Leo sighed as he looked down at the young girl lying on the sofa before him.

After Kayla got hurt in the fight, Leo focused on keeping the enemy away from her, while the others continued the plan as normal. Once Raven got the Sword of Tengu off the machine she gave it to Starfire, who flew it as far as possible, so it wouldn't be anywhere near the building when the beam went through Earth. With the sword safely away, Leo, Mikey, and Raph ganged up on Shredder; Robin, Jordan, and Beast Boy attacked Slade; Don fought Karai; and Cyborg and Raven took care of what was left of the Foot ninjas and Slade's robots.

During the fight Raph managed to knock the head off Shredder's exo-suit, while Mikey knocked his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.

Shredder's chest plate opened to reveal a little, dark pink, slime ball, Shredder's true form, an utrom named Ch'rell.

Leo knew there was only one way to finish this. Only one way to put an end to the Shredder's madness.

He gripped his katana hilt in both hands, raised it high above his head, and brought it down tip-first. There was a squish sound, and Shredder cried out in pain once more before he was silenced forever.

He was finally dead.

After a moment of eerie silence, the three brothers looked across the rooftop in time to see Slade making his escape. Karai, along with many of the other Foot ninjas, had already vanished.

In that moment, a light appeared in the sky. It grew larger and larger until the beam surged through the building.

Everyone stayed still, feeling the strange, tingling sensation as it flowed through them. With the Sword of Tengu miles away, the beam would simply continue.

When it was done, Robin called Starfire to tell her she could come back, and Raven was able to use her powers to close Kayla's wound. Cyborg also called in some of their friends, Titans East, to pick up Ravager and have her put in the prison in Jump City.

All of that was four days ago.

Kayla had been unconscious the entire time. Even though Raven had healed her injuries, she'd lost a lot of blood and her body needed time to recover. Donny insisted on her staying on the couch so he could keep an eye on her no matter where he was in the lair. Not that he really needed to. Usually, either Leo or Raph could be found sitting by the couch, just waiting for her to wake up. Even Jordan would join them occasionally.

So that's what Leo was doing.

The scuff of sneakers on stone made him look up. Jordan stopped beside the couch. She was staring down at Kayla with her brows furrowed, deep in concentration. She also seemed to be leaning closer.

"What is it?" Leo asked nervously.

"I thought I heard…" her mumbled answer trailed off, as if she were speaking to herself. After a few moments she spoke again, this time more clearly. "The past few days I've been picking up snippets of her thoughts. Dreams. Ya know?"

Leo nodded. She already told them about that.

"But…just now I thought…I thought I heard…"

She trailed off again, and after a moment of silence Kayla stirred.

Leo lurched from his seat to stand by the couch. Kayla stirred once more before she tried to open her eyes, gave up, and closed them again with a pained groan.

"She's awake! Guys! Kayla's waking up!"

Leo's call brought everyone racing into the TV area, forming a mass around the couch.

"Guys! Give her room to breathe!" Don shouted as he shoved his way through everyone to kneel beside the couch. He used his hand to shield her eyes from the bright lights so she could open them.

Once her eyes were finally open she looked around at the room and all the different faces looking down at her.

"What…what happened?" she asked weakly, her voice scratchy from her throat being dry.

Don shushed her and held a glass of water to her lips, letting her drink it slowly. When the cup was empty he pulled it away and helped her sit up.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Don asked gently as April appeared with a mug of chicken noodle soup.

"Um…I remember…Shredder was going to attack Leo…but then I jumped in the way…I can't remember anything after that." she looked around helplessly, causing Don to squeeze her to his side reassuringly.

"Well, you were injured by the Shredder because of that-"

"Why would you do that?!" Leo shouted, interrupting Don. "Why would you risk your life like that? I have a shell, I would have been just fine. Why would you do something so reckless?!"

Kayla glared down at the cup of soup she was clutching in her hands. "I did it because I saw my brother in danger. Excuse me if I didn't exactly think my plan through." she muttered quietly.

Leo sighed heavily before dropping to his knees beside the couch, looking up to make eye contact with his sister. "Sorry I yelled. It's just that…the battle was four days ago." he whispered. Kay's eyes widened. "We've been waiting for you to wake up that whole time. Raven had to heal your injury on the rooftop, but all she could really do was close the wound. You'd lost a lot of blood by that point, so we had to wait for you to heal on your own. I…everyone was scared. We weren't sure if you'd make it or not."

