Oh my God 7,500 words! And I wrote this all in one day! This is twice as long as the very first chapters I started writing for this story :p Hope you like it and it isn't too long for you.

Tee hee, this chapter is a shout out to one of my fave 2012 episodes ever. I bet you will all know which one :)

Warning - there is an extremely long and fluffy heart-to-heart at the end of this chapter. Totally needed after so much crappy stuff has happened to poor Scarlett!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Go on, get outta here." Hayden growled at the group of kids. They huffed and grumbled but ultimately slunk away as he swept his arm out in the direction of the street. "If she's here you get your money. If not..." He let his voice trail off threateningly and behind him he heard the sniggers of Fong, Sid and Tsoi as the kids faces whitened visibly, their steps quickened and they hastened away.

Ignoring them Hayden turned back to the ally and scanned it slowly. It was dark the buildings either side cut out the light even further and there were plenty of shadows to hide amongst. Hope rose in his chest, to finally find Scarlett after all this time...Hayden frowned, he was going to shake her so hard her teeth rattled, the little brat. After he made sure she was ok of course. What came after that he had no idea, he didn't have the faintest clue as to what kind of mess she'd gotten herself into or how to get her out again. All he was really sure of was that it was some pretty deep shit if the Foot were looking for her.

"Wait here." Hayden ordered quietly without looking around. The three Purple Dragons at his back halted obediently, leaving him to proceed alone. The ally wasn't too deep but it was wide and cluttered. He took the few final steps that were that was needed to have him completely shrouded in darkness then waited while his eyes adjusted.

"Scarlett?" Hayden's voice boomed back to him off the cold brick. A clatter of falling glass, bottles most likely, immediately sounded from behind a mound of black garbage bags. Before he even had time to zero in on the noise a pair of squirrels darted into the open then skittered up a drainpipe on the wall. He followed them with his gaze then frowned thoughtfully up towards the roof line. Something about that spot pulled at his attention, a niggling feeling at the back of his neck.

He let his eyes drop as he began the task of searching the ally at ground level, taking his time and stepping quietly as he peered behind dumpsters, into shallow doorways and under a stack of boxes tucked right back at the rear. It only took a minute and, when he'd satisfied himself, he leant back on the brick wall and peered up at the roof again, the niggling feeling was still there. "Where are you little sister?" He called conversationally as he took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tapped one free, sticking it into the corner of his mouth while he fished for a light. As the flame ignited the end of the cigarette and temporarily blinded him with it's red glow, his phone rang loudly in his back pocket. Sucking back a lungful of smoke quickly he reached for it and studied the screen. Unknown number. "Yeah?" He blew out a plume of smoke on the word.

"You know those are bad for you."

Her voice was small as though she was whispering, so welcomingly familiar Hayden couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut on a wave of relief even as he let out a huff of laughter. He was glad of the support of the wall behind his as he took another pull on his smoke, his hand shook ever so slightly. "You ok?" His voice was thick, the two words came out slightly strangled.

"I've been better but...yeah, I'm ok I guess." He was glad to hear her voice was unsteady too. There were a few seconds of silence as they both searched for where to start.

"It's been over six months," Hayden finally settled on asking the biggest question first, "what the hell happened?"

Over the line there was the sound of rustling, as if she was changing position, then a sniff accompanied by a dry laugh. "I've been asking myself the same thing." She answered. "Basically?" There was another hesitant pause. "Hayden...I got mutated."

A cold hand gripped his chest. "You what?"

"Mutated." She repeated flatly. "I know it sounds crazy but..."

"No it doesn't." Hayden bit out through clenched teeth as an image of Xever's freakish body flashed through his mind. It sounded like what the mutant fish had told him was true, Scarlett had volunteered to take part in a top secret project with the Foot. Then she'd run away and now they wanted her back. He rubbed a thumb along his eyebrow hard, careful not to burn himself, and pinched his eyes shut as he struggled for words. "What kind of...?" He trailed off.

"What kind of freak am I?" She sniffed again "They used leopard DNA."

