The boys dashed across the rooftops at an amazing speed, searching for a 15 year old female with h/c h/l hair.
Mikey was in the back, his brow dipped in thought.

"Guys?"
He was not answered, merely ignored.
"Bros?!"

"What Mikey." Donnie finally replied, staying crouched at the edge of the roof, watching the streets.

"Maybe we should check where Y/n lives, o-or lived." Mikey suggests, and the three eldest look to their youngest sibling.

"That.. actually made sense.. good idea Mikey." Leo praised, patting his shoulder before they set off.
Landing on the roof next to where you lived, they then leaped to your fire escape, and peeked in the window.

They see you sound asleep, and tap on the glass repeatedly. After a minute or so, you awake and see them, falling off of your bed in surprise. You look over your sheets, locking eyes with them, and hesitantly walk over, unlocking and opening the window.

"Are you ok?!" They all inquire, squishing you in a hug once they're inside.

"I-I-I'm fine.." you murmur. noticing that they smell. And not in a good way.
"I- uh, I don't mean to be rude, but, have you been in the sewers lately?" You ask quietly, and they blush, aside from Mikey.

"Yeah! We actually live in the sewers! How'd you know?!" The nunchuck wielding turtle beams, his light blue eyes sparkling.

"She means we smell, you dimwit!" Raph slaps the back of his brothers head, and Mikey sulks while rubbing where he was struck.

"Wh-what happened?" You ask, glancing at the burn marks on your walls and floor.

"We have no idea. All that matters is that your safe, and unharmed. Are you sure you're alright?" Donnie answers and questions, scanning you worryingly.

"Y-yes, I-I'm fine," you pause, trying to remember his name, "uh.. i-is it D-Donnie?"

He smiles and nods, and you jerk your head in an awkward nod.

"What do we do now?" Raph huffs, glancing at you with soft eyes for a moment.

"YOU SHOULD COME HOME WITH US!" Mikey exclaims, jumping up and down with excitement, then stopping when Raph sends him a warning glare.

"I-in the s-sewers?"

"Well, yeah. It doesn't really seem logical to leave you here. I-I mean, you can come back.. as soon as we make sure you'll be safe here. And the Lair isn't as bad as it sounds." Leo responds, shifting his feet slightly.

"W-well.. I-I suppose it wouldn't hurt for a-a little while.." immediately after you speak, Mikey pulls you in for a tight hug, waves of joy surrounding him.

You and the turtles climb out and up to the roof, where you decide who you'll ride with to the Lair. After a moment or two of Leo, Donnie and Raph bickering over one another, Mikey asks you, calmly, if he can take you, and you accept, to the dismay of the others.
You hold on to Mikey's shell, your feet hooked on his belt and your arms around his neck as he leaps from rooftop to rooftop. On the way, they explain who and what they are, and what they do. Now knowing their story, you feel selfish, remembering your past actions, and apologize for forgetting them, which they accept in a heartbeat.

After a while they land on a roof and climb down to the grimy alley, removing the manhole cover and climbing down, you and Mikey last.

Mikey notices your questioning expression, and places his hand on your shoulder.
"Don't worry Sunshine, I'll protect you!" He remarks, puffing out his chest heroically. You giggle, forgetting your hesitation and climb down, where Leo helps you down the last three steps, and all four turtles walk beside you protectively, making you blush.

Soon you come to an abandoned subway station, leading to the Lair you'd heard about.
It was very homey, and had basic everyday appliances and features, like a tv and couch, from what you could see. Then there were things that weren't typical for a home.
There was a dummy with various weapons sticking out, and an arcade game on the other side of the room, beside the dummy.
A spiral staircase was above the living room area, which you thought was pretty cool.
To your right there was a channel of water, with a tire swing, and what you thought looked like those Japanese paper windows, or whatever, behind it. Leo said that lead to the dojo, kitchen, and waterway entrance.
Past the arcade game was another entrance, going who knows where. You suspected it would've lead to the surface, but since this place was abandoned, it wasn't operational.
You wondered how the turtles got electricity to power all their things, but didn't ponder it for too long.

