Prologue: Newest Addition
Many moons ago, the seasons were changing from late summer to early autumn. Under the streets of New York were four mutant turtle children playing in the tunnels of their sewer home, smiling and laughing as they raced each other. The two turtles upfront raced through the tunnels, splashing in the shallow water along the way. "C'mon Leo! At this point, I might beat you!" The red bandanna-wearing child taunted. The other smirked playfully. "Not if I can make it there first!" The turtle in the blue bandanna retaliated. The other two in the back managed to catch up, surprising them. "Nuh-uh. I'm going to win this one." The younger turtle in an orange mask rushed up to them.
"In your dreams, Mikey!" A light olive green turtle in a purple mask spoke, using Mikey's shoulders to leap over his head like a frog. "Not fair, Donny!" Mike pouted but was quick to catch back up to them. The race was getting intense to the point that the brothers were neck to neck. That was until Leo slid to a halt, making a small wave of water splash forward and the others bumped into him, causing them to stumble and splash a bit. The others turned their heads to look at the eldest of them. "Leo, what the heck's the problem?" The turtle tot in red asked. "Quiet, Raph. Something doesn't feel right." Leo hushed him. Raph grumbled at him, but something did feel odd in the air so he kept his beak shut.
It was quite a distance from their little play area, but they could hear it. Someone was running through another tunnel. That someone was a fawn-colored rat mutant running away and holding a smaller being in her arm while she ran on her other three limbs. She kept the smaller mutant close while her ears kept picking up the sound of the humans behind her before she finally turned a corner and broke their line of sight. It would only be a brief amount of time before they'd find them and she knew it.
A small pair of hands gripped on her loose fur for a moment before she gave a huff at the little one. The younger mutant let go and the fawn-colored rat walked a couple of paces forward on her back legs now before using a hand to pull a concrete slab aside and showing a hole in the wall, her little temporary home away from the laboratory. Her ears picked up the sounds of the humans again and she set down the child. "Stay low," she whispered. The sounds of them were getting closer. Even though she knew leaving someone she already considered her own pup behind was cruel, she also knew what the humans were doing was much worse with her recently-found morality. She knew what she had to do.
She watched the younger mutant hide deep in her burrow before the rat finally bolted straight toward the noise of the humans. The smell of the laboratory they came from was not hard to spot inside the sewer tunnels. She charged right at the men in padded armor suits and managed to make them stumble and separate before they chased after her further into the tunnels and far away from the mutant child. Unbeknownst to her, she ran by four little mutant children who were hiding away.
It was a flash of fur running past them and armored men chasing after the rodent with every intent to catch her. The turtle tots watched as she went further out of view, turning a corner while the men followed her. "Who was that?" Don asked. "I don't know," Mikey answered. "Hey, wasn't she holding something before those guys came?" Raph noticed. The turtle in orange was quick to react. "Yeah. I think she left it behind around here." He spoke a little too calmly before his signature burst of energy came forward. "Let's go check it out." He was fast on his feet and Leo yelled after him. "Mikey no! What about what Master Splinter said?" Even Raph was a bit worried though he won't admit it so easily. "Mikey!" The dark green turtle chased after the youngest. The other two were left with no choice but to follow after their brothers.
It was a minute of chasing but they found the red and orange headband-wearing turtles, looking around the corner. "Why'd you stop? Do you see anything?" Leo asked. "There's nothing here, except a new hole in the wall," Donny observed. "Yeah. I wanna go see." Once more, Mikey was about to go right ahead but Raph caught him by the shoulder. "Hold on. We don't know what's in there." He sounded a bit suspicious, if not cautious. He still remembered weeks ago that moment when he went into unknown, forbidden territory and crossed paths with a giant, defensive crocodile, someone's exotic pet that was thrown into the sewers long ago. He and Leo were almost crocodile food that day and he'd rather not see any of his brothers almost end up the same.