A movement out of the corner of his eye caught Hayden's attention, glancing to his right he saw that Fong, Sid and Tsoi were shifting as they grew impatient with his 'search', any moment now they were going to come and see what was taking so long. "Scarlett I don't have much time. The Foot Clan are looking for you, they want you back and they've enlisted the help of the Purple Dragons." He said urgently, pressing the phone harder into his ear and enunciating each word. "Wherever you've been hiding for the last two weeks for your own sake stay there, lie low."

"But what about you?" the incredulous hurt in her voice made him wince and he scowled, resisting the pull of guilt in his chest. "Are you just going to keep working for the Purple Dragons?"

"I am the Purple Dragons Scarlett." Hayden said it harshly, steeling himself against her gasp of pain. "I've been in charge of this territory for months now which means I'm the one looking for you and if I find you I have to take you back to the Foot."

"What? No...no!" She was starting to cry quietly and the hitching in her breath tore at him.

"Why wouldn't you leave with me when we still had the chance? I told you we had to go but you wouldn't listen. You never listen!"

"And I told you to leave it," he bit back "I told you to lay low and let me take care of things for both of us but you can never just do as your told can you? You had to go and get yourself mixed up with the fucking Foot Clan." Frustration had him curling his hands into fists, the phone in his grip creaked ominously. "I had it covered Scarlett, we were going to be fine if you'd just let me handle it."

Her breathy sobs down the line were his only answer and he focussed on them as he drew air in through his nose in one long heave. "Shit." He swore angrily as his men started down the ally towards him. "Do what I say Scarlett, go back to hiding and keep a low profile unless you want to go back to the Shredder." He softened his voice, eyes flicking up to the roof line where he was certain she was hiding then dropping back to carefully monitored the approach of Tsao, Sid and Fong. "I'll do my best to keep my guys off your trail. Call me in a week if you can."

He clicked off without getting an answer and turned to face his men. "No sign of her, just a waste of our time."

I let the phone fall from my grasp onto my chest and covered my face with both hands as I lay on the roof. The cold of the concrete under me seeped through my clothes, into my skin and settled around my heart. I mashed the heels of my hands against my mouth and listened to Hayden's voice below me as he ordered his men back to the street. As they left the ally fell back to a relative quiet and after a few moments I pulled myself to my feet, muscles aching in protest after so long lying on a hard surface. With methodical movements I swung my leg over the ledge of the roof and began the slow climb back down to the ally floor with my board under one arm. Standing amongst the shadows and stinking piles of trash I don't think I'd ever felt so low in my entire life. Seeing my big brother tonight was a shock I wasn't prepared for. Having him dismiss me again was a blow I didn't think I was ever going to recover from. My chest hitched again and suddenly all I wanted was to be back in the lair with Mikey and Donny.

I wrapped my arms around my board, hugging it to myself as I headed towards the street, sniffing back tears as I went. The subway entrance was only a block away from here, if I kept my head down and hurried I should be able to make it without any more trouble if I had any luck at all.

My temples were pounding already so, when a heavy thud sounded, at first I didn't react. Dust and small pebbles blew past my shoes in a cloud as if something large had hit the ground behind me and I froze, frowning. I became aware of a menacing presence at my back then a low, sarcastic drawl sent my knees to jelly "And where do you think you're going?"

Xever. My mind repeated the name over and over as I went into panic mode. Xever.

There was the sound of heavy, mechanical footsteps and then his breath was against my neck causing me to break out in a rash of goosebumps. "We have unfinished business you and I." I shuddered as something, the tip of a finger maybe, travelled down the outside of my arm. "How fortunate I am to have received a call that you had been spotted wandering the streets of China Town all alone." There was a tugging sensation at the back of my jeans and I stood frozen to the spot as Xever pulled the t-cell from my pocket. "Well well, this explains how you've remained hidden from us. The turtles have taken you in. But where are they now I wonder?"

