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Whispers in the Dark	By : Ombre_des_dieux Category: +S through Z > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 1783 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, nor the characters from it. My rights extend only to this original plot and the original characters herein. This is an homage after a 30-year love affair with the characters. No money was made.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
Semblance of Normality
The moment the bright yellow cab pulled away from the curb April was on the phone. Leonardo answered on the first ring and put the call on speaker as his brothers gathered around. Even Raphael, who was out all night with Casey, seemed interested.
"Leo, Emma just left. I tried to convince her to stay, but she freaked out and insisted on going home. She wouldn't let me take her. She's in a cab. Donnie can track her, right?"
Donatello sped off toward his computer station to activate his tracking device.
"What happened? She sounded fine when we listened in to her phone message," Leo said.
Less than half an hour had passed, and the brothers waited anxiously for an update. His eyes flicked to Raph as his red-banded, hot-headed brother began to pace; never a good sign.
"I'm not entirely sure. Does that gas of Donnie's have side effects?"
Leo raised a brow and turned to the genius in silence as Don considered the question from his station across the room. The colored lights from his bank of technology painted unusual patterns across the gentle turtle's face as Don's forehead furrowed.
"Everything has side effects," he muttered, "but the ones from those gasses are rare. What were the symptoms?"
"Headache, dizziness, and I think hallucinations."
Donnie shook his head, setting his violet bandana tails flapping. "Headache and dizziness maybe, since I assume she consumed alcohol at the party, but not hallucinations."
"Can you describe what happened, April?" Leo interrupted.
"One minute I was probing for information, the next she's screaming her head off. She wouldn't respond, and this blank look of terror covered her face. It went on a for several minutes."
"Did she offer an explanation?" Don asked.
The gleam in his eye said his brain was working overtime, all pistons firing as he sorted through the massive database of his incredible mind, searching for a parallel for the girl's reactions.
"She claimed to of blacked out and dreamed of the attack, but it doesn't ring true," April said, her voice low and soft with concern. "You should have seen her face, the way she stared blankly around at the walls while she screamed. She was terrified. Something else is going on. Someone has or is hurting her and from the way she reacted when Raph mentioned the Foot, I don't think we need to look very far for the who."
Those were magic words for the Hamato family and Leonardo's steel colored eyes lit with determined fire. Since they first learned their craft, their father raised them with one absolute mission.
Fight for those who could not protect themselves.
That statement moved Emma firmly out of the "threat" category and into the "protect" one as Leonardo would never back away from someone injured by the Foot. Raphael would have rejoiced, since it swayed his older brother more than a week's worth of arguments from him, except he was too busy fighting off a towering rage.
That anyone would have the gall to hurt such an angel... If I ever discover who did it...
Raph's amber eyes flared as the anger wouldn't even let him finish a thought, his muscles tensed and flexed, and he stared around searching for something to pummel. Michelangelo flinched away from him. It was like waving a red flag at a bull. Raph's gaze speared him, and Mikey began backing away.
"Right," Leo said. "Don, we need everything you can find on this girl. I want to know where she came from, where she's living, and what she's running away from. We can't defend her if we don't know the enemy or the territory."
"Already on it," Don said from his station.
"April, I'd like you down here to fill in the details of what you talked about. Mikey will meet you at the usual manhole." Leo said.
Mikey took off, grateful for the reprieve, grabbing his skateboard on the way out. Raphael turned his glare on Leo before stomping over to the weight room. The loud smacks of his fist colliding with a punching bag echoed through the lair.
"Leo," April's said, exasperated. "I've been visiting by myself for years; Mikey does not need to meet me."
"Until we know what's up with the recent Foot activity and Vallen Corp, I'd like you to have a little extra protection," Leo admitted. "Humor me? Please?"
Leo rarely cajoled. He ordered and expected to be obeyed, especially in matters of team safety, but a soft touch was required with April and all the brothers knew it. She was capable; no denying that. She could defend herself if needed.
But she was beloved by all of them and they would make sure the need never arose.
A whoosh from the phone told Raph what she was doing. An irritated April rolled her startling green eyes and blew air through her bangs. Raph smirked through his anger and continued his assault on the battered equipment.
