Eleven was terrified; she had grown close to this young boy ever since he had been kind to her, helped her, given her advice…all until she had torn the chip out of his neck. She had known his story was plausible as nobody except Papa was truly happy here, she and the other test subjects were living in abject fear, always.

Their lives were painful. Every day they were subjected to test after test, forced to 'see' what Papa and the others were, and forced to carry out experiments with the mind.

Was it any wonder they always dreamt of freedom? Papa never understood this, not once, and never would, that every single child who grew up in the Lab eventually wished for something more. They all wanted to get out. When she had been younger when Kali was still here, Eleven had heard so many stories about the outside world, and it fuelled her hopes for the future. Now Kali was gone; Eleven did not resent or despise Kali for it, for vanishing; after the beating they had both received and being told Kali was then dead, and Eleven had no doubt whatsoever that Kali was told similar lies about her, and then she vanished.

At first, Eleven had believed the lies. But now she was not so sure.

Truth be told if she had not met One, then she would have used the powers she had long tried to hide, and then she would have escaped. One had given her a shoulder to cry on, he had been there.

But she had never imagined her hope for freedom would turn out like this, and the newly discovered 00-1 was so plausible. But out of the corner of her eyes, the results of One's rampage through the Rainbow room, the twisted, bloodied corpses of her 'brothers and sisters' as they lay on the ground, like the guards and orderlies and scientists outside the room, twisted outside.

Finding out he was a killer was truly painful.

"I found a nest of black widows living inside a vent," One was saying in a voice no louder than a whisper, "Most people fear spiders. They detest them. And yet, I found them endlessly fascinating. More than that, I found a great comfort in them."

Eleven was perfectly still, wondering what she was going to do next. She didn't like how One was so fanatical about spiders, and she wondered where he was going to go with all of this.

"A kinship. Like me, they are solitary creatures," One went on, unknowingly including Eleven, and every other child in this dreadful place who'd suffered so much pain as they were pushed day after day, into expanding their powers, with nothing but a shaven head and a tattoo cut into their skin, but whether he actually knew there were others like him who were solitary and alone, but he sounded like he was the only one who was genuinely alone. "And deeply misunderstood."

One's voice was smooth, and flowing, and she was almost hypnotised.

"They are gods of our world. The most important of all predators. They immobilise and feed on the weak, bringing balance and order to an unstable ecosystem."

Eleven was starting to grow worried. She was surrounded by bloodied, chilling bodies, and she didn't like where this was going.

One turned to face her, the stark white of his uniform splattered with blood, reminding her of what he'd done. "But the human world was disrupting this harmony."

Yes, she didn't like where this was leading up to; somehow she had a nasty feeling that the slaughter she had just seen was going to be nothing compared to what he was saying…

"You see, humans are a unique type of pest, multiplying and poisoning our world, all while enforcing a structure of their own," One went on while Eleven just stood, listened and wondered just what One had in mind although she didn't like the ideas, "A deeply unnatural structure. Where others saw order, I saw a straitjacket. A cruel oppressive world dictated by made-up rules."

Eleven didn't let One see it, but she could not help but feel that One had a strong point there; ever since her powers began manifesting themselves, Papa and the others had gone out of their way to make them focus on and kill those they called traitors, enemies; Eleven didn't know who those people were, but she had no choice but to focus on them and several of them had died, murdered by her.

It was either that or be punished severely, by being thrown into a dark room.

And for what, for a country, she had never even seen? For people responsible for her mama's disappearance? For being locked in this place, experimented on every single waking moment?

Some of the orderlies and scientists called them weapons, for justice. Eleven didn't know what justice was, but she didn't like it.

In her head, she pictured people like Papa making up rules, giving them the excuse to punish those who broke them by shoving them into a dark room as they did with her whenever she got something wrong.

"Seconds, minutes," she had to return her focus to One again, she wished he'd get to the point because she wasn't sure how much longer she could take this; she only wanted to know why he was doing this, using her, "hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades. Each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce and die," One's voice rose higher and higher with each and every word until he was shouting.