His voice travelled from the back of my neck to my right ear and all I could do was shift my eyes as he came into my peripheral vision. The mechanical whirring continued and each step sounded heavy as he circled me but all curiosity, however minor, fled as he finally came into view. My breath caught in my throat as it too froze in fear, I reflexively clutched my board even tighter as my eyes popped open. The thing standing before me wasn't the same Xever that had dragged me kicking and screaming to TCRI six months ago. The tall lanky dark skinned man had been replaced by a mutant fish. In the dim light of the ally his mottled purple scales gleamed slickly. His broad head was crowned with a jagged looking fin and under that two yellow beady eyes gazed at me with outright malice. His wide mouth split the bottom of his head from one side to the other and from it bristled rows of vicious teeth, some as long as my hand. The rest of his long body tapered away to a fanned fishes tail, two long spindly arms were the only limbs he possessed of his own. Clamped around his waist was a metal belt that connected to two wicked looking mechanical legs. On his back was an orange tank that bubbled and hummed as it fed into the gills on either side of his head.

"Not such a pretty sight anymore am I? Not as lucky as you who got to keep your human form." Xever said with displeasure as he gave me time to run my terrified gaze over him. Then a huge grin spread across his face "But then that in it's self has it's advantages."

With that he spun on the spot and sent one of his metal legs out to kick me squarely in the chest and send me flying deeper into the shadows of the ally. Pain exploded through my ribcage then the breath was driven from me even further as I collided with the ground. I gasped for air as I rolled over, clutching at my chest with one hand. As I groaned in pain my eyes fell on my Vision board and I couldn't help the strangled cry that escaped me when I saw it was lying in two pieces next to me. It must have taken the brunt of Xever's kick, saving me from a shattered rib cage. It still hurt like a motherfucker though and the sight of my broken skateboard only added to the pain.

I cringed as I heard familiar clomping steps zeroing in on me and just had time to protest weakly as the fish mutant hauled me back to my feet. Xever spun me around to look me in the eye, contempt twisting his alien features. "You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that." He sighed in obvious pleasure. "Master Shredder will be most pleased when I return his daughters pet. You, I think, will not be so happy." With that he slung me over his shoulder and, with only a brief bending of his powerful legs, he shot us both upward toward the roofline.

The first landing jolted the breath in my lungs again but the fear caused my Xever's words caused my mind to sharpen. He was taking me back to the Foot? To the girl Sensei? I started to struggle in earnest, trying to kick out and disrupt his balance as he bent his legs again to take us to the next roof, in response his tightened his grip around my thighs but other than that ignored me. Desperately I scrabbled at the scales covering his back, grimacing with distaste as they left a slimy residue under my fingernails. We landed again with another solid thud and the air whooshed out of my lungs with the impact. Lungs! I narrowed my eyes on the orange tank on Xever's back and followed the tubes to where they connected with the slitted gills behind where the tiny holes of his ears were. The device must be what was allowing him to breathe now that he was a fish out of water.

Xever began running across the rooftop with a surprisingly smooth gate that ate up the distance quickly. Reaching out I took a firm grip of the tube that ran to his right gill and yanked as hard as I could. It separated from his scales with a gloopy kinda pop then I was gagging as the thick liquid from the tank sprayed across my face.

The response from the mutant was immediate and effective, he let out a furious cry then began gasping wetly as he stumbled. We both crashed to the ground when his knees buckled but, even though he was choking on air, he managed to keep a solid hold of my ankle as I tried to scramble away.

"Cadela!" he snarled as he dragged me closer by my foot. I screamed in terror as his mouth opened impossibly wide, I was looking down his grey white gullet framed by bristling sharp teeth. I yanked hard, clawing at the ground desperately to get away and for a moment I was sure I was going to break free, he seemed to be struggling to hold onto me. Then with a roar of fury he gave one last haul on my leg and I slid across the loose dirt covering the roof towards his cavernous mouth. His jaw snapped shut on my upper thigh and his teeth sank through my jeans and deep into my leg.

I stared down in wordless horror as my whole leg seemed to disappear into Xevers mouth, the sharp stabbing pain convincing me that he was going to tear the limb off completely. But then with a brutal yank he ripped his teeth free and released my ankle all in one go. I scrabbled backwards away from him leaving a widening train of blood behind me. He watched me go with narrowed, hateful eyes while all around him a pool of goop slowly spread outward from his ruined tank. Gears whirred as he struggled to get his legs under himself and come after me.

