellect, her instinct and so on. He was proud of himself on remembering to curb his excitement enough so he could compare her results from before and after. Everything seemed in order. And the subjects' responses were highly promising.

The only thing with her was the inability to talk fully. It was more than frustrating. He gave her a healthy volt of electricity for it, pushing the button over and over again. He loved watching her body jolt in reaction. The smell of burning flesh, the squealing scream that would rip from her. It was elation, complete delight, satisfaction. He pressed it once more. His eyes tracking her convulsing body. With that he decided to be finish for the moment. He'd check her in on her every hour to note her level of healing.

With that he left the lab and the girl.

…

Memories came in flashes. Time had no meaning. She remember what she got for her third birthday but not her own name. The one thing she was positive about was that she had not always looked this way. Her body twitching, trying to repair itself for the damage that mad man had inflicted. Was he a man? The metal body betrayed nothing of gender. It was his voice that betrayed him. It rubbed salt into an already open wound whenever she would hear it.

She shivered uncontrollably at the memory of that evil voice. She needed to run away, but she couldn't even move. Her mind was more than willing, but her body needed more time. Time was a luxury she didn't have and she knew that the metal demon would not give it to her.

She moved. Ignoring the pain. She needed to get a plan together. She scanned the small torture room. Its floor was metal grating that he used to feed electricity through. Everything else was very medical. A big metal table with straps was in the middle and right above it was a large multi-bulb lamp. The walls were metal as well with one door and an observation window.

Her new eyes kept going in and out of focus. It was hard to adjust. It gave her a headache. Why was it so bright in here? She looked up and noticed a vent. 'He probable figure I'd be out for a while. The table was pretty far away from it. I wonder if I can make it. I have to make it.'

She took a running start. Leaping up the wall she made a jump, her fingers grazing the grate. She plummeted back down. Landing more gracefully than she thought she would. 'One more time. Before he comes.' She ran again leaping up. This time she caught it.

Using her new nails to unscrew it from the wall, she was able to get it open. It was a small fit but somewhere inside she knew that if she didn't leave now, she would die. She slipped in. Her body pooping and adjusting to help her squeeze through. Wiggling her way through the ventilation shaft she was making a faster progression than she thought. Looking through each of the grates to find one near a door conveniently marked exit.

She waited. Sniffing the air. Listening for anything. She push the grate off, keeping ahold of it with her claws. Peeking around. She finally decided it was safe and dropped a little less gracefully than before. Quickly she push herself up and rushed to the door.

Pushing it open she felt free. Not stalling she ran. Thankful that night had fallen and no one noticed her. She climbed with ease up a fire escape to the roof tops above. Leaping across the top she felt her freedom restored. A lightness filled her up and wrapped itself around her broken soul. She was now only following a nagging feeling of where she needed to be.

She stumbled. Rolling she landed against a door. She was breathing heavy. Her legs throbbed as she curled into herself. A faint noise caught her attention. She got into a low crouch head low as a low growling noise vibrated through her chest.

"Hey now." A gentle voice came from the darkness. It was male, but so much different from the other one with the metal body. This voice was warm. "Are you OK miss?"

A cry came from her mouth. An inhuman sound that made her weep inside for the words that she had lost. Her head hung low in despair. She tried again. This time it was a rolling croaking sound. She could feel tears welling up and spilling over. At least she could still cry properly. That metal demon hadn't taken that away.

Someone stepped out from the darkness. He was different. But now so was she. He held out a three fingered hand. "You're ok now." That's when three others stepped out.

A clicking croak was the only thing that signified her relief. They felt kind, capable, and strong as the swirling lights that came from them filled the darkness. She sniffed at the air and one scent caught her attention. First things first before anything she needed clothes. She gestured with one clawed hand her situation. He seemed to guess. "April's is closest. Go grab something for her to wear. She'll come with us." He gave the orders. As the others scattered, he sat cross legged close to her.

The one with the nice smell left. But this one, she didn't mind. His blue energy was calming. She drifted into a peaceful sleep for the first time in days.

End note: Sorry for the short chapter. It just really wouldn't leave me alone. You know how it can be. Two chapters so close wont always happen, but today lucky you ;-) Hope you enjoyed it.