"Everyone," One went on, slowly walking towards the increasingly terrified Eleven, who was only just starting to realise the threat One posed; she could see it in his eyes, the threat he was levelling towards everyone outside who didn't even know him, or what he even wanted, or why he would kill them in the first place, "is just waiting. Waiting for it all to be over. All while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day. I could not do that. I could not close off my mind and join in the madness. I could not pretend. And I realised…I didn't have to," he finished with a malevolent smile as he loomed over the terrified Eleven. "I could make my own rules. I could restore balance to a broken world."

Eleven was starting to realise, there were few differences between One and Papa; Papa was not like everyone else outside, pretending to be kind-hearted while he was evil, believing himself to know all and was wise, but he was in fact deeply cruel and wanted everyone here for himself. One, on the other hand, believed so strongly in what he was saying he did not see that what he was planning would likely destroy every one else.

"A predator," he went on, staring unblinkingly down at her; Eleven wished she could look away, but she knew if she did that then he might attack her for her weakness, "but for good."

Eleven wanted to scoff.

For good?

Was it for good that he had done all of this?

She knew she had made a fatal mistake in tearing the chip out of his neck, believing in his story at face value even if she had seen the way she was watched in the Rainbow Room in what seemed like days ago which lent credence and merit to what he was saying about Papa wanting her to be killed, but she was disgusted with what he was telling her, justifying all he had done by saying it was for some kind of good.

Now he was like Papa and those he worked for; they justified everything by claiming it was for some kind of 'greater good,' a greater good that Eleven and the others had never certainly known.

As for One.

All of that talk about being different, about being alone…

He was different, but he had likely chosen to become alone in a way that Eleven, who craved company from outside, would never want, nor understand.

"As I practiced, I realised I could do more than I possibly imagined," One was confusing her now, and she wondered what he had done, even if she wondered just how he had practiced and how it was different from what happened here, in the lab, "I could reach into others, into their minds, their memories."

Eleven gasped as she suddenly realised how he had killed everyone here. He had done more than physically tortured them, he had mentally shredded them alive.

Or had he done worse?

"I became an explorer," One smirked when he saw her reaction and he turned away, "I saw my parents as they truly were," he said, further chilling Eleven to the core as she guessed where he was going with this, "to the world, they presented themselves as good, normal, people," he spat the words with an emphasis and disgust that only confirmed he was too far gone - Eleven wondered when and what One had done before Papa and the others had put that chip in his neck to stop him using his powers, a control she'd destroyed - before he went on, "like everything else in this world, it was all a lie. A terrible lie. They had done…things, Eleven. Such awful things. I showed them who they really were. I held up a mirror. My naive father believed it was a demon cursing them for their sins. But my mother somehow knew. Knew it was I who was holding up that mirror."

As One took a moment to gather his thoughts, Eleven wondered how his mother had known what he was doing while she conjured up an image of a loving family who'd loved him, only for him to repay their kindness with cruelty. She wondered if One's mother had powers to a lesser degree; it was possible, and it sounded likely to her.

"And she despised me for it," One finally hissed, his lips curling in disgust as he recalled those days in his distant past. "She called a doctor, an expert. She wanted him to lock me away, to fix me," he spat with a bitter rage Eleven understood too well since she had lived her entire life here, "even though it wasn't I was broken. It was them. And so she left me with no choice. No choice but to act. To break free."

Eleven gasped, wondering why she was so horrified and so surprised; hadn't his story been leading up to this point? But, just hearing about the wanton cruelty of it all, the way he justified his acts…

It made her sick.

"With each life I took, I grew stronger. More powerful," One went on, smirking gleefully at the memory of how he'd killed his own mother, "they were becoming a part of me. But I was still a child. And I did not yet know my limits. And it nearly killed me."

Eleven knew how that felt. It was easy to push the limits of your power when you were younger, but their powers grew as you became more practiced. A part of her wondered how it would feel should she push the limits of her power, use them as he did.

