Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN.
Thank you.

Chapter #61

*Tuesday May 24th into Wednesday May 25th 2016-just edging the brink of midnight*

"Take her to the med wing around the corner, you can check on her there" J2 instructed as the group entered the lair.
"Is she alright?" April asked, rushing out from the side room where her alternate was still lying down silently.
"She's fine" Leo answered.
Mikey had carried her all the way down from the vehicle up above and through the tunnels down below and was now following Donnie into the med wing.
Leo had been close behind them both in case they needed anything, but Leo knew that now he would just get in the way as Donnie set all the equipment up. Plus, they had J2 with them and he could aid in instructing Donnie how to get things set up (if Donnie even needed any help, that is).

"Where are the others?"
"S2 is convincing the driver that she kissed him already and that it's not her fault he blacked out afterwards. I'll explain more about that later" he said as he rolled his eyes, making April laugh at his expression, "and Jay and Raph are standing nearby so that they can protect her and then help her make her way down here."
"We were doing that" Raph cut in, "but we're here now."
"Everyone alright?" April asked uneasily.
"It's alright, you can relax. Donnie checked on her and everything he tested showed that she's really Sam and nothing serious has been detected so far" Jay reassured.
"Oh thank goodness" the woman sighed in relief, leaning on Raph as she swayed to her side.
"Whoa, mighty sigh there" Raph teased.
"Well I've been on edge since you guys left! Everyone else gets to go make sure that she's okay and I'm stuck here all by myself."
"April-"
"No!" she shouted as she pointed at Leo. "Do not apologize! I love her to, but you all are much closer to her. Obviously you all wanted and needed to know what was going on with her. I'm fine!"
The guys couldn't help but chuckle.

Theme: NF-Can You Hold Me (for Mikey and Raph)

While everyone else was catching up and checking in on each other, S2 went back to helping in the best way she currently knew how. She left the room and made her way towards the med wing. As she went to enter the room, she bumped into Donnie.
"Sorry" she stated quickly.
"At ease, it's alright" he teased. He looked back over his shoulder at his younger brother, then turned back towards the girl in front of him. "He could use the company."
"Hmmm" S2 nodded with a small grin.
After Donatello left the area, S2 slowly walked into the med wing.
"Mind if I join you?" she asked softly, assuming Michelangelo wouldn't turn around unless completely necessary.
"Yeah, it's cool" Mikey mumbled.
"Did Donnie run anymore tests?" S2 said as she pulled up a chair and sat next to the mutant.
Mikey nodded. "He ran a couple other blood tests and is going to sample them to make sure the mutagen in her blood hasn't changed or mutated, he's going to continue doing that in case something changes in the long-run. You know, planning for every possible outcome."
"What about you?"
Mikey paused. "What about me?"
"Well Donnie's already set his mind on a mission, how are you holding up?"
Mikey closed his eyes, tight.
"I just don't know how much longer I can see her like this. Like, it's never us like this, EVER. And I mean I'm not saying I want this to happen to anyone but…but it needs to stop being her" he muttered his last words, clenching his fists while doing so.

"She's told me a lot about her battles with you guys, sounds like she's a tough one. I know I've only met Sam for a short amount of time, but I bet she'll bounce back, tougher than before" she said with encouragement.
"But that's the thing" Mikey replied as he turned away from her, "I don't want her to be tougher."
"What do you mean?" she asked solemnly.
"If she tries to be tougher, then she'll want to fight more, and then she'll get hurt again. She's a tough fighter and the best partner in crime anyone could ever ask for, but she always gets hurt.
If it's not Shredder turning her against us, then it's her helping defend us with her life, or her powers whacking out and putting her in danger, or someone using the mutagen in her veins to take control of her!" he said as he stood up so quickly that the chair behind him flipped backwards.
"Mikey-"
"It's always something!" he roared. "Like we all walk away scot free and yet she gets hurt or controlled or something! And there's nothing…there's nothing I can do to stop it…" his voice trailed from shouting to almost whispering.
S2 sensed Leo and Donnie right outside the med wing, and while Mikey turned as he paced back and forth now, S2 held up a hand to signal to the boys to stay outside and that she had this.

