"Okay so you've seen EVERYTHING on the bottom floor. Now on to the top floor." Mikey spoke, smiling at Kaylee with a Cheshire grin. The only issue with getting to the top floor was the lack of stairs. The leap wasn't too high, but a regular jump would not get a person close enough to the ledge. One would have to be skilled to get up to that height. "Hop on." Mikey said, showing his shell to the seemingly incapable female.
"Tell you what. You go first and then I will try to copy your movements and if I can't get then we try piggy back. Okay?" Kaylee said.
"Alright, but, if you don't get it, don't feel bad. I am a professional." Mikey said, with a joking smile.
"Okay. Go ahead, Mr. Professional." Kaylee said, rolling her eyes and smiling back. Mikey began the leap after that, bouncing between two columns that led to the ledge about six times before getting there. He then walked to the edge and looked down at Kaylee who seemed impressed and slowly applauding him.
"Thank you. Thank you." Mikey said, bowing and blowing air kisses to his imaginary fans. "And that's how its done, son."
"My turn." Kaylee said. She backed up a few steps and then ran for it. She made the first five jumps in rather messy but suitable fashion, but screwed up on the last one. She almost fell completely backwards, but Mikey grabbed her wrist and pulled her up the rest of the way. Kaylee panted slightly and looked at Mikey.
"Thanks." Kaylee said.
"No prob. I give you a nine for getting up here, but like a three for gracefulness." Mikey said, causing Kaylee to giggle at her own klutziness. "Now come on. My comics are waiting." Mikey yanked both of Kaylee's arms and led her into his extremely messy bedroom. Mikey's room defined mess. Pizza boxes littered the floor, the bed was unmade, and everything that could go on a shelf or in a dresser was on the floor. A disaster except for the very organized box of comic books. "Meet my babies." Mikey said, holding up the box of comics above his head before setting it on the bed and sitting cross legged next to it. Kaylee following suit. "Please. Please. Please. Tell me. You know the Justice Force or at least the Silver Sentry."
"Are you kidding me? Luke loves comics. Especially Justice Force comics. And who doesn't known the Silver Sentry?!" Kaylee spoke, before being wrapped into an over the top turtle hug that knocked her off the bed.
"Finally, a friend that's a girl that I can discuss comics with!" Mikey yelled, not releasing his now beloved prisoner as he hugged her on the floor.
"Yeah, Mikey. But I only can talk comics if I can breathe." Kaylee said, in between gasps for air.
"Sorry." Mikey said, letting Kaylee go and leaning back onto his knees. Kaylee gasping for air as she also sat on her knees. "It's just that April doesn't usually like talking about my comics." Mikey finished. Kaylee wished to ask more about April, who the four had talked about a lot, but she didn't seem pushy or nosy. The turtles were nice, strong, and she could see becoming good friends with them so she didn't want her curiosity to get in the way. "Hello? You in there?" Mikey asked, waving his arms in front of her face.
"Yeah. Sorry. I just zoned. I guess." Kaylee said, looking Mikey in the eyes.
"Totally chill, dudette. Now. Shall we look at my favorite issue..." Mikey was cut off by a very aware female voice.
"You mean the one where the Turtle Titan meets Silver Sentry." Kaylee stated, smiling brightly and laughing slightly at the shocked look she received from the orange clad turtle.
"No... maybe. How did ya know?" Mikey asked, confused.
"You are a turtle who wears orange much like the Turtle Titan and you sound like how I pictured him. It seemed obvious that you would like him." Kaylee said, factually.
"Wow." Mikey said. "I think we are going to be great friends." Kaylee laughed.
"So we going to read that comic or what?" Kaylee asked as Mikey pulled out the much cared for comic and, almost on command, began his one man show which Kaylee watched.
The teen teripins all had different ways of dealing with confusion and unanswered questions. Don retired to his lab area after the confusion that occurred in the kitchen. He pictured talking to Kaylee and getting all the answers right away, but instead he just had more questions. His lab was the only place he could think of that always provided him the correct answers. Raph had two punching bags, one in the common area and one in his room. He walked to the closest one and began pounding on it, as if the release of energy would give clues into the mysteries that faced them. Leo trained in the center of the lair, thinking that focusing his chi would open up the hidden locks of questions. Laughter echoed through the lair from Mikey's room. The door was wide open and Mikey's impressions of the Silver Sentry passed right through it.
About fifteen minutes later, the sound of the stone elevator that was built into the lair was heard by all in the underground home, minus Kaylee and Mikey who were still endlessly chatting. April walked out of the elevator carrying a black backpack. She was followed by Casey. Leo was the first to greet both of them, in his usual polite manner. Both Don and Raph came to say hi as well.
"Hey Case. April. What's in da bag?" Raph asked, pointing to the bag that hung off April's shoulder.
