Hello readers! Today I wanted to start a fanfiction that has been on my mind for a while and driving me crazy not to write it down. So, here it is. The story will be mostly focused on my OC and his life with the famous pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Though I will be borrowing concepts from the various adaptations of the franchise, there is no specific universe in which this fanfic is set. It is mostly my original take on the TMNT with some of the same characters everyone knows and loves. So, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of The Legend of Lorenzo Hamato. I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

Chapter 1: A New Addition to the Family

The bustling streets of New York City were its original cacophony of car horns, police sirens, and shouting neighbors. No one would suspect anything less from one of the biggest cities in the United States. They would not even suspect any amount of peace in the crime-ridden streets surrounding the island either. To everyone, this was normal. What they did not include was the series of events that were going to change the lives of six individuals.

Inside a dank apartment, a woman frantically pulled clothes from her dresser and shoved them into open luggage bags. Beside her bed was a crib with a small frame of a baby inside. The infant lay on his back, making typical squeaks and babbles as he watched his mother fill her bags in a panic.

Eventually, a man with a leather jacket walked in saying, "Makoto, we have to leave now! They're already looking for you both. I know someone who can get you on a train at Grand Central Station. It is faster and you can easily disappear at the next stop once you leave the city."

The bags were filled to the brim with messy bundles of clothes as she either closed or zipped each one.

"No, that's what he would suspect me to do," said the woman. "It is too risky. The Foot have eyes and ears all over this city. They could easily hack into the station's cameras and be on us like termites to wood. Smuggling on a boat is more inconspicuous and the docs are one of the few places he hasn't fully dug his claws into."

She turned to face the man, "Did you get the baby bag?"

"I packed everything. We just need to get you two out of New York while the clan still has no idea where you are," said the man.

But before either of them could grab any of the luggage, the front door of the apartment exploded into splinters and flew off its hinges. The man and woman quickly turned around to see an individual clad in black with a mask over his entire face. His eyes were even covered by reflective red lenses. Wrapped around his head was a red band with the symbol of a footprint on the front.

The stranger marched in with a bunch of similarly dressed individuals behind him. They surrounded the couple and stood at attention as a tall figure stood within the broken frame of the door. The figure slowly stepped into the apartment. His whole body was covered in jagged metal armor with a helmet and mask covering his face. The only things visible were his sinister brown eyes.

Though the woman was surrounded, she showed no signs of fear. She stood tall as her hands balled into fists and glared at the armored man with great hatred.

The armored man spoke, "You should not have run, Makoto. It would have made things…easier."

"What choice did I have? I know what you were planning to do and I won't allow it!" she replied. "How could you do this?! After everything we've been through. All of those times I stood loyally by your side. Even when I allowed you to murder my friends, Tang Shen and Yoshi. I helped your Foot Clan to grow stronger. I've deceived and backstabbed so many for you and your vision. You said everything we've done was to form a greater future for us!"

"The clan must thrive," said the armored man in a cold tone.

"I would sooner see your clan burn to the ground than let you hurt him!" growled the woman.

The sound of crying filled the air as the armored man leaned to the side to see the baby in the crib. The infant wiggled in his sheets with tears rolling down his cheeks. On his shoulder was a birthmark in a shape similar to the footprint on the ninjas' headbands.

"Makoto, run!" cried the man in the leather jacket as he pulled out a katana and charged at the armored adversary.

But in a swift motion, the armored man countered his attacker and struck him in the abdomen with his bladed gauntlets. The man fell limp and dropped his katana before collapsing to the ground.

"No!" cried Makoto.

"This is your last chance, surrender the child and I promise you will live," said the armored man.

She continued to glare at him as tears ran down her face. "You are not the man I once knew."

His eyes closed for a moment. "It did not have to be this way, Makoto. But you forced my hand."

Makoto leaped to the ground, grabbed the katana blade, and rolled back up. Her body had formed in a fighting position.

The ninjas were about to swarm her but their leader held up a hand, making them all loosen their grip on their weapons and stand back.

"One last time," growled Makoto.

"So be it," said the armored man.

The two charged each other in combat.

Meanwhile

In the dark alleys of Manhattan, Master Splinter rummaged through the dumpster for any useful resources, food, or loose change. He did not relish in the concept of dumpster diving so he could provide for his sons, but the rat did not want to set a bad example either by stealing. His late Master Yoshi would not approve of such wrongdoing. Splinter pulled his hood further down his face to conceal his appearance from anyone passing by.

