Chapter 1: Adopted
-Crawfish Bay, Port Clovis-
In the highly advertised vacation area of Port Clovis–specifically Crawfish Bay–an adult female Bull Shark was making her way into what looked to be a sort of underwater tunnel way, where the aquatic Camera drone "Remora" was following close behind.
"This is an adult Bull Shark. Strong, fast, and armed quite literally to the teeth. She has little to fear in the water." Trip Westhaven, host of the show 'Maneater' said as the drone panned around the majestic animal, zooming in on the rusty harpoon embedded in her flank.
A harpoon that had "Lasselle Bon Ton Roule" engraved on the shaft. There wasn't much room for comments on that however as the shark kept moving through the waterway.
"The muscular marvel moves confidently through her watery world." The man commented as the large shark moved.
As the beast moved forward, she flexed her jaws a few times to show off her mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
Continuing on through the tunnels, she soon came to a room full of green sea turtles, Dolphin fish, Atlantic spades, groupers and parrot fish among others.
"The predator's 350 fearsome teeth are put on full display." Trip noted as the female devoured a turtle in three powerful chomps.
After a bit, she grabbed a grouper in her mouth and smacked it with her tail into a parrot fish. "A Bull Shark's tail is nothing to sneeze at." The man stated.
Moving towards a grate at the end of a tunnel, she then started hitting it with her tail, causing it to break.
"Using a behavior more common to a thresher shark, the bull makes good use of her powerful tail." Trip added.
The female then started swimming towards the surface in the open ocean, coral reefs, rock formations, oil rigs and ships stretched on as far as the eye could see in the crystal clear waters of the bay. Boats and jet skies gave the sea wolf ample beef to move around as she knifed by.
"A shark's fin can be a grim reminder that the ocean is a wild and untamed domain." The narrator said as she blasted by, upturning a jet ski as she did and sending two people flying. Then she jumped out of the water while she was knifing in an acrobatic manner.
"The Bull Shark performs a feat worthy of an Orca, cruelly imprisoned as a part of a theme park stunt show." The man added. "Looking at you, Sea World." He continued, taking a shot at the famous aquarium.
The shark then submerged and vanished from the view of boaters as she swam around the deep. She then started putting more energy into her swim speed, but Remora's upgrades still let it keep up.
"The beast moves elegantly through the water." Trip said as the shark moved forward before she suddenly started swimming towards the surface–before breaching and capsizing a skiff that was in her way!
"The sight of a breaching shark is a calorie intensive spectacle." The man commented. It was at this point that the shark set her sights on some beach goers that were swimming or lounging about.
Swimming towards a sea turtle, she grabbed it in her jaws and then used her tail to launch it at the beach–nailing two of the beach goers in the head.
"Ah crap! Run!" Someone else cried out as everyone started swimming for the safety of the shore. The shark, however, was fast and started eating every human she could get to as fast as she could.
"Shaaaark!" A fat woman yelled as she tried to run away as the shark hopped on the beach and started going after them like a heat seeking missile.
"While it is well known that sharks feed on fish, molluscs, and seals. Lesser known is their propensity to feed on fear." The narrator said ominously. For reasons that will never be explained, Remora was able to follow its target onto the beach… Somehow.
As the beast grabbed an elderly woman from the shore, she dragged her into the water and held her there until she expired, before devouring the woman shortly after.
"It should be noted that shows of targeted violence like this are extremely uncommon for sharks." Trip clarified. "As Great Whites and Tiger sharks will actually befriend humans if treated well, even showing affection years after said act is shown to them." He amended.
After a short while, shark hunters started showing up in their hunter skiffs with Pete commanding them.
"Dat shark needs a good whack on de nose! Go get 'em, Chad." Pete called to one of his angler buddies. "How you doin' there, shark?" He yelled.
The skiff then drove toward him and the hunter on gun duty was quick to fire on the Bull Shark, but she was nimble enough to dodge the bullets thanks to the water slowing them down. She then went on the offensive and leaped out of the water, snatching the gunner off the skiff and eating him.
She then waited for a diver to swim towards her and evaded at the last second–spinning out of the way and grabbing him by the waist before swimming to the surface and aiming for the skiff… and fucking launched the poor sap at the boat, knocking everyone into the water and causing the boat to flip over.
"She got Chad! Kenny, go get 'er, partner!" Pete called as another skiff drove into the fray.
Seeing this, the shark then ate the rest of the hunters and decided to get creative. Swimming under the tipped over skiff, she started pushing it at full speed towards Kenny's boat–and rammed it into the side of the similarly sized skiff. Causing everyone to be sent flying into the water.
"Oh, she's a feisty one. Wade, get in there!" The Cajun man called, prompting a third skiff to appear.
The Bull snarled as she devoured the remaining hunters and then hid under the same two skiffs, waiting for the hunters to start looking for her, and let their guards down.
Breaching and jumping a couple times in random places, she started to confuse them. Making the crews think that more sharks were joining the party.
"She sure is makin' a lot o' splashin'!" Pete yelled, right before the female came out of hiding right as the boat got into position right where she wanted it.
Moving fast, she breached the water and flew through the air before crashing down onto the skiff, capsizing it and forcing the hunters to abandon it to try and save themselves.
"I ain't playin' no more! I'll catch this shark myself." Pete growled as the Cajun Queen came into view. "Oh! Look at them teeth! She's gonna make quite a mantle piece!" He laughed. The shark then started swimming his way as he braced himself.
"Got us some dinner coming, boys!" He exclaimed as the shark breached the water in an attempt to snag Pete, only to be shot out of the air and land back in the water, dazed. "Let's get 'er up on deck, yeah?" He ordered.
(Later)
-Fawtick Bayou, Port Clovis-
"Meanwhile aboard the Cajun Queen, Scaly Pete looks over the catch of the day." Trip narrated as the female Bull Shark was hoisted into the air.
Pete looked the sea wolf over before he set his eyes on the harpoon and removed it from her flank, causing her to yelp slightly as she tried to cling onto her life while her captor looked the tool over.
"Yeah, this is my daddy's iron, alright." The man nodded as he looked it over fondly before setting it aside. "But this ain't the shark. Not the one I be looking for." He noted.
"How do you know?" Kyle questioned, causing Pete to look at him.
"How I know?" The man parroted in annoyance. "Not big enough." He stated. "This look like a Mega to you?" He questioned pointedly, before suddenly stabbing the shark's gut without even looking at it.
"Why did you do that?!" The cameraman yelled in shock and a healthy amount of horror.
Pete ignored him before he suddenly heard the cries of a shark pup, causing him to perk up.
"Oh! Well lookie here!" The redhead grinned as he pulled the pup out of the beast's split open uterus. "She's en famie!" He added as the pup squirmed in his hand, panicking. "Hello! How yo mama an' them?" He chuckled before he suddenly took his knife and started cutting the pup's dorsal fin and left side!
"Wh-Why'd you do that?!" Kyle gasped in shock.
"So I can identify her next time I see her. So I can spear her!" He said darkly. Right at that moment, the pup bit onto his hand and ripped it off, the force sending her into the water with the severed limb.