"Maybe this time will be different" S2 said calmly.
Mikey halted and stared at her. "What do you mean?"
"She learns from these things, right?"
"Well…um…" Mikey stuttered, trying to catch his breath.
"She told me how she helped free you from…whose the brain guy?"
"Kraang."
"Him!" she said with a snap of her fingers. "You were trapped in his grasp, but Sam didn't lose control, right? She learned from her mistakes and stayed calm, and that allowed her to maintain control of her powers and help save you. So maybeeeeeee that means she'll calm down after she wakes up" S2 stated with a small smile.
"You…you really think so?" Mikey asked with glassy eyes.
"Well I'm sure when she sees you like that, she'll definitely re-consider her actions" she said with a light chuckle.
"Can I hug you?" Mikey asked abruptly.
S2 paused at first, caught off guard by the request.
Mikey prayed that the girl couldn't sense his blush (Sam and April were the only two who could actually tell when the turtles blushed) as he began speaking sporadically.
"Sorry, that was a weird thing to ask. Forget I said anything. I mean I don't even know you like th-"
That fast S2 had lunged in and hugged the turtle.
"You're hurting. Never apologize for that" she stated as she held him tightly.
She scrunched her eyes shut once she felt his arms move, assuming he would crush her with his ridiculously large muscles, yet his touch was so gentle. She was shocked at how delicate he was, especially since his mannerisms were usually a bit rough since he was always so energetic and playful.
'I wonder how many times he's held her like this in order to learn how to be so compassionate and gentle, or maybe this tenderness is just his extra super power' she thought to herself.
She then realized that this feeling, this way of being held felt very familiar. The way she felt so safe and comfortable within his embrace even though Mikey was still someone relatively new to her life.
That's when she realized, the way she was being held right now was the same way that Kris held her when they were alone. Was it just a coincidence and it meant nothing? Or…did it mean that Mikey felt a certain way about Sam?

"Thanks" Mikey stated in a low voice as he began to back away. "I just, I needed that. I'm used to Sam always being there whenever I'm feeling down. Not saying I need to hug you because you look like her, but uh…talking to you is similar to talking to her though" he said, rubbing his hand behind his head with a bashful smile.
'I wonder…' S2 thought to herself, but she left it at that and just smiled genuinely at him, glad that she was able to help make him feel better.
"How's Raph holding up?" Mikey asked, now displaying a more concerned expression on his face once again.
"Oh, I actually haven't had a chance to talk to him yet. I went to check on the two of you earlier, but then the alarm went off and we went to go save Sam."
"I would check on him soon. He may have seemed alright, but I know he's mentally freaking out. Be careful though. There's a good chance he's completing some rough and physical activity and he's probably being so freaking loud, he's always so damn loud" Mikey said as he rolled his eyes and shook his head side to side. "I mean, I'm all for channeling anger and stress into an activity, but I'll never understand why he must always be so violent and noisy when it comes to relaxing himself. I know I have no right to complain about being loud and having too much energy, but I'm nowhere near as insane as that guy" he joked.
S2 laughed. "Everyone is different my friend. You like talking to people about your emotions, while some people like to punch things and make noise, or sit in quiet rooms, or busy themselves to exhaustion."
"Ugh, tell me about it" he groaned.
"I'll check up on you later" she stated as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, I appreciate it" he said with a smile, one of the most genuine smiles she had seen from him in a while after all that had happened.
"Of course" S2 replied before leaving the room.

She left the med wing and listened for sounds that seemed like someone was using exercise equipment. She followed the sounds as they guided her down a hallway and into an open room with a few different machines, including a punching bag.
"What do you want?" he asked, his back turned to her as he continued to swing at the bag.
S2 paused, taken aback by his words and the tone of his voice. He was definitely different from the rest of his brothers. The others had welcomed her in and talked to her, whereas his mannerisms made it clear that he didn't want to talk things out. At least, he wasn't ready to yet, so she had to approach him differently from the others. He was unique and different from them after all.
"Just watching" she said with a shrug.
Now it was Raph who was caught off guard. "Just watching?" he said in a low but rough tone as he turned around.
"Yeah. I heard you're a tough guy, and my teacher is resting up right now. So I'm watching."
Raph shot her a nasty sneer as he turned back around. "Alright" he grumbled.
S2 walked over towards the wall and took a seat, leaning her back against it as she watched Raph bounce on his toes and continuously swing at the large bag in front of him.
"So how long are you just gonna sit there and watch?" he grunted as he continued to lay into the bag.
"Do I have a time limit?" S2 asked calmly.
"Psh, not what I meant. Never mind" he grunted, not losing a step in his rhythm.
S2 sat there with a puzzled look for a few seconds before she realized that he was asking, in his Raphael sort of way, if she wanted to join him.
She walked over and stood behind him.
After a few seconds, Raph acknowledged her presence and turned to face her.
"Do you even know how to use this thing?"
S2 took a step forward and angled her knuckles the way that her alternate taught her as she struck the bag a couple of times.
Raph nodded. "Not bad, but still…" he paused, then turned away.
S2 remained emotionless. She could sense what he was thinking, but she also had a feeling it was too soon to bring this to light.
"So is punching the only thing you do when you're stressed?" she asked calmly.
Again, Raph paused for a few seconds before answering the question.
"No. There's a pull-up bar over there. And there are some hand weights over there. That and push up's and curl up's don't require any equipment, so…yeah."
"Do you have a routine?"
Raph looked down and scowled at the girl.
"Didn't realize this was 20 questions" he said as he turned and walked back over towards the hand weights.
"Didn't mean for it to be, just-"
"Checking in right?" Raph asked intensely as he whipped around to face the girl. "Since you think you need to be like her, so you're checking in with each of us. Well, you're not her and-"
"She's the one who she be in here with you, right?" S2 asked, continuing to remain as calm and collected as she could. Normally she would never allow someone to talk to her in such a nasty way, but she knew the person in front of her was hurting, and she needed to let him vent his rage out. At least he was staying verbal and not getting physically aggressive.

