Immediately, Raph shattered the ceiling by thrusting a sai up to it. Mikey and Donnie were the first to leap out. Leo lifted Akila off the ground and followed Raph, but Tiger Claw was eyeing him with a deadly glare. Leo knew that the mutant was going to attack him. "Raph, take Akila," Leo ordered, handing the injured girl to his brother.

Raph hopped out of the building, Akila in his arms, just before the force field went back up. "No!" Akila shouted, almost flinging herself from Raph's arms.

"Leo!" Mikey yelled in a panic, "he's still in there!"

Akila wanted so badly to save him, but she knew that wasn't possible. All she could do was watch from above as Leo fought the ruthless tiger mutant. But after only a couple of suspenseful seconds, the shield was down again. 

Leo, who'd been in the middle of fighting Tiger Claw, looked to see that someone inside had disabled the shield once again. It was the man he'd run into earlier, the one who helped him find Akila. He smiled a sad smile. Leo wished he could stay to thank the man, but he had to take this chance to escape, so he did.

Once Leo was out, he took Akila back and hugged her tightly. But all Akila could do was stare down into the lab where Malick stood, smiling up at her. He knew he wasn't going to escape himself. He couldn't. All he did was stand there, accepting his fate as Tiger Claw turned his attention to the kind hearted doctor.

• • •

The turtles began running off, Akila clinging tightly to Leo, her ankle in pain from being jerked around so much. But she didn't care. She just wanted to go home. Home... she thought, images of Edward and Malick flashing in her mind; the two best friends that raised her. They were her home once. And now she was afraid they were both gone.

"Alright, I think we're in the clear now," Raph assumed as he panted and slowed down to take a break.

"Definitely," Donnie agreed, also out of breath, "all thanks to that one guy; speaking of which, who was he?"

Akila answered, "Malick; Edward's best friend...they raised me together."

Mikey was surprisingly energetic. "Well, he's awesome!" He shouted, then frowned suddenly, "uh, was it just me, or were we not even being chased?"

Leo stopped to think aloud, "why wouldn't they be after use? We stole back Akila."

All eyes were on Akila now. "Well, I don't think he wants me anymore," she spoke with a dry laugh, "since I'm not the perfect warrior he created me to be."

"But..you're still his daughter," Donnie countered, "shouldn't that mean something?"

"Maybe, but...I really hope it doesn't," Akila responded coldly.

Raph responded this time, a smile on his face, "Well, I'm just glad you were there."

"What? Wait, you mean--" Akila paused as if she didn't believe it, "you guys came for me, not even knowing if I was there? You're all idiots!"

Raph let out a chuckle and crossed his arms. "Well, you were there," he teased, "so it's okay."

Akila couldn't help but smile a bit at Raph's words. "Thank you, guys, for saving me," she spoke sincerely. 

"We would've come for you in any condition," Leo assured, smiling lovingly down at Akila. When the other three turtles began climbing down the fire escape, Leo and Akila remained. He muttered to her questioningly, "A-Akila?"

Akila glanced up into Leo's deep blue eyes and saw a look of sadness. "What's wrong?" She asked in concern.

Leo hesitated before speaking nervously, his gaze cast down to the side. "Y-you know, you could--" he paused for a minute, trying to find the right words, "you don't have to stay with us anymore..in the lair, I mean."

"What?!" Akila was shocked beyond belief.

"Akila, you might not be completely human, but you look like one," Leo explained very seriously, "you could go far away from here, from your father; you could have a normal life again."

Akila's eyes squinted as if she were confused. “A normal life?” She repeated, shaking her head. “Leo, I hated my “normal” life. Why the hell would you think I'd want to go back to that?” She sounded baffled.

“Oh, no, i-its not that, I guess I just…" Leo trailed off awkwardly, trying to find the right words, "wanted to make sure you're still staying with us because you want to."

“Of course I want to,” Akila insisted. She shook her head. "Even if I did want to leave you and live a normal life again, I wouldn't be able to," she explained, "because I'm not normal; I'll always be Shredder's daughter, a genetic mutation. With the knowledge I have now...I could never go back to my normal life."

Leo looked down at her with a small smile. “Okay, then,” he replied simply, and that was settled. But the two didn't budge from where they stood on the rooftop yet. I could ask her about that kiss now, he thought to himself. Leo glanced down at Akila, his face burning hot from blushing. “So, uh…” he began, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “you were really happy to see me earlier, huh?”

Confused at first, Akila looked up at Leo for clarification. But when she saw the flustered state he was in, she immediately remembered. “O-oh, uh, yeah…sorry,” Alika responded with a bashful smile, her gaze unable to meet his eyes again.

Leo couldn't help but smile as he watched Akila grow just as flustered as he was. “Don't be,” he insisted, trying to sound smooth. He gently wrapped his large hand around Akila's much smaller one. Then, taking advantage of the way Akila was looking away, he leaned closer to her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

Akila's eyes widened and she smiled shyly. “Okay,” she muttered quietly. Silence followed as a cool spring breeze blew. The air felt light and clean, like the air of a brand new world. And in a way, for Akila, that's what it was; a new world full of mutants and ninjas, saving lives and stopping crime. A world of minimal human contact and almost never seeing the light of day.

And she didn't bother looking back, because there was nothing left for her in that old broken world. There was nothing there but false memories and a false identity. Looking back now, it felt like she was playing house for those past eleven years with her false memories. So Akila let the breeze sweep away what was left of that dull fairytale. Her real life, her true life, had finally begun.