"The baby shark responds with an instinct for survival." Trip narrated as the pup was flung away.
"You maybe wanna turn off that fucking camera?!" Pete snapped as he clutched his bleeding arm. The feed then cut off a second later.
(Later).
The camera of Remora zoomed in as both Scaly Pete's severed hand and the little pup slammed into the water. The disoriented shark pup shook herself out of her daze before the scent of blood hit her nose and she immediately lunged at the hand, devouring it whole.
But damn, did it taste awful!
"A local marine biologist one posited that when an animal tasted human flesh, they would forsake their natural prey in a dangerous single minded search for 'the most dangerous game'." Trip commented.
Deciding to continue forward, Sirena started swimming through the bayou, devouring catfish and turtles that got in her way while also staying low to the freshwater floor.
This allowed her to essentially escape the notice of several large alligators by using her dark layer of skin as camouflage in the murky depths. As she swam, she came across a box with a blinking red light.
Presently lacking the mental processes to wonder what she was looking at, she opened it and downed the contents without a second thought, as expected of newborns.
"This nutrient cache contains no additives, so the shark doesn't have to worry about flavoring or hidden artificial flavors." Trip stated as the pup continued swimming on. Soon enough, she reached a grotto that she could feel safe in. "It's here in the grotto where the shark can experience the wonders of self love."
After resting for a moment, the sea wolf then concentrated and suddenly used a Sonar pulse. Much like the one her mother had.
"Displaying behavior more common to whales and dolphins, the shark can use bio Sonar to locate potential prey." Trip noted.
Detecting some catfish, the pup proceeded to go after it and maul it, eating every last inch of the common fish and found it even better in flavor compared to Pete's hand. Seeing more catfish and a few turtles, she proceeded to feast on every single one of them.
Then she proceeded to go on a hunt for anything that caught her young eyes. Soon, she found a pop plug drain of all things at the bottom of one part of the Bayou.
"I have one of the pop stopper plugs at home, and let me tell you, those things are just a magnet for hair and debris." Trip commented knowingly.
Continuing on, the creature then chomped down on another nutrient cache, causing its contents to become devoured.
"This cache acts as a 'between meal' supplement. To help the shark put on some serious mass…" Trip stated.
This pattern went on for a good while–several weeks, in fact–the shark exploring the Bayou and finding all sorts of oddities and eating nutrient caches scattered all over the swamp for reasons unknown. The last landmark in the Bayou was…
"If a group of consenting adults want to perform cryptic rights to shadow forth a prophecy of the Great Old Ones, heh, who am I to judge?" Trip mused as the shark stumbled across a ritual site in front of a statue of a Great Old One of all things. "But really, why is this thing here, anyway?" He wondered.
Next on the pup's agenda was to get some more food–and she knew just where to find it.
Swimming towards one of the abandoned barges and found an area absolutely teeming with catfish of all sizes, ripe for the pup to devour. Without a second thought, she swam into the school and started feasting.
"The over hunting of Fawtick Bayou's predators has led to an abundance of catfish. Which is just fine with local bully Rosie the alligator." The narrator noted.
However, before she could continue any further, a canister suddenly swept her up and took her from the view of the camera–and the rudder of a boat swatted it into a rock causing it to go dark.
"Oh dear, that's not good…" Trip said nervously.
(Meanwhile)
On the boat, the pup was loaded into a holder by a man–who looked identical to the others with him–who then put her to sleep to make sure she didn't cause a hassle while she was taken to a new destination.
"Has Kraang secured the specimen of the creature that is known as a bull shark for that which is known as experimentation?" One of the duplicates questioned.
"Yes. Kraang is now what is known as good to go." Another duplicate nodded.
(Later)
-New York City-
The baby Bull Shark slowly came to as her tank was jostled around in some sort of van as it drove down the road, allowing her to see what was inside.
She saw some equipment her mind couldn't understand as well as some canisters full of glowing green ooze that she couldn't understand either.
As the van drove along, it came upon a speed bump, causing her and the canisters to lurch forward.
"Watch it, Kraang!" The passenger up front yelled at the driver.
"Kraang is doing what is known as watching!" The driver retorted, right before an old woman started crossing the street, causing the van to have to swerve.
This caused the doors to blow open, canisters to fly out and the tank to shatter on the ground, the water rushing the scared out of her mind Bull Shark pup to go down a storm drain and splash into the sewers, right as canister after canister of the ooze splashed in the water along with her.
This caused her to get an ooze bath right as she washed onto an area where she wouldn't be swept away by the current in the tunnel, and pass out shortly thereafter as things started to happen.
(Later)
It was late at night in the sewers and four tiny figures were making their way through the halls of the underground, flashlights in hand.
As they rounded the corner, it became clear that they were humanoid turtles! Hatchlings by the looks of it, five or six years old at the most.
They all had masks of differing color. Those colors were blue, red, purple and orange and they all had different mannerisms.
"I dunno, guys, this seems like a bad idea." The turtle in the purple mask gulped.
"Yeah, I'm with Donnie, this part of the sewers gives me the creeps!" The orange masked turtle added, clinging to his purple masked brother.
"Ah come on, it's not like a giant gator is gonna come around a corner and eat us." The red masked turtle said in a child equivalent of a gruff tone.
"There are gators down here?!" The youngest turtle yelped, jumping on the purple one–Donatello's–back.
"Aw nice going, Raph, you scared him." Donnie groaned, helping his brother down. "No, Mikey, that's just an urban myth. There's no way any alligators could survive down here." He told his younger brother.
"What about sharks, then?" The leader of the group, the turtle with s blue mask questioned, holding his flashlight in front of him as he stood stopped ahead of his brothers.
"Leo, why would you even ask that?" Raph questioned.
"Because there's a mutant one in front of us." The one called Leo replied, prompting his brothers to look in front of them.
This caused his brothers to all peek out from behind him to look–little Mikey doing so last–and sure enough, there was a small girl laying on the ground–a shark girl.
She looked around their age with her skin tones being a light sky blue on her back with a white underbelly, and she had hair that seemed to be a darker shade of the same blue, and a shark tail protruding from her lower back. She also had a wolf-like face with pointy ears. She was currently unconscious as well, so they didn't know what her eye color was. There were also gills on her neck.
Oh, and she was currently naked.
"Whoa, another mutant? Just like us?" Donnie gasped in surprise, Leo covering Mikey's eyes.
"How'd she get here?" Leo questioned as Raph got down next to her. "Raph, don't touch her, you don't know what she'll do!" He hissed, grabbing his brother when he moved closer.
"Calm down, she's not awake. What can she do right now?" Raph questioned rhetorically as he got closer to the unconscious mutant girl.
Poking her snout,/muzzle, the girl let out a grunt as she sneezed before swatting at him with her tail and rolling over.
"Yep, she's definitely a heavy sleeper." Raph nodded.
"What should we do?" Mikey questioned.
"Should we take her to the lair?" Donnie suggested.
"Absolutely not, Splinter said never bring strangers home!" Leo retorted.
"Well we can't just leave her here!" The purple masked turtle argued.
"Yeah, that's not okay!" Mikey nodded in agreement.
Raph, meanwhile, had already picked the girl up and started walking. "Well while you knuckleheads are busy chatting, I'm gonna bring her to the lair. Later!" He called.
"What the–! Raph, wait up!" Mikey called after his red masked brother as he ran after him, leaving Leo and Donnie to their little argument.
(Later)
Raph walked into the lair with the unconscious mutant shark girl in his arms, Mikey following suit a moment later. They were immediately greeted by their sensei/father, a rat named Splinter.
He wore a ragged red Japanese Hamato Clan robe. As well, he had bandages wrapped around his arms and legs, and was barefoot. He walked about with a cane made of pure jade that was in the shape of a tree knot and also had a string of fur similar to a beard on his chin.
He was also the one to teach them the ninja arts.
"Raphael, Michaelangelo, where are your brothers?" The rat questioned as he approached the two. "And who–." He continued before fully noticing the small girl in his second eldest son's arms, and took notice of her scars and notched dorsal fin. "Who is this?" He added in a serious tone.
"No idea. We just found her unconscious in the part of the sewer you told us not to go to." Mikey replied.
"Mikey!" Raph hissed.
"What? He was gonna figure it out anyway!" The youngest turtle retorted defensively. "Leo didn't wanna help her, so Raph went ahead and brought her here." He added, looking at the rat.
"While I should admonish you for going there against my wishes, we should focus on tending to the girl's wounds." The rat stated, gesturing to the wounds on the mutant shark's person.
"We saw them too, but they seem healed." Mikey commented as he looked at the wounds in question.
"All the same, place her down somewhere safely, we will continue to care for her while she is resting." Splinter told them.
"Hai, Sensei." Raph nodded as he made his way to his favorite beanbag chair and set the girl in it, who immediately curled into a ball upon feeling the softness of it and the warmth of a blanket Mikey laid on her.
"Aw. You never let me lay there!" Mikey whined.
"That's because we haven't forgotten what happened the last time you did." Raphael deadpanned. "You spilled stuff all over it!" He added indignantly.
"I said I was sorry!" Mikey retorted as Leo and Donnie came back.
"Leonardo, Donatello." Splinter said as he came into the room with what medicine and supplies they had. "Your brothers tell me that one of you at first refused to help this young girl." He continued, turning to Leo. "Is this true, my son?" He questioned.
"Well, uh… You always said that we shouldn't bring strangers to the lair." Leo said nervously as he shuffled a bit.
The rat couldn't help but sigh. "You are correct, my son, I did say that." He nodded, placing a hand on the young turtle's shoulder. "But that does not mean that you cannot do so when exceptions must be made–such as helping someone in need." He continued.
"I understand, sensei." The boy nodded as he took the medicine and rushed to help Mikey and Raph.
"And as for you, Donatello." Splinter said to his smartest son. "I am proud of you, you stood up for what you thought was the right thing to do. That shows great strength of character." He told him, patting him on the head. "Well done, my son." He smiled.
"Thank you, Sensei." The purple masked turtle nodded with a smile. The lad quickly rushed over to his brothers as they worked on patching the shark girl up, and Splinter went into the lairs kitchen to try and boil some water.
There was an old Hamato Clan recipe he knew would work wonders for this shark out of water.
(Later)
The shark pup whimpered and shivered as memories in the form of dreams came flooding back to her until it became too much–forcing her awake.
"AAHHHH!" She screamed, her apparently blue eyes wide as she reeled from her memory fueled nightmare. As she reeled, she looked around the lair and saw that she wasn't in the water anymore, but she wasn't suffocating either. Then she looked down at herself and saw that she had limbs she never had before.
What had happened to her?
"Whoa, calm down shark dude! Chill!" A voice said, causing her to turn and see a turtle sitting next to her. "Name's Mikey, my brothers and I found you outside our lair. You don't have to worry, you're safe." He told her.
The shark girl was confused and more than a little wary, given her recent nightmare, but she was able to understand what he was saying… If only a little. Then she saw the other inhabitants of the lair coming into view.
She quickly got into a defensive stance on all fours, growling at them, teeth bared and ears pinned down.
"Whoa! Easy! We're not gonna hurt ya!" Raph yelped.
"Yeah! What he said!" A purple masked turtle added in agreement.
"We just wanna help you. That's all." The eldest of the group said as a large rat entered the room, a tray in hand with a teapot and two cups on it–along with what looked to be small clothes draped on his arm.
Splinter moved in front of the small Sea Wolf and sat down in front of her, the tray between them, as he offered her the clothes–all whilst the mutated pup growled at him, tail hugged close to her body.
Unphased, the rat simply gestured to the clothes, as if telling her to try them on at least.
Glancing at the clothes, she quickly grabbed them and started putting them on while the turtles looked away… Though she certainly had trouble getting her clothes on, if her whines were any indication.
Splinter could only chuckle as he assisted the young girl into the clothing in question. It was rather simple really, just a set of girl's Jinbei clothing that was pink with white Hamato Clan symbols on them.
"There, that should do." The man smiled. "I am Splinter, and these are my sons." He continued as the girl sat down and faced him. "You already met Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and of course Leonardo." He told her, causing the girl to cock her head in confusion as the turtles all waved at her.
"You must be thirsty, please, drink." He told her, gesturing to the cup facing her as he poured her some of the tea in the pot.
The shark girl looked at the cup and then at her hand, flexing her new fingers to test them before she reached for the cup and grabbed it. Bringing it to her face, she smelled the tea and felt herself relax as the scent hit her nose. Then she took a sip, and immediately decided she liked it.
"This is a special blend from my homeland of Japan. The recipe of which has been passed down in my family for generations." Splinter explained as she drank it. "It is a mixture of black tea leaves, dried peaches, orange rinds, and Sakura blossoms. It may be a bit sweet to some tastes, and bitter to some others. But it is usually calming nonetheless." He continued.
The little pup nodded as she finished her tea, now feeling relaxed because of it. She was also starting to understand English more as he spoke.
"I… like… this…" She said slowly, using her voice for the first time as she held up her empty cup.
"Ah, so you do understand." Splinter nodded, moving the tray while the boys sat around them. "What is your name, my child? Where is your family?" He asked.
"I… have no… name." The little mutant girl replied sadly. "My mom is… dead." She added, a tear rolling down her cheek, causing the one rat and four turtles to look at her in shock.
"Oh no!" Mikey gasped.
"That's horrible!" Donnie exclaimed.
"Grrr." Raph growled, ready to throw fists at whoever killed the shark girl's mother.
"I'm sorry you lost her." Leo told her.
Splinter's features softened as he looked at the small, fragile, scared, injured and lonely girl before him, and took her into his arms, feeling her flinch against him.
"Do not worry, little one. You are not alone anymore." He told her, stroking her head, her ears flattening as he pet her. "And you never will be." He added.
"... Th-Thank you…" The little pup got out as her frame shook from the sadness she harbored.
As she calmed down the rat then turned to his sons. "It would seem that we have a new member of our family." He told them.
"Yes!" Mikey cheered.
"We're getting a sister?!" Donnie gasped.
"Hey, as long as she doesn't touch any of my stuff without asking, I say welcome aboard." Raph grinned.