But something broke his concentration as his nose twitched from a peculiar smell in the air. It was a scent he was too familiar with from when he had suffered the loss. The smell of burnt wood. His ears also twitched at the familiar crackling sound that followed the scent. But this sound was louder than it usually was. Too loud to come from a fireplace or an oil drum where the homeless gather.

Splinter's blood turned cold in his veins as he feared where the source of the sounds and smells came from. The trail was not too far as he sprinted down the alley to follow the scent of burning wood. Much to his horror, his suspicions were correct.

Across the street was an apartment building on fire. People began to either dial 911 or take pictures on their smartphones. The tenants were already pouring out of the front exit, running for their lives. Luckily, the fire had not spread throughout the building and seemed to originate from a room on the tenth floor.

Master Splinter thought to let the fire department handle this matter, but his sharp ears caught a sound within the building. The sound of a crying infant. The rat's eyes widened in horror, realizing there was a defenseless child trapped in that burning building and in the vicinity of the fire, no less. If the child was that close to the fire, the firefighters would not have enough time to climb up and save it. Even though it was risky, Master Splinter knew what he had to do. What he strived to teach his sons, and what morals his master lived by.

Staying within the shadows, the rat stealthily crept up the building towards the burning floor. He smashed his way through one of the windows and leaped into the hallway. By that time, the building was vacant with most of its tenants evacuated. All that was left was the wailing of an infant. With great haste, he sped down the hall towards the apartment that was burning. Due to his experience and years of training, he was able to sprint through the fire without getting burnt. He stopped for a moment to scan the confines of the burning apartment. Everything was covered in bright orange flames. Eventually, Splinter saw a single form lying on the ground; it was a woman. Was she alive?

Splinter wasted no time as he knelt and shook the woman's shoulder saying, "Ma'am, are you alright?"

But the rat could only gasp when he noticed the crimson stains on her close. What shocked the rat, even more, was the woman's face. He remembered her face. Coincidentally, the burning apartment was an accurate adaption of that night when he lost his family.

"Makoto?" he whispered.

In his mind, Master Splinter's memories are replayed when he witnesses The Shredder executing Yoshi and his wife in cold blood. His ninjas are beside him…along with Makoto.

He could remember Tang Shen's words as tears ran down her face.

"Why? Why would you betray us, Makoto?"

He placed two of his clawed fingers on her neck, but there was no pulse. Master Splinter closed his eyes in despair as he knelt by the woman. He failed to save her. But it was not all hopeless. Splinter's ears twitched again when he heard the crying infant. He snapped back into focus and quickly followed the crying into the bedroom. By the master bed, he could see a crib, untouched by the flames, with a wailing baby inside.

Splinter ran up to the crib and looked down and the helpless infant. The child's cries slowly deteriorated into whimpers as he stared up at the rat with his big eyes, showing no fear but wonder.

Splinter gently reached down and picked up the infant in his arms saying, "Do not worry, little one, you are safe now."

The baby stared at the giant rat curiously. Surprisingly, to Splinter, the child showed no signs of fear when seeing his face illuminated by the fire. Granted, he was very young and did not know better about what was considered normalcy in the human world.

But a crashing sound came from above as the roof caved in. Luckily, Splinter was able to leap out of the way with the baby still in his arms. It might have been too late to save Makoto, but he was going to make sure this child had a chance at life. Without hesitation, the rat sprinted out of the fire and leaped out the window he came in. He landed on some trash bags safely with the baby.

Master Splinter looked down at the child who began to giggle. He reached up to touch the rat's snout. Splinter could only chuckle at the soft touch of the baby's hands on his nose and fur.

In the distance, the sound of sirens could be heard from where the two landed. Master Splinter was conflicted about what to do with the infant. His mother was gone and had no one to take care of him. He could leave the child somewhere where the firefighters could easily find him, but did Splinter want to take that chance, leaving a defenseless baby on the street? What if this child had no other family to care for him? The poor thing would be all alone in a large city, where the rat knew too well, to be harsh to almost everyone.

Without further debate, he looked down at the baby with a smile and said, "It is alright, child. I shall take you somewhere safe until I figure out what to do with you."

The rat lifted the nearest manhole cover and crawled down with the child.

