Ninja Turtles 1. Meet the girls

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. The lawyers won't let me have them.

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Darkside of the Moon

Summary: Six unlikely vigilantes have joined together under a common goal. To bring a murderer to justice. But as their ties to the hidden world of magicks and the supernatural deepen, not only do they end up facing almost overwhelming odds, but their own fears and troubles. Saved from certain death by four heroes-in-green, and now bound to them by the knowledge that they all are hunting the same person, will our group ever accomplish what they've set out to do, or are the cards of Fate piled against them?

A/N: There are some words of Spanish in here, the translations can be found at the end of the chapter.

**Chapter one: Meet the girls**

A long drawn out sigh escaped the lips of the woman that was perched on the edge of a fallen palm tree that overlooked the bright sandy beaches of Jamaica, the clear waters of the ocean gently lapping at the shoreline as the songs of birds floated on the warm breeze.

The rustle of paper caught her attention then, and she quickly slapped a hand down on the few leafs of paper that she had lain on her lap, keeping them from being carried away by the wind. Resolving to go through with her idea, she reached up to snatch the pen that was resting behind her right ear and spent a moment chewing on the cap of it before lowering it to the paper.

My name is, Aiden M'guire, and I'm hunting a killer.

Sure, okay, you're thinking 'what's a twenty-five year old lass doin' playing the part of bounty hunter?' Well, that's simple.... the killer's my sister.

Now that I've fully hooked you, I'll explain myself.

I come from Ireland (I refuse to disclose the exact location for reasons that are personal), from a familyline that was once related to the Fae. The Fairyfolk. Oh, I can hear you Mundanes now : 'there isn't such thing as Fairyfolk'. Well welcome to a culture shock : they exist. I'm proof. 

Sure, the bloodline's been thinned by Human/Mundane blood, but it's still there. Dormant. Waiting to be wielded by someone who knows how. My parents knew how. My Pa was a Druid, my Mother a Wiccan. Through them, my sister and I gained power and knowledge of the mystic arts that would frighten Mundanes into the hills. Unfortunately, where I followed my parents teachings of nature and energy, my sister, Moira - who was jealous of not only my power, but the extra attention our mother gave me - turned to the darker arts.

Would that I had known how deep her hatred of me ran. Maybe I could have stopped her. Maybe I could have saved her. But I was blind, too interested in my own selfish pride to realise that my boastings were only fuelling her anger, her darkness.

In the end, I don't know what made her sanity break. All I know is that I came home from wandering the hillsides of the woods to find my parents dead, their souls and bodies ripped apart, a gruesome testament to the Black Magick ritual that they had been unwilling participants in. 

And Moira stood there, amongst the bodies, their hearts clutched in her hands, and she looked at me, and **laughed.** A sound that was so devoid of remorse, of guilt. A sound that was actually **joyful. **My sister, my **sister**, had killed our parents in a ritual that was evil in every sense of the word, using our parent's life-forces and their own magicks to fuel her own twisted power. Never in my life have I felt such rage, as when I stood there listening to her laughter. Had she not vanished, using her newly gained magicks to beat a cowardly retreat, I feel certain that I would have killed her.

I buried my parents at the top of a hillside, under a huge weeping willow tree. I didn't dare report their deaths to the police. Not only would they not comprehend the idea of magicks, they'd probably have thrown me into a psychiatric ward. That would have ruined my plans of bringing my sister to justice.

Two days later, I packed up all of my belongings into a single backpack that I had enchanted - yes, think 'Mary Poppins' - gathered all the money and credit cards I could find, hotwired the family car and began my search for my sister, knowing that her thirst for power, now that she had the means to gain more of it, was never going to be slaked.

I followed her to England, arriving too late to stop her from performing another ritual. Another death. This time a Mundane was killed, his blood and life-force used to conjure up a creature of the Underworld. Luckily for me, I didn't have to face the monstrosity alone. That was when I met Talia. She's a slip of a girl, a mere twenty-one, fair skinned and freckled, auburn hair that hangs to the middle of her back and bright green eyes that shine with the power that she holds. And by the Gods, does she ever have power.

At first I thought her like myself, a Mundane who had managed to tap into the thin lifeblood of her ancestors. Imagine my surprise when I learned that she was a halfblood. Half-human, half Forest-Pixie, and that the one that Moria had killed had been her Mundane boyfriend. 

I can truthfully say that I'm glad of her half-Human side, I'd have hated to meet up with a full-blooded Forest Pixie. Those creatures may love the forests, and have an almost uncanny ability to turn any situation from sombre to playful, but they're bedamned pests, never taking anything seriously at all.

I was fortunate enough to discover her half-human traits when I suddenly found myself with company on my self-imposed quest to either bring Moria to justice or simply bludgeon her to death with something. And thus began my new ability to gather comrades.

Talia (who was actually quite the talker, the girl never shuts up) and I spent part of the first year trailing my sister through the better parts (and the not-so better parts) of Scotland, both of us becoming infuriated at Moira's seemingly effortless talent of being able to double back on her trail and leave us chasing ghosts. 

In the end, we trailed her back to England and got to travel across the Atlantic on a large tanker (more accurately we were hiding in the cargo hold trying to convince our stomachs not to try to escape through our mouths), and landed in the gorgeous territories of Venezuela almost a month later (bloody boat took it's damned time). True, we **did** spend the better part of a week lounging at the beach and recuperating from our not so luxurious trek across the ocean, although we also took that time to gather information about the new country we found ourselves in.

This was also the place where Talia recruited another person. A Water Sprite, of all beings. (I truly don't know how that girl manages to attract the right people to us, I partially suspect that she's some sort of spiritual beacon). It turned out that there had been an odd underwater explosion two days before Talia met the Sprite. The destruction that had decimated an entire ten mile stretch of coral reef had been caused by a major Black Magick spell, and it didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out who was behind **that** little bout of havoc. And thus, Kaia, proclaimed protector of the oceans around Venezuela and seriously pissed off Water Sprite, joined our ranks. 

Her name literally meaning 'the sea', Kaia had the ability to pose as a Human, a trick that all Elemental Sprites possess. Of course, she didn't go too far into that disguise. Her short dark blue hair and light blue eyes were a giveaway to anyone who knew anything about Water Sprites. Luckily Mundanes who hold that knowledge are few and far between, else we'd be in trouble.

So there I was, a Human with the powers of the Fae, with a halfblood Forest-Pixie and a Water Sprite as companions. Needless to say, I was starting to wonder if perhaps this was fated. There are no coincidences, and certainly, meeting these people at this exactly time in my life did seem a little.... odd.

But I digress.

Reports of gruesome killings that were identical to that of my parents and of Talia's boytoy sent us on our way to Brazil (did you know that these people drive on the wrong side of the road?! It's boggling!). We spent months, wandering lost in the rainforests in a vain attempt to either find Moria or find a decent hotel with indoor plumbing. Magick or not, when you're soaked to the skin, itching from hundreds of bug bites and stumbling around lost in a never-ending forest, your good mood tends to plummet. It didn't help that Talia and Kaia found my plight hysterical. Damned girls were right at home there. I'm more of a Hilton kinda person.

Though, I suppose it was once again meant to be, for we were rescued by the oddest of people. A were-jaguar by the name of Esperanza found us - or more rather she found me since I was complaining rather loudly at the time. After the shock of seeing what I had thought was my death in the form of a huge jaguar turn into a woman, a naked woman (I suppose she just didn't have use for clothing at the time) and look at me as if the sight of me trying to crab-crawl up a tree was highly entertaining, we pulled a kind of truce and tried to understand one another.

True, the language barrier was a problem. Considering that I had never really thought that I would ever have to speak Spanish in my lifetime, I was sorely unprepared for our meeting. Talia to the rescue, once again. Turns out the little one had taken a basic Spanish class in her school. The Gods, at least, knew when to cut us a break.

So after three hours of babbling to one another incoherently while Talia tried to form a complete sentence that wasn't related to 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'where's the bathroom', we somehow pieced together the knowledge that Esperanza was the last of her tribe of were-cats. The reason? Bingo, Moria. The psycho had apparently learned that the natural magicks of the Weres gave her more of a boost of power than anything else. Esper had been away from her tribe at the time, and thus spared a rather painful death.

And now, Moria had a were-jaguar with a severe revenge streak after her blood. Bad for Moria, good for me. I just gained a superb tracker with the strength, agility, senses and abilities of a full-grown jaguar. 

Of course first, we had to introduce her to the wonders of clothing. Never again, will I try to convince a were-jaguar in Human form to wear a bra. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I never, ever wish to endure ever again. Never.

It was another two months before we ended up here, in Jamaica. It was here that we met A'Janae, a five foot nine athletic native to the island. She was lax on most of her explanation of why she had sought me out. But from what I managed to get out of her, she had moved to New Orleans when she was twenty, and now, six years later, she had been unable to fight a strange complement to return here, where we literally ran into each other. From what I can tell, she's Human, although she does have power within her. What that power is, however, is a completely different matter. She won't say what it is, and everytime I try to magickally scry her, she throws shields up to deflect me.

These past two months have been oddly relaxing. Moira seems to have hit a lull, for which I am thankful for, and while we've lost the trail, it's given the five of us time to get to know each other better. 

Esper, as we've come to call her, has spent the last two months learning how to speak English. She's rather good at it now, and it helped greatly that Talia was able to tutor her. The were-jaguar, I've found, has a fiery spirit, and a predatory edge to her that has made many shivers travel through my spine. We've finally managed to get her to accept clothing, and while she won't let any of us get close to her with any kind of makeup, she has taken to wearing a black leather and silver studded choker around her throat.

Kaia and Talia bonded. Once they realised that they both loved fun and parties it was like they automatically became inseparable. It's like having two little sisters that you want to strangle. Except one of these 'sisters' is an ageless Water Sprite that is quite capable of hurling a tsunami wave at my head, and the other is a Forest Pixie that takes great pleasure in scaring tourists by making the bushes come alive and reach for them with questing vines.

And me.... I started out on a mission and now I'm just along for the ride. Thank the Gods that Pa had a decent sized life-savings, else I'd never be able to afford the transport and lodging. Not to mention the couple of shopping sprees we've indulged in. I find myself starting to like a more gothic look. Black suits me. And I've also taken this time to work on hiding my Irish accent. According to my new friends, I'm hard to understand. Heh, good thing they've never heard me stressed yet.

Well, the sun is setting, and I should go back to the hotel room. Maybe I can pry more information out of A'Janae....

"Hola, mi amiga! ¿Cómo está?"

"Ack!" Aiden yelped and tumbled from her perch, landing hard on her back with a very audible 'oof' as she stared up into the gaze of the resident were-jaguar, who was currently in human form. Hazel eyes gleamed down at her in an almost predatory fashion, the colour of her eyes accented by the midnight black of her hair and by the two out of place grey bangs that framed her face. She was currently sporting black jeans, sneakers and a grey sportsbra. _Well, at least she isn't walking around naked again. Last time she did that, the male hotel staff almost fainted from severe blood deprivation to the brain._ "Esper.... bloody 'ell! Dinnae sneak up on me like tha!"

"Ach! Forgive me, amiga! I forget that you Humans cannot hear the footsteps of a cat." A chuckle rumbled out of her as Esper held out a hand to her friend, grinning at Aiden's low grumble as she pulled the fiery haired woman to her feet. "You are not hurt, I hope?"

"No...." She took a moment to shake sand out of her tank top and calm herself so that her accent died down before returning her gaze to the were-jaguar, whose attention was currently diverted to picking up the loose leafs of paper that had been scattered to the ground when she had startled and done her ungraceful crash to the ground. She was still amazed at how quickly the Were had learned English, and while she wasn't perfectly fluent, or able to hide her thick Spanish accent, she was quite capable at holding her own in a conversation. "What's up?"

Hazel eyes blinked past a curtain of black hair, and Esper frowned curiously as she looked at her friend in confusion. "Up? Ah! Si, si. Talia and Kaia were wondering where you had gone. They sent me to find you. They are.... ach, what is the damned word.... preocupado... er... worried. Si! They are worried about you."

"Oh, bloody hell. I forgot to tell them I was coming out here." Cursing herself at her own stupidity, Aiden huffed in annoyance and raked her fingers through her hair, freeing it of sand.

"Amiga? ¿Qué es esto?"

"Huh?"

Esper rolled her eyes and waved the handful of papers that she was holding at her friend. "¿Qué es esto? What is this?"

"Oh. S'just a journal of sorts. I thought it'd be good for there to be a record of what's been happening. You know, in case.... in case something happens."

"In case we die, you mean."

"Aye."

Esper frowned and handed Aiden's writings back to her. "Amiga, do not dwell on such things. You are powerful, I can scent it on you, and on the others. You need not doubt yourself. Confía en mí, amiga."

A moment of silence passed between them before Aiden smirked and rose her gaze to Esper's. "Would you pick one language and stick to it? You're hurting my brain."

A purr of amusement rumbled out of the Were as she draped an arm over Aiden's shoulders and guided her back towards the hotel they were staying at. "Ah, but what better way for you to learn?"

"Talia told you to do this, didn't she?"

"The little cub does not dictate my actions."

"I beg to differ."

"Ay, beg all you wish, amiga. It does not change a thing!" Fangs glinted in the sunlight as Esper grinned, and Aiden's eyes widened a little before she shot a wary look around them.

"Esper, your fangs are showing again. I thought you said you were adept at holding this form!"

Blinking, the Were ran her tongue over a fang and frowned, concentrating a moment to alter her human guise once again, the fangs shrinking back into flat Human teeth. "I am, amiga. However, in other times, I did not have to hide _all_ of my Were traits. I forget sometimes that Humans do not react well to claws and fangs."

Aiden nodded. "I can understand that. Hey, can I ask you something?"

Curious at the sudden serious tint to her friend's scent, Esper pulled away from her and gave Aiden her full attention. "Of course."

"What do you think of A'Janae?"

"Is this.... personal or professional?"

"Both."

Sharp hazel eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously in the waning sunlight. "Her scent gives away her feelings. She does not know what to make of us, and she has yet to come to a decision on whether or not she can trust us. Her power is not like yours, however. While you are in tune with the energies of nature and of life, she is in tune with her own inner strength, the strength of the body, mind and spirit. Personally," she bared lengthened fangs again and rumbled out a low growl, eyes taking on a tint of gold. "I do not like her. She watches us, patient like a hunter waiting for the prey to lower their guard. She has her own reasons for being here, and if it comes down to a choice, I do not believe that she will stand by our side." 

A sigh left Aiden as she looked back towards the ocean, her thoughts whirling with what Esper had just told her. "I was afraid of that. Is that why you're so protective of Talia? Because you don't trust A'Janae?"

"It.... is instinct more than anything else." The Were's cheeks darkened a little under her natural tanned complexion, the anger fading from her as quickly as it had come to be replaced with a deep sorrow. "In my tribe, the youngest among us was always watched over and cared for by all members...."

She could have slapped herself. "Oh, Esper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...." 

"No." She rose a hand, cutting off Aiden's apology. "It is alright."

"You're sure?"

"Si."

Feeling awkward, she merely nodded, then continued heading for the hotel, letting silence hang over them for a moment before the need to say _something_ overcame her. "We're gonna have to start teaching you some slang. You sound all proper."

Aiden could imagine the jaguars ears twitch in her direction. "Slang?"

"You know. Saying 'it's' instead of 'it is'. Well okay, it's not really slang, but still, it's part of the English language."

"I have barely managed to grasp this language and you wish to confuse me all over again?"

She chuckled at that. "It's just that no one really talks like that, all proper, I mean. You stand out. I thought you cats were big on camouflage when hunting."

A single black eyebrow arched upwards, amusement slowly working it's way into the steady hazel gaze. "We are."

"Well?"

"Fine. I will.... _I'll_ work on it."

Aiden grinned at her and playfully nudged her in the ribs with her elbow, seeing the Were's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before she chuckled and returned the gesture, very obviously holding back a large portion of her strength so as not to hurt her. They headed back to the shared hotel room in comfortable silence, and Aiden was glad for the small respite, knowing that having to share a room with four other people was going to be.... interesting.

True to form, they walked into what could loosely be termed a 'warzone', and Aiden spent a moment gawking at the scene of Talia and Kaia perched on the bed while staring at a small TV while they both ate out of various bags of junks food that littered the bedcovers. A'Janae looked like she wanted to fling herself off the balcony as the two energetic members of their team nattered on about the possibility of the X-Men truly existing.

Esper automatically reached out and grabbed Aiden's arm when it seemed like she was going to back out of the room, giving her a feral grin as she pushed her further into the room.

"Finally! I was beginning to think that you had abandoned me here!" Visibly relieved to see two sane people in the room, A'Janae rose from the chair she had been occupying and pointed at the two on the bed. "These two are like children. If I hear one more Elmer Fudd impression I think I'm going to scream."

Talia snickered and exchanged mischievous glances with Kaia. "Be vwerrry, vwerrry, qwiet. Oi'm huntin' wabbits. Eheheh!"

Grinning, Kaia quickly struck a pose, one hand risen into the air to point at the ceiling while her other hand lay over her heart. "Kill de wabbit, kill de wabbit--"

"Argh!" Resisting the urge to rip out a handful of her shoulder length dreadlocks, A'Janae glared at the the two snickering girls, then snatched the remote away from them and turned off the TV. "No more!"

"Awww....."

"I should have stayed at the beach," Aiden muttered to Esper, who chuckled and moved to throw herself onto the bed, lying perpendicular to the two who were sitting at the foot of it. "You're not helping."

That, of course, set the two off again. "Help!"

"'Cause I need somebody!"

"Help!"

"Yes, I need somebody!"

"Help!"

"You goin' to be needin' help if you keep this up!" A'Janae shook a fist at them threateningly, then glanced over at the reclining Were when a low warning growl filled the room. "Oi, stay outta this, cat!"

"Alright, alright!" Taking the roll of peacemaker before the room got trashed, Aiden set her papers on a table and walked into the fray, making calming gestures at everyone. "Let's just all calm down, okay?"

Esper snorted and returned her attention to staring at the ceiling, unable to stop a purr from leaving her when Talia fell back and used her stomach as a pillow. "Hola, joven."

The term made Talia scrunch up her nose in distaste. "You'll never stop calling me that, will you?"

"No."

"What's it mean?" Kaia asked, twisting around to take part in this new predicament.

"Means 'young woman'," Talia muttered in mock annoyance, reaching out to poke the Were in the ribs. "She does it on purpose."

A chuckle made the low constant purring waver. "¿Quién, yo?"

"Don't you give me that 'who me' innocent crap, you big fluffball."

Shaking her head in amusement, Aiden walked over to A'Janae who had reseated herself at the small table near the patio doors and plunked down in the chair across from her. "Gotta hand it to her, she's good at distracting them."

"Next time, we should leave her in here," A'Janae smirked. "Let her deal with the Elmer Fudd impressions."

"Was it that bad?"

Wry amusement worked it's way into her dark gaze as she rose a hand and idly curled the end of a dreadlock around her right index finger. "Well, let me put it this way. If I hear the term 'spear and magic helmet' again this month, I may develop a twitch."

"Point taken." Aiden turned her attention back to the trio who were now exchanging playful verbal barbs and chuckled when Esper retaliated and tickled Talia, eliciting a shriek of laughter from the auburn haired girl. A low dread filled murmur made her return her gaze to A'Janae, who was digging her nails into the arms of the chair, her back ramrod straight. "A'Janae?!"

"Eh?" The worried cry drew the Were's attention, and Esper froze in mid-tickle to look over at their newest member, eyes widening when she realised what was happening. "¡Dios mío! Aiden, quickly! Get a pen and paper!"

Spurred onwards by the sight of Esper leaping from the bed to land in front of a now trembling A'Janae, Aiden frantically shot to her feet and ran to snatch the papers she had placed on a table near the door, pulling her pen from her jeans pocket as she thrust the items to an impatient Esper. "Here!"

"I cannot write. Simply take down what she says." Turning her gaze back to A'Janae in time to see the Jamaican's eyes go pure white, she crouched before her and frowned. "Tell us what you see, A'Janae."

Talia watched the scene in front of her for a moment, then rolled her eyes and rose a hand to smack herself in the forehead. "Oh, _duh!_ She's a clairvoyant!"

"Shh," Kaia whispered, waving at her friend to be silent as she strained to hear what was being said.

The Seer spoke through clenched teeth, every muscle in her body as tense as steel. "T-there's blood. A lot of it. Someone's crying.... I can't see who.... wait. No, there's a Human male.... only he isn't. He's another Were. A fox. He's trying to protect someone.... a child."

"Protect from who?" Aiden asked, although the cold sensation in the pit of her stomach told her that she knew who it was.

"A woman. Short red hair, black bangs, she's.... oh Gods.... she just ripped the heart out of the Were.... laughing...."

Esper's eyes turned gold, a thin ring of green appearing around the iris of her eyes. "Where? Where is this?"

"It's.... a city. Big, no, huge. A nickname.... Big Apple?" A shudder wracked her frame as a gasp escaped her, and she clenched her eyes shut as A'Janae slumped back into the chair, exhausted. "Oof, I lost it."

Talia looked over at a pensive Esper as Kaia hurried to get A'Janae a glass of water. "How'd you know she was a Seer?"

"Back in my tribe, our Wise One had the same gift," Esper murmured as she straightened and looked at A'Janae sympathetically. "Are you well?"

She nodded, one hand pressed to her forehead. "Yes. It just takes me a moment to reorient myself."

Aiden, meanwhile, was looking over the quick notes she had scribbled down during A'Janae's vision. "'Big Apple'? What the hell does a big fruit have to do with this?"

"Okay, that's just lame." Rolling her eyes, Talia shifted to sit lotus style and grinned at the confused Aiden. "Duh and a half, Aiden. Haven't you ever heard of New York City? The Big Apple?"

Esper blinked. "Why would someone name a city after a fruit?"

"Ugh. You're missing the point here. The place that A'Janae was seeing was New York City. It's huge, I'd bet there's hundreds of Weres and other nonhumans living there. If Moira's going after those kinda targets, what better place than somewhere where they're all in one spot?"

Aiden looked at Esper. "Why didn't we think of that?"

The Were shrugged, then folded her arms over her chest and looked at her new tribe. "Well, mi amigas, the hunt is renewed."

Talia grinned and jumped up onto her feet, still standing on the bed as she thrust a fist into the air. "Woohoo! An I know just the person who can help us too! My sister lives there! She'll help! So, let's haul ass to New York City! Woo!"

Aiden exchanged glances with Esper and A'Janae before looking back at a giddy Talia. "No more caffeine for you."

TBC

__ Translations: 

(I am in no way fluent in Spanish, I just know snippets here an there. If I get something wrong, please, feel free to email me and tell me. Nicely.) 

Hola - Hello

Amiga - Friend (female)

Si - Yes

¿Cómo está? - How are you? 

¿Qué es esto? - What is this?

¿Quién, yo? - Who, me?

¡Dios mío! - My God!

And thus ends our little Spanish class for today! :)  



	2. The sixth found

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. The lawyers won't let me have them.

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Darkside of the Moon

Chapter 2 - The sixth found

Ah yes, we're off to a wonderful start.

Have I ever mentioned that Esper and most of her departed tribe lived very sheltered lives? As in, **extremely** sheltered lives? Have you ever had to try to convince a Were who's never actually **seen** a plane to get onto one? Believe me, it's not an easy task. Especially when that Were is Esper. I've never seen a more sheltered person. The first time the PA System blared to life she jumped three feet into the air. Once we managed to get her **on** the plane, it was a whole other ordeal altogether to try to keep her calm while our flight took off, heading for New York City. In the end, Talia and I ended up dissolving a few Gravol in a shot of Tequila and making her drink it. Drastic times and all that. She's still sleeping too. 

All I can say is that it's a good thing that we gave her the window seat because I can see the tips of her fangs peeking out over her bottom lip, and I'm certain that her ears weren't that pointed before. Seems that knocking her out with drugs makes her loose full control over her Human Form. Ah well, it's worth it. A hysterical were-jaguar is not something I wish to be sitting next to on a cramped plane.

To add to my growing headache, A'Janae is **still** complaining about having to sit in Coach with the rest of us. I told her that if she wanted to be in First Class, that she could go buy her own damned ticket. All I got in response was an affronted sniff of distain. Serves her right that she's sitting next to the woman with the screaming kid. Karma is a lovely thing, it is.

Kaia and Talia are sitting behind me, I can hear them playing poker. Born of boredom, the game started almost an hour ago, and after Talia had taught the Water Sprite the basics of the game, it had turned fully serious. They're using pretzels as currency, and if my hearing is correct, Talia's down twenty pretzel sticks.

As for me, I'm awake for the whole flight. The gentleman - and I use the term loosely - sitting to my right is snoring and I have to nudge Esper every now and again when she starts to snarl and growl in her sleep. Goddess.... I hope we land soon.....

~*~

"Guys! Come _on!_ You're slower than molasses in January!" Tapping her foot impatiently, Talia halted and spun around to stab a glare at the slackers, planting her fists on her hips as she frowned at them. "Come. On!"

Their plane had landed almost two hours ago, and after they had managed to coerce a still drugged Esper into some form of coherency, the five of them had piled into a taxi on Talia's request, the youngest of their group certain that her sister, who lived in the city, would help them out. Unfortunately, the energetic Talia had failed to take into account that her companions were suffering from severe Jet Lag, and thus not willing or able to muster up great amounts of energy. 

