Destiny opens her eyes slowly, a bright orb of light above her making her flinch and squeeze them shut again. She blinks repeatedly, adjusting to the light until she's able to see properly and take in the unfamiliar surroundings around her. She's in a room with little decoration to it; bare walls, a "dresser" that looks like it's made out of milk crates, the bed she's currently laying on, and a chair that has her little blue backpack sitting on it. The walls are stone and have piping lining it, leading her to believe that she's in some kind of underground maintenance tunnel.

She shifts with discomfort as, little by little, she becomes aware of just how badly her body aches.

The side of her head has a throbbing pain, one that comes and goes like waves on a beach. Her shoulder no longer aches, it's just stiff, and when she reaches her hand up to touch the new bandages, she realizes that her arms have been patched up too. Travelling lower, she sees that her sprained foot has a makeshift splint secured around it. She dares wiggle her toes and shift her foot, wincing at the sparse tingling that follows.

The nearby door opens and a man walks inside, carrying a glass in one hand and an emerald staff in the other. Destiny stares as she realizes that it's not a man, but a human-sized rat wearing a red kimono. The fur on his face that she can see is three different colours—brown, white, and black—and his eyes are filled with warmth and compassion.

She starts to get up as a squeak leaves her, her heartbeat quickening substantially and her claws unsheathing. The rat doesn't flinch at the reaction.

"Rest. It is alright," he murmurs, his voice low and smooth. He sets the glass down on the milk-crate dresser before his russet-coloured eyes return to her. "I am not going to hurt you."

"Why should I believe you?" she croaks out as she shrinks back against a nearby wall.

"If I wanted to do you harm, I would have already done it," he responds with the barest trace of a smile. "And why would I go to the trouble of cleaning your wounds if I was planning to hurt you again?"

She says nothing for a moment, thinking over the logic in his words. Her hair falls over her face as she swallows. "Can...can you tell me where I am?" There's a short beat before she adds, "Please?"

"You're in the sewers. My four sons brought you here last night," he answers calmly, folding his hands overtop of the staff as he takes a few steps closer. "I am Hamato Yoshi, but you can refer to me as Splinter."

"Sons?" she echoes. "Are they...turtles, by any chance?"

Splinter tilts his head a little, his smile becoming more amused. "Yes, they are." She exhales, lowering herself back onto the bed and trying to slow her breathing. "They told me that you haven't yet introduced yourself."

"It didn't come up," she mumbles.

"I can tell as much," he says. "The topic has come up now, however. What is your name?"

She shifts her weight on the mattress, fiddling with one of her curls. "I'm...Destiny."

"That is a very nice name," he compliments. When she doesn't further the conversation, he gestures to the glass. "I have brought you some water." She mumbles a barely audible thanks. "I'll leave you to rest. My sons should come in to check on you soon."

She sighs heavily and lays back on the bed, closing her eyes as she loops her fingers together over her stomach. The soft footsteps of the mutant rat let her know that he has left the room. As soon as it's quiet, Destiny sits up, grabbing the glass and gulping it down without a moment of hesitation. She may be on edge, but that doesn't mean that she isn't thirsty.

Setting the now-empty glass down, she steels herself and swings her legs off the bed. She pushes herself up, tentatively touching her sprained foot to the ground. There's a slight soreness, nothing unbearable. Heading off at a wobbly, limping gait, the wolf mutant exits the room and directs herself away from the bedrooms.

Her sensitive ears swivel around, catching the sound of the turtles' familiar voices. She inches towards the noise, eventually reaching a set of stairs that open into a surprisingly comfortable-looking lair. There's a pinball machine along with other various video games, a TV and seats, a punching bag with weapons sticking out of it every which way, and a kitchen. She can see something that looks vaguely like a Japanese dojo settled above a pool of water with a tire swing dangling from the ceiling, as well as a spiralling platform hanging above the TV pit.

Her attention returns to the conversing turtles—whose names she still does not know—standing in scattered areas around the main TV pit.

"She has to stay. She's hurt," the blue-masked turtle says. He's the only turtle who's standing up, his position situated higher than his siblings.

"So we make her leave as soon as she's healed," the red-masked turtle says. He's seated on the bench on the far left side of the pit, his arms looped behind his head and one leg kicked lazily over the other. "I'm pretty sure she never wanted to be here in the first place."

"That seems kind of mean to just toss her out after we went through the effort of saving her," the orange-masked brother points out. He's laying on his plastron directly in front of the old TV set, fishing through a stack of DVDs with his legs sticking up in the air.

