Whoo! New chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as much or more than the last. I know I had a lot of fun with it once I got rolling. Onward!

Liz lies across the couch. She folds her arms behind her and rests her head on them. She sighs, a tiny smile playing across her face. Things aren't quite so bad here anymore. She still isn't sure about some things, like that red banded turtle – Raph was it? She still gets them mixed up sometimes. Only their colors inexorably distinguish them.

"Hm?" She lifts her head and twists her body to better see behind her. What was that? She blinks. She swears she heard something, even if only faintly. Her lips turn downward and her brows furrow. The sound conjures a vague thought to her mind. Leo? She hasn't seen him since this morning.

A figure appears past the turnstile, and with a jolt she recognizes them. She sucks in a sharp breath and her face twists in horror. Blood…so much blood. Her voice catches in her throat and then rips out in a blood curdling scream. Her body shakes fiercely and she grips her head, digging her nails deep into her skin.

Donnie rounds the corner in an instant. "What? What's the matter?" He doesn't even look out toward the turnstiles. He braces the arm of the couch and bends down, closer to her level.

Raph's aggravated cry comes only a moment later. "I can't even eat a sandwich in peace anymore!" He glares daggers at the girl on the couch. He notices her trembling in the next instant and can't help but scoff. "What now? Another dream?" He crosses his arms. "After the fiftieth time you would think you'd realize all of it's nothing but crap."

"Raph!" Donnie jerks his head around and narrows his eyes at his brother.

Raph rolls his eyes. "Whatever Donnie. It's been weeks and she's no better than when we found her. It's getting annoying."

Liz opens and closes her mouth around empty words. She makes unintelligible sounds of deep frustration. Why? Why can't she speak when it matters most? She pries a hand from her head and stretches her arm out toward the turnstiles. She points a trembling finger.

Raph raises a brow. He can't say he's impressed by her efforts, but nonetheless he follows her finger. His eyes land on the source and he nearly falls over. He drops his food on the floor and can only stare for a long moment. "Leo…" He croaks.

Donnie turns and gasps. "Leo!"

Raph jolts into action, sprinting over to his older brother. "Leo!" He catches his brother as he falls forward. "What happened?" His heart beats double time. "Leo! Come on. Talk to me." He pulls Leo over the turnstile and catches him in his arms. He grunts with the sudden increase of weight, but he manages to stand tall.

"Raph." Donnie snaps. He pushes off the couch and runs to them. "Stop moving him like that." His eyes catch fire. "You're going to make it worse than it already is." His gaze cools as he shifts it to Leo. "Leo," His voice is soft. "Who did this?"

Leo's eyes flutter and he makes out faint colors, but his vision is too blurry to do much more than identify them by their masks. "Don't…know…" He rasps. He groans and curls inward. He presses his hands onto his chest, but it does nothing more than stain his hands with more red.

"Donnie," Raph turns on his brother. "Do something! You've gotta help him."

"I know, I know." He runs toward his lab. "Come on. Bring him in here."

Liz stares through clouded eyes at the place where all three stood a moment before. As the image of red fades she relaxes and her breathing becomes even. Then a spike of fear strikes her hard in the gut as reality comes crashing down on her once more. "Leo…" She scrambles to her feet and hurries toward Donnie's lab.

She freezes at the outskirts. She takes slow steps backward. She wants to know if he's alright, but…it will only send her into shock she knows. All that blood…all those marks. The very thought sends a shiver up her spine. She shakes her head. She'll just…listen. So with tentative steps she moves to the wall and settles against it. One frantic cry after another assaults her as she gauges the situation. Bring Donnie this, don't touch that. If not for the dire circumstances they were dealing with – that the thing they were fussing over was a person, Leo – then she might have smiled or even laughed. But instead each shout makes her cringe and duck her head, drawing further into herself. But she won't break. Not this time. She can't let her pathetic issues get in the way of helping Leo. Besides, he's their brother. And she…I don't even know what I am. She's miniscule in comparison. To say the least.

