Chapter Text
You were planning on how to get your food for the day; you were absolutely STARVING. But you knew going out in the open would cause you to probably get kidnapped and maybe even get MILKED for your BLOOD. The thought of being milked sends shudders up your spine. Even though you don’t have nipples… That didn’t mean that those disgusting humans couldn’t find some other way to milk you. You thought back to the task at hand. Food. And ended up just stealing from the convenience store like always. While you hop your way across buildings to the store you always go to, you notice four figures also hopping on buildings to that same store?? Wonder who they are… They don’t really look like humans, but it was hard to tell from the darkness and their speed; it was pretty impressive.<
You eventually made it there, still wondering about those figures. You quietly and carefully went in through the roof, you lay on your stomach on the ceiling tiles, you opened one and used your naginata (if you don’t know, it's just a long stick with a spear on the end) to grab what you need off the shelves. After a minute or two, you hear some chatter above you. Wait… is that the figures from earlier? Guess you were right about them coming here, too. You slide the tile back onto the ceiling and wait. A beat later, they also came in through the roof; you stay completely still, not wanting to get caught by these guys. One of them glances in your direction and notices you; you just stare back, not knowing what to do. You can’t really see the specifics of its face, but you notice a blue bandana over its eyes.
They speak after a moment,
“Who are you? Do you need any help? It just seemed since-” The one with a red bandana butts in.
“Copycat! We go here and borrow food from the convenience store, not you.” You look at him, confused.
“How would I have known that you four were also coming here? I just met you guys! Wait… are you guys also turtle mutants who were turning this by some mystery ooze from a drain 15 years ago?” They all simultaneously nod, slightly stunned that this new mutant guessed so much about them. Wait… “Yeah, same thing happened to me; such a small world we live in.” A turtle with a purple bandana speaks after a pause,
“This is great, love that we found our dear long-lost sister, but we should probably get out of here if we want to discuss this more.” Everyone nods in agreement; you all leave the roof of the convenience store and out into the landscape of New York. The turtles start to introduce themselves,
“I’m Leonardo, or Leo if you prefer,” he smiles awkwardly and holds out his hand for you to shake. You firmly, but slightly awkwardly, shake his hand.
“Why are you being all professional about this? It's just another sibling, Leo.” Leo sighs,
“That’s Raph, Donnie, and Mikey,” he points at each of them respectively. “What’s your name?” Huh, you’ve never thought about that before… think of something cool, but not too cool.
“Jewel.” You blurt out, it felt right.
“That’s a cool name!” says the one that you presume to be Mikey.
“Thanks, I picked it myself.”
“Wait, really? Our dad picked our names; they're not bad, but definitely could be better.” The purple one stands and walks towards you,
“I know we just met, but we need to show you to dad, he’ll freak out!”
“Another turtle, I assume?”
“Ha, you know what they say about ass uming,” (insert tadc reference here wink wink) “no, he’s a giant rat,” Donnie replies dryly.
“Interesting…” “Ughhhh, can we go back to ‘borrowing’? I’m getting sooo hungryyy.”
“Oh, you’re right. Uh, you stay here, and we’ll be right back.” Leo says quickly while walking backwards to the vent on the roof.
“I need food too; I’m coming with you guys.”
"Fine, fine,” Leo said, shooting Raph a look. “But we do this together—including Jewel. Show her how we actually do this without getting caught.” Mikey grinned.
“Ooh, like a heist tutorial!”
“I’ve done this plenty of times before; it's not like I’m new to stealing food.” Leo retorts,
“I know, I still want to make you’re safe, since, you know, this isn’t legal.”
“I know,” Jewel says confidently, starting to walk your way back to the vent in the roof, with the others following behind you. You were finally able to get back to the task at hand, get the food, and get out. Which is what you did, while your new brothers were arguing on what kind of chips they should get, tuning them out, you grabbed a box of crackers, peanut butter, a roll of paper towels, some Slim Jims, a bag of chips, and a Monster, and of course, you grabbed the purple one; it was the best flavor, as well as grabbing the stuff you already had earlier.
