TMNT 2012- Endless Love

Chapter 3

I situated myself at the edge of the couch, wincing as my thigh pressed against the sofa's rim.

"I just moved here with my dad because of some kind of job interview - more on that later -, but before that, I lived all the way in Texas." I paused because this is usually the part where most people start squealing or pelting me with questions asking me what it's like. But these people kept a respectful silence, patiently waiting for me to continue. I took a deep breath and kept going.

"My mom left my father when I was still a baby, and never returned, so I don't really know her that well and she doesn't necessarily mean that much to me. No one knows where she is now or what happened to her after she left, only that she's alive. People see her on the streets here and there. Dad always told me stories of how Mom used to be when he first met her. It was only when she had a child that she became distant, and shut out everyone around her. So she left. I was only about three." My eyes dropped to the floor as I remembered what I could about that night. She'd left in the middle of a storm...I shook the memory off and continued the story for my awaiting audience.

"After that, we pretty much just carried on with our lives. Money was scarce then, and Mom's disappearance was just one less mouth to feed. Dad focused on me and spoiled me to the point where I was snobby." I laughed to myself.

"Up until a couple of years ago, I was the snobbiest girl you could ever meet. And then I got into this 'emo' phase last year, when we were REALLY poor, then Dad got this job and now I'm completely normal." I shrugged. "Just a little...new. But other than that...I took a course of Martial Arts a couple months ago - obviously up until now -, studying in Ninjutsu." I looked at each Turtle, all with excited expressions on their faces. "You guys heard of it?" I asked.

"Heard of it?" Mikey grinned at me.

"That's our expertise." Leo finished, giving me a wink cute enough to make me blush. I hid it with a smirk.

"Expertise?" I questioned. April rolled her eyes.

"They're not experts." She whispered to me. I giggled.

"Yet." Raph shot at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"But...about where your father works..." Donnie spoke up, looking embarrassed. I smiled at him.

"Right." I leaned forward and rested my forearms on my knees. "He got a job offer as a government official in some really weird building called T.C.R.I."

The boys' eyes widened and they exchanged panicked glances. A feeling of unease immediately washed over me.

"What?" I asked, my voice cracking in a way that made me sound like a scared little girl. I mentally kicked myself for that.

Leo cleared his throat and sat on the other side of me, so close that our legs were touching. It hurt, but I think the redness of my face covered up my wince. I couldn't help but notice a blush on his cheeks, too as I looked at him.

"Now it's our turn to explain." Leo looked at Master Splinter, and only when his Sensei nodded did he continue.

"You remember those robots that attacked you earlier tonight?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, they're called the Kraang. They're aliens from another dimension, far away from this one." He paused, probably waiting for me to freak out, but instead, I said, "You know, I suspected as much."

Leo blinked, then chuckled a bit. Literally the cutest laugh ever. I mean, that sounds girly, but whatever. It's true.

"Anyways." He went on. "The guys cloaked in black that...well...did THAT to you," Leo gestured with his chin to the wound in my leg. "Are called the Foot Clan, ruled by a merciless man that goes by the name of Shredder. The Shredder and Master Splinter here used to be best buds, but the love of a woman came between them. The Shredder was jealous because that woman loved Splinter, and Shredder sought to finish him. He attacked Splinter's home. During that battle, a candle fell, setting the entire house on fire. Tang Shen - the woman Splinter loved - was killed, and his baby daughter, Miwa, was stolen by Shredder and raised as a Foot assassin. We only recently found out that Miwa - renamed Karai - was Splinter's daughter. Eventually, she joined our side, only to learn about her true past and go after Shredder herself. In that process, she was mutated into a snake -"