Before (Part 1)

Chapter Four

"Just ignore him. He's like that all the time, especially to new people. It's hard from them to trust and he just doesn't want his brothers getting hurt. He'll eventually simmer down, that is only if you come and get to know them better." April stated. Madi did a long, annoyed, exaggerated groan of pain, before replying.

"Fine! I'll hang around for one hour. An hour and a half if you're lucky." Madi told her as she stood up to go change her clothes. Over the phone, she heard April's muffled voice as she said something to someone else. Then, joining April's voice was the sound of someone shouting happily.

"Thanks, Mikey's happy that you're coming." April informed her.

"I heard." Madi said as she put her phone on speaker and set it on her desk, then walked over to her closet and changed out of her pajamas. She continued to talk to April as she slipped on a pair of jeans and pulled on her favorite blue t-shirt. Sam watched her owner, confused. The German Sheppard knew that it was Saturday, and on Saturday all they did was hang around at home, maybe even play 'fetch' in the hallway. Her master never went anywhere on the weekends. Madi looked in the mirror at herself, then picked up her cell phone and turned the speaker off. Walking out of her bedroom, she approached her apartment door and was about to leave.

"Okay, I'm coming. Where do they-" she was interrupted by the sound of barking. Turning around , slipping her slippers off and putting on her flip-flops, Madi saw Sam sitting on the floor, her leash in her jaws. Madi sighed. "Hey, April, is it alright if Sam comes along? She isn't used to me being gone on the weekends."

"Sure. I'm sure the guys won't mind." April told her. Madi smiled and snapped her fingers, signalling Sam to walk over to her so she could put her leash on. Using one hand, Madi attached the leash to the dog and held the other end of it. Grabbing her purse, she walked out of her apartment with her dog.

"So, where do the guys live?" Madi asked. April was silent for a moment.

"You're not going to like it..."

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"I can't believe this." Madi said as she, April, and Sam all walked through the tunnels of the sewer. It smelled awful as Madi attempted to avoid all the piles of raw sewage. Sam didn't seemed bothered by the scent, and Madi was jealous of her for that. April looked like she didn't mind the grossness either.

"Don't worry. When we get to the lair, the smell won't be so bad." April tried to tell her friend. Madi hoped that she was right.

Minutes later, April, Madi, and Samantha entered the turtles' lair. Madi's jaw dropped as she looked around. The place was huge. On one half of the room was the kitchen with a table, stove, and fridge, and the other was obviously a living-room of some sort with a couch, TV, and a video game system. Straight ahead of the girls by a few yards was a pair of Japanese paper-doors that must've lead to a dojo, and to the right, a few feet away from the kitchen, was a hallway that was lined with four doors.

"This is the lair. Go ahead and make yourself at home." April said as she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Madi looked around, so did Sam, before the two decided to watch some TV. They sat down on the couch, Sam laying down and rested her head on Madi's lap. Before Madi could even grab the remote, the sound of the paper doors opening filled her ears.

"Dudette! You're here!" the voice of Michelangelo shouted happily as he ran out of the dojo, covered in sweat, and wrapped his big green arms around her from behind the couch. By force of instinct from her previous years of constant training, she grabbed his arm and flipped him over the couch, having him land on the back of his shell right in front of the TV with a loud THUMP. His three brothers gasped, so did April, as he looked up at Madi. Her eyes were wide as she realized what she had just done. Sam just smiled, happy to see some action.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Mikey. It-it was a force of habit." Madi stuttered nervously as he stood up. But instead of glaring at her or being mad, he smiled and looked over at the red-masked turtle.

"I told you she knew how to fight!" Mikey said to Raph. Realizing that Mikey was okay, Raphael just scoffed and walked to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Mikey turned back to Madi and grinned. "That was so totally awesome, Madster! You really have the skills to be a fighter." Madi smiled at the nickname he had given her.

"Thanks, Mikey. It was just a reflex, but thanks." she said. The orange-masked turtle then looked from her to her dog. He kneeled down, the grin never leaving his lips, and began to pet her. Sam leaned into his touch, her tail wagging happily at the attention.

"So, you decided to come after all." Madi heard Donnie say from behind her. She turned around and saw the two other turtles, Donatello and Leonardo, standing there, glistening with sweat from working out or training, small smiles on their faces. She nodded, returning the grin.

"April told me how much Mikey missed me, so when she suggested that I stopped by, I just couldn't say no." Madi replied, her arms folded. Mikey continued to pet Sam, only now he was using a baby voice.

"Who's a good girl? You are! Yes you are!" Mikey cooed happily. Sam yipped with joy, happy that she was being given so much attention.

"Sooo...." Leo said awkwardly. There was a weird silence between them, untill April came to the rescue. The red-headed heroine of the moment slung one of her arms around Madi and the other around Leo's, pulling them together cloesly.

"Madi, you should tell Leo all about your obsession with Space Heroes. I'm sure he'd love to hear all about the different fan-fictions you've written and all the merchandise you've obtained over the years-"

"April!" Madi shouted, her cheeks beginning to turn red from embarassment. She didn't feel compfortable with exposing her love for the super amazing sci-fi television show that she had enjoyed watching ever since she was a little girl. Especially since she used to be made of at school because of it during her earlier childhood.

"Wait, you like Space Heroes, too?" Leo asked. His eyes were wide, then he smiled. "It's about time I met someone with a little common sense. None of my brothers like that TV show, so it's nice to finally meet someone who loves it as much as I do."