I silently left my room through the window. I needed to get out of the house badly. A week had passed since the sleepover and I had stayed away from the turtles. It's not like I wanted to stay away. Sophie had gone into labor the day after the sleepover and both boys began having contractions soon after. Maggie needed help and I was the only one who could help her. After a few days, Sophie, Luke and Eric had their babies. Unfortunately, one of Luke's babies, a boy, was stillborn and Luke was heartbroken. He locked himself in his room with his daughter, but even though he was consumed with grief, he still cared for his little girl. Maggie would leave a bottle of milk outside Luke's door. Occasionally, I would catch a glimpse of Luke opening his door to grab the bottle.

I put the thoughts of Luke aside as I ran across the rooftops, melting into the shadows. A good crime bust seemed like it would cheer me up. Nothing seemed better than putting a criminal in jail. I stopped at the edge of a building and surveyed the area. I didn't see any crime, but I did see my favorite turtles. They were running across the rooftops. At one point, Raph stopped and looked in my direction. At least somewhat in my direction. He didn't see me at first so I gave him a clue. I covered my body in flames, a bright fiery light in the dark. As soon as the flames disappeared, I saw Raph wave and start running. I laughed and waited for him, but a scream broke out into the night. Make that two screams. I turned away from Raph, knowing that he was probably wondering what I was doing and ran towards the source of the screams.

I found the screamers in an alley two blocks away. They were two guys, probably in their twenties, and they were surrounded by seven older guys who were probably in their forties. I wasn't entirely sure how I knew, but I had a feeling that the younger guys were lovers. I grew furious. I learned about people being with others of the same gender from Maggie. She thought it was fine and I did too. Some of the people who brought animals into the shelter were gay so I learned to like them more.

I looked down at the scene with disgust. The older guys were sneering at the couple and saying nasty things. One thing I saw was a dog off to the side, a beautiful golden retriever. The poor thing was lying on the ground with blood staining its golden fur. I couldn't stand the sight.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone in the alley looked up at me. The couple looked hopeful as they saw me while the group of guys looked at me with hatred. I guess I had interrupted their fun. One of the guys spoke up and it seemed like he was the voice for the whole group.

"What do you want? This has nothing to do with you. Why don't you fly back to your nest and roost?"

I glared at him. That was the first time someone had referred to my avian genes and frankly, I didn't like it one bit. I jumped down from the roof and landed lightly on the ground. I guess the guys hadn't paid attention to the news because they looked stunned when I landed on the ground unharmed. The head seemed quite mad that I had gotten closer.

"Look, Bird-Bitch. I don't know what kind of shit is running through that little bird brain of yours, but if you knew what was good for you, you would leave right now."

I nodded my head. "Sorry. I can't do that. I'm on trash duty and I just hit the jackpot."

"You little punk. Joey, Anthony, Craig... get the bitch!"

Three guys ran from the circle and straight at me. I saw a glint of metal in one guys hand and knew he had a knife. I quickly made a chain and then made the chain into a staff. The guys were right on me the second the staff was complete but I was ready. I jabbed one guy in the gut, doubling him over. I then used my staff as a pole and swung around, hitting the guy in the face with both feet. He went sailing back, unconscious. I smiled and then continued onto the other two. They definitely had no experience with someone who knew ninjutsu. I used a few new moves that Master Splinter had taught me and soon, the two guys were out for the count. Three down with four to go. I looked at the four guys who were still around the couple. They glared at me. The leader looked the most furious.

"You think you can just come down here and make a fool of me? I don't care if you are some sort of mutant hero. I'm gonna tear those wings of yours off and shove the feathers down your throat. Nobody messes with me!"