"I think I will make this a unanimous vote when I say: Welcome home." Leo nodded with a slight bow as the shark girl slowly crawled to them–before she was brought into a group hug.
"And I know exactly what name to give you." Splinter said, getting the girl's attention. "I name you Artemisia, after one of the few female painters of the Renaissance." He told her.
"Artemisia…" She parroted, testing the name before she nodded. "I like it." She declared with her first smile.
"I am glad that you do." The old rat smiled as he pet her, causing her to smile. "My daughter." He told her, the shark girl's tail wagging happily as she was embraced by her new family.
(Timeskip)
-The Lair, NYC Sewers, nine years later-
Leonardo, Raphael, Doatello and Michaelangelo all sat in kneeling positions as they tensed up, ready to spar.
Getting up, Leo and Mikey went first.
"Aw yeah! Michaelangelo's on the move!" The party animal said as he ran towards his brother, dodging a sword slash and swinging his nunchucks.
The blue masked turtle, of course, tried to hit him but his younger sibling was moving about constantly like a hyperactive child.
"I could be here, I could be there!" He taunted as he rolled out of the way and blocked a downward strike. "I could be anywhere!" He grinned. "I'm so fast you can't even see!" He added as he tried to rush Leo, only for his brother to adjust his weapon and nail him in the stomach.
"You were saying?" The eldest of the turtles asked rhetorically as he rolled his eyes.
"Good one, Leo…" Mikey groaned as he fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Donnie and Raph were having their own session.
"Alright Donnie, put down the staff, and no one gets hurt." Raph told him.
"You said that last time Raph, and then you hurt me." Donnie retorted.
"Well, last time I would have." The red masked turtle shrugged.
"Yeah, right." The brains of the gang scoffed before he tried to get a hit on his sai wielding brother, only to get outmaneuvered at every turn.
After one particular attack, the staff wielding turtle actually ended up losing his weapon, causing him to look at his brother… who held it with a smug look on his face.
"... Should've dropped of the staff?" The brainiac gulped.
"Should've dropped the staff." Raph nodded as he broke the weapon in half and used the pieces as weapons against his brother.
After using his brother's shell as a bongo, Raph then knelt in front of Leo as they faced each other.
"Onegaishimasu." Leo said, meaning 'please'.
"Whatever you say." Raph shrugged as their match began.
Leo may have had the advantage in reach with his swords, but Raph had learned how to use his sais to disarm him, much like how they were originally intended when they were first invented.
This allowed him to catch Leo's wrist in the groove of his Sai, before he shoulder flipped Leo over onto his shell.
"Urgh…" Leo groaned.
"Nice try." Raph smirked.
"Excellent work." The voice of their father/sensei commented as he approached, drawing the attention of the four terrapins. "You have improved a good amount." He praised.
"But I did better." Raph boasted.
"This is about self improvement, Raphael. It is not about winning or losing." Splinter told him.
"I know, sensei. But I won and they lost." His son grinned, at least until the old rat got a claw under the pressure point near his jaw and neck. "B-But what matters is that we all tried our best! Good job everyone." He yelped.
"Precisely." Splinter nodded with a chuckle as he removed his claw. "Now, as I was–there seems to be someone missing here." He continued before noticing a notable absence. "Where is your sister?" He questioned.
"I think Arty went swimming at her usual spot." Donnie replied as he recalled the shark girl's current status. "She must've lost track of time again." He added with a sigh.
"That is so like her." Raph deadpanned.
"Either that or she slept in again." Mikey offered.
"Also like her." Leo nodded.
"Kids…" Splinter facepalmed with a sigh.
(Elsewhere)
In a part of the sewers where freshwater was processed automatically, someone was swimming in it and having a good time doing it. That someone was Artemisia, who had grown a good bit in the years since her mutation.
The girl was now 15 like her brothers and was now about as tall as Mikey, or a bit shorter if you didn't count her ears. Her scars had all healed by now but were still there and she'd grown her hair to neck length.
Additionally, her body had also matured to where she'd gained the beginnings of a very enticingly womanly figure, which was made even more attractive by the muscles she'd gained during training.
Figure wise she had a peach shaped ass that was soft and toned enough to where her tail could rest on it without issue, a set of wide hips, a toned stomach, and a developing CC-cup rack that was still growing.
The skin tone on her back had darkened from light blue to a darker blue, likely to help her blend in with the water and not be seen from above. Presently, she was wearing a black and blue bikini that made her look attractive.
'Okay, I think I've swam enough.' She thought before she jumped out of the water and landed on the sidewalk around the underground pool in a crouch.
As she did, however, her ears and nose picked up something that wasn't her or the sewer itself–causing her to look in its direction… and find nothing.
"Hm…" She hummed lowly, narrowing her eyes a bit in the direction of the disturbance. Making use of her ninja training, she snuck up to it and neared the tunnel entryway it was coming from.
But as she rounded the corner she heard the sound come from, she found that the space was empty.
"Okay, that's weird…" The shark girl said before she looked down at her wrist.
On it was a Casino Pro Trek Women's multi purpose prw3500-1cr digital watch she wore that she found at the bottom of an aqueduct and had Donnie fix for her.
She examined the device for a second or two –before noticing that she'd basically missed practice and was almost late for dinner!
"Un Mio Dio! [Oh My God], Master Splinter is gonna kill me…" She groaned as she started making her way back to the Lair.
As she left, however, a figure slowly peaked out from behind the wall that Artemisia nearly sniffed them out of.
It was a teenage boy that was actually 16 himself, though his height betrayed that since he was taller than the average teen. He had caucasian skin, short black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt, a gray hoodie, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of black and white shoes with blue laces. He also had a pair of glasses on his face.
"That was close…" He whispered to himself with a sigh as he calmed his nerves. But his face was still flushed as he recalled just how beautiful that girl was.
Well, beautiful for what he assumed was a teenage mutant shark.
'I just hope she doesn't try to kill me if she sees me.' He thought as he started walking through the sewers, hoping to come across a ladder to the surface.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Artemisia, she was quick to make it back to the Lair, having slipped into her dry clothes–that being a pair of black jeans, a white T-shirt and a bra with some black trainers, all modified to accommodate her tail and Dorsal fin–and nearly tripped on her tail as she slid into the kitchen.
She also had athletic tape on her hands and a belt holding her signature weapons–a Kunai Rope Dart and a Wakazashi sword.
"Oof!" The girl grunted as she got up. "Mi dispace [I'm sorry], guys. I went swimming and lost track of time." She sighed as she sat down at the table.
"Called it." Donnie piped up.
"I expect you pay attention to the time while you are swimming, Artemisia." Splinter told her sternly. "I have said this constantly for years, and you still haven't." He added with a sigh.
"I'm a shark, sensei, we practically live in the water." The girl sighed as Mikey laid out their food. "So, algae and worms again? It's a wonder I'm even able to survive." She sighed, right before there were sardines and anchovies dumped on her pile. "Much better." She smiled, licking her sharp teeth.
"So, was all quiet as usual in your routine swim?" Raph questioned as they ate.
"I actually heard and smelled something that wasn't part of the sewers this time. Couldn't find it, though." The shark girl replied with a shrug.
