A warriors heart

Champion at heart

Champion at Heart
    I could hear the beeping of something behind me. I took in a shaky breath and tilted my head a bit, feeling like I had just been hit by a garbage truck. I groaned a bit as I slowly opened my eyes. The light hit my pupils, making me squint a bit. Once they adjusted to the brightness, I opened my eyes again and slowly looked around. I took in slow, ragged breaths as I took in the hospital room I was in. The gentle beeping came from a monitor behind me that tracked my heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.
    I had a breathing mask over my nose and mouth, but as my eyes trailed down to my forearm, I had an IV there, keeping fluids flowing into my body. I then saw April sitting there beside my bed. She had her head down with her hands over her eyes. I tried to call her name, but my voice didn't come. So when I tried again, it came out as a hoarse croak. April's head shot up and when she met my gaze, her eyes flooded with tears. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me, beginning to sob. "Oh my God! Oh my God! You're awake! Oh my-? Caly!" She said through her sobs as she placed her head against my shoulder.
    With my weak voice, I managed to put out a sentence. "Yeah... I'm-I'm awake... Just, please try to loosen your grip." April pulled back and cried happily, laughing at the same time. "How are you feeling, kiddo?" A strange man said. With my head still resting against the medical bed, I shifted my gaze over to the guy sitting on chair in the corner of the room. "April, who's this?" I asked, my voice cracking. She sat beside me on the bed and gave me a gentle side hug. "Caly, there is a lot you need to know about... like the alien warship. But to answer your question, this is Vern." "Vern as in 'Vern the Falcon Fenwick'? The old news guy you worked with?" I asked. April let out a happy chuckle and nodded. I then shook my head in confusion and sluggishly moved my eyes to her.
    "I'm sorry... but did you also say 'Alien Warship'?" I asked as I searched April's face for any signs that she might be joking, but either she had a really good poker face or she was telling the truth. "Yeah... It was a lot. The guys fought some large alien guy." My sister went on to tell me all about the events that had gone down and how Leo never stopped asking questions about my condition while I was in the hospital and how he was always on edge. When she finished, I sat back against the bed, letting out a long breath. "So I missed all of that? I should've been out there helping... Wait, how long was I out?" April gave me a gentle smile and grabbed my hand. "You were out for three months. But girl, you know there's nothing you could've done, especially in your condition." She said with a sympathetic tone. It took me a second to adjust to the information I had just been given and then turned my attention back to my sister.
    "I'm guessing I have quite the bit to catch up on, huh?" I asked, purposely giving her a hard time. "With any luck, you'll be able to catch up on everything soon." She said to me as she then patted my shoulder and kissed my forehead. I watched as she went over to the door and pushed her sleeve back and I noticed a watch on her wrist. "Where'd you get that?" I asked. "You don't remember this?" She said, gesturing to the watch and I shook my head. "It was from Donnie. He gave it to me on my birthday while you were with Shredder." She added. "Oh." I said as a distant look took over my eyes..
    After about two weeks of being kept in the hospital after I woke up from the coma, I made a full recovery to the doctor's surprise. In that time, I got to know Vern a bit better, and actually have begun to see him in a sort of weird combination of an uncle and a friend. I sighed and slumped into my seat as April drove back to her apartment. I had scars all over my arms and side from the explosion almost four months ago. But what's important to me is that my family made it, unharmed.
    The exhilaration was killing me as April and me went to the alleyway with the manhole cover. I climbed down the ladder and plopped down onto the ground, followed by April. She walked over to me and took my hand. "Ready to see him?" She asked, almost as if she could read my thoughts. "Yes." I answered confidently even though I really wasn't. With that we began walking forward. Each step I took bored into my mind. While I was nervous to see Leonardo and the guys, I needed to be around them again.
    When we finally arrived at the lair, I walked through the tunnel first, followed by April. Almost as if on queue, Raph, Mikey, and Donnie looked up and their eyes widened when they saw me. They ran over, shouting my name. I smiled and felt tears form in my eyes. They all rushed over and I hugged them, feeling the gaping hole in my heart start to close up. "You're alive! You're okay!" Mikey said, stumbling over his words. I laughed and hugged him again. "You're damn right I'm alive." I said enthusiastically, making everyone laugh. Raph crossed his arms and cocked his head at me. I raised a brow at him and pursed my lips.