Soon the cries die down. The panic ebbs but still she does not move from her place. She keeps her head buried in her knees and continues to listen and simply feel. The fire may have subsided, but the fear is definitely still present. The sound of footsteps makes her ears prick and she peeks through a hole in her arms. It's Donnie. He's muttering to himself and she can only make out a word or two of it. But it's not about her. Definitely not. He doesn't see her at all. She smiles painfully. Oh well. She doesn't really want to be noticed right now anyway.

Time passes as it always does down here, only this time with a sickening edge and an unsettling slowness. It must be hours, but that can't be right. She slowly lifts her head and blinks away the bleariness. She tilts her head in the direction of Donnie's lab. She swears she only ever heard Donnie pass. But…she frowns. Maybe she missed him, the other one. Perhaps she nodded off. And yet…

She pushes herself to her feet and looks around the room. Empty. That's for the best. If she's right she doesn't want Donnie warning her off. Not because she's afraid of being caught, but she's afraid that she would give in. That his words would be all it took to make her quivering heart burst and betray her very real fear.

She swallows hard and creeps closer, just outside the door. So quiet. She peers in and starts as she sees the red one sitting by Leo's unmoving form. So he really didn't ever leave. Her brows furrow. It's hard to see his face from here, but it is easy to see his expression is nothing like the boy from the other day. The intensity is all but gone. His shoulders slump and his head hangs low. And is that…trembling?

She makes a face. The two images of him clash violently in her head. The couple times he spoke to her he was cold and very near cruel. And then that incident with his brother, the one who now lays unconscious before them, the one who Raph is so clearly distressed over. She gasps. Stupid girl. She sees Slash narrow his eyes at her as the words echo in her brain. Yet she only rolls her eyes at him and smiles. The images fade and she once again is left staring across the room at Raph. Her brows furrow. Is it the same? Are they the same?

She glances back at the couch. She should go there. She should get some sleep. She supposes at least. She's given up on telling time at this point. Still, she slinks further into the room. Each step is sharp across the floor despite her efforts. Oh well. She presses higher on her toes, trying to get a better look at Leo from here. She doesn't want to disturb the other one.

"Get out." Raph's voice is low, weak.

Liz jumps and her heart skips a beat. She quickly comes down from it though. His threat…it was surprisingly lacking of impact. So she moves closer, this time with no regard to stealth. She walks all the way up to the table where Leo lays. She grips the side of the surface and holds her breath as she dares to look upon him. She cringes and shies away. It's not so bad, really. Comparatively. Still, a light red is evident through the bandages.

Raph snorts. "Pretty bad, ain't it?" He curls his fingers around Leo's hand and squeezes.

Liz notices the movement and her discomfort shifts to surprise. So different. A flash of their rough fighting comes to her. She nods vaguely and sinks down into the chair at her side. It was probably Donnie's before. She forces herself to look at Leo again. She can feel her breathing grow faster even now. Still, she holds her gaze. At least Leo's ok.

"The color red, huh?" Raph lays his head sideways on the table atop an arm. "You must hate me then." He chuckles.

Liz blinks and tears her eyes from Leo. Her brows knit together and a frown blossoms on her lips. Does he really mean that? Does he think she'd be so shallow? Not red, just…certain kinds of red. Blood. She shrugs. He seems to only be babbling anyway. He doesn't want an answer. He's like Leo when he talks about Karai. Only…not. Each word spoken by Leo while rambling is carefully chosen if not meant to be answered. They are questions he wishes could be answered. Raph…is just lost.

"He'll be alright." Raph smiles painfully.

Liz raises a brow. She has a feeling he is trying to comfort himself more than her. If he really is anything like Slash then it takes more than a few exchanges of words for him to care at all about her.