He charged at me with a knife in his hand. I dodged a slash to the neck and counter attacked with a side kick. I hit him in the side and he tumbled. He regained his footing and charged at me again. This time he went for my stomach. He managed to slice me but not deep enough. Unfortunately, he did make a slash deep enough to scar. That was a new ability I gained. I had rapid healing abilities. The only downside was that if the wound was a certain depth, it scarred. I ground my teeth at the pain and snarled at the guy. Not only had he managed to hurt me, he also ruined my shirt. It cost a lot of money and I couldn't spare any to buy a replacement. I was saving up for some upgrades. The guy laughed triumphantly. I wasn't going to let him think he won. He had backed up a little, giving me some room to run. Holding my staff with both hands to the side, I ran and then pole vaulted myself straight at the guy. My feet landed square in his chest, sending him backwards. He landed on his back and slid for a few inches. The knife had been knocked from his grip. Making sure he couldn't use it again, I pulled it to me with a chain and then melted it in my hand. As the melted metal fell to the ground, the guy got back to his feet. He looked a little woozy and swayed where he stood.

"You little wench. When I get through with you, you're gonna be a pile of bird bones."

He walked towards me unsteadily. I got annoyed and decided to end it.

"Ok buddy. I think you've had too many drinks for one night. How about a little lay-down?"

He looked at me like I said something stupid, but I just gave him a clean roundhouse kick to the head. He fell sideways, hitting face first into the wall. I tied him up with chain and then looked at the three guys who were still standing.

"Who's next?"

They all looked like they were gonna wet their pants and tried to run. I stopped them with a ring of fire. I then tied them up together and moved on to the three guys who were still unconscious. When everyone was secured, I turned to the couple who had gone to their dog while I tied the creeps up.

"Is everything alright?"

They both turned to me with tears in their eyes. One of them spoke up, his voice filled with sorrow.

"Those bastards shot Molly. She's lost a lot of blood and it looks like she might not make it."

My heart broke for them. As the guy who spoke first wept over his dog, the other spoke next.

"She was a gift from me to Steven. She's only ten months old. Molly doesn't deserve to die this young."

I looked at the guy with sympathy. I then remembered that one of the volunteers at the shelter was a vet and that he was at the shelter doing check-ups on the animals. He could save Molly.

"I know a place where Molly can get the help she needs. Take her to the Stray No More Animal Shelter. A vet is doing check-ups on the animals and he knows how to help dogs with an injury like Molly's...but you have to hurry. Molly's life depends on it." I turned to leave as the guys gathered up their dog, but then remembered something else. "Oh, while you're at it, call the police and tell them that there are seven muggers who need to be collected."

The guys nodded as I flew out of the alley. I felt better that I had saved them and hoped that their dog was going to be ok. I flew away from the alley, back towards the spot I had last seen Raphael. Surprisingly, he had waited there. Leo, Donnie and Mikey were there with him...but to my dismay, Casey Jones was with them too. Just what I needed after nearly getting gutted by a crazed creep.

"Hey guys!"

"Raven!"

I landed next to Raph, who gave me a hug. I hugged him back, using my wings to make the hug bigger. Raph smiled as I brought my wings back and tucked them in, away from sight. I gave Raph a kiss on the cheek before turning the others. Donnie looked curiously at me.

"Hey, Raven? Where do your wings go? Whenever you come to the lair I never see them. It has me wondering where they go when you tuck them in. Also, how can you let your wings out without cutting slits in your shirt?"

"Well, my wings sort of turn into marks on my back, almost like tattoos. At least, that's how I see them...and as for how they can unfurl without slits in my shirt,they sort of just go through my shirt."

Donnie looked confused. I could almost see the cogs in his head working hard to understand what I had said. Donnie looked stumped and walked over.

"Do you mind if I take a look?"

I got nervous and felt my cheeks get warm from blushing. I looked from Donnie to Raph to Mikey and Leo to Casey back to Raph back to Casey and then back to Donnie. In order to let Donnie see how my wings worked, I had to lift my shirt up. I couldn't do that in front of a bunch of guys...but Donnie seemed really interested in how my wings worked. I sighed with slight annoyance.

"Alright, Donnie. I'll let you look...but the others have to look away."

