Song: Break Me Down - Red

The second training session with Leonardo is less deadly than the last. The ninja turtle teaches me some defensive moves. So far, that is all he seems to want me to learn. But I'm fine with it. Temporarily, at least.

"Nice," Leonardo praises as I maintain my balance against one of his attacks. "Just try to lean to the side more. Protect your face before the rest of you. Once you're blinded from a blow, it's almost impossible to win a fight."

I nod as he repeats his attack. His katanas whiz at my face. I inwardly arch my back and lean my head back to dodge them. Once his weapons have passed, I use my dagger to push them off-target. While Leonardo recovers from his loss of balance, I gently jab him in his plastron a few times.

Leonardo shoves me away lightly by pressing his katanas to my weapon. He smiles.

"Excellent counterattack," he compliments. I feel my face grow hot and I grin.

"Right, now show-" He suddenly stop talking and his eyes widened. He puts his twin katanas away and pulls me down. He lays down on his back and looks at me. "Get down and put your dagger away!"

"What- I-"

"Just do it!" he orders.

I obey, wondering what has suddenly possessed him. I lay opposite of him, our heads a few centimeters apart and my feet facing away from him. I look up at the sky, but I'm not actually taking anything in. What is going on?

Suddenly, I hear what freaked Leonardo out. Voices.

"I thought I saw something over here!"

"You said that a few minutes ago and it was just a stupid cat!"

"But what I saw over here looked big and dangerous!"

"It's probably nothing to worry about. Shadows can play tricks on your eyes and make you see things that aren't really there."

"But dudes, I totally saw something evil!"

Just then, Michelangelo lands beside me. Raphael and Donatello follow him. All three turtles look from Leonardo and back to me.

"Oh, hi," I greet them casually. I'm not one hundred percent sure why Leonardo doesn't want his brothers knowing about our training, but it's not the time to question it. Therefore, I do my best in acting natural.

"Ha!" Michelangelo squeaks happily. "I told you I saw something!"

Raphael snorts. "Last time I checked, these guys weren't evil, Mikey." Though the mistrustful look he casts me suggests otherwise.

"But I-" Michelangelo tries to protest.

"What are you guys doing here?" Donatello breaks up their disagreement. "Leo, I thought you said you were going to catch up on sleep. That was your reason for not patrolling tonight, anyway."

Leonardo sits up to face them. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk," he begins, looking at me for help.

"And I begged him to take me along," I finish quickly. I don't want it to sound like he invited me. It could raise a lot of unanswerable questions. By the grateful look Leonardo flashes me, we're on the same page.

Donatello doesn't look convinced. He's too intelligent to fall for a silly lie like that. Even so, he doesn't bother the subject anymore. "Well, you haven't missed much," the purple-clad turtle reports to Leonardo. "Nothing is happening. It's like New York is suddenly... safe."

Leonardo narrows his eyes thoughtfully. "Did you check the bomb rubble?" he asks.

"Affirmative. Nothing there, either," Donatello responds with a shrug. "It's completely abandoned."

"It's like everything is scared of us," Raphael says. He has a proud smirk on his face. "No one wants to be the first to challenge us after that building went up in pieces."

"Uh, guys," Michelangelo murmurs softly from behind us.

"Technically, that was just an accident," Donatello tells Raphael. "We didn't know it was going to blow up until we saw the countdown on a computer screen."

Raphael glares at the purple-clad turtle. "We're still the reason the bomb was set off in the first place. Plus, we took mutagen and Kraangdroids down with us! That's why they're terrified."

"Guys," Michelangelo speaks up a bit louder, but everyone is too engrossed in the argument.

"But if Stockman hadn't hit the trigger on the wall, the explosives would have never been lit. And he wouldn't have had a chance to hit the switch if Leo hadn't gotten distracted." Donatello shoots back. He's getting angry now. "So, overall, it wasn't us who set it off. It was Stockman, because he directed Leo's attention to Lizzy inside of himself."

Raphael gets in Donatello's face and points a finger in my direction. "So you're saying that if we hadn't tried to save that stupid girl, then the building wouldn't have blown up?!"

I wrinkle my eyebrows. Rude.

"Not necessarily." Donatello raises his voice impatiently. "It might not have had anything to do with her. It could have been-"

"So you're saying that we made a mistake in saving her!" Raphael goes on. "You're saying that we should have left her behind in order to prevent an explosion." He throws his hands out in frustration. "I told you guys she was dead weight. I told you we shouldn't have brought her out of there. But did you listen? No!"