The Sewers

"Cannonball!" cried Michelangelo as he jumped off the couch and landed into a pile of pillows that scattered on impact. Feathers exploded into the air and gently fluttered like snow around the lair.

"Way to go, Mikey! Now we have to scavenge for new pillows!" retorted Raphael.

The young turtle poked his head out of the pile. "Whatever you say, Party Pooper Raph."

Leonardo turned from the couch saying, "Can you guys keep it down? I'm trying to watch my favorite cartoon."

Donatello brushed away some of the feathers that landed on his notebook. "And I'm trying to finish the schematics for this new invention I thought up. It's supposed to be similar to a regular phone humans use, but it's encrypted to"

"Nobody cares, Donnie!" replied Raphael.

But their fun was interrupted when they heard the familiar creaking sound of the metal door they used to enter and leave the lair. All of the little turtles' heads shot up from the noise. Master Splinter was home!

"Quick! Clean everything up!" cried Leo.

The young reptiles immediately got to work sweeping up the mess Mickey had made and hid it where Master Splinter would not look. Leonardo turned off the TV while Donatello put away his tools and pile of tech. Even though it would only take the rat a few seconds to enter the lair from the tunnel, the turtles had experience in using their training to clean up and hide their tomfoolery.

Once everything was back in order, they all stood at attention as the rat entered the lair. Splinter pulled down his hood to reveal himself to his young students.

The turtles bowed together saying in unison, "Welcome home, Sensei."

Splinter smiled at his pupils. "Good evening, my sons. I see you have behaved yourself while I was away."

All of the turtles wore fake smiles as their eyes darted nervously at each other.

"Uh, yeah, everything is completely normal and boring here," said Leonardo.

"Yup, nothing messy or crazy," said Michelangelo.

The rat took a moment to look down and pick up a lone feather resting by his foot. He presented it to his students with a cocked brow.

The turtle children could only slouch in defeat. It did not take much for Splinter to know when his sons were up to mischief. But their moment of embarrassment was cut short when they noticed something tiny squealing in their sensei's arms.

"We will discuss this later," said Master Splinter. "Leonardo, get me a blanket. Donatello, a bowl of water and a rag, quickly!"

The two turtles ran off while Michelangelo and Raphael stayed behind with their sensei.

Mikey stared at the weird creature with wonder and asked, "What is it, Master Splinter?"

The rat knelt at the young turtle's level with a smile as he reached out his arms for his student to have a better look.

"It is a human baby, Michelangelo," replied Splinter.

Both Mikey and Raph stared at the small infant, who stared back at them with his big brown eyes. Mikey's eyes widened as he let out a long exaggerated gasp with his hands on his cheeks.

His smile grew bigger as he cried, "It's so cuuuuuuuuute!"

Mikey looked up at Master Splinter in a pleading manner. "Can we keep it, Master Splinter, pleeeeeease!"

The rat shook his head. "I am sorry, Michelangelo, but this is a human child and must be raised by other humans. As soon as he's cleaned up, I shall return him to the surface."

Michelangelo slouched and groaned in disappointment.

Raphael stood by with his arms crossed as he commented, "Please, Mikey, everyone knows the moment you take responsibility, you botch it up somehow. Remember what happened to the cat?"

Mikey turned to Raph with a glare and pointed a finger saying, "Klunk was an accident! If anything, he was a test run for me to be ready when I got myself a real pet."

Donatello and Leonardo returned with the contents Master Splinter asked for and gave them to him.

The rat took the rag and soaked it in the bowl of water before dabbing the baby's skin with it, to wipe off the soot. While cleaning the baby, Master Splinter could not help but stare at a peculiar birthmark on the infant's left shoulder, resembling a footprint.

Eventually, the rat turned his attention back to his pupils. "Michelangelo, the baby is not a pet. He is a living being that deserves love and nature for him to grow."

"Why bring a baby down to the lair, Sensei? You always told us to never interact with the humans," said Leonardo.

Master Splinter's face became crestfallen. His gaze shifted between the baby and the four curious turtle children. Splinter did not want to haunt his sons with the tragic story of how he came to bring a baby into the lair, but he figured it was best to stay honest.

"He lost his home and mother in a fire. I was able to rescue the child before the fire caused any harm to him," explained the rat.

The turtles' faces were a mixture of shock, horror, and sadness.

"You mean…he's alone?" asked Donnie with a frown.

"I'm afraid so," replied Splinter.