"C'mon, it's not much further. Her apartment building's right across the street," she told them, turning to shield her eyes from the sun with a hand as she peered at the nearly building. A low grumble made her glance over at the Were that was now standing beside her, and she smiled as she playfully nudged her arm. "Wake up."

"How can I not be awake, with the stench of this 'city' assaulting me?" Shaking her head a little, Esper snorted, as if to dispel the oppressing smells that surrounded her.

"You get used to it," A'Janae told the Were sympathetically, remembering what it had been like for her the first time she had moved to a large city, such a complete contrast to her life in Jamaica. "Just breath through your mouth for a bit, it helps."

"This place.... I've heard of this City from other Sprites, but.... I was not prepared for this...." Arms wrapped around herself, Kaia surveyed the concrete jungle around her with wide eyes, wondering how anything could live in a place like this. 

"Let's just go." Knowing how hard it was to be in a place where one couldn't feel the clean energy of nature around them, Aiden led the way across the street, glancing at Talia when she hurried to her side. "What's your sister's name again?"

"Canace."

"Can-ace?"

"No, no. It's pronounced Kha-Na-Say. We don't know what our parents were thinking when they named her. That's probably why she goes by the name of 'Ace'." Talia shrugged and glanced back at the others, nodding to herself when she saw that they were following, although Esper looked like she was ready to bolt. "I just hope she's home. Some of the troops look a little shocked."

"A little? I think Esper's about ready to run all the way back to Brazil! Don't blame her though," Aiden added as an afterthought. "No offence, but this place makes me yearn for the hillsides of my Homeland."

"Yeah. It takes a lot to get used to." Sighing, Talia went over to the building's main entrance and peered at the names listed beside the door buzzers. "Ah. Here we go."

Esper cocked her head as Talia pressed a button, a loud high-pitched shriek of static coming from the speaker for a moment before she pulled her hand away. "¿Qué?" Before she could receive an answer, another burst of noise assaulted her sensitive ears, and she forced herself to hide her wince of discomfort as Talia grinned and pulled the now unlocked door open.

Very aware that some of the group were nearing the end of their coping capabilities, Talia quickly ushered them onto a free elevator and thumbed the eleventh floor button, glad at least, that Esper had already experienced elevators back at the Hotel in Jamaica. The group had all taken the time to try to bring the Were up to date with technology, and while Esper didn't seem to be all that interested in it, she at least wasn't prone to lashing out at anything that startled her anymore.

She shook herself out of her thoughts as she stopped in front of her sister's apartment, taking a moment to glance back at her friends before she rose a fist and knocked on the door, stepping back in surprise when it was violently yanked open.

"Dammit, for the last time, I _don't_ want any candy ba--- _Talia?!_"

"Um...." Suddenly nervous, she rose her right hand and wiggled her fingers at her dumbfounded sister. "Hi?"

She hadn't changed a bit. Shoulder length hair dyed a smoky lavender and pinned up into a messy ponytail, Ace still looked the same as when Talia had seen her three years ago. Bright grey green eyes stared at her in shock as the door swung open the rest of the way, letting her see the black jeans and purple tank top her sister wore. "What? We can't come in?"

"Sweet holy hell!" Her shock broken, Ace lunged forward and enveloped her little sister in a bone-jarring hug, holding her for a moment before shoving her back to arms length and shaking her. "Where have you _been?!_ I've gotten _hundreds _of phone calls from our folks! They think you're dead!! What the hell are you doing in New York, and who the hell are those people?!"

Talia winced. "It's a long story, and we need your help.... Look, can we come in? I'll tell you everything. It's just, we've had a long flight, and Esper really needs a few more hours sleep."

Ace frowned and glanced at the ones standing a little ways behind her sister, her eyes widening when her gaze landed on what she immediately recognised as a Feline Were, the most powerful kind of Weres. "Yeah, you'd better fill me in."

~*~

"....and that's why we're in New York."

Ace was glad she was sitting down. If she had been standing, she was certain that she would have fallen flat on her ass. Licking her dry lips, she warily turned her gaze to the jaguar that was sleeping near the balcony doors, basking in the light from the sunset that streamed into the room. If she had been anyone else, seeing a women transform into one of the most potentially dangerous big cats in the world would have freaked her out considerably. Luckily for her, her entire life had been filled with strangeness. 

"Look, I didn't know about her folks," Aiden said into the tense silence that followed the end of Talia's explanation. "If I had, I would have made her contact them. She told me she was an orphan."

That brought Ace back to the present. "What?! Talia!"

"I didn't want to go back, okay? This.... this is important, Ace. Really high up there. I can feel it!" Frowning in determination to make her sister understand, Talia leaned forward from where she was sitting on the couch and fixed Ace with a stern look. "You'd feel it too if you didn't shun what you are."

"Alright, look. First off, you're insane. You're twenty-one years old for Crissake! You shouldn't be hunting a psychotic killer! Second. Don't you pull that high and mighty crap with me! You may accept the power we got from Dad, but I don't. I never wanted any part of it and I still don't."

"The powerrrrr is a rrrrarrre gift. You sssshould not ssssshun it."

Ace grumbled at the sound of the content purr, and shot a glare in the direction of the were-jaguar that was once again in Human Form, though still stretched out on the floor. "You, shut up."

"Ace, please! Don't be like this!"

"Be like what? Smart?" Annoyed, she got to her feet and stalked over to the kitchen counter to snatch at that morning's paper and shake it at her. "You expect me to go along with this? Talia, this bitch is a cold-blooded killer!"

Aiden's eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of the headline, her heart sinking at the stark article of '**Six more bodies discovered!**'. Sighing miserably, she rested her elbows on her knees and sunk her face into her hands, shivering when a silent Kaia rubbed a hand over her back reassuringly.

"We expect you to help us, because like us, you do not wish Moira to take another innocent life." Folding her arms over her chest, A'Janae leaned back against the wall and met Ace's gaze solemnly. "Am I right?"

"Of course I don't want innocent's to die! Some of my best-friends are Weres, but that doesn't mean that I'm ready to jump into a war!"

Talia sighed. "Ace.... _please_. We need your help."

Ace slammed the newspaper down onto the counter and glared down at it, very aware of the tense silence from the ones in her livingroom as she warred with herself. True, she didn't want any more Weres to die, and she certainly didn't want her sister getting herself killed.... but to jump headlong into a fight that was in all aspects magickal.... something that she had shunned all her life.... "....dammit all to hell and back."

Esper chuckled and rose her hands to lace her fingers behind her head, fangs catching the sunlight as she turned her head to wink at Talia. "Well, Chiquita, it looks like we've added yet another person to our tribe."

"I didn't say 'yes' yet!" Ace protested, her anger dissolving at the grin of relief that Talia was giving her. "Aw crap.... alright, fine. Yes. I'm in. But if we get killed, I'm kicking all your asses in the Afterlife!"

"Thank you!" Relieved that her sister was going to help them out, Talia launched herself from the couch and tackled her with a hug, knocking them both back against the counter.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ace muttered, though she couldn't hide a smile as she returned the hug, then pulled away and picked up the cordless phone, headed for her bedroom. "Now, I'll call the folks and make up some sort of lie or something. The rest of you, get some sleep. Because if you want information about what's happening on the streets, then we're gonna have to go clubbing. All the good places only open after nine, so you've got a good three hours of free time."

"'Clubbing'?" Curious, Esper sat up and looked at Talia. "Who are we attacking?"

Despite herself, Aiden had to fight back a bout of laughter. "Nono. Not attacking. It's a slang term. For a place where people go to party."

"Like a fiesta?"

"Yeah!" Excited at the opportunity to sample some of New York's dance clubs to see if they were like any of the ones back home, Talia grinned at the Were and happily lounged back against the couch, kicking her boots off as she did so. "Oh, it's so kewl. The music's great, and you can dance and everything!"

Kaia perked up at that. "Dancing? Truly?"

"Yeah. I used to go to the Clubs back home all the time. After all this trekking, it'll be great to really relax a bit."

"This isn't supposed to be fun," A'Janae said with a frown as she moved to stretch out on the unclaimed loveseat, propping her feet up on the arm of it as she did so. "You should be taking this serious, Talia."

"I _am_," she grumbled, glaring at A'Janae in annoyance as she rose her arms and laced her fingers behind her head. "But it won't do any of us good if we don't _relax_. We can't help anyone if we're stressed out of our minds and close to having breakdowns."

"The Chiquita's right," Esper nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair, gently working out some tangles. "Even the greatest hunters need to relax every now and again."

A'Janae snorted. "How would _you_ know, _cat_?"

The Were's eyes narrowed at the term as a low threatening growl rumbled out of her, her eyes flashing gold. "Hold your tongue, bruja, lest I be forced to relieve you of it."

"Brave words coming from the coward who let her Tribe be murdered!"

"_¡Cállate!_" Snarling in rage, Esper transformed into her jaguar form in the blink of an eye, talons unsheathing in preparation of tearing out the blasphemer's throat as she crouched. Had Talia not launched herself off the couch to throw her arms around her furred neck, she would have attacked A'Janae without a second thought.

"A'Janae!" Heart pounding from both the fear that Esper would kill someone and from anger at the Jamaican's words, Aiden shot a venomous glare at the woman and glowered. "Back off! We all know that Esper wasn't even _near_ her Tribe when Moira murdered them! I don't know why you've been so nasty towards her lately, but keep it to yourself! The last thing we need is to start fighting amongst ourselves!"

"I know her kind," A'Janae frowned, fixing Aiden with her dark gaze. "You're a fool to trust a Were. I've kept silent until now, but this has gone on long enough. She's merely an animal, just because she can take Human form doesn't mean she won't turn on us in our sleep. She's a wild animal, untameable. Untrustable."

Kaia felt anger rise in her at that. "You are quite possibly one of the most closed-minded mortals I have ever met," she told her, the Water Sprite's voice no longer that of her teenage guise, but that of a timeless Elemental Spirit. "Following your twisted logic, in your eyes I suppose I am merely a thing? A soulless creature born of the seas?"

A'Janae jerked, startled by the swirling depths of the dark blue gaze that was fixed on her. In all truth, she respected Elemental Spirits the most. "N-no...."

"Ah. A double standard. You condemn Esper because she is a being of magick that can take Human form, and yet for some reason, I, who am also a being of magick in Human form, am not a target of your prejudice....or should I say, racism?" Kaia's expression darkened at the word, and she waited until A'Janae had lowered her gaze before continuing. "In the future, keep such heartless comments to yourself, mortal. I will not tolerate hearing them again."

Talia, who had fairly attached herself to Esper to keep the jaguar from attacking, glanced over at her friend in shock, amazed that the previously carefree and playful Sprite had turned so serious. A low sigh from the one she was clinging to made her glance into warm golden eyes for a moment, her own green gaze widening in surprise when a soft rumbling growl caught her attention.

Argh, I should have sunk my fangs into her when I had the chance....

"Holy shit!" Everyone's gazes were drawn to her as she scrambled back from Esper, staring at her. "You can _talk_ in this form?!"

The jaguar blinked. You _heard_ me?!

Aiden, meanwhile, exchanged curious glances with Kaia, who had been distracted from her anger by Talia's outburst. "Um.... Talia, she didn't say anything."

"Wha....?" Talia shot a disbelieving look at Aiden and frowned. "But.... but I _heard_ her!"

"It could be that her half Forest-Pixie status allows her to communicate with our resident jaguar," Kaia mused, turning to look at Aiden as she spoke. "An Elemental of the Forests can always converse with those in her domain."

Caramba, this is getting complicated, Esper muttered as she shifted her stance and looked out the open balcony doors. Talia, tell Aiden that I will return shortly. I am in desperate need of some space.

"What are you--ack! Esper!" Talia scrambled to her feet as the Were lithely jumped up to stand on the edge of the balcony railing, standing there with grace and balance that most gymnasts would kill for. "Esper, wait! You don't know your way around the city! If anyone _sees_ you--!"

Golden eyes settled on the red-haired girl, staring at her for a moment before Esper reverted to her Human form and crouched on the railing, fixing Talia with an intense stare. "The sun sets, Chiquita, no one will see me."

Talia frowned and glanced back at the others, catching Aiden's eye and smiling a little when the 'leader' of their group shrugged. "Can I come with you? I know my way around a bit. I can guide you to Central Park."

A little startled by the request, Esper took a long moment before nodding and holding a hand out to her, lifting the girl off the balcony with effortless care and relocating her to her arms. "Hold tight," she warned before turning and jumping off the balcony, plummeting down the side of the building at an incredible speed and landing effortlessly, the concrete buckling a little under her. The Were spared a glance at a wide-eyed Talia and felt a smug grin spread over her lips as she winked and set the girl on her feet. "Lead the way, amiga."

~*~

"Oi! Y'all are too quiet in there! What's goin' on?" Ace called as she walked out of her bedroom, the phone cradled in her hands. "Talia, our folks are mighty pissed that you took.... off? Um.... where's my sister? And why is the tension so thick that a chainsaw couldn't cut through it?"

"A'Janae and Esper had a little.... disagreement," Aiden answered tiredly, raising a hand to rub at her eyes as she leaned back against the couch. "Esper took off for a while and Talia went with her."

Ace arched a purple dyed eyebrow at A'Janae, then looked back to Aiden. "Well.... I suppose that's okay. Where'd they say they were going?"

Shrugging, Kaia rose from the couch and went to stand at the balcony doors, staring out at the setting sun as it slowly made it's way down the horizon. "Talia said something about a 'Central Park'."

"Oh." It took a moment for that to sink in. "...._whaaaat?!_ She went _where?!?!_"

~*~

"Esper?"

The Were that was leading the way down a small dirt path paused and looked back at the girl, frowning when she saw that Talia had stopped and sat on an old bench that was directly under a lamppost. Sighing, she turned away from the expanse of trees that lay before her and went to sit next to her, following her gaze to the intricate flower bed that lay across from them. "Si, Chiquita?"

"I'm sorry, about what A'Janae said. She shouldn't have said that."

Another sigh escaped her lips as she leaned back against the bench, draping her arms over the back of it and staring up at the darkened sky, her keen eyesight easily picking out faint flickers of distant stars. "Amiga.... don't apologise for something that wasn't your fault."

"But it's not true!" Talia growled, angrily staring at the dirt under her feet for a heartbeat before raising her gaze to look at the woman next to her. "You're not some mindless animal! And you're not a coward! It's not your fault that your Tribe was murdered!" Solemn hazel eyes met her own turmoiled gaze then, and she impulsively threw herself forward to hug the Were, feeling Esper tense for a moment before she returned the embrace. "She had no right...."

"Talia...." Her throat constricted, and she swallowed thickly in an attempt to rid herself of the knot that was rising. "Talia, don't dwell on such things. In a way, she's right. I am a jaguar. Despite my ability to change into a Human form, I will always be a jaguar. I will always have the strength, speed and abilities of my Feline-Were ancestors."

Talia frowned and pulled away a bit, staring at her. "But you're not mindless. You're not some bloodthirsty, heartless thing!"

"No. I didn't say I was. I'm merely trying to remind you that I am _not_ Human. I rely on my instincts to guide me. To hunt, to protect those I care for to.... to live."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"And if I had attacked A'Janae? If you hadn't stopped me?"

"....would you have killed her?"

Esper paused for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I kill only to hunt and protect. She would have survived."

Not wanting to know how badly hurt A'Janae would have ended up being, alive or not, Talia sighed and tucked her legs under herself, resting her head on the Were's shoulder. "Esper, you're my best-friend. I don't care if you're a Were or not, that doesn't matter. We're all shells for our souls. It doesn't matter _what_ you are, it's _who_ you are that matters."

Surprised at the sternness in her tone, Esper looked down at the head of red hair that was resting on her shoulder and blinked. "Well, well. A such a wise statement for one so young."

"Mom once told me that I had the old soul. I still think that's weird. I'm the youngest in the family and yet I'm the oldest. But.... I've always known more than I should. About everything...." Talia sighed at the memory and closed her eyes. "I miss her, you know. But I won't go home. Not until this is finished."

A reassuring purr rumbled out of the black-haired woman as she hugged the young girl, meeting her gaze warmly. "If you miss her so, why don't we go back to your sister's home so that you can call your mother?"

"I don't wanna force you to go back. I know you wanted time away," Talia protested weakly, looking at the Were as her friend rose from the bench and stretched.

"And I got it, didn't I? Though, I'd much prefer the forests of my Homeland. The air smells so _foul_ here. Thank your Gods that you don't have the senses of a jaguar, amiga! This place is even enough to turn _my_ stomach."

Talia grinned at that. "Considering that you're the one who ate an entire bag of expired beef jerky and survived, that's gotta be pretty bad."

"I resent the implications of how you say that, Chiquita."

Chuckling at Esper's sour tone, Talia hopped to her feet and playfully linked her right arm through Esper's left one, pulling her along as she headed out of the Park. "Me? Imply something? Never."

Sharp fangs caught the light given off by another lamppost. "You are not a good liar, mi amiga," Esper retorted with equal playfulness, content to let the young girl lift both their spirits as they headed back to Ace's home.

TBC

Translations:

Chiquita - (informal) Small one/little one

¿Qué? - What?

¡Cállate! - Shut up! 

Bruja - Bitch

Caramba - Good gracious! / For crying out loud!

All translations from www.wordreference.com


	3. Plan gone awry

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. The lawyers won't let me have them.

****

Darkside of the Moon

Chapter 3 - Plan gone awry

"Geez, ya'd think that people who live in New York would be smarter than this! Walkin' through a dark alley at ten at night ain't a real bright thing ta do!"

The grumble that held a definite Brooklyn accent came from the shadows that spilled over the low roof of an old building as he melded into the darkness, keen eyes easily picking out the six women that were cutting through the alleyway below.

"Give 'em some slack, Raph. Maybe they're tourists." The second voice was more cheerful than the first, but it held much concern for the ones in question. The moonless night afforded the speaker perfect cover as he leaned over the edge of the roof, staring down at the six forms worriedly. 

"Yeah right." The speaker, Raph, stepped out of the shadows and out into the dim light from the glow of the streetlamps, narrowed eyes scanning the rooftops around him before returning to the alleyway. Well sculpted arms folded over a yellow plastron as the mutant turtle scowled down at the street below, his intense gaze accented by the dark red bandana he wore as he studied the ones his brother was staring at. "No way a tourist would know which alleys to cut through to get to that dance club, Mikey."

Orange bandana tails rose off of broad green shoulders as a breeze washed over the one called 'Mikey', playing with the worn material for a moment before letting them fall back down to rest on the smooth curve of a shell. "Good point. They're pretty though, dontcha think?"

"Yeah. I could _defiantly_ go for some of that."

Mikey caught his brothers wicked grin and rolled his eyes. "Forget I asked." Turning his gaze away from the other turtle, he rested his elbows on the ledge and studied the the six women below. The one that was leading them - while he couldn't see her face - had light purple hair that was pinned up with a fancy clip. A row of five small stud earrings adorned her right ear, while her left only had two piercings. She wore dark boots and pants with a shimmering long sleeved pastel purple blouse that clung tightly to her chest and shoulders, and flowed opened just above her navel, baring her stomach and the small silver hoop that pierced her bellybutton.

The second in line was the same height as the first, about five foot six. Fiery red hair framed her face, the locks barely brushing the tops of her shoulders as she shook her head in answer to something the first woman had said. Light from the nearby street glinted off of the numerous silver rings that she wore on her right hand as she gestured at something, the movement showing off the bare skin of her shoulders. She wore dark clothing as well, though he could make out that her pants were a blood red, a silver belt buckle just barely visible under the hem of her strapless tight black shirt, it's sheer sleeves covering her arms from her wrists to a point three inches above her elbows, leaving her shoulders bare, allowing the sliver choker around her neck to be in plain view.

"You'll love it, Esper! Trust me! The music's to _die_ for!"

The excited exclamation drew Mikey's gaze to the third girl, and he smiled a little at her cheerful demeanour as she literally pulled someone after her. Auburn red hair flowed down to the middle of her back, bangs pinned away from her face with a sparkling clip shaped like a daisy. Her attire was the wildest of the group, black boots with leopard printed pants and a shimmering white sleeveless blouse. 

'Esper' didn't seem all to thrilled to be dragged along, and he quirked an eyeridge curiously when he saw two streaks of light grey amongst her wild midnight black shoulder-length hair. She wore no jewellery save for a thin leather choker around her throat. Of them all, she was the least body shy, it seemed, for he didn't think she would have worn those tight leather pants otherwise. The outfit was completed with a grey top with spaghetti straps, the halter top just barely covering her breasts before additional straps of material crisscrossed over her stomach, tying in the back.

Another girl joined in on trying to get 'Esper' to move faster by pushing her forwards from behind. This one sported short hair dyed a dark blue, the colour accented by the light blue gem that sparkled brightly on her necklace. Light blue jeans and black boots complimented the dark blue halter top and white vest that she wore, the light colours making her blue hair stand out all the more.

The last in line seemed like she wanted to be there even less than 'Esper' did. Dark chocolate skin contrasted starkly with the light yellow tank top that she wore, dark blue jeans and brown sandals completing an outfit that obviously served more for comfort than for show. Her long dark hair was done up in what seemed to be almost a hundred small braids, each dreadlock kept from unravelling by a single coloured bead.

Now that he'd taken the time to study them, Mikey had to agree with his brother. They certainly knew where they were going. It was obvious that the one in the lead and the other with the daisy clip had been this way before, it showed in the confidence of their steps. The others merely trusted in their guidance, although he caught Esper glancing around the alley more than once.

His brother shifted suddenly, pointing down at the dark forms that were moving towards the girls, a definite tone of anticipation in his voice as he cracked his knuckles, readying himself for the fight he was planning on starting. "Here come the lowlifes."

~*~

"Esssspeeeer! Would you quit digging your heels in and just _come on?!_" Annoyed, Talia tried to pull the Were forward again, grumbling when her efforts gave her nothing. Esper still stood there, rooted to the spot, her eyes narrowed as she glanced around them. It was then that she realised that the Were was growling softly "What? What is it?"

"We're being hunted." At almost the exact moment the words left her lips, five men emerged from the shadows in front of her, cutting off Ace and Aiden's progress towards the street. A soft curse from A'Janae behind her told her that an equal or greater amount of men had appeared behind them as well. 

As if on queue, the six women moved together, their backs to one another as they glared at the people who were slowly moving in on them, each thug sporting some sort of improvised weapon.

Ace frowned at the five men in front of her and glanced at the woman that was behind her. "Esper?"

"Si?"

"How many back there?"

"Five."

"Here too. Can you handle those? _Without_ killing anyone?"

"Easily."

"Good. Aiden?"

"Hmm?"

"Grab the others and run for the street, okay?"

"Aye."

"Good. On three.... _Three!_"

With a deafening roar, Esper leapt forward, surprising her five targets long enough that she was able to take out two of them with powerful punches. A male yelp from behind her drew her gaze for a moment, and she smirked as she watched Ace throw one of her own adversaries into a wall and knock another one out of the fight with a few kicks.

The sound of something whistling through the air made her duck, hazel eyes turning gold as she saw the chain slice through the space where her head had been a mere breath before. Shifting her weight to keep her balance, she lashed out with her left foot and broke the man's kneecap with a sickly crunch, ignoring his screams of pain as she straightened and caught the crowbar the fourth attacker swung at her. The cool metal slapped into the palm of her right hand, and she grinned at his shocked expression as she fisted her hand around it, then shoved it back towards him, knocking him unconscious with his own weapon.

"Esper!"

The yell made her spin around, her eyes widening when she saw her fifth opponent advancing on a still present Talia. A quick glance showed that Ace was busy with her own fight, too far away to be of any help. Throwing her plan to keep her Were abilities secret to the four winds, she lunged forward and slammed into the male with enough force to shatter bones, using her momentum to her advantage as she grasped his throat, turned, and slammed him up against the brick wall, her teeth lengthening into sharp fangs as she snarled at him.

Talia stared at the Were in shock, she hadn't even seen Esper _move_. One moment she had been five meters away, the next she had the thug pinned against the wall! And speaking of which, she was certain that he wasn't supposed to be turning that colour. "Esper, I don't think he can breathe."

"Pity," the Were growled as she lifted him higher so that his feet weren't touching the ground. She knew what he and his group had been planning to do to Talia and the others, the scent of it had been strong on them, a stench of perverseness that made her stomach knot inside of her.

"Esper! Don't!"

Talia's hand landed on her arm, the touch making her turn her gaze to the young girl. _If she knew what he had been planning, would she still ask me to show him mercy?_ A loud sigh left her as she sent a final glare at her captive before she effortlessly threw him into a nearby garbage bin, wiping her hands on her pants before looking over towards Ace, who had her hands on her hips and was staring at them impatiently while Aiden, A'Janae and Kaia watched them from the relative safety of the well-lit street.

"Geez, could you have taken any longer?" Ace smirked, winking at Esper to lighten the barb. "I finished off my guys a whole minute ago!"

Esper rolled her eyes but refused to comment, playfully shoving Talia ahead of her as she headed out of the alley. She caught Ace's friendly smile as the lavender-haired woman turned to continue leading the way to the 'club' and sighed softly under her breath, watching Talia run forward until she was walking by Kaia's side. 