"Should we be worried?" Donnie questioned as they ate their rather meager meal.
"Hard to say since I never found it." Artemisia shrugged. "Could've just been an animal." She added. As she said this, everyone continued eating.
"There's a little bit of algae and worms left if anyone wants it." Mikey offered, stirring a pot
"No thanks/I'm good/All yours/Pass." Leo, Raph, Donnie and Arty responded in that order.
"More for me!" The party animal grinned.
"Well, I hope you guys made room for…" Artemisia grinned before she picked up her satchel and placed a box down in front of them. "Cake!" She added, opening the box and revealing what looked to be a cake.
The cake itself seemed to be a layer cake that had a chocolate bottom tier, a vanilla middle tier, and a red velvet top tier, with white icing that was immaculately decorated–and had a small New York Cheesecake in the same box that had with Japanese Strawberries on top.
"Aw yeah, I always have room for cake!" Mikey exclaimed with a grin as he rushed over.
"How'd you manage to get it?" Leo questioned.
"Ya know that old pay phone we had Donnie fix up? I used it and some cash I'd been finding all over the place to order it from Carlo's Bakery." The shark girl smirked. "Had 'em deliver it to an apartment complex near town. No one even knew I picked it up." She chuckled.
"Very resourceful. Well done." Splinter nodded, impressed with the planning his daughter pulled.
"It is nice to have a change of pace after all the algae and worms." Donnie nodded with a smile as he grabbed a knife to cut the cake with.
"It helps that the cake looks awesome, too." Raph nodded with a chuckle as he grabbed some plates and spoons.
"You're the best, Arty!" Mikey smiled, hugging his sister.
"Aw, you're welcome." She smiled, hugging him back as Splinter smiled as well, the taste of the strawberries reminding him of home. "Happy mutation day, everyone." She told them.
"Happy mutation day!" The rest of the family chorused.
"Ah yes, fifteen years ago today, our lives changed forever and we became the unlikeliest of families." Splinter mused.
"Tell us the story, Master Splinter!" Mikey said.
"Yeah, I don't think I heard this one." Artemisia added.
"Michaelangelo, Artemisia I have told it many times." Splinter told them.
"Please? Please?" The two begged before Raph covered their mouths.
"Please! It's the only way to shut these two up!" The red masked terrapin sighed.
"Very well." The old rat chuckled. "Many years ago, when I was still human, I was leaving the pet store with four baby turtles." He began.
"That was us!" Mikey exclaimed.
"Yes! Don't interrupt." Splinter told him. "I was on my way home when I passed a man along the way, and something was very off about him." He continued. "I decided to follow and witnessed what looked like a back alley dealing." He continued. "I was about to leave when they saw me due to a stray rat–an actual one– giving me away." He added further, clarifying that he was talking about an actual rat and not a mutant one. "They tried to apprehend me, but I fought them off as best I could. In the fighting, however, a canister of ooze was spilled onto us, turning us into who we are now." He finished as he held up an old canister.
"And then I washed up a few years later and joined the family." Artemisia amended.
"Mom!" Mikey cooed as he hugged the canister, causing his sister to snicker.
"So, sensei." Leo chimed in. "Now that we're fifteen, I think we're ready to go up to the surface, don't you?" He asked.
"Yes… And no." The mutant rat shot down instantly, much to the exasperation of the five teenage mutants.
"Oh come on/Hate it when he does that." The five groaned.
"You have grown powerful, my children, but you are still young. You lack the wisdom to use your skills wisely." Splinter explained.
"You say that like we'd be looking for situations where that would happen." Artemisia pointed out, arms folded.
"Yeah, so isn't that just no?" Donnie added.
"Yes and no–wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from making mistakes." Their sensei explained.
"Ah ha! So in order to gain the wisdom, we need to make the mistakes! So we can go!" Donnie exclaimed, causing Arty to facepalm.
"Donnie, I love you bro, but that isn't the right kind of logic to use here." She sighed.
"Your sister is correct." Splinter nodded. "If you intentionally make a mistake, then it is not a mistake." He stated.
"Oh." Donnie said, realizing the blunder he'd made.
"You lack the maturity that you would need to go out on your own." The rat continued. "Your sister's lack of time management is an example." He added.
"Sensei!" Artemisia groaned.
"You walked into that one." Raph chuckled.
"But still, how are we supposed to be more mature about this if we don't know what we're dealing with?" The shark girl questioned.
"Arty has a point. We can't be mature about going to the surface if we don't know what to expect." Leo nodded in agreement.
Splinter sighed, causing his eldest son to pick up on his anxiety.
"Sensei. I know you're trying to protect us–we all do. You lost everything from your life before, so you don't want to lose us too." The blue masked turtle said, getting their father to look at him. "But we can't spend our whole lives down here, it's why you trained us to begin with: So we would be ready to protect ourselves from the world above." He added.
The old rat still looked reluctant, but when his children gave him their best collective puppy eyes (Artemisia nailing it easily), he crumbled.
"Fine." He conceded, causing them to cheer before he gave them a stern look. "But I am giving you a set of rules while you're gone." He told them.
"Hai, sensei." The five nodded.
"High three!" Mikey exclaimed, his brothers joining in, only for Artemisia to pout, as she had five fingers, not three.
"You left me out…" She grumbled, causing her brothers to look at her sheepishly.
"Sorry, Arty." They chuckled, letting their sister join in.
(Later)
As the gang waited for nightfall, Raph and Artemisia sat on their beanbags to read their favorite magazines, while Donnie and Mikey were in the farmer's lab, and Leo was watching his and Arty's favorite show: Space Heroes.
As he watched it, he recited things that one of the characters would say, much to Arty's amusement and exasperation. The whole thing actually made Leo look like a weeb.
"You know this show is stupid, right?" Raph chimed in.
"Is not!" Arty snapped at him, looking up from her issue of Mall Kunoichi Magazine.
"What she said!" The sword using turtle added in agreement. "Space Heroes is a great show, and Captain Ryan is a great hero, someday, I hope to be just like him." He added.
"Well you do like to hear yourself talk, so you're well on your way." The red masked turtle shrugged as he went back to his comic.
"Yeah, and quoting things just makes ya look like a weeb, Leo." The shark girl added, going back to her magazine.
"Like you're one to talk." He retorted.
"It's go time!" Mikey cheered.
"Oh, is it night already?" The shark girl asked with a blink.
"Yeah, let's go!" Donnie exclaimed as they all geared up to head out.
Artemisia did her gearing up by putting on a set of Kunoichi armor that Splinter had fashioned for her to wear. Her chained kunai chain rope dart was hidden under her sleeve and her wakizashi was placed diagonally on her hip.
"Hm, first time on the surface… Let's see what happens." She said to herself as she looked in the mirror to examine her outfit.
It was actually an altered version of Scorpion's outfit from Mortal Kombat 10, only it was made with her shark attributes in mind and was recolored in dark blue and white. It didn't cling to her like it was a catsuit, but it did accentuate her body appropriately.
(Later)
"You are going to a strange and hostile world. You must keep awareness at all times." Splinter told his sons and daughter as they stood before him.
"Hai, Sensei." They nodded.
