Sister Hamato: TMNT Sister Story

Bad Rat Dad pt.1

   "They all thought they could stop me; the corporate fools who pulled my funding, the scientific community who shunned me, my own flesh and blood, those turtle freaks who thought they got the last of my mutagen... but they were wrong. Even with this tiny amount and nothing but these disgusting sewer rats to experiment on, I have nearly recreated my psychic neurochemical. And when I do, the shortsighted idiots who rejected me will tremble before the power and genius of Dr. Victor Falco! And then, my scampering friends, I will have my daughter back. When she understands how much power we could have, she'll be begging to join me and get her training. Athena tried so very hard, but in the end, I get what I want,"

□◇□

   "Hey Bunny, is 'disappear' spelled with one S or two?" Pepper asked you as she tapped her long nails on the library table.

   "One. It's one S and two P's," you answered.

   Pepper nodded and wrote on her sheet of paper. From the past tutoring sessions she had, she found herself completely comfortable in asking you about how to spell things. Normally, she'd make the mistakes and hand it over to you for corrections. She was confident in asking you directly now.

   It was a lovely change from the way she treated you before. There was no anger or bitterness toward each other; only hesitation. She liked you, but felt weird admitting you were considered friends now. Pepper didn't want to seem like a soft person though.

   Nonetheless, you honestly enjoyed her company. April was cool, but she didn't really speak to you often and vice versa. It didn't matter to you that much. The only thing you ever seemed to talk about was the turtles —and of course, as a generous wingman, you would praise Donnie any chance you could. Pepper had a certain mysterious quality to her that just made you want to stay and listen to just about anything she wanted to tell you. Her attitude made her daring and you liked that spunk.

   Heck, she felt the same way. Nobody ever had the guts to talk back to her the way you did. It showed you were confident and willing to stand up for yourself. It made her curious about you too.

   "Hey, Bunny..." she cooed.

   "Yeah?"

   "Are we... friends?"

   You smiled at her. "I think we are... I mean, I hope we are,"

   "Really? Wow, it feels weird to hear that out loud. Since we're friends... can I ask what your dad's like?" She twirled the pencil in her hands and looked at you.

   -Alright... choose your words carefully,- you thought.

   "Well, he's really good at martial arts... he's a tall guy... I don't know, he's really sweet and caring. He taught me just about everything I know. All in all, he's the coolest guy I know. Definitely a lot better than my bio-dad,"

   "Interesting... do you call him 'dad'?"

   "Yes... and no. He teaches me martial arts and when we train, I'm supposed to call him Sensei,"

   "I call my dad 'bud'. I was adopted when I was like ten, so I couldn't get used to calling him dad right away,"

  "Oh, that reminds me... I have always wondered: is Pepper your real name?"

   She got quiet and chuckled at you. "You're the first one with the guts to ask. My name was Jaiden, but... I never felt like that name was right for me. So when I was starting out with my dad before adoption, I asked him to change my name if the adoption went through because I hated how my name sounded on me. When the adoption was final, we changed my name to Pepper,"