Shaking her head, she rose her hands and ran her fingers through her hair, taking a moment to make sure that her Human guise was intact before she stepped out into the bright light of the street. Flashing signs assaulted her vision, and she grimaced as her eyes rapidly adjusted to the harsh change. A low rhythmic beat caught her attention then, and had she been in jaguar form, her ears would have visibly perked at the sound. It was almost primal, like another heartbeat, and it was towards that noise that her friends were moving.

The sensation of being watched raked across her Were senses then, and she bristled as she spun to glare into the alley again, her gaze darting over the barely moving forms of the semi-conscious thugs before settling on a deeply shadowed corner, where she could discern two bulky forms crouched in the darkness. A quick test of the air told her that while they were immensely curious, they also held a scent of strength and, like her, they weren't human.

"Um.... whadda we do now?" Mikey whispered out of the corner of his mouth, very aware of the tense form of his brother next to him. His gaze was glued on the woman standing at the mouth of the alley, trapped in her own unwavering stare, and just for a moment, he thought he was staring at a big cat that was ready to pounce.

"Esper! C'mon!"

He let out the breath he had been holding in a gasp as Esper turned towards the call, her eyes flashing green as they caught and reflected the bright lights from the street. Raph slugged him in the arm then, jerking him out of his surprise as his brother used the woman's distraction to their advantage and silently scaled a nearby fire escape. 

Acting out of instinct, Mikey quickly followed him, pausing on the ledge of the roof to look down at Esper as she turned back to look at the spot they had been crouched in mere seconds ago, her gaze darting around the alleyway in confusion for a moment before another yell from her friends drew her away. A sigh of relief left him at their near-discovery, and he turned to look at Raph, meeting his brother's equally confused gaze as he voiced the question that was taking precedence in both their minds. "How'd she know we were there?"

Raph shook his head and walked over to the opposite side of the roof, staring down at the group of woman that were heading for the Electric Nation, one of the more low scale dance clubs in the city. "I gotta better question for ya, Mikey. How'd a girl like that manage ta _throw_ a guy, that musta weighed at least one-eighty, clear across the alley an into a garbage bin as if he weighed less than a paper cup?"

Mikey shrugged. "Female hormones?"

~*~

"Hmm."

Kaia frowned at Talia's thoughtful hum and looked at her curiously. "What?"

The girl frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "I have the sudden urge to smack a male. Don't really know where it came from."

"Save it for where we're going, sis," Ace grinned from the front of the group. "Some of the guys there have wandering hands."

Aiden grimaced. "Oh, lovely." She listened to Ace's amused snicker for a moment before hooking her thumbs into the waistband of her pants and giving into her curious nature. "Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?" When the woman nodded, Aiden took a fortifying breath, not really knowing how her question was going to go over. "Why do you shun your magick? I mean, not to preach or anything, because it is your choice.... I'm just.... curious."

"S'okay." Shrugging, Ace shot her a reassuring smile, then returned her attention to where she was going. "I guess I never really wanted it, y'know? I mean, I know Talia likes being half Pixie, but sometimes I wonder if maybe it's more of a curse. Mom was always preaching about how it was a gift, how now that I had this power that it was my responsibility to do help those in need.... I just.... want to be normal."

"Normal.... I don't think there's such a thing as 'normal'. True, those of us with Magick are far from being anything like the Mundanes, the Humans without our gifts.... But I don't think it's a curse. It's.... it's to precious to be a curse."

"Maybe," Ace muttered. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Aiden nodded. "No, it doesn't. You're right. Having power is a huge responsibility, sometimes it's terribly hard to live with it.... but in the end, I'd like to think that it's all worth it. Being able to help people, even if it's just to brighten their day by bringing life to a wilted rose, is worth anything Fate can fling our way." A quick glance showed her that Ace seemed to be seriously considering her words, and she decided to let the matter drop before she pushed it too far. "Thanks, by the way, for answering. You didn't have to."

A little surprised, Ace looked at her, then shrugged. "It was a fair question." She paused for a moment. "Any others?"

"Well.... one. I know Talia is half Forest-Pixie. But you don't have the same feel to your aura that she does."

"S'cuz I'm half Wind Pixie. See, Talia and I have the same Human Father, but different mothers. Mine died when I was born, so I never knew her. Dad met Talia's mother a year and a half after I was born. They fell in love and bang, there was Talia. Dad always had a thing for Pixies."

"Oh. I'm sorry about your mother..... but a Wind Pixie? I've never heard of them. I know of the Water, Forest and Fire ones...."

"Wind Pixies are rare. Dad told me once that they don't usually like to be near other people, whether it's their own kind or Humans. Think hermits. Anyway, apparently my mother was the wild one of her family. A complete opposite of what her ancestors and family were like."

"Really? Huh, learn something new every day."

"Are we there yeeeeet?"

Both Ace and Aiden glanced back at the others upon hearing the impatient whine, blinking at the grinning Talia for a moment before they exchanged amused looks and looked ahead again. "So," Ace smiled, giving Aiden a sidelong glance. "What about you? What are your magicks?"

"Oh, a little of this and that. My folks.... My mother was a Wiccan, my father a Druid, so I know a lot about the energies of the world and of nature. I've got about fifty spells memorized, everything from healing to a few black magick spells."

"Black magick? Whoa, that's some nasty stuff, girl."

"I know. I haven't actually woven any of them yet, but considering how powerful Moira's getting, I figured that it couldn't hurt to know a few. Besides, it's easier to understand and diffuse something that you have knowledge of. Studying the Dark Arts gives me an advantage in knowing how to counter those kinds of spells."

"Mm. Good point."

"Yeah. Don't want to get in a situation where I'll have to use one of those spells though."

Ace nodded. "I don't blame you one bit."

"Are we there _yet?!_"

"Ach, Chiquita! Would you just leave it be?!"

"But Espeeeeer! I'm booooored!"

Aiden smirked and glanced over her shoulder. "Dear Goddess, she's bored. We're in trouble."

"Yup," Ace chuckled. "Lucky for us that we're here."

Talia blinked at her sister for a moment before following her pointing finger to the brightly lit building ahead of her, the neon green and pink signs flashing in alternating patterns, adding to the deep bass thrum of the music from within. A long line stretched from the entrance to halfway down the block, and she felt her spirits sink when she saw the two burly bouncers guarding the front doors, refusing to let most of the waiting crowd into the club. One of them looked like he was able to bench press a truck. "Oh man, this sucks. We'll never get in!"

"Ah ah, sis! Never say 'never'!" Grinning, Ace sauntered over to the two guards and grinned at them. "Hey guys! Wassup?"

The one closest to her grinned and lowered his shades, peering over the rim of them as he gave her outfit an approving inspection. "Ace. Haven't seen you around in a while."

"Been busy," she shrugged, resting one hand on her hip as she gestured back to her friends with her other hand. "They're with me. Showing them the night-life."

He arched an eyebrow and studied the five women standing behind her for a second before nodding and replacing his shades, stepping aside for them. "Don't start any fights, Ace."

Grinning, she winked at him and headed into the club. "You know me. I don't start 'em, I just finish 'em!" She paused just inside the entrance and waited until the others had joined her before ushering them into the main part of the club, smirking at Esper's wide-eyed gaze as the Were tried to take in all the flashing lights, the music and the throng of dancers and partiers. 

"You come here often enough that the _bouncers_ know you?!" Talia gave her sister a jealous scowl and pouted. "That's not fair!"

"I know the owner of this place. I'd introduce ya to 'im, but he's out of town for a few days," Ace replied, raising her voice to be heard over the beat of the music. "Why don't you take Kaia and Esper out onto the dance floor? The rest of us are going to migrate to the bar."

"Kay." Grinning excitedly at the prospect of dancing the night away, Talia latched onto Kaia and Esper and dragged them towards the dancers. "C'mon! Time's wasting!"

Confused, Aiden leaned close to Ace. "I thought we were here to get information?"

"We are! But I don't want Talia getting involved. Rather have her with Esper, at least that way she'll be out of trouble."

"Please tell me that you didn't bring us somewhere dangerous," A'Janae grumbled, the first actual words that she had uttered since leaving the apartment.

"It's not 'dangerous' per se, but it can get a little rowdy. People here don't like questions."

"Great," Aiden muttered sourly. "Just great."

~*~

Despite her earlier misgivings about this entire plan, Esper found herself caught up in the moment. The music was wild, untamed, it grasped her spirit and lifted it, it's own deep bass heartbeat resonating down into her very bones as she let it's rhythm guide her motions. A part of her was aware of Talia and Kaia dancing close to her, and she grinned at the Chiquita's excited laughter, closing her eyes afterwards and tilting her chin upwards, letting the constantly multicoloured flashing lights play over her face.

If the sounds of the music and of the crowd wasn't enough, her senses were nigh overloading with the scents that permeated the building, it's electric and boundless energy charged smell drawing a purr from her as it brought back memories of hunts she had done. She twisted aside as someone unknown brushed up against her, making room for them to pass by without breaking her instinctive dance, only whoever it was moved with her, wrapping their arms around her waist. 

Annoyed, she snapped her eyes open and shot a venomous glare at the man that was seriously pushing the line between dancing and sexual harassment. A low snarl and a quick jab to his ribs sent the message that not only was she not interested, but that if he persisted, she'd give him a lesson he'd never forget. Taking a moment to make sure he wouldn't try to go after Talia and Kaia, she followed him with her gaze until he reached the bar, then turned her attention back to the hypnotic thrum of the music.

~*~

"Well, they look like they're having fun," Ace grinned as she leaned back against the bar, following Aiden's gaze out to where the trio were dancing. "Esper's got guys drooling over her."

"They'd better not try anything. That's _my_ shirt she's wearing and blood's a bitch to get out." Sipping at her Rum and Coke, Aiden stared into the moving mass of dancers for a moment longer, then turned around to face the the bar again. "So, Ace, where are we supposed to get info here?"

"Over there."

A'Janae frowned and followed Ace's pointing finger, eyes narrowing when she spotted the dark forms sitting at a table situated in the far corner of the club. "Ace, those are--"

"I know what they are, thank you very much. Why the hell do you think I didn't want Talia near them?"

"Ace, no." Seriously starting to debate how fast she could make it out the door, Aiden looked from the group in question back to Ace. "We are not going to deal with a gang of half-demons."

"Oh, chill. There's only three of them."

"Yeeees. And the other four are vampires!"

"So?"

"Are you insane? I think you're insane. A'Janae, she's insane."

Ace rolled her eyes and slung her arms around both Aiden and A'Janae's shoulders. "Calm down. Everything's cool. They're just common thugs. Besides, they're not High Level demons. Those guys can't even transform into anything bigger than a pigeon. We'll be _fiiiine._ If not.... well, we can sic Esper on them."

"Oh _there's_ a bright idea," A'Janae muttered. "Stop a fire by throwing in a grenade."

The purple-haired woman blinked. "Eh?"

With a heavy sigh, A'Janae rose a hand and massaged her aching temples. "Nevermind."

"Good! Onwards!"

~*~

"Talia!"

"What?" 

Moving in sync so as not to bump into each other, Kaia and Talia moved close to one another so that they could hear each other without having to scream too loudly. "Who's your sister talking to?"

"Eh?" Curious now, Talia rose herself onto the tips of her toes and peered over the other people, her eyes widening when she caught sight of Aiden, A'Janae and her sister talking to a group of demons and vampires. "Holy shit!"

"I didn't know that had been sanctified, Chiquita," Esper chuckled, her playful mood quickly replaced by worry when Talia didn't rise to the barb. "What is it?"

"Trouble," Talia frowned, eyes narrowing when she saw the gang that Ace was talking to lunge to their feet, knocking the table aside as they reached into their coats. "Kaia!"

"On it!" So close had their friendship become, that Kaia automatically knew what Talia needed her to do. Raising her arms towards the ceiling, she concentrated on her powers, her eyes glowing a bright blue as the water sprinklers that ran to and fro across the support beams of the ceiling exploded. As Esper cleared a path to the rest of their group by shoving people out of the way, Kaia lowered on arm and made a slight gesture with the other, gathering every drop of water around her into a single funnel that she sent at the attackers.

The blast of water bowled them over like toothpicks, and Talia wasted no time in grabbing her sister's arm and running for one of the back doors, crying out in frustration when the panicking crowd impeded her movements. A lithe form ran past her then, and she shot A'Janae a grateful smile as the Jamaican shoved the crowd aside and kicked open the emergency door.

A little winded from both the near attack and the run through the swarm of people, Ace let Talia shove her out of the building and into a side alley. "Shit, where's Aiden?"

"Here!" Followed by a soaked Kaia, an even wetter Aiden staggered out of the club and took a moment to regain her breath before glaring at Ace. "You and your bright ideas. Oi told ya tha it was a bad idea, but ya dinnae listen ta me!"

"Well, we found out what we needed to know, didn't we?"

"Not that it will do you any good."

Ace blinked at the low growl and stared past Aiden's shoulder, paling when she met the psychotically cold gaze of a rather pissed off vampire. ".....shit."

TBC

Next Chapter - The heroes in green make an entrance!


	4. Fight! And then things get more complica...

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. The lawyers won't let me have them.

Fight! And then things get more complicated

"Um.... well gee, this isn't good," Ace murmured as she and her group backed away from the rather annoyed gang of vampires and half-demons, a yelp escaping her when her back hit a brick wall.

Talia shot her sister a scathing look and growled, her mood souring further when she saw that they were trapped in a dead end. "No, shit! Y'think?!"

"Oh, leave me alone. I've got the forces of darkness to deal with." Returning her sister's annoyed look, Ace shoved Talia behind her and dropped into a ready stance, eyeing the seven males warily. "What I wouldn't give for a good baseball bat."

Aiden smiled grimly and moved to stand next to the lavender haired woman, the air around her shimmering as it became charged with power. "We'll just have to improvise."

Stooping to grab a length of pipe, A'Janae stood so that she was shielding both Talia and Kaia, twirling the three foot long metal weapon casually as she tilted her head to the side and fixed the lead vampire with a bored expression. "Well, this has spun rather impressively out of control."

"Yeah, Ace, you're a wonderful host, we're being attacked," Talia added dryly, her gaze sweeping the alleyway in hopes that she could scrounge up a weapon for herself. Three against seven just wasn't a fair fight. Had they just been Humans, she wouldn't be worried, but vampires and half-demons were a whole other deal. _Where the heck is Esper?_

One of the half-demons stepped forward so that he was standing next to the lead vampire, his already dark eyes flashing a blood red as he cracked his knuckles. "We'll leave a few alive fer ya, Boss."

The vampire grinned, revealing sharp canines. "I want the young one in the back. She smells....delectable."

Aiden frowned. "What makes you think we're going to let you get to her?"

He laughed. "Please. Five women against four vampires and three half-demons? You don't stand a chance!"

"Ah, but you forgot about someone!" Ace grinned, seeing a glint of narrowed golden eyes from the shadows near the rear exit. "See, there's really six of us, and I think Esper's a tad pissed at the moment."

"Eh?" A shriek of surprise and pain from one of his fellow vampires made the Boss spin around in time to narrowly avoid the black talons that came at him. Using his vampric speed to his advantage, he darted around the figure, his eyes widening when he caught a clear view of the sixth woman. Rich golden eyes glared at him from between black and grey bangs, sharp upper and lower fangs bared in a warning snarl as she crouched and curled her black taloned fingers into claws. As he stared, light spots began to appear on her exposed skin, curling around her arms and torso in feminine patterns, the black rosetta markings easily giving away her true nature. "A Were-Jaguar?! Here?! Shit! _Kill them all!_"

Esper bristled as the remaining six attackers surged towards them and leapt forward to meet one of the half-demons, knowing that the dark halfbloods were much stronger than the vampires and thus more of a danger to her friends. She was less than pleased to discover that her opponent was actually stronger than she had guessed, the yelps of fright and pain from behind her only adding to her growing anxiety as she saw a vampire bodily pick up A'Janae and throw her against a wall.

Ace ducked a punch and whirled, lashing out to score a solid kick to a vampire's chest before she dodged a half-demon's attempt to slash her with a knife, catching his arm and easily dropping him to the ground. A cry of surprise from behind her made her glance back at Aiden, who was busy with the third half-demon, her eyes narrowed as she held a hastily risen magickal shield to ward off the halfblood's attacks. A'Janae sailed past her then, the Jamaican hitting the side of the building with wince-worthy force before she slumped to the ground, out cold. _Shit. _

A loud roar of anger drew her gaze over to Esper as the Were slammed her fist into her attackers stomach, making him double over before she grabbed the back of his head and drove his face into the concrete ground, wrapping her arms around him as she did so. With a violent twist, she snapped the half-demons neck, then let the body drop lifelessly at her feet, not even bothering to glance at him as she launched herself at the demon that was attacking Aiden.

Ace's thoughts were jerked back to the present as the vampire she had winded came back into the fight, and she braced herself in anticipation of another taxing exchange of blows. She heard Talia and Kaia's cries of warning too late, and the world around her swam as the half-demon that she had thrown to the ground wrapped his arms around her neck from behind, lifting her off her feet as he strangled her.

Talia gasped and ran forward, pausing only to pick up the pipe that A'Janae had dropped as she barrelled into the vampire that had been about to bury a knife into her sister's stomach, knocking him away with repeated hits to his head and torso, keeping him away from the duo behind her. 

Kaia, seeing that Ace was quite near to passing out, threw herself into the fray and lashed out to kick the side of the half-demon's right knee, breaking it with an audible snap. A howl of pain left him as he dropped Ace and clutched at his knee, and Kaia didn't waste a second as she grabbed Ace and dragged her away from the now extremely angry demon. Her view of him suddenly became obscured by Talia's back, and her eyes widened when she saw that her friend was shaking, her impromptu weapon clutched tightly in her hands.

"Well, well, well. How the tables have turned." The lead vampire chuckled as he calmly strode forward, his gaze locked on the trembling girl who was starting to back away, the pipe visibly shaking in her hands as the blue haired girl dragged the still gasping karate fighter away from the fight. "Who's going to save you now, little girl?"

Despite her fear, Talia's eyes narrowed at the term, anger quickly wiping out the tremors that wracked her. Defiance giving her strength, she met his gaze and bared her teeth, her voice clear and strong. "Fuck you, asshole."

"Ah, such spunk." A grin spread over the vampire's lips, giving him a truly demonic expression. "But I'd much rather fuck _you_, little girl."

Talia yelped as he shot forward, moving with speed that almost rivalled Espers, and she felt her fear surge back into existence as he appeared a mere inch away from her, his breath washing over her face as a low breathy chuckle rasped out of him, his fangs lengthening as he grabbed her arms and hauled her close.

"Now that's no way to treat such a pretty lady."

The voice that came from the shadows startled him, and the vampire narrowed his eyes and his rose his head away from the frail neck he had been ready to bite into. Unfortunately for him, all he managed to do was get a perfect view of the fist that slammed into his face, the shock making him lose his grip on his prize. He stumbled backwards a few steps, then regained his balance in time to receive a powerful kick to his head, the blow sending him sprawling into a garbage bin, the lid falling closed and plunging him into darkness.

"Hey, you okay, babe?"

Talia stared wide-eyed at the form in front of her, then nodded wordlessly. A series of Spanish and Irish curses from her right suddenly jogged her memory, and she shot a frantic look at her odd savoir. "Esper and Aiden! You've gotta help them!"

"Heh, no prob. Raph's already on it."

"Get. _Off!_" A snarl that would have done Esper proud escaped Aiden's lips as she punched a vampire, knocking him away from her just enough far enough to allow her to throw a spell right into his face, the blast of lightning frying him to a crisp. Unfortunately, Esper stepped back at the exact moment the carcass fell to the ground, the Were's foot catching on it's arm and leaving her to crash to the pavement with an undignified yelp.

"Mierda!" Wrinkling her nose, Esper scrambled away from the corpse, her lip curling in disgust as she kicked the body towards the other oncoming vampire, knocking him over. A low growl of anger caught her attention then, and she snapped her head towards the source in time to see a green blur fly past her, the form barrelling into the half-demon that was heading for them. Not wasting a moment, she leapt to her feet and shoved Aiden backwards, giving herself room as she went on the attack, launching herself at the remaining vampire.

"Pierce his heart!" Aiden yelled to Esper, grimacing when the Were merely drove her fist into the vampire's chest and wrenched out said organ, crushing it in her fist afterwards. The vampire blinked at them in shock, as if he couldn't understand how that had happened, his gaze never leaving the glaring Esper as his flesh melted from his bones before he exploded in a cloud of dust, the sight making Aiden wince. "Okay, that was grosser than I thought it would be."

"Esper! The third demon!"

Once again spurred on by Talia's cry, the Were turned away from the dead vampire and ran forward to tackle the limping half-demon before he could attack the person who was grappling with the now heavily wounded second demon. They crashed to the pavement in a tangle of limbs, and her breath whooshed out of her as the halfblood planted a boot against her stomach and flipped her off of him.

Twisting in midair, Esper lithely landed in a crouch and watched him through lowered lids, a low constant growl rumbling out of her as she slowly straightened and stalked towards him. She didn't know what expression she had on her face, but he actually stumbled backwards, his eyes widening in fear when he backed up against the side of the building.

Suddenly, he thrust his hand into his jacket, and she threw herself aside as light glinted off of dark metal seconds before bullets rained through the space she had been standing. One ripped into her arm, the pain drawing a cat-scream from her as she landed, spun, and went for the kill.

Grimacing, Aiden reached out and covered Talia's eyes with a hand as Esper literally ripped the half-demon's head off. A gurgle from the last remaining halfblood drew her gaze over to their other helper as he jerked a three pronged weapon out of the demon's throat, sneering in disgust as he kicked the body aside. 

"What the hell were those things?" he growled as he crouched to wipe his weapon clean on one of the bodies.

"Half-demons," Aiden answered, glancing at Talia when her girl slapped her hand aside in annoyance. "And those three were vampires.... wait, we're one short."

"He's in there."

The voice drew her gaze to the closest of their two saviours, the only one who wasn't hidden by shadows, and she gasped in shock at the sight of him. He was a turtle. A five foot seven humanoid turtle. Brown eyes returned her stare with slight amusement from behind an orange bandana as he rose a three fingered hand and waved at her. Her eyes widened at how muscled he was, and it was plainly obvious that he worked out regularly. A yellow plastron contrasted with the deep green of his skin, the texture of it seemingly slightly leathery under the dim lights of the alley.

Rolling her eyes, Talia reached out and slapped Aiden on the shoulder. "Would you stop staring at him? Geez, and people call me rude."

"S'cuz you are," Ace rasped from behind her as she let Kaia pull her to her feet, her left hand clutching at her bruised throat.

Aiden shook her head and glared at the other woman. "You shut up. It was your bright idea that got us into this mess." 

"Wait, wait." Their other savoir walked into the light, revealing another turtle, except this one wore a red bandana. "Vampires? Demons? You've gotta be shittin' me. What's next, a werewolf?"

Kaia smiled at him. "Would you settle for a were-jaguar?" she murmured, raising her free hand to point to Esper, who rose her head and looked over at them with golden eyes, apparently oblivious to her bleeding arm. A gasp left the orange banded turtle as the Were stared at him before she turned her gaze to his double, who returned the gaze with a glare of annoyance.

Talia, who was amazed at how stupid her friends were being, looked at the turtle nearest her and tapped his arm, drawing his gaze. "I'm Talia. That's Ace, Aiden, Kaia, Esper and the unconscious one over there is A'Janae," she said, pointing to each one in turn despite the disapproving glares that Aiden and Ace were giving her.

The turtle smiled at her in delighted surprise and rose a hand to point to himself. "I'm Mikey. That's, Raph. So, what are a bunch of beautiful girls doing in a place like this?"

"Being tenderized," Ace grumbled sourly, eliciting a snicker from Kaia. "Oh, shut up."

"We were.... trying to get some information," Aiden answered, very aware of 'Raph's' intense gaze on her as she spoke. She didn't fully trust them, and she knew that he knew it, and returned the sentiment ten-fold.

"We should go," Esper rumbled into the silence that followed as she walked over to a still unconscious A'Janae and checked for a pulse, nodding slightly to herself before scooping the woman into her arms and turning back to her group. "The fight _will_ attract others."

"You should get that looked at before you go anywhere," Mikey frowned, pointing to her bleeding arm. She blinked in response and glanced down at the wound as if she hadn't known it was there, then shrugged.

"It can wait," she said after a moment of studying the wound, suddenly very aware of the scent of her own blood and the feeling of it trickling down her arm.

"The hell it can!" Ripping the hem off her top, Talia stalked over to the Were and ordered her to hold still as she wrapped the length of material around her arm. "Jaguar or not, you can still pass out from blood loss, you idiot."

Mikey snickered at the gasps of surprise from the three girls next to him and glanced over at Aiden. "I take it that she's the only one who can talk to Esper like that, hmm?"

"Oh yeah," Kaia said, her voice stunned. "The last person who called her an idiot.... well...."

"It was interesting," Aiden finished for her, shivering a little at the memory. "In a psychologically scarring kind of way."

Mikey glanced at the body Esper had decapitated. "I can believe that."

"Esper, dammit, hold still!"

"Ow! Stop that! You're going to make me drop the bruja!"

"I am not. And stop calling her a bitch."

"Hmpft. I'd call her something else but your sister would get mad at me for teaching you Spanish insults."