"Stay in the shadows." He continued. "Don't talk to strangers, everyone is a stranger." He added.
"Hai, Sensei." The five nodded, though it was clear that this was getting annoying as they turned to leave.
"Make sure you go before you leave! The restrooms up there are filthy!" The old rat called.
"Sensei…" They groaned.
"... Good luck, my children." Splinter sighed.
The group then grinned together before they rushed off, eager to see the surface for themselves.
(Later)
As the group moved aside the manhole cover from the sewer grate, allowing them entrance to the surface–and brought them to a mostly empty alley.
As they climbed out, they looked around and saw the garbage lying around… and the one homeless guy sleeping nearby, careless of the world around him.
It wasn't remarkable by any means, but then they saw the entire city, and right off the bat–it stuck.
"Whoa…" Mikey gasped. "It's so beautiful." He added as they exited the alley.
"Kinda noisy, though." Arty winced, rubbing her ears as the sounds of cards assailed them. 'I should probably think about getting some earplugs…' She noted to herself.
"The city is full of surprises! There could be an adventure around any corner!" Leo said as he looked around.
'Wow, look at all the computers!" Donnie exclaimed, one catching his eye. "Is that the new cadmium processor with quantum encryption?!" He gasped.
"I dunno, Donatello, is it?" Raph questioned sarcastically.
"... It is!" He nodded.
"Guys, check this out! It's a glowing hand!" Mikey exclaimed as he looked at a neon sign for a fortune teller.
"Not interested–what the-?." Arty said as she walked past a book store before she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Whoa! They have the newest issue of Mall Kunoichi Magazine?!" She gasped. "I thought they stopped printing years ago!" She blurted in joy.
"Guys, I think the surface is a world full of endless possabilities." Leo grinned as he looked around.
"I believe it." His sister nodded as she used her rough skin to cut a perfect circle with her hand through the window and snag the issues she didn't have, stashing them in her satchel.
"Yeah! Who knows what we can find up here!" Donnie grinned.
"Exactly! There could be an adventure around every corner!" Leo exclaimed.
However, before anything else could be said, a teen on a scooter suddenly stopped in front of them.
The young man stared at them for a bit before both Raph and Arty scared him off by making faces at him–causing a couple boxes to fall off his scooter.
"We're too exposed out here. We need to find someplace more secluded." The blue masked turtle stated.
"Let's head up there, then." Arty proposed, pointing to the rooftops.
Mikey, meanwhile, collected the boxes and followed his siblings up, not wanting anything to go to waste.
(Later)
The five were now on a roof looking at said boxes and were trying to see what it was.
"Pi-za?" Mikey read.
"Pizza." Artemisia corrected. "It's a human food." She told him, opening the box and salivating as soon as she smelled it. "Mmm! Pepperoni!" She grinned.
"You had this before?" Raph questioned.
"No, but I did eat an alligator carcass whose last meal happened to be a pizza. It was back when I was still a shark." His sister replied.
"That's a little weird, but okay." Mikey shrugged, not bothering to make heads or tails of that story.
"But I never got to actually try it myself. I'm kinda excited." She nodded.
Mikey went first and tried a slice of the pizza, and almost immediately, the young turtle's mind was blown upon biting into it. Then he proceeded to gobble it up like it was the greatest thing ever… Probably because it was. He was practically salivating before he noticed his siblings looking at him.
"... It's horrible. I won't let you guys be burdened by it." He tried to lie so he could have all the pizza to himself… It didn't work.
"Wow, I thought there'd be better foods out here besides algae and worms, but this is amazing!" Raph exclaimed as they kept eating.
"I love it up here!" Mikey cheered.
(Elsewhere)
Back in the sewers, the boy Artemisia almost sniffed out was still roaming the sewers in search of a way out, but had yet to find one. This made him think he was hopelessly lost in the island spanning maze of tunnels.
"There has to be some way out of here…" He groaned as he kept walking.
After another ten minutes of aimless walking, he happened across the Lair by accident.
"What the…? Is someone living here?" He wondered as he looked around, perplexed by how much of a home the place looked
"Yes, in fact." An old voice replied from his right, causing him to look at the source. He did not expect a man sized rat in Japanese attire to be what he saw.
"What the–?! Who are you?!" The boy yelped as he took a few steps back.
"I am Splinter, and this is the home of myself and my five children." The rat replied in a non-aggressive tone in hopes of setting the boy at ease. "May I ask who you are and how you found your way here?" He questioned.
"... Joshua Landers, and that's just it; I wasn't actively seeking this place out at all. I found it by accident." The human teen replied as he relaxed a bit, seeing that the mutant before him meant no harm.
"Hm…" The old rat hummed as he walked closer to the teen to get a better look at him. After a moment, he motioned for him to follow him to the kitchen. "And just why are you in the sewers, Joshua?" He questioned, and didn't expect a look of bitterness to form on the boy's face.
"That would be because of my parents." He spat with a scowl. "I eavesdropped on them and found out they wanted to take advantage of the talents I had, so I ran away." He continued.
"What kind of talents?" Splinter questioned.
"I'm particularly gifted in science, medical science in particular. So much so that my principal said that I could end up going to college in a few short years, and then graduate with a doctorate in five." The boy explained.
"And your parents wished to exploit this for their own gain?" The rat gasped.
"They did, and…" Joshua trailed off with a sigh. "It hurt, finding out my own parents only ever saw me as a means to make money." He confessed, sounding hurt and betrayed.
"I cannot say that I know exactly what you are going through." The rat said as he sat down in front of him, prompting Joshua to also sit. "But, I do know the stimulus of betrayal." He continued.
"How?" The boy questioned.
"Many years ago, when I was still human, I was a man named Yoshi Hamato. Of the Hamato ninja clan." Splinter explained. "I was raised with the son of our enemy, Saki Oroku. Last of the Foot Clan." He continued. "We were raised as brothers, and we acted like it. But that became bitter sweet when we fell for the same girl, my beloved Teng-Shen." He elaborated. "Saki could not accept the fact that she chose me over him, so our rivalry festered into hatred–only growing worse when he found out his true lineage." He added. "Then one night, he attacked me, slew my wife and burned my home." He concluded.
Joshua sat still as he listened to this story.
"And so, I lost my home, my wife, my daughter, my name–even my humanity." The old rat continued. "All because of one man's betrayal." He added with a sad sigh.
"I guess we're kinsmen through betrayal, in a sense." Joshua muttered with a sigh.
"Yes… I suppose we are." The old rat nodded in agreement. "And while I can let you stay here for a time, it cannot be forever." He told his guest. "It would start to feel rather crowded." He added.
"Yeah, six is honestly not a preferable number for a place like this." The medical genius nodded as he looked around. "But a temporary stay should work until I can find a more permanent solution topside." He added.
(Elsewhere)
Back with the siblings, they were in the middle of doing some pretty hardcore parkour all over the place while sticking to the roofs.
This went on for a good while before they came to a stop and looked around… Right until Donnie spotted a ginger haired girl in their age group with fair skin green eyes. She was also wearing a white and yellow shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of sneakers.
"She's… She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!" He gasped as he felt his heart skip a beat.