"Yes." She answers anyway. He's better off than she was when they found her. She stands slowly. She reaches out, her eyes flitting to Raph's face, then she touches Leo's cheek gently. She smiles for a moment at Leo, then she offers the sentiment to Raph. It is much more tentative and tinged with pain.

Raph snorts. "You shouldn't be here." His voice is laced with irritation. Yet Liz picks up on an unmistakable hint of concern. "It's late."

Liz shrugs. Seems like her internal clock was right after all. It's late. She lingers for a moment more and then takes her hand back. She turns and makes to exit the room. She pauses as something bright with a sort of glimmer catches her eye. She zones in on it and the breath is knocked out of her. She stumbles and falls hard on the ground. She gasps for air and digs desperately at the floor for traction that is not there. "No…no…don't…do-" She chokes on her words.

Raph lifts his head from his arm and shoots her a stern look. "Hush." He hisses. "You're gonna work Leo up." He withdraws a hand from Leo and crosses his arms. He quirks a brow as he fully takes her in. It's a lot like Donnie gets sometimes, or used to get. His panic attacks or whatever. He follows her gaze and sees the source of her distress is one of the canisters of mutagen Donnie has laying out. "Oh."

Liz wants to curl into herself, to shield her eyes from the terrible origins of her misfortune. She breathes, but can't seem to get any air.

Raph blinks, looking between her and the mutagen. That's right. She became this way because her freak father used the mutagen on her. Just like blood it seems mutagen is just as much or more of a trigger for her. He stands and carefully approaches her. "We're not gonna use it on you."

Liz throws herself to the ground as his shadow falls over her. She whimpers and presses her hands down on her head as if to protect herself.

Raph sighs. He lowers himself to his haunches. "Girl," He says it more sharply than he intends to.

Liz jolts. Girl? Stupid girl. Useless girl. Girl…girl…girl. Slash. She trembles more fiercely. She raises up and is surprised to be looking right into Raph's eyes.

"Calm down, alright?" He thinks to touch her, but a memory strikes him. Donnie said something about her being afraid of physical contact. How the heck is he supposed to do this then? He was never a words person. "Come on girl." His voice is strained. "What do you want me to do? I don't know." He grips his head.

There it is again. He's concerned. But it's probably not for her, she knows. It's for Leo's sake. Either way it does no good. She can't calm down. His words aren't enough. Nothing is. These people…turtles, they have what her father did when he began to go insane. That's it! That's why they have been so nice to her. She should have known. How could she be so terribly stupid?

Raph groans. Then his eyes clear. He snaps his head up and leaps to his feet. He looks hard at the mutagen and the grate not far from it in the floor. He knows the outcome, but he can think of no other way to calm her down. His mind is clouded with a panic of his own. He grabs the mutagen and holds it high before he smashes it over the grate.

Liz jumps. She sucks in a sharp breath and chokes on it. The blue substance slips down the drain with painful slowness. The shimmer chills her to the bone, but finally she breathes better.

"What the-" Donnie rushes into his lab and stops short as he sees the remains of the mutagen slip through the grate. "Raph!" He roars. "What the hell?" He glares daggers at his brother. "What were you thinking? That was my last canister. Now how am I supposed to reverse the effects?" His hands tremble with the effort he exerts to keep himself from strangling Raph.

"I'm sorry!" Raph punches the wall without thinking. It pulses with the pain. "But I-" He sighs. "I didn't know what to do." He kicks the glass barely hanging onto the grate down it. "She was freaking out and I-I…I just did the first thing that came to mind." He runs his hand over his head.

Donnie pauses at Raph's words. His brows furrow and he turns to see Liz sitting on the ground.

Liz breathes deeply in and out. She quivers and her eyes are wild, shameful, but she at least can't see that shimmering blue stained across her vision. The apparition of it has faded along with the reality of it.

Donnie looks back and forth between them. He lets out a heavy breath. "It's fine." Even though it's totally not. He moves toward Liz. He bends down and offers her his hand. "Come on. You don't need to be in here." It may have been his last canister, but he has samples laying around all over here. The last thing she needs is to see them too.

