Two weeks had passed since the Triceraton invasion. The city had been working to clean itself up, everything slowly returning to normal. The EPF had cleaned up the crashed ship in record time, and people were roaming the streets once again. Down below the streets though, a certain family was beginning to feel the effects of cabin fever. While things in the city had calmed down, the Hamato family remained firmly in their homes, still licking their wounds from their crash and hasty escape.
"Ugh..." Mikey groaned, flopping upside down onto the couch. "There are no words to describe how bored I am..."
"You mean aside from bored?" Donny guessed.
"Yeah." Mikey said in agreement.
Raph threw a ball at the wall, watching it bounce before catching in his hand.
"Ugh, this is the worst!" he exclaimed. "I feel like we're back in prison again."
"At least this prison has cable TV." Donny pointed out.
"Besides, you know why we can't go out." Leo reminded his red-banded brother. "The city's still on a turtle hunt. We can't risk being seen by anymore humans."
"Leonardo is correct." Mona Lisa agreed, setting down the weight set she was working with. "It would be best to wait until your city is no longer so eager to catch you."
Hisako then wandered in from the kitchen, looking a bit worried.
"Houston, we have a problem." she spoke up. "We're down to a box of stale bran flakes and a bottle of ketchup that's probably expired."
"What?" Mikey let out. "How can we be out of food?"
"Probably because someone has been binge eating in front of the TV out of boredom." Donnie remarked, glaring at Mikey.
"We need to make a grocery run, or we're gonna have a remake of Lord of the Flies down here." Hisako pointed out.
"The phrase 'easier said than done' comes to mind." Leo remarked.
"We need food, Leo." Raph insisted. "Unless you want to start eating the worms and algae we find down here with us."
Everyone shuddered in revulsion at the thought.
"Ok, fair enough." Leo relented. "But going topside is completely out of the question."
"Even for me?" Hisako asked.
"You want to risk someone recognizing you?" Leo countered.
Hisako winced.
"Fair point." she admitted.
"Maybe we can call April and Casey, get them to do the grocery run." Donny suggested. "Then Hisako can pop topside just long enough to pay them back and collect our stuff."
"That could work." Leo agreed. "Would probably be best not to meet at the warehouse, just in case."
"How about the old lair?" Raph suggested.
"Could work." Leo agreed. "Don, make the call. Hisako, you're topside just long enough to collect our stuff."
"Trust me, the last thing I want it to get in trouble." Hisako insisted. "I'll be gone before you can say 'Cowabunga'."
Mikey opened his mouth, but Raph's ball suddenly collided with his head.
"Don't even think about it, shell-for-brains." he declared.
Mikey just grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting.
...
Officer Kara Lewis walked out of a local coffee shop, making her way to the cop car parked out front. She slipped into the passenger seat before holding out one of the cups for her partner, Sergeant Sterns.
"Black with two sugars, just like you like it." She told him.
"Thanks." Sterns replied, taking the cup.
They both took swigs of their coffee before Sterns gunned the engine.
"We're hitting the warehouse district, today." he reported. "Chief's still got us out on that monster hunt."
"Think we'll find em this time?" Lewis asked.
"Who knows?" Sterns replied honestly. "They've been a no show for two weeks. Maybe E.T. phoned home."
"Maybe." Lewis shrugged. "Either way, we better get going."
Sterns nodded in agreement, pulling the car out of the lot and making off towards the warehouse district.
...
At the local grocery store, April and Casey went over the list that Donny had sent them, trying to make sure they had everything they needed.
"Okay, two gallons of milk?" April listed off.
"Check." Casey confirmed.
"Four boxes of pasta, all a variety of shapes?"
"Check."
"Twelve cans of tomato sauce?"
"Check-aroni."
"Six rolls of uncooked pizza dough."
"A-check."
"Various toppings except anchovies..." she squinted. "With a note saying 'no anchovies unless you want Dr. Prankenstein to come visit you in the dead of night'."
"Sheesh, what does Mikey have against anchovies?" Casey questioned.
"Don't know." April admitted, turning back to the list. "Seems they also need shampoo, hair dye, toothpaste, and… turtle wax."
"Isn't that the stuff they use on cars?" Casey asked.
"Don't ask me, I'm just reading the list." April replied.