"She's only the second girl you saw, you brainiac." Arty deadpanned.
"My point still stands." The turtle retorted before a van suddenly drove up to the family and several figures jumped out. Three looked exactly identical.
"What the…?" Raph questioned.
"Hey, doesn't that look like the same guys Splinter mentioned?" Arty said. "The ones who worked with some sort of machines?" She added, recalling another story that involved how her father and brothers came to be in the sewers in the first place.
"They definitely look that way." Donnie nodded, narrowing his eyes as he recalled the details of that story.
"Then it sounds like we better do something about these guys." Mikey growled.
"No, Master Splinter said–" Leo started to say before the sole shark of the group cut him off.
"Didn't Splinter also tell us as kids that the rules shouldn't stop us from doing what's right?" She retorted.
"Yeah, I second that! Let's roll!" Raph nodded before leaping into action, the others following suit, leaving a flabbergasted Leonardo behind.
"Wait up guys!" He called as they leapt down.
As the four identical men started trying to get the girl and her father into the van, Artemisia's rope dart suddenly shanked one of them through the chest, allowing her to get him and make him drop the father.
"GET OVER HERE!" She growled, pulling him towards her. Then she started a combo on the seemingly emotionless lackey, but he seemed to shrug it off before attacking. The blow missed and hit the ground… creating a spiderweb pattern on impact. "What the–?!" She gasped.
"What even are these guys?!" Raph grunted as he and the others tried to fight them off, but stray attacks from one another kept hitting them at random.
This unintentionally poor coordination allowed them to be distracted and let the lookalike men take the girl's father. They tried to keep the girl herself from being taken, but she was scared of the five mutants too, due to all the chaos.
This caused a bunch of unintentionally botched attacks that led to the identical men getting the drop on them and getting away with the girl–and forcing the five, save Mikey–to retreat.
"You think you're tough?! You think you can stand up to my hot nunchuck fury?!" The orange masked turtle yelled as he flailed his weapons around–only for the man to catch it. "I see… AAAAAH!" He yelled, running away.
The man then gave chase and corned Mikey in an alley, but the turtle was able to strike him with his nunchucks bladed hook, causing him to collapse–and reveal that it was a machine!
"What the…?" He trailed off, not expecting to make that discovery. "That is all kinds of wrong!" He exclaimed.
A moment later, a small pink brain-like creature burst out of the stomach area and latched onto the turtle's face!
In true panicking fashion, Mikey flailed around and tried to get it off. He managed to do so a minute later, and it scuttled away while the nunchuck using terrapin ran off to get his brothers.
(Later)
The gang were now kneeling before their sensei, though Arty had noticed a new scent in the Lair immediately upon their return. She would wait a bit before addressing it however. Mikey, meanwhile, seemed frustrated.
"And so your inability to work together allowed them all to get away!" The old rat snapped at them.
"Well maybe if I didn't have to argue with hero boy over here I could've saved them." Raph retorted, looking at Leo.
"Well if you weren't so hot headed, things would've been different!" The elder sibling of the bunch snapped back. "And you went flying off on your own, how smart was that?" He added, looking at Donnie.
"Well it would've worked out great if somebody didn't hit me in the head with their nunchucks!" Donnie exclaimed, looking at Mikey.
"Well none of this would have happened if–" He then looked at Arty who looked at him. "Someone hadn't convinced us to jump in the first place." He finished.
"Fotiti! [Go fuck yourself]" The shark girl retorted in Italian at her brother. "If you ask me, the fault belongs to the guy who let us go up there in the first place!" She blurted, before realizing what she said and covering her mouth. "Oh, sensei, I didn't…" She said sheepishly.
"No, Artemisia. You are correct." Splinter interjected, causing her to blink as she and her brothers looked at him. "It was too soon for you to go to the surface. I had trained you to fight individually instead of as a team." He told them, seeing that he made a mistake in their training. "Perhaps you will be ready in another year." He mused, much to their disbelief.
"Another year?!" Donnie questioned. "Has everyone forgotten that people were kidnapped?! They don't have another year, sensei!" The brains of the gang told his father. "You weren't there, sensei, you didn't see how that girl looked into my eyes. She was scared and she was counting on me–." He continued, getting a few glares. "Us, to save her! We have to do something now!" He amended.
Splinter was silent as he considered his smartest son's argument. While his children did need training to act as a team, there was simply no time for it. The people they tried to protect didn't have the luxury of waiting, and needed immediate rescue.
And he was more than positive that Artemisia had noticed Joshua's scent right away. There was no fooling her nose. That could wait until she spoke up about it, however.
"Very well." He sighed. "If you wish to commit to this rescue, a leader must be decided." He stated.
"Can I be the Leader?" Leo questioned, raising his hand.
"You're kidding me with the hand up, right?" Arty questioned flatly.
"Why should you be the Leader? I should be the leader!" Raph retorted.
"Hey, I'm smarter than all of you put together, it should be me." Donnie chimed in.
"No way, it should be me!" Mikey exclaimed, getting odd looks. "I don't have a reason, I just think it'd be me." He added.
"Meh. I could care less about it, really." Arty shrugged, not really interested in the leadership role.
"I will meditate on this, and inform you of my decision." Splinter told them before retiring to his room for the time being.
Beat…
"It's Leonardo." He told them, opening his door briefly before he tried to close it again, only for his daughter to stop him.
"Before anyone says anything else…" She trailed off, looking her sensei in the eyes. "Sensei, why am I smelling a new scent in the Lair?" She questioned with narrowed eyes.
"Ah, yes." Her sensei and father nodded as he went towards the lair's kitchen where he then dragged a confused Joshua into the dojo. "This young man found his way to our home by accident. His reasons for being here are his to tell." He told them, feeling a tad amused by their shocked looks.
"Um… Hi?" The only human in the underground home greeted awkwardly.
"I thought I smelled a human down here earlier." The shark girl said, crossing her arms.
"What drove you down here, anyway?" Leo questioned. Then the awkwardness that had been present in their guest vanished and was replaced with bitterness, causing them to blink.
"Greedy parents who wanted to take advantage of my talents." He grunted.
"... Are you sure you didn't over react?" Donnie asked after processing his words. "Also, who are you?" He added.
"Joshua Landers, and you can be skeptical all you want. I know exactly what my parents are like." He told the staff using turtle. "The sewers felt like an ideal place to stay off the grid." He added.
"You got some weird tastes if you think this is an ideal place to live." Raph stated, gesturing to where they were.
"Not live, more like hide until I can come up with a more permanent solution topside." Joshua corrected. "Also, what's this about a kidnapping?" He questioned.
"It's a long story." Leo told him before gesturing to himself. "I'm Leonardo, these are my brothers Donatello." He continued, gesturing to Donnie who was busy using a mechanical hand file to whittle a disk of metal Into a Shuriken. "Raphael." He added, gesturing to Raph who was feeding his pet tortious, Spike. "And Michaelangelo." He concluded, jabbing a thumb at Mikey who was busy talking on the payphone Donnie fixed.
"Alright I want a large thick crust with double cheese, ham, pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, olives, onions–but no anchovies, and I mean no anchovies. You put anchovies on this thing and you're in big trouble–." He continued before Arty bonked him on the head.
