Song: In Loving Memory - Alter Bridge

"Alright, last one. I promise."

I'm in Donatello's laboratory. I'm sat in an uncomfortable metal chair while the techy-turtle gives me a few shots. When he finally finishes with the last needle, I feel like I'm going to pass out from a mixture of overdose and blood loss.

"Sorry," he says gently. "Checking your blood will help me figure out what's wrong with you. Also, the liquid I injected into you will help your mind react faster to my limbic system trigger."

"I know, Donnie," I reply weakly, leaning my head back onto the chair. "You've explained that already. Please just get this over with."

Donatello places little circular bandages on my forehead. Wires connect the bandage-things to a computer a meter away. The statistics on the screen are so complex that it makes me feel nervous. I really hope Donatello knows what he's doing.

The purple-clad turtle offers me a glass of a liquid that has a suspicious pink tint to it. I don't even bother asking what it is before I gulp it down, because I'm tired of hearing his confusing explanations.

"Now, you'll start to feel a little tired," Donatello informs as he travels over to his computer and starts pressing buttons. "That's normal. Just close your eyes and let your brain..."

Just before he finishes his statement, I doze off.

I'm walking down some sidewalk. It's getting dark and the busy New Yorkers are retiring to their homes for the night. I can hear doors shutting and car engines turning off. The streetlights along the roads flicker on, casting eerie shadows.

"I think I finally understand mathematics." It's my younger brother who speaks. His dark hair is pushed away from his forehead, like he had been attempting to rip it out in frustration. His bright green eyes glow with relief.

I laugh. "That's what you think," I tease. "Wait until you get into trigonometry. Then you'll start rethinking anything you've ever learned."

"That's not very encouraging," he says, but he is smiling too.

There's a short pause. Just to end the silence, I give my brother a mischievous look. "Wanna race home?" I ask.

My brother smirks at me. "Game on."

I giggle. We both stop in our tracks and bend down into runner positions. "On your mark, get ready, get set... GO!"

My brother and I tear down the sidewalk. My shoulder bag beats against my back in time with my footsteps. My legs stretch further every step, pulling them out of a stiff and tired state.

We laugh the whole way. It feels so good to smile with him. It's like nothing else matters; just this moment.

Finally, we reach the home stretch. I let out a victory scream and run right up to our apartment's door. I place a hand on it and do an excited little dance. My brother follows, only a split second behind.

"I win!" I announce proudly, ruffling his dark brunette hair affectionately.

"Did not!" he protests, but he is grinning.

I open the door to our house. It's already unlocked, so mom must be home. "I did, too!" I fire back at my brother laughingly.

As I step inside, I stop dead in my tracks. There's a robed figure with silver, mechanical-like eyes staring at me. Within seconds, several of the same looking creatures appear beside the first. One of them has my mother with duct tape over her mouth.

I open my mouth to scream, but something covers it before I get a chance. Arms wrap around me and I'm thrown over one of the weird creature shoulders. I thrash and try to break free from its grip, but it's no use.

That's when I remember my dagger. I slide it out of the sheathe on my belt and stick it into my kidnapper's back. It drops me and I land on my feet, holding my dagger out in front of me. I watch as every single one of the robed figures turn towards me.

"Liz! Help!" My brother's scream distracts me for a second, but that's all that is needed for one of the figures to steal my blade and scoop me up. My mouth is covered once again and I can't break free.

I get thrown into the back of a van, along with my mom and brother. My mom pulls my brother and me to her side. I look up and spot tears in her eyes. I have never seen her so scared.

I wake up with a jolt. It takes a minute for my brain to register where I am. Donatello's voice helps bring me back to reality.

"Shell wax!" Donatello yells as he smacks his computer and shakes the screen violently. "You stupid thing!"

My confusion finally subsides and I realize what had happened. It was just a dream. My family was just an illusion.

But it also wasn't a dream. That was what happened before I ended up in that weird facility. That very night was when my whole life changed. And I would have recalled the whole night if Donatello's gadget hadn't stopped working.

