•6•

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"Listen closely, April. I don't remember a time before living in that laboratory. That fateful night started like any other. Sacks gave us our injections. Your father made sure our vital signs were strong. And you, along with Miss L/N, as always, provided us with a special treat."

"After the brothers went to sleep, I heard loud voices. There was the smell of smoke. Alarms sounded. Your father had discovered the truth behind the man he was working for. He set fire to the lab. His last breath was taken trying to destroy Shredder's plan. I was terrified. But then, you appeared. And ushered us to safety. I never had a voice then, but I thank you now, April." 

"We wandered the sewers until I found this place. It was then that the Mutagen that was injected into our blood began to change us in miraculous ways. I saw how your father loved you and I knew I had to show that same love to the turtles. I became their father and they became my sons."

"That's when I found Y/n. A year after we turned, I stumbled upon a little human baby, no older than few months, wrapped in nothing but a single blanket while shivering in cold. I knew I couldn't leave her there just like that so I listened to my intuition, which told me to take her in. Along with the turtles, she became my daughter, the youngest child."

"You could've missed the part about me being youngest." I couldn't help but grumple, causing dad and brothers to chuckle.

"Like all children, they were drawn to the distractions of popular culture, one of the five having her interest most. And I knew one day they would want to explore the world above. They would be ridiculed. They would need to learn to protect themselves, both mentally and physically. And then I found a way." 

"First, I would teach myself the ancient art of Ninjutsu. The brothers and sister followed my lead, accelerating at a woundrous rate! Their gift was also their passion. They lived, breathed and dreamed all things martial arts." Memories flashed in front of my eyes like tape being played, and I wonder if they saved my weapon or threw it away.

"Yet Y/n's curiousity grew heavier. She wanted to know more about herself, her species, how humans live and work. She wanted to explore. Due to her being just a youngling, I couldn't let her, ending with her walking away in both disappointment and anger. Until one day, when she begged for approval to go on surface and I refused, she ran away."

"Have I knew sooner that she won't be coming back, I'd follow her immediately. It was a mistake we both made. But even, after many attempts of searching for her, I never lost hope, because I believed she's somewhere out there. Unfortunately, her brothers did lose hope." I didn't dare to meet anyone's eyes, fidgeting with my fingers in my lap.

"Years went go by and then, they were ready. Everything they are and everything that they've become was made possible by the bravery that you displayed on that fateful night." Finished the whole explanation dad.

"I was just a little girl." Stated April, trying to process everything she heard. 

"And you gave us freedom where others would have kept us in cage."

"Wait a minute, dad. All these years you told us we were rescued from the fire by a great guardian spirit, the Hogo-sha." Leo spoke up, kneeling down to match our height. 

"That's right. And this is the Hogo-sha." Dad gestured to confused April. Leo stood up straight then took a step forward and bowed, Mikey doing the same and Donnie too after he scanned her.

"My girlfriend's totally the Hogo-sha." Mikey whispered to Leo, who slaped his arm to shut up, making me smile at them. Dad turned to me.

"But there's still a thing we don't know. What happened after you ran away?" Everyone's attention switched on me as my smile disappeared, all of them patiently waiting for me to start talking. Bitting my lip, I look down.

"Well, uhm, you most probably puzzled I went on surface. Hence I was nothing but a stupid child, knowing nothing about outside world, I got lost easily. Too mesmerized by the beauty of New York City, I didn't care. Until they dragged me to back alley and threw me into van." Glancing over each my brother, father and friend, I panted for air.

"It showed up they took me to Eric Sacks, for experimenting." Upon hearing this, April's eyes widen into size of plates.

"Yeah. He held me there for over a year, ignoring the fact I was only a weak child capable of nothing at all. Without hint of sympathy he experimented on me in all sorts of methods, abused me, starved me till I begged him, tattooed my mark. Believe me when I say he's crueler than he seems to be." Shaking my head, my eyes scan their expression.

April seems to be on verge of crying while dad only shakes his head, covering his eyes with his hand. Unlike my brothers, divided into two and two. Mikey and Donnie hold faces full of pity, regret, horror and pain, and Leo with Raph sharing dark cloud of murders above them, ready to puch anyone that even dare to speak up and break their last straw.

"What kind of thinking could he have to cause this lot of pain to an innocent child?" Donnie ask rather rhetorically. I shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know. Don't think I want to. All I know is he wanted to achieve some result from Mutagen working. And for some unexplainable reason it had to be me the one to end up like this. Though I have this feeling he wanted exactly me in the first place. Don't ask why, it's just a feeling." I was quick to shut Leo up when he wanted to ask what I mean.