A long pause ensued while Leo waited for her answer.
"Fine," she said. "I'll be there as soon as I can... with Mikey."
Raphael paced about the living room like a confined tiger as the others talked. He had at least an hours wait ahead of him until it got dark enough to go out and check on the angel and after hearing April's story in detail, he was worried.
Raph did not handle worry well though he suffered from it often. He reserved it for his family, the team, and April. Casey...not so much. None of that compared to what he experienced now. This level of concern almost frightened him. He practically vibrated with the need to know the girl was ok. He couldn't wait to have her in his sights again.
The vague responses to April's questions about her life didn't so much as hint at where she lived, and she somehow managed to 'lose' Donnie's tracking device. Oh, the thing was still active but she left it in a car; probably the same cab she took from the apartment. It had been in constant motion since she pulled away from the building.
Raph smirked. One side of his expressive mouth quirking up to expose gleaming white teeth. Emma was one smart cookie, but Don sure was annoyed.
He still hadn't told anyone he knew where she lived. For one thing, Donnie took her intelligence as a challenge and submerged himself hip deep in research. Raph didn't want to spoil it for him.
Secondly, he wanted some more time to investigate this paranoid boyfriend by himself. April didn't like the sound of him and Raph trusted her judgment. If this guy hurt Emma in any way, Raph was going to return the favor. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything until nightfall.
All that was left was the waiting. Waiting until darkness fell over the city and he could escape the confines of down below. Waiting to see her for himself.
The weekend ended far too fast for Morgan. Saturday was mostly gone by the time she got back to her apartment, showered, changed, and called Martin for a meeting.
The debriefing lasted hours.
She tried to remain patient. Martin's information, after all, allowed them to escape the party, but all the questions were wearing thin. She'd told an edited version of the story several times.
Some instinct prompted her to leave April's name out of her report, claiming instead her companion was one of her co-workers. One she knew passed the FBI background checks. Conveniently the girl also lived on the lower west side, so the fabrication aligned with her previous message. Plus, she and the girl spoke at the party so if agents pulled her aside for questioning she wouldn't poke too many holes in it.
But she knew they wouldn't question the girl. They didn't want to ruin her cover. Not if they didn't need too. Moving her cost too many tax dollars.
Morgan had admitted her panic attack about the phone in the taxi though.
Martin merely raised a brow, pulled a new one out of his sports jacket and handed the burner to her, already set up with her preferences and three contacts. He was nothing if not prepared. Afterward, they argued for hours about her remaining in her current apartment before she convinced him her location hadn't been compromised.
She didn't get home until after 2 AM.
The plainclothes officer in the unmarked car who dropped her off offered to walk her in but she declined tiredly. If the "doorman" peeked out, she didn't want him to tell the world she entertained strange men in the wee hours of the night.
She dragged herself in, cracked the window to offset the heat from her overly rambunctious radiator, and fell into bed without even undressing. Sleep claimed her immediately but didn't last.
It never did after one of her relapses.
Less than two hours later, Morgan screamed herself awake and sat on the edge of her bed shuddering in reaction. Despite all the precautions, all the hiding, she dreamed Charlie found her again. He sent his secret army, and they dragged her back to his home and his bed.
She knew she would never escape alive and Charlie's cruel chuckle, as he approached her bound form, echoed infinitely around her.
She sobbed for an hour before taking a hot shower and trying to get back to sleep.
Seven hours.
That's how long Raphael waited across from Emma's window behind the grey veil of mesh hiding him from prying eyes. Seven hours of worry. Seven hours of imagining what might have happened; because she wasn't here.
Despite the fact night fell early this time of year, Raph hadn't been able to escape the lair until after 6 o'clock. The conversation surrounding Emma morphed into a generalized strategy session about Vallen Corp. which seemed to drag on and on.
Leo did not want their investigation to be sidetracked too much by this girl, but everyone saw a connection between the two. Raph just wanted it to be over so he could get out and find her.
Too much time had passed before he was dismissed for his nightly patrol.