I heard groans of protest from Mikey and Casey. Raphael didn't like the fact that they wanted to see my skin and punched both of them to the ground. I smiled at his protectiveness and waited for the guys to turn around. Mikey and Casey did so they wouldn't get punched again, Leo did too because he was respectful and Raph turned away last because it was the right thing to do. When everyone was facing the other way, I lifted my shirt. Donnie looked at my back for a little bit.

"This is fascinating! I've never seen anything like this!"

Donnie was really interested in my wings. He brushed his fingers lightly against my skin. It tickled a little, making me giggle.

"Donnie! That tickles!"

"Sorry."

Donnie continued to look at my wings. He stopped touching my skin.

"Ok. Raven, you can put your shirt down. Now, can you open your wings?"

I nodded as I put my shirt down. Slowly, I unfurled my wings. Donnie examined my wings again. He looked at the bottom where my wings connected to my back. More gasps and noises of excitement came from Donnie as he looked. I felt proud of my wings at that moment. Donnie started to run his fingers down my shoulders. With my wings out, I could feel Donnie's fingers against my wings.

Donnie finished his examination and looked like he had discovered something incredible. He couldn't say a word. The others had turned around by then. Raph came up to me and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me in for a kiss. Sometimes he kissed me just so he could get a kiss. I smiled and kissed Raph back. We pulled away after a bit. Raph took his hands off my waist, but looked worried when he saw blood on his hand.
"Raven!? You're hurt!?"

I had forgotten about the gash I received during my fight with the group leader in the alley. I didn't think my wound had bled before it healed. Guess I was wrong. Before I could say anything, Raph gingerly brought his fingers to the blood stain on my shirt. He didn't touch it, worried that he would hurt me. Then, he carefully lifted up my shirt. I let him and watched as he looked at the spot where my wound should have been. He looked confused and surprised to find nothing except a scar and drying blood.

"I don't get it. There's no wound. Nothing."

He looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I smiled a little.

"It's a new ability I gained. I heal rapidly. The only downside is that the wound scars if it's deep enough." I sighed and looked at Raph. He looked like he was taking in what I had said. He shook his head in understanding and then smiled at me.

"Well, that's good. You'll be able to take blows much better. Besides, I wouldn't want you to be hurt too long." He gave me a kiss on the cheek. I returned the kiss with a smile. Casey made exaggerated gagging sounds. I turned and growled at him.

"You just had to go and ruin the moment didn't you, Casey?"

He rolled his eyes at me, angering me further. I decided that he had to learn a lesson. The others saw the look in my eyes and backed up. Raph laughed a little as I went ahead and started to pound on Casey.

"Another one bites the dust!"

Another kraangdroid fell at the hands of Mickey. After I finished pounding Casey, we all went on patrol. We came across the Kraang, who do doing what they usually did: plotting for world domination and other mischief. We went into action and attacked the Kraang. I mainly attacked the Kraang who were fully covered. It felt strange attacking things that looked human, but the sparks that erupted from the gash gave away the fact that they were alien robots from another dimension.

All the human disguised Kraang had been destroyed, leaving just the robots. There weren't many left and the guys seemed like they had it under control. I looked at the fighting and soon did some of my own as a kraangdroid came at me. It didn't take long to bring it down. When I was done, I looked at the creature inside the robot. It opened its eyes and screeched at me before jumping out of the metal body and clinging to my face. It was gross and scary.

"GET THIS THING OFF OF ME! AHHHH!"

I ran around in circles waving my arms in the air. I couldn't see and the brain creature had a good grip on my head. I heard Raph call my name and after, I felt him stop me and start tugging at the alien on my face. I tugged the alien as well. Soon, the creature was removed from my face. I gasped for air and bent over. Raph came over and looked concerned.

"Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm ok. I just never want a brain thing clinging to my face ever again."

Raph laughed and smiled at me. I smiled back and hugged Raph as we all left the scene and headed back to the lair.

