"With the attacks spreading from New York City, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the country is affected, and then...the world."
Mikey swallowed as he stared at the tv, "Man. That's some heavy stuff."
You nodded and remained silent as you pulled your knees up to you on the couch. It had been three weeks now, meaning that your time was up. You had covered considerable ground on finding the retromutagen, but it was still nowhere close to being ready. Donnie, Ralph, and Leo were in the back, having a map of the city spread out before them. You sighed as you rested your cheek in your palm, continuing to watch the tv. Right now, you were completely out of ideas to find the cure, and the only hope was going to get your father's notes -that is, if your brother James hasn't already taken them to a safer place.
"We can get into the back entrance of the lab with a little tampering of the security system," Donnie muttered, "but that still doesn't mean the Kraang or Foot bots haven't already infiltrated the place."
Ralph raised an eyebrow, "And what if humans are actually still around there? They'll think that we're just another one of those killing machines."
Leonardo sighed and glanced over at the couch, seeing Mikey and you glued to the tv.
"...We have to take (y/n) with us."
Donnie's eyes widened, "What?! N-no. She'd be a midnight snack for the mutants. Plus she would slow us down, we'd travel faster with a smaller group."
Leo looked at him, "Donnie, she's the only one who knows the way around Dr. (y/l/n)'s lab. She knows where his notes would be, and could get us past whatever humans are left in there. There's not really another option."
He sighed and glanced over at you, "...but what if she gets hurt? O-or worse? There'd be no one left to find the retromutagen."
Ralph snorted, "Donnie, you are one big baby."
Leo rolled his eyes and turned to Donatello, "If she were to get killed, then you would continue her work...sometimes one must sacrifice for the greater good of everyone else."
Donnie groaned, "Stop trying to sound like Splinter..." He sighed and looked down at the map, "...Fine. But if anything happens to her, I'm holding everyone here responsible."
Leo chuckled and pulled out his T-phone, "Good. Now let's get Casey and April."
~a few hours later~
"Annnd, there we go. Now just one more."
Donnie stepped back as he finished binding your right hand. You looked down at the course, black material tightly wrapped around your palms and lower arms.
"And...this is supposed to help me how?" You asked curiously.
He smiled as he began to bind your other hand, "You don't have callouses or rough skin built up on your hands, meaning that it'll be difficult for you to travel with us –we do a LOT of climbing."
You made a silent 'oh' with your mouth and looked back down at the clothes you were wearing. Your usual flats had been exchanged for a pair of black shoes (pick whichever style you like best) and you had borrowed a black jumpsuit from April's old wardrobe she had left here. It was a bit big on you, considering you were a few inches shorter than her, but it would have to do. You glanced out the door to see a woman with bright, red hair and dressed in a black and yellow jumpsuit walk by.
Donnie followed your gaze over to her, "That's April, she'll be coming with us." He quietly said and continued his work, "She's engaged to Casey Jones."
"Oh...She doesn't need bindings?"
"That's because she's a kunoiche."
"A what?"
"Basically, a female ninja."
You frowned slightly, "Oh.."
"But," He smiled up at you as he finished your left arm, "She also doesn't know that Avagrado's number equals 6.23 to the 23rd power."
You felt a slight smile appear on your face, "Donnie," you softly said, "Not everyone is a chemistry whiz like you."
He shrugged and straightened back up, "Some just have a knack for science, others don't. Oh, and, you might want to tie up your hair." He handed you another strip of black fabric, "(h/c) locks of hair flying in the wind isn't so easy to cover up." He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.
You nodded and proceeded to tie it back, "So, how exactly is this going to work?"
He leaned against the table with his hands, watching you. "Leo, Ralph, Casey and April will go to the front entrance of your father's lab and make sure no one's around still. You, Mikey and I will go around to the back of the lab and disarm the security system, think you handle it?"
You nod, "Definitely, it's nothing more than a simple debugging code."