"That is precisely right, Raphael." The four turtles jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. "Master Splinter, what are you doing here?" Donny squeaked a bit. "I could ask you, boys, the same question." He kept his eyes on them while his hands were set on his hips. "We… we saw someone come through here." Leo started with Mikey piping in. "Yeah, and they looked like you a bit, but… smaller and with lighter fur." Their sensei almost halted in his moves entirely at that. He lifted his head and sniffed around. His sons definitely weren't lying. There was another mutant rat around, but the aroma they gave off almost staggered him entirely. 'Could it be…?' He shook his head and blew a small puff through his nostrils to get rid of the smell and focus back on his sons. 'No… it can't be. It's not possible.'
"Sensei, are you alright?" Leo asked him already at his side. "I am alright, Leonardo." Splinter looked back to them, only counting three heads, and found the fourth one treading towards the hole in the wall. "And I see that Michelangelo is trying to sneak off." The turtle in orange gave a small squeak when the rat dad noticed him. "Aw, come on, Sensei. Can't we see what's in there?" He asked. "We don't even know if there is anything in there." The dark green turtle in red responded. "Raphael is right. We don't know if there is anything in there, whether it'd be good or bad." The rat came closer, standing beside him.
"But Master Splinter, I just have a feeling that we gotta see." Mikey insisted. "… please?" He looked up at him with big eyes, hoping for a yes from his father. Splinter knew that if he said no, then his sons would sneak out and look inside anyways. Besides, even if he had to go with his instincts to keep his family safe from the unknown dangers, morality would overrule it like it always had. The gray rat sighed. "I will look inside." The turtle smiled and grabbed his hand, rushing towards the hole in the wall.
The short distance finally closed and Splinter took a look around. A large slab of concrete was beside the hole in the wall and by the abrasions on the ground, he can only guess that it had been repeatedly pushed back and forth, which raised some questions of its own but he chose to ignore them. His ears perked up and he looked back up to the hole in the wall. He could've sworn he heard something and a rat's ears never lied. They didn't lie to him before and he had no reason not to believe them now. He got close and finally went inside halfway.
He sniffed around the hole in the wall. It must be a burrow. It was in a concrete wall but he knew from personal experience that a rat could make a burrow just about anywhere. His hands felt up on the walls inside. With the way the walls felt, it seemed like this burrow was here for more than a week. His nose caught a whiff of the owner. It was the same as before and it still had that same familiarity like something he knew from way back in his "normal" days, but once more, as much as he'd hate to admit it, he could be mistaken. Although if his nose is right, which it often was, then that someone was here and they were not alone. There was another smell, newer and fresher as if this second person never left which meant…
His eyes finally caught sight of a small figure pressing their little body against the back of the burrow. This one didn't smell like a rat like himself or the mysterious one his sons claimed to have seen. However, he could smell fear off of the juvenile mutant. "Sensei, what's in there? You've been in there for a bit." He could hear his son, Donatello worry over him. He pulled back out to look at them. "It's not a what, but a who is in here?" He watched his sons look at each other, puzzled. He took his chance to head back inside and gently coax the juvenile out of hiding.
"It is alright. You are safe. I will not harm you." He gently whispered while his eyes scanned the body language intently. The younger one's eyes darted all over, possibly assessing the situation or looking for a way to escape, even though he'd have to move to allow any space to open up for escape to happen. He didn't though. This was just a juvenile mutant much like his sons and this one was scared. A scared animal would panic and that's the last thing anyone needed.
Splinter pulled back enough to show a hand to the young one. "Come with me… You'll be much safer in my home than being alone out here on your own." He persuaded softly. It took a moment with the younger glancing between his hand and face but finally, they spoke. "You… you're like her." He hummed, assuming she meant the other rat his sons saw. "I am… and yet I am a stranger to you. Do you trust me already because I look like someone?" She looked him over again and slowly an answer came through, "you don't seem so bad… not like those other people.. yeah… I guess I do."
'Other people?' He raised an eyebrow before putting the pieces together now. It made sense now. In truth, he had only found his sons because of his sense of worry and he was worried because his ears picked up the sounds of extra feet. He was thankful they were far from his sons. However, he no longer heard them and went to find them where in the distance his ears picked up a struggle far away. The sounds of it had stopped by now, or they moved further away from his sensitive ears.