All I could think about was putting as much distance between myself and Xever as possible but I didn't get more than a few feet before I realised that a numbing blanket seemed to be falling over me, one that blocked my ears and stopped any signals from my body reaching my brain. My arms turned to jelly and I collapsed back onto the roof, gazing towards the sky with a strange detachment as my mind began floating upward. I felt like I was dying and I didn't care in the least.

Eons passed as I floated dreamily through the stars when abruptly my view was cut by green and purple. I smiled slowly, reaching a hand up to brush over roughened skin but then the paleness of my own fingers caught my attention. "I have too many fingers." My voice sounded slurred and I frowned. "Three...three is the right number."

The world tilted and I stared in fascination as a kaleidoscope of colours resolved themselves into a brand new scene. Now instead of stars there was a rooftop with green figures dancing around a purple fish. The purple band of colour came into view again and I smiled when a name popped into my head "Donny." I looked down slightly and watched his mouth move, sounds slowly resolved themselves into words that I couldn't quite make out. His brown eyes looked so worried, I tried to reassure him "It's ok Donny, I don't blame you" I reached a hand up to pat his cheek again but missed and poked him in the eye "you did the right thing leaving me down there. I'm a bad person...I'm...I'm..." Gentle hands held my hair back as my stomach tried to empty contents it didn't have. I gasped as the heaving finally stopped, my hand heavy as I wiped my mouth with the back of it. Vomiting seemed to have cleared my head a little and I blinked when a conversation going on over my head came into focus.

"...get the antidote ready. Make sure you aren't too far behind me though, she doesn't have..."

I twisted my neck slowly and watched dreamily as a brown shell raced away from me. Donny was leaving again? That's ok I get it. Then the world was tilting once more as I was lifted gently off the ground. Pain pulsed through my leg when a strong arm curled under my thigh and I cried out, my whole body arching, but when a rough voice near my ear shushed soothingly I subsided with a whimper as the side of my head flopped and came to rest on a hard surface.

"He bit me." I told the green shoulder in my line of vision.

"Yeah, Fish Face does that." The deep voice rumbled under my ear in response. "He bit me once too."

"Did you bite him back?" I asked curiously then smiled when a snort of laughter was my answer.

"No, I puked my guts up."

"Me too." I muttered as my eyes slid shut.

"Mikey! Leo!" The two turtles in question spared a glance over their shoulder as Raph's voice rose with a note of urgency. "We gotta book it, Donny says we don't have long!"

With a grunt of frustration Mikey brought himself to a halt and watched with coiled tension as Xever made a sloppy yet successful jump to the next rooftop, leaving a trail of thick liquid behind as he fled. Leo skidded to a stop beside him and the brothers shared a brief look of regret before turning and running back to Raphael who was standing at the opposite edge of the rooftop cradling Scarlett's limp body and radiating impatience. "Brainiac has gone ahead to mix up the antidote, we need to get going now."

Mikey's fists curled as he took in Scarlett's grey face and the blood seeping slowly through her ripped jeans. "I'll take her." He said, already reaching out.

"No." Raph shifted her away from Mikey's grasp by backing up a few steps and lining himself up to get a run at the next roof. He met his younger brothers narrowed eyes and shook his head. "It will hurt her leg too much to shift her again." With that he ran forward as smoothly as he could and leapt the gap between buildings as he followed the path Donny had taken a few minutes earlier.

The nearest manhole was only a few buildings away and by the time they reached it Scarlett was starting to stir again, grimacing in pain as beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. "Hurts." She whimpered as she reached for her leg.

"Don't touch it." Raph admonished so instead she curled further into his chest, gritting her teeth and reaching up to hook her fingertips over the top edge of his plastron, holding on so tight her fingertips turned white. If Raph felt any discomfort from her grip he didn't show it as he waited for Leo to shove the manhole cover aside so he could drop lightly down into the sewer.

For the next while none of the brothers spoke as they jogged towards the lair, the path so familiar to them that there was no hesitation as they travelled the winding tunnels quickly while taking abrupt turns and dodging obstacles along the way. At first Scarlett was equally silent then she looked up and seemed to notice who was holding her.

"Raph?"

The red banded turtle tensed but didn't look down at her, nor did his steps falter although he did shoot his brothers a quick sideways look before answering "Yeah?" in a gruff voice.