"Damn straight!" Ace agreed. "She swears too much as it is!"

"I learned from you!" Talia shot back as she neatly tied off the ends of the improvised bandage, frowning when she saw that it was already soaked with blood. "Dammit."

"I'm alright, Chiquita. Leave it be." Hefting A'Janae's dead weight in her arms, Esper turned and gave the rest of her group a sidelong look, trying not to look as tired as she felt. It didn't work.

"You look like shit," Raph growled to her, not phased in the least at the snarl she sent his way. 

Glancing from the girls to Raph, Mikey hesitated for a moment before sidling over to the other turtle and leaning close. "Um.... I really don't think we should leave 'em here."

"Oooh, no. No! There is no way that we are bringing them back to the lair! _No!_"

"But, Raph, they're hurt and dead on their feet!"

"So?"

"_Raph!_"

He growled threw his arms up. "Fine! Fine, Mikey! We'll brin' 'em them down to tha lair! But _you_ can explain ta Leo why we're takin' in strange humans!"

"Careful," Kaia murmured, drawing his gaze and letting her eyes flash bright blue to accent her words. "Some of us take offence to being called that."

"Wonderful," Esper grumbled under her breath. "A male version of the bruja, just what we need."

"Both of you, give it a bloody rest!" Glaring, Aiden planted her hands on her hips and waited until both of them had lowered their gazes before turning to look at Mikey. "Look, we appreciate the help, truly--"

"Then don't argue," he smiled, gently cutting her off. "Besides, how far's your place?"

Ace winced at the reminder. "Half hour's walk. Aw hell, Aiden, he's right. 'Sides, Esper's gonna come down off her adrenaline high soon and without her in top shape we wont' be in any form to take on muggers, nevermind any other vampires."

"I can last long enough to get back to the apartment," Esper protested, ignoring the doubtful look that Raph gave her.

"Not carrying A'Janae you can't, and certainly not while you're bleeding," Talia frowned. "And you're still suffering from Jet Lag, when's the last time you slept?"

The Were shifted uneasily. "I got a few hours on the plane...."

"I meant a real night's sleep."

".....cállate."

"That's what I thought. Aiden?"

Raising a hand to massage the sudden pinpoint of pain between her eyes, Aiden let out a heavy sigh, not liking the options she was presented with. "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice," she concluded, looking over at Mikey wearily.

"Hey, we're not the bad guys here," he assured her. "We just wanna help. You're not prisoners or anything. Just stay until you're all well enough to go home." Giving her another reassuring smile, he turned and walked over to the nearest manhole cover, effortlessly hauling it open and turning to hold a hand out to Ace, who was closest. "Coming?"

She grimaced, but pushed away from Kaia and took his hand, looking down into the dark depths of the sewer for a moment before glancing back at the others. "Someone owes me a new pair of boots for this."

Talia rolled her eyes. "Would you just _go_ already?! Geez."

~*~

"This.... is gross."

"Eww! What did I just step in?!"

"I don't think you want to know, Chiquita."

"Shit! Something moved!!"

"If anything touches me it's _dead._ Dead I say!"

Raph rolled his eyes at the near panicked tone of Ace's voice and lowered his right hand to one of the sais hooked into his belt, idly fingering the main prong as he followed the group, content to take up the rear. He wasn't looking forward to Leo's reaction to him and Mikey bringing home a sixtet of strange women, but he had to inwardly agree with his brother's reasons for bringing them. They looked exhausted, and Ace, Esper and Aiden all sported numerous bruises and scrapes from their fight behind the Club. A quick glance at the unconscious A'Janae didn't help matters any either, especially when he saw the thin line of blood that ran from her hairline down her left cheek.

Esper sagged against the sewer wall then, her breath leaving her in a soft groan, and he stared in shock as the black rosette markings that adorned her skin faded away, her talons reverting to plain human nails. Tired hazel eyes met his gaze then, and he was dimly aware of the others turning to look at them as he moved forward to take A'Janae from her.

"Give 'er here before ya pass out," he frowned, seeing a brief flash of defiance flit through her eyes before she hesitantly handed the Jamaican over, letting him scoop the unconscious form into his arms.

Worried, Aiden walked over to the Were and, without asking, slid Esper's uninjured left arm over her shoulders, supporting the woman's weight. "C'mon. I don't think it's much further."

Mikey glanced back at them for a moment, then shifted his gaze to an equally concerned Talia. "She okay?"

"Esper? I dunno. Even if she wasn't, she wouldn't tell any of us."

"Ah. We have one like that in our group too," he smirked, jerking a thumb back in Raph's direction.

"'We'?"

"Yeah. There's two more of us. Donnie and Leo. We're all brothers."

Ace tilted her head to the side at that and frowned. "But why live in the sewers?"

"Because we have to. We have to live in the shadows. Humanity.... Humans just don't understand. Whenever we're seen, we either get shot at or people run away screaming." He paused then, and looked at Kaia, Talia and Ace curiously. "Which makes me wonder.... why didn't you?"

Talia shrugged. "We've seen stranger things. Er.... no offence."

"None taken," he assured her, suddenly very curious to learn more about these extraordinary women. "So, um, where are you gals from, anyway? You're not all from around here, are you?"

"Ace is," Kaia answered before Talia could. "As for the rest of us, Aiden is from Ireland, Talia from London, I myself am from Venezuela, Esper is from the rainforests of Brazil and A'Janae is from Jamaica."

"Whoa. How'd you all end up here?"

"It's a long story," Talia murmured. "And it's not ours to tell, so please don't ask."

Mikey frowned at the shadow of pain in her eyes, but nodded just the same. "Fair enough." The conversation fell silent for the next block or so, their footsteps their only sound as he guided them through the maze of sewers. He was purposefully taking the long way, making sure that it would be impossible for the girls to figure out all the twists and turns in order to know the location of their home. 

He stopped next to a ladder a few minutes later and waited until the group had all joined him before looking at Raph. "I'll go down first, you can hand A'Janae to me, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just go." Very aware of the girl's gazes on him, he carefully followed through with Mikey's plan, crouching low as the orange banded turtle reached the bottom of the ladder and handing his still unconscious cargo to him. Not wanting to let any of them out of his sight, he straightened and turned to look at the rest of them, folding his arms over his plastron as he did so. "Next."

Glaring at him, Talia stepped forward and led the way down the ladder, relaxing once she was on solid ground. The sound of Mikey's voice drew her attention then, and she turned away from the ladder to look towards him as he lay A'Janae on a worn out couch, her breath catching in her throat. What Mikey had termed his 'home' was really an abandoned subway station from what seemed to be the turn of the century. Bright lights shone down on her as she made her way down the row of steps that led into the turtles home, her gaze trying to take in everything at once as she looked from the subway car that had been converted into living quarters to the open spaced living room setup nearby. Her gaze was drawn upwards out of curiosity, and she smiled in awe at the sight of the extravagant stained glass ceiling high above. "Wow. This is amazing."

A gasp of surprise from behind her made her look back at her sister as Ace made her way down the stairs, and Talia grinned at her in amusement before she turned her gaze back to the turtles home, picking out the entrance to a large kitchen and a hallway that led to what she guessed was more living space and the bathroom. 

"Damn!" Ace cried as she walked over to her sister, dimly aware that a stunned Kaia was right behind her. "This place is a hundred times bigger than my apartment! That's not bloody fair!"

"No rent either," Mikey grinned, earning himself a dirty look. "What?"

"You're not helping," Talia snickered. "Her landlord just raised her rent last week."

"Oh." He tired to muffled a chuckle. "Sorry, Ace."

"¡Mi Dios!"

"Bloody 'ell! This place is huge!"

"Mikey! What's all that noise? Ut...." The turtle that wore a purple bandana froze in the doorway to his lab, fixed in place by the five female gazes that had been turned on him. "Uh...."

"Hey, Donnie!" Completely undaunted by the dear-in-the-headlights look his brother was currently sporting, Mikey took it upon himself to make introductions. "This is Talia, Ace, Kaia, Esper and Aiden. Oh, and the unconscious one is A'Janae. Girls, this is Donnie, the brains of the operation. He's a little shy, so go easy on him."

"Wha... Mikey, what...." Donnie cut himself off and shook his head, knowing better than to try to figure out his brother. "I'll go get, Leo."

"Oh, great. That's _just_ what we need," Raph grumbled as he joined the group, eyeing Esper warily when he saw that she was bleeding through the bandage on her arm. "Yo, Mike."

"Huh?" Blinking, he looked towards his brother in red and followed his pointing finger to Esper's arm. "Oh, right. Um, why don't you girls sit down? I'll be right back."

Not wanting to pass up on opportunity to get off her feet, Aiden led the way to the couch and sat at A'Janae's feet, leaning back against the cushions as Ace took one of the two worn out chairs while Esper, Talia and Kaia took the floor, the former of the three doing more of a controlled collapse than anything else. "Esper? You gonna be okay?"

"Si. I'm fine."

"Liar," Talia muttered, ducking the playful swat that came as a reply before looking up at Aiden. "Hey, how's A'Janae?"

"Mm, not sure," the red haired woman frowned, leaning over the prone Jamaican. "Looks like she hit her head. As soon as I get a bit of energy back, I'll see about Healing her. You too Esper."

"Ach, don't bother, amiga. I heal quickly. As soon as I have the opportunity to revert to my true form I'll take care of myself, no worries."

"Your 'true form'?" Curious now, Raph dropped down into the second chair and looked at her. "What's that mean?"

"Family secret," Esper muttered, not wanting to reveal herself until she was certain that she could trust these people. Undaunted by the glare he sent her in response, she turned her attention to Donnie as he and yet another turtle walked towards them. A quick test of their scents told her that while they were wary of them, neither of the two were hostile, indeed, she could tell that the turtle in blue was the leader of this odd Tribe.

"Okay, I got some bandages and...." Mikey trailed off at the questioning look that a now present Leo gave him and shrugged. "They got jumped in an alley by.... well, I don't know what those things were...."

Aiden sighed and shook her head a little before pushing herself to her feet and stepping past Talia, meeting the fourth turtle's gaze as she held out her hand, knowing that this was going to take a lot of finesse. "I'm Aiden. That's Talia, Esper, Kaia, A'Janae and Ace."

"I'm Leonardo. Leo for short," he answered, reaching out to politely shake her hand. "I take it that there's a long story behind all this, considering how guarded you all seem?"

"Yeah.... but it's.... personal." Knowing how lame that sounded, she sighed again and pulled away, running her hand through her tousled red locks in a nervous gesture. "We.... got in over our heads. If it wasn't for your two brothers, the lot of us would probably be dead. I can't tell you everything behind this, other than we were looking for information and things went downhill from there."

"What kind of.... information?" He gestured for her to sit again as he and Donnie leaned against opposite sides of the TV while Mikey knelt in front of Esper and worked on bandaging her bleeding arm. Something just felt off about these girls. True, he could sense that they didn't mean any harm, but that feeling of things being more than they seemed automatically put him on guard. The fact that they were hiding information of their own didn't help matters any either.

Aiden exchanged glances with Esper and Ace as she sunk down into the worn couch again, her mind racing as she tried to think of something to say that wouldn't give the entire situation away.

"I don't think it's that easy to explain," Ace spoke up, shooting Aiden a reassuring glance. "There's things going on in New York that only a select few know about. It's not.... It's not something that most people can understand."

"Try us," Raph growled, pausing when a orange and white form padded out of the direction of his room. "Dammit, Mike! I told ya ta keep that thing outta my room!"

"Chill, Raph," Mikey replied, his attention mostly focused on cleaning Esper's wound, his worry growing when he saw that the bullet had torn straight through her arm, narrowly missing the bone. She didn't make a sound as he covered the wounds with heavy gauze before wrapping another length of dressing around her upper arm, tying it off with care. "That should do. You'll have to take it easy though. Any exertion and it could tear open. I'd stitch it, but we don't have the supplies for that right now."

"It's alright." Testing the limit of movement for that arm, Esper nodded in satisfaction and looked at him. "Gracias. Thank you." A soft questioning mewl drew her attention then, and she smiled in delighted surprise at the sight of the sleek short haired tabby cat that was standing before her. Not making any sudden moves, she slowly extended her right hand, allowing the cat to accustom itself to her scent before it stepped forward and rubbed itself against her fingers, letting her scoop the small form into her arms.

"Huh. That's strange. Klunk doesn't usually like strangers." A little baffled, Mikey watched as his cat nuzzled against a smiling Esper, then shrugged in acceptance and moved to sit next to Raph's chair.

Talia exchanged a knowing glance with Kaia before grinning and leaning back against Aiden's legs. "Esper has a way with cats," she said, eliciting a muffled chuckle from Kaia as a result.

"Understatement of the year, I take it?" Donnie asked, catching Ace's grin.

"Oh, yeah. Big, giant, huge, understatement," she smirked, idly curling a free lock of her lavender hair around her right index finger. "It's like comparing DOS to the Internet."

"Oh God no, not another techno-geek." Groaning, Raph shot an annoyed look at Donnie, who looked like he was ready to throw himself completely into a topic that no one else except possibly Ace could understand. "Not now, brainiac. Ya can do your technobabble thing later. Fer now, I wanna know what's so secret about the City where we've been livin' all our lives."

"Um...." Aiden looked over at the still standing Donnie and Leo and sighed. "Maybe you'd better sit down. This could take a while."


	5. Explanations

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. The lawyers won't let me have them.

Explanations

By the end of the lengthy explanation of New York's least known mystical residents, Aiden thought the four turtles looked like someone had stabbed them in the backs with dull knives. True, she had been expecting a reaction somewhat akin to this, but considering that the silence had been dragging on for over a minute now, she was seriously starting to regret telling them. It was a good thing she had told them to sit down before starting to speak though. A very good thing.

A soft purring snore drew her gaze to Esper, who had her head tilted back and resting on the edge of the couch as she slept, and Aiden winced a little at the sight of the sharp fangs that were once again plainly visible to anyone who bothered to look. Klunk was still nestled in the Were's arms, though he was allowing Talia to pet him. He had clawed at her before and a low growl from Esper had rapidly informed him that the Were wouldn't tolerate that again.

It was Donnie that managed to become coherent first, and he shifted nervously from where he was sitting cross legged in front of the TV, facing the couch. "That's.... scientifically impossible. Werewolves and magic.... they don't exist."

"Just because you have never seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Kaia smiled as she sat lotus-style and rested her elbows on her knees, sinking her chin into her hands.

"But if it does exist, why isn't it widely known?"

"You exist," she countered impishly. "Why aren't you widely known?"

He blinked. "Touché."

"So.... you six are hunting a murderer?"

Aiden looked over at Leonardo and nodded, choosing her words carefully. "Those killings that have been all over the news, we know who's behind them, only we don't know where they are. That's why we were at the Club. Ace thought she could get some information out of those guys."

"Hey, don't pin this on me," Ace grumbled. "Wasn't my fault they were overly touchy."

"You called him an idiot," Aiden reminded her.

"Well, he was!"

Deciding that she didn't want to get into a verbal fight at the moment, Aiden rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the turtles. "_Anyway_, whoever's behind the killings is going after those who possess magicks, like sorceresses, Faes and Weres."

Mikey frowned. "Were what?"

"Not were. Were," Talia corrected him gently. "Like Were-wolves. Creatures of magick."

"You said 'Fae'," Leo murmured, looking at Aiden curiously. "As in, Faries? Like 'A Mid-Summer's Night Dream'?"

"Er.... kinda. Only the term 'Fae' includes Pixies and Sprites as well." When she got four equally confused looks, Aiden smiled and leaned forward. "Okay, lack of understanding I see. So there's Faries, Pixies and Sprites. They're not all the same, if that's what you're thinking. See.... oh bloody 'ell. Kaia, you wanna take this?"

"Sure." Amused, Kaia sat up straighter and smiled at her audience. "We'll start off with the basics. The four main elements, Air, Water, Earth and Fire. Sprites are bound to those four elements. They are the protectors and nurturers of their element. An Earth Sprite would, per se, defend and nurture her woodland home. A Fire Sprite a volcano. As well, they can control their specific Element, an Earth Sprite could create an earthquake or fill a fire ravaged forest with life. Understand so far?"

When they nodded, she went onwards. "Now Pixies are a little more complex. They usually lack a sense of duty, preferring to play games and wreak mischief more than anything else. They, contrary to Sprites, are not made of their Element, but are dependant on that Element to live. A Water Pixie would need to live near water to survive. Like Sprites, they can control their Elements, but only to a certain degree. While a Water Sprite could create a tsunami, a Pixie would only be able to create five foot waves.

"Lastly we have Faries. Now Faries are an odd lot. They aren't bound to the Elements like Pixies or Sprites, instead, they survive on their own inner magicks. They can control the elements to an extent like a Pixie, but instead of using the Planets natural energies, they must rely on their own limited energy. Once that energy fades, their physical forms cease to exist and return to...." Kaia paused and chuckled. "I won't get into that. That's a whole other mess of explaining. Suffice it to say that their spirits return to where they were born."

Ace used the break in the explanation to throw Kaia a nasty look, seeing her sister do the same. True, they weren't about to reveal their ties to the Fae bloodlines, but that didn't mean that they were going to let that crack about Pixies preferring to wreak mischief all the time go by unpunished. Hence the fact that Talia had just reached across a sleeping Esper to smack the Sprite, oblivious to the questioning looks from the turtles.

"Okay." His mind already processing the information being given to it, Donnie looked from Kaia to Aiden. "So what about the Weres? They're more than one kind?"

"Mm. But the main ones are Felines and Wolves. And when I say Felines, I don't mean small cats, I mean tigers, cougars and the like."

"Jaguars?" Raph mused, jerking a thumb at Esper. "You called her that before. A Were-Jaguar."

"Um.... yeah. Yeah, that's right. But unlike the myths about Weres, they don't turn into big shaggy brainless brutes. It isn't an intelligent Human turning into a mindless animal, it's an intelligent animal turning into a Human." Aiden paused and smiled, chuckling softly. "Which could be viewed as an insult, I suppose...."

"Well, at least that explains why Klunk likes her," Mikey smirked. "Probably thinks I brought him a playmate."

"Well, that and that fact that in Feline hierarchy, she outranks him," Ace added, shifting so that she was draped over the chair, her legs propped up on the arm of it. "It usually goes tiger, lion, jaguar, cougar and then all the others. Though.... there are always exceptions."

"Yeah, I can't imagine Esper's one to bow down to anyone who pulls rank on her," Leo mused, quirking an eyeridge in surprise when he saw the pair of fangs peeking out from between her lips. "So, you still haven't answered one thing : why are you six so determined to stop this murderer? If what you say is true, and New York has hundreds of Weres, and those possessing magicks, then why are you the only ones taking this as a personal vendetta?"

"Because it _is_ personal," Aiden said softly, lowering her gaze from his as she remembered the sight of Moira standing over her dead parents. "It's very personal."

Talia sent a worried look at Aiden, then sighed and returned her gaze to their audience, catching the concerned expression on Leo's face as he frowned at Aiden. "We each have our own reasons for doing this. None of which we're willing to share."

"Hey, I'm just in this to make sure that you don't get yourself killed, little sister," Ace grumbled as she tilted her head back and stared at the stained glass ceiling. "That's as personal as I get. I mean yeah, whoever's killin' people has to be stopped.... but I'm not out to personally get 'em."

  
The four turtles exchanged quiet glances, a silent conversation passing between them before Mikey turned back to the girls. "We'll help."

Aiden jerked at that. "N-no! You don't have--"

"We know," he told her, cutting her off gently. "We've been trying to find the killer ourselves for the past two weeks. It's what we do, we help keep the streets clean of people like that. Of gangs and thugs. Since we're all trying for the same goal, why don't we help each other?"

"Because you don't know what you're getting into!" Aiden protested, vaguely aware that her cry had jarred Esper out of a sound sleep. "This is way beyond any gangs you might have faced! You could be killed!"

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, the Were leaned closer to Talia and frowned. "Qué, Chiquita?"

"They just offered to help," the girl whispered back. "They've been hunting the same killer."

"Oh?" Yawning, Esper stretched a little and reached up to scratch the back of her neck. "Then what's the problem?"

The question drew Aiden's attention, and she scowled down at the Were in annoyance. "The problem? The problem is that they could be killed! Don't you think there's been enough death, _Esperanza?!_"

The hidden reminder of what had happened to her Tribe drew a growl from her as she handed the cat to Talia and rose to her feet, bristling. "Amiga, that is a line that must not be crossed! True, I agree that they would be in danger, but it is forever their choice. You can no more forbid them from hunting the killer than you can forbid me. You have my loyalty, Aiden, and I follow you out of friendship, but you cannot order me to abandon my vengeance." Esper paused for a moment, then forced her anger aside and softened her gaze. "I can understand your reasons for not wanting others to help you, amiga. But you cannot do this alone. This prey is too powerful for you to hunt it alone."

"But it's not your fight!"

Esper shook her head and retook her seat by Talia. "Think before you speak to me of such things, amiga. I hunt for the same reason you do, you know that. If the amigos wish to help us, I see no reason why you should turn them away."

"That's because you're a stubborn, thick-headed _cat!_"

"Coming from a Human, I suppose that's a compliment?"

"Argh!" Shooting to her feet, Aiden sent a nasty glare in Esper's direction, then stomped towards the ladder, the air around her practically shimmering in accordance with her anger, ignoring the concerned calls from the group as she hurried up the ladder.

"Oh, nice going, Esper," Ace frowned as she righted herself and threw a pillow at the Were. "Did you have to challenge her on that _now?_"

"She can't lead a Tribe if she doesn't come to terms with the fact that she is not alone in this," Esper answered as she let Klunk return to her lap, casually reaching up to catch the airborne pillow. "Besides, better that I challenge her than any of you. She and I hunt for the same reasons."

Leonardo frowned at her as he rose to his feet. "What would that be?"

"Vengeance.... for families lost."

The implications of that made him sigh softly as he glanced away from her. "I'm gonna go catch up to her before she gets lost," he murmured, turning away to head for the ladder as he spoke.

Donnie met Esper's quiet gaze in horror. "That's what you meant by your 'Tribe'. Oh geez, Esper, I'm so sorry."

She shook her head and turned her attention to the cat in her arms, running her fingers through Klunk's short fur. "Don't apologise for the evils of another."

"Such wisdom, for one so young."

The new voice drew a startled yelp from Talia as she twisted around to face the one who had joined them, and she was dimly aware of Esper's soft growl of curiosity as she looked up at an elderly humanoid rat. Tattered robes hung off a frail frame, but Talia knew that even with his age, he held a great strength, both physically and spiritually. "Um.... hi?"

Mikey automatically rose to his feet at the sight of the elder member of their family, meeting the gaze of the one he had always known as his father. "Sorry, Master Splinter. Did we wake you?" As of late, Splinter had been taking a turn for the worse. Arthritis was keeping him in almost constant discomfort, and there were times where drastic changes in the weather would render him ill. Mikey winced a little at the sight of the more defined greyish tint to his sensei's fur and stepped aside as Raph relinquished his chair, letting Splinter have it while he joined his brothers on the floor.

"Do not worry, Michelangelo, I was already awake." Sighing in relief, Splinter gratefully lowered himself into the worn chair, very aware of the ever watchful gazes of his sons. "Please, introduce me to our guests."

"Ut, right! Um, Sensei, this is Kaia, Esper, Talia, and Ace. A'Janae's the out cold one and Leo's gone to try to catch up to Aiden, she and Esper.... had words." Ignoring Raph's exasperated look at his lame ending, Mikey looked at the girls. "Girls, this is Splinter. He's our teacher and father."

"Pleased to meet you," Kaia smiled, tilting her head back a little to meet the elder's dark gaze. "We really didn't mean to barge in like this but we didn't have a choice. Mikey can be very insistent. Well, that and Esper needed a bit of down time."

"Ach, don't pull me into this! I would have made it back to the apartment."

"Yeah right," Raph grunted, sending a condescending look her way. "And dropped dead from exhaustion the moment you got there." Sensing Splinter's patient curiosity, he leaned back on his hands and stretched his legs out in front of himself, rolling his head on his shoulders to loosen tight muscles as he sent a glance at Splinter. "Mike an I found 'em in the middle of a fight behind the Electric Nation dance club. An get this, the guys they were fightin' weren't Human. They were demon's or somethin'."

"Three of them were half-demons and the other four were vampires," Ace corrected him, irritably brushing her unruly bangs out of her eyes as she met Splinter's gaze. "We were looking for information. I knew those guys had info on what was going down on the streets, but ah.... they weren't willing to share."

"They've been hunting for the one who been murdering all those people too, Sensei," Donnie chipped in. "Seems that whoever's behind this has been picking and choosing their victims. They're targeting - and I'm still not sure I believe this - but they've been targeting Weres. Like werewolves and such."

"What's so hard to believe?" Talia asked as Esper turned her attention away from Klunk and shifted it onto Donnie.

"I don't know. I suppose.... there's just no basis for it. Magic and faries.... it's a little hard to believe."

"Ah, the scientist cometh," Mikey grinned, playfully nudging Donnie's knee with his foot. "Just cuz it isn't in those Scientific American magazines you read doesn't mean it's not real."

"I didn't mean it like that," he protested with a hasty glance to Esper, who quirked an eyebrow at him. "I just.... find it hard to believe that magic is real. Putting that much faith into something that can't be explained.... it's freaky."