"Then he can stay with us!" cried Michelangelo with a big smile.

"No, Michelangelo!" said the rat.

"Sensei is right, Mikey, we can't keep a human down here. It's not fit for him," said Leo.

"Yeah, all human babies require special care to ensure proper growth and development that only hospitals and family households can provide," said Donatello.

"So? We live in the sewers and we turned out okay," replied Mikey.

"Some better than others," grumbled Raphael.

Once the baby was properly cleaned, Master Splinter wrapped him in the blanket and stood up. "I am sorry, my sons, but this child deserves a proper home that will take good care of him. For us to provide him with such care will be difficult for all of us since he is human and not a mutant. I will be gone for a little while longer to find a safe place for the child; you four behave yourselves this time."

All four turtle children bowed and spoke in unison, "Hai, Sensei!"

The rat made his way to the exit but stopped in his tracks to turn around with a smirk. "And try not to destroy our pillows this time. We need those to sleep."

Master Splinter made his way out of the lair while the four turtles stared, thinking about what they learned about the human baby. Was their sensei serious about rescuing the child? How did he lose his mother? Would it be that bad if the baby stayed with them? These thoughts plagued their young minds.

Outside of New York Presbyterian Hospital

Master Splinter crept through the streets of New York, careful not to be seen by any pedestrians. Though he was still healthy for a mutant, he knew someday that age would get the better of him and it would be up to his four sons to be the defenders of this city. Eventually, he crept up an alley where a hospital stood from across the street. The child should be safe there. Hopefully, he would be given food, shelter, and a proper home that would care for him.

The rat watched as the medical staff went in and out of the hospital, attending to patients in the waiting room or rolled in by a gurney.

He looked back down at the child in his arms. The infant only babbled and giggled as he reached up to Splinter with his tiny hands, smiling. Even though he knew this was the better outcome for the human child, Master Splinter began to have second thoughts. Yes, the child would have shelter, but will he be nurtured properly? The rat knew too well how some orphanages and foster homes reflected harsher conditions than the streets. What if this child had no other family and grew up the rest of his life being a ward of the state? Furthermore, that birthmark on the infant's shoulder continued to linger in the rat's mind. It was not uncommon for any child to contain strange birthmarks, but for some reason, this one stuck out to him. There was more to this infant than meets the eye, especially if his mother was the woman who betrayed his master many years ago. Maybe there was a reason he was the one to rescue the baby from the burning building.

As the child continued to reach out to Splinter. He could not help but smile and let him grip his one finger. The rat suddenly felt a sensation that he only felt when raising his four turtle students, the same feeling he had when his owner, Hamato Yoshi, was still alive. It was a sense of belonging…of family. Splinter began to understand, that this infant was just like him. His family was taken from him by senseless murder and now all alone with no one else to care for him. The same thing with his sons. Four baby turtles were alone in the sewer with no one to care for them until the rat found them, covered in ooze. Splinter knew what it was like to be alone, to have no one and be left to fend for yourself. Despite his previous thoughts, Splinter made his final decision. He turned around and crawled back down the manhole cover with the baby. The rat did not abandon his students when he found them and he was not going to abandon this human child.

After taking the usual route to navigate his way back to the lair, Splinter opened the door again with the four turtle children watching television together. Once they heard the metal door open and closed, they gathered in front of their sensei to greet him. But what baffled the four young reptiles was their mentor having a broad smile on his face and the baby still in his arms.

"My sons," said Splinter. "I would like you to meet your new baby brother."

"WHAT?!" shouted all four turtles in unison.

"We're really keeping him?" asked Mikey with a big smile on his face.

The rat nodded. "Yes, Michelangelo. He shall be our newest student and addition to our family."

"But, Splinter, you just said we can't take care of this human pipsqueak," said Raphael.

"I understand your confusion, Raphael. But I believe fate has brought us this child to be trained in the ways of ninjutsu like all of you. There is something special about this child that I do not fully understand, but when he becomes of age, he will fulfill that purpose," said Master Splinter.

The young turtle clenched his fist and ground his teeth before shouting, "This is stupid! He's not even a mutant like us."

Leonardo just smiled and shrugged. "Who says you have to be a mutant to be part of our clan?"

"Don't tell me you're falling for this garbage too," retorted Raphael.

"Raphael!" said Splinter. "I will not tolerate that type of language in here!"