"You dudes need to listen to me right now!" Michelangelo squeaks, but once again no one spares him a glance.

"It doesn't have anything to do with saving her, because Leo had already-" Donatello tries to interrupt, but his brother doesn't give him a chance to.

"I was right the whole time! We could have rescued the mutagen that you needed, and we wouldn't have to risk keeping a spy in the lair! The other day, Mikey let it slip that he's teaching her Ninjutsu. She's trying to learn our secrets so she can use them against us!" Raphael's eyes were blazing like fire.

I feel a bit offended. "I'm not a spy!" How can anyone think that?

"How would you know?!" The turtle turns on me. I know he can break me in half if he wants to, but I refuse to shrink away. "You can't remember anything that happened!"

I jump to my feet. "I can remember who I am!" I argue. My hands shake with rage. How dare he say those things? I haven't done anything to harm them!

"Those could be fake memories," Raphael growls. He is in my face now. "They could have messed with your mind so much, that the things you remember aren't really about you!"

"Raph," Leonardo tries to step in.

"Stay out of this, Leo!" I snap at him. "Let him say what he wants. I can prove him wrong."

"Then why haven't you?" Raphael's green eyes seem to see straight through me. "You say you remember things. Well, why can't you remember the most important ones? It's convenient how you can recall your whole life, but you can't recall anything to do with the Kraang! Shouldn't that give us all a right to be suspicious?!"

A stinging retort dangles off my tongue. Before I can release it, however, a new, cold voice spoke.

"So, the turtles have a new recruit, huh?"

The owner of the voice is terrifying. It's a girl no older than me. She crouches on the ledge of the roof. Her hair is short and dark with a hint of blonde peeking out from behind her ears, of which are covered in piercings. Her eyes, though they look faintly familiar, are hard and mysterious. The make-up she wears only increases the fear that is provided at the sight of her.

"Hardly!" Raphael growls at the newcomer, while the other turtles look at her in surprise. All except Michelangelo.

"I was trying to tell you dudes that she was here!" Michelangelo looks faintly irritated for once in his life. "But you never listen to me!"

Raphael ignores his brother. He seems set on making it clear to this girl that he wants nothing to do with me. "She isn't a part of us. She's just a nuisance."

I am too shaken by the mysterious girl's arrival to argue with him. And the next words she speaks do not ease my nerves.

"You wouldn't mind if I took her off your hands, then?"

Leonardo steps forward to confront the mysterious girl. "Why would you want to take her?" he asks. His body language has changed suddenly; he moves stiffly and his muscles are slightly flexed. His blue eyes are locked with her golden-brown ones. I know he is a straightforward turtle, but never like this.

"Well, you obviously don't want her," the girl reply nonchalantly. "Might as well put her to some use."

I look at Michelangelo, who appears beside me. "Who is she?" I whisper.

"Her name is Karai," Michelangelo breathes. "She's a kunoichi, a female ninja. She's the daughter of the Shredder."

I raise my eyebrows. That is not reassuring.

"She's not yours to take," Leonardo say calmly, bringing my attention back to him.

Karai laughs coldly. "She is when my father is looking for her," she rumbles.

Donatello and Leonardo exchange alarmed glances before the blue-clad turtle speaks up again. "The Shedder can't have her, either."

Karai smirks and snaps her fingers. Robot-like figures fall into place around us, their mechanically eyes gleaming with blood-thirst. They trap us in a tight circle with no way out.

Karai removes a tanto from her sheathe, the blade reflecting the moonlight. "Who's going to stop me?" she challenges.

Immediately, all of the turtles, even Raphael, remove their weapons. They protectively surround me, their shoulders squared and teeth gritted.

"We are," Leonardo growls.

"We'll see about that," Karai narrows her eyes dangerously and gets to her feet. "Footbots, seize her!"

The dark-robed figures launch themselves into action. There are so many that each turtle has their hands full in a matter of seconds. The Footbots push the turtles so hard that the mutants have a tough time staying in place.

"Don't break positions, team!" Leonardo calls to his brothers as he battles against two Footbots at once.

Though I'm terrified, it gives me an indignant feeling. They shouldn't have to fight for my sake. I can defend myself. I mean, that's what Leonardo and Michelangelo have been training me to do.

"Leo, I can help," I tell him.

He knocks out another set of Footbots before replying. "You haven't trained enough," Leonardo disagrees. "I can't let you. Just stay put." Another 'bot jumps at him and he jabs his katana through its face.