No.

She would never do that; while she didn't doubt she would feel sympathy for Papa or the others in the Lab, she drew the line towards killing people who'd done her no harm. But in One's case, he didn't care about who he killed. But what was worse about it all, was that One seemed to become stronger for every single person he murdered.

Why?

She was left confused.

What did he mean?

"He was arrested, blamed for the death of my sister," Eleven bit her lip, truly disgusted at the glee in his voice as he spoke about the death of his sister as if it was of no consequence to him, that she didn't matter, and she remembered Eight, her own sister whom she still loved and thought of day after day, "just as I had planned. But I was far from free."

Eleven wondered if this was the part where Papa came into the picture.

"I woke up from my coma to find myself placed in the care of a doctor," One went on, confirming it in Eleven's mind; it was the only thing that made real sense, that Papa would have taken one look at One's records and realised what he was and taken him to the Lab, "the very doctor I had hoped to escape. Dr Martin Brenner. Papa," she could understand his disgust behind the word. "But the truth, the truth is he did not just want to study me. He wanted more. He wanted to control. When Papa finally realised he could not control me, he tried to recreate me. He began a program."

Eleven gasped in realisation.

A program?

Did that mean…?

No. It couldn't be, could it?

Had Papa started experimenting with children…because of One?

This was all because of HIM?

"And soon, others were born," One said, confirming the horrifying truth. All of this - the experiments, the tattoos, the constant work with the mind, it was all because of One. All because Papa had failed to control him. "You were born. And I am so glad you were, Eleven." He said, looking down at her as she began to cry, realising her hopes of freedom were being dashed right now; she did not doubt she would be lucky to get out of here alive, "So very glad."

Eleven looked away, focusing on one of the twisted bodies lying on the ground. One followed her gaze. "They're not gone, Eleven," he turned back to face her, "They're still with me." She looked at him curiously, wondering what he meant, to which he tapped his skull, "In here."

And then she realised One had taken all of their thoughts, their memories…. Suddenly, all of her worst feelings and fears about what he had done made sense.

The idea was sick, but at the same time she wondered what it would be like to learn from others outside; all her knowledge was controlled by Papa, and he was very careful about what he let loose.

But right now Eleven was focusing on one truth - she would think about what he'd just said later - while she gathered her energy. "You tricked me," she whispered, making him look down at her with a frown, while she was wondering why he hadn't just killed her.

"Tricked you?" He repeated, with a shake of the head. "No, I saved you. You are a prisoner here, just like me. To your papa, you are nothing more than an animal, a monster," he said, unaware of how that affected Eleven; if Papa saw her as that, how would everybody else? Could she be free and have a life for herself, or would she be defined by those terms? She had a feeling that yes, she would, "A Lab rat to be tamed. But the truth, Eleven, the truth is just the opposite."

One gestured to the bodies of the other subjects, the other children Papa experimented with. "You are better than they are," he said, his words making her look down and bite her tongue to stop herself from sobbing. "Superior. That is why you frighten him."

Eleven knew he'd made a good point; how many times had she caught the fear flashing across Papa's face whenever she did something he had not expected? How many times had her power level shocked and awed him, only for him to quickly try and regather his composure?

"If you come with me," One said, and Eleven wasn't really surprised; she had been wondering why he hadn't killed her yet, "for the first time in your life, you will be free."

She looked him in the eye, trying to wonder if he was delusional or insane, or if he was being sincere.

A part of her was tempted. She could escape the Lab, do what she wanted, whenever she wanted, she could learn more about her powers, herself and about the world.

But at the same time she was sickened by what One had done, how he had killed his entire family who'd truly done nothing, but be too normal for his own liking.

"Imagine what we could do together," One didn't know this but Eleven had started to picture herself with One, killing everyone they met while others tried to stop them only to fall to the ground, blood pouring from their faces as their brains were slowly destroyed, their memories torn out, "We could reshape the world," Eleven conjured up images of plants, and people being torn apart, something she did not and would never want, "remake it however we see fit. Join me," he urged her, and she looked into his face, seeing his welcoming expression.

