Hey guys! I've been wanting to write a Ninja Turtles fanfic for sometime now so here we go! Just a heads up, this is the first time I've written a fic without my usual OC, so bear with me here!

Enjoy!

She groaned as she lifted her torso in the upright position. Every muscle in her body ached, and every hair on her head was tangled and defying gravity. She sighed, mustering up all her strength to fling her feet over the side of the bed, where she sat. She rubbed her cerulean eyes, hoping that it would help her to wake up, but to no avail. Her lung sucked in a deep, mournful breath of air, trying to get her blood flowing and her energy sparking. Her eyes danced to the cold floor, and her feet resisted touching the stone. It took a couple minutes of psyching herself up before she finally brushed a toe against the floor. She shivered. She placed the flat of her foot on the floor; the cold crept throughout her phalanges like pins and needles. But she had to do it, to stand up. She groaned once more as she pushed her weight onto her legs, which immediately began to shake.

Saying that April O'Neil was not a morning person was the understatement of the year.

She shuffled into the kitchen and fumbled around until she pulled a mug with a cat on it out of the cupboard and threw it under the coffee maker. She began to smile, the smell of coffee easing every aching muscle and cold foot. She shifted her weight to lean against the counter as she greedily eyed the dripping coffee, which couldn't possibly move any slower.

She sighed as she cupped her hands around the steaming cup and inhaled. Her stomach growled in reply as she gulped the bitter sweet beverage and she pulled out a pan, preparing to make eggs.

Then she heard it, the rolling of wheels.

"Awesome! April's making breakfast!"

"I'm first, I'm the hungriest!"

"No me! I'm April's favorite!"

She turned around and smiled in spite of herself at the sight of her best friends. Three of them lumbered around the corner and pushed for a stool at the counter, knocking over various table condiments.

"Morning guys," April yawned. "I guess I could make a few more eggs."

"Oh yeah!" said Michelangelo, the youngest brother, as he licked his lips. His wide blue eyes captured an innocence through his yellow mask that April had been in awe of ever since she met the brothers.

"Sensei work you guys hard this morning?" April mused, flipping the yolk with ease.

Raphael, the strongest, second oldest of the brothers, groaned. "I don't know what his problem was this morning. Every move we made was never good enough for his."

April shrugged. "You know Master Splinter, he always like to be precise."

"Well, I hate to admit it, but I agree with Raph," sighed Donatello, putting down the cell phone that he had been fiddling with. "Sensei seemed a little on edge."

The eggs started to fizzle as April quickly plated the breakfast and fed her ravenous friends. As they feasted, she noticed the absence of the older brother Leonardo, who would usually reprimand his brother for eating so sloppily.

"Guys, where's Leo?"

"Still with Sensei," said Mikey between bites.

Donatello stopped eating. "The hostility Sensei showed towards us this morning was nothing compared to what he made Leo do."

April figured that the fourth brother would be extra hungry so she tossed a couple more eggs in the pan. She leaned against the counter as she watched her friends finish their meal. A memory suddenly struck her, a memory of a time before she had met the brothers, a time when she would have simply passed off the idea of four mutant turtle teenagers as a myth or story. But this was the life she was living. Her bed was a cot and comforter in the sewer. Her friends were adolescent reptiles. Her sensei was a rat. Nothing could weird her out at this point.

The brothers dispersed after they finished as April began to pick at the newly plated scrambled eggs. She almost considered eating the whole plate when Leo walked in, gingerly sitting on the stool.

"Rough morning?" April asked, slidding the plate in front of the turtle.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, but not before throwing a thankful glance at April through the slits in his blue mask.

April's hopeful grin fell. "That bad?"

Leo sighed heavily, spearing his eggs with his fork. "I kept trying my hardest during training, but none of it seemed to matter to him today."

"Do you think that any of this angst have to do with my vision?"

About a week ago, April had awoke in the middle of the night screaming. The turtles rushed in to find her sitting upright in her bed, eyes open, but still sleeping. One she had awoken and was calmed down, she told Master Splinter about her vision.

"I was in the streets of New York, alone, and it was nighttime," she recalled. "I was running. Not from a man, or like any villain we've ever come across before. He wasn't ever a person, more like a presence. I couldn't physically see him, but I could feel him." She shivered. "My blood was cold and I was freezing despite all of my running. Suddenly, he grabbed me. Not actually, but it felt like he had a grip on my soul. Slowly, I felt him squeeze the life out of me."

At the time, Master Splinter had simply passed it off as nothing but a nightmare. But ever since, he hadn't been the same. He had restricted the boy's and her time above the sewer, and increased the amount of training time.

April picked up Leo's dishes. "Whatever happens, it's best to just go along with Sensei. I'm sure it will all pass soon."

Leo nodded and departed for his room.