"You're carrying me." She sounded bewildered.

"I know."

"But you hate me."

"I don't hate you kid, I just...we got off to a bad start." Raph ignored Mikey's pointed wide eyed look that said, plain as day, that now was the perfect time to offer an apology. He gritted his teeth stubbornly and told himself that apologising now wouldn't mean anything when the girl was delirious.

There was silence for a while as Scarlett digested the information then she whispered "I don't hate you either, you have really strong arms." Her voice dragged a little as she added in a conspiring tone "I love your arms. They punch pretty hard."

A strangled snort of laughter drew both their gazes. Raph glared at his younger brother warningly but Scarlett just grinned drunkenly when she caught sight of Mikey. "Michelechelo." She slurred "I love your...your..." she waved a hand weakly "your face."

"Thanks!" Mikey said brightly then turned to Leo "Man, Xever's poison is like some kind of wicked love potion. The only time Raph's ever told me he loves me was when he got bit. We need to get Donny to bottle it or something."

"I love Donny's kind eyes." Scarlett mused to herself.

"What?" Raph's voice was horrified "No way, I've never said that!"

Mikey just smirked and nodded then laughed at his big brother's expression. "It's ok Raphie, I love you too buddy."

"We're here." Leo stopped beside what appeared to be an unbroken line of brick wall and reached up to pull on the pipe. "Can you guys keep it serious for more than five minutes? We need to get Scarlett inside." He said reproachfully and his younger brothers ducked their heads as they filed past him.

Just as the blue banded turtle made to step in after Raph Scarlett peeked over a large green bicep and solemnly informed him "I love your large sword Leo, it's the best."

There was a shriek of muffled laughter from up ahead and Leo rolled his eyes, glad for the darkness that hid his reddening cheeks. "Thanks Scarlett." He sighed and pushed the lever that would close the door behind him.

"Large sword!" Mikey's voice echoed back to him followed by a thud and a "Ow, hey! Quit kicking at me!"

I came awake slowly and found my eyes were already open and staring at the ceiling. That was weird. I had the sensation I'd been awake for a long time, that I'd never actually been asleep at all but was only now aware of it. How was that possible?

Memories flittered through my head so fast I couldn't catch one and I frowned as I got flashes of different things. April...Casey? Hayden and...and...Xever as a fish? I blinked and turned my head on the pillow, my stupid dreams must really be getting out of control. Wait a sec, why was I in Donny's lab and not in my own bed?

I tried to sit up and gasped loudly as pain arced through my body. Immediately there was a snort followed by a muffled exclamation then Donny was peering down at me with large, concerned brown eyes. The image sparked a memory of him looking down at me in a similar fashion on the rooftop last night which was enough to set off a chain reaction as the events of yesterday flooded back. I groaned miserably and tried to lift a hand to my head but Donny gently reached out to stop me.

"Not that arm." He smiled kindly. "It's got your drip in it." I looked down and saw a needle in the back of my hand and followed the attached tube with my eyes to see a bag of fluid hanging from a metal hook. "Antidote for the bite and saline to rehydrate you plus some painkillers for your leg and chest." Donatello explained. "Xever took a decent sized chomp on your leg." He moved out of sight for a second and I jumped a little as the table I was lying on started shifting upward so eventually I was sitting more upright.

I smiled a little in thanks as Donny came back around and sank into a chair beside me. "The others all went to bed a few hours ago, I had work to catch up on so we've been keeping each other company." He reached out to brush some hair out of my eyes and the gesture caused a rush of tears to threaten. I turned away a little and willed them back.

"Rough day yesterday huh?"

I gave a weak laugh "Pretty much the worst." I kept my eyes averted and ran a hand down my leg instead, wincing as I got to the bandage that wrapped around my entire upper thigh. I was covered from the waist down by a knitted blanket and I could feel that under the warm fabric I was only wearing my underwear. Another piece of clothing ruined.

The grimace I made at my discovery was interrupted as Donny prompted "Tell me about it?"

I laughed again but this time it was harsh. I turned back to glare at him, tears gone now as anger took it's place. "Now you want to know?" I scoffed. "Yesterday my problems weren't good enough for you to listen to."