    "What's that look for?" I asked, smiling. "I don't know what it is about you, but you just refuse to give up, huh?" I started laughing and punched him gently on his arm. "Nah, it's more like I just don't feel like letting you get away with terrorizing the city, but don't feel bad." I said cockily, earning a chuckle from him. "Good to have you back, sister." He said and that was like a punch to my heart. I smiled as happy tears began to fall down my face. I pulled all three of them into a tight embrace again and sighed. When we pulled apart, Donnie gave me a knowing look. "He should be somewhere near the training area. You should find him there." He said before winking at me. I smirked and pushed his arm. "Thanks, D-man." I said softly. "What kind of nickname is that?" He asked, trying to give me a hard time. I rolled my eyes playfully and then gave him one last smile before going off to find Leo.
    I walked slowly over to the platform, gripping one of my arms. There he was, sharpening his Katanas on the platform. I stopped, not wanting to bother him but then he spoke. "Mikey, I'm busy right now." He said, his voice low. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. "You know, I don't think Mikey is over here right now, but I can get him if you want...?" Leo froze and dropped his blades, slowly turning to me, eyes wide and filled with tears. I smiled and then waved, my eyes also filling with tears, again as he cursed under his breath. "Hey, Chief." I said as he suddenly got up & sprinted to me and I held my arms outstretched. When he reached me, he picked me up and held me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso. I held onto him tight, hugging him. He held me tightly in his strong arms and turned back and forth slowly. "Oh my god... oh my god! It's really you! You're alive!" He yelled constantly as he set me down and gazed into my eyes.
    I sobbed tears of joy as I nuzzled my forehead against his chest. Leo kept his hands wrapped around my upper back and he kissed my forehead before resting his head against mine. "I missed you so much..." I said between sobs. "You have no idea how much I missed you." He said back to me, kissing my head again. I lifted my face up and brought his mouth to mine, placing a hand on the side of his face. I then wrapped my arms around his neck and without breaking the kiss, he slid his arms to my lower back as I hopped up onto him again, wrapping my legs around his waist.
    Leo continued to kiss me as he walked over to a nearby wall and pressed me up against it. He then slowly pulled back from my mouth and kissed his way down to my neck. I had some hair in the way since it was down but he gently brushed it away before kissing my neck. Leo's touch on my skin sent shivers down my spine but what made my heart beat at a million miles per hour was the intensity of his gaze when he would lock eyes with me. His breath on my neck, hot and electrifying, gave me a feeling I've never really got to experience before. My lips slightly parted as he brought his mouth back to mine.
    My hands had a mind of their own, sliding down from Leo's neck and down his arms, feeling how strong they were. I pulled back and we both breathed heavily. His eyes were focused, deep, and calm. I gently reached to the back of his head and untied the bandana. I placed it on a hook behind me and then gingerly touched the scar on the right side of his face. He closed his eyes and I leaned in, kissing him from where the scar began on his forehead to his lower cheek.
    I slid down and landed back on the ground, still pressed against the wall. Leo placed a hand on my face and then placed an arm straight out against the wall beside my head. He looked intently into my eyes, breathing heavily. My face was flustered and hot as the only thought in my mind at that moment was his touch on my skin. After an intense few seconds, Leo spoke. "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that." He said, sounding out of breath.
    It took me a moment to process his words before I chuckled and placed my hands around his neck. "Well, was it everything you hoped and dreamed?" I asked sweetly. Leo then blushed a bit and glanced away from me hesitantly. "Not exactly, but it was close to." He said then, meeting my gaze. I raised a brow in confusion and pursed my lips. "What do you mean by, 'it was close to'?" Leo only became more flustered and took a step back. "Don't worry about it." He said with an abnormally high pitch. I gave him a weird look & crossed my arms before turning and grabbing his bandana off the hook.
    "Are you okay?" I asked, smirking a bit. "Yup... I'm good." He said, crossing his arms, still blushing. I rolled my eyes playfully before walking over to him. He sat down onto his knees as I remained standing up. I went behind him and tied his bandana around his face. After I had finished, I couldn't hold my human form anymore, so I transformed. I layed down in front of Leo, and began to prune my wings. "So, tell me about what happened while I was out." I said in between my teeth as I pulled the damaged feathers out.