He was brought back into the moment when he felt a small hand grasp his fingers gently. He smiled softly and used his other hand to pull himself out of the burrow. "Sensei, what'd you mean by who?" Raphael asked, only receiving a hush from their rat dad. "Come on out… It is safe." The old gray rat persuaded softly to the stranger inside. The four turtles jumped and pulled themselves away when they saw a clawed hand grab at the edge of the opening. The hand slid down and a pair of feet with stretched toes appeared before they slid out and settled on the ground. They shut their eyes almost too scared to see, but ultimately they decided to look. Almost immediately they looked at the stranger with awe.
"You're… like us." The Kelly green turtle in blue muttered, still processing what he was seeing. "Yes, she does." Splinter confirmed for him. As a matter of fact, she was a mutant like them, except she looked different. She had a light, almost creamy yellow like freshly turned butter with dark brown leopard-like spot designs scattering all over her body. Meanwhile, the lower half of her face had a creamy off-white color. It definitely wasn't almond but it stretched from her face down her front to the end of her tail. Her hands and feet had gloves-and-sock-like markings and they matched her front with the creamy off-white, somewhat beige color.
What threw them off the most were her eyes. They were an unnatural blue with a gray stripe that curved across like a stream. They contrasted so differently from her skin that it freaked them out a bit. The dark teal turtle in orange however recovered a bit quicker than his brothers and he was the first to approach the new mutant lizard. "Hi!" He chirped enthusiastically. She jumped at the pitch of his voice and scrambled closer to the rat. The gray rat chuckled softly at her. "Do not be afraid. This is just one of my sons, Michelangelo." The lizard watched as the other three turtles came forward. Each of them had a different shade of green and color-coded bandanas. Blue, red, orange, and purple, if she remembered right.
"Hello, I'm Leonardo." The one wearing a blue mask started before pointing at the one in purple. "That's Donatello. We call him Don or Donny for short." The turtle in purple waved and greeted the mutant gecko. Leonardo pointed to the dark green turtle in red and was about to introduce him. "And he's—." He got interrupted with a shove to the side by the one in red. "I can introduce myself, Leo." He extended a hand to her. "I'm Raphael, but my bros call me Raph." She only looked at it, showing some confusion. "What's the matter? Never shook a hand before?" He asked with a little bit of attitude in his voice. The rat felt a change, not only between the little lizard and his sons but something in the air as well. His ear twitched upon hearing some feet and voices. "Raphael, please hush…" He gently lowered his voice and hushed the children.
"She can't from this way, right? It's possible that she left the subject here." A masculine voice suggested. "We can't be too sure. Everyone spread out. Meet back in the center after we can confirm the areas cleared." Another voice ordered in the distance. "My sons, disappear." He turned to them and whispered his command, hoping his voice wouldn't be caught by the oncoming group. The turtles noticed the look of urgency in his eyes and nodded. The lizard looked from them up to the ray who lowered to scoop her up. "Hold onto me, little one." The gecko stiffened at the familiarity of the phrase but nodded, wrapping her arms around him and gripping his fur.
He was thankful for his scruff at the moment and he gave a leap up to the pipes, grabbing with one hand and swinging to the top with momentum. He was even more thankful that he taught himself to remain light on his feet and quick enough to escape the flashlights swerving around. He could see four figures hiding in different places. His eldest followed him up, two remained still in the murky water, and one was in the mix of newspaper, twigs, and leaves that the nest inside the burrow consisted of. One of the members defected from the group and looked like he was about to poke around in it.
He can only guess that his son was trying so hard not to panic. Splinter looked around, ready to find a distraction to mislead the group of humans on. He thankfully didn't have to when he heard the leader of their group give a stoic message. "It's clear. Come on. We've got other places to investigate." The others looked all around before they followed him out and further down the tunnels. The Kami must've been in his favor for they didn't think to turn to their home. He waited until he could barely hear them anymore.