Liz glances at his hand. Then her eyes move past him, over his shoulder and to the red one. She can't believe he would do such a thing. It was so…kind. Even if a bit violent. She smiles despite herself. She draws her attention back to Donnie and accepts his hand. Her terrible thoughts of them turning on her recede to the background.

Donnie helps her up and leads her out of his lab. He can't believe he never anticipated such a thing. How stupid of me. He draws her toward the couch. "It's late." He says offhandedly. He sits her down on the couch and sits beside her. "You ok now?"

Liz nods. She wrings her hands. "Just…tired."

Donnie nods. "Alright," He stands. "I know I said you should look around, but…you probably shouldn't go in there again. Ok?"

Liz shudders. "Uh-huh." She doesn't plan on it. Ever.

He touches her on the side of the arm. He holds the position for longer than he meant to because she does not show any signs of panic. Then he removes his hand and leaves. He keeps an eye on her until he disappears in his lab, still undecided as to how to deal with Raph. He could yell – wants to yell – but he knows Raph. He panics more than he'd like to admit and the added pressure of Leo didn't help at all. So…he just doesn't know.

Liz can feel the indecision emanating from Donnie. She looks over her shoulder and a frown mars her features. She hopes he isn't too rough on Raph. He was only doing the only thing he could to remedy the situation…to fix her. She sighs and sinks over into the soft pillow. If only she wasn't so much trouble. She sniffs. If only she had Slash.

…

Liz hears a sharp sound at some point in her sleep. She wakes with a groan. Weren't they supposed to be quitter than this? Weren't they like stealth masters or some such nonsense? She blows out a breath and sits up. She rubs at her eyes. Which one was it? Donnie? Raph? L…not Leo. She drops her eyes to the ground. Or…maybe it could be. She stands and takes tiny steps toward the sound.

In the next instant a figure pops up before her and she jumps a mile. She gasps and nearly trips over her tail. She does that a lot lately.

"Woah." An unfamiliar voice says to her. "Easy." His voice is quiet, unnaturally so.

Liz makes tiny sounds. A lump catches in her throat, but the noises grow increasingly louder with each moment.

"Shh." He presses a finger to his lips. "Please, don't scream. Ok? I-I don't want them to hear me."

Liz's brows furrow and a deep frown splits her lips. What? She sees for the first time who he is, or at least that he is one of them. The orange one. She doesn't know his name of course. But…he's no enemy. She lets out a shaky breath. She lays a hand over her chest. Still, she doesn't have it in her to smile.

Mikey smiles and barely conceals a laugh in his relief. "Thanks." He moves to lay a hand on her shoulder.

Liz stifles a yelp and leaps backward. Her eyes are wild and her heart jumps into her throat.

Mikey jumps in the opposite direction. "S-Sorry." He forgot she was, uh…what was it? In shock? He really needs to listen to Donnie more often. "I…I…" He bites his lip and rubs the back of his neck. "I…" He tries to work his way around her. "I've gotta go." He sprints off to his room. He doesn't look back even once. He can't afford to make another mistake.

Liz tugs at her arm as she watches him fly like the wind. He must be the fast one. The young one. Donnie told her once or twice about him. To try not to run into him because he is the exact opposite of what she needs right now. He's too excitable. She didn't really see it now, but she definitely saw the potential for it. She shakes her head. Best not linger. Besides, she's far too tired to think about it or even be up.

She wanders back to the couch and falls over on it. Time to rest again. She sighs and her eyes flutter shut. She snuggles into the softness of the couch and her pillow. She sinks into dreams. Maybe then she can forget about this and not ask why the orange one was out so late and on his own. Leo might be able to get away with it without questions, being the leader and all. But this one…she just doesn't know. She never knows anything.