    "Are you referring to the Alien warship we took out with the alien named 'Kraang'?" He asked. I folded my ears and gave him a sarcastic look. "No, I'm talking about the other Alien named 'Walter'. Yes, I'm talking about the events that went down while I was in the hospital." I said sarcastically as I turned my attention back to my wings. Leo chuckled and placed his hands on his lap. "Well, we made allies with the police after almost being shot by them," My ears perked up and my head shot back around to him. I let out a pained growl as I accidentally pulled out a clump of feathers. "Wait, how did you almost get shot?" I called as my ears swiveled out to the sides. Leo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Raph had lied to April about me approving some plan for him and Mikey to sneak into police headquarters in order to obtain the purple ooze that mutated you, BeBop, and Rocksteady." He said with a huff.
    I slowly lowered my ears and let out an irritated growl. "Of course he did. But how did you manage to get the police on your side?" I asked as I cocked my head. "Well, we offered a compromise. Me and the guys could take care of the 'Technodrome' as long as we were provided cover by the officers. Then after we managed to defeat Kraang, we won these," Leo said as he held up the necklace with a key around his neck. I lowered my head to it and then flicked my gaze up to his. "The key to the city... hm." I said, smirking. "We also became citizens of the city." Leo added. "Wait, so you could go up whenever you want and be... accepted?" I asked in shock. He nodded and my ears perked up in excitement.
    I tackled him and pinned him to the ground before rubbing my head against him. "I'm so happy for you! You and your brothers deserve to be accepted and not forced to live down here." I called. "You always know the right thing to say, darlin'." He said, making his voice low and so damn attractive. I rolled my eyes at him as he made fun of my accent, making him laugh. But the way he said 'darlin' made me shiver. I love it. I got off of him and sat back on my hind legs. Leo got up and came over to me, wrapping his arms around my neck. I lowered my head over his shoulder and pressed my chin against his shell as I wrapped my front paws around him.
    April walked past us and threw me a sly smile. I growled at her quietly and Leo chuckled. We pulled apart and Leo said he was going to go speak with Master Splinter. I nodded and he kissed my snout before walking off to find his father. I lifted my ears slowly as I watched him go and breathed out deeply, my tail swaying slowly behind me. I loved him so much, more than anything (besides my sister).
    I then got back down onto all fours and followed April to the guys. I sat down beside her. She turned to me and smiled, then leaned against my neck. "So y'all defeated an alien warlord while I was taking it easy being unconscious in the hospital." I said, half-irritated. "Yeah, but don't feel bad. You needed to heal, and plus, you saved our lives, Cal. If anything, you should be taking it easy." Donnie said, walking over to me and placing a gentle hand beneath my ear. I gave him a sympathetic look and flattened my ears. He smiled softly but then when he glanced over at April, he backed up and went back over to where he was standing before.
    I cocked my head and breathed out slowly. I then lowered my head to her and let out a curious grumble. "What was that all about?" I asked, looking at her through a side glance as my ears began to perk up. "Can we talk about it later?" She asked, a pleading look in her blue eyes. I sighed and raised my head. I opened my mouth to say something to Raph when I heard an unfamiliar voice. I turned my head and saw a man who appeared to be April's age walking towards us. I growled deeply and then opened my wings. I flapped them and took off, then landed on the guy, holding him to the ground.
    He thrashed around, calling for help. "Caly, wait, stop!" Mikey yelled. He struggled under my weight as I pinned his arms down. I bared my teeth and brought my head close to his, taking in his features. This man had a buzz cut with a very short beard. His eyes were the same blue as April's. I looked into them and hissed, my ears flat against the sides of my head. My tail waved behind me as Mikey, Raph, and Donnie ran over.
    Mikey called my name and ran in front of me. I growled at the guy one more time before looking up at Mikey fiercely. "Let him up! He's a friend! He helped save April and stop that alien thing!" He called. I let out a low rumble and then looked back down at the dude I had pinned. I narrowed my eyes and snorted before stepping back. I folded my wings and kept my ears pinned, keeping a low & defensive stance. Donnie stood in front of me and placed a hand on my snout.
