It was a typical day in the lair. The leader was with their sensei, watching the news to stay informed of the world above. The genius was in the lab, working on various projects to make their life better. The hothead was in the dojo driving the frustration of the day into a punching bag. And the youngest was in her room reading the latest comic that she was able to find.
She loved Superwoman.
Michelle’s only escape was through the fantastical worlds of her comics. The only time she got to go out was at night and strictly to the junkyard, with her mother and sisters to find things for the lair. Boring! She was never alone. It was impossible to be alone. Her little alcove with a little curtain for privacy was her only sanctuary. Oh but how she wished she could go to the surface, during the day. She wished to be free but she knew that was not possible.
If she went out, her freedom would be short lived. Life wasn’t like a comic book. Humans would see her as a monster, not a hero. Despite how well she fought, she would eventually be captured and experimented on. Life wasn’t easy for a mutated turtle.
She could hear he genius sister, Donna, tinkering away in her lab. Winter was coming and she wanted to make sure that the lair was going to be warm enough. Rachael had finally finished taking out what she wanted to do to their sister, Leah, on the punching bag. Those two managed to get on each other’s nerves quite often. The only other sound was the low murmur of the television.
As she read, Michelle absentmindedly scratched behind Klink’s ears. She had found the calico cat in a nearby storm drain. It had taken some begging but their mother, Sliver, eventually agreed to let her keep the cat. They didn’t have to worry about feeding her. She was an expert huntress and kept the lair free of rats. Well… all rats but their mother, of course.
Suddenly, Klink’s ears perked up and she started to look uneasy. “What’s the matter, girl?” Michelle asked her beloved pet. Just then the whole lair shook. An earthquake? In New York? “Did Donna fall?” Michelle giggled, pulling the curtain aside to look out of her alcove.
“That’s not funny,” Leah chided her without taking her eyes from the television. There was nothing but static on the screen and she looked to be in shock. “And this is no laughing matter.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Rachael asked as she walked up to watch the television. “What happened to the signal?” She looked over her shoulder and yelled. “Donna, come fix this!”
“The Earth is being invaded,” their mother answered as she stood. Though she tried to keep her composure, Michelle could hear the sorrow in her voice.
“What’s gonna happen?” Michelle asked right before the power went out. “Mommy?” She hated the dark. Bad things always happened in the dark. At least that’s how it was in those late night movies.
“Over here,” Sliver replied as the lights came back on.
“That backup generator won’t last long,” Donna stated as she joined her family. Wiping her hands, she glanced up at Michelle for a moment before looking down to the floor. “I heard what you said.”
“I was only joking,” Michelle said giving her sister a soft shove. “You tease the ones you love the most. Right?”
“It wasn’t funny,” Donna replied.
The lair shook once again, sending debris falling to the floor. “Something tells me that we won’t be needing the backup generator to last very long,” Rachael said. She exchanged looks with Leah as the lair shook more violently. “We won’t be around long enough for it to run out.”
“Klink!” Michelle yelled for her pet and the cat bound across the lair to her.
There were loud bangs overhead and the lair shook nonstop. Bits of their home were falling all around them and Michelle swore that the temperature was rising. Smoke filled the lair and it was getting harder to breathe.
“Should we try to get to the surface?” Rachael asked, looking to their mother.
Sliver shook her head. “It won’t make any difference. The aliens made it perfectly clear that they weren’t planning on leaving any survivors.”
“Maybe we could fight,” Rachael argued.
“It is too late,” Sliver whispered to her daughter. “There is nothing that can be done.”
A disembodied hand appeared out of nowhere followed by a head, causing Michelle to scream. “What is that?”
“This way!” the head shouted.
Without hesitation, Donna ran toward the floating arm and head. The others quickly followed and one by one they were pulled through what could only have been a portal. Michelle held Klink close to her chest as she turned to look back through the portal into her home. “All my things.”
“Really, Michelle?” Rachael groaned.
“What’s going on?” Donna asked their rescuer, her soft voice barely carrying over the sound of the ceiling falling on the other side of the portal. “Can you show us what is happening on the surface?”
The other turtle nodded. A male turtle, with a purple mask like Donna. “I can try,” he said. “Maybe there is still time to save your friends.”
“We don’t have any friends,” Rachael stated, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’ve never met any humans and we are the only ones of our kind.”
“Really?” the male turtle asked. “How old are you?”
“Seventeen,” Leah answered. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
“My brothers and I were fifteen when we started traveling to the surface where we met April and eventually Casey.” The male turtle turned back to his portal device. “It’s strange that you haven’t.”
“It wasn’t safe,” Sliver stated as a matter of fact.
“Has the invasion not reached here yet?” Rachael asked as she looked around. “Maybe there is still time to stop it. You seem to have a lot of technology here.”
