"I'm heading over later" began April. Vern was packing up the van. They had just finished their report and would be returning to the office in the next few minutes. Ever since she had got back into reporting following the embarrassment of being fired she definitely felt like she had her happy place . The anchor position was not something she wanted, all that being cooked up in the studio, April preferred being on the ground and dealing with things as they were happening. Live action was definitely more of her thing. Vern had been happy at her return and had come back with a spring in his step. Admittedly they made a pretty a good team.

From behind the van door she heard him making a grating noise of disapproval.

"What?" she began. He slammed the back doors shut and turned to face her, fingers rubbing his eyes before he replaced his shades to cover them "Just say it Vern I know you are obviously dying to"

"I'm not saying anything" She eyeballed him then snatched his glasses off his nose "Ow, be careful with those they cost me like a LOT of dollars".

April held them behind her "You are not having them back until you tell me why you made that noise"

"What noise?" he tried to grab her arm "Look that's just me, I get indigestion ask Donnie if you don't believe me"

"You eat like a pig" replied April coolly "So I am certainly not shocked at the whole stomach problem thing but I know you Falcon I've worked with you long enough so c'mon spill it".

He let out a breath "Okay, okay...glasses first please" She paused briefly before handing them over "Thank you" Leaning himself up against the van he looked at her "I just think you're heading for a fall".

She folded her arms and frowned "And why would that be?"

"This stuff is old okay, the guys are old-er and I think the past is best left in the past"

"And again - why would that be?"

"Okay. Let's for argument sake say you find out something you didn't want to know and it upsets you, it spoils your memories" April started to protest but Vern held up a hand "Look he worked with Sacks, Sacks was a twisted idiot right?"

"Yes, and he killed my father and now he's locked away, what have the notebooks got to do with that?"

"You said the dates and the titles all corresponded with the turtles? The time when you were a little girl and knew nothing about the monster your dad worked with"

April felt herself getting inpatient "Yes"

"So what if you find out that your father was involved in bad stuff, illegal experiments etcetera... Wouldn't you feel upset?"

Lowering her arms to her sides she took a moment, saw herself as a little girl in the lab playing at being a journalist, her dad smiling at her.

"My father wasn't Sacks. He didn't do anything wrong"

Vern shrugged and touched her shoulder "It's your choice, I'm just watching out for you that's all"

TCRI had obtained something powerful - something that turned an every day reptile into something different. She had never asked the turtles if they remembered anything from the injections they had been given. Perhaps she had been afraid to. Had it hurt them? In spite of her jacket she shuddered.

"C'mon O'Neil let's shift it!" Vern had already jumped in the drivers seat leaving her standing alone at the back - she thought she had heard him say 'forget it' but she couldn't be sure. Shaking her head she strode round to the passenger door, which was already open, and climbed inside. As they made their way through Manhattan traffic, Vern didn't say another word.

In the lair Donatello had spent the entire day reading the notebooks, breaking only to take part in a training session at his elder brother's insistence and to grab some food. He was gripped. And he was also shocked. If what was written in these pages was true it was beyond anything he could have ever imagined. A knock at his lab door made him jump. He quickly pushed the book out of the way "Just a second". Unlocking the door he saw Leonardo standing the other side "Phew" he breathed "Kinda thought you were Mikey, so glad you're not" Michelangelo had plagued him for all of half an hour before giving up and grabbing a comic book to prove he could read. "So what can I do for you?" Donatello stepped aside as his older brother stepped past him.

"Well" began Leonardo "You obviously have something going on with the books so I wanted an update".

Typical Leo. Always wanting to control everything. He'd got even worse since they'd lost Splinter.

"Oh no, there's nothing 'going on' as you put it.. I just wanted to get them all zipped up before April comes over that's all" explained Donatello "She'll want to know what they're about so I'm just doing what I promised"

"Then surely you can tell me" continued Leonardo

Donatello shook his head "Nope, no way. These are April's fathers books, she has the right to know first and then if she chooses to tell others then so be it but I am not breaking her confidence. That's why I fended Mikey off".

Leonardo pursed his lips and exhaled "Okay, you're right, sorry... I shouldn't have asked"

"No worries" Donatello touched his brother on the arm "You can't help being nosy"

"Er, I am not nosy" defended Leo, folding his arms "Just concerned".

Donatello smiled "Whatever...nosy"

"Hey. Drop it. I overstepped and I said sorry" Trying to hide his disappointment he quickly changed the subject "So what time do we not tell Mikey that April is coming?"

"After 8" Donatello sat down on his chair "She said she'd message beforehand" he checked the time on the computer "Which should be right about now actually"

"Mike's with Raph.." added Leonardo, his eyes wondering to the small pile of notebooks that Donnie was obviously trying to keep well out of the way "He's helping him with the bike so she may be able to get in undetected"

"I will believe that when I see it" Leonardo smiled and looked back at the books, his interest peaking when he swore he could see the words 'Project Renaissance' penned on the front of the one at the top "Is it bad?"