Donny hung his head for a moment then sighed. "I'm sorry Scarlett, I was caught up last time you came to talk to me. Sometimes when I'm working I get," he paused to search for the word, "hyper focussed. It's hard for me to switch my train of thought. That doesn't excuse brushing you off like that though and I really am sorry."

He looked back up at me from under his brow and I felt all my anger dissolve at the genuine expression of remorse on his face. "It's ok." I gave a shrug. "I get it." When his face broke into a relieved smile I shook my head at him with a wry smile of my own. "You've been taking lessons from Mikey."

"I'm a fast learner." Donny replied in a haughty tone then winked at me before his face morphed back to a more serious cast. "Please tell me what happened yesterday?"

So I took Donny through the highlights, only leaving out the exact details of the dream that had woken me in a fit of panic and kicked off the whole crappy mess of a day. He listened without interrupting the entire time I talked, leaning back into his chair and frowning lightly, elbows propped on the arm rests and large fingers steepled at mouth level as he nodded and grunted in all the right spots. When I got to the part after Xever bit me I faltered in my story. I honestly had no idea which parts had really happened and which were hallucinations. God, I really hoped I hadn't said the word 'love' as often as I think I did.

"Huh." Donny was watching me thoughtfully. "That is one hell of an awful day, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that at all, let alone in such a short period of time." He leant forward it his chair earnestly and began holding up fingers as he talked, I watched him a little bemused and feeling like the experiences I'd had were about to be broken down into manageable steps by the brainy turtle. It was oddly comforting and I found myself watching him closely.

"So first of all the test from Master Splinter, while both emotionally hard and seemingly cruel, has taught you something valuable about yourself. Your fear no longer controls your mutation which is something you've worked hard for since you came to us. Our father is tough but he is not so unkind as to put you through all that without a very good reason."

I looked down for a moment, frowning, then looked up and nodded slowly. Donny waited for this show of understanding from me before he continued.

"Secondly," another large green finger came up to join the first and I was reminded of Mikey when he'd been giving me a very similar lecture style pep talk a few weeks back. Must be a turtle thing. I smiled and refocussed as Donny said "I can see now that April has unintentionally been dogging your steps for weeks now, her clothes, her room, her missing presence in our lives until a few days ago. She is a huge part our family She was our first and essentially our only genuine human friend until you came along." He paused and waited until I looked at him, holding my gaze earnestly "But Scarlett, you have to know that our affection for her is outside of our friendship with you. We aren't going to replace you with her now that she's back. We haven't known you for as long but trust me when I say we like you and we want you around."

I brushed away a stray tear, finding myself unable to speak I nodded again instead.

"Thirdly," Donny sat back and screwed up his face "Casey Jones is it? That's the name of the guy April has been tutoring at the park? It sounds like his words and actions reflect his appearance." He paused and shot me a look, "In other words he's a complete dick." His voice was disgusted and I laughed out loud in surprise at the crude word dropping out of the turtle's mouth before agreeing horsely "Total douche."

Donny became serious again as he continued. "And as for Hayden, it comes as a surprise to hear that he has worked his way up the ladder with the Purple Dragons so quickly, Xever must see a lot of potential in him and be grooming him quite closely. Hayden was taking a great risk by not holding you captive straight away, the Purple Dragons work for the Foot Clan and Shredder cares nothing for ties of love or family. Your brother will be severely punished if they discover his disobedience. By letting you go it shows he cares about you more than I originally thought but still..." He trailed off with a frown.

"He was never going to win brother of the year award." I said miserably. "But I was hoping that he'd maybe leave the gang if he realised how bad they were."

The pitying look Donny gave me shrivelled my insides and I suddenly realised how naive I sounded. Of course Hayden knew how bad they were, he'd known from the start and he'd joined them deliberately.

"He's in deep Scarlett and getting out again would be very difficult. I think he was hoping that being part of the gang would give you both some much needed protection but sadly it hasn't worked out the way he planned. He was right about one thing though," I sniffed and looked at him questioningly "you need to stay with us. We can watch your back for you." Donny reached out to cover my hand gently and I blinked rapidly against the tears that threatened again.