Kayla swallowed thickly before taking a shaky breath. "So…what did happen during the fight and while I was out?"

They spent the next half an hour filling Kayla in on everything she missed. Mikey and BB even gave her play-by-plays on most of the what they remembered of the fight, which made her smile.

"Wow, I sure missed a lot." she murmured quietly after the long explanation.

"Sure did." Mikey agreed teasingly, making her smile again.

"You should sleep now, though. You're going to need sleep to heal." Don instructed as he took the empty mug from her hands, she had managed to drink four mugs of April's soup since she woke up.

"Okay." she murmured as she began drifting off. She could feel more than see everyone leave the room. She last thing she felt was a set of lips pressed gently to her forehead before she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

XXX

Kayla rubbed her hair dry with a bath towel as she sat on her bed in a pair of purple sweats and a gray sweatshirt. She had just woken up the day before, and today Don had permitted her okay to take a shower, which she really needed. She was perfectly healed, but Don wanted her to take it easy, just in case.

A knock on her bedroom door made her look up. A second later it opened and Jordan stepped in, closing it behind her.

"April told me to tell you dinner's ready." she announced.

Kayla nodded with a smile. "Okay. Thanks Jordan."

She followed her now-close friend out of her bedroom and into the main part of the lair, only to stop short.

In the center of the lair there was a long table set up completely covered in food. There was just about anything she could imagine. Mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, cookies, several different kinds of pies, green bean casserole, bread roles, salad, and two turkeys.

"What. The. Heck." she whispered as her eyes scanned back and forth over everything.

"Happy Thanksgiving." a voice murmured, making her look over as Leo walked up to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder as he smiled down at her.

"What?" she breathed in confusion.

"Well, technically Thanksgiving was a few days ago. But we couldn't celebrate until you woke up." Jordan explained as she came up on Kayla's other side.

"Me, Cyborg, and Mikey all worked together to make everything. Took most of the day today, and both this kitchen as well as mine, but we got everything done." April explained as she approached, wiping her hands on an apron she was wearing.

"But…we never really celebrated Thanksgiving before." Kayla murmured in confusion.

"Well,…the past week sort of made us realize…we have a lot to be thankful for that could easily be taken away from us." Leo answered quietly, looking deep into Kayla's eyes.

(We Are by Ana Johnson)

Kayla pursed her lips as her eyes stung with unshed tears, knowing all-too-well what he was talking about. She wrapped one arm around Leo's side in a sort of side-hug, with him doing the same.

See the devil on the doorstep now

My, oh my

Telling everybody oh just how to live theirs lives

"Come, everyone. Let us sit down to eat." Splinter called as he approached the table, sitting at the head. Everyone followed suit, taking a seat at the table. Kayla sat between Leo and Jordan. She also noticed instead of the Titans sticking to themselves, or her family sitting only with each other, both teams were mingling.

Splinter stood up at his spot, causing everyone to turn and look expectantly at the wise, old rat.

Sliding down the information highway

Buying in just like a bunch of fools

Time is ticking and we can't go back

My, oh my

"Before we eat, I think we should all go around the table and say something we're thankful for." Everyone murmured in agreement, so Splinter started it off. "I am thankful that my family was able to come home safely, thanks to our newest friends."

The Titans all nodded in recognition of his thanks before they moved around the table.

What about the world today?

What about the place that we call home?

We've never been so many

And we've never been

So alone

April was thankful for having so many friends to spend Thanksgiving with this year.

Casey was thankful for all the food.

Raph was thankful for Shredder finally being dead.

Raven was thankful for Splinter offering her a peaceful place to read and meditate.

Cyborg was thankful for their new friends.

Don was thankful for all the new gadgets their friends had helped create. And for meeting someone he can have an intellectual conversation with, he added jokingly.

Robin, who was sat at the other head of the table across from Splinter, was thankful that they were able to complete their mission without losing anyone.

Starfire was thankful for…a lot. She just kept going on and on and on and on…

Mikey was thankful to have made a friend who enjoys practical jokes as much as him.

Beast Boy was thankful that April found a recipe for tofu turkey so he didn't have to miss out on 'Turkey Day'.

Jordan was thankful that Ravager was safely locked away in Jump City.

You keep watching from your picket fence

You keep talking but it makes no sense

You say we're not responsible

But we are, we are

You wash your hands and come out clean

Fail to recognize the enemies within

You say we're not responsible

But we are, we are

We are

Finally, it was Kayla's turn.