He smiled, "Good. Since we don't really know where his private office was, it'll be up to you to secure his notes. There's a bag on the table that you can put whatever you can find there in, so try to get the most important things first."
You bit your lip, "O-okay...and after that?"
He shrugged, "We go home find, probably celebrate with Mikey's infamous homemade pizza, and find the retromutagen."
You let out a half chuckle, "If only it were that easy."
"It could be."
A voice at the door made you glance up, seeing the girl that Donnie called April.
"Hi," She said, a soft smile on her face, "You must be Dr. (y/n)."
"I-it's just (y/n), really. I'm more of a glorified lab assistant to my father." You replied.
She chuckled, her bright eyes shining, "If you say so, but Donnie made it sound like you were the next Albert Einstein."
Donnie felt his face get hot, "I-I never said that, April."
She raised an eyebrow teasingly, "Oh, so you don't think she could be?"
"N-no!" He cried, "I-I...u-um."
She giggled, "I'm just teasing you, Donatello." She nudged him with her elbow as he smiled nervously.
"I'm uh...I'm going to go make sure that the ShellRazor is ready." He quickly walked out, his face bright pink.
April chuckled again and looked back at you, "He's really such a sweetheart. That jumpsuit looks good on you, by the way."
You glanced down at it, "Um, thanks...I hope you don't mind me borrowing it," you looked back up at her, "I didn't really have anything else to wear."
She shrugged, "You can keep it, along with anything else here of mine...I don't really need them anymore."
You nodded as you slipped on your shoes.
April smiled at you as she sat halfway on the table, "....So, we're breaking into your father's old lab?"
"Y-yeah...but it's more like, um...just going into it."
She chuckled and pulled out her blade fan, playing with it, "Whatever you say. How long has it been since you've gone in there?"
"Two years," You said quietly.
She glanced up at you, "That long?"
You nodded once again, sorrow picking at your heart as you relived those terrible days in your mind, "He sent me away when the Kraang attacks were beginning to get bad where we were...I...I haven't seen him since."
April's smile fell as she studied you, "...I'm so sorry."
You slipped on your other shoe, looking down, "Don't be...I-I have wonderful memories of him before all of this happened...a-and that's how I want to remember him, happy and carefree, not driven mad by the chaos erupting outside." Memories come flooding back to you...you could still see your father's panicked face as he told you to run, a gun in his hand...You obeyed what he said, and fled far away from the Foot bot infested lab...that was the last you ever heard from him...and you had been running ever since...
You felt something wet slide down your cheek and hit your hand. You gently reached up and brushed away the second tear threatening to spill, "...I-I never was able to say goodbye to him...When he refused to work for Shredder, h-he was killed on the spot..."
She gently placed a hand on your shoulder, "...Hey....it's okay...It'll all be over soon, you'll see...but we need you focus when we get there."
You nodded and stood up, taking one last final breath, "I-I can do that."
April smiled gently, "Good..."
Then she did something you never would've expected: she hugged you...
Your family was never really one for physically contact, so to have almost a complete stranger embrace you left you in a bit of shock, but...it felt nice. You had gone almost 7 months now with zero human interaction, and to have someone listen to you, to tell you that everything was going to be okay, was like finally seeing the sun after a lifetime of darkness.
You clutched onto her tightly, not wanting to let go. The few tears that you were struggling to hold back now were falling freely.
"Red!" A husky voice cried in the doorway, "You've gone and made the chic cry!"
You quickly pulled away, seeing a stranger dressed in...hockey gear?
April rolled her eyes, "Casey, we were sort of having a moment here!"
"Hehe, sorry." He grinned widely, showing off several holes in his mouth of where missing teeth should be.
April smirked and put a hand on her hip, "(y/n), this Casey Jones, my boyfriend."
"The one and only," He said in a horrific British accent, bowing eloquently as he did.
You giggled slightly at him, quickly wiping away whatever tears you had.
"So, you ladies ready to go kick some mutant butt and save the day?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
You smiled and grabbed the bag Donnie had given you, "Definitely."