"Did the Mutagen work?" Dad suddenly asked, my head turning to him.

"Oh, it did. Thankfully it happened after Sacks gave up on me and kicked me on street, where April found me and took me in. Otherwise I'd be still prisoned by him." I began pulling my hoodie/jacket off so I can make free room for my strong beauties to show up.

"Eh, is it just me or there's nothing really weird about you that could Mutagen cause?" Mikey asked, looking me up and down in thinking way. I smirk.

"I went through different change than you guys did. How come I got these is still mystery to me, though." After I say this, from my back crawl out my amazing wings, stretching after some time being folded and hidden. I smile at both them and Mikey awing with Donnie.

"That is so cool! Our sister is half-bird mutant." The comment makes chuckle come out from my throat and I lower my wings, drapping one around April's back and getting her to smile.

She was the first one to ever know about me being weird, different, a mutant, and was kind enough to help me get control over the new addition. My wings never disappointed me in anything, not even in making April smile.

"So you're now what? A bird-mutant-human child?" I shoot Raphael a look when he calls me a child.

"I'm 15. Two years younger than you, jerk." He squirm his eyes at me in glare for calling him 'jerk' and my mocking tone.

"But yeah, you could say that. At least I fully belong in the family now, right?" It comes out as a joke, in fact it being truth. When we were younger, I always wondered if there's something interesting or not normal about me like with my family. Now I blend in.

"No matter what creature you are, if you're human or animal or mutant, you will always belong in this family, my child." A warm hand places on my shoulder and I smile up at my father, my wings jerking.

"So tell us, dad, why is April here? There must be other reason than just give her explanation about us." I get us back to the topic and dad sits back in his place, crossing his legs.

"To find out who you told of our existence."

"Nobody that believed me, except for Eric Sacks." As April's lips leaves this name, my dad sigh and stand up, worry crawling up my chest.

"Sacks. Just as I feared. Sacks is not a friend. His soul has been poisoned by the influence of a dark master. The Shredder. Shredder practically raised Sacks in Japan. He's like a father to him. Sacks will do anything for his master." He slowly walked to my big brothers towering over us all. If this wasn't serious moment, I'd be giggling for comparing them to Dwayne Johnson standing next to Kevin Hart.

"Wait, wait. Sacks and Shredder? So why aren't we out there hunting them down?" Raph steps up, frown worn on his face.

"Because, Raphael. The Shredder is a skilled warrior whose cruelty is ever-reaching! And you are just teenagers. The mutagen in your blood is of great value to them. Now that Sacks has confirmation that you are alive, I fear they will bring the fight to us." April pull out from her jacket some kind of cart and my eyes widen in horror when I read what's written on it.

"Oh no." We muttered in unison, sharing a worried look. The alarm suddenly goes off, beeping annoyingly in the whole liar and with April I stand up, shrinking my wings back and pulling hoodie/jacket over my shoulders.

"Perimeter infringe. Breached! We have incoming!" Everyone but dad run to computers as Donnie tapped something there and check where are the intruders, or better Foot Clan.

"Oh, no! Oh, no! We got two breaches. Fan room, weapons wall!"

"Mikey, flank right! Donnie, on me! We gotta go! Go! Go!" Leo orders and they split, giving me no time to decide what should I do so I just follow Mikey.

"No! Get back!" Dad tried to warn but it's too late. The bomb Foot Clan set exploded and sent us flying back, some pieces of the wall hitting my form, containing head.

"Oh, jeez. Y/n, you alright?" Mikey's words are muffled in my ears, hence of the ringing in them, although it stops shortly after and I let Mikey lift me on my feet.

"I'm alright. Come on." We run to computers and jumped behind the wall.

"Where did you put my chain?!" I yell-whisper over the noise at Mikey in front of me.

"In the kitched! We used it as holder for shelf!" He yell-whisper back and I shoot him poker face. Are they serious? 

"Over there! Tango at 12!" We hear yell one Foot Clan soldier, coming our way.

"Now watch me." Mikey stood up and turned to Foot Clan soldiers. 

"Wassup, bra?" They shoot at him but he dodge with his nunchaks. "Ooh, you think you can handle this, huh? I'm a snapping turtle, fool. Snap, snap, snap!" He jumped at them and I only heard him knock them out. Peeking from behind the wall, I see all three soldiers knocked out on the ground.

"Learn from mister, sis." Smirked smugly Mikey, spinning his nunchaks. The only I do is let the dry laugh leave me. We're interrupt by Leo calling at us.