"Hi guys. Don texted me on his shell cell saying that you guys have this girl staying with you so I brought some necessities. Clothes, shampoo, toothpaste. After I picked up this stuff I called Casey." The teen red head said.
"Thanks April. Kaylee didn't, exactly, get a chance to bring a lot with her." Leo stated.
"So can we meet this chick? I mean you guys are great and all but we are like part of the few humans who know and like ya. Adding one more will be totally rad." The gapped tooth hockey player spoke.
"Yeah. Definitely. Raph, do you want to break up the gigglefest?" Leo asked, the missing two still clueless to the presence of the humans. Raph was not one for moments such as the one between Mikey and Kaylee. He would have done anything else then to enter the superhero geek-a-palooza going on upstairs.
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Raph asked, looking at Leo. Leo shook his head which received a mild glare from red clad turtle. After the glare, Raph did his own way of getting to the second landing, which was running and pulling himself up without any leaps in between the columns, and went to receive his youngest brother and his house guest.
"April, Casey. There is something you should know. Kaylee has been through a lot and we are trying not to push her unless necessary so just walk in cautious circles. Okay?" Don spoke and received two nods of agreement.
"How did you guys meet her anyway?" April said.
"Well..." Leo told the abbreviated version of their meeting of Kaylee as well as how training went that morning and what happened afterwards, purposefully ignoring the bit about her crying in his room. By the time his storytelling was done, the three that been on the second floor were standing on the ledge to get down. Kaylee was more afraid of the jump down than the jump up, but had more confidence in getting down so all at once the three teens on the ledge went for it. Though Kaylee lacked fluid motions, she successfully made it down without needing to be caught by any of the turtles.
"A little better. Ten for getting down and a five for gracefulness." Mikey said. Kaylee rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. Raph smacked Mikey in the head. "Ow! What was that for?!" Mikey shouted. Raph shrugged.
"Felt like it." Raph smirked and Kaylee giggled. The three than proceeded to the area by the elevator for their meet and greet.
"Hi. I'm April." The red head said, stepping forward so she was standing right in front of Kaylee. Her smile, eyebrows and posture all exuded a feeling of kindness and welcoming, but the look in her eyes was rather calculating. April studied the female that stood in front of her. Kaylee's leather jacket was still off so all her scars were revealed and the way that April looked at her made her uncomfortable. Kaylee's arms were wrapped around herself tightly, but her eyes stared straight at April. April offered her hand and Kaylee shook it kindly before returning to her position.
"Kaylee." The wrapped female spoke. Casey stepped forward after that.
"Name's Casey. Casey Jones." The human male teen introduced.
"Nice to meet both of you." Kaylee said, smiling. The much expected awkward silence occured right after that. Until Raph spoke.
"Hey Case. I believe that I owe you a rematch after I won yesterday." Raph pointed out, talking about his wrestling match with Casey the other day.
"Since when did you win, Raph. I washed the floor with your sorry shell." Casey said, poking Raph's upper shell on his front side.
"You wish you did, lard butt." Raph taunted.
"We need a ref. Mike?" Casey said.
"Yeah Dude. I got this." Mikey stated, wrapping an arm around Raph. "Leo your on Casey's team. Don your on Raph's. Prepare the fighters for battle!" Mikey shouted in his best sports announcer voice. The five male teens split to go to the open center of the lair while the two teen females remained by the door. They had done this before, living in the sewers you don't have many options for entertainment. As Leo and Don revved up their fighters and Mikey, basically, jumped out of his shell, April decided to speak to the new edition.
"I brought this for you." April said, handing Kaylee the black bag that had been hanging on her shoulder and smiling brightly. "I thought you might like having some shampoo, other clothes, and stuff since you might be here for a while. Sorry if the clothes are a little big I just grabbed what I could."
"Thanks. A ripped black t-shirt and no clean clothes or toiletries probably wouldn't have been a very ideal scenario." Kaylee said, smiling at April and swinging the bag over her right shoulder. April smiled, but frowned soon after.
"The guys told me what happened. If you ever need to talk to someone that is not a male mutant, you can always come to me." April said, laying a hand on Kaylee's left shoulder and looking her in the eyes.
"I'll keep that in mind." Kaylee said, a grateful smile gracing her face. "Do they do this a lot?" Kaylee asked, turning the conversation away from herself. April laughed softly.
"Yeah." April said.
"They speak a lot about you. You know? They really really care about you." Kaylee said.
"They helped me when I needed it. We are like family." April said.
"Silence ladies and gents!" Mikey yelled. "The fight is on. On the count of three may the battle begin. You know the rules no weapons. One, two, three!" Mikey shouted to begin the fight.