The other's went out several times a week, but Raph left the lair every night. Truthfully, he escaped every chance he could. Not that he didn't enjoy his brothers company, but every time he stayed in this little voice nagged him. Telling him crime didn't take a break, so why should he?
He and Leo came to an agreement long ago. Raph could run nightly, as long as team assignments got priority, and he adhered to Splinter's principals. After all, the exercise kept his temper in check and the log he wrote allowed Donnie to search for patterns they might miss. Don pitched in, upgrading Raph's phone and tracking equipment, to locate him if he ever got in too deep and Mikey sometimes came along for the practice.
Tonight, his concern was not for the city at large. It was far more focused. One tiny girl, out there somewhere, needed his protection. His desire to see her was bordering on obsession.
The second he hit the rooftops, he ran straight to Emma's building. The fact she wasn't home when he arrived didn't disturb him; it was dinner time. As hours passed, however, and she didn't return he began to fret.
He started running small patrol circuits around her block, checking all the dank alleyways and dark corners. He retraced her odd path back to her workplace. Nothing. Finally, he returned to her home, settled back into the familiar concealment of the scaffolding, and waited. There wasn't anything more to do.
Unfortunately, that left him far too much time to think.
What if she's afraid to come home? What if she's staying over at the boyfriend's? The guy might be hurting her right now...
Raph clenched his fist and the muscles of his forearm and bicep flexed in agitation.
Midnight came and went, then 1 AM. At two, a car stopped out front, and a small form moved limply through the door. He sat up and peered anxiously through the window as she entered and shed her coat. She looked ok.
Exhausted, but not injured.
Raph sighed in relief, breathing freely for the first time in hours as he watched her move about the apartment. Emma didn't waste time. She didn't even change clothes, she simply propped the window open and doused the lights.
Raphael stayed nearby a while longer, despite the cold and the late hour. Amazed by how much the knowledge that the girl was safe and asleep mere feet from where he sat eased his mind. If he angled his head to cut the glare he could see her silhouette in the bed.
As he observed her, a new set of worries flooded his thoughts.
What if the Foot find her after I leave?
He didn't have the equipment with him for proper surveillance.
Staying out shouldn't be a problem, he decided, at least for a little while longer. He texted the family an excuse so Leo wouldn't call in the cavalry. To secure her safety and to relieve muscles tense from hours of sitting still, Raph took a quick run. He surveyed the surrounding rooftops, but it wasn't long before he settled back in near her. He couldn't stay away.
Abruptly, a female scream pierced the air. Long and despairing, the scream wasn't one of a woman surprised or taken off guard, it sounded like someone who knows their fate is sealed.
Raph's head snapped around as he traced the sound, first checking the street below but finally raising horrified eyes to the window across the way, where only moments ago his angel had been sleeping. It cut off with a choking noise and was replaced by quiet sobs that wrenched his heart.
Raphael applied his climbing spikes, took two steps back and lunged across the gap between the buildings. He landed firmly on the old red brick and hauled himself up by main strength to peer in her window, his muscles bunching and stretching.
Emma sat on the edge of the bed, head in her hands, bawling her eyes out. Raph tore his gaze away from her and stared intently into every corner of the room, searching for an intruder, but she was alone.
April was right. Someone had hurt the angel.
Badly.
And whoever it might be was somehow still terrorizing her.
He intended to stop it.
Sunday passed in a blur as Morgan tried to regain some semblance of normality. She visited the corner bodega to buy groceries, dropped her dress at the cleaners, and spent some time picking up her apartment.
As the sun set, she bundled up and dragged herself to the rooftop of the building. In the center, a small garden boasted a metal table and chairs next to some box hedges whose dead leaves rustled in the wind. The chair didn't provide the most comfortable seating, but it was better than nothing.
She pulled one right to the edge of the roof and settled herself. A mittened hand rested on the railing, and she leaned her cheek on her knuckles. She closed her eyes, breathed in the evening air, and tried to clear her mind.
Her face was calm, but tears betrayed her; slipping down her cheeks, leaving icy cold trails behind. Alone in a city of millions, she gave in to her emotions and let the sorrow run its course. She never knew why Charlie chose her. She probably never would.