After a moment the purple banded turtle cleared his throat and drew his hand back from mine. "But, you know, the good thing is you totally messed up Xever's breathing apparatus, it will take him a while to get it fixed. You are seriously hard core."

The admiring look he gave me filled me with warmpth and I shrugged with mock modesty. "Oh you know," I waved a hand dismissively "I grew tired of waiting for you guys to get there so just rescued myself again." I sobered a little and frowned. "I wish I could remember what happened after I got bitten a bit more clearly though, it's all hazy and I'm worried I said some stuff..." I trailed off as Donny's face twisted into a pained expression, then I blanched when I realised he was trying really hard not to bust out laughing. "Oh God, I did didn't I?" Heat flooded my cheeks. "Do I want to know?"

"Uh, maybe Mikey can fill you in on that one." Donny said in a strangled voice. "But just for the record? I love your eyes too." He grinned at me and fluttered his non-existant eyelashes. I groaned loudly even as I laughed reluctantly. "From what I can tell the euphoric feeling is a normal side effect of Xever's poison," Donny said as he sobered up "when Raph got bit he freaked Mikey out completely by saying 'I love you'." He chuckled at the memory then settled back in his chair again. He cleared his throat then said bluntly "So, I guess the last thing for you to tell me before I make you get some much needed rest comes right from the beginning of this whole story. What was the dream about?"

All mirth and embarrassment alike deserted me as he asked the question. I swallowed dryly before replying "You aren't going to like it."

"I already figured that out." Donatello nodded "You dropped some hints while you were delirious. It sounded like it has something to do with thinking you saw me during your time being held captive by the Kraang?"

I nodded and brought my free hand up to rub at my temple. "I wasn't going to tell you...I figured it doesn't really matter now anyway but, I dunno, it's like my subconscious can't let it go or something. I keep dreaming about it and it's awful. I thought maybe if I told you it would stop." I dropped my hand and looked at him helplessly.

"Just tell me Scarlett," Donny prompted "do it like a bandaid, one rip and it's done."

"Ok," I took a deep breath "the Kraang were holding me and the other mutants in an underground facility while they perfected the mind control device. Apparently they were having problems because of the shifting?"

Donny nodded "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Well one night, when I'd been left in my leopard form, the doors to our cells all suddenly disengaged. I thought...I thought it might have been you guys coming to rescue me and I dunno, the idea of it just gave me the push I needed to take control back of my body and leave my cell." I shifted a little and snuck a look at Donny from the corner of my eye, once again his face was pinched in thought and I was coming to think of it as his 'listening face'. I pushed on "None of the other mutants left their cells, I guess their devices worked better than mine or they didn't want to escape or something. The only other...thing I found was a giant newt."

"Oh my..." Donny's voice was leaden with dawning realisation.

"At first he attacked me but then we ended up teaming up to fight the Kraang. He was eating them." I shuddered at the memory. "When he found his armour and put it on it was insane, he was like...like..."

"A Newtraliser."

I looked at the purple banded turtle in surprise then nodded. "Yeah, I guess, anyway he was blasting his way through the Kraang like they were nothing and then I saw you. He was going to shoot a rocket at you and some old guy with red hair as you were running away. I tried to stop him but only managed to throw his aim off."

"Mr O'Neil." Donatello said in a small voice, one hand coming up to rub over his face. "I was there to rescue April's dad."

"Of course." I said in a flat voice. "Of course you were. Jesus. All this time I thought maybe you were there to steal some Kraang technology or something but no, it all comes back to April again." My voice wobbled so I clenched my fists on the blanket and lifted my chin to stare at the ceiling but it was no good, all the tears that had been building and building finally broke free. "And now I'm fucking crying!" I wailed chest heaving with restrained sobs.

"I swear Scarlett, by Darwin's beard, I swear I didn't know. I'll make it up to you I promise. I'm so sorry." Donny was leaning forward in his chair again, eyes shiny in a face filled with a helpless sadness.

"I know," I choked out "I know but it still hurts. I called to you as loud as I could but you didn't hear me and I just keep thinking that if you'd found me...if I'd managed to escape...I still would have been mutated, but the other stuff..." I turned away and brought my unhindered arm up to cover my face. There was movement beside me then a pair of arms came around me tentatively as if he was worried I would push him away.

