"You should have seen Angel." April smiled as she sipped out of her Starbucks cup. Once word got out that Mona was back and conscious, she had to catch up with her mutant family as soon as possible. She was accompanied by most of the family as they gathered around the kitchen counter and tables, eating Popeyes leftovers for breakfast. Mona was absent, not by already eating, but getting dressed for the day after her clothes had been washed. "The next morning, when she woke up, the first thing she did was hug me. She told me she was sorry and that she messed up really bad. She almost started crying, the poor thing."

"What was she cryin' for?" Raphael spoke mid chew. Donatello, whose pet peeve was his brothers talking as they ate, put a finger to his lips. Raphael rolled his eyes and swallowed, which satisfied his tallest brother. Raphael's back leaned against the chair, allowing his massive arm to spill over the top of it. April's shoulders adjusted as she sat deeper into her chair.

"She thought after all this that I was going to send her back and have her reassigned a new sister."

"You're not?"

"No." Mikey's wrist immediately began to lose blood as April's grip on it squeezed him with all her strength. "I'm not." She glared at him as he cried "Uncle". Knowing he has had enough, April let her grip off of him. The young turtle took his wrist to his chest and protected it with his other arm just in case she wanted to try again. "I promised her I wouldn't. I couldn't do that to her."

"It sounds like someone's caring for the girl." Splinter spoke softly. April placed her cup on the kitchen table. Her head had to poke out to see the meager rat who sat so closely to Donatello.

"Who said I didn't care about her?" April asked honestly. Master Splinter's brow rose slightly after giving her a look that represented a know-it-all and went in to sip his tea.

"Splinter? Did you just-?" April smiled as she pointed a finger at the old rat, who continued to smile behind his cup. Venus had to do a double take at the counter Michelangelo was sitting at, for she finally was able to enjoy a joke popular to Americans. All of a sudden, Mikey began clapping his hands in slow slaps.

"You go sensei! Sip yo tea!" In response, he lifted his cup up when he was finished, earning the appreciation of those in the room.

Mona walked out of the bathroom, making her way into the kitchen filled with laughter. After being awake for just two hours, she felt the strength of her legs come back to her. Weirdly enough, when she put on her pink clothes, she felt power come back to her; more power, old power that she hadn't been able to tap into for so long.

"Mona?" She felt the breaths of the room stop when she walked in. Turtle, rat, and full blooded human analyzed her. This time, Mona proudly took in the eyes as she placed her hands on her hips, facing the music.

"What?" Her body was cloaked in a bright pink robe, fastened by a floral pink corset from her chest to her stomach. Her legs popped out of it while the rest of the robe covered her front and back with two separate long strips of the robe touching her ankles. Her hair remained the same, but was now accompanied by a hot pink mask that also served as a hair covering. On her feet were short laced, bright pink ballerina shoes by Nike. "Mona Lisa is back, baby!" She exclaimed. "I've been gone far too long. Time to come back to training as a kunoichi." The lizard lady was sweetly welcomed into the room. Although she ate, she still took a seat at the counter beside Leonardo, who was admiring the beauty of her floral corset's design.

"Never did get why you quit anyways." Raphael spoke over his shoulder. Mona crossed one leg over the other as she listened. "After something like that, most people would train harder to prevent it from happenin' again."

"I don't know. It seemed like the right thing at the time." As she kept her legs crossed, the cloth that ran down the front of her legs began slipping off of her leg. The tickling began to bug her as she irritably threw it to the side of her hip as the bottom of her leotard protected her solely. Although her outfit was fixed, her face had dropped in thought. "It didn't protect me from Filch."

"But now you're stronger." Mona looked over the other side of the counter. Leonardo and Michelangelo leaned back from their chairs, allowing Mona to view her little sister's smile peek out from behind them. The lizard lady smiled along with a small laugh.

"Which is all the reason to start back up again if I'm going to be fighting giant pigs and rhinos and not cowardly men." Mona winked at her sister. Venus brought her arms up in a fist and pumped them, following a "Yes!" that her sister has not only accepted Venus to fight with the brothers, but she too was in on it.

On a separate note, the family continued to eat and drink as they pleased, getting ready for their day ahead. Meanwhile, Mona continuously looked down at herself. The feeling of wearing her old mask again felt different around her eyes and eyebrows. Her eyes looked down t her midsection, which showed how much she had grown since she was thirteen. The leotard had a nice good stretch in it, but it did not feel tight on her lower body, but if she didn't have the collar that connected it to her neck, it would have for sure slipped down her chest. Also having problems with her developed upper body was her corset. The pink string that secured it around her was used up more, which was evident as she tied it up the way she had always done. The corset itself also had some small gap between it, not fully containing her body with its shell. The only thing that felt right was the shoes. It was a happy day when she realized her feet had stopped growing so early on, and as sure as Chung I said, she had grown into them. Venus looked up to see her sister look at her body and outfit, tracing her finger on fabric and straps.

"I haven't seen that outfit in years." She commented. Mona gave her a half smile, but didn't take her eyes off herself.

"Even back then it was ugly. There will be a makeover in due time. Hope the change will be as awesome as yours." Her head turned to her sister. The female terrapin gave her sister one nod, ecstatic that she was finally able to provide a model for a way to live for her sister and not the other way around. The family stayed in the kitchen, eating their soul food and wondering what the rest of their day, their week, their month, and what their year will bring not that their family was bigger and fuller.

Book 2:

HomeFront

Coming Soon 2016