"April! Look at that necklace! It's so beautiful!"

I looked through the window of the jewelry store at the locket on display. It was really beautiful. It was a silver heart on a matching chain. The heart had purple stones set around it. The middle of the heart was empty, leaving space for writing. I loved the locket and wanted it, but I didn't have any money. I was still saving my money for some upgrades. April came up next to me.
"It is beautiful. Maybe you could get it someday."

I sighed, knowing that I could never have the necklace. I walked away from the window and went on towards the alley. When I got to the alley, I noticed that April wasn't with me. I was confused, sure that she was right with me. I thought about going to go find her but she came running around the corner.

"Sorry. I had to do something real quick."

I wondered where she could have gone, but put it off. I followed April down the ladder, putting the lid back in place.

We walked down the sewer tunnels, soon getting to the subway tunnels and then the lair. "Hey, guys!"

"Raven!"

I tried to say hello, but Mikey was already upon me, squeezing me in a bear hug. I smiled and hugged him back.

"Hi, Mikey. It's good to see you too. Where's Raphael?"

Mikey looked unsure and a little upset. "He's been in the bathroom practically all day. Dude's been throwing up a lot."

I became worried. Raph didn't seem like the type who got sick. I was about to go to the bathroom to see if he was okay when he entered the room. I gasped a little at the sight of him. He looked pale and tired. I walked over to him as he sat down on the couch. He smiled a little at me and I smiled back. His expression told me that he knew I was worried for him.

"I just have a little bug. I'll be fine in a couple days. Don't worry."

I smiled at Raph's confidence that he was going to be better soon. I cheered me up a little to see that. I gave Raph a kiss on the cheek and then rested my head on his shoulder. He placed his arm on my shoulder. We sat together and watched TV for the rest of the afternoon. When dusk came, I stayed for pizza but left after. I hugged Raph and said goodbye to the others.

The next day was great. When I entered the lair, I found the turtles in the dojo training. Raph was among them and looked better than before. He wasn't pale and seemed full of energy. I smiled and walked over to stand next to Master Splinter. The turtles trained for an hour. I could see that Raph was trying his best and might have even tried to show off a little. After training, I just hung around until it was time to go on patrol. The night was like usual, with the occasional run in with the Kraang. There was no sign of the foot and I was glad. I didn't want to meet Karai again.

I sighed with disappointment. Donnie called me on my T-phone and said that Raph was puking again. He thought is was some sort of virus. Not wanting me to get sick, Raph told Donnie to tell me to stay away from the lair, at least until Donnie figured out what was wrong with Raph. I was majorly bummed because I finally had enough money to buy the upgrades I wanted. I had bought some elbow and knee pads that were soldier-grade, a single katana similar to Leo's except for the handle, which was black, a single katana holster, and this cool choker that had a silver heart with two chains. I really wanted to show the guys,but I wanted Raph to get better too.

The days seemed to drag by slowly. I really wanted to go see Raph and his brothers but I hadn't gotten a reply from Donnie. I had some things to occupy my time though. I helped Sophie, Eric and Luke with their babies. I also spent time with April and her friend, Irma. We went to the movies and walked around town. At night, I went on patrol, keeping an eye out for crime and the turtles.

Finally, Donnie called and said that he had found out what was wrong with Raph. He didn't say what was wrong though.

"Donatello? What was wrong with Raphael?"

I heard Donnie shuffle on the other end of the line. "I think Raph should tell you. Meet him by the water tower later and brace yourself."

I was confused by what Donnie said. It must have been serious if he couldn't tell me over the phone. I shrugged and snuggled into my covers. I had a while before I had to meet Raph and I was feeling a little tired. A nap would be great.

I ran through the shadows and towards the water tower. The time had come where I would find out what was wrong with Raph. I jumped from one rooftop to the next until I landed on the water tower roof. I didn't see Raph and looked around. I soon heard light footsteps landing on the roof and turned to see Raphael. I was happy to see him, but I sensed that something was wrong. Raph looked nervous and scared. He wouldn't look at me directly and shuffled around a bit.