"Why not let her stay? She's homeless...plus she needs to rest up where she doesn't have to worry about trying to run away. With that ankle of hers, running is a no-go," the purple-masked turtle adds. He's situated almost directly beneath the blue-masked turtle, his eyes locked on the laptop on his lap. He nods and points at the screen. "Yup, says right here. 'Ankle sprains take an average of six weeks to heal but can take can up to four months, depending on the severity. An ankle brace, air stirrup, hiking boots, or other form of ankle support should be worn during this time to protect the ligaments.' Hers wasn't all that severe..."

The blue-clad brother peers down at the screen, skimming over the words before arching an eye-ridge. "Is that WebMD?"

"It's very helpful. Don't judge me, Leo. Even geniuses need some help in areas they aren't practiced in."

Destiny smiles a little, holding back a laugh at the turtle, Leo's, pouting expression. A secondary thought crosses her mind, one that's relieved to hear that her foot won't be a problem for too long.

"I just don't know if we can trust her," the red-masked turtle admits, returning the attention to himself. "We still don't know if it was her who beat up the Foot."

"It makes the most sense if it was her, Raph," the freckled turtle on the floor inputs as he rolls over onto his shell before pushing himself into a seated position. He smiles brightly as he grasps his feet and rocks back and forth. "She was the one who was all beat up after we found those bashed up bots."

Destiny frowns a little. What kind of a name is Raph? Is it European? she wonders.

"There's a lot of loose ends, and call me crazy, but I'm not gonna be too trusting until those ends have been tied up," the turtle that Destiny now knows is named Raph retorts.

"I don't know..." Leo says slowly. "She doesn't seem hostile from what we've seen, just a little freaked out."

"Okay, but she doesn't have to stick around in the lair with us even if she isn't crazy. She seemed pretty well set up on the surface," Raph points out. "So, we shouldn't keep her here if she doesn't want to stay. Simple as that." He shrugs and turns his head towards the TV. He sighs heavily. "Mikey, stop rocking, it's giving me a headache."

Destiny smiles a little more, glad to be figuring out the names of these mutants little by little. Now, all she needs is the purple-masked turtle's name and she's golden.

"Dudes, she likes pizza, she's part wolf, and she's a girl. I vote yes that the dudette stays," Mikey says.

"We aren't voting on anything, Mikey. We're discussing possible outcomes of our actions," the purple-masked brother reiterates.

Leo intercepts the conversation, "Guys, we'll ask her a few questions, test the waters, simple as that. It'll be her choice in the end, got it?" They nod, making him breathe out in relief. "Speaking of which, we should probably check on her," he adds, looking to his tallest brother. "Donnie, you ordered the pizza right?"

Donnie nods. "Yup, without any toppings that she might find strange," he answers with a proud, gappy smile.

"Random thought, maybe we can find out if she has a name," Raph says. All three brothers give him looks that let him know just how done they are with his sarcasm.

Destiny realizes too late that she's in full view of the group as Leo turns around, instantly freezing when he sees her. She takes a limping step back, her cheeks flaring with heat.

"Oh, you're up!" he says, his sapphire eyes getting a little wider. "Are you feeling better?"

She nods. "Yeah...I'm fine," she says, taking a few wobbling steps forwards. She clears her throat. "Uh...look, I should apologize for being so rude to you the other day. So...yeah...sorry..." she trails off, the last word hardly audible.

"No hard feelings, dudette!" Mikey insists, getting to his feet and giving her a thumbs up. "Stuff happens, it's no biggie."

She manages a tiny smile back at him as she closes some more of the distance. She grips the railing nearest to her once she reaches it, bracing her weight against it so she can relieve her injury of pressure.

"So...who are you guys, exactly?" she asks, her tail flicking back and forth.

"We're ninja turtles," Leo says nonchalantly, crossing his arms over his plastron.

She blinks once, forehead creasing. She would think that was obvious, but maybe he believes that she couldn't figure out who or what they are by their appearance. What kind of person would look at turtles dressed in full ninja garb and not think that they are said ninjas?

"I meant names..." she says, rubbing the back of her neck.

He tenses a bit, looking embarrassed. His brothers snicker at the goof up, yet Destiny almost smiles at how his cheeks have become slightly pinker.

"Oh, well, I'm Leonardo," he introduces. He looks to his friends, pointing to each one as he says their names. "These are my brothers; Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo."

Destiny's face slackens with surprise, having expected the simple names they were referring to each other as earlier. Turns out...well, she thought wrong. At least that explains where they got "Raph" from.

Donatello and Michelangelo wave and smile at her. Raphael gives a quick look and a weak shake of his hand before returning to acting disinterested. She eyes the lightning bolt chip in his plastron for a moment.

"Destiny," she says, directing her voice towards Leonardo. "Nice to actually meet you."

Leonardo nods, resting his hands against his belt. Silence comes over the group of teens, the space suddenly filling with awkward tension as if the emotion is a thick smog.

"Uh...so...when can I get out of here?" Destiny finally speaks, breaking the silence.

"You want to leave so soon?" Leonardo asks, his face falling.

Destiny fidgets in place, adjusting her grip on the railing. "Well...yeah, I mean..." She stops and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but is there a problem with that?" she asks, thinking back to the conversation she just listened in on.

Donatello and Leonardo exchange a glance, then they look to the other two turtles. No reaction comes from either.

"We were hoping you would stick around," the purple-masked turtle says, rubbing at the back of his neck as he slowly closes his computer.

"We've got quite a bit to ask you," his blue-clad brother adds. "Plus, you shouldn't be moving around too much when you're in this condition."

"But—" she starts, but instantly stops herself, lowering her head. As much as she hates to admit it, they have a point. She was attacked, injured, and they went out of their way to help her out. She owes them now, or at least that's what she's thinking.

She slowly brings her eyes back to the four turtles. Michelangelo's light blue eyes shine with excitement, Raphael keeps his head turned away from her and on the TV set, and Donatello's expression is something she'd describe as that of an anxious doctor's. She meets Leonardo's eyes last, and he gives her a small smile as they stare at each other briefly.

"I...guess I won't leave quite yet," she says.

Donatello breathes a sigh of relief while Michelangelo pumps his fist. Leonardo regains his composure, nodding gratefully and respectfully. Raphael lets out a hardly detectable grunt as he shrugs.

"Alright, now that that's settled, you need to get back to bed," Donatello says, standing up and setting his laptop on the bench next to him. He starts towards her, gesturing his hand towards her foot. "I don't want you walking on that without crutches for at least a day or two."

"You have crutches?" she asks.

He shrugs. "I built some," he says, reaching her side. "Grab my arm, hop on one foot until you're in bed, okay?"

"But—"

"For the sake of your foot, please listen to me."

The wolf mutant sighs, grasping Donatello's bicep and lifting her foot off the ground. Together, they start back towards the bedrooms with her hopping awkwardly. They've only taken a few steps when Leonardo scampers up and secures Destiny's other side. She obliges, albeit hesitantly.

Back in the bedroom, Destiny lays back on "her" bed and exhales heavily, looping her fingers together over her stomach. Donatello checks that she's comfortable, then nods and steps back.

"Cool, so...we'll do some checks every now and then," he says. "Get some rest, holler if you need food or something, and I'll grab the crutches." He smiles a little. "And, hey, would you be up for answering some questions later? We already said we had some to ask..."

She can't help but smile a little at the excitement in his tone, like just the idea of learning something new makes him so excited that he can barely stand it. She can't refuse that kind of joy, especially when she can give it to someone so easily.

"Sure," she answers, one wolf ear flicking to the side briefly.

Donatello grins even wider. "Thank you! I look forward to it!"

Without another word, the purple-masked turtle turns and disappears from the room, leaving Destiny with Leonardo. Nothing is said, as if both are waiting for the other to speak.

"Early question, but..." Leonardo starts, shifting on his feet. "Have you seen any giant wild animals around New York lately?"

She bites the inside of her cheek gently, her green eyes on her lap. "In a way." He arches an eye-ridge, making her press her lips into a thin line. "I'll explain later."

He eyes her for a second before shrugging once and turning to the door. As he reaches for the handle, Destiny feels the sudden urge to say something to him.

"Leo?" she calls. He stops, looking back at her. For a second, her throat goes dry. "Uh...thanks, for helping me out."

His lips twitch up at the sides, his eyes flickering from the floor back up to her. The expression of contentedness doesn't leave his features.

"It's what we do," he says casually, letting the door swing shut.

She closes her eyes and nestles into the blankets, breathing deeply through her nose. She actually feels safe for one of the few times in her young life, which she finds weird considering that she's in a stranger's home.

Still, the idea that she's going to be staying in a lair full of teenage mutant boys—temporarily, that is—only makes her more curious about what this crazy occurrence will become.