"What happened? What did you see?" I croak at Donatello. Seeing my family has renewed my grief, and I'm struggling to keep it at bay.

"Nothing," Donatello answers as he retired from punishing his computer. "Except you kicking in your sleep."

I feel a pinch of relief. Those last moments with my family are memories I would like to keep private. However, I know I can't. They're essential to figuring out what is wrong with me.

So, I tell him everything.

"Your kidnappers were definitely the Foot," Donatello concludes thoughtfully as I finish. He runs his fingers over his chin a few times. "I just can't imagine why they would choose your family out of everyone in New York City. Have you ever possessed any kind of abnormal human abilities?"

"I'm not Superwoman, Donnie," I reply, shaking my head.

"Who?" For once, the smartest being I've ever met looks puzzled.

I sigh. "Never mind. The point is that I'm just a normal teenage girl. I have my ups and downs, my good days and my bad days, my joys and my fears."

Donatello's brown eyes are unfocused with thought. I can only imagine the things running through his mind. Probably a bunch of scientific stuff that I'll never understand. Like trigonometry.

I hear a knock on the wall beside the door. "Can I come in?" It's April.

"April!" Donatello exclaims in shock. He quickly changes his thinking position into a pose of leaning back against his desk. "Of course. What can I help you with?" His tone is so casual that it doesn't sound like himself.

She walks over to us with a tessen in her hand. It has a split going right down the middle of it. "Can you fix this? Mikey sat on it."

"S-sure thing," the purple-clad turtle stammers as he takes it from her.

"After all it has been through, and Mikey's butt is what broke it." April smiles. "Thank you, Donnie."

"No problem! I'll have it repaired in two shakes of a turtle's tail." Donatello grins at her until she's gone.

I study the turtle. For someone always so stable and confident in his words, I just witnessed a completely different side of him. Then it hits me. The casual tone of voice, the sudden stutter, the blush that sprung onto his cheeks. I had seen my brother do the same thing around girls he later admitted he had a crush on.

"You like her," I theorize.

"Huh?" Donatello asks distractedly. His eyes are still fixed on where April had stood. He is also attempting to shove the tessen in a non-existent drawer.

I walk over to him and take the tessen from him. I set it down on his desk and snap my fingers in front of his face. He jumps back to the present and looks surprised to see me.

"You like her, don't you?" I repeat myself as I take the weird bandage-things off of my face.

Donatello scratches the back of his head and his cheeks turn pink. "Is it that obvious?"

I smile a bit. "Just a little."

Donatello sighs suddenly. He looks beaten and exhausted. That's when I realize he probably didn't get much sleep. He had most likely stayed up all night building that gadget for me, only for it to fail.

"I know it's stupid. You don't have to remind me," he mumbles, setting to work on fixing April's tessen.

I'm shocked to hear him say something like that. "No, not at all! Actually, I think it's really sweet," I admit.

He turns his brown gaze on me. "You really think so?"

My smile widens. "Yes, I do." How can someone so sure about everything be so self-conscious?

Donatello gives me a small grin and sets back to work. "Glad to know not everyone is judging me for it."

His words feel like a thorn to my heart. The lover side of him is so different! "Just remember to be yourself," I encourage him. "It's way more of a catch than trying to play it cool."

Donatello's smile grows larger. "Thank you, Lizzy."

I can't help noting that two turtles are calling me Lizzy. It feels nice, like I'm not just an outsider to them. Sure, they're forcing me to stay in the lair with them, but it's like I put up much of a fight. I've pretty much just accepted the situation.

Maybe there's a reason I'm going through all of this suffering and isolation. What if I'm meant to get close with the turtles? I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I've grown to like them, even if it's just a little bit. Maybe some bad things really aren't so bad, like Master Splinter claims.

Unfortunately, that doesn't make me feel any better. I don't feel like being trapped in the sewers with talking mutants. It's too eerie and ominous. It's only a matter of time before they try something evil, and I don't want to be a victim of it.

I need to get out of the lair as soon as possible.