She sleeps well the rest of the night. The fog of sleep lifts from her and the sounds around her slowly filter in. She doesn't bother to open her eyes, she just listens. "Yeah April, you think you could do that for me?" It's Donnie's voice. "What kind? Um, I don't know." A nervous laugh ekes out from him and Liz smiles at his awkwardness. "Just, whatever. You're the girl. Pick something you'd wear. Or, um, wait…no."

There is a brief pause and then Donnie sucks in a sharp breath. "N-No. That's not what I meant! No. Your fashion is fine. Honest! I just- she's not like you. That's all." He lets out a heavy breath. "It's fine. I know I could have worded that better. Yeah, yeah, just bring them over whenever you have the time." A pause. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks. See you later."

Liz sits up and peeks over the couch. What was that all about? She hangs her arms over the back of the couch and rests her head atop them. She doesn't see him anywhere. He must be in his lab. She grimaces. And it's definitely not worth it to understand the call if it means venturing in there. She shudders. Oh well. There's always another time.

She sits up and draws her arms away from the couch. She hops to her feet and wanders off. It's what Donnie wanted after all. But where to go? Practically everywhere is off limits – boundaries she set her for her own good. She looks lazily about her. Oh. There's a room she's never been in before. She moves with careful steps toward the room. A curtain hangs in the doorway and she slowly reaches out and pulls it back. She sucks in a soft breath as she sees a familiar figure. Raph.

A small smile flits across her lips and her eyes brighten slightly. She, however, can not find the courage to enter the room. She simply watches from afar, her smile growing by the minute.

Raph moves through the kitchen mumbling to himself. He mindlessly gathers the ingredients to make a sandwich. With everything in his arms he turns to the table and nearly drops it all when he catches sight of her in the doorway. He scowls and purses his lips. "What?" He huffs.

Liz ducks her head, but her smile only widens.

Raph makes a face. "What?" He says through clenched teeth. He narrows his eyes further. He doesn't watch what he's doing with his food at all. When she continues to say nothing he lifts his hands in the air. "Do you want me to make you a sandwich or what?"

Liz shrugs. She wanders into the room, to the side of the table opposite of him. She keeps her eyes firmly on him. She clasps her hands behind her back. She sways gently back and forth on her feet.

Raph scoffs. "Look girl, I'm not like Donnie or Leo or any of them. I don't like silent company. If you're not going to respond then it'd be great if you'd just leave."

Liz's brows furrow and a frown tugs at her lips. Then she chuckles. Just like him. Like Slash.

Raph raises a brow. "What's so funny?" A deep frown mars his features.

Liz shakes her head. He wouldn't understand. No one understands. They would only see a monster capable of harm and destruction. Even these four are a little less frightening in comparison. "The past." She mutters.

Raph starts. "Huh?" Did she really just say something?

Liz waves his question away. She smiles, but it is tinged with sadness.

Raph blows out a breath. "Whatever." He starts to make his sandwich again.

Liz slinks closer, around the table but not too close. She bites her lip and a thought flashes through her mind. No. She steps back and turns away. She tip toes to the fridge, throwing glances over her shoulder every few seconds to see his reaction.

Raph tries to focus on his task, but she is so irritatingly distracting. He can't help but keep an eye on her. He sighs. He turns and crosses his arms firmly over his chest. "Come on. I said if you want something I'd get it for you." He scowls.

Liz giggles. She whirls, curling her fingers around the handle of the fridge to keep traction. Her tail slaps into the door and she stumbles anyway. She barely catches herself and her cheeks burn a bright red.

Raph snorts. A tiny smile tugs at his lips, but he refuses to let it show. "You know, all you gotta do to control that is remember it's there."

Liz presses her lips tightly together and bows her head. She snaps it back up and once more her face brightens. She nods ever so slightly. She supposes there is no harm in trying. Then again, what does he really know? She heard from Leo that they were turtles to start with. Shouldn't that mean they didn't have to adapt to their change as much? Hmm…maybe. Maybe not though.