She might have been easy prey, a young twenty-something in the big wide world for the first time. That and her inexperience with men made her an irresistible target. Four years later saw her older and wiser, but broken in soul and spirit. After her escape, she'd sworn off romantic relationships altogether. She never wanted to be trapped again.
She tried not to blame herself. The therapist the FBI made her see said it wasn't her fault. But the guilt still claimed her, and she couldn't let go of the belief she somehow deserved the punishment Charlie dealt out if only for being so naive.
She buried her face in the lovely silk scarf from the party to hide her tears and stopped short. Clinging to it was a peculiar scent; spicy and wonderful.
A feeling of warmth and safety overwhelmed her, followed by a memory of weightlessness. Of flying.
She held the material in trembling hands and inhaled deeply, savoring the sensation. Her body responded with a rush of endorphins and her face flushed. Her heart rate calmed, and the hitch in her breathing eased.
Miraculous.
Like all good things, the moment passed, and the heady scent dispersed into the cold winter air. Morgan, left bereft, clung to the soft fabric. Only when her mind cleared did she sense the eyes upon her.
Someone was watching. She froze a moment in panic before she forced herself to relax. A watcher was hardly unusual on the roof. Her building was short, overlooked by many high rises and she would attract the attention of anyone gazing out a window.
A tiny girl seated precariously near the edge of the rooftop would incite curiosity.
Besides, the gaze didn't feel menacing, and the aura was familiar. This was someone she'd met before, at least in passing; perhaps a neighbor. Still, she was supposed to be hiding, so it would be best to get back indoors. She stood up and dragged her chair back to the little garden before heading to the stairs.
Tomorrow was a workday. She needed to try for sleep.

Getting away tonight had been easier. Don had been absorbed in his research though frustrated with his lack of results so far. Leo was focused on the information they were gathering on Vallen Corp. and Mikey, as always, amused himself.
Raph left the lair before the sun even set; making his way through the underground network of sewers, subway, and maintenance tunnels to the manhole in the alleyway nearest Emma's building.
As soon as the shadows lengthened enough to obscure his exit, Raphael moved. His motions quick and practiced as he shifted the heavy cover to the side enough to slide out before setting it back into place. After that, it was a matter of moments to reach the lower levels of the fire escape and climb to the roof.
Tonight he came prepared for surveillance. He carried Don's duffel bag filled with cameras to install all over Emma's building. He brought enough to cover all the entry doors, the fire escape, the alley, and the surrounding rooftops.
He purposely selected older equipment, and Don loaned it to him with minimal fuss, too absorbed in his own research to worry about what Raph wanted with a bunch of old parts. Now all he needed to do was rig it together in a loose network and connect it to the refurbished tablet Don gave him.
Raph was no computer genius, but Don made it easy. His brother could make a fortune in the software development business if he had a mind too. Everything he designed was intuitive and simple to use. Even for someone with only two fingers and a thumb.
It wouldn't take him long to have the whole system up and running.
He finished mining the alley and nearby rooftops with cameras and prepared to mount some on the roof access to Emma's building when he heard someone climbing the stairs. Silently, he melted into the shadows and backed away from the door.
Emma wandered out. He stifled a little gasp at her nearness, remembering at the last second how well she heard. She didn't look happy, her usual grace absent. She tripped a little in the snow as she dragged a heavy metal chair halfway across the roof and leaned out over the railing.
Raph held his breath, as his heart leapt into his throat, hoping she wasn't planning to do anything foolish. She was much closer to the edge than he liked.
He crept a little nearer to her bundled form. All he could see was her face and his chest contracted painfully as he realized tears slipped down her cheeks. She was hurting, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do, except hang around and make sure she didn't decide to end it all.
All his instincts screamed at him to snatch her up and take her someplace safe. Somewhere they might talk. A hidden location where he could promise her she'd never be alone or have to face what she feared again.
It wasn't all instinct. Surprisingly, when he focused on the thoughts he found he wanted to make those promises. As crazy as it sounded, he wanted to shelter this girl, but his presence would probably drive her to jump in terror.
So he did the only thing he could, stay in the shadows and watch over her until she went back inside.
- 5
- 6
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Whispers in the Dark