Splinter smiled at that and looked at his son. "Think of magic as Chi, Donatello. The energy within us all. You have felt it before, not only while in battle, but in meditations. It is the essence of life. It cannot be dissected or explained by any scientific means, it is simply there. There are those that are closer to it than others, able to wield it, but that does not make it something to be feared."

"I don't fear it, Sensei. I just.... don't understand it."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Ace said as she carefully got to her feet and stretched sore muscles. "I've been living around magick all my life and I still don't understand it."

"Only because you shun it," Talia muttered under her breath, meeting her sister's annoyed glare.

Ace glared at her for a moment longer, then glanced at the turtles. "Is there a bathroom in this joint?"

"Huh? Oh!" Grinning sheepishly, Mike hopped over Raph's legs and walked over to her. "Yeah, c'mon, I'll show you."

Talia waited until her sister was out of hearing range before huffing in exasperation and folding her arms across her chest. "And my family thinks _I'm_ the immature one. Hmpft." Feeling brave, she hopped to her feet and commandeered her sister's spot, reclining in the chair comfortably. 

Splinter's gaze softened as he looked at the three girls. Talia was the youngest of the group, he could tell that easily and Kaia's outward youthful appearance hid a great power and an even greater wisdom. But it was Esper that his gaze finally settled on, drawn to her by an almost instinctual wariness of her. "You are not as you seem."

Frowning, Raph glanced from Splinter to a slightly startled Esper, wondering what was up. Then it hit him : Splinter had been wary of letting Mike keep Klunk at first, how would he react to a Jaguar? "Uh, she's not Human, Splinter. I felt it too at first."

The comment made Esper exchange curious glances with Talia and Kaia before she turned her attention to Splinter, trying to keep herself submissive so as not to alarm him. Had she known that she would have been meeting a creature who's cousins she considered prey, she would have avoided this situation altogether, because she truly had no idea how to handle this. "It is as he says, Señor Splinter. I am a Were-Jaguar, last of my Tribe from the rainforests of Brazil. I'm sorry about this. If I had known, I would have kept my distance, especially considering the fact that I've recently been in a fight."

"Huh?" Curious, Raph glanced at her. "What's that got ta do with anythin'?"

"Scent, Raphael," Splinter answered, drawing his son's dark gaze. "And instinct."

Donnie frowned. "Prey and predator."

Esper's eyes widened. "I would never--!"

Turning to her, Splinter rose a hand to calm her, cutting off her protest with that single gesture. "I know. Forgive me, I'm afraid I have never met one such as yourself. But tell me, why are you and your friends so adamant to find this killer?"

"Justice," Kaia said, drawing his surprised gaze. "And vengeance."

"Such dark words for one so young."

She chuckled, eyes sparkling. "Not _that_ young."

He stared at her for a moment, then looked at his two remaining sons. "Perhaps you should give them a tour of our home. There is an extra train car that can be converted into a guest room."

"Oh no, we can't intrude like that," Talia protested, falling silent when he smiled at her and rose a hand to silence her. 

"It is no intrusion. You are always welcome here," Splinter told them, seeing the looks of surprise they exchanged with one another before the three women turned and thanked him profusely. _This is a time of many surprises, but why do I sense that there is much more to these events than simple killings?_

~*~

"Aiden! Aiden wait!"

"Leave me alone!" Hands fisted at her sides, Aiden stomped around another corner, the muted sounds of the city above her barely registering as she aimlessly wandered the sewers. She was both surprised and dismayed that Leo had followed her. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to be left alone with her misery. Rounding on the only target available, she glared at him and seriously debated lobbing a spell at him. "Would ya quit followin' me already?!"

"No." Frowning, he walked over to her and stood in front of her, not phased in the least at the glare she was giving him. He'd gotten worse from Raphael on many occasions. Returning her glare with one of his own, he folded his arms over his plastron and calmly waited for her next move, arching an eyeridge when she growled and stalked away a bit before turning on him again, her accent flaring into existence with her growing anger.

"What the bloody 'ell do ya want from me?! Do ya want me ta say 'yes'? Yes, ya can go out an risk yer lives for somethin' that ya dinnae understand? Ya dinnae even know what ya're gettin' into!"

"Then tell me," he countered, lowering his arms as he met her gaze again. "Why are you so afraid to let people help you?"

"Afraid? Laddie, Oi'm bloody _terrified!_ Tha chances that we'll come out of this alive are.... simply non-existent! We're goin' after someone who's growin' more powerful by the day!" She was ranting now, practically screaming in his face, but she couldn't stop herself. "Tha's why they be killin' people. Ta take their magicks and absorb 'em inta themselves! Human, Were, Fae, they're all jus' food ta this killer! Do ya think tha Oi can stand ta see more die?!"

Leo sighed. "Aiden, Esper told us.... about why you two are so determined to go after this guy."

Her eyes narrowed as she shot a scathing look back the way she had come. "Oi'm gonna--"

"Aiden, _listen._ I'm sorry about your family. I really am. But you can't do this by yourself. It's suicide!"

"It's not like I have anythin' ta lose," she muttered as she turned away again, her anger gone as fast as it had come.

"What about the others?" he countered, seeing her freeze in mid-step as he spoke. "They don't count?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what? You're going to abandon them? Leave them to go after the killer by themselves? Because you know they will. Even I can see that." When she didn't move or reply, he walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to meet her gaze. "But they look to you for guidance, Aiden. That's why Esper challenged you, to make you face this so that you can lead the Tribe, as she calls it."

Aiden blinked and looked at him in obvious surprise. "She called it a Tribe?"

"Mmhm."

"Bloody 'ell."

"What? Is that bad?"

"No... Well, maybe. I don't know." Wincing at how lame she sounded, she gently shrugged his hand away and hugged herself, her fiery bangs falling into her eyes. "She told me once that's it's what her people called those in a family. A Tribe." She sighed heavily and shook her head, avoiding his steady gaze. "I'm not cut out for this! I'm a lass from Ireland! Not some Druid war chief! I cannae lead anyone! Especially not for somethin' like this!"

Leo smiled at her warmly. "I used to think that too. It gets easier with time. It can be a lot of responsibility, but it's worth it." When she looked at him wearily, he held a hand out to her, seeing her tense a little in surprise at the gesture. "I'll help you, if you'll let me."

Aiden stared at him for a long moment, then sighed again and dropped her arms from around herself, reaching out to take his hand. "Laddie, ya dinnae know what ya be gettin' into."

"I'll manage," he told her, smiling when she clasped hands with him and let him guide her back to the lair, pausing to shoot a wince back in her direction. "Just.... please stop calling me 'Laddie'."

"I'll think about it."


	6. Downtime

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. (you can take that 'play' bit anyway you so desire ^_~ ) 

Chapter 6 - Downtime

Talia sighed as she stared up at the ceiling of the train car she was in from where she was lying on her back on an improvised mattress of blankets. Kaia and Ace were situated further down the car, both of them snoring softly in tandem with each other while Esper, in her jaguar form, lounged nearby, her tail twitching as she slept. A'Janae was lying on a makeshift cot, still sleeping off her unconsciousness. 

It had certainly been an.... interesting day. Arriving in New York and meeting up with her sister, going to a dance club, then getting into a fight with vampires and half-demons and finally being rescued by the turtles. It certainly beat anything that had happened to her so far. She and the other girls had spent the last two hours talking with Raph, Donnie and Mike, trading jokes, stories and information on their common goal. Aiden had been brought back by Leo a mere half hour after she had left, and as far as Talia knew, the two of them were still ensconced in Leo's room, talking. It hadn't been until Splinter had reminded them of how late - or early, however you chose to look at it - the hour was that the turtles had thrown together some blankets and pillows for them, giving them this train car as their own so that they could get a few hours sleep.

She sighed again and rose her hands behind her head, her thoughts drifting to Aiden. Certainly, to anyone who had eyes, it was clear that Aiden and Leo were going to hit it off. She could just feel it and she was happy for Aiden. The fiery haired woman had been alone far too much ever since her parents death, she needed to be reminded that life wasn't all sadness and struggle. True, Aiden did enjoy the shopping sprees and outings their group had from time to time, but Taila had always seen the shadow of loneliness and sorrow in her friend's eyes.

A low purr from nearby drew her attention, and she frowned a little as she reached out to poke the jaguar in the shoulder, whispering softly as she dug her fingers into the velvet fur. "Esper?"

Mrrn?

"You awake?"

Ugh.... I am now. Drowsy golden eyes slid open to stare at Talia's face, and Esper fought the urge to roll onto her opposite side and ignore her. Instead, she shifted so that the girl could rest her head against her side, grumbling sleepily as she turned her head to look at her. What is it, Chiquita?

Talia twisted to face her friend and idly traced one of the rosetta markings on the cat's left foreleg. "Can I ask you something? Honest opinion?"

Of course.

"What do you think of Mikey?"

Eh? Now fully awake and very curious, Esper gave the girl her full attention, playfully curling her tail around to drape it across Talia's legs. What brought this on?

"I dunno. I'm just.... just curious."

Oh. Just curious, hmm? When she saw Talia blush, she let out a low 'chuffing' sound, the equivalent of jaguar laughter. Like you, Chiquita, he has a great love of life. You can see it in his eyes. He has experienced the worst of life, and yet refuses to let it weigh heavily upon his soul and destroy who he is. Among his brothers, he seems to be the most open of them, the instigator of play and cheerfulness.

"Sooo.... you like him?"

I think the question is : do _you_ like him?

Talia glanced away from the jaguar's knowing gaze and bit her lower lip. "Maybe."

Very good. Now that you've admitted it to yourself, relax and let things take their course. There is nothing you can do to force the situation, simply be yourself and trust in Fate. Until then, can we _please_ get some sleep?

Snickering at the pitifully exhausted look that Esper was giving her, Talia nodded and carefully leaned against the cat, rubbing her cheek against the silky fur as she watched the jaguar rest her head on her paws and close her eyes. She was actually well on her way to falling asleep herself when Esper spoke up again.

Chiquita?

"Mm?"

There was another 'chuff' of laughter. He likes you too.

"_Ahh!_ How am I supposed to fall asleep _now?!_"

~*~

"Stupid, sadistic, _evil_ cat...."

"Well, g'mornin' ta you too, Pipsqueak," Raph smirked as he followed the grumbling and half-awake Talia into the kitchen. It was well past ten in the morning, and while he was never a morning person, he had been up since six, forced into daily practice by a very wide awake Leonardo. Thus, he found this situation highly entertaining.

Ignoring him as best she could, Talia shuffled into the kitchen, one hand trying to straighten out her messy hair while the other rearranged her tangled blouse. Sleeping in dress clothes was not something she was looking forward to doing again in her lifetime. Luckily for her, a pot of coffee was already brewing, and she wasted no time in scrounging up a clean mug with a picture of Scooby-Doo on it before pouring herself a healthy dose of caffeine.

"Geez, an I thought I wasn't a mornin' person," Raph muttered as she sat down at the kitchen table and lowered her head onto the top of it with a forceful 'thud', her right hand still possessively clutching the coffee.

"I didn't sleep," she mumbled, forcing herself to raise her head so she could take a drink of the strong coffee. "Esper is evil. It's her fault. Sadistic cat."

"Yeah? What'd she do?"

Talia opened her mouth to answer, then saw the rather evil smirk on his face and thought better of it. "It's nothing." 

Grinning now, he leaned against the fridge and folded his arms over his plastron. "Uh huh. Then why are you blushing?" Before she could answer, the arrival of another person distracted them, and he glanced over his shoulder at Ace, who yawned and idly scratched at her head as she made a beeline for the coffee maker. The sound of cheerful whistling diverted his attention again, and he chuckled at the looks of disgust on the two girl's faces as a wide awake Kaia skipped into the room.

"Morning!" she chirped, frowning when a duet of groans from the sisters answered her. "Okaaaay. Y'know, you'd wake up faster if you had some juice instead of coffee."

"_Nuugh!_"

"Right." Turning away from the half conscious duo, Kaia looked at a snickering Raph. "Where's Aiden?"

"Huh? Oh, she's with Splinter. She wanted to talk to him about somethin'." He shrugged and pushed away from the fridge long enough to open it and rummage around before securing one of the last apples. "Somethin' about a Tribe or whatever."

"Really? Good. Looks like Esper's little stunt worked after all." 

"A miracle in itself," Ace grumbled as she sat next to Talia, staring into her mug of coffee. 

Kaia grinned in amusement and turned to head out of the kitchen again. "True. And speaking of Esper, I'd better go wake her before she sleeps through the entire day. Again."

"I _heard_ that."

"Speak of the devil." Raph chewed on a mouthful of fruit as he watched Esper walk into the kitchen, her arms crossed behind her head as she stretched. "Hey, kitten."

The look that she shot him would have made any other person wet himself. "I have killed males for lesser reasons," she told him, growling lowly when he simply smirked in reply. Refraining from simply clawing that infuriating expression off his face, she turned and looked at the two sitting at the table, frowning curiously. "What--?"

"You shut up," Talia muttered sourly. "It's all your fault that I didn't sleep last night."

"This morning," Ace corrected her.

"Oh, who bloody cares? The point is that it's her fault and she's evil. Evil I say!"

Esper snickered and tried to look innocent as she idly scratched at the bandage that was still wrapped around her upper arm. "Me? Why, Chiquita, whatever do you mean?"

"_Evil!_"

Donnie paused in the threshold of the kitchen and glanced around at it's occupants. "Do I even want to know?"

"Dunno about you," Raph grinned and took another bite out of his apple. " But it sound's interestin' ta me."

Talia grimaced and was just starting to look like she was trying to will herself into the floor when a scream tore through the lair. Almost instantly, Raph and Donnie were gone, and she scrambled to hurry after Esper as the Were followed the shrieks of terror back to 'their' train car.

"Hey! Hey, it's okay --ow! Quit thrownin' things!" Mikey backed out of the car with his arms raised, trying to protect himself from the barrage of various items that were being thrown at him. When he saw the gathered group, he shrugged. "A'Janae's up."

"Of all the...." Growling, Esper stormed into the car and backhanded the piece of tiled flooring that flew at her. "Stop that, you idiot!"

Kaia winced and glanced at Talia. "She's gotta work on her bedside manner."

"Duh."

"What's going on?!" Near panicked, A'Janae backed up until her back way against the wall and clutched at the blankets covering her. "What was that.... that _thing?!_ Where are we?!"

"That, was Michelangelo," Esper growled, using the turtles full name to get the best effect. "He and his brothers took us in after the fight. If it wasn't for them, there's a large chance that we wouldn't be alive. The least you could do, is not throw parts of their home at them!"

"Hey, back off! How the hell was I supposed to know?! Besides, weren't _you_ supposed to be protecting us?!"

Talia winced. "Uh oh."

Blinking at the tone of dread in her voice, both Mike and Donnie turned to her. "What?"

"Um.... someone might wanna go stop them. Like, now?"

"Well pardon me, bruja! But at least I know _how_ to fight! Unlike you, who seems to specialize in getting knocked unconscious!"

"Yeah? Well at least I'm powerful enough to keep _my_ family alive!"

"Oh shit!" Shoving Donnie out of the way, Raph lunged into the room and barely managed to grab onto Esper as the Were went for A'Janae's throat, straining to hold onto her as she loosed a roar of anger and tried to knock him away. "Get the bitch out of here!"

Not wasting a moment, Kaia ran into the room and grabbed a pale A'Janae's wrist, violently yanking the woman to her feet and shoving her out of the car. Behind her, Raphael struggled to keep Esper from getting loose to attack the Jamaican again, and she spent a second exchanging worried glances with the others as he shoved the door shut before she corralled A'Janae over to the couch, well away from the fight. 

"You are seriously starting to try my patience!" Eyes blazing a bright blue, Kaia towered over the sitting A'Janae, her gaze unwavering as she glared down at her. "Why must you continuously bring havoc to our group?! Have you no respect for anyone other than yourself?!"

"Hey look! I've been beaten up, knocked unconscious, I woke up to some _thing_ leaning over me and now that cat just tried to rip my throat out!"

Her anger boiling over like the waves caused by a hurricane's deadly winds, Kaia reached down and grabbed the collar of A'Janae's shirt, hauling her up to that they were face to face as the iris' of her eyes turned elliptical, her ears becoming more pointed, an outward sign of her true nature. "Listen to me well, mortal, for I shall only say this once. You will learn to respect those that are different, and you will learn quickly. The death of Esper's Tribe is not her fault, this you know. If you do not stop attacking her like you have been, you will not like the consequences, is that clear?"

When the woman nodded, Kaia curled her upper lip in disgust and shoved her back down onto the couch, not even giving her a second glance as she returned her attention to the train car, where the sounds of a fight were still audible.

~*~

"Calm down!" Raphael hissed as he pinned Esper against a wall and fought to keep her there, surprised at her strength. A low growl rumbled out of her then, and his eyes widened when he saw her eyes turn golden, her incisors lengthening into fangs as she somehow twisted in his hold and kicked him away from her.

"Why are you protecting her?!" she yelled as she leapt at him, the two of them exchanging blows for a moment before he swept her legs out from under her. She hit the floor hard, but rolled to her feet a mere half-breath later, crouching amongst the tousled blankets that were strewn across the floor as she glared at him.

"I'm not protectin' her!" Just as he saw her tense to leap at him again, he grabbed the edge of a blanket and yanked, throwing her off her feet once again. This time, he was able to pin her before she could regain her footing, and he held both her wrists in one hand as he planted a knee against the middle of her back, keeping her from throwing him off. "That's enough!"

Panic flowed through her when she found herself immobilized, and it was sheer instinct that took over as she transformed into her jaguar form in the blink of an eye, ripping herself free with a feline scream that echoed loudly in the train car. Ears flat against her skull, she backed away from the surprised turtle and crouched, tail lashing as she stared at him, her constant low growling warning him that she would attack if he moved towards her.

"Hey, whoa! Easy!" Suddenly facing a jaguar that seemed ready to try to rip him to shreds, Raphael grabbed his sais and backed away a few steps, staying in a ready crouch in case she moved to attack him. "Esper, listen already! I'm not protectin' her! If you wanna kill her, fine. Just not here! Or didja want Talia ta watch you rip the bitch to pieces?"

The low rumbling growl paused at that, and Esper glanced away from him as she rose out of her crouch, tail dropping to rest on the floor as she closed her eyes. The slight sound of metal rubbing against leather made her glance at Raph again, watching as he returned his weapons to their usual place under his belt before he slowly walked over to her. Remembering how easily he had trapped her, she backed away until her tail touched the wall, her wary gaze never leaving him.

Raph paused in mid-step when she cringed and frowned at her, recognising the stance of a frightened animal that was being presented to him. Cursing, he took a step back and leaned against a wall, looking over at her as he did so. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

A very human-sounding sigh left the jaguar before Esper reverted to her completely clothed Human form, her arms wrapped around herself as if to shield herself from the cold. "A'Janae--"

"No. Not that. I already know that part. I mean about the fight, when I pinned ya."

She grimaced and looked away, her hair falling to hide her face. "I.... was trapped, when I was a cub. I was play-hunting in a small underground burrow, and it collapsed. I couldn't move. It took two hours for my parents to dig me out."

He studied her for a moment before nodding and taking a quick glance at the bandage around her arm. "'Kay.... Hey.... um.... I didn't, hurt nothin', did I?"

Surprised at the rough concern, she looked up through her bangs and met his unreadable gaze. "No. I don't think so."

"Good. C'mon, ya can watch me yell at A'Janae."

~*~

The sounds of a familiar voice echoing through the lair drew Leonardo out of his room, and he spared a quick glance towards the hallway that led to Splinter's room before heading to the main section of the lair, already well aware of who was doing most of the yelling. "_Raph!_" His own cry was easily drowned out by his brother's voice, and he frowned when he tuned into the one-sided conversation.

"....and where the hell do you get off throwin' the death o' Esper's Tribe in her face, nevermind throwin' pieces o' the train car at Mikey! Hell, if we were anywhere else _I'd _be tempted ta take a chunk outta yer hide!"

This was new. True, Leo had always known that out of the four of them, Raphael was the one who was the most protective of women, even though he tried to hide it from everyone. There had been many times, during patrols of the city, that they had broken up attempted rapes, and it was always Raph that took the greatest pleasure out of beating the attackers into unconsciousness.

But this situation was different. Raph had never risen a hand or his voice to any female, not even when April had gotten in the middle of one of their many fights, but here he was practically screaming at A'Janae. It was obvious to anyone that something must have happened, and that in the outcome of whatever _had_ happened, Raph had chosen a side. That could be viewed as a good or a bad thing, as he could be downright cruel to those who he viewed as a threat to the ones he had chosen to defend. 

Wanting to see where this would go, he stayed silent as he joined the onlooking group, concern rising in him when he saw Talia staying close to a sullen Esper. Mike and Donnie glanced his way, and he met their apologetic gazes for a moment before shaking his head, knowing what they were thinking. No one could stop Raph when he was in this kind of mood, not even Splinter.

Footsteps from behind him made him glance back at Aiden as she ran over to them, and he shrugged in reply when she gave him a questioning look, her gaze going from him to a now silent Raphael, who was hissing his breath out between bared teeth.

"Aw, no," Aiden sighed when she saw Esper's downcast look and A'Janae, who was the brunt of Raph's anger. "Not again. Dammit, A'Janae! How many bloody times do we have to go through this?! What the hell do you have against non-Humans, anyway?! No wait, y'know what? I don't care. Shut up. I don't wanna hear it." Stealing a glance at her group, she stalked forward until she was standing next to Raph, joining him in glaring at her. "Two strikes, A'Janae. Next time you pull this shit, it's not Esper you're going to have to worry about, or even Raphael. It's me you'll have to deal with, and I have a hell of a lot more power than they do. Understand?"

Not waiting, or wanting, to hear the woman's reply, Aiden turned away from her and went over to Esper, frowning in worry as she tentatively reached out to brush the Were's long hair away from her face. "¿Estás bien, amiga?"

A hint of a smile spread over Esper's lips as she met Aiden's dark green gaze. "You've been practicing."

"Kind of had to, considering that when you're in a fight you seem to forget about the English language."

"Ah. True. But, si, amiga. I'm fine."

"You're sure?" The tone of Aiden's voice made it clear that she believed the Were about as far as she could throw a Volvo.

That fact wasn't lost to Esper. "Aiden, I'm alright."

She held the woman's gaze for another moment, then reluctantly nodded. "Okay," she said, glancing at the others afterwards before heading for the small hallway at the far end of the lair. "I'm gonna go fill Splinter in on what happened. I kinda ran out of there like a bat out of hell. He probably thinks I'm nuts or something."

Talia snickered a little at that, relieved to hear Esper echo her laughter. It always scared her to see the Were so depressed, and nothing put her further down into the dumps than the reminder of her lost Tribe, something that A'Janae seemed to throw into her face at regular intervals. She didn't understand why A'Janae was so hostile towards Esper, and to all non-Humans, but by the looks of things, if the Jamaican didn't watch herself, she'd have not only Kaia and Aiden after her, but Raphael as well.

And speaking of which, that had given her an idea. Seeing Raph charge out of the train car after Esper had calmed down had frightened her at first, but that had quickly altered into surprise when he had gone straight for A'Janae and started on his long and rather.... colourful.... rant, defending Esper with a venomance that had visibly surprised the other turtles.

She'd have to talk with Kaia about this, to see if anything could be done. But until then.... "C'mon, Esper. I'll make you some toast or something. I'm so hungry I could eat a newspaper."

That caught Mikey's attention, making him grin as he turned to her. "With or without the 'Classifieds'?" 

"With! And the flyers too!"

"Yeowch! Yeah, that's hungry alright." Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he led the way to the kitchen, beaming all the way. "How about I make my famous chocolate chip pancakes for you lovely ladies?"

"You'd better make some for us too!" Donnie called after him, hearing his amused chuckle. Shaking his head, Don turned back to Leo, who was 'suggesting' to A'Janae that she go clean up the mess in the train car. It was a fair suggestion, considering that she had been the one flinging things at Mikey's head as well as the instigator of the fight. He didn't know what to make of her. He'd thought that she'd be like Aiden and the others, but to the contrary, she seemed cold, set apart from the girls by her own air of indifference.

A growl of annoyance drew his gaze to Raphael, who followed A'Janae with his glare until the woman disappeared into the car. That was something else new. Raph was an enigma, true, but this was stranger than usual. The hot-tempered turtle had basically just broken his record of disliking everybody in order to defend someone he'd just met.

"I don't trust 'er," the turtle in red grumbled as he folded his arms over his plastron and scowled in the direction of the one in question.

Leonardo frowned. "You don't even _know_ her. We don't really know anything about any of them."

"Doesn't matter. I don't trust 'er."

"But you trust the others?" The glare that Raph sent at him made Donnie immediately regret getting into the conversation.

"More than her."

The terse reply made Leo exchange a curious glance with Donnie before he returned his gaze to Raph, who was staring at both of them, obviously expecting to be challenged on his decision. Too bad for him, that Leo knew very well how picky Raph was about who he trusted and who he didn't. His red-banded brother's instincts were hardly ever wrong, and Leo had come to depend on Raph's opinion when it came to trusting people. Not that he'd ever admit it. Raph's ego was big enough as it is. "Alright. We should try to keep an eye on A'Janae, then."