Finally, he let out a sigh and jumped down. Leonardo followed suit while the others popped out of their hiding spots. He smiled softly, feeling a sense of pride in his sons' already natural skills. He taught them well, but there was still so much room to learn and nurture new skills. He motioned for them to follow and keep quiet, then led them back towards their safe haven. He could still feel the mutant child cling to him and bury her face into his neck fur. He gave a reassuring hum and kept his arms secured on her small body. They arrived at their home and the four already ran inside. The rat followed after them, taking a few more paces before he told the gecko child. "You can let go now. You're safe." She hesitated understandably before finally loosening her hold and being let down by the rat.
Splinter watched as she looked around, nervous but her eyes were filled with a childlike wonder that his sons held and he hoped they could hold onto that wonder for as long as they could. The lizard backed away into Splinter when the four Turtles approached her. "So, uh, you got a name, don't ya?" Raphael asked. She looked confused at that. "A name?" Donatello added, "Yeah. What is your name? What did people call you?" She still kept her confused face. "I… I don't know. I don't think they gave me a name." Splinter noticed his youngest popping up. "What?! No name? We gotta fix that." Michelangelo got up and went to grab the Italian Renaissance art book on the shelf. Splinter already could feel a smile coming on while we watched his son grab a stool and grab the book from the higher shelf. "Master, we gotta find her one." His enthusiasm showed through his voice.
"Indeed." He agreed and let his son hand the book to him. 'Especially if she is to stay here.' He thought to himself. 'A name should be in here for her.' The rat began opening the book, listening to the gentle crease of the cover and the turning of the pages. Most of the book's pages had renowned Renaissance men and their works, be it their roles in the arts, politics, or their beliefs. There were a few women, some were fictional figures made into works of art and others were based on real women of the Renaissance.
"Ahem," he gently got the little lizard's attention. "Child, could you come here and help me with something?" She gave a nod and went to him. His tail moved out of the way beside him and gave her a spot. "Sit here." He said, big looking up from the book, studying the names. She did take a moment to sit down but finally did so beside him. He gave a low sigh. "Now then, would you like to pick a name for yourself?" He asked. She almost perked up at that, giving no thought about it before she nodded. He smiled softly and lowered the book down for her to see. "Let us begin then… Anastasia?" She shook her head. She didn't look like someone with the name Anastasia. "No," he confirmed. "Lucrezia?.. No, definitely not." The leopard gecko didn't look anything like Lucrezia and he wasn't about to put her in the same place with someone who had a… messy family history. And that was putting it lightly.
"How about Mona Lisa? Or Madonna? Rachel?" The dark teal turtle suggested to the gecko, sitting beside her. "I… No… They don't feel right." She disagreed in a soft-spoken tone. His son's eyes were full of excitement for a moment before a brief look of disappointment appeared, but it had quickly left as it came. The rat smiled at his attempts and the two obvious references to his namesake before continuing.
There had to be a name for her in the book somewhere. His eyes overlooked the pages. There was an unfinished sketch that caught his eye. It depicted a woman in a head and shoulders portrait with her head in profile. The sketch was remarkable for its proportions and the foreshortening of the bust. The profile was perfectly linear, the eyes gazed beyond the field of vision, and it contrasted the turn of the body. Splinter noticed the art style to be that of Leonardo's namesake.
There were a few other paintings of this woman, notable in red and another in black. A name was attached to this woman and it stuck with him. Finally, he spoke up after a solid minute. "Would Isabella work for you?" She perked up at that almost immediately while he set the book down for her to see the pictures herself. She lit up and gave an eager nod to him. "Yes, Isabella it is then." He chuckled, patting her head softly. She did keep a smile for a moment before it dropped quite a bit and she looked back outside their home. "What about the rat lady? The one who helped me?" She asked. The rat stiffened a bit at the mention of the other rodent mutant. He could still recall the sound of a group chasing one, a man screaming about the mutant injuring him, and the chase continuing until it was far from his hearing range.