"Look, I know you'll get the wrong idea, but what I meant is-"
"I get it" the girl cut in.
"Really?" he asked in disbelief.
S2 nodded. "She wouldn't have to ask you about routines, or what you do when you're angry. She already knows. If she was here then she would know exactly what to do and say to calm you down. She would probably join you in working out instead of needing you to invite her to join you" she replied with raised brows, exerting that she truly did understand how he felt, eventually.
"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against you. Just…" he trailed off as he turned away. "You have her face, her voice, sometimes you even act like her. But you're not her. Instead she's lying in a bed and Donnie is running tests to make sure it's even her and that's it not some monster faking and that she's actually still having who knows what being done to her" he said, his voice beginning to raise as he used his arms while he spoke.
"I get it" S2 responded. "Your friend is hurt, of course you're going to want her here instead of me. But sadly I'm not like her, so I can't fix everything like she can. I'm not like her and I don't know any of you like she does. However, I'm not going to just sit back and do nothing. I'm not her, but I'm going to do what I know she would do" she replied with confidence.

Raph couldn't help but shake his head and smile. "You definitely have her attitude, that's for sure."
"Look, if being here is only going to make you more upset, then I'll leave. But yes, I'm going to at least check in on you guys. I owe my alternate twin that much."
Raph looked over at her and gave her a small grin. "Guess talking to you isn't so bad. It's not the same as talking to the original, but it's not bad. Heh, in a way it's like talking to the original when we first met."
S2 titled her head to the side. "How so?"
"Once she was allowed to enter the lair on a regular basis she ended up training with us. She had potential, but she also had A LOT to learn and wasn't anywhere near as strong as she is now when using her natural strength. Sorta like watching you hit that punching bag."
S2's eyes went wide. "What?! I thought I hit that thing pretty well!"
Now that got Raph to laugh.
"Sweetheart, you have a lot to learn if you thought that was a good hit" he laughed as he shook his head.
"Teach me!"
"Whatever" Raph groaned, although his small smile hid that he was actually eager to teach the girl. Just like he had said minutes ago, this reminded him a lot of when Sam first began training with them. She had had practice fighting and knew how to throw a punch, but she still needed some pointers on her stance and how to throw the punch so that it did more damage to the enemy than it did to herself.
Raph was beginning to grow more energetic and was smiling for a while as he taught the girl to fight and defend herself, but gradually his expressions became more and more joyless.
The more he thought about his friend and the good times from the past, the more it made him dread that she was now lying in a hospital bed and that the person who was better at comforting him than anyone wasn't here and was suffering once again.

"Raph?" S2 asked cautiously.
He didn't respond, he just continued to stare off into space.
S2 was shocked. At this point he looked a lot like his youngest brother. Their saddened expressions were very similar, and they were very recognizable. S2 wasn't sure if her next move would make him feel better or not, but she sensed that it was needed and appropriate.
Raph shuddered at the impact as the girl walked up to him and hugged him gently.
He couldn't remember the last time that he had received a hug (from an adult that is) and was shocked that the girl was bold enough to do so. He also assumed that since he was so huge and usually quite intimidating that no one would ever hug him like this. He had participated in numerous group hugs from his brothers, or one arm around the shoulder hugs, typical things like that. But this was different. This was a more compassionate hug, one that sympathized with his feelings.
At first he felt the urge to push her away (although this was also due to the fact that she was wearing a top that exposed her stomach and it felt weird that her stomach was technically touching his) but the longer she held onto him, the more he reveled in how gentle her touch was, how much calmer it made him feel to have someone hold him in such a caring way.