Grunting to hide his surprise, Raph grabbed the TV remote off a small rickety coffee table and threw himself down onto the couch so that he could easily see the subway cars as he started to channel surf. "Get Mike ta bring me some pancakes."

"Sure thing." Knowing better than to push the conversation any further, despite the many questions that were on the tip of his tongue, Donnie took the cue to leave and went to join the group in the kitchen, leaning against the fridge when he saw that all the seats at the table were occupied.

It was Mikey that spotted him first. "AH! It emerges from it's lair of horrors!"

He rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha, Mikey. Real funny."

Grinning, the other turtle went back to preparing the pancake batter. "Now I know my pancakes are the best, they even get the Brainiac to forget about his computer!"

Ace perked up at that, abandoning the conversation she had been having with Talia as she looked over at Donnie. "Computer? What kind?"

"That's it, she's gone," Talia grumbled as she propped her chin up on her right fist. "Mention a computer and 'whoosh!', Ace is in another world."

"S'the same with Donnie," Mike sighed, glancing over at the two who were now discussing the pros and cons between Macintosh and IBM computers. "I don't get half of what he talks about."

Esper blinked and glanced at Kaia. "Um.... what's a computer?"

That got the two technology-addicts attention. "AHH!!! You don't know what a computer is?!"

Reeling from the cries of disbelief, the Were glanced from one horrified face to the other, shrinking a little in her seat while Talia and Mikey tried to hide their snickers. "....no?"

Drawn by yet more yelling, Leo poked his head into the room and glanced from a shocked Donnie to Esper, who seemed to be willing herself into the floor. "Donnie, why are you scaring the guests?"

It was Ace that answered as she pointing a trembling finger at the Were. "She doesn't know what a computer is!!"

Leo blinked, then rolled his eyes and turned away. "I'll be in the dojo."

"Don't leave us here alone!" Kaia cried, snickering her eyes when Ace glared at her. "Sorry, couldn't help it."

Esper, meanwhile, was getting ready to make a run for it, a fact that wasn't lost on Talia, who was subtly trying to make room so the Were could have an unobstructed path to the door. Just as Ace turned her attention back to the woman, readying to join Donnie in lecturing about the merits of the internet, Esper leapt from her chair, vaulted over the table and tore out of the room, leaving the duo to blink in surprise for a moment before they followed her.

Presented with an empty lair - except for Raph who was still on the couch - Ace turned from raking her gaze across the large open space and met the amused smirk that was being sent her way. "Where'd she go, Raph?"

"Why?"

Annoyed at the counter question, Ace planted her fists on her hips and glared at him, narrowing her eyes when his smirk only widened. "We were.... educating her."

"Uh huh. Give it up, Brainiacs, no one wants ta listen to you two babble on about computers and shit." Grinning evilly, he pulled a sai from his belt and twirled it in his right hand as he turned his attention back to the TV. "Why dontcha go bug, Kaia? Figure she needs to learn about the 'Net."

There was a growl from the kitchen as Ace headed back, pulling a chuckling Donnie along with her. "Thanks a freakin' lot, Raph!"

"No prob, Kaia!" he called back, waiting for a few seconds before tilting his head back and looking up at the woman who was perched on one of the support beams that laced the ceiling of the lair, her silhouette framed by the lights that reflected off the stained glass. "Ya can come down now."

Shooting a wary glance in the direction of the kitchen, she hesitantly shifted a little, then backflipped off the beam, landing in a graceful crouch beside the TV. "Ay carumba! They're completely loco!"

"That was nothin'," Raph smirked as she dropped down into one of the plush chairs. "Ya should see Donnie when his Internet connection's down."

She tried to make sense of that for half a second before grimacing and shaking her head. "I don't think I want to know."

"Good choice." He let the Die Hard movie he was watching take over his attention for a little bit, then turned back to her. "Hey, y'know how I pinned ya? Next time, use yer legs ta get a hold on whoever's pinnin' ya and throw 'em aside."

As he turned back to the TV once again, Esper continued to stare at him in surprise, wondering. She probably would have stared longer had Kaia and Talia not run from the kitchen with Ace at their heels. The two girls launched themselves at her then, hitting her with enough force to topple the chair, sending the three of them crashing to the floor while Ace skidden to a stop and broke down into hysterical laughter.

Raphael didn't even look at away from the TV. "You're all nuts."

Translations:

Chiquita - little one

¿Estás bien? - Are you alright?

Amiga - friend (female)

Si - yes

Bruja - Bitch

loco - insane

Replies!

tmntpunker - Believe me, writing like this did not come without much trial and error. There are some things that I wrote two years ago that plainly make me shudder when I go over them now. Besides, I ended up having so many ideas in my skull that I just had to get them out. *grin* An yes, I am a firm believer in pairing up the turtles with someone who will not crush their hearts. Glad you like it!

Ramica - Glad you like it! No, Esper would never hurt Splinter. She may have the instincts of a jaguar, but those are balanced out with intelligence and a loyalty to her friends. As for the description of the differences between sprites, pixies and fairies, boy, you should have seen me when I was trying to write that out. Telca, my best friend and the one who helps me work out plot problems that come up, helped me iron out some of the problems I had with that. Kudos to her. 


	7. Reconnaissance

No ownage of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles happening here. 

Chapter 7 - Reconnaissance

"Oof, I think I gained five pounds...."

Talia snickered at her sister's soft groan and continued trudging through the sewers, following Leo and Donnie as they lead them through the underground maze. "It's your own fault for having that fifth pancake."

"Shaddup. Besides, you shouldn't talk, you had six."

"So?"

"Ugh, bottomless pit. And you're thin as a stick, where the hell do you put it all?!"

Aiden chuckled and shook her head as she listened in on the sisters conversation, taking a brief moment to glance at her watch as she did so. After the hearty, and extremely delicious, breakfast that Mikey had made, the now large group had figured out a rough plan for the next night's patrols, since it was agreed that they would be working together to stop the killings, even despite her misgivings of the idea.

The girls had made it quite clear that they weren't going to track down evil in clothes that were not only unsuitable for the task, but ones that they had been wearing for far too long. Granted, Esper hadn't minded the whole clothing bit, but had been vetoed by the rest of the females in the group, much to the turtles amusement.

Thus it was decided that the turtles would lead them through the sewers back to Ace's apartment, both for the fact that they needed to know where the girls would be, and that while in the sewers, the girls had the navigational skills of a rock. And while the four brothers had been wary of going topside during the day, quick reassurance from Ace that her building was rather quiet during the day helped relieve some of their misgivings. Some, but not all.

Hence the disguises. Something that had drawn many a snicker from Talia, Ace and herself. Trenchcoats and fedoras adorned each turtle, and as she snuck a glance at Leo, she couldn't help but smirk in amusement. _Humphrey Bogart eat your heart out._

A muffled sneeze drew her attention to Esper, who looked rather miserable at the moment. Apparently the smell of the sewer, while not that wonderful to them, was much, much worse for the Were's acute senses. Donatello had told them that he and his brothers possessed heightened senses as well, but that not only were they not up to par with Esper, but that they were used to the sewers. Esper, who had been living in the rainforest not three months ago, wasn't.

And she was suffering for it.

As another stream of Spanish echoed loudly in the tunnels, Talia turned and frowned at the Were. "Esper, would you please stop swearing? I'm the only one who can understand you, and I really don't want to hear this! It's a little too graphic! And disgusting!"

Raph perked up from where he and Mikey were following behind the group. "Really? What's she saying?"

"You don't want to know."

"Wanna bet?"

And thus, the complaints from the Were turned into incoherent growls and snarls, which only served to encourage Raphael into trying to copy her. By the time they reached the right manhole cover, the two of them had made a game of it, much to the groups dismay. Little did any of them realise that Esper was actually teaching Raph the verbal language of jaguars, a series of growls, snarls and hisses that only she could understand.

"I don't know what bothers me more," Leo commented to Aiden and Donnie as a rather bloodcurdling feline scream reverberated through the sewers, followed by a deeper almost perfect echo of it. "The fact that I don't know what she's teaching him, or the fact that he can actually copy her almost perfectly."

A'Janae grimaced and edged away from Esper, who grinned ferally in approval to Raph's mimicry of her. "Considering that she's speaking in the language of jaguars, I don't think any of us want to know what she's saying."

"Eh?" Esper glanced over at her warily. "You understood?"

"No. But I can recognise the sound of the language."

"Language?" Blinking, Raph turned to Esper, dimly aware that Mikey was trying to smother his laughter. "Hey, wait a second, what the hell was I sayin'?"

She chuckled. "I don't think I have a good enough grasp of the English language to translate it all. Suffice it to say that most of it was colourful, inventive and biologically impossible."

He paused for a second before smirking and tilting the tip of his fedora down. "Good 'nuff for me."

Rolling his eyes, Leo turned and led the way up the ladder, trusting his brothers to warn the girls to keep quiet as he listened for a moment before slowly lifting the edge of the manhole cover. A thorough inspection of the alleyway showed that it was safe, and he relayed that to the others before climbing the rest of the way out, taking it upon himself to keep a lookout while the others joined him topside.

"Someone remind me to burn these shoes," Ace groaned as she reached up to grasp Mikey's outstretched hand, letting him pull her the rest of the way out of the sewer.

"Oh, quit whining," Talia grumbled from where she was leaning back against one of the buildings, patiently waiting for the rest of the group. "Besides, they're salvageable."

Ace threw her a doubtful look, but didn't press the matter, turning instead to walk towards the mouth of the alley, where Leo and Donnie were warily studying the building across from them. "It's not that far. You'll be fine," she told them, playfully reaching out to tug the rim of Donnie's hat over his eyes.

"Ace, it's too open here." Frowning, Leo shot a glance up at the bright sun, then back to the street that separated them from Ace's building. "We can't risk being seen. If we are--"

"Argh. _Fine._ Yo, Kaia! C'mere!"

Taking a moment to brush dirt off her knees, Kaia slowly made her way over to the trio while Raph slid the manhole cover back into place. "Yes?"

"Make with the mojo, would you? Thick fog or something."

"What? Here?" Kaia glanced at the turtles and leaned closer to Ace and lowered her voice to the barest whisper. "I thought we weren't gonna reveal everything just yet."

"They know about magick, you don't have to bare all. Just a little."

Pulling away with a sigh and a nod, Kaia reluctantly stepped away from the main part of the group and closed her eyes, reaching out with her very essence to take control of the moisture in the air and clouds high above. It took very little effort to gather it to herself, and even less to force the invisible humidity to rapidly cool, forming a thick swirling fog that covered the entire block.

Readying herself for the worst, she opened her eyes again and looked over at the turtles, all of whom were staring at her in slack-jawed awe. "Um.... can we go now?"

"Don't see why not," Ace grinned, latching onto Leo and Donnie and practically dragging them across the street, the mist curling around them as they walked. "And you two were worried. Bah."

Still a little stunned, Mikey fell into step next to a grinning Talia and leaned towards her. "Uhhh, what was that?"

"Magick."

Raph smirked. "David Copperfield eat your heart out."

Talia rolled her eyes, but refrained from saying anything lest she drag herself into a whole conversation that she didn't really want to be a part of. Instead, she followed Esper through the greyness, trusting the Were's senses to lead her to the right building. A silent A'Janae walked a little ways behind her, and she felt a pang of guilt run through her as she glanced back at the woman. They had been practically ignoring her since the fight, and while it _was_ her own fault, Talia didn't think she had to be cut off from all conversations for it. "Hey, don't fall behind. Can't see anything in this, wouldn't want to lose you."

"What are you talkin' to _her_ for?" Raph growled, shooting a glare towards the other woman.

"Just because I don't agree with her opinions doesn't mean I have to be cruel," Talia shot back defensively, seeing Mike move so that he was between her and Raph. "Besides, all this tension is killing me. I hate it. And if Esper can promise to be civil and let things lie than so can the rest of us."

Frowning, Raph sped up a little and caught up to Esper, staring at her in disbelief. "You _promised?_"

She grimaced. "Only for Talia's sake, and for the sake of the group."

"Hmpft." A giggle from behind them drew his gaze, and he shook his head at the sight of Mikey wrapping his arm around Talia's shoulders, leaning closer to her as he told her another joke. It didn't surprise him though. Mike was always the one to break up tense situations with a joke or a crazy stunt. The day his brother didn't act so cheerful was the day he'd paint his sais neon pink. 

Ace was waiting for them impatiently at the entrance to the building, and it wasn't until she was sure everyone was there that she turned and led the way into the lobby, hitting the button for the elevator despite Leo's protests that they should stick to the stairs to avoid being seen.

"We are _not_ taking the stairs. I refuse to take the stairs. Especially not in these shoes!"

"Aw, but it's good for your calves," Mikey grinned, eliciting a snicker from Talia as a result.

Ace rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "I'm being punished, aren't I?"

"Probably," Raph smirked, simply staring at her when she turned to glare at him until she threw her hands up into the air and spun away from him.

"Um, Ace?" Hesitant to broach the subject, Aiden moved over to stand beside her and frowned. "We're not all going to fit in one elevator."

"Oh, yes, we will."

Donnie shivered at the tone of Ace's voice and pushed Leo in front of him as the steel coloured doors slid open to reveal a wood pattern that was most usually seen on the inside of a closet. "You first, Fearless Leader."

In the end, it was a terrible, terrible minute long elevator ride. The four guys had been shoved into the far corner so that in case the elevator stopped at another floor, no potential tenants of the building could properly make them out. The girls had, under Ace's glare, squeezed into any available spot, thus the vertical commuters got to experience what it was like to be a sardine in a can. Not that Talia and Mike cared, they were nose to nose and snickering all the while.

It was Aiden that cracked first when the doors finally opened, shoving people out of her way as she threw herself from the elevator, despite the many curses from those that she had unceremoniously pushed aside. 

Raph was second. Growling all the while in a tone that was rougher than usual due to his throat being a little sore from the 'game' with Esper, he stormed out into the hallway, pulling a wide-eyed Esper along with him. She was still trying to get over her surprise at having him corner off a small section of the elevator for her so that she wouldn't panic at the close quarters, and thus was too stunned to say anything as he yanked her clear of the doors.

The rest of the group toppled out of the elevator in classic dominoes style, and the ones that had gotten free first watched in amusement as Mikey, carrying a blushing Talia in his arms, fought his way out of the pile and walked over them to safety - despite the many protests from those being used as stepping stones.

"Geez, Mikey, did you put on weight?" Groaning, Don pulled himself to his feet and rubbed at his left shoulder, staggering out of the way as the others slowly copied him and stood, swaying slightly.

"Only a little," Mike grinned, throwing Talia into the air and then catching her again, pretending to choke when she wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from tossing her again.

"Would you quit messing around?" Leo growled as Ace pushed past him and headed down the hall. Sending a wary look down each section of the hallway, he snatched his fedora off the floor and shoved it down onto his head, scowling at his brothers in annoyance. Beginning to think that this was the worst idea he'd ever gone along with, he readjusted his katanas where they hung under his coat and headed after Ace, frowning when he found her standing in front of her open apartment door, her eyes wide in shock. "What's--oh damn. Raph! Donnie!"

On cue, his two brothers headed into the completely trashed apartment, previously concealed weapons drawn as they did a sweep of the living quarters, then went to check the two bedrooms and single bathroom, making sure that no unwanted visitors were hiding amongst the chaos before returning to the others.

"M-my apartment...." Shaking, Ace took a step into her home and looked from the upended furniture to the bare shelves that lined one of the walls, the books that used to sit on them strewn across the floor. Her two favourite lamps were smashed on what remained of her coffee table, her TV and stereo system destroyed. She didn't even want to look in the direction of the room she kept her computer in.

"Dear Goddess." Moving carefully, the rest of the girls and the remaining two turtles filed into the apartment, and Kaia closed the door behind them as the group milled around the living room, all of them stunned at the destruction of their friend's home.

Gently pushing Mikey away, Talia climbed out of his arms and went to her sister, hugging her tightly when she saw the glazed shadow to her eyes. "Thank the Gods we weren't here when whoever did this broke in."

"Found a souvenir in the bedroom," Raph announced, holding out a sai and nodding to the small black and neon orange pack of matches that were skewered on the middle prong. "Anyone here smoke?" When the chorus of disgusted protests died down, he plucked his little trophy into his fingers and flipped it over. "'Exile's Fire'? What the hell is that?"

"No clue," Aiden shrugged as she walked over to Ace and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Ace? C'mon, we can salvage most of this. You have insurance, right?"

"....yeah.... yeah I got insurance.... But why the hell did this happen to me?!" Angry, she pried herself out of Talia's arms and glared at the mess around her. "Dammit, I just put the last payment on that TV last week! And my computer--!"

Donnie sighed sympathetically. "I might be able to fix the hard drive for you, but the monitor and everything else looks like it'll have to be replaced."

"Well, _fuck._"

Undaunted by her language, after all he lived with Raph, Leo frowned and walked deeper into the apartment, eyeing the balcony doors that hung askew on the tracks. "Eleven floors up with no fire escape, that's not an easy thing to do."

"Not for a Human," Esper agreed as she carefully picked her way through the mess and went out onto the balcony, taking a quick look around before turning back to inspect the doors, her eyes darkening at the sight of deep rends in the metal tracks.

Her expression wasn't missed by Leonardo. "What?"

Not saying a word, she reached out and placed her left hand over the markings as she let her nails morph into talons, then curled her fingers into the marks to get the point across. "Another Were did this," she told him as she closed her eyes took in a deep breath of the air. "The scent isn't old. Very early this morning, I think. There were two... no, wait. Three. All male. Wolves. They were on the hunt, the destruction is just a ruse, to hide their true intent." Sighing heavily, she opened her eyes and looked over at Aiden. "Had we been here, they would have tried to kill us."

"Emphasis on the 'tried'," Kaia frowned as she picked up a battered hardcover book and shook dirt from an upturned potted plant off of it. "Question is, why? Other than Ace, none of us really know anything about this city, or have any reason to have pissed these people off...."

Ace looked up from glaring at the mess on her floor and blinked at the numerous gazes that were fixed on her. "What?"

"You _did_ mention that some of your friends...." Talia trailed off at the venomous glare her sister sent her and lowered her eyes, turning instead to try to salvage the plant that lay on the floor nearby. "Nevermind."

"If you all _must_ know, the only Were I know is the owner of the 'Electric Nation', and he wouldn't have any reason to come and rampage through my apartment! He isn't even part of a pack for crying out loud!"

"Whoa, okay! Okay!" Startled at her anger, Donnie tucked his bo staff under his left arm and made calming motions at her. "We're not accusing you of anything, Ace! Calm down!"

"_I am calm!_"

"Oh yeah, you're all sorts of stable all over the place, aren't you?" Aiden muttered as the lavender haired woman's breath hissed through her clenched teeth.

Mikey looked up from watching Talia scoop the soil back into the upturned potted plant and sent a hopeful glance at Leo, who sighed and nodded slightly. Grinning now, the turtle in orange turned to the girls and dared to drape his arms over Aiden and Ace's shoulders, tucking them against his sides. "Looks like you'll be bunkin' with us for a while, ladies."

A'Janae didn't look too thrilled. "What? Why? Even if whoever did this comes back, we can handle ourselves just fine!"

Kaia grimaced. "Oh yeah. We were doing real good back in that alleyway."

Wincing at the reminder as she stepped back into the apartment, Esper hooked her thumbs into the front pockets of her pants and blushed slightly. "If I had known we'd be fighting vampires and demons, I wouldn't have let my guard down."

"No. It isn't your fault," A'Janae muttered, drawing the surprises gazes of the group. "None of us were ready for a serious fight."

Her anger temporarily forgotten, Ace pulled away from Mikey and bit her bottom lip as she ran her hands through her hair, freeing it from the bobby pins that were holding the locks off her shoulders. "Aiden, it's your call. Whaddya wanna do, girl?"

Aiden glanced at Esper questioningly, then looked over at Leo when the Were shrugged. "You sure? This isn't something to take lightly, when things get serious - and I assure you that they will - you're going to have to be able to let us take the lead on the supernatural stuff."

"I'm sure," he replied without hesitation. "So long as you accept _our_ lead when it comes to everyone's safety, in _any_ situation."

The girls exchanged curious looks with one another, then all eyes turned to Aiden, who smirked. "Deal."

"Good. Then grab what you'll need and let's go before whoever did this decides to come....back?" Leo blinked in surprise as all the girls ran from the room, packing clothes and various items with almost unnatural speed. "Only bring what you can carry!"

"No prob!" Ace smirked as she finished unhooking the cables from her hard drive and thrust the machine into Esper's arms. "Esper's strong, she can probably carry a lot!"

"I am not a beast of burden!" the Were protested, although she did tuck the computer under her left arm, balancing it on her hip.

Aiden rolled her eyes from where she was digging though Ace's bedroom, trying to find the bag that she had left there the day before. "Ace, quit annoying the jaguar, okay? And dammit, where the 'ell's me backpack? Oy, nevermind. Found it!"

Raph rolled his eyes and leaned back against a bookshelf, hooking his left thumb into his belt while twirling a sai in his right hand. "Leo, ya don't know what ya've gotten us into," he muttered, eyeing Talia as she finished repotting the plant and got to her feet with the pot in her arms. "No way."

"Why not?" she countered, hugging the battered plant to herself.

Mikey frowned and gently tried to tug the pot out of her hands. "It'll die in the lair."

Grinning, she fixed him with a challenging look. "Wanna bet?"

"Oh not again." Sighing, Donnie watched Raph rise to the challenge, ready and willing to get a few bucks out of the girl. "Talia, that wasn't a good idea."

She winked at him. "Watch and learn, Brainaic." Turning back to the one in front of her, she smirked and shifted the pot to her right arm as she extended her left hand. "Twenty bucks says it lives. If it dies, you're twenty smackers richer."

"Deal!" Raph quickly closed the bet by shaking her hand, then grinned. "Easiest twenty bucks I've ever made."

Kaia snickered from behind him. "Don't be so sure, Raphael. Talia has a.... gift.... when it comes to nurturing plants."

"Ack! My sister's gambling!" Ace, who had witnessed the entire deal, stood there for a moment before rushing over and hugging Talia. "Oh! I'm so proud of you!"

"Always thought she was a little off," Aiden commented with a grin as she rejoined the group, her backpack slung over one shoulder.

"A little, amiga? Try 'a lot'. Ace is completely loco."

"Shaddup, Esper!"

"For once, I agree with the jaguar," A'Janae said, smiling slightly. "You're nuts, Ace."

"Ah!" Grinning, Mikey pointed at the two sisters. "See, Ace? If A'Janae and Esper can agree on this, then it _must_ be true!"

Smiling, Leo sent Donnie a sidelong glance. "Remind me again why I invited them over?"

"Cuz you're a sucka for punishment," Raph smirked, glancing at Kaia when she elbowed him. "Hey, watch it Pipsqueak."

"Pipsqueak?" A mischievous gleam appeared in Kaia's eyes as she rose her hands. "Oh, you're in for it now."

"Hey, hey, _hey!_ Not in my apartment!"

Aiden rolled her eyes. "It's not like we could make it any worse, Ace."

"Oh, bite me." Ace paused as a rather evil thought occured to her and grinned. "Better yet, go bite, Leo. I'm sure that'll keep you two busy for a while."

As Leo's cheeks turned a darker green, Raph and Mikey busied themselves by doubling over from laughter. It was only Donnie that tried to hide his chuckle, an easy fact considering the loud howls of mirth from the girls, all except for Aiden of course, she was busy chasing a cackling Ace around the apartment while swinging her backpack like a club.

While the others tried in vain to get their breaths back, the two runners took the chase out into the hallway, and Aiden's voice was clearly heard in all it's Irish glory. "Get back 'ere ya pervert! Just ya wait till Oi get me hands on ya, ya'll be sorry then, lass!!"

Still snickering, Raph looked at Donnie and grinned. "You better go rescue your brainy girlfriend before Aiden gets her."

The other turtle sputtered. "S-she's not my girlfriend!"

Esper shook her head a little as she got her laughter under control and put her free arm around Talia's shoulders, guiding her out the door as Kaia and A'Janae hurried to try to catch up with Ace and Aiden. "C'mon, Chiquita, let's go save your sister." Pausing for a moment, she glanced back at the group behind her, smirking when she saw a still blushing Leonardo and a very flustered Donnie bickering with Raph and Mikey. "Adios, amigos!"

"Wha, huh?" Turning at the call, Mike blinked at the empty apartment for a moment, then yelped and ran after them. "Hey, wait for us! Hold the elevator!"

Grinning, Talia waved to him as the doors slid shut. "Don't worry!" she called cheerfully, raising her voice so as to be heard over the snickers of the other women. "The stairs are good for your calves!"

By the fourth floor, Aiden had managed to regain what little breath she could, leaning against a grinning Kaia as she did so. "Oh Goddess, that was priceless, Talia. I haven't laughed like that in weeks!"

"I'll turn you into a troublemaker yet!" Ace crowed as she rearranged the strap of her backpack on her left shoulder, then an arm over her little sister's shoulders. "Of course, we'll have to protect you from Raph."

Kaia smirked. "Or we could let Esper distract him," she suggested slyly, eliciting thoughtful humms from most of the others as everyone turned to look at the blushing Were, who seemed to find the floor extremely interesting to stare at.

"....cállate...."

