"This is our secret lair," Mikey explained dramatically.

"Yeah, so don't go telling all your friends about it," Raph noted, as if it weren't obvious.

Akila laughed dryly, "oh, you don't have to worry about that. I don't have any friends to tell."

All four turtles blinked in shock, staring at Akila. "...Really?" Mikey asked. Akila nodded. "But like, how? You're so cool; how could people not wanna be your friends?!"

Akila's heart was warmed by the orange turtle's words. "Yeah, well, people at school don't think so," she explained simply. She glanced down at her watch with a big yawn. "5:25am," she read aloud.

"Come over here," Leo called with a nod toward what looked to be a living room. Once there, he spoke again, "why don't you rest some? You must be exhausted."

Akila nodded, realizing for the first time that she really was completely out of energy. So she laid down on a couch, curled up into a ball, and closed her eyes.

"I'll get you a blanket," Leo offered. But once he returned with one, Akila was already fast asleep. He smiled as he leaned over the couch, draping the blanket over her body. Then, he knelt by her side, watching her peaceful face as she breathed slowly, and whispered, "goodnight, Akila."

• • •

Akila laid half asleep on the couch. She could hear the faint sound of a tv playing softly. She pulled a fuzzy blanket up over her exposed shoulder, warming it up immediately.

Then her eyes opened and she was staring at the ceiling of the underground station. She sat up and wrapped the black blanket around herself.

Then, someone walked into the room. Mikey. "Oh, hey Akila," he greeted with a smile as he walked over to her. "So," he began, "how'd ya sleep?"

"Good," she replied sleepily.

"That's good, I gotta go now though," he said, walking away. He stopped and turned before leaving the room, adding slyly, "you know, ninja stuff."

Akila felt like she should laugh, but she wasn't fully awake yet, so she just sat, staring out into space. After not too long, another turtle came over to her. Looking up, Akila was surprised to see Raph. He sat on the couch next to her and looked down at his lap. "Hey," he squeaked out.

"Uh...hi," Akila replied, not sure what was happening.

Then, Raph sighed heavily, sounding frustrated. "Look, I'm sorry about all I said yesterday," he huffed, "I mean, I should known what it's like to not have any friends. I-I always had my brothers though, you had nobody. So...I'm sorry, okay?"

Akila rasied her eyebrows in surprise. He sounded annoyed, even though he was apologizing. He must really hate  having to apologize, Alika thought. "Oh, it's okay," she accepted in an awkward tone. 

Raph returned the smile and sighed, "right, good. I mean, thanks," he replied awkwardly, still not making eye contact. He cleared his throat awkwardly and stood back up. "I'll see ya later," he stated with a wave of his hand, then walked off.

Now Akila was awake. But she brushed it off, just happy that he was at least in a better mood today mood. Then she got up and started walking around, exploring the lair. Finally, she came to the training room where the turtles were.

She peaked around the doorway and watched them. They jumped and kicked and dodged all over the place. Their instructor looked to be a giant rat in a robe. Akila felt chills go down her spine at the sight of him. Of course, the turtles told her about Splinter, but actually seeing him was a little intimidating. Who knew there were so many mutants hiding in the city, she thought to herself. It felt like she was discovering a whole new hidden world.

When they finished their sparring, the rat spoke, but it wasn't to the turtles. "Please, come in," he insisted, looking across the room to Akila. Hesitantly, she stepped into the room. "You must be Akila; Leonardo told me you needed somewhere to stay," he explained.

"That's me," she confirmed.

"Akila! This is Master Splinter," Mikey introduced loudly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Akila spoke shyly, unsure how to act in the presence of the wise mutant. Splinter nodded slightly with a smile, then there was silence. "So, uh, I saw you guys training," she started a conversation, "that was really cool."

"Thanks," they answered in unison.

"So...think I could give it a try?" Akila asked hopefully.

The four turtles exchange a look. "Um, no offence or anything," Donnie spoke with a small laugh, "but we've been training our whole lives. It would take years for you to catch up to us."

Raph and Mikey nodded in agreement, but Leo was still. He didn't want to disappoint Akila, but Donnie was right. But before he could say anything, Master Splinter did.

"Then, perhaps, Donatello," Splinter spoke calmly, "you would like to test Akila's strength yourself?" All of the turtle's were shocked.

Donnie looked flustered. "Wha- are you serious?" He asked in surprise as he walked over to Akila and got into position. "I don't want to hurt you, Akila."

Akila smirked, "who said you'd be able to?" And with that, they began.

Donnie started, running toward her and swinging his bow staff to trip her, but Akila hopped over it with ease. Then, while in mid air, she pushed off of his chest with her feet, causing him to fall to the ground as she landed gracefully on her feet.

Everyone, even Master Splinter, wore looks of complete shock. Donnie was at a complete loss for words as he stared up at the girl who defeated him so quickly. "She...beat me..." He muttered, panting.

But after the initial shock, Raph smirked deviously. "Alright, alright, outta the way Don, it's my turn," he barked, wanting to see just how good their new friend was for himself. He turned his sais in his hands while a challenging gein spread across his face. Then he lunged.