Without realizing it, he slowly wrapped his arms around her as well. He was grateful that she just stood there quietly rather than try to talk throughout the situation. It made him feel much more comfortable in the relaxed but still somewhat awkward position they were in.
Usually he never reached this point since Sam always knew what to do to get him to calm down way before he reached this point of depression, but would she hold him like this if he ever needed it? He assumed the answer to be yes since he and Sam had hugged before, just never for this amount of time. It still felt odd to be in this position regardless of who it was he was hugging. He was sensitive, but he'd never considered himself to be a hugger. Regardless, he was grateful, more grateful than he ever thought he ever would be for the embrace. He even began to wonder how different he might be if he was held like this more often, but his thoughts were cut off by a shriek from another room.

"Was that April?" S2 asked uneasily.
"Yeah, but which one?" Raph replied. "Come on" he stated before the two dashed out of the room.
As they ran out of the doorway and down the hallway towards the main central space, Leo leaped down from an entry way on the floor above them. From a different entry way from the same floor, Donnie had also leapt down holding their April, and once her feet hit the floor then both began to run along with the others.
As they exited the hallway they ran into both Jays who had been resting on the far side of the room, looking a bit frantic as if they had both just been awakened (it was after midnight after all).
That left just one person: Mikey.

As the group ran into the large additional room on the ground floor which had been transformed into a relaxed space, they watched as Mikey slowly backed away from the couch with his hands held up.
On the couch was the red-headed April, who was clinging onto a pillow for dear life as she stared at the turtle in front of her.
She then turned and saw the other three gigantic turtles who were standing in the large rounded entry way into the room.
"Oh my god there's more of you?!" she shrieked, scooting backwards so that her back was buried into the back of the couch.
"It's okay, calm down" their April stated and she slowly made her way forward.
"I just wanted to check on her I never meant-" Mikey stated hastily.
"Hey, it's okay. We know" April said gently as she placed her hand on his shoulder, then continued to move forward until she was kneeling in front of her alternate who was still timidly burying herself into the back of the couch.

"Why do you look like me?" the red head asked in a scared tone.
"Because in another dimension I am you. That's why the two Asian men behind me look exactly alike. They're not twins, they're the same person from alternate dimensions."
"But…no one has ever discovered a way to do that" the alternate April stated with a confused look.
"Or maybe they just never published their findings and kept the project silent and underground, literally" J2 said, rubbing the back of his head and looking down towards the ground.
The alternate April hit the pillow she was holding.
"Are you serious? Do you know how many people have dedicated years of their lives towards that research? You could have saved so many people so much time to work on other things if they knew about this!"
"Well A2 seems fine now" Raph grumbled.
The woman glared over at him. "I'm sorry, who looks calm now? And alternate dimensions doesn't explain what you giant green aliens are doing here" she replied in a rather nasty tone.
"What is with women here being so damn bitter?" he bit back.
"ME?!" A2 shouted back.
"What my friend means" April cut in, sending a look over towards Raph aiming at him to calm down (which luckily his brothers were trying to get him to do now as well) "is that he's not used to people reacting that way towards him. It's been awhile since someone's acted that way after seeing him."
"What, are you guys like Gods from, well wherever you're from?" she asked, her body no longer tense and now much more relaxed.
"I like the sound of that" Mikey muttered with a smile.
"We're not Gods" Leo stated, playfully nudging his baby brother, "but we have helped a lot of people. And our family has grown a bit within the past couple of years" he said with a small grin.
"We've saved a lot of people from a dangerous group known as the Foot back from where we're from. Apparently our New York is much more dangerous than yours" Donnie added.
"Is that why these people are here with you? And is that why all of you are here in general?" A2 asked, now much more curious about these new beings. She was a scientist after all, so now that she knew she was safe, she wanted to learn everything she could about them.

The four turtles nodded.
"A few people from the Foot, the group my brother mentioned a second ago, escaped here. A ninja named Tatsu and a kunoichi named Karai traveled from our dimension to yours. We believe they came here so that they could retrieve whatever they needed as an energy source for their own portal back home. A specific portal that will aid an alien named Kraang. That alien is holding their leader, the Shredder, hostage. If they don't fix his own personal portal, then he won't release their leader to him" Leo informed the woman.
"Wow…that's a lot to take in" she stated as she ran her hands through her hair.
"Welcome to my world" April teased.
"We think they're hunting down the Tanzanite that you talked about on television" Donnie continued. "We've secured it from the three OneLife Science buildings and we're currently trying to figure out our enemy's next move."
"So now I know why you're here, and I know why all our buildings were evacuated, but who are these people?" A2 stated as she looked back towards April and the two Jays in the room.
"Well, my name is April O'Neil and I'm a news reporter. My father also experimented with chemicals that ended up changing those four into what they are now. So now I'm their Hogosha" she said with a chuckle. "We all see each other as family. They're also training me to become a kunoichi so I can better defend myself whenever I get caught up in helping them save the day."

