I wish I could say that the first and only time I had ever been beaten to the point of blacking out, but it wasn't. I lost track of time. I don't know how long I was there for. The routine, for a while, was a pattern. Someone would bring me some kind of slop for a meal. When I was retrieved to answer questions, I would try to fight Bradford. After I was knocked out cold, I'd either wake up to Baxter Stockman taking notes on me, someone bringing me food, or Bradford waiting for me to wake up so he could get a reaction out of me.

     One evening, I was brought into the throne room again. Lately, the intensity of the torture had increase. Because part of the deal had been to keep me in one piece, Bradford couldn't kill me. However, he took pleasure in doing as much damage as he could before I blacked out. This go round, he had the audacity to throw me across the room and into the wall.

     I cried out in pain. While in some ways I had adjusted, there was no way to put an end to the amount of bruises and cuts that lined every inch of me. I was pulled up and thrown down some feet away from the throne. I struggle to push myself onto my forearms. My head had been knocked pretty hard and I knew the spikes on the back of his giant hand had hit me. I could feel the trickle of blood somewhere on me. I was too disoriented to really feel where.

     Shredder leaned forward, staring down at me, "You have resisted telling me this long. Tell us where the turtles are."

     "I've resisted for this long," I pushed myself up to my knees, "what makes you think I'll break so easily."

     I remember flying across the room. When I landed, Dogpound pinned me and everything went dark. When I woke up, Baxter was outside of my cell taking notes. I could smell the blood and alcohol. When I moved, I could feel all of my muscles start shouting at me to just lay down, but I had to see the damage done. My eyesight was blurry and touching the side of my face, I could tell it was pretty swollen. My arms were covered in cuts and some were closed with stitches.

     "Subject seems to be doing fine." The scientist clicked his pen as he attached it back to the clipboard, "Tell me, how are you feeling."

     This is where I would have sarcastically said, "I'm doing great, thanks."

     The problem is, no words came out of my mouth.

     I know he saw me try to talk too. He was quick to start taking notes. I sat there, trying to speak, but I couldn't get a word out. Every here and there was a noise or a vowel sound, but I couldn't speak! I started panicking. My breathing picked up and I sat there crying, making noises, but no words.

     I heard Baxter mutter, "Oh no..." He wrote something and ran off.

     I was left in the cell, my chest tightening. I couldn't breathe. My body hurt, my head hurt, my chest hurt. I couldn't breathe! I couldn't breathe! All the while I tried to shout, but all I could do was cry, and whimper and scream. My hands were covering my ears and I was curled into a ball, praying this was all a dream.

     However, once I finally calmed down again, I was left alone for hours. Going by the light in my cell, at least a day had passed before I saw anyone. Dogpound came down to my cell and dragged me back to the throne room.

     I whimpered as I landed in front of the throne. Shredder stood tall, blades exposