𝗠𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝖱𝖺𝗉𝗁𝖺𝖾𝗅

#01

After an exhausting day at school, Harper was heading home that late afternoon. After stopping at the market, she made her way to the building where she lived with her aunt Jean. Jean had cared for her since she was a baby, following the tragic incident at the lab where her mother, a scientist, had worked. Harper's father was never known, and although she was always curious about his identity, even Jean had no information about him. Fifteen years had passed since then, and here she was.

As she tried to navigate the busy Brooklyn traffic, Harper finally reached the building where their small apartment was located. It was a compact space, but adequate for two people. Unlocking the door with her key, she noticed the lights in the living room were off, indicating her aunt hadn't arrived home from work yet. She turned on the lights, headed to her room, and tossed her backpack into a corner near the wardrobe. After kicking off her shoes, she went to the bathroom to take a shower, aiming to relax a bit before checking her laptop.

Minutes later, stepping out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, Harper picked out some comfortable clothes and sat on her single bed. She grabbed her laptop from the bedside table and powered it on. As the screen loaded, she remembered a conversation at school about an attack on the subway that afternoon. The Channel 6 news site quickly displayed the headline: "Criminal organization known as the Foot Clan invades Manhattan subway, taking passengers hostage, but saved by mysterious individuals. Could they be the city's vigilante protectors? That's what one of the affected citizens claimed on the news."

Harper sighed in frustration, realizing she had missed this crucial event. She had been so wrapped up in her schoolwork that she had forgotten her vigilante identity and hadn't met up with her patrol friends that afternoon.

Suddenly, a call from an unknown number appeared on her laptop screen, with a turtle emoji as the contact name. Harper immediately recognized it as one of her patrol friends, Donatello. He wanted to know why she hadn't shown up during the attack. Harper explained the situation and apologized for her absence. Donatello understood and shared that they had encountered a Channel 6 reporter, April O'Neil, who had been snapping photos of them. Mikey, the youngest and most impulsive of the brothers, had pulled off his mask to show his face to April, causing her to faint right after. They had managed to erase all the photos from her phone, but it still worried her.

"Wait, does the master know you four were on the surface?" Harper asked, recalling that they usually went to the hashis.

"Well, not exactly..." Donatello started to reply, but was cut off.

"Don't worry, kitty, we've got it handled!" Michelangelo, known as Mikey, appeared on the screen with his radiant grin, pulling funny faces. Donatello shook his head, disapproving of his younger brother's childish behavior. Harper laughed at the scene, as Mikey grabbed Donatello's face and pushed him off-screen. Donatello, with a slightly resigned smile, returned to the conversation.

"No, he doesn't know, and yeah, we can hit the hashis. You know how it is..." Donatello's voice faltered as he spoke. Before Harper could respond, she heard her aunt calling her.

"Looks like you've got to go. Catch you later, Harper." Donatello said goodbye. "Looks like it. See you guys tomorrow. Bye, Donnie." Harper ended the call, closed the laptop, got out of bed, and went to see what her aunt wanted.