Donatello overhears the exchange. "Trained enough?" he questions, his brown eyes like lost puzzle pieces. "What are you talking about? You can't train her!"

Leonardo flashes me a panicked expression as he realizes his mistake. But he is saved from having to reply by a Footbot nearly taking his head off.

"Leo!" I jump forward to help him, but a hand drags me back. I spin around to see Raphael's gaze blazing into mine like fire.

"I don't know what you think you've gained by training with them, but I know it's not good enough for real enemies. So stay put!" Raphael scolds me sharply. Then, without waiting for a response, he goes head to head with Karai.

"Come on, Raph, just hand her over." Karai's voice is smooth like a snake's, and her eyes reveal no emotion. "You said yourself that she isn't important."

Raphael attempts to swipe her with his sais, which she simply dodges. "She isn't, but I stick with my brothers," he replies viciously. He launches his weapons at her again and nicks her ear.

Karai isn't fazed. She glares at him and guards herself with her tanto. "Why protect her if you don't need her? Just hand her over and we'll let you live."

"I don't plan on dying anyway," Raphael spits back. He raises his sais again, but she has the advantage. She jabs her tanto into the rooftop near his foot, narrowly missing. It sets Raphael off-balance. Then she grabs the red-clad turtle by the neck and places him in a head-lock. Karai puts her weapon against his throat.

"No!" I shout angrily. I run at her, my dagger extended, and aim for her shoulder. I miss, but it's enough of a movement to surprise Karai.

Distracted from her prey, Karai turns her cold eyes in my direction. She swipes her tanto at me. It snags my arm and pain shoots through the newly created cut. I fall down onto my knees, momentarily weakened. I should know better than to do that, however, because it gives Karai the opportunity to seize me.

In the process of grabbing my arms, though, she has to release Raphael. He lets out a yell and brings his sai into contact with Karai's stomach. His weapon bounces off of her metal gear, but the force is too much for her.

She lets go of me as she stumbles backwards. She smacks into a Footbot and it drops off of the roof, barely saving herself from the same fate. A loud crash is heard on the concrete below; it's only a matter of time before it attracts unwanted attention.

Karai recovers quickly from her moment of confusion and looks around at her robot soldiers. Most of them is disassembled all over the rooftop. The few remaining ones have stopped fighting and are cornered by Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo.

"Retreat!" Karai yells. "I'll be back for you," she hisses in my ear, before she fades into the night with her team.

Her words rang through my mind. She's going to come back. It's a scary thought, but it makes my fingertips tingle with eagerness. No matter how afraid and inexperienced I am, the words start a fire inside me. I want revenge. I want to destroy her.

But most of all, I want to be ready for when she comes back. I want to show her I'm not just a dead weight to the team. I want to prove myself.

I have never wanted anything so much in my life.

"Is everyone alright?" Leonardo's question crashes my train of thought.

"I'm good," Donatello reassures, while Michelangelo gives a thumbs up. Raphael simply nods.

My gaze fixes on where Karai disappeared. If only she knew the trouble I'm going to bring to her...

"Elizabetta?" Leonardo is in front of me. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head to clear it and look at the turtle as convincingly as I can. "Nothing. I'm fine. Can we go back to the lair?" I want to sleep so I can start my training; for real this time.

"You're bleeding," Leonardo murmurs. I follow his gaze to the cut on my arm. The pain from it has dulled so much that I forgot it was there.

"It's fine," I respond impatiently. "Can we go back?" I repeat myself.

"Yeah, we need to go home," Donatello agrees with a slightly annoyed expression at Leonardo. "You have some explaining to do about this whole 'training' thing."

Leonardo shoots me a look that I can't read. Then he nods. "Let's go home, team," he orders. We all fall in behind him as he leads the way.

Raphael steps up to my side. The expression on his face tells me he has something important to say.

"I know you probably hate me," he begins awkwardly. "But I just wanted to say... Uh..."

"'Uh'?" I echo him in confusion.

"Thanks," Raphael finishes. "That's what I wanted to say." His voice isn't as rough as it normally is.

A smile threatens my lips, but I don't give into it. Why should I be nice to him when all he does is insult me? "I did what I should have done, even with lack of training," I reply neutrally while looking straight ahead.

Raphael's expression drops a bit. "Right. Of course." His gaze hardens back to its normal state and he walks further ahead of me.

I immediately feel guilty. "Raphael, wait," I call, but if he hears me, he gives no clue.

A lump forms in my throat. That was his attempt at making amends, and I blew it. Great.

The cut on my shoulder is suddenly a lot more painful.