Eleven was tempted by the offer. She hated the lab, hated how Papa experimented on her, punished her, and used her for his own ends. Eleven had always known she had greater powers than the others, and had worked to suppress them a little to not stand out, but it was impossible; she had only done that because she did not want to be Papa's favourite since it carried with it too much pain and everyone would pay a price. Exploring her power under someone as powerful as herself was compelling. But she could not deny One was ruined and he was evil; who was to say what he would do, even with her around?

More, she could not join someone who wanted to destroy the world she wanted to see, the people she wanted to meet.

But what truly scared her the most was what he could and would do to her, he might be sincere right now, but she was sure it was a ruse. He wanted her for her power.

Now he was truly no different from Papa, and she wanted to escape from that/this life.

She wanted to see the world.

She wanted to meet people, to learn.

More than that, she wanted to fall in love. She could never do that with One around. His wanton cruelty and contempt for life made the prospect disgusting for her.

"No," she shook her head, waiting for her reply to reverberate in his head before she struck out and threw him telekinetically across the room, bouncing off of the floor and into the mirror, where he landed with a groan. She was a little bit surprised by how unprepared he was, but she knew he would be on the offensive now.

With a groan, he slowly pushed himself up. He looked darkly at her, and Eleven knew now she was right not to join him; he was too evil to be trusted. She wiped the blood out from her nostril, and walked towards him as he stood up. They advanced on each other, gathering their power before they stopped and studied each other, they struck at the same time, pushing with their power. Eleven felt herself being pushed back, and she groaned with the effort.

She was losing, awed by his strength, but then unbidden, a memory of their earliest moment together, when he had offered her advice on how to use her powers came to her mind. She remembered how he had given her advice on how powerful she could become if she found something that made her both sad and angry, and she had them in abundance.

Deep inside her mind, she pictured that woman being dragged off, the woman who'd burst into the rainbow room upstairs while she'd been playing with Eight, yelling "No! No! Jane!" At the time she had wondered who that woman was, but now knew her to be her mother.

Her mama.

Gone.

She took the memory, and the horror she'd felt when she'd found her brothers and sisters, dead, bloodied, twisted into unnatural shapes…she took it all, and-

Eleven screamed in shock when One, clearly bored with their game, threw her effortlessly against the door, and she landed painfully on the ground. She barely had time to sob, to move to see what kind of damage she'd taken, before she found herself screaming as she was telekinetically yanked around the room before she could even stop it.

This carried on for a short time before she found herself being pulled towards One, only to be lifted painfully off of the ground, levitated up towards the ceiling. She screamed as she was turned around, to find One looking up at her with his hand upraised. "It wasn't supposed to end like this," he said, and Eleven screamed in agony as she felt her bones breaking under the force of his grip, her arms and legs twisting….

She felt something probe her mind before barging inside, and she struggled instinctively to keep him out, but it was pointless.

It started to go dark, and then Eleven found herself in a kind of limbo, with bright flashing lights before a memory, so buried deep within her mind, emerged of the woman she knew was her mother, saying, "Jane, I love you…."

Feeling her mother's love for her gave Eleven the strength she needed to rally all of her remaining reserves, and she slowly started to break out of One's hold, to his shock and horror before she screamed, throwing him backwards through the mirror and into the wall inside another room. All of the children knew the mirror was a fake, that the scientists watched them without needing to disturb them as they played and honed their mental talents.

The lighting flickered on and off, leaving the room in moments of darkness while she landed, Eleven stalked towards One, who was pinned against the wall, unable to move. As she walked towards him, she realised he was right, she was superior; while he felt nothing but anger, fury, and contempt for the world and everyone in it, she was capable of feeling such love and receiving that love.

And she pitied him, but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

And then she began feeling herself starting to get weaker. Eleven reached out for his own mind, shuddering in horror and disgust as the voices and screams, and memories of other people touched her mind, but she found drawing upon One's own strength and power was keeping her from falling unconscious.