“You are in another dimension,” the male replied, shaking his head. “I was observing the multiverse when I came upon your world. I saw you were in danger and thought I’d help.” The image through the portal change to the surface and Michelle gasped. The city was in ruins and alien ships filled the skies. The male turtle looked at them over his shoulder. “I had no idea that your whole world was being destroyed, I just thought your lair was under attack. My thoughts were to get you here, away from the danger and then put you back somewhere safe later.” He looked at his device once again. “But, it looks like there is nowhere that is safe on your planet. According to my readings, the atmosphere is toxic. You wouldn’t be able to survive there now.”
Donna sank to the ground. “They came in and destroyed the whole planet in a matter of minutes. Why?”
The male turtle shrugged. “Who knows.”
“Thank you, for saving us, young man,” Sliver said, keeping her eyes on the image of their world through the portal. “Rest in peace, Sakura,” she said softly before turning to the male turtle. “You can turn it off now. There is nothing we can do to save anyone.”
With a slight nod the male turtle turned the machine off. Clearing his throat he said, “My name is Donatello.”
“I was once known as Hamato Yuri,” Sliver replied with a slight bow of her head. “But, I am now known as Sliver.” She then indicated Michelle and her sisters. “These are my daughters Leah, Donna, Rachael, and Michelle. They were mutated as babies from turtles I had purchased.”
“You were human before your mutation,” Donatello stated. “There are a few in the multiverse who were where others, like my father, were a pet rat. You are all from one of the rare female universes.”
“I have always theorized that there were multiple universes out there,” Donna said as she looked the portal devise over. “It is amazing that you were able to build a machine to travel between them. How many have you been to?”
Donatello shook his head. “I have observed more than I have been to. Going through the portal is dangerous. It’s more or less only a one way door. Someone can only come through if there is another to pull them in, which is why the toxins from your world never came through. But, according to my observations, I believe that there are more universes out there than I can count.”
“That’s all fascinating and all,” Rachael said. “But what are we going to do now?”
Donatello shrugged. “Like I said, I can’t send you back. Well… I could but I’m not going to send you to your deaths. So the only answer I can think of is that you stay here.”
“Is it just you or do you have brothers?” Michelle wanted to know.
Donatello laughed. “I have brothers.”
“Are they cute?” Michelle asked.
“Michelle,” Sliver chided her.
“What?” Michelle grinned at her mother. “I’m trying to look on the bright side if this situation. I have lost everything. I want to know there is something to gain.”
Just then the door opened and a large mutant stepped inside. He was an alligator… or was he a crocodile? Michelle didn’t remember how to tell the difference. Either way, he was huge.
“Donatello?” the crocigator looked at them. “What is going on?”
“I… rescued them,” Donatello answered with a sheepish grin as he walked up to the other mutant. “I didn’t know it at the time but their world was being destroyed. I pulled them through just in time.” He turned back to them. “This is my mate, Leatherhead.”
“Your mate?” Michelle said as she looked Leatherhead over. “Do your brothers have large alligator mates too?”
Donatello laughed. “Crocodile,” he corrected. “And, no, my brothers are all single.”
“Okay good,” Michelle sighed in relief.
Leah slapped Michelle on her shoulder. “You need to work out your priorities.”
“Me?” Michelle looked up at her sister. “Aren’t you even a little bit eager over the prospect of a boyfriend? You can’t be that frigid.”
“Think about it, dipstick,” Rachael snapped. “There are four of us. If we are parallels of each other it’s safe to assume that there are four of them and one of them is already taken. One of us is going to be left out.”
“Oh,” Michelle nodded her head. “And, you think it’s going to be you.” Michelle squealed as Rachael balled up her fist and drew it back but Leah stopped her before she could strike.
“That’s enough, you two.”
Donatello chuckled, causing them to all look up at him. “It’s amazing how much you all are like us.” A wide smile spread across his beak. “I’m sure there will be some broken hearts and all but it should all work out, eventually. We actually have a fifth turtle. My brothers rescued him and brought him here. He had lost his family and was all alone so he decided to stay here and try to make a new life.”
“So we all have a chance,” Michelle said, elbowing Rachael in the ribs. “Nothing to worry about.”
Sliver sighed, “There is plenty to worry about, my daughter. But we will discuss that another time. We have all been through a lot and need time to process.”
“Mother’s right,” Leah stated. “We need to come to terms with what had just happened and then find a place of our own to live. Starting over is not going to be easy.”
“That probably wouldn’t be wise at this time,” Leatherhead stated. “It is not safe and there is a good possibility that you would be found before any security could be put in place.”
Donatello nodded in agreement. “We have powerful enemies who are hell bent on finding us. They wouldn’t hesitate in capturing you either. It would be best if you were to stay here. We are safe and we are hidden.”
“We don’t want to be a burden,” Sliver said.
“Trust me,” Donatello smiled. “You will not be seen as a burden.” Before Sliver could state her concerns over what Donatello was implying he held up his hand and said. “Do not worry. My brothers will behave themselves. They will be… eager and they might try to show off a bit, but they will behave. Your daughters will be safe and respected, I can assure you.”
Looking at Michelle, Sliver shook her head as she sighed. “I’m going to be a grandmother before a year has passed.”