"Right." Casey replied coyly.
…
Hisako sat in the remains of Renaissance motors, looking through the window for any sign on April and Casey. She sighed, then hung upside down from the rafters out of boredom.
"I am so beyond bored..." she groaned. "How much longer is it gonna take?'
She jumped down, landing on a cardboard box. The box crumbled beneath her, sending up a cloud of dust. She coughed and choked, stumbling outside to try and get some fresh air. She leaned against the wall, taking a few deep breaths and gagging.
"Okay, should have watched where I was landing."
As she took some clean breaths, Sterns and Lewis' cop car rounded the corner. Lewis looked out the window, spotting Hisako bent over. Her blonde hair and green lowlights were a dead giveaway.
"Sergeant." she spoke up. "Look."
Hisako turned around, leaning against the wall to look up at the sky. This gave the cops a clear shot of her face. Sterns went wide-eyed, accessing the APB on the squad car interface.
"Human suspect, blonde with green lowlights, has dual scars on left cheek and veins on right side of face." he read off. "That's our girl."
They both get out, approaching Hisako. She was too busy regaining control of herself that she didn't notice them until Stern's called out to her.
"Freeze!" Sterns yelled. "Don't move!"
Hisako jolted, turning towards the cops. Both had their guns pointed at her, something that made the kunoichi mentally kick herself.
"Put your hands where we can see 'em, kid." Lewis ordered.
Hisako glanced off to the side, wondering if she could make a break for it. Unfortunately, she knew she'd never be able to make it below ground in time. More than that, it would make the sewers another hunting territory for her family. Letting out a sigh, she very slowly put her hands in the air. The two officers went up to her and began handcuffing her, Lewis patting her down and relieving her of her personal effects.
While this was going on, April and Casey pulled around the corner. The second they saw what was going on, Casey slammed on the breaks. They stared with their jaws on the ground, just stunned.
"No way..." April let out. "They found Hisako..."
"We gotta help her!" Casey declared, starting to get out.
"Wait!" April insisted, grabbing him and keeping him from getting out. "We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves."
"So, what? We're just supposed to let them cart her off?" Casey questioned.
"Yes." Hisako's voice suddenly echoed in both of their heads.
Both April and Casey perked at the sound of her voice, looking back at Hisako. She was facing their direction, looking right at them.
"Greenie. You alright?" Casey asked.
"I'll be fine." she promised. "Just get to the garage and warn the others. I'll figure a way out of this."
Lewis and Sterns began pulling her off the wall, getting her into the back of their patrol car.
"Go, now!" Hisako snapped.
The two then drove off, trying their best to act nonchalant about it. However, Casey was fighting every instinct in his body not to go back and free his friend.
"This is bad..." he let out. "This is really, really bad."
"Casey, calm down." April insisted. "She's just been arrested. This isn't like the last time she was taken away. The cops are the good guys."
"Yeah, but they think she's a-... a… You know!" He exclaimed.
"Look, she told us to go warn the guys, so that's what we're gonna do." April informed him. "They'll have a plan to get her out."
"Then let's get over there, and fast!" Casey declared.
...
Hisako was processed rather quickly. Her fingerprints were taken, as well as a new mugshot photo. After that, she was put into an interrogation room and left to stew. Once the door closed, Hisako rubbed her wrists, grateful to be free of the cuffs. She glanced around the barren room, seeing onto a lone table with two chairs, a camera up in the corner, and a large pane of one sided glass set up on the wall.
"Well this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into." she thought to herself. "Leo made it clear that you were to stay out of sight, and you couldn't even do that."
She paced around the room, glancing down at her wrists.
"I wonder if those cops noticed the scars." she wondered. "I'm pretty sure that female cop did."
She then sighed and sat down, putting her head on her arms.
"How the shell am I gonna get out of this one?"
...
Sterns watched Hisako from the other side of the glass, scrutinizing her every move. When she settled down on the table, he let out a snort.
"She's taking a nap." he scoffed. "Just who is this girl?"
The door opened, allowing Lewis to walk into the room. She had a manila folder in her hand as she approached her partner.
"Ran her fingerprints through the database." She informed him, handing him the file. "I got a hit on a missing person's case from over 14 years ago."
Sterns opened up the file and was greeted with the picture of a three year old girl with blonde pigtails and a huge, childish smile.
"Rita Kaimera, age three." Lewis explained. "Disappeared after her parents were killed in what was assumed to be a robbery gone wrong. She was never recovered and was presumed dead."
"And she just happens to show up now alongside those turtle things?" Sterns let out.
"The prints are a 97.6 percent match." Lewis reported. "That girl in there is Rita Kaimera."
"So the real question is, where has she been these past fourteen years?" Sterns mused.
"Sterns, we may be looking at perhaps one of their first victims." Lewis suggested. "Those turtle creatures may have been the ones who took her."
"And they've been using her as a connection to the city without showing their ugly faces." Sterns snarled. "Who knows what those things did to her."
...
Back in the turtle's lair, the elevator dinged before opening up to reveal April and Casey. Leo looked up from his meditation, jumping to his feet angrily.
"What are you two doing here?" He chastised. "You were supposed to meet Hisako at the old lair!"
"Hisako got arrested!" Casey yelled.
"What?!" Everyone let out.
They all gathered in the blink of an eye, everyone looking worried. Splinter himself was shaking, his walking stick trembling in his grasp.
"How did this happen?" He asked frantically.
"Not sure." April replied. "When we pulled up the police were cuffing Hisako and patting her down."
"She mentally ordered up to book it and warn you guys." Casey added. "We were hoping you guys had a plan to get her out."
He was met with a deafening silence as the turtles all exchanged worried and uneasy looks.
"We… don't have one." Donny admitted.
There was another beat of silence, then Casey spoke up again.
"What do you mean you don't have one?!" He exclaimed. "Your SISTER got ARRESTED! How long until the government goon squad shows up to cart her off to God knows where?!"
"Well it's not like we counted on something like this!" Donny responded. "Jailbreaks from space are one thing, but on earth?"
"We can't show our faces because people will shoot first, then ask questions over the autopsies." Raph added.
"And even if we could, if we just bust Hisako out of jail, then we're just confirming all the horrible things people believe about us." Leo rationalized.
"Sorry dudes, we wanna help her, really," Mikey replied. "But our hands are tied."
Both April and Casey were stunned, as was Mona Lisa.
"So you intend to leave your sister to suffer?" Lisa asked. "And to think I once commended your familial bond."
"It's not like we wanna leave her there!" Raph insisted. "Heck, if it were up to me, we'd ram the Shellraiser through the front door and bust her out."
"Okay, okay, we all need to calm down." April insisted. "We need to think this through. If she's been arrested, then we could bail her out, right?"
"April, you work as a waitress and I make pizza's part time." Casey pointed out. "How can we afford to pay bail?"
"More than that, interfering at this point would put you both on the police's radar." Splinter added. "You would not know a moment's respite."
"And not to sound selfish, but you're kinda the only ones who can keep us supplied." Mikey piped up.
"So what are we gonna do?" Donny asked.
"What can we do?" Leo replied.
...
Back at the police station, Hisako was suddenly awoken by the sound of the interrogation room door opening. She blinked and stretched, taking a moment to collect herself and remember what had happened. By the time Sterns sat down across from her, she was coherent enough to finally address him.
"Sorry, I don't remember falling asleep." she apologized. "Guess I must have really needed a nap."
"It's alright." Sterns replied. "I just want to ask you a few questions."
Hisako sighed, rubbing her neck before sitting up. She was still a bit out of it, and not quite ready to use any of the more supernatural parts of her brain, but it was clear that Sterns was trying to be the good cop, so she decided to play ball.
"Go ahead." she told him.
"First, I'd like your name for the record." he requested.
"Hisako." she replied.
"Is that so?" Sterns questioned, opening the folder in front of him. "Because your prints came back as Rita Kaimera."
Hisako blinked, looking confused for a moment. Then realization dawned and she gave a slow nod.
"Oh!" she let out. "My birth name. So, my name's Rita."
She seemed to mull over the name before shrugging.
"Eh, I don't see it." she decided. "Let's just stick with Hisako."
"Ok… Hisako?" Sterns let out, confused.
"It's Japanese." She clarified, sensing the reason behind his confusion. "It means 'Enduring Child'."
"I see." Sterns replied, playing along. "I'm guessing that you've endured a lot in your life."