"Mikey, you gotta get April and Y/n out of there, now!"

"I got this!" Before I know it, I'm picked under Mikey's arm and on his skateboard he get to April, who was hiding from this fight. He began dragging us somewhere, much to my protest.

"April, come with me. I got a safe place for you two to hide. And if you get thirsty, I got a secret stash of Orange Cruch behind the fridge. Don't tell Raph." April nodded at him. Taking the moment of distraction, I tear my arm from Mikey's and run back into the fight.

"Y/n!" I pay no attention to him, only blowing him a kiss before vanishing behind a wall as I make my way to kitchen. And just like Miley said, there hang my chain, used as holder for random wood so they can put things on it. Very original. With one tug I rip it from the hooks, stuff along with the wood falling to the ground. Doesn't matter, I got my weapon back!

With my hand gripping the holder, I make my way to help brothers. A soldier was pointing at Donnie with his gun so I threw at him dull end of the chain, knocking him out and joining Donnie's side.

"Y/n?! You're supposed to be hidden!" He tries to look at me over his shoulder, the four Foot Clan idiots occupying him already with more coming. Giving him raised eyebrow, I use my chain to wrap around neck of soldier and pull him towards me, punching him into unconsciousness and elbowing in face another that came at me from behind. 

"Eh, I got bored?" Shrug of my shoulders to answer my nerdy brother and my chain flies at head of another soldier, the dull end hitting him hard enough to knock him out. I'm so glad it's still in my hands. 

"Donnie!" Leo's pained voice echo into our ears, tearing my eyes from Foot Clan for quick second to see my oldest brother being electrified. No!  

"Hang on, Leo! Be right there!" Donnie yelled to him but he's got too much work with fighting off Foot Clan soldiers, leaving it to my hands. This time I wrapped the chain around my arm after I slid the jacket/hoodie off of me, letting my beautiful dark wings stretch wide, in the process accidentally hitting a soldier in the face. 

"Ups. Sorry!" I apologize to him and spread my wings, hitting something again until I'm in the air. None of the soldiers got time to realize someone is flying at them, till I kicked one away and jumped at another, for the other two using my wings to throw them against the wall, hard. Ouch. I turn back to Leo and offer him helping hand.

"Thanks. Nice moves." Smile comes on my face at his compliment, gesturing to my wings. 

"Thanks, but I could use some training. What about after this ends?" He nod with smile in return and I nudge him with my wing. Only then our eyes drift to dojo, seeing dad getting thrown and beaten by the one and only Shredder. 

"Sensei!" Me and my brother run to help our father.

"No, my children! Stay back!" Dad pulled the lever, bars falling down and blocking us from entering dojo. Mikey and Donnie came and as well tried to pull the bars up.

"Sensei! Dad! Dad! What are you doing?" 

"Hide!" Shredder jumped to Splinter from behind, grabbing the back of his kimono and dragging him away. Tears began filling the corners of my e/c eyes, cursing myself for not being strong enough to pull these damn bars up. 

"No! No!"

"Save yourselves!" Dad called to us before Shredder slammed him on the ground. Everything around me turned muted. No. This is not what I wanted to happen at my reunition with my family. This isn't fair! 

Shredder threw dad in the air, making him hit a metal bridge above them and fall back down, Shredder punching him in the air. We managed to lift the bars enough for Donnie to put under them his shortened bo staff and it spread longer, forcing bars up and we step into the room in fighting position, ready to attack. Soldiers surrounded us, ready to electrify.

"Children, drop your weapons, or your father will die." Shredder aimed his arm with knives at dad's chest, who looked up at us weakly. I growled under my breath. 

Unlike my brothers, I'm ready to pounce and beat the shit out of every soldier here, along with Shredder. But then I see Leo straighten up, keeping his hard glare trained on the true monster in front of us while letting go of his katanas. And we others follow.

Right as we are fully unarmed, Shredder stabs his knives into dad and my eyes widen.

"NO!" Maybe it's only me but it seems like my voice pierced over my brothers' screams. However I pay it no mind and jump into the air at Shredder before they can electrify me. It was another mistake I made, Shredders gloved hand wrapping around my throat in tight grip, one in which I'm panting for air with grit teeth.

"You are a monster." It comes out choked, my nails and bare hands useless against his armour crawled at. He scans me from under mask, tilting his head. He pulls me closer, my nose inches from his mask.

"The only monster here is you and your so called 'family', stupid girl." And then, everything goes black. 

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