Once you were finished with your ‘borrowing’, you went back out on the roof of the store, waiting for the others. After a bit, you got bored and started watching the others; it was interesting seeing how well they worked with each other. It made sense; they’ve known each other for their whole lives, while you just met them, it was weird to think about. You hear Leo’s voice after a moment,
“Got everything we need? Ok, good.” After a pause, you see them back on the roof,
“Wait, how’d you get back here before us?” Raph questions, pointing a finger at you; you were unfazed.
“Because I know my priorities, and because I didn’t have to deal with you four. Now, can you show me where your home is? Or?”
“Of course, of course!” Leo assured, “Follow me, I know the way like the back of my hand!”
Leo starts walking the way to the turtle’s home. You didn’t know how to feel about any of them. Leo, he’s... interesting, you know, he means well, but he acts as if you’ve never been outside, even though you’ve lived outside your whole life. Raph, he’s a lot. You don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. Probably a bad thing. Donnie, you didn’t know what to think of him, just a guy you assumed, and Mikey, he seems nice, probably the only nice one of the four.
After walking further away from the convenience store and closer to the turtle’s house, you started to wonder where their house was. Did they even have a house? Jewel’s questions were answered soon enough when Leo stopped at a manhole cover.
“Our place is just down here, in the uh... sewers.” Leo explained, “Really?” Leo nods sadly, and Jewel gives him a look. You reluctantly open the manhole and climb inside. While walking through, you take in your new surroundings: the sewage water, the brick walls, and the... disgusting smell.
You had arrived.
The space opened up before you, and honestly? Not what you expected.
It was massive. The main area had a worn couch facing a TV that looked like it had been salvaged from someone’s trash in the '90s. Training dummies lined another wall, some patched up with duct tape. There was a makeshift kitchen area—just a hot plate and a mini-fridge, really—and further back, what looked like separate rooms carved into the sewer structure.
“Welcome to Casa de Turtle!” Mikey spread his arms wide, nearly smacking Raph in the face.
“It’s… bigger than I thought,” you admitted, still taking it all in. String lights hung from the ceiling, giving everything a warm glow that almost made you forget you were underground.
“Donnie expanded it,” Leo said with a hint of pride. “Reinforced the walls, added the rooms, set up the power grid—”
“It was a civil engineering challenge,” Donnie interrupted, adjusting his glasses. “The structural integrity of—”
“Nerd alert,” Raph muttered, dropping his bag of snacks on a table.
Before you could process more, a voice echoed from deeper in the lair.
“Boys? Is that you?”
Everyone froze. The brothers exchanged glances.
“Uh, yeah, Dad!” Leo called back, his voice cracking slightly. “We’re back! And uh… there’s someone we’d like you to meet.”
The shuffling of feet. Then, emerging from one of the back tunnels, a figure appeared.
A rat. But not just any rat—he was easily your height, maybe taller, walking upright in a worn robe. His fur was graying, and his eyes were kind but sharp, the kind that missed nothing.
Master Splinter stopped dead in his tracks when he saw you.
The silence stretched. You could hear water dripping somewhere in the distance.
He gasps, “My sons,” Splinter said slowly, his gaze never leaving you. “Who is this? If you brought a dangerous mutant in out home, you boys will be in so much trouble.” Leo immediately defends you,
“Hey, hey, Dad. It’s ok! She’s not dangerous! Jewel’s another mutant like us!” Mikey adds on,
“Yeah, she’s actually our sister! Pretty neat, huh?” Splinter stares at the turtles in disbelief,
"Wait, wait, wait. Have you been surviving out there alone? In the city? With all those humans?!" His voice pitched higher. "Do you know how dangerous that is?!"
“Yes, I know, but it’s ok. I’ve been doing fine, though I’m really glad I found my family.” Jewel reassures them with a smile.