I didn't. Instead I turned my body back towards him and let all my grief pour out in a way I hadn't done since I was first in Donny's lab weeks ago. Back then I was crying from fear and pain, now I was sobbing into Donny's neck for everything that had happened to me. Xever and Bradford's cruel treatment, Sensei's twisted ownership of me, Hayden abandoning me over and over, my escape from the Foot and the fact I didn't know what had happened to Kin, the Kraang, my mutation, the tension and fights with Raph, the bad dreams, all the fear I'd felt and injuries I'd sustained along the way.

I cried for what felt like years and, when it all finally subsided, I leant against Donny's chest and hiccuped as I listened to him humming wordlessly while his heart beat strongly under my ear. "I hate crying." I grumbled softly.

"I think you needed it." The turtle said seriously. "There's a lot of stuff you're keeping bottled up." He shifted and I sat back reluctantly certain that I looked like crap. "I meant what I said Scarlett, I'll make it up to you ok?"

I shook my head firmly then winced as my headache flared. "You don't need to Donny, I know you didn't know I was there. I just needed to tell you and get it of my chest."

"I'm glad you did." He gave me a lopsided smile then frowned as a thought occurred to him. Checking his phone quickly he groaned and winced at the time. "You need to get some sleep, it's going to take a while for that leg to heal and you need to be fully recovered before Master Splinter let's you train with us."

"Training?" My voice wavered with hope.

"Yeah, training. Like what I've got starting in about two hours." He sighed and stood reluctantly. "Not the first time I've pulled an all nighter but that's not going to make it any more pleasant." He eyed me seriously and ordered "Sleep." Before turning away.

I smiled wearily and decided the best thing to do was follow the doc's orders. I was just in the middle of turning onto my uninjured side when a memory slammed into my head so hard I gasped, Donny was back at my side immediately. "What is it?"

"The t-phone, Mikey's phone. Xever pulled it from my back pocket when he caught me, I'm so sorry! Can he use it to find the lair?" I was feeling sick with worry at the thought of the mutant fish or anyone else using it to discover my new home and it took a moment to realise Donny was shushing me again.

"It's ok Scarlett, breathe! Mikey saw it in his hand while they were fighting and destroyed it. My phones have an inbuilt, voice activated, self-destruct command." He smiled reassuringly then turned away again and clicked off the light. I took a deep breath of relief as darkness blanketed the lab, the only illumination now coming from Donny's computer screen as he settled back down in front of it to finish his work. As the tension leaked from my body and I began drifting I found myself muttering "Night Donny" and his whispered reply was the last thing I heard before a dreamless sleep took me.

THE END

SURPRISE! This chapter officially concludes the first part of Scarlett's story. I'm as shocked as you are, trust me, be but it occurred to me as I wrote the last paragraph that this is a really good place to leave it for now. Scarlett has met the turtles, gotten mutated, rescued herself from the Foot (girl power!), then the turtles took her in again. She's gotten to know the boys a bit better while also learning to control her mutation and now she's met April and Casey and gotten back in touch with Hayden. All this concluding with her safe and sound back at the lair and ready to begin her official training with Master Splinter and the turtles...as soon as her leg heals.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my beautiful people who faved, followed and, of course, commented on my story. I'm so glad you like my work. A very special thanks to Bubbles and Tootsie who left positive feedback pretty much every chapter without fail. There was also Ladyofsouls, Snowhite, Lochocoteddy and Cartoon Lover who dropped me a line regularly (I'm so sorry if I missed anyone). Having said that I love ALL of you who left comments, you made writing my first ever fan fic an amazing experience, I really couldn't have asked for anything more from the fanfiction community. Hugs and kisses for all of you!

Please keep an eye out for the next instalment of Scarlett's story. At this stage I'm thinking of calling it 'Becoming Scar' (which may or may not be a good name for it I have no idea, as you all know I'm always open to suggestions). It will follow very closely to the 2012 version storyline as I am embedded deeply in the tale and have loads of ideas.

Thanks again everyone! And happy Halloween!