Donatello followed his brother's eyes and immediately moved to block off the view by getting up from the chair and standing in front of them: "No. Nothing bad" He felt guilty lying but there was no way he would be telling Leo anything at this point. He knew his older brother would just take over and then demand that the books be handed back to April and the whole thing would be squashed. Donatello did not want it being squashed. He had never felt so intrigued since he discovered the contents and he really hoped that April would feel the same. Though he imagined there would be some degree of shock.

His phone buzzed so he upended it and looked at the message. "They're heading over" He felt a ripple of excitement with just an edge of anxiety. "Can you keep the others out of this?" began Donatello "I just want her to know everything and then to give her time to digest and think it over"

"Sure" with a heavy heart Leonardo turned back towards the door "I'll go do the meet and greet".

Luckily Raphael's bike seemed to be keeping Mikey entertained and Casey caught up with Leonardo so April was given the time she needed. Upon entering the lab she too looked anxious.

"Sit down" Donatello indicated to a chair "I don't know how long we'll get but..." The brunette sat herself down, she also looked tired. "You okay?"

April noticed the concern in his eyes "Yes. I'm good" She smiled "Honestly. I can't wait to hear what you found" He took the chair opposite, the eyes behind the glasses still studying her features with worry - she didn't look okay. "C'mon Donnie we had a deal remember?"

"I know, I'm sorry, you just look a little..." he wanted to choose the right words "strained".

"I'll ignore that" she tied her hair back into a bun "you said we might not get much time and there were a few books so..."

"Okay okay" He leaned back as far as his shell would allow "There was a lot about us, I mean my brothers and dad but that was towards the end of the pack" She nodded, her eyes holding his "It seems as if the purple ooze was around earlier than we were aware of it" at his words April frowned "Remember when you said as a little girl you saw a canister in the lab?"

"Yes, the green mutagen - well I didn't know it was that at the time - but yes I remember"

"You were told it was from another planet?" continued Donatello as he picked up one of the notebooks.

"It's what my dad told me"

"Well, it certainly wasn't of our world" Donatello turned the page to show April the drawings "All of these must have been from some sort of interaction"

The sketches showed some sort of creature with tentacle-like arms "It's our old friend Kraang" began Donatello "The not so friendly alien we met when he tried to take over the planet"

April shuffled forward: "The one who made Bebop and Rocksteady?"

"Yes. Using the purple ooze" Donatello opened the next notebook "The material that made us what we are had to be powerful, nothing that mankind could create" He took a breath "Your father and Sacks must have had some sort of deal with Kraang. It seemed he would only allow them the mutagen if they would do him a favour beforehand" Setting the notebook on her lap he got up "Before we were tested, before the mutagen even got here, the purple ooze was all that was being used because Kraang wanted allies on earth before he would invade, allies that prepare the way for him and it seems your father and Sacks were trying to make them but something not of this world would have to blend in, to look human. A sort of under-cover army"

"Seriously?" whispered April. The purple ooze had turned criminals Bebop and Rocksteady into mutants; an oversized Rhino and Warthog - nothing about those two said "blending in".

"But how would they.." She turned the pages, her mouth falling open as she looked at each picture and the notes underneath "Oh my God... they all died.." Page after page detailing humans giving birth to creatures that just couldn't live in the environment. It was all her father's writing, she suddenly felt sick "I can't believe this"

"They then decided to start testing animals - us - with the green mutagen because no creature had lived long enough to use the purple.." he set another book down on her lap "Until this one. This child was given a shot like what we had every single day until that fire. From this picture I would say they were around 3 maybe 4 years old but of course there doesn't seem to be much detail.."

"A child? I don't remember this. I just remember you guys"

"This was kept hidden, well hidden. You probably wouldn't have known. I mean how could they possibly explain any of this?"

April closed the notebook and looked up at Donatello "What is this all pointing to?"

"I think it implies there could be another hybrid, or mutant, out there - somewhere. Just think if this child survived to adulthood can you imagine what they might be going through, what questions they may have, if they were here in New York we could track him down using the samples I have left..."

April held up her hands "Wait wait wait. There are far too many "ifs" in what your saying - and realistically if nobody knew this kid existed how would he - or she - have survived?"

She was right, of course. Donatello knew there were a lot of uncertainties but surely it was worth a look?

"I know and realistically even if they did they could have gone overseas. I just wanted to see if it was possible" Donatello knew his eyes were probably popping right now but he couldn't help it "If you say no then I understand, you have the notebooks returned and there are no more questions from me"

"That's a lot to put on me D" She looked down at her hands.

"Hey, no rush, no anything okay" He put his hand over hers and gave them a squeeze. When she looked back at him her eyes were full of tears. He quickly knelt down in from of her "Don't you feel sad".

"I can't help it. Vern was right - which is so annoying - I cannot believe they would do this. All life is life right?" She untangled a hand from his and wiped her eyes.

"Yes, I know" He hugged her tightly just for a moment and then let her go. He hated seeing her upset - she was their Hogosha - their everything. But he also didn't want to smother her like Mikey would.

Looking at him she took a deep breath: "Do it" she said firmly "If they're out there I want you to find them".

Donatello dismissed his own concerns about being 'too Mikey' and hugged her once more.