Raph shakes his head and turns away from her. He returns to his food and finishes making it. He sinks into his chair and chops down on his food.

Liz sidles toward the table and carefully takes a spot at it.

Raph rolls his eyes. He pushes a sandwich across the table and to her. "There." He grumbles. He immediately returns to eating.

Liz blinks down at the food and pokes at it. She lifts her gaze to him and smiles before gingerly scooping the sandwich into her hands. She inspects it as if it were a killer in disguise then finally she brings it to her lips. She nibbles at the edges, barely getting anything. All she tastes is bread. But it isn't so bad. It's soft and sweet as it dissolves against her tongue.

Raph gobbles up his sandwich and licks the crumbs from his fingers. He keeps an eye on Liz as she acts so odd with her food. Why play with food? He makes a face. He shakes his head and pushes himself off the table into a standing position.

Liz peeks over her sandwich. She lowers the food and tilts her head to the side.

Raph pauses for a fraction of a second. He locks eyes with her – eyes so bright and piercing yet so very hurt beneath the cheer. He turns and heads toward the door. He groans beneath his breath, "Don't follow me." He can't deal with that. "Please…"

Liz hops to her feet and follows despite what her instincts tell her. She swings her arms at her side, the sandwich still in hand. There's no reason she shouldn't be allowed to keep it and eat it later.

Raph can feel her following step for step. He breathes heavily in and out. He perks as he sees a possible way out of this and a smirk curves his lips. He takes a sharp right and races toward his room.

Liz's brows furrow and she hurries forward. Just as she picks up speed someone appears in front of her. She scuttles to a stop, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Donnie grins. "Oh, Liz. I was just looking for you."

Liz leans sideways and looks over Donnie's shoulder. Raph disappears in the next instant. She sticks her lips out in a pout. So stubborn. So like Slash. She sighs and looks back at Donnie. She manages something like a smile. "Yeah?"

Donnie pauses for a beat. He smiles. She's starting to talk more. "Right, well, I know you were nervous at first without clothes. And you're different from us because you were a human before…" He lets the truth fade away and picks up with, "So I had a friend of mine get you some replacements." He beams.

"April?" She doesn't know why he so likes to avoid using her name. Only when he's really upset does he say her name. Is it for her own sake? Liz frowns. It's not an unlikely assumption in the end. Her experiences…they…ugh.

Donnie pulls at his fingers. "Uh, yeah. Her." He clears his throat. "Well, here you go." He holds out the clothes to her. "I hope they're ok. I mean fit and everything, you know. I, uh, cut a whole out the back for your, uh, tail." He grins sheepishly.

Liz covers her mouth as she giggles. "Thanks." She bows her head slightly and sticks her sandwich in her mouth to hold. She takes the clothes from him. She holds them out and looks them over. The top is a soft blue and the pants are glaringly white. It isn't what she would call her thing, but it's nice enough. It's the thought that counts after all.

Donnie nods. "No problem." He smiles. "You can try them on whenever. Or, you know, you don't have to if you don't want to." He shrugs. "It's whatever."

Liz brings the clothes close and presses them against her chest with one hand. She uses the other to grab the sandwich from her mouth. "Ok." She murmurs.

Donnie turns and heads back toward his lab. "See you later." He waves over his shoulder.

Liz smiles. "Yeah." She looks in the direction Raph disappeared. With a sigh she decides against it. Who knows what else she might run into over there? It's better if she just goes to the couch. So she does. She sinks into it and lets out a breath. She sets the clothes down in her lap and munches on the sandwich. She doesn't mind the crumbs that pepper her new clothes as they fall. This really is working out. They really are kind, each in their own way. Like all humans should aim to be, but rarely ever are.

So, what did you think? Who could have attacked Leo!? You can guess if you want, but I'm not telling. ;) You'll see later though for sure. And what about that bit with Mikey? It serves a purpose but more so for a story idea I might do later. It could impact things a little later in this story, but right now I'm not a hundred percent sure. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please review!