The young turtle fell silent. Anger still etched on his face, but remained obedient to his father figure. He could only growl as he crossed his arms.

Michelangelo raised his fists in the air shouting, "Wooohooo! I'm not the youngest anymore!"

"Does he have a name?" asked Donatello.

It suddenly occurred to Master Splinter that the child had no identification. If the baby was to be part of their clan, he would need a proper name.

"I don't think he does," said Leonardo.

"Oh! What if we call him, Pepperoni!" said Mikey.

The other three turtles gave a deadpan stare to their brother.

"You want to name him after a pizza topping?" said Donatello.

"What? It's my favorite out of all the pizza toppings," replied Mickey.

"You are so hopeless," said Raph.

Master Splinter thought for a moment about this dilemma. He remembered how he gave each of his students names based on famous individuals from the Italian Renaissance. Thinking of such artists and philosophers, there was one that came to mind.

"We shall call him…Lorenzo," said Master Splinter.

"Lorenzo?" repeated Leo.

"I like it," replied Donnie.

"His nickname could be Enzo," said Mikey. "Hey, that has a nice ring to it…Enzo."

Raphael continued to scoff while his three brothers agreed on the name.

Eventually, Leonardo stepped forward, fidgeting with his hands saying, "Um, Master Splinter…c-can I hold him?"

The rat nodded to his eldest son. "Of course, you can, Leonardo."

"I call after Leo!" cried Mikey.

"Maybe we should keep the baby away from Mickey…forever," grumbled Donatello.

Master Splinter could only chuckle at the turtle's bickering. "You all can have a turn to hold him."

He lends the baby to Leonardo.

The young leader took the human baby from his mentor and held it in his arms. Donatello and Michelangelo stood beside him, all three of them admiring the new baby brother they received.

The baby stared up at all of them curiously. He gave a toothless smile and giggled as he reached up and grabbed Leonardo's finger. The young leader could only giggle at the ticklish feeling of the baby's hands. Leo smiled as he looked down at the tiny human. Even though the infant was not a turtle like the rest of them, Leo felt the familiar warmth he received from his brothers. But this felt different. He grew up alongside Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo with all of them almost being the same age. With the human baby, Leonardo felt more protective, almost like a guardian.

"Hi, Enzo, we're your new brothers," said Leo.

Donnie just giggled and gave a slight wave.

"We are going to be such good friends!" said Michelangelo to the baby. "I'm going to teach you skateboarding, we'll play video games together, I'll read you comics at night, and when your teeth grow in, I will introduce you to the best thing in the whole wide world…PIZZA!"

"You know that won't be for a while, right Mikey?" said Donnie.

"Please, the last thing we need is two Mikeys in the lair," said Raphael.

Mikey tickled the human as he said in baby talk, "Don't listen to Grumpy Raphie. He's a big meanie pants that doesn't know how to have fun."

"Sometimes, your definition of fun is questionable," said Leo.

"I can help with his schooling," said Donatello. "We can use the same books Splinter gave us for math and spelling."

"Oh gross!" cried Mikey. "You're not turning Enzo into another nerd like you!"

"Says the turtle who can't read a map," retorted the smart turtle.

Master Splinter could only chuckle as he watched his sons bicker over how they were going to raise the human child. It was pleasing to see most of them take an immediate liking to Lorenzo. However, the rat was worried about Raphael as he continued to sulk behind his three brothers.

Splinter eventually said, "Do be gentle, he is small, fragile, and has much growing up to do. Therefore, I expect all four of you to watch over him like he is one of your own and ensure he learns our ways of ninjutsu and honor."

Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo all smiled and nodded before saying in unison, "We promise Sensei."

Master Splinter continued to smile as his three sons admired the newest addition to their clan. Who would have thought that a human child would be raised by a rat and four turtles? Though Splinter worried about Raphael's behavior toward the human child, he was confident that he would grow to accept Lorenzo in time. Until then, life in the lair would take some adjusting now they were caring for a new student who was human and still an infant. How they were going to care for and raise this child was still a complete mystery and was sure to be filled with challenges, but Splinter was hopeful that they would find a way to make it work.

There you have it folks, the beginning of Lorenzo's life with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and feel free to leave your thoughts in a review. I will try to upload new chapters whenever I can, but I am still figuring out the layout for this fanfic. The next few chapters will Enzo's development as his bonds grow with his four adoptive brothers and they help train him in the ways of ninjutsu. Until next time!