Hisako sighed, slowly folding her arms in and clutching her sides.
"You could say that." she mumbled.
"Care to elaborate?" Sterns asked.
Hisako violently shook her head, pulling her legs up onto the chair and wrapping her arms around them.
"No." she answered quickly. "No I would not."
"Then why don't we talk about your turtle friends." Sterns decided. "What's your connection to them?"
Hisako looked up, already sensing the connection he was trying to make.
"They're not the ones who did this to me if that's what you're wondering." she declared.
"Then who did?" Sterns pressed.
"No comment." Hisako answered bluntly.
Sterns was beginning to become impatient with the situation, as well as Hisako's blatant decision to be completely uncooperative.
"Listen, kid, these freaks pose a serious threat to the city, and right now, you're the only lead we've gotten." He snapped, getting to his feet.
"Okay, three things." Hisako retorted, lowering her legs and leaning forward. "One: They're not freaks. Two: they're not a threat to the city. And three: No. Comment."
Sterns just glared at her, turning a little red in the face.
"I'll be right back." He said through his teeth before walking out.
Hisako watched the door slam shut as she let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair.
"This is gonna be a long day." she muttered to herself.
...
Sterns sat down at his desk, opening a bottle of heart medication and dumping a pair of pills into his hand. He tossed them into his mouth before downing them with some coffee. He let out a small groan, then turned to Lewis.
"This girl is one of the most uncooperative victims I have ever dealt with." he told her. "She's protecting those monsters, I just know it."
"It could be a case of Stockholm syndrome." Lewis suggested.
"Uh-uh." Sterns dismissed. "No way. Not with the amount of spirit in her tone. She's in league with them of her own free will. The question is, why?"
"Couldn't tell you." Lewis replied. "But her prints have shown up at about half a dozen unsolved cases."
Sterns blinked, scooting his chair over into her cubicle.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"The Wolf Hotel destruction for one." she reported. "The prints were recovered, but were written off as a fluke since she should have been dead. They also appeared at that dojo bombing awhile back, as well as several Purple Dragon takedowns dating back at least four years."
"These five get around." Sterns remarked.
"There's one more." Lewis spoke up. "Her prints were found at the wreck of the Technological Creations and Research Institute. However, before further investigation could turn up anything more, the entire place was put under Federal jurisdiction."
"So the FBI took over?" Sterns asked.
"Higher." Lewis corrected. "Apparently it went straight to the Earth Protection Force. Almost all the information has been redacted, but from what I can get from it, TCRI was up to some seriously shady and illegal stuff."
"Makes you wonder what these guys had to do with it." Sterns pondered.
"Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong perspective." Lewis offered up. "What if these… creatures aren't aliens, but some sort of genetic experiments? I mean, I keep seeing the word 'mutant' come up."
"Hmm... could be." Sterns allowed. "But where does the girl figure into all this?"
"It's unclear, Sterns." Lewis admitted. "The only one who can answer that is her."
"And she's made it clear she wants nothing to do with us." Sterns grumbled.
"Perhaps it's time I try talking to her." Lewis suggested.
Sterns gave a shrug.
"Good luck." he told her. "You're gonna need it."
...
Back in the lair, everyone was trying to figure out what could be done to help Hisako.
"Maybe we can pretend to be FBI agents and collect Hisako." Mikey suggested. "We'd just need some trench coats, fedoras, and some fake badges."
"Oh yeah, that'll work." Donny replied sarcastically. "And when they contact the FBI to verify our ID's, then what?"
"Hey, I'm trying, alright?" Mikey let out. "I mean, we don't have a lot of options."
"Yeah, we don't have that many friends." Raph agreed. "Everyone we know is down here."
Just then, Leo perked up with a surprising smile on his face.
"Not everyone." He told them.
Everyone turned to him as Leo jumped to his feet.
"We forgot about Samson and all of Galactic Enterprises!" he exclaimed.
"Of course!" Donny let out. "How could we forget?!"
"We need to get them on the phone." Leo declared. "Hopefully, they'll have the money to bail Hisako out, and the resources to get her back to us without accidentally leading them here!"
Donny grabbed his shell cell and dialed up Samson. It didn't take long for the guardian to answer.