He wanted to avoid this. He honestly really did, but there was no way out of it now. "Little one, with how… dire the situation looked," he paused for a moment, dreading the next words he had to say, "I fear she's not coming back." The leopard gecko took a moment to process. Her eyes were befuddled with a mix of emotions that she couldn't name yet and the hope of ever seeing the rat woman again dwindled to near-nothingness. A soft and sad "oh" left her and it looked like she deflated a bit. He wanted to comfort her but did not wish to push her boundaries… if she did have a concept of them.
"Hey, you can stay here with us." His youngest turtle son chirped. "Is she staying here? Is she? Can we keep her, sensei?" Splinter could see his son look up at him with excitement in his eyes, so much life that he wished he could have once more. He knew it would be unfair to leave her out in the world. The humans despised things they could never understand and he and his family were among those things. He didn't dare imagine what her pursuers would do if they caught her, let alone what they did for a rat mutant to have already made a burrow for her to hide while she took the men away. He'll never know if the rodent met her end or if she made the humans meet theirs.
Maybe… just maybe there was a reason his sons led him to the little gecko. Maybe fate had something for her and there was a strong feeling in him telling him not to let go of the child he just met. There had to be a reason. His head finally turned from the child and his other three turtle sons have already gathered before him at this point to hear his answer. He raised his eyebrow at them. "I kept you four, have I not?" He gently jabbed at them, receiving a collective of offended little "hey's" and soft laughter from them. He gave a soft sigh and smiled at the leopard gecko who now had a name. "Isabella," she looked up to him, acknowledging the name, "would you like to be part of our family?"
The leopard gecko gazed around and saw only eager expressions and one hesitant face for her answer. Her eyes went back to the gray-furred ray and she could only remember the same kindness and worry the rodent mutant had when she was being carried. There was very little reason for her not to accept. With a brightness in her eyes, she nodded her answer. "Yes! Guys look! We have a little lizard sister now! Lil' Liz sis!" Mikey exaggerated, having jumped up and hugged himself to her, lifting her a couple of inches off the ground. "Mikey, let her down! She needs to breathe, you bonehead." Mikey set her down just a moment before he was chased by Raph and inevitably he got tackled while Isabella watched the two roll away.
Splinter let out a frustrated sigh while Donny rolled his eyes at them, making sure to keep himself out of the way. Leo however kept himself before the ray and he finally spoke up and asked straight away. "Master Splinter, will she train with us?" The two turtles stopped in their tussle. One of them holding a thumb in the other's beak and the other pushing his hands upon his face. They got themselves untangled and everyone looked between the lizard and the rat for an answer. Isabella shifted underneath their gazes uncomfortably. Splinter took notice of this and spoke for her, "In time, she will answer. For now, allow her to settle in, and then we'll discuss it later." They nodded understandably and there was a collective of two "yeah's," an "okay," and a soft grunt leaving the turtle in red. Mikey already was trying to drag her off to an activity and the other two were following after. Raphael looked hesitant to interact with her, but Splinter knew he just needed time. The rat watched as his sons were trying to include her in things and smiled with a thought. 'She's going to fit in nicely here.'
Author's Note: Hey guys. I know it's been quite a bit. Heck, it's been years and I said I'd do a sequel. Well, the sequel idea wasn't working out that well since it would've just dropped Isabella off mid-story and jump to another but it just didn't make sense. Then I got more attached to the lizard girl and well here we are.
She's getting a rewrite and an actual series for her. I think this fic will stretch until season 4. Next fic would be on the Ninja Tribunal with a few more surprises and uh, who knows whether or not Isa would be joining the gang to the future. I'm still figuring some things out in the story and in life. (Honestly, there's not really much to figure out in my life. I just need to not procrastinate as much as I had before.)
Yeah, so our little gecko is getting a rewrite and better characterization. "Sister's Story" will stay for as long as possible, "Sister Shots" might be put back into work for a while, and hopefully I'll be more consistent about the timing of the chapters instead of leaving y'all on hiatus for an unprecedented amount of time.
Anyways, happy national ninja day everyone. I hope you guys have an amazing time and that you'll join me again for Isa's adventures. Please leave a review below. I'd love to hear from you guys again.