"Uh, my name's Jay. My sister and I are from the alternate New York. We came here in order to help our friends stop Karai and Tatsu from doing any harm and from succeeding in their mission to retrieve their leader."
"My name is also Jay, and this is my family friend Sam. But you can call us J2 and S2 for now so that you don't get us mixed up with our alternates. We've been helping them the best we can."
A2 nodded her head. "Ahh, so that's why the red one called me A2."
"The red one has a name" Raph grunted.
"Man you're so sensitive about that" Mikey teased.
"Well what are your names?" A2 asked genuinely.
Leo bowed. "Leonardo."
"Raphael" Raph huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Donatello" Donnie replied with a small smile.
"And I'm Michelangelo, but ladies can call me Mikey" he said with a cheeky smile.

"Wow, that introduction was much smoother than when we first met" April teased.
"Hey!" Mikey defended as his brothers laughed at the woman's comments. "I was a boy back then!"
"It was two year ago! 15 to 17 isn't that great of a change!" April said with a laugh.
A2 couldn't help but laugh along with the quirky bunch.
"So, I know your names, and I sort of know about where you came from, but what EXACTLY are you?" she asked again.

The four brothers turned to her and smiled.
"Well ma'am, we're ninjas" Leo stated.
"We're mutants" Raph added.
"We're also turtles" Donnie commented.
"And as April stated, we're teenagers. But soon to be adults, that's why we can have adult conversations."
"Hmmmm so you're ninja, mutant, turtle, teenagers?" A2 asked with an odd smile.

"See, now you went and made it sound lame" Sam stated as she rolled her eyes with her laid back-arms crossed look.
Everyone froze and slowly pivoted their feet so that they were now facing her.
She had been silently standing in the doorway, but no one was quite sure for how long.
"Sam?" Leo asked softly.
"Yeah?" she replied, nonchalantly waiting for a response.
"You're-" Jay added with a smile.
"You're awake" Raph and Donnie said simultaneously, cutting off their human friend.
"Well it's hard to rest when you're all shrieking and talking so loudly-"
In what seemed to become a trend now, Sam was cut off as Mikey had rushed over and quickly embraced his best friend.
"Thank God" he whispered.
Sam wanted to make a joke to cheer him up and to ease his worry, but she knew now wasn't the time for that. Instead, she silently clung onto him like her life depended on it.
Before she could even reply, the rest of the brothers and Jay were rushing over and joined in on the massive group hug.
J2 and S2 couldn't help but chuckle as they watched their new friends share such a loving moment together.

A2 leaned over towards April. "And who's that?" she whispered.
"That's Sam from my dimension. And she's one of the most incredible people you will ever meet. You know, besides the gigantic teenage mutant ninja turtles over there."
"Are they close?"
"Yeah. Just like me, that girl and Jay are part of their family. Sadly Sam was captured by Kraang and as you can see, that took its toll on everyone."

"Oh!" Sam said, gently shimmying her body to get everyone to back up, that way they would focus on what she needed to say.
"Guys, there's A LOT that I need to tell you. You might want to grab a seat. I have some interesting things to tell you about what happened since the last time we met. You're not going to believe everything I learned."

FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER!
I know it doesn't help when I say "don't worry I'll be back" and then it takes me a little over 2 months to finally update again, and with such little happening -_-
I was going to have more added onto this chapter, but I reached (barely) my minimum of 10 pages-almost 5,000 words per chapter. I thought it would be better to update something for those who have been incredible and have followed me through this story regardless of how long it's been since it started.

…..I PUBLISHED THIS IN 2017?! Wow, it's been awhile. So to those who have been here the whole time, or even for anyone who just joined, here's the latest update!
I'm 95% sure I know how I'm going to continue this arc until moving on to the next step of the series, so that's always good

Hopefully I update sooner than 2 months, but until next time!

P.S. BTS's NEW ALBUM IS FIRE AND I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THEM LIVE!
My fiancé is taking me to my first ever concert and as long as nothing drastic happens then we're going to see them live and I am so hyped it's not even funny!