"Raphael? Is everything ok?"

He looked at me slowly. I could see that he was thinking of what to say, but the words didn't seem to come to him.

"Raven...The past few weeks have been hectic. I was sick and Donnie kept running tests to see if he could figure out what was wrong with me. He finally came up with the answer. The reason I was sick is because I'm..."

Raph stopped talking. He was faltering to get the last word out. He couldn't say it. Instead, he unfolded a piece of paper he had been holding in his hand. He held it out for me to take. I took it from his hand which was shaking. I was worried and scared. What was wrong? Raph was looking at the ground. I slowly looked at the paper and couldn't believe what I was seeing. The paper was a printed picture, but not just any picture. It was an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed two small creatures. I couldn't tell what they were. I looked at Raph and could see that he was shaking.

"Raph? What is this?"

He flinched a little when I asked and I could feel that he was scared to tell me. Tears actually started to form in the corners of his eyes. I stepped closer to Raph and took his hands in mine. He was really shaking then. I tightened my grip reassuringly.

"Raph? Please tell me. What is in that ultrasound?"

He didn't answer, but I could see that he was trying to collect himself enough to tell me. "Th-the p-pi-picture is of t-t-twin fetuses." Raph paused to collect his breath. "Raven... I'm pregnant and Donnie confirmed that the babies are yours."

I felt the breath leave my body. Raph probably expected my reaction to be something like that because he just looked away. I'm going to be a mother? How did this happen?  I couldn't think of anything, but then the memory of the bright light and the warm sensation I felt at the sleepover resurfaced. Did that have something to do with the pregnancy? I couldn't think clearly from the fear that had entered me. I then felt Raph start to shake even more. It took me a second to realize that the shaking was from Raph crying. Tears were streaming down his face. Suddenly, Raph's legs seemed to give out and he fell to his knees. I dropped down with him. I couldn't stand seeing Raph cry. I quickly hugged him and he hugged me back. He cried into my shoulder and I let him. Then, as if the sky shared the worry and fear that Raph and I felt, the clouds released rain. Raph and I were soon completely wet.

We stayed there for quite some time, just holding each other. Raph stopped crying, but he kept his face buried in my shoulder. During the minutes of silence, I reflected on what it would be like to be a mother. I thought of Luke, Eric and Sophie. There were times when they were exhausted from taking care of their babies. They complained about being tired all the times, but there were times when they were happy to be parents. Sophie was overjoyed when her babies smiled for the first time. Luke would say that his daughter was the most precious thing that ever came into his life. I thought about the joy that the babies brought to my siblings and thought that it would be great to be a mother. I smiled at the thought of taking care of a life that I could call my own. I smiled even more as I realized that I could take care of a life that I shared with Raph, the one person that I loved the most in my life.

"Raph?"

I pulled him away and looked at his face. His eyes were red and puffy from crying and he looked tired. He looked up at me slowly. I smiled at him and he looked a little confused.

"You-You're not upset?"

I laughed a little. "Upset? How could I be? I know it's scary, but this is the best thing that's happened since I became your girlfriend."

Raph seemed to brighten up a little. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yes! We are going to be great parents."

Without really thinking, I leaned in and gave Raph a kiss. The kiss was filled with all the love I had for Raph and all the joy I felt at knowing that I was going to be a mom. Raph kissed back with equal depth. We pulled away to catch our breath and held each other close. I leaned my forehead against Raph's and looked into his eyes. I saw my eyes reflected back and saw Raph's love for me.

We stood up and collected ourselves. We just had one more obstacle to face. If Donnie hadn't told them already, we had to tell Leo, Mikey and Master Splinter.

"You ready?"

Raph looked at me and I saw the Raph that I knew.

"Yeah. I'm ready. Let's go."