"Translation?" A'Janae looked at Talia, who chuckled.

"She just told us to shut up."

"Fat chance of that happenin'," Ace grinned. "Of course, we could switch our attentions to Aiden."

"What?! No! Dinnae turn this on me!" A thought occured to her then, making a rather evil smile spread over the fiery haired woman's lips as she looked at Ace. "Then again, we could always discuss you and Donatello."

"....isn't this a lovely pattern for the walls?"

"Aye," Aiden grinned as the elevator slowed to a stop on the main floor. "That's what I thought."

True to form, the doors slid open to reveal a less-than-pleased Raphael, who merely stood there with his arms folded over his plastron while his brothers stood a little ways behind him, calmly watching the show.

It wasn't until he glanced at Esper, who was still blushing, that he spoke. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Blushing even more at the giggles from the others, Esper tightened her hold on the hard drive she was carrying and pushed past him. "¡Cállate! ¡Idiota!"

Dumbfounded, he glanced from the retreating Were to the snickering women still in the elevator. "What the.... wait. She just called me an idiot, didn't she?! Hey! Get back here!"

"Sharp as a tack, that one is," A'Janae mused as he spun and stomped after the Were, enabling the women to leave the elevator.

"Do we even want to know what that was about?" Leo sighed when Aiden walked over to him, groaning a little when she grinned widely and shook her head. "That's what I thought. And by the way, don't ever do that again. You girls should be more careful. Especially now that there's someone after Ace."

"Leo, we know. Really. But if we don't relax then we're going to drive each other insane." She looked back at her friends, the worry in her lessening as she gazed at Talia and Mikey, who were teasing Ace and Donnie to the point that she thought the turtle would never stop blushing. "This city is horribly new to some of us, you know. Keeping things light helps to keep the homesickness at bay."

He frowned at the shadows in her eyes, suddenly realising how far away from her home she really was. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Aye, Laddie."

That tore a groan from him as he turned to get the group moving, wanting to head back to the security of the lair. "And stop calling me that!"

~*~

Luckily for them, it was easy to catch up with Esper and Raphael. All the group had to do was follow the multilingual yelling, which echoed very loudly in the underground tunnels.

"Dammit, if yer gonna swear at me at least do it in a language that I can fuckin' understand!!"

There was an incoherent snarling hiss followed by an angry, "¡Vete!"

"What?! What the hell does that _mean?!_"

Another growl, this time in muffled English.

"Okay, _that_ I understand! Now what the fuck's your problem?!"

"_Idiota!"_

"Alright, that's _it!_"

The group turned the corner just as Raphael was getting ready to launch himself at Esper, and Ace wailed when she realised what was going to happen. "Don't destroy my computer!! I still have three payments left!!"

A'Janae sighed. "Nice priorities you have there, Ace."

"It's a Pentium Four with a CD Burner!"

"Notice how little we care," Kaia muttered as she braved the storm, as it were, and walked forward to take Esper's free arm, pulling the Were away from Raphael before either of them could attack the other, waiting until they were well out of eavesdropping range before speaking. "Are you alright?"

There was a lengthy pause before Esper shook her head, her long hair hiding her expression.

"Why? Because of the teasing? You know we didn't mean it to be cruel."

"It's not that."

"Then what?"

"....it's because you're right. And I don't want you to be right." A long sigh left her as she freed her arm from Kaia's grasp and rose her hand to tuck her hair behind her ears. "I have never been away from my Tribe before. Never. We were a close Family, working together to protect each other and our Territory. And now I'm alone, a stranger in a strange jungle of metal and concrete. Nothing is familiar, and I don't want to be feeling like this because it's yet another sign that I'm alone, for had I still my Tribe, my mother and the Wise One would counsel me, give me advice and reassurance.... and now I have nothing...."

"That's not true and you know it! What about us, hmm?" Kaia protested, grabbing the Were's arm again with such force that she drew a surprised hazel gaze. "We may not completely understand you, or what you've lost, but we're still your friends!"

"It's not the same...."

"No, it isn't. It's different, but that doesn't mean that we can't help you. So what if you like someone, what's the big deal? Life is too short to throw away opportunities, Esper. I know. Water Sprites are Immortal, and while I may have the tendency to act like I've no cares, I've been alive for over two centuries. I've seen many lives come and go, loves lost and gained. What's the harm in seeing where a Path leads? What if in the future, you look back on this and wish that you _had_ followed your feelings? What then?"

Esper fell silent at that, and the two walked on in silence for a few minutes as she mulled over what Kaia had just told her. "Kaia?"

"Hmm?"

"In my current state...." She paused and sighed, hating what she was about to admit. "....I'm not strong enough to handle rejection."

That made Kaia chuckle, drawing the Were's gaze. "Oh, is that what you're worried about, Esper? Haven't you been paying attention? Surely you've noticed the already growing attraction between certain members of our group and theirs."

"Si...."

"Trust me, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Even if you _did_ call him an idiot. Not that he isn't, mind you."

Esper smiled a little at that and gently bumped her shoulder against Kaia's. "Gracias, amiga."

"Anytime. Now, question of the moment : do you know where you're going?"

"Ah, si." Feeling as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders, she rose a hand and scratched at her nose. "The stench in here may turn my stomach, but I can still make out our faint trail from when we headed to the surface."

"I was wondering how you knew the way back to the lair."

Yelping, both Kaia and Esper spun at the voice, the latter glaring at Leo. "How long have you been there?" A pause. "Carumba, how much did you _hear?!_"

Seeing that she seemed like she was ready to bolt, Leo tried to calm her fears before she panicked. "Not much. Only the part about rejection onwards."

Still tense, Esper sent a wary glance at Kaia, who shrugged. "....alright. Forgive me. I'm.... on edge."

"It's okay, really. Aiden told me a bit about you." Smiling gently, he joined them as they resumed walking and fell into step beside her. "You must miss the rainforest very much."

"Si. More than you know, amigo. More than you know." She paused for a moment, then sighed deeply. "I suppose I'll see it again once this is over."

"Yeah, well, if you do. You'd better stay in touch," Kaia frowned. "Else I'll hunt you down myself!"

"You, amiga? Trying to hunt _me_ in the heart of my Homeland?" Esper chuckled, clearly amused by that thought. It was exactly what Kaia had been hoping for. "Oh, that would be a sight."

Grinning, Kaia exchanged relieved glances with Leo, then returned her attention to where they were going, glad at least, that she had managed to help Esper out of her worries. The next step, of course, was to get Talia to help her with Raphael. _After all,_ she mused,_ all work and no play makes for a very bored group of people. And in our case, boredom is certainly not a good thing._

__


	8. Secrets Unveiled

Aiden, Esper, A'Janae, Ace, Talia and Kaia are mine. No touching of my things. But you can play with the Turtles, they're not mine. (you can take that 'play' bit anyway you so desire ^_~ ) 

Chapter 8 - Secrets Unveiled

"A'Janae? Have you seen my brown jeans?" Aiden called as she dug through her backpack, glad that she was hidden in the train car specifically for her and the other women since seeing her practically _in_ the specially enchanted bag would probably have freaked out the turtles.

The Jamaican finished buttoning her red blouse and took a second to reach back to gather her braids into a hair clip before replying. "I think Esper's wearing them. Along with that gothicy grey halter top. The one with the spaghetti straps that criss-cross over the stomach."

"Dammit. I wish she'd tell me what she borrows." Frowning in annoyance, she settled for her worn blood red jeans and a black tank top, quickly changing into the comfy, and clean, outfit. The plan for this night was simple. The group would split up and patrol the city for any signs or clues to Moira's whereabouts, and Aiden had made it quite clear to the other women that they weren't to tell the turtles about the killer being her sister. Not yet. Not until it was imperative that they know. 

Granted, that hadn't really gone over well with most of them. But in the end, each of them had promised to keep her secret. 

Sighing, she took a second to tuck her shirt into her pants, then looked at A'Janae, who seemed rather nervous. Aiden couldn't blame her. Since the fight, Raphael had been downright hostile towards her, something that, while it served to add to Aiden's guesses that he liked Esper, didn't really help the already volatile truce between the Jamaican and the Were. Personally, she had nothing against A'Janae. She was only baffled about the odd tension between her and Esper.

"Hey, why don't you tag along with Leo and I?" she suggested, smiling when she saw a look of relief pass over the other woman's face. "I doubt he'll mind. Besides, it'll do us no good if you have a vision and no one's around."

"I-I thought--"

"Look. A'Janae. I don't know what's going on between you and Esper, but I have nothing against you. I really don't. Quite frankly, I barely know you at all. I'd kinda like to change that."

There was a look of definite surprise on the woman's face. "Really?"

"Yup. So, you gonna accept the offer or what? Because really, everyone else is already paired off. Ace, Kaia and Donnie are heading to the docks to talk to more of Ace's contacts, Mikey and Talia are already off searching the nightlife to see if there's a club or bar by the name of 'Exile's Fire'. Esper's planning on taking off on her own and I'll bet you that Raph goes after her. That leaves you, me and Leo to do the basic run of the streets."

"Are you sure, I wouldn't want to be a.... third wheel," A'Janae said, smiling mischievously.

"A third.... ack!" Aiden felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment. "Nonono! It's not like that!"

"Mmhm. Sure. But anyway, yes. I'll tag along."

Still flustered, she ran her hands through her hair and nodded. "Okay. Good. But no more jokes. I get enough from Talia and Ace."

A'Janae laughed. "They should be the last ones to talk, eh?"

"As if that'll stop them."

"Good point."

Sighing, Aiden led the way out of the car in time to see Esper dash past her, and she frowned as she watched the Were head up the ladder. "Hey! Those are my favourite jeans, you know!"

"Si!" Esper called back with a grin. "They're very comfortable! Adios, amiga! I'll see you later!"

"Why I oughta...." Shaking her head, she left A'Janae in the livingroom and headed for the dojo at the far end of the lair, leaning against it's doorway as she folded her arms over her chest and looked at the meditating turtle within. True, there was truth behind her friends teasing, but she knew that if - no _when _- she finally found Moira, she wanted to make eternally sure that no one else that she cared for got hurt by her sister. "Hey."

The soft whisper tugged his thoughts back to the present, and he frowned a little in irritation at being interrupted before opening his eyes and looking up at Aiden, his annoyance fading at the sight of her. "Hi."

She blushed a little and glanced at the wall of weapons. "Am I bothering you? Cuz I can--"

"No. No, it's alright," he hastily assured her, inwardly wincing at himself as she smiled in amusement. "What's up?"

Stealing a glance back into the hallway to make sure that no one was nearby, Aiden lowered her arms and stepped into the dojo, her gaze travelling from the weapons for both sparring and actual battle to the punching bag and various weights that sat in the far corner, well away from the mats she and Leo were on. "This life.... must be very unforgiving," she murmured as she looked back at him where he still sat lotus style, his gaze never leaving her. 

"It can be," he agreed, wondering at the shadows in her eyes. "But it can be rewarding as well."

"How?"

It sounded almost like she was pleading to him for the answer, and he frowned as he rose to his feet in one fluid movement, unnerved by the turmoil he saw in her. "Saving lives is always rewarding. As is helping those who need it. Mostly.... I think my friends and family are the greatest rewards I could ever have. My brothers and I have been through dozens of life or death situations, and yet I don't think I'd change any of them, because if we _hadn't_ had those experiences, not only would I not be the person I am, but I wouldn't have ever met my friends, or gotten to know my brothers as well as I do. I wouldn't trade that for anything."

Aiden closed her eyes, then opened them again when flashes of her parents flitted through her thoughts. "Don't you find that sometimes the reward wasn't worth the sacrifice?"

"Truthfully, yeah. Sometimes I do." Very unsure if he was pushing his luck or not, Leo stepped in front of her and met her gaze, sighing when he saw tears in her eyes. Moving slowly so as to give her every chance to back away, he rose a hand and brushed his fingers across her left cheek, wiping away her tears when they fell. "Don't give up, Aiden. I know there's so much more to this than you're telling me. Maybe it's because you're not ready to completely trust me, I don't know. What I do know is that you're much stronger than you realise."

"I don't feel it," she muttered, closing her eyes. "They put so much trust in me. What if I get them all hurt, or worse, killed? I don't want to lose more people that I care about, Leo. It'd destroy me."

His frown deepened as he put his hands on her shoulders, a part of him unsure if he wanted to keep her at arms length or pull her closer. "No one is going to die. I promise you that. My brothers and I can protect all of you.... _I_ can protect you...."

Her eyes flew open at that, and she stared at him for a moment before glancing away, her cheeks gaining a pink tinge to them. "Thank you...." Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, she pulled out of his grasp and rubbed her eyes dry before tucking her hair behind her ears, avoiding his gaze the whole time. "Um.... the others already left.... we should probably get going. I'll.... um, wait for you. By the ladder, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, she fled from the dojo, completely missing Leo's expression as his half-extended arm hung in mid-air, as if he had tried to stop her from leaving.

~*~

"Okay. Now normally, I love the water. But this is just.... _ew._"

Donatello chuckled and looked over his shoulder at a grimacing Kaia as he led the two girls around a shadowed building along the docks. "Yeah, this isn't exactly the greatest part of the Hudson river. It's not too bad about three miles upstream though."

"Ugh, pass."

"I think the ponds in Central Park are cleaner than this place," Ace muttered as she pinched her nose, trying to block out the smell. "Gods, the _sewers_ smell better!"

"I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," he said in reply, smiling when she rolled her eyes at him. "Now, where's this other contact of yours supposed to be?"

"Truthfully?"

"That would be nice."

"No clue. All I know about this guy is that he lives at the docks."

Donnie groaned. "Ace! Do you realise how _big_ the docks _are?!_"

"Yeees. And I also know how much of a bastard this guy is. Once he knows we're here, he'll find us."

"Correction." The voice made the trio yelp and spin around to stare at the man that stepped out of the shadows, the light from the quarter moon that was at his back preventing them from seeing his face. "He _found_ you."

Ace chuckled nervously and looked at Donnie and Kaia. "See? Told ya." Ignoring the less than impressed look that Kaia shot her, she pushed her anxiety aside and stepped forward. "Aros."

He returned the curt greeting with one of his own. "Ace." Frowning, he stepped closer and scowled at her, his gaze taking in her ragged grey jeans, purple boots and purple tank top. "I see you haven't changed. A pity. I had hoped Fate would be kind to you."

"Yeah. Right." Feeling Donnie step closer to her, Ace folded her arms across her chest and returned Aros' glare. "You heard about the killings?"

"Of course. Every Were and Fae knows about the murders. Though, I'm surprised that you care.... halfling."

Kaia's eyes narrowed at the derogatory barb and moved forward, ignoring Donnie's questioning glance as she did so. She knew what this man was, and she knew that if things continued down the path they were on, this scouting mission could turn into a very serious fight. "Ace...."

The lavender haired woman shot a 'stay out of this' look at the other girl, then returned her gaze to Aros, who was smirking. "Listen you bastard, I'm not here to put up with your shit again. The only reason we came here was because I knew you'd have info on the killings, stuff that wasn't in the papers."

"Ah, on that you're correct, halfling. Unfortunately," he grinned, dark eyes flashing maliciously. "Since our altercation five years ago, my hatred of you hasn't waned."

"Aww, my heart's breakin'."

"Excuse me." Donnie frowned and met the stranger's gaze, surprised when the man didn't seem the least frightened at the sight of him. "But from what I can tell, we're all after the same thing. Unless you _want_ the killings to continue?"

"Bah. You side with her? Poor choice, turtle. Very poor choice, to side with a traitor like this one. I hope you don't rely on her for too much, she isn't the one to help anyone but herself."

"_Shut up!_ You're the one who came to me with high expectations, you asshole! Just because I refused to be part of your little club doesn't mean shit!"

"Oh no?" Frowning, Aros pointed to the waters at the edge of the dock. "You betray _everything_ that you are by not helping us! By turning your back to us, it just proves that you're nothing but a worthless _Human._ So why should I help a _Human_ like you?"

"Fuck you!" Her temper now in control, Ace literally got into Aros' face, repeatedly jabbing him in the chest with her right index finger as she yelled at him. "I'm doin' this to protect my sister! And if you don't want to help that's perfectly fine by me! Because when you get the magick ripped out of you, I sure as hell won't be crying over it! It'll be just one less asshole in my life that I have to deal with!" 

Donnie's eyes widened in shock as he stared at them, his mind trying to comprehend the sight of Ace's eyes turning silver as her ears became pointed, the very _air_ around her shimmering as she dealt Aros a final jab and spun away. His surprise was doubled when he glanced at Aros, unable to stop himself from staring as the man's long messy hair suddenly morphed into a dark blue, the iris' of his eyes changing to an eerie pale blue that was borderline white. His voice, when he spoke, echoed with anger and power, the sound sending an involuntary shiver down Don's spine.

Aros' snarled at Ace's back, top lip curling in disgust. "Just what I expected from an honourless half-breed _Air Pixie._"

Kaia barely had time to shove Donnie out of the way as Ace spun around, her gaze filled with hatred and rage as she rose an arm and shoved at the air, a shockwave of wind rattling the docks to their very foundations as Aros was knocked backwards by the blast. "Oh Goddess, they're going to battle."

Not liking the sound of that one damned bit, Donnie quickly planted himself between Aros and Ace, his bo almost invisible in his hands as he twirled it and dropped into a fighting stance, readying himself for what was going to be a rather unique fight.

"This doesn't concern you, turtle!" Aros growled, already completely recovered from Ace's attack. 

"Sorry," he replied with equal distain. "But if you're planning on attacking, Ace, then I'm afraid it does concern me."

Annoyance flickered across Aros face as he rose a hand, pointing to the nearby river. "Fine. Luckily, it's something that is easily rectified!" A quick gesture sent a pillar of water high into the air, and he smirked at the turtle's shocked expression before he swept his arm downwards. In response, the tower folded in on itself and slammed head on into the turtle, sending him sprawling backwards until he crashed into a pile of empty crates with enough force to shatter one of them.

"_Donnie!_" Eyes narrowed, Ace turned to level a murderous glare at Aros, her hands fisted at her sides as she took a wide stance. The air around her felt charged, as if it was responding to the energy that rose from deep within her, ripping across her senses until it felt like her very blood was crackling with power. Dark clouds gathered above the city, blocking out the sky as they swirled, thrown together by the violent winds that now buffeted the docks, sending the calm waters of the river into a churning mass of whitecaps. 

Acting on instincts that she had spent all her life trying to ignore, Ace closed her eyes and tilted her head back, feeling the winds come to her call as they curled around her, feeding the power within her with their strength. Her hands rose of their own accord, reaching into the vortex around her to gather the wind into her palm, her very will forming it into a ball of swirling air that pulsed with each breath she took.

"Ooh. That hurt...." Groaning, Don hauled himself out from the crate he had landed on and used his bo to steady himself. It was a good thing he did, because had he not, the sight of Ace would have sent him to his knees in mixed shock and horror.

She was standing in the epicentre of a tornado, the silver winds that curled around her dark in comparison to the glowing silver of her eyes. Thunder rumbled above them, quickly followed by zig zags of lightning that crackled over the outside of the tornado, illuminating the entire dock with eerie light. At a hidden signal, the tornado gathered itself into a wall of wind, and Donnie winced in imagined pain as it flew at Aros' hitting him with bone-shattering force. _My God.... what IS she?!_

His internal question was immediately derailed as Aros staggered backwards a few steps before sweeping his arm through the attack, a wave of water rising from the river to counter and then overpower Ace's attack. The resistance only seemed to fuel her anger though, and Don rose an arm to protect his face from flying debris as Ace threw her head back and screamed, a shockwave of power exploding from her with enough force that it decimated the dock in front of her.

Wisps of wind immediately caught hold of the flying boards that had once been the dock, sharp breezes sharpening the ends of the planks into deadly points before hurling them at Aros, who merely smiled and rose a hand, the paper thin wall of water that formed at his fingertips protecting him from the projectiles as they slammed into his defence and shattered.

Exhausted from using a power that she hadn't called on in ages, Ace gasped and dropped to one knee, her sides heaving as she tried to regain enough energy to launch another attack. A low chuckle drew her gaze to Aros as he calmly walked across the chasm that separated them, water rising from below to form stepping stones beneath his feet as he approached her. The dock's supports groaned in reaction to being so violently torn apart, and she belatedly wondered if she had enough energy to keep herself from drowning if they gave out.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Aros was going to make that worry a moot point.

"Even now," he drawled as he rose a hand, water gathering into his upturned palm. "Even now, you're pathetic. I should have done this a long time ago. Luckily, I have this chance to fix my mistakes...." Smiling, he clapped his hands together, then slowly drew them apart, seeing Ace's eyes widen when she saw that the water was lengthening and solidifying into a gleaming sword. Smiling into her now fear-filled expression, he curled his fingers around the hilt of his weapon and rose it above his head, putting all his strength behind the blow. "Good riddan-- ah!"

Pain lashed across his senses as the thrown bo staff slammed into his wrist, breaking his hold on his weapon and leaving it to return to the waters below as he clutched at his arm, eyes narrowed into a hateful glare as he spun and sneered at the turtle. "You'll pay for that!"

"No, he won't!"

A wave that rivalled the power of a tsunami accompanied the yell, and Aros yelled in pain and surprise as the attack barrelled into him, cracking ribs as it picked him up and slammed him down on a still intact portion of the docks.

Reeling in pain, he struggled into a sitting position and looked up as a shadow fell over him, eyes widening at the sight of the other woman who had accompanied Ace. "Y-you're, like me!"

"I could never be like you," Kaia spat, her eyes glowing a bright blue. "You're a black-hearted disgrace to our Kin! Not only have you attacked an innocent, but you were about to _kill_ a fellow Fae for no other reason than your own twisted excuses! You _sicken_ me!"

"'Twisted excuses'?!" Ignoring the pain in his ribs and left arm, Aros struggled to his feet and glared down at the shorter woman, eyes narrowed into a hateful glare as he used his good arm to point at Ace, who was being helped to her feet by a worried Donatello. "She betrayed us! She turned her back on us all!"

"How can she betray people that she never swore allegiance to?!" Kaia shot back, the waves that hit the dock growing in intensity. "Ace never wanted to be a part of your clan, you fool! She came here to _escape_ her powers, not to strengthen them!"

"That just makes her all the more a traitor! She betrays her very Kin by shunning what she is!" Top lip curling into a snarl, Aros sent a look of pure and total disgust at Ace. "Bad enough that she's tainted with filthy Mundane Blood, but she's also a coward."

"_Enough!_" Kaia threw her arms up in cadence with her angry scream, two tendrils of water rising from the river to entwine themselves around Aros, pinning his arms by his sides as they lifted him into the air. Her Human guise melted away as sparkling blue water rose up under her feet, lifting her up until she was at eye level with a gaping Aros, a good fifteen feet above the docks. Long blue hair curled around soft cream skin as bright blue eyes that rivalled the purest blue topaz stared angrily at him, her outfit melting away until it was replaced by a simple outfit of a light blue silk halter top and flowing skirt, the sleek material moving as if on it's own accord. "You are fortunate that my conscience will not allow me to kill you, Young One. As Elder here, I do have the right. You have attacked one of the Fae, one that I consider my Kin."

Eyes getting wider by the second, Donnie glanced at the weary Ace that was hanging onto him, the only thing keeping her from collapsing to the docks was the arm he had wrapped around her waist. "What the heck is going on?"

Breathing heavily due to the huge amount of energy she had used up, Ace sagged into his hold and rested her head on his shoulder, glazed eyes staring up at the two above them. "Kaia's a..... Water Sprite. So's Aros. Only she's older, more powerful...."

"Water Sprites?" Donnie returned his attention to Kaia as she rose a hand and made a dismissive gesture, like flicking away something foul. The water that held Aros trembled in reply, raising the male even higher before launching him twenty meters through the air, leaving him to crash into the river. "My God...."

Kaia turned at the whisper, long clue strands of her hair curling around her ears as she gazed down at the turtle for a moment before mentally directing the water to lower down to the docks. Her bare feet made no sound at all as she silently walked over to retrieve his bo staff, cradling it in both hands as she slowly approached him. With every step she took, she let more aspects of her disguise take over, until, with a final step, she stood before him in the appearance of the young Human woman he was familiar with, her clothes returning to their previous fashion. "Donatello.... I'm sorry. Aiden thought it was best if we didn't tell you and your brothers about certain aspects of our.... gifts."

"Certain aspects?! You call that," he took his bo from her with his free hand and gestured to where she had flung Aros, "'certain aspects'?!"

"Actually.... yes."

The calm answer was like a cool flood over steaming embers, and his anger faded at the tone of her voice. Sighing heavily, Donnie looked down at Ace, who was staring up at him worriedly, almost as if she was afraid of him. "Alright. Alright, I can understand why you would be wary about telling us.... But from here on out, no more secrets. We can't help you if we don't know what we're getting into. Especially when it comes to situations like the one that just happened." 

Sighing again, he reached back and slid his bo staff into it's usual spot against his shell, making sure that it was held securely by the leather harness before scooping Ace into his arms and turning to Kaia. "Let's get back to the lair. On the way, the two of you can explain to me what just happened and then we'll try to figure out how we're going to break this to, Leo."

"Actually, if he's out with Aiden.... um.... he might end up finding out about things the hard way," Ace murmured tiredly, eliciting a groan from the turtle as he turned and lead them into the shadows.