    The guy slowly got up, his eyes never leaving my face as April rushed over to help him. He clutched his stomach and a bead of sweat dropped from his face as he studied me, narrowing his eyes. "What is that thing?" He asked with an unsure expression. "Casey, this is Caly, my younger sister." April said, patting his back softly. "That beast is your sister?" He said, looking stunned. I kept my ears flat and raised my head slowly, letting out a menacing hiss which sounded like the one an alligator made, as it always did when I hissed. "How is that your sister?" 'Casey' asked. April laughed slightly. "She was mutated quite a while ago... she has a human form, don't you, Cal?" She asked, moving her gaze to me.
    "Sure I do... But I don't trust him." I said. Casey's eyes widened at the sound of my voice. Donnie took his hand off my head and I walked over to Casey, rising to my full height and spreading my wings slightly. I lowered my head to him, meeting his gaze. He looked into my turquoise eyes and clutched his arm. "How do I know you won't tell others about us?" I asked. "Caly..." April said in a warning tone as I circled the guy. I shot her a look and she shut her mouth. Raph stepped forward and crossed his arms.
    "I swear it won't happen. These brothers saved the city, and I know they prefer to stay hidden, so you'll just have to take my word for it." I stopped in front of him and raised a claw. I held it out for him to place a hand on my paw. He placed a hand in my paw and I sat back on my hind legs as with my other paw, I placed his hockey stick in his hand. He gripped it and I dropped his hand, standing back up on all fours. "Welcome to the team, Casey." I said, my ears perking up. I transformed back to my human form and crossed my arms with a cocky smile on my face as Casey's jaw dropped. "Okay, that was cool." He said with yet another stunned expression. April laughed and walked over to him, placing her hands over his shoulders.
    I went over to my sister and tapped her shoulder. She looked up at me with a confused expression on her face. "Talk, now." I mouthed. She sighed and let go of Casey, then followed me to the kitchen. I pushed myself up onto the counter and sat down as my sister pulled up a chair and came to sit in front of me. She sat down and crossed her arms, looking at me intently. I looked at her with my eyes narrowed before asking her the big question. "What happened with you and Donnie?" April sighed and dropped her arms, slumping in the chair. "Things just were just not working out and well, we broke up shortly after you went into the coma..." She said with sigh.
    I raised an eyebrow before crossing my arms and looking away, sighing. "So, you and Casey are...?" I asked, my voice trailing off. "Yup." My sister answered quickly. "Oh. Well then, congratulations?" She looked at me with a confused expression before laughing. "Thanks, Cece." I smiled softly and turned back to her, sliding off the counter. "Well, are you & Donnie good? What happened earlier was-" "We're fine. Things happen and he just needs to accept it." She said, cutting me off. I looked at her with a surprised look on my face, stunned by her sudden statement. April sighed and looked down, placing her hands over her eyes. "I'm sorry... I just don't feel like talking about everything right now." She said with a defeated huff. I looked her sympathetically before walking over and hugging her.
    "Don't worry about it. But I have something else that I wanted to talk to you about." I said calmly. She looked up at me and raised a brow. "I was wondering if we could go back to the beach house? By 'we', I mean all of us." I asked. She sighed softly and smiled before shoving my arm playfully. "Of course. But the guys wouldn't fit in my car...?" "They can bring the 'Tartaruga Brothers' truck and just follow behind us!" I said cheerfully. April laughed and then stood up, looping her arm through mine. "Well, as long as you're good with it, I'm good with it." She said as we walked out of the kitchen.
    Leo stood in front of Raph with his arms crossed, arguing again. I rolled my eyes and glanced over at my sister, who's expression matched my own. I sighed and took my arm out of hers before crossing my arms. "We can't assume that everything will be alright now that Shredder is gone. Karai is probably still out there, building up the foot clan again." Raph said angrily. Leo glared at him and crossed his arms. "I understand, Raph, but we need to rest and train. I think we-" "There you go again... It's always what you think. What about the others, Leo?" Raph shot back. "Yeah, it is what I think, Raph. You wanna know why? It's because I was made leader!" I took a small step back at Leo's tone. It was calm but dangerous... and that was the kind of anger that was scary.
    Raph exhaled sharply before grumbling under his breath and pushing past Leo. I sighed and placed a hand on my forehead, closing my eyes. It's definitely time to go to the beach. We could all use the vacation, and I'm excited to see how the guys react to seeing the ocean for the first time.