Kayla took a deep breath. "Well, I'm thankful, first of all, for meeting everyone at this table. Both from my family, and all the great friends we've made. And…thank you for helping my brothers when I couldn't." she said quietly. Everyone smiled at her, and Leo rested a hand on her shoulder before it was his turn.

One step forward, making two steps back

My, oh my

Riding piggy on the bad boys back for life

Lining up for the grand illusion

No answers for no questions asked

Lining up for the execution without knowing why

"Well, I know it's corny, but I'm thankful for Kayla." he said as he looked down at her and she looked up at him. "For a while over the past week, I was afraid we were going to lose you, but you pulled through. Just like you always do."

Kayla smiled, feeling her cheeks flush bright red in embarrassment while a few of the girls awed.

"Can we eat now?" Casey whined, making everyone look at him and laugh before digging in.

You keep watching from your picket fence

You keep talking but it makes no sense

You say we're not responsible

But we are, we are

You wash your hands and come out clean

Fail to recognize the enemies within

You say we're not responsible

But we are, we are

A couple hours later, most everyone was relaxing in the TV area while Raven, Starfire, Robin, Leo, and Don volunteered to clean up the leftovers.

When they finished everyone settled into the same room together.

Suddenly, Mikey bolted out of the room, returning a moment later with a scrapbook and a camera.

It's all about power

Then 'bout taking control

Then breaking the will

And breaking the soul

They suck us dry 'til there's nothing left

My, oh my

My, oh my

"Dudes! We need to do this now! Before I forget or you guys leave!" he shouted, waving the camera and book in his hands.

"What are you talking about?" Cyborg asked while Kayla, Raph, and Don rolled their eyes.

Kayla nudged Jordan with her elbow. "Remember that day a couple weeks ago when I told you Mikey has a 'Super hero team up' photo album? That's it." she said as he pointed a finger at the book Mikey was holding.

What about the world today?

What about the place that we call home?

We've never been so many

And we've never been

So alone

So alone!

Beast Boy snatched the book from the orange-masked turtle, opening it to flip through it.

"Dude! You teamed up with the Justice Force?! That's so sweet!" he exclaimed.

Mikey's chest puffed up in pride, his fists on his hips in what was supposed to look like a super hero pose. "Yeah. Silver Sentry and I are pretty tight." he explained in a gloating tone, causing Raph and Kayla to rolled their eyes at each other.

You keep watching from your picket fence

You keep talking but it makes no sense

You say we're not responsible

But we are, we are

You wash your hands and come out clean

Fail to recognize the enemies within

You say we're not responsible

Black magic surrounded the book and it floated out of BB's hands and into Raven's so she could look in it.

"You're the Turtle Titan." she spoke in her usual dull voice, having seen several pictures of him in his costume, before she gave the book back to Beast Boy. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" she asked rhetorically before reclaiming her spot on the couch next to Jordan.

But we are, we are

(We are)

It's all about power

Then 'bout taking control

(You keep watching from your picket fence)

Then breaking the will

And breaking the soul

"So, come on, come on! Everyone gather around the couch. April? Can you take the picture? Please?" he pleaded. April laughed as she took the camera from him and stood in front of the TVs, waiting for everyone to get situated.

Leo, Beast Boy, and Mikey crowded onto the sofa; Cyborg, Don, Robin, Raph, and Raven stood behind the sofa; and Kayla, Jordan, and Starfire sat on the floor in front of it.

They suck us dry 'til there's nothing left

My, oh my

We are

We are

We are

We are

"Alright. Say 'cheese'!" April exclaimed, holding the camera up to her face.

"Cheese!" everyone shouted, smiling for the picture. April snapped it before pulling the camera back to look at how it turned out. Seeing her smile, Kayla jumped to her feet and hurried to get a good look before everyone else did.

So we are

We are

It's all about power

And 'bout taking control

Seeing it for herself, Kayla smiled, too. Sure, to someone on the outside, they probably looked like one of the strangest group of friends in the world. But who said that had to be a bad thing?

They were simply…an unstoppable, unbreakable, unusual team.

THE END

Thus ends the story of 'An Unusual Team'. I hope everyone liked it, please let me know what you thought in your reviews. And I'm seriously SO SORRY it took so long to finish this! I can't believe it took so long, but it's finally done. My goal was to get this last chapter up by Thanksgiving, so I'd say I reached my goal.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!