~*~

"Esper?"

Spotted ears flicked back at the call, golden eyes opening to survey the rooftop for a moment before regarding the buildings around her, whiskers twitching at the sight of the turtle on the adjacent rooftop. Rumbling softly, the great cat rose from where she was sprawled across a ledge and cocked her head to the side, calmly regarding her visitor as he lithely jumped onto her rooftop.

"Geez, yer harder than hell to find."

Sighing, she concentrated and reverted to her Human form, taking a moment to tuck her long hair behind her rounded ears before meeting his gaze. "That was essentially the point, Raphael," she murmured as she turned away and stared at the landscape of buildings before her, losing herself in the brightness of the city lights, a glow that made the sparse clouds in the night sky shine eerily. 

"Look, ya mind tellin' me just what the hell I did to piss you off?" Raph growled, twirling a sai in his left hand as he glared at her. "Cuz this is really gettin' on my nerves."

She frowned and glanced at him. "....I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out at you like I did. I just...." Her voice trailed off, and she felt a breeze play with her hair as she tilted her head back to stare up at the sky. "I miss the stars. I miss my Homeland.... This place is so _loud_, there's too many foul scents, too many people all in one place. I feel that I might go mad if I stay here too long!"

The barely restrained hysteria in her voice along with the truthful explanation quelled his annoyance, and he sighed as he walked over to stand by her side, noting how tense she was before he followed her gaze up to the dark sky. "Yeah. New York has that effect on people. Even those of us who've lived here all their lives." He caught a glimpse of her looking at him out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "So, we cool?"

She blinked. "Cold?"

That made him laugh. "No, no. 'Cool'. As in, are we okay? We're friends?"

"Ah.... um, si. Of course," she murmured, glad of the wind that blew her hair into her face, hiding her sudden blush.

He grinned at the tint of pink on her cheeks, but didn't say anything. "C'mon. We should head back to the lair. The others should be back by now and Leo'll have a fit if we don't show up 'on time'."

"Too bad for him," she growled softly as she folded her arms over her chest and glared at the horizon. "The only orders I'll follow are Aiden's. And even then, there are exceptions."

"This about that 'Tribe' thing you were talkin' about before?"

"Mm. It's a part of it. The others and I, with the exception of A'Janae, have been living together for months now. We are like sisters. Like...." she paused and closed her eyes, hiding a shiver. "Like a family. They are my Tribe, just as your brothers and Splinter are yours."

He nodded and moved over to the ledge, propping a leg up on it as he gazed down at the street below. "Makes sense." The conversation fell silent for a few moments, until he spoke up again. "I'd be goin' for revenge too, if someone murdered 'em. That's the reason ya joined with the other girls in the first place, right? Common enemy?"

"Si. But things aren't that simple anymore."

"Things never are."

"Mm."

"We should go," he said after another bought of silence. "It's weird though, the city's kinda quiet tonight."

That made her turn to fix him with a incredulous look. "You call this," she gestured to the city, where sounds of cars, music, people and various other noises could be heard. "Quiet?"

"Not quiet like that. Usually I break up dozens of break-ins and attacks and the like. There's been nothin' tonight. Not even a single mugging. I've never seen the city like this."

"The calm before the storm, I suppose," she shrugged, hooking her thumbs into her front pockets as she turned to head for the fire escape. "Either that, or the natural predators of this concrete jungle sense that there's another, more dangerous hunter around."

"Hey, I can be considered a natural predator here. An I don't feel nothin'."

"No? Close your eyes and simply feel the city. Reach out with your senses, like you would on a hunt."

He shot her a doubtful look, but gave it a shot anyway. _Like this is gonna work. I don't 'feel' anythin'. Maybe she's just pulling my-- _A shiver ran it's way down his spine, and he snapped his eyes open, automatically reaching for his weapons as a powerful instinct of fight or flight washed through him. "What the hell is that?!"

"_That_, Raphael, is the one I hunt."

"Shit."

"Not many can sense it's presense as clearly as that, but they can all feel it on some level," Esper told him, her eyes bright in the darkness. "I've been aware of it for some time now. It's been growing stronger, but slowly, biding it's time. We'll know when it's ready to attack when the killings multiply, until then, it will try to stay hidden. Killing at random, to try to throw it's pursuers off it's trail."

"You sound like you've been up against something like this before," he muttered, eyeing her warily when she chuckled and grinned, exposing sharp fangs.

"I'm a cat," she replied with a playful wink. "We know these things."


	9. Secrets Revealed! Catnip Troubles

**To whom it may concern.**

Yes, we're back. Tentatively. I personally trust about as far as I can throw a Volvo, but fans of these fics have asked that I continue to update here on However, this will not be the main place to find our fics. We will always update our Message Board waay before we even think about And if deletes any more of our fics without due cause and without explaination, we're gone.

Lashana Inferno

Darkside of the Moon

Chapter 9

Aiden yawned softly as she rubbed at the back of her neck, trying to ease the tenseness there as she and A'Janae followed Leo back to the lair. It had been an amazingly boring night. There hadn't been a trace of Moira anywhere, and even Leo had seemed surprised at the significant lack of crime on the streets. That, she knew, was a direct result of Moira being in the area, even though there hadn't been a reported killing in over a day.

A'Janae echoed her yawn from beside her, and she shot the Jamaican a sympathetic smile, knowing that her friend was just as tired as she was. Unlike Leo, who seemed to have a boundless supply of energy when it came to patrolling parts of the city, she and A'Janae were still suffering from Jet Lag and in great need of a warm bed and twelve hours sleep.

Unfortunately, once they reached the lair, it was painfully clear that going straight to bed wasn't an option.

"What happened?" Leo demanded when he saw Talia next to the couch, standing over an semi-conscious Ace as she lay a damp cloth on her sister's forehead. His gaze cut to Donnie and Kaia, and he frowned when the latter winced and avoided his gaze. "Donnie?"

"We... found Ace's contact," the other turtle sighed as he shifted in the chair he was sitting in and let Mikey rearrange the icepack that was resting on his left knee. "Turns out he was a Water Sprite and that he and Ace had a history. Also turns out that we've got some Fae among us."

Aiden sighed and glanced at Kaia, who gave her an apologetic look. "Bloody 'ell."

Leo glanced back at her when he heard that. "You knew?"

"We didn't think it was important," Kaia answered for her, drawing his gaze. "It just... seemed safer to keep it to ourselves. I didn't know Ace's contact was another Water Sprite. If I had, things wouldn't have gotten as far as they did."

"Carumba! What happened!" Eyes wide, Esper jumped down the stairs and darted her gaze over her friends, her attention quickly drawn to Leonardo, who looked far less than pleased. "Qué?"

Raph followed her down at a more lazy pace, glancing around before frowning at Leo. "Geez, what crawled up your butt and multiplied?"

Mikey grimaced and shot him a disgusted glare. "Ugh, thanks for the mental picture, bro."

Rolling her eyes, Aiden walked over to the couch and knelt to be at eye level with Ace. "You okay?"

"Ugh, I've got a headache the size of Texas and I don't dare move because I'm afraid I'll throw up," the woman groaned, raising a shaking hand to pull the wet compress down over her eyes. "Drained m'self. M'outta practice."

"Out of practice? You never even _started_ practicing," Talia reminded her wryly. "You're lucky you didn't put yourself into a coma!"

"Luck smuck," Ace moaned. "Rather be in a coma. Hurt less that way."

Donnie shot a worried look her way, then returned his attention to Leo. "Ace is half Air Pixie, only she's been trying to ignore her powers. She got into the fight with Aros, her contact, in a major way. Only she's never fought before so..."

"It's a good thing Kaia kicked ass," Mikey finished for his brother as he jerked his thumb towards the nervous blue-haired girl. "Else we'd be fishin' these guys outta the river."

Esper frowned and looked at Kaia, wondering exactly how much Donnie had witnessed. At the Sprite's downcast look, she guessed that he had seen a lot. Now the challenge was to try to salvage the situation. "Talia?"

The girl met the Were's gaze for a moment before sighing and looking at Aiden. "No other choice, hmm?"

"Guess not," the other woman sighed, running a hand through her hair as she moved to stand behind the couch, leaning on it casually as she gazed over at an expectant Leo. "Talia and Ace are only half human. Ace is half Air Pixie, as you now know, and Talia's half Forest Pixie. Kaia's a full blooded Water Sprite. A'Janae and I are Human, but we're not without magicks of our own. She's a Seer, I'm a sorceress. Esper, as you all know, is a Were."

"Forest..." Growling, Raph sent a glare in Talia's direction. "'Gift' my ass! You knew you were gonna win the bet the whole time!"

"Well, _duh_," she shot back. "I wouldn't have done it otherwise."

Ace whimpered. "No yelling..."

"But why didn't you tell us in the first place?" Mikey frowned, meeting Talia's gaze when she looked at him apologetically.

"Appearances are one thing, Mikey. But we've all had problems because of our magicks and because of what we are."

"Like what?" Leo asked softly, genuinely curious.

Aiden rose her gaze to his. "Think Salem Witch Hunt. Then add in automatic weapons."

A snort from across the room drew everyone's gazes to the Were, who grumbled something about poachers under her breath, her fangs quite visible as her upper lip curled in disgust.

"Look," Aiden continued. "We just wanted to make sure. Two days ago you lot knew nothing about magicks, the Fae or Weres. We were waiting to see what your reaction to Esper would be."

"Oh, muchas gracias, amiga," came the sarcastic snarl. "Nice to know that I can be of use to the Tribe. Fling me into the fray and wait and see if I get my tail scorched."

"It was a good idea at the time," A'Janae shrugged, earning herself a venomous glare from the Were. "Well it was!"

"Alright look," Ace muttered from her prone position on the couch. "I'm sorry, Kaia's sorry, everyone's sorry!Okay? Happy? Now can y'all _please_ just stop _yelling?_ My head _really _hurts..."

The pitiful whimper that ended her tirade made Donnie push the icepack off of his leg and get to his feet, brushing past Mikey as he moved to the couch and gently scooped Ace into his arms. "C'mon. I'll let you take over my room. It's further away than the train car, so it's a lot quieter."

Leo frowned and turned his gaze to Kaia. "How bad was it?"

"Well... let's just say that there'll probably be a story in the papers about a large portion of the docks going missing," she replied a little sheepishly. "Along with a freak windstorm that came out of nowhere. Oh, and the tornado."

Mikey's eyes widened. "Tornado!"

"Ace is an Air Pixie," Talia reminded him. "Wouldn't be that hard. Though it couldn't have been too powerful, considering that she came to New York in the hopes that the pollution here would squash her Pixie magicks into nonexistence. She's never been happy to be half Pixie, y'see. I'm surprised that she actually _knows_ how to use her powers."

"Oh, she knows," Kaia smiled. "She knows _a lot._ She just has to work on her endurance. Once she had the proper motivation, she got right into the swing of things."

"What motivation?" Truthfully, Leo wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Aros attacked Donnie. She snapped and went all out."

"I _knew_ it!" Talia grinned, blushing when everyone looked at her. "Uh... nevermind."

"Stop matchmaking," Esper told her as she stretched her arms above her head and headed for their train car. "Since there's no emergency, I'm going to sleep."

"You gotta love how she just takes this kinda stuff in stride," Mikey smirked, sending a pointed glance in his brother's direction. "Right Raph?"

"Shaddup," the turtle in red growled. "Stop matchmaking."

Morning came far too soon for all of the girl's tastes, brought on by the sounds of what turned out to be a full scale wrestling match between Raph and Mikey. While A'Janae simply pulled the blankets over her head, Talia, Kaia and Aiden trudged out in search of a bathroom, food and caffiene, not nescesarily in that order. Their moods, already sour from the early wake up call, grew darker when Talia found Esper still curled up in her jaguar form, snoring away.

That discovery was quickly remedied with a glass of cold water. And thus another ruckus broke out in the lair, this time caused by Talia and Esper as the latter chased the girl around the room. This too, was quickly brought to a halt, when Mikey jumped into the fray and in a strike of genius - or perhaps evilness - threw Klunk's catnip toy right into the jaguar's face.

And thus they all learned that jaguars were indeed affected by catnip. Or at least Esper was. Hence the fact that she had sprawled herself out on the living room carpet in her jaguar form, purring gleefully at nothing in particular while she batted at things that only she could see. This wasn't aided by the fact that Klunk, now also inebirated by the famed catnip, had dragged the toy over to the Were, thus adding another hour to the catnip induced reactions.

Naturally, pictures were taken. Especially when Mikey dug up another one of Klunk's cat toys and sent the jaguar on a merry chase after a remote controlled plastic mouse. It was even funnier because Esper was drugged out of her mind and thus kept tripping over her own paws and tail.

Three hours later, a hungover Esper, once again in her Human form and in control of herself, staggered into the bathroom and locked herself in. No one was stupid enough to argue.

After half an hour, straws were drawn to see who would end up going to see if she was alright. In the end, since the winner - or loser, depending on how you looked at it - had adamantly refused to go, it was agreed that Raphael would be the best sacrifice. Not only had he already survived her temper once before, but Mikey had come up with the conclusion that since Raph was the only one among them that had experienced a severe hangover, he was the only logical one to send in.

Naturally, this didn't go over very well.

"Me? Why the fuck should I go!"

"Um... because we're too young to die?" Talia offered, smiling at him cheerfully when he glared at her.

"Not in my books ya ain't. This is all yer fault anyway!"

Mikey blushed and scratched his cheek. "It's not like I _knew_ catnip would do that too her."

"But you _were_ the one to bring out that mouse on wheels," Kaia added.

Talia smacked her on the arm. "Shh! You're not helping!"

With a roll of her eyes, Aiden lounged back in the chair next to the couch and idly played with the hem of her tee shirt. "As if you two need any help."

"Hey, I didn't see you trying to stop us," Talia accused with a glare. "If I remember correctly, _you_ were the one who brought out the camera!"

Leonardo, who had previously been in the dojo, chose that moment to join in on the conversation, wiping sweat from his face with a towel. "Would someone like to explain to me why there's a Were throwing up in our bathroom? I tried to get in to take a shower and nearly lost an arm."

"One word," Raph growled as he folded his arms over his plastron. "Catnip."

That took a second to sink in. "...oh no." He glanced back the way he had come as a low murmur from the hallway where the bathroom was caught his attention, wincing when it was followed by a feline shriek of rage and a yelp of fear.

"Sounds like Donnie just found Esper," Aiden mused, looking over at the other turtle that staggered out of the hallway while clutching his chest. "Enjoy your workout?"

"I nearly jumped out of my shell!" he cried as he tried to convince his heart that it really would be a good idea if it slowed down a little. "What's wrong with Esper!"

"Catnip," Leo explained, shrugging when his brother shot him a look of worried surprise. "Apparently there were pictures taken. How long was she out of it, anyway?"

"Oooh, three hours, give or take," Mikey replied sheepishly.

"Three _hours?_ Shit, Mike, no wonder she's so sick!"

"Oh, like you noticed," he shot back, frowning at Raph. "You were holed up in your room listenin' to music!"

"I didn't know jaguars could be affected by catnip," Donnie frowned, glancing from Leo to Kaia when the woman shrugged.

"Don't think they usually are. But Were-Cats are different that way. Their true forms are that of a certain species, like a jaguar or tiger, but they still carry the traits and instincts of all their ancestors, from housecats to sabretooth tigers."

"I think I remember Esper telling me that her great grandmother was a tiger," Talia mused. "Then she switched to Spanish and gave me this long explaination about how the reason she didn't have stripes was because her mother's genes were dominant over her fathers. Didn't know she even _knew_ about genetics."

"Well, she has picked up a lot in the past few months," Aiden pointed out.

"This is really nice and interestin' an all," Raphael growled lowly. "But how the hell is this gonna help Esper?"

Donnie immediately shook his head and stepped away from his brother in red. "Don't look at me, I'm not going back there!"

Mikey smirked. "Whoever votes that Raph should go, raise your hands and say 'Aye'!"

Six hands shot into the air. "_Aye!_"

Raph glared at them until no one dared meet his gaze, then growled and stalked for the bathroom.

"Well, now that that's settled..." Grinning cheerfully, Mikey hopped off the couch and beamed at the others. "Who wants waffles?"

"Waffles! They send me in to get my arm ripped off and they're making fuckin' waffles..." Grumbling, Raph stomped over to the bathroom door and pounded on it hard enough that the walls shook. "_Hey!_ Ya ain't the only one who lives here!"

There was a low growl. "Go away!"

"Nuh-uh! Open the freakin' door!"

"No."

As the sound of running water filtered through the door, he frowned and drew a sai, glancing around for a moment to make sure no one was around before he inserted the tip of the middle prong into the lock. A slight tweak and a nudge later, the soft 'click' of the door unlocking reached his ears, and he grinned smugly as he turned the handle. "If yer not comin' out, I'm comin' in!"

When he didn't get an answer - or the sight of claws coming at his face - he pushed the door open and peeked in, frowning at the sight of her perched on the edge of the tub while she held a wet cloth to her flushed forehead. "Damn, you look like shit."

"Oh, muchas gracias, señor idiota," came the sarcastic groan. "Did you come here just to tell me that?"

He rolled his eyes and shoved his sai back under his belt as he walked in and kicked the door shut, thunking the toilet seat closed before sitting down and looking at her. "That stuff really did a number on ya, didn't it?"

"I want to die."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Sighing, he stood and rumanged in the small medicine cabinet over the sink. "Think that you can handle swallowing a few pills?"

"I think that if the scent of food from the kitchen gets any stronger that I'll be throwing up again."

"Warn me first." He grimaced and tugged a box of Gravol free of the mess, tearing it open and popping one of the flavored tablets free of it's little foil blister. "Here. Chew this. And don't gripe about it, just do it."

She rose her head and looked at him for a moment before she took the pill from him, eyeing the orange tablet for a moment before popping it into her mouth, grimacing at the taste of it. "Raphael, this is seriously not helping."

"It will. Just give it a few minutes." The items in the cabinet started to landslide then, and he hasitly slammed the mirrored door shut, giving it a good shove to make sure the lock had taken before returning to his seat. "You look like you went on a three week drinking binge."

The glare she sent him was seriously dampened by the pitiful groan that left her, and she winced at the sound as she rose one hand to her head and the other to cover her mouth while she tried to remember the last time she had felt this bad. She heard Raph move again let him tug the facecloth out of her hand, listening as he turned on the sink taps and remoistened the cloth. "What was that stuff anyway?"

"You don't know?"

"No."

He smirked, trying to keep from chuckling. "It's called 'catnip'. It kinda like a trippy drug for housecats. Makes 'em all happy. Klunk loves the stuff." He turned off the taps and wrung the excess water out of the cloth before sitting near her again and holding it out to her. "Looks like it has the same affect on you, 'cept Klunk doesn't usually have hangovers after being near the stuff."

Groaning, she took the cloth from him and held it to her face, smiling a little in comforted surprise when she found it warm instead of cold. "...gracias."

"That means 'thanks', right?"

"Si. Yes."

"...yer welcome... Just don't tell anyone." At her curious look, he smirked. "Gotta uphold my reputation of bein' an asshole."

"Oh, si, of course. May the Gods forbid that anyone thinks otherwise."

He grinned at the sarcasm and rose to his feet again as he met her gaze. "S'right. Now, ya'd better give up the bathroom before one of the others grows a spine an tries ta throw you out. Can ya walk?"

Frowning, she gingerly used the edge of the tub to push herself to her feet, groaning when the world around her tilted and spun wildly. Arms wrapped around her waist, and she automatically leaned into the strong hold as her knees threatened to give way, making her clutch at Raph's shoulders in a weak effort to keep herself upright.

Sighing in mixed exasperation and sympathy, he reached out to open the door before carefully lifting her in his arms, making sure not to jostle her as he went back into the main area and headed for the couch, then altered course in mid step and brought her to his room instead. "No one'll bug ya here," he told her as he set her on his bed and then took a moment to kick a magazine under his nighttable. "You get some sleep, kitten."

A sleepy growl came from her as he threw a blanket over her and tucked it around her. "Don't call... me that... idiota..."

He smirked at the mumble and silently slid the door closed behind him before the scent of Mikey's waffles caught his attention, and he immediately headed for the kitchen, folding his arms over his plastron as he leaned against the doorway. "Bathroom's free. Chicken-shits."

"We are not!" Talia protested with a glare. "We merely..." she glanced to Kaia for help.

"Choose our battles carefully," theWater Sprite finished for the Half-Pixie. "Well, all of us except for Ace."

"I resent that!" Eyes narrowed, the lavender haired woman kicked at Kaia's leg under the small kitchen table, wincing when she hit her sister instead. "Sorry."

"Sorry my ass," Talia grumbled as she lowered a hand to rub at her aching shin.

"_Anyway,_" Mikey grinned as he licked extra waffle batter off a spoon. "What's the plan for today?"

"Donnie an I are gonna try to do a little hacking to find out more about those killings," Ace answered as she leaned back in her chair, pushing off the floor until the chair was balanced on only two legs. "Food first though."

"Definately," the turtle in purple agreed. "While we do that, Leo and I were thinking that, when Esper's better, that she and one of us should go out and try to track down those Were's that ransacked Ace's place."

"Dunno if she'll be up to it," Raph muttered. "She's really out of it."

Aiden frowned and nibbled on her right index fingernail. "Well... I suppose I could do a seeker spell. It's not as neat as Esper's tracking skills, but it'll get the job done. I'd have to go back to Ace's apartment though."

"Not an option," Leo said sternly. "It's too risky. If those Weres found Ace's home, they might be watching the place."

"Yeah, and they might be tryin' to hunt her down too," Talia countered. "And if Esper could follow our scents down here, another Were could too. So why not find them before they end up on your doorstep?"

"Pipsqueaks gotta point," Raph agreed. "Rather find 'em before they find us."

"It wouldn't be wise to confront any Weres without Esper present," Kaia frowned. "As a Werejaguar, she would be able to insure our safety against any except perhaps a Weretiger."

"Or a pack of wolves," A'Janae spoke up, having been silent for the entire conversation, choosing to listen to all angles of the plans before offering her opinion. "Ace may be a target from a rival pack of Werewolves. After all, you said yourself that you are friends with a werewolf, the owner of the Electric Nation."

"Nuh uh, wouldn't happen," Ace said as she laced her fingers behind her head. "There's nothing they'd gain by gettin' me. Rayard isn't part of a pack. He's an outcast, he prefers Human company to Weres."

Mikey poured batter into the waffle maker as he spoke. "They why would anyone be after you?"

Ace smirked. "You mean besides the fact that I hack computer systems for a living, generally get into fights in bars and dance clubs and shun everything that I am?"

"Point."

"Either way, we should wait till nightfall before doing anything major," Aiden mused. "If anything, it'll give Esper time to recover, and plenty of time for Ace and Donnie to do some decent hacking."

A'Janae's nose wrinkled. "And that leaves the rest of us to do what? Sit here in a comatose state and stare at the wall?"

"We got an old can of paint," Mikey offered gleefully. "You could watch paint dry."

Kaia joined the other women in 'booing' him and chipped in a bit more by gathering the moisture in the air into her right hand and then lobbing the small ball of water at him, grinning evilly when he shot her a pitiful look while he rung water from his orange bandana.

"Screw that," Talia muttered. "I'm heading for the closest mall and I'm not coming back until closing hours."

"Oh sure, the mall. And what the hell are you gonna do there without any money?" Ace countered, paling when her sister grinned mischivously and held up a very familiar piece of plastic. "That's my Visa Gold Card! Why you little--!"

"Ack!" Vaulting from her chair, Talia barely dodged her angry sister's lunge, then darted behind Raphael and grasped the edges of his shell, turning him this way and that to ward off her sister.

"Hey!" Growling, Raph tried to twist out of her hold, very aware of the giggles from Kaia and Aiden as he tried to get Talia off of him without actually having to hurt her. "Leggo of me you little Pipsqueak!" Giving up on going easy on her, he reached back and grabbed one of her arms, hauling her off her feet and holding her in front of himself, glaring.

"Uh..." Still hanging there, Talia smiled and rose her free hand to wave at him. "Hi?" When he merely glared some more, she glanced from her oncoming sister, then back to Raph. Figuring that it was time for desperate measures, she reached out and _pulled_ at the Earth energies below them, grinning at Raph's cry of surprise when the ground beneath his feet lurched, weeds growing out through the cracks to curl around his ankles, distracting him enough that she managed to wriggle free and bolt from the kitchen.

"Get back here!" Eyes blazing silver, Ace leap frogged over Raphael who was using his sais to cut through the vines tied around his ankles and sprinted after her, screaming in rage when Talia laughed in triumph and waved the Gold Card above her head.

Kaia sighed and joined the others at the entrance to the kitchen, wearily watching the two sisters run around the lair. "Pixies," she muttered in amusement. "Always knew they were a little off."

"I _heard_ that!" Ace yelled, pausing to glare at Kaia and thus losing sight of Talia, who grabbed a pillow from the couch and smacked her upside the head with it. "OW! Why you... Get back here!"

Leonardo watched the chaos for a moment before chuckling and glancing over to share a look with an amused Donnie, the two of them sharing a common thought as they both smiled and quoted one of Splinter's most used phrases when describing situations like the one that was playing out in the livingroom. "Kids."


End file.

Ninja Turtles, Adventure, Supernatural