"Hello?"
"Samson, we're in trouble." Donny reported. "Hisako's been arrested."
"What?! I'm on my way."
"No, no!" Donny cut off. "Hang on!"
Thankfully, Samson did as requested.
"Listen, we just need you to bail her out." Donny informed him. "Nothing majorly drastic. It may take a dent out of whatever the Utroms are paying you, but you're the only one we can think of to ask."
"You're also the only one who can get her back here without the cops being able to follow her." Raph added, Donny putting his phone on speaker so Samson would hear.
"You have nothing to worry about." Samson assured them all. "I will collect Hisako immediately. And do not worry about the bail money. As her Godfather, it's my duty to look after her."
That particular nugget of information threw the entire Hamato family, as well as everyone else, for a loop.
"Since when is Samson Hisako's Godfather?" Mikey asked.
"You mean you guys didn't know?" April questioned.
"First time we've heard it." Raph declared.
"My apologies. I never told you because I did not wish to impose upon your family. She was content to remain with you and I saw no reason to interject myself."
"Well that may be able to help us now." Leo told him. "How fast can you get to her?"
"I'll head out the second we're through with this call."
"You have our thanks, Samson." Splinter told him.
"Think nothing of it." Samson replied as the call cut off.
…
Hisako was still a bit put off after her conversation with Sterns. She'd remained leaned back in her chair, her feet propped up on the table. As she sat there, Lewis opened the door with a soft smile on her face. Hisako perked up, removing her feet from the table as Lewis sat down, putting a can of soda in front of her.
"Here." she offered. "You must be thirsty."
Hisako chuckled, taking the soda.
"A peace offering to make me feel more chatty." she rationalized, opening the soda. "I guess you're the real 'Good Cop'."
"I guess so." Lewis remarked. "Though I'm hoping we can try and figure a few things out about you."
"Such as?" Hisako asked, taking a swig of the soda.
"Well for one, your turtle friends." Lewis asked.
"Brothers, actually." Hisako corrected.
Lewis blinked.
"Brothers?" she repeated.
Hisako nodded, lowering her soda and drumming her nails on the side.
"For the past four years, yeah." she said. "One big happy, albeit incredibly weird, family."
"I see…" Lewis responded. "So, four years? What about before then?"
Hisako's grip tightened on the can, some of the liquid bubbling up due to her crushing grip.
"Next question, please." she requested.
"Your time before your brothers is a sensitive subject, isn't it?" Lewis guessed.
"Very..." Hisako nodded. "It's a part of my life I've tried… very hard to put behind me."
"Why is that?" Lewis asked.
For a brief moment, Hisako considered snapping at her, telling her to mind her own business. However, the young psychic knew she meant no harm by the questions, and was merely trying to piece information together. Letting out a sigh, Hisako stood up.
"It'll be easier to show you." she explained.
She then reached down and pulled off the hoodie she was wearing, leaving her in nothing but a sports bra. This left her scarred chest and arms on full display. Lewis gasped, covering her mouth in horror.
"Ignore the brown blob." Hisako told her. "That's an entirely different story."
"What… what the hell happened to you?" Lewis asked.
Hisako pulled her hoodie back down, retaking her seat.
"What didn't happen to me would be an easier question to answer." she said quietly, her hands beginning to shake.
"Alright, let's move on." Lewis decided, earning a sigh of relief from Hisako. "I would like to know your involvement in a few incidents around the city."
"You'll have to be more specific." Hisako spoke up. "My brothers and I… we get around."
"Get around?" Lewis questioned. "What do you mean by that?"
"My brothers and I were raised to follow the code of Bushido." Hisako explained. "To protect those who cannot protect themselves. It's why my family took me in, and why we've dedicated our lives to protecting this city."
Lewis leaned in, genuinely intrigued.
"We started small, just stopping a couple robberies and muggings here and there." Hisako went on. "But soon, other threats arose. We felt obligated to fight, to protect the only home we ever knew."
"Then why did you run?" Lewis asked. "Why hide yourselves?"
Hisako clutched her arms, sighing mournfully.
"Look at what's happening right now." she told the cop. "People took one look at us, and immediately grabbed their torches and pitchforks. As dad told us: Humanity fears what it does not understand, and what it fears, it will almost always seek to destroy."