"Just finish the damn order, numb nuts! I'm starving!" She snapped.
"And that's Artemisia, the only sister we have." Leo finished with a shake of his head.
"So all of you were named after Renaissance artists. Nice." Joshua noted with a small blush as he looked at Artemisia, said blush going unnoticed.
"Yep. Splinter enjoyed that time in history a lot." The eldest turtle nodded. "You know, you never did say what your talents are." He noted, looking at the human.
"I'm a medical science prodigy." The boy explained. "I'm especially proud of my knowledge of veterinary science and marine veterinary science." He added.
"So you want to take care of animals, huh?" Arty commented as she walked up to them.
"Yeah, though my parents want me to work in a human hospital under the impression I'll make more money that way." Joshua sighed. "I tried to tell them otherwise, but they wouldn't listen." He added. "This has been going on since I was thirteen. I'm sixteen now." He continued.
"Wow. Three years and they're still caught up in their dreams." Raph grunted from his spot as he finished feeding his pets.
"Yeah, that's why I was quick to get out of… Town." He nodded before trailing off as Artemisia started getting close to him, looking him over, as if sizing him up–her eyes narrowed and her focus on point. "Uh…" He uttered, not sure how to react.
"Hm…" She hummed as she circled him a few times to get a better look at him, like she was judging him in regards to something. Then she stopped in front of him. "I was right, you are cute." She nodded in approval. "For a human, at least." She amended, pulling back.
"I– Wha– HUH?!" Joshua stammered, not expecting the shark girl to be so forward as his blush suddenly grew.
"Yeah, we probably should've warned ya: Arty is an aggressive flirt." Donnie commented as he finished one set of shuriken and started on another.
"I'm the only girl in a house full of men, forgive me if I happen to be a little thirsty, canaliga [asshole]." The girl retorted before tossing her hair as she looked at Joshua. "Ignore them, these idioti [idiots] don't know the first thing about romance." She told him low enough where only he could hear her clearly.
"Right…" Joshua murmured awkwardly, coughing a bit. "Anyway… It shouldn't take me too long to figure out a solution, maybe a couple of days." He told everyone.
"Take the time you need, right now we've got stuff to do." Leo told him.
(Later)
"Okay so tell me again what you saw when you slashed that one guy who attacked us?" Arty questioned Mikey as she and her brothers sat on a rooftop.
"It was a weird brain thing in some kind of robot body! It came out of the stomach!" The nunchuck user exclaimed.
"Are you sure you weren't seeing things?" Raph questioned with a raised eyeridge.
"Yeah, Mikey, there's no such thing as alien robots." Donnie nodded.
"Hold on, hold on." Artemisia said as she sat down on a building ledge. "You mean to tell me that Mikey's description doesn't ring any bells for you guys?" She questioned.
"No. Should it?" Raph questioned, causing his sister to facepalm.
"Per l'amor di Dio [For the love of god]. Why was I cursed with such idiotic brothers?" The shark girl groaned. "Meat head, what Mikey just described sounds exactly like the robots that Master Splinter had to fight off before you guys came to the lair, when you guys first mutated." She added. "Remember? He told us that story when we were six." She continued.
"... Oh." Was all Donnie could say with a blink.
There was an awkward silence before Mikey, ever the oblivious one, spoke up.
"So, why are we here again?" He wondered, causing Leo to groan in exasperation.
"Because that building has the same mark as the van. If we wait here, it'll show up eventually." He told his sibling.
"So we're just staking out. Okay." The shark girl summed up with a shrug.
"And then we got ourselves a van!" Mikey cheered, causing everyone but Arty to groan, as she just laughed at the corny idea.
"Just hit the guy I tell you to." Leo told his younger brother.
"Will do!" The orange masked turtle nodded.
(Later)
After two hours, everyone but Leo were bored of their skulls. They were starting to doubt anything would really happen, and were tempted to call it a night.
"Give it up, already! The guy's not gonna show!" Raph exclaimed.
"We have to be patient, Raph." Leo told him.
"No, you have to come up with a better plan. Because the five of us sitting here with our thumbs up our noses–." The red masked turtle started.
"Pretty sure they won't fit." Arty chimed in.
"Whatever. Anyway, what I'm saying is we seriously need a better plan than this." Raph finished, waving off his sister's comment.
"Are you sure about that?" The sword using terrapin asked with a smirk as he spotted something.
"He just showed up, didn't he?" The turtle deadpanned. "Should've complained two hours ago." He sighed.
"At least something is happening." The shark girl shrugged.
With that, the five mutants leapt down to the street and brandished their weapons on the one that got out of the van.
The guy was a rather ratty looking man with long dirty black hair and was dressed in a tank top and jeans.
"Alright pal, we can do this the easy way." Arty told him.
"Or my vote, the hard way." Raph added.
"Yeah, I mean, look at it logically." Donnie grinned. "There are five of us and one of you, whaddya gonna do?" He questioned.
The man looked at them for a moment before he pulled out a gun that definitely wasn't human made and started shooting at them, forcing them to scatter as the man got back in the van and drove off.
"Ya had to ask!" Raph yelled.
"Come on, let's go!" Leo called as they leapt to the roof and gave chase.
As they chased their quarry, he tried to give them the slip, but the five mutants weren't so easily lost this time. Glancing at his gun, the man grabbed it and shot at them in hopes of slowing them down… It didn't work, since they were able to dodge the shots.
Seeing this was going to drag out for far longer than they'd like, Leo threw a shuriken and was able to hit one of the tires, causing it to swerve out of control and crash.
"And that's how it's done." The team leader grinned as they landed in front of the car, right as the guy was crawling out of the car–only for Arty to wrap him up with one of her manrikigusari chains.
"Don't move." She warned, holding her sword to his throat.
Raph, meanwhile, was busy trying to get the back of the van open, then something tumbled out of it and rolled towards Mikey…
It was a very familiar looking canister with an equally familiar looking green ooze inside it.
"Mom?!" Mikey gasped as he looked at the canister in surprise, causing Arty to snicker a bit.
ThermalsniperN7: Didn't think I'd find myself doing a Maneater-TMNT story, but here we are. And this time, our favorite mutant shark was whisked away before her reign of terror could begin.
Dragon Emperor0: Don't worry, though. That may indeed still happen–in fact, I can see a few ways where the turtles and Artemisia could go about the Maneater campaign if they end up going to Port Clovis. And I can also see what kind of enemies they could face if they went there.
ThermalsniperN7: True, and yes, this is the same Joshua Landers from Assassin's Creed: Outlaw, just aged down. And he'll be shipped with Artemisia.
Dragon Emperor0: Well, a different version of him, anyway. Also, yes, we see the irony of Artemisia being named after the Goddess of Maidenhood while also being an aggressive flirt. That is not lost on us.
ThermalsniperN7: She's also named after a female painter from the Renaissance, so there's that too. Don't ask about our plans for Truth Quest, btw. It's WAY too early for those questions.
Dragon Emperor0: Rest assured though. We do have plans, just not fully thought out ones at the moment. Anyway, guys, see you all next time.