Leo and Don stepped back as Casey and Raph charged each other. Cheers and taunts were heard back and forth. There was no real pattern just a lot of rolling on the ground and punches that only seemed to hit the ground. In fighting, Raph may be more formally trained, but Casey had some relatively useful street smarts. Against one another, they were almost equals. Everyone was into the fight even April and Kaylee. In the end, Casey won the round by pinning Raph.
"I let ya win." Raph said, standing up.
"Sure ya did, Raph." Casey said.
"Fine ya won. Big whoopty woo." Raph said, grabbing Casey who had stood up as well and bringing him into a noogie. Everyone laughed including Kaylee. Kaylee had expected a lot of things in her life, but laughing with four mutants and two strangers in an underground home was not on her radar. Raph released Casey before Mikey came up with the next activity.
"While we are up to rematches, I think that I owe Casey, Don and you, Raphie Boy, a rematch on Space Invaders. Since I conquered shell last time." Mikey said.
"Ya wish, moron. You're on." Raph said to Mikey.
"Ya didn't win last time, shell head, and you won't win this time either." Casey said, confidently.
"I did to win last time. You just a refuse admit that I am the champion! Don, this rematch is happening. You in?" Mikey asked, receiving two dirty looks from Raph and Casey.
"Yeah. Um... April do you wanna?" Don asked April, who stood next to him, awkwardly
"Sure." April said, smiling.
"Sweet!" Mikey yelled. "I'll go set it up!" Mikey ran off to go set up the game as the other four followed close behind.
The five had gone into the living area. Mikey sat on the floor, as close to the TVs as he could get, Raph sat in the recliner, and April sat on the couch in between Donnie and Casey. There were only two controllers, so the rounds were one on one. Raph against Mikey and Don against Casey. After that, winner would play winner. The rounds were short, but they would often call immediate rematches or fouls until they were truly required to stop. As the five began to play their game, Kaylee and Leo remained standing where the others had been previous.
Kaylee stood, looking towards the living area, but not moving towards it. She wanted to go be part of their games, but this wasn't her family. She knew that she didn't have one. Here, she was just the extra. They were great, but, when it came down to it, they wouldn't want her. No one ever really did. They had their ways and she just wasn't part of them. At least that is how she felt about it.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Leo asked.
"Yeah." Kaylee said, smiling that soft smile she was so keen to.
"You like to do that don't you?" Leo said.
"What?" Kaylee asked, turning to Leo.
"Going off somewhere else and then coming back and smiling as if it never happened." Kaylee giggled lightly. She was anything, but an open book and here Leo was explaining a usual with her. This was a rare finding.
"Yeah. I guess I do that. Just get lost in thought." Kaylee said.
"My brothers and I do the same thing. We all get lost in thought. Raph in his anger, Mikey in his insanity, Don in his knowledge, and me in my worries and strategies."
"Worries?" Leo smiled.
"Yeah. Worries. I am the leader. My brothers are my responsibility so I worry about them. Don't tell them that though. I don't want them thinking that I have gone soft or anything." Leo said.
"I won't. I know where you're coming from. I am responsible for what happens to Luke." At the mention of her 'brother', Kaylee's eyes moved from Leo to the ground. "Today is his birthday and he thinks I am dead or missing." Leo laid his hand on Kaylee's shoulder and squeezed.
"It is best this way."
"I know, but I still feel like I am responsible." Kaylee said, looking Leo in the eyes with a glint of guilt. Leo was very familiar with that look he had seen it in himself many times.
"I can ask Don to give you Shell Cell. We have a secure line. It is pure Don Tech. Very reliable. You can talk to Luke on that."
"You think I can do that." Kaylee's look shifted from guilt to the same look of determination that she had used that morning at training.
"I think so. I will have to check with my brothers and Splinter, but I don't see why not." Leo said.
"Thank you. I promise I will repay you guys for everything."
"There is no need. We help those who need it and give it to people who deserve it." Leo said. "Now come on. You are missing a Hamato family tradition. The video game showdown is pretty great."
Leo began to walk away, but Kaylee stayed where she was. The turtles helped complete strangers in a society that cast them aside as trash. They were the saints that Kaylee had heard of in stories and they weren't human, ironically enough. Kaylee thought of them as a bunch of mismatched books that all managed to fit on the same shelf in some chaotic order. She craved that fitting in feeling, but she couldn't even figure out her own self. They were completed books, they knew who they were. She was missing pages and her binding. She would never fit into their world. Little did she know that the turtles were the ones who would find her missing pages, complete her binding and find her a place on that shelf. They just didn't know it yet.
"Are you coming?" Leo asked the distant female.
"Yeah. Sorry. I just got..." Kaylee was about to finish her statement, but was cut off by Leo.
"lost in thought."
Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the new chapter. Sorry for the long wait. Please, review, criticize, comment. Thanks for reading! More on the way. :)