Lewis was at a complete loss for words. Unsure of what to say, or even if there was anything to say, she simply got up and walked out of the room.
...
Outside the interrogation room, Samson walked into the precinct. He'd ditched his glasses and left his sword behind, approaching the main counter.
"I've come to pay bail for my Goddaughter." he declared.
"And what is your Goddaughter's name?" the officer behind the desk asked.
"Hisako." He answered.
The officer paused, looking up at Samson again.
"Hang on one second." he requested before picking up his phone.
...
Lewis sat down at her desk, still completely dumbstruck with everything Hisako had shown her and told her. Sterns was going over the file, completely engrossed until Lewis spoke up.
"Maybe..." she let out, "Maybe we were wrong about those creatures."
"What are you talking about?" Sterns questioned.
"The way she spoke, everything she told me." Lewis explained. "She and those creatures are a family. They've fought together, and defended the city together. All those incidents where her prints turned up were scenes where crimes were stopped before we could get there. Maybe they're not monsters. Maybe they're-"
"Oh come on, Lewis!" Sterns cut off. "You can't honestly buy all that. She's feeding you a story."
"I don't think so." Lewis insisted. "She was being sincere. I know it."
"That's all just a load of-!"
His sentence was cut off by his phone suddenly ringing. He growled, then picked it up.
"Sergeant Sterns." he greeted.
"Sergeant, umm… A man claiming to be Hisako's Godfather just arrived." the officer at the front of the precinct informed him.
The two officers were taken aback by this, exchanging surprised glances.
"His ID checks out, and he's paid the bail." The officer went on. "She's free to go."
"We're just letting her go?!" Sterns questioned. "Just like that?!"
"We've got nothing to officially charge her on, and like I said, bail's posted." The officer answered. "I'm sending him back to collect her."
The call ended at that, both cops incredibly confused. A few minutes later, Samson came walking towards him. Upon seeing his height, his somewhat intimidating face, and his imposing physique, both Lewis and Sterns were somewhat shocked.
"Sergeant Sterns." Samson greeted. "Officer Lewis. My name is Samson. I'm Hisako's Godfather, and I'm here to collect her."
"You're her Godfather?" Sterns questioned.
"I worked alongside her parents." Samson replied. "We were very close. She's very dear to me, and I would like to take her home now, if you please."
"Of… course." Sterns replied, getting up from his desk. "Right this way."
...
Hisako glanced over at the door as it opened again. When she laid eyes on Samson, she broke out into a grin and ran over to him.
"Samson!" she cheered, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Glad to see you're ok, Hisako." Samson told her.
"Guess this means I'm free to go." she guessed.
"Yes." Sterns nodded, her enthusiastic greeting erasing all traces of doubt from his mind. "Just, don't go leaving the city."
"Why would I?" Hisako asked. "New York is my home."
With that, the two walked out of the precinct.
…
The two put some distance between themselves and the police, taking a cab out to one of the rougher neighborhoods. Hisako got out of the cab, giving Samson a smile.
"Thanks for bailing me out." she told him.
"Of course." Samson replied. "Just try and be a bit more careful in the future."
"I'll try." she promised.
She then closed the door, the cab driving away. By the time it did, she was gone, only the faint rattle of a manhole cover to show she was ever there.
...
The sound of the lair door opening was music to everyone's ears as Hisako walked through the doors.
"Hey guys!" she greeted with a wave. "What did I-?"
The turtles wasted no words as they bolted forward and tackled Hisako to the ground hugging her. They all laughed and held her, their sister returning their affection in kind. Lisa, April, and Casey stood off to the side, the latter shaking his head.
"Don't scare us like that, Greeny." he chastised.
"Sorry." she apologized. "I got careless."
"Whatever the case, we are all happy to see your safe return." Splinter told her, pulling her into a hug.
She returned the hug, letting out a sigh.
"I wish I could say my trip to the station was a productive one." she lamented. "The police think we're monsters. Worse, they thought you guys kidnapped me."
"What?" Mikey let out. "That's crazy."
"That's what I told them." Hisako informed him. "Don't worry, I didn't give away anything valid. I just tried to explain that we're not the enemies. I'm just not sure if they believed me."
"We will just have to wait and see." Splinter told them.