You walk in hesitantly, when Leo suddenly takes your hand and leads you to the dojo with the others in tow.
There was a giant tree inside, with a twisting trunk and green leaves, carpets on the floor, shelves and display cases holding either weapons or Japanese decorations, and a giant mutant rat a foot or two from the base if the tree, meditating, it looked like. There was light coming from the ceiling, and the place took your breath away.
Leo knelt down before the giant rat, gesturing for you to do the same, which you did, along with Donnie, Raph and Mikey.

"My sons, who is this?" The rat asked, not even opening his eyes. The only movement from him were his ears and tail, twitching slightly.

"Sensei, this is Y/n." Leo spoke, all the turtles smiling to you. Hearing your name, the rat opened his eyes, a chocolate brown like Donatellos.

"Ah, Y/n. It is nice to finally meet you. I am Master Splinter. My sons have told me much about you. But... you're older than I expected." He smiled, and you meekly smiled back.
"You will not tell anyone of our existence, correct?" He then asked, becoming stone cold serious. Your brow dipped in confusion.

"Why would I tell anyone about them? I just got them back, I don't want to hurt them!" You answered matter-of-factly, and they smiled.

"That is very true. I am sorry, it is a habit of mine. My sons seem to be making many human friends." Splinter replied, staring at his sons with a 'what's next, the rest of New York?' type of look while he spoke. You nodded and smiled, and Master Splinter dismissed you.

"So, Y/n, whadda wanna do? Read comics? Play video games?! Watch a movie?! Spar?!?! Meet Ice Cream Kitty?!?!?!" Mikey bombarded you with questions, so quickly you lost your balance and fell on the couch, next to Raph.

"Sup Peanut?" He smirked, and you blushed.

"M-maybe a m-movie?" You answered Michelangelo, and he nodded vigorously, running to get the crate of movies and videos. You sat next to Raph nervously, while he read a comic book. You thought for a moment, when something suddenly came to mind.

"Uh.. Raph?" You spoke, and he lowers his comic to lock eyes with you.

"Yeah?"

"Do.. can you still do.. phoosh?" You made a weird gesture with your hands, but Raph understood. You wanted to know if he could still make fire from his hands.
He snapped his fingers, and a single flame leaped up, it's heat casting warmth on your face. You beamed, remembering the old days, when Raph was literally on fire. But, in all honesty, you kinda liked him more in his turtle form.
Raph decided to kick it up a notch, and suddenly, his entire hand was covered in yellow flames, and he didn't even flinch.

"Pretty cool, huh?" He smirked, and you smiled, nodding.

"Kinda like back then, when I was little."

Then Mikey came back, and Raph extinguished his flames and returned to his comic, while Mikey showed you various movies and tapes.
Soon you were watching an old horror movie, in between Raph and Mikey, eyes wide and glued to the screen. You felt a soft breeze drift in, and swirl around you, feeling like it was playing with your hair. It felt familiar, and you glanced to Mikey, seeing him moving his hands around magically, and the old feeling of almost nonexistent hands combing through your hair became stronger. Mikey smiled, and you smiled too, as the air hands gently pulled your hair into a ponytail, like old times.

"So you all still have your element powers?" You ask as you felt your hair once Mikey was finished.

"Yeah! It was a total surprise for us, and now we use them pretty much all the time!" Mikey chirps, and Raph chuckles softly.

"That's cool." You answer, when your stomach decides to mimic a dying whale. Both turtles look at you, and you blush.
"Uh.. s-sorry.." you began, when Mikey dashed out, and came back only a second later with a large pizza. He held the box to you, and a paper plate, and you took two slices.

"Thank you." You smile before taking a large bite, and Mikey grins, sitting down again.

»»»»

Later on, you wander into the dojo, while Leo was training. Splinter was watching, and when he saw you, he gestured for you to watch next to him. You obeyed, kneeling next to him with your eyes glued to the blue clad turtle. He saw you, and sent a wink before jumping up in the air, twisting, and landing a powerful strike, then bowing. Splinter noticed this act, and smiled to himself.

"Leonardo, why don't you show our guest what we've been working on?" He suggested, and Leo expressed shock.

"I-I don't know.. I-I haven't perfected it yet," Leo scratched the nape of his neck, then saw your interested and excited expression. He smiled softly, and shrugged.
"Ok, why not?"

Splinter grinned, knowing exactly what was going on.

