Remember. [TMNT 2012]

Chapter 8; Elizabetta

Song: Satellite - All Time Low

"Lizzy!"

I wake up with a start to Michelangelo shaking me. I sit up and look around, realizing I fell asleep on the couch. That's when I remember Michelangelo and I were watching Space Heroes. I laid my head down for two minutes- I wasn't supposed to fall asleep! But it's too late to change it now.

"What's going on?" Right as I ask the question, I already have the answer. Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael stand in front of the sofa. They have a few bruises, as if they just came out of a skirmish. However, they give no notice of their minor injuries.

   "Well?!" Michelangelo asks the turtles excitedly. He eagerly bounces in place on the couch. "What happened?!"

   "We took out some Footbots," Raphael says and clenches his fists tightly. "It was easy. They didn't know what hit 'em." The satisfied expression on his face reveals the pride that he is making no effort to disguise.

   I know it's probably a stupid question, but I'm tired of being confused. And obviously, if I am going to be around the turtles, I need to learn about this stuff. "What are Footbots? And the Kraang?" I add the last question, recalling the weird conversation we all had the day before. I try not to think about my deceased family in the process.

   Thankfully, Leonardo answers before Raphael can give a smart-alec remark. "The Kraang are aliens that are trying to take over the world. They walk around in robot suits and refuse to use proper English. You can't miss them," he explains briskly.

"Aliens dressed as robots that want to take over the world," I echo, shaking my head. My life doesn't make sense anymore.

"Footbots belong to the Foot Clan," Leonardo goes on as if I had never spoken. "They're trained by a master ninja called Shredder. They're robots, too, but not as..." He gropes for the right word. "Skilled."

Shredder. I've heard that name before. I bite my lip as I search my mind for an explanation.

It's a man who said the name. I can't remember who, but I remember where. It was a laboratory. I recall my arms and legs being chained to a dental chair. And the words he spoke to me... I can just conjure up the statement.

"'If my hypothesis is correct, it should make the Shredder powerful,'" I whisper.

"What?" Donatello asks. He leans closer, his brown eyes barring into mine.

"That's what a man told me when I was inside that Kraang facility," I reply, just as confused as he is. "He seemed like some kind of mad scientist."

"Who was he?" Donatello presses on curiously.

I try, but I can't pull anymore memories to the surface. "I don't know," I confess. "But I remember those words and that voice. I would know it if I heard it again." Though I would rather not hear it again, I add silently. There was something about that man's presence that made me anxious.

Donatello looks at Leonardo. The worry is evident on his face. "Master Shredder wanted whatever she had. And something tells me that they got it. That's why she can't remember much. Memory lose must have been the side effects of an analysis they did on her."

I only half understand what the turtle means, but it's enough to strike fear into me. Did the Kraang or Foot Clan actually do something harmful to me? Chills creep up my spine at the thought.

There's only one bright side to what Donatello said: I'm not sick. Just experiencing leftovers from whatever trauma I went through. But what kind of experiment can temporarily make me lose my memories?

"What did you dudes find?" Michelangelo interrupts my thoughts. He is staring at something in Leonardo's hands.

But it's Donatello who speaks up. "I collected half a container of mutagen. It's not much, but it will be enough to start another retro-mutagen brewing." He holds out a large cylinder half-full of a gooey-green liquid. I assume it is the stuff that 'mutated' the creatures in front of me.

"And I found this." Leonardo holds up a long, flat, leather piece. He slides off the leather and reveals a blade. The light catches it and gently reflects off the walls, making my heart stop for a second.

The silver blade. The handle. The leather sheathe it's in. I gasp softly.

"Let me see the bottom of the handle," I request. Leonardo gives me a curious look as he hands it to me.

I flip the dagger over and sure enough, it has 'Game on' engraved into it. It's mine. The memories come back as I run my fingers over the blade. The people who kidnapped me stole it. Yet, I got it back.

No, Leonardo got it back.

Just then, that very turtle asks me a question. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I breathe. I tear my gaze away from the blade to look at him in awe. "This is mine. My kidnappers took it from me. I can't believe you found it. Thank you."

Leonardo smiles a bit. An uncomfortable look in his eyes makes him change the subject. "So, what did we miss while we were out?" he questions light-heartedly.

"Space Heroes!" Michelangelo answers immediately.

Leonardo seems to perk up. "You didn't watch the new one without me, did you?"

Michelangelo laughs. "Dude, I'd never do that to you! We just started from the beginning because Lizzy here never understood the plotline."

Leonardo turns his dark blue eyes on me in surprise. "You like Space Heroes?"

"I do now," I admit, and I feel Michelangelo give a little excited jump beside me.

The blue-clad turtle squeezes in between me and the arm of the couch. He looks up at Raphael and Donatello, who are standing in front of him. "Can you guys move away from the television?"

"Nerds," Raphael grumbles as he walks away. Donatello follows him, turning the container of mutagen in his hands as his eyes scan it. They both head off to do their own things.

Michelangelo and I exchanges glances. I can tell that neither of us know what Leonardo is thinking by getting his brothers to move.

Leonardo, indifferent to this, looks over at Michelangelo. "Well, what are you waiting for? Play the next episode!" he insists.

I smile as the orange-clad turtle does what he's told. I tuck my dagger away under one of my legs and settle down between them. I find it strange to be sandwiched between two giant turtles.

But it's also quite comfortable.