One was struggling to free himself with all of his power, but to his clear rage and horror, he couldn't do it. Eleven screamed as she threw out her hand, wanting him to just go, to die….

One screamed in agony, and a faint but brightening light appeared on and in his chest before he exploded, pieces of his being splintering away from him; she didn't know, or understand what was happening, all she wanted was for him to just go. He screamed as his body was just disintegrated.

Eleven continued to hold him up, refusing to stop as she began pushing him deeper and deeper into oblivion. She let out a terrifying scream as she gathered her remaining strength, and pushed.

Finally with a scream of his own, One vanished, leaving behind an ugly, gaping red hole that cleared itself up, with long things that seemed alive, in some malignant way. Everything was starting to go black for Eleven, but she shook her head and staggered around, her body aching while her head hurt worse. She had never used her mind like that before. Slowly she walked to the doors, only for them to be thrown open, exposing Papa.

He gazed at her with shock and anger. "What have you done-?"

Eleven didn't have time for him, she'd had enough while she panted for breath. She drew on the remnants of One's power, and she reopened the hole, and once it was large enough, ignoring the yells from Papa, she stepped inside.

-8-

The trip through the portal didn't take her long, but when she returned to the normal world, she found herself in a dark, foul-smelling chamber. She fell to the ground, flinching at the sudden pain.

"Hey!" Eleven flinched again and went still when she heard the voice.

"How'd she get here?"

"Like, she just appeared outta nowhere."

Eleven lifted her eyes, and what she saw made her gape in shock.

"My sons, leave her alone!" Another voice, older, tinged with wisdom, spoke up. "Let me through."

Eleven gasped as the giant rat figure wearing long robes appeared through the gigantic shadows surrounding her. "There, there, my dear," he said, "we are not going to hurt you."

Eleven got her voice back. "Why should I believe you?"

"I have no reason to lie," the rat didn't seem bothered by the implied insult, in fact he took it with surprising mildness. "Here, let me help you up," he added and held out his paw.

Eleven bit her lip, and then she took his hand. With incredible but gentle strength, he pulled her gently to her feet, and she discovered she was around his height, maybe a few inches taller.

"Master Splinter," one of the figures spoke in a gravelly voice, and Eleven realised he was referring to the rat, "She's human. You said humans shouldn't be here. Lemme take her back."

The figure moved forward without the rat's permission and grabbed onto Eleven. "C'mon, kid, lets go."

"Raph, let her go," one of the figures said, but it was too late.

Eleven snarled, then she threw her hand out and threw the figure away. She didn't throw him too hard or too far, just enough to shake him up. When it registered in their minds what they'd seen, Eleven lifted her hands and levitated them all up, including the rat.

"I will not go back to the Lab," she said plainly.

Splinter spread his paws. "Please let us down, child," he asked.

Eleven narrowed her eyes, considering…then she lowered them to the ground. Splinter stepped forwards and approached her slowly. "Who are you, hmm?"

Eleven showed him her tattoo and pointed at it and then herself in case they didn't get the message. "My name is Eleven," she replied softly. "I've just escaped a lab where my powers were trained. Please don't send me back."

She didn't know why she said that since these…people didn't even know where she had come from. But she wanted to keep her freedom now she had it.

"There's no need to be frightened, my dear," Splinter said gently. "In fact, we ourselves protect ourselves from the surface world. If they discovered us, then we would be captured and experimented on. That's why I trained my sons to be strong. I can do the same with you; I cannot help you with your abilities, but I can teach you how to fight, how to defend yourself, and at the same time you will have a home with us."

Eleven looked around the dark cavern and the figures. A part of her didn't want to stay here, but she didn't know anything of the surface world as they called it. She had her powers to protect herself, but they would only get her so far. But if she stayed here, she could learn how to fight and protect herself.

Bowing her head, she nodded. "Yes, please."

Splinter's rat face should not have been able to smile, but he managed it, somehow. "Excellent," he said.