"Well then, at your own pace; hajame." (I don't know how it's spelled.. 😭 my sensei would be so disappointed.)

Leo bowed, then unexpectedly tossed his katana blades to the side. Bringing his hands together, he breathes in deeply, then brings his connected hands down, and opens his eyes. They start to glow, and suddenly, water katana blades appear in his green three fingered hands. You gasp in awe, and Leo blushes, and begins. He moves swift and quick, almost a blur as he battles nonexistent enemies, then finishes with a flip and bow. You can't help but clap softly, and Leo blushes again, while Splinter chuckles.

»»»»

You then enter the Lab, with inventions and gadgets galore, posters of the human and turtle anatomy, and a desk with papers, thingamajigs and a lamp, where you see Donatello, hunched over said desk. You inch closer, and peek over him, seeing his attention on a flower pot, with no plant in sight. That changes when Donnie waves one hand over it, then pinches his fingers together as he pulls up on invisible strings, and a beautiful purple daisy sprouts up. You gasp, startling Donnie, who trips and falls. He sees you and grins sheepishly.

"Uh.. h-hi Y/n. D-did you like that?" You nod, smelling the flower. You smile at the scent, and Donnie smiles with you as he stands back up.
"D-do you want it? T-the flower..?"

"O-oh, I-I don't know.." you trail off, then nod yes. Donnie smiles and hands you the pot, and you thank him, when something catches your eye. Looking up, you gasp, seeing the ceiling coated in purple flowers of all types, sizes and shapes, the stems leading to a large flower pot in the corner.

"Oh, yeah.. that. My first time using my powers. I never got around to minimizing it, so I decided to leave it. It actually brightens the place up, doesn't it?" Donnie smiles, staring up at the millions of flowers with you.
"You're actually the first individual to notice it." He adds, turning to clean up his table.

"Cool," is all you say, as you're blown away, and have no other words.

"Alright. Let's eat." Donnie suggests, walking out with you to the kitchen.
It was nice, with a large.. tank of some sort acting as an island counter, and surrounding it were more counters, a refrigerator, oven and sink.
You sat in between Donnie and Master Splinter, and Mikey gave you a bowl of Ramen noodles.

"I hope you are alright with Ramen." Splinter spoke after swallowing his food.

You didn't answer as you were already eating, quickly figuring out the chopsticks. You used to live on the salty noodles and broth when you were little, and never lost your love for them.
Splinter chuckles as he watches you and his sons slurp the noodles up, sighing in content once you were finished.

"Uh.. Sensei," Leo began after a moment, "we.. we were wondering.. if-"

"If Y/n could stay the night, because we're not sure if her apartment is safe right now, and we were gonna fix it, but it's late and we don't want her getting hurt or anything, so could we please please please let her stay the night?!" Mikey cut in, taking a large breath once he was finished. You were surprised, and giggled slightly when Mikey finishes his mini rant.

"I suppose.. if Y/n wants to.. do you my dear?"

All eyes were on you, and you grew flustered.
"I-I.. um.. I-I don't w-want to be a-a bother.. b-but I wouldn't mind.. that is.. y-yeah.. I'd like to." You finally answer, blushing even more. Mikey cheered, jumping up and throwing his arms around you.

"You can sleep in my room if you want! I don't mind the couch, I've slept on there a bunch of other times!"
He suggests, and you smile.

"I think-"

"Are you kidding? Your room is so gross it's a wonder that you can sleep in there. She can have my room." Raph cuts you off, and you try to speak again.

"Well actually-"

"Why should she have your room? Mine is far more organized, she'll sleep better in there. Y/n will take my room." Leo interrupts, and you let out an exasperated sigh.

"My room is especially clean, Y/n would feel far more comfortable in my room."

"Yame!" Splinter commands, and everyone is silent. "Y/n, do you have something to say?" Splinter asks you, and you mentally send him a thank you.

"Yeah. I think I'd rather sleep on the couch, if you don't mind."

Mikey opens his mouth the protest, but Splinter sends him a look, and he remains silent. Raph shrugs and Leo shows no emotion, although Donnie looks a bit upset.

Not long after, you fall asleep on the couch after watching a movie with the boys, who make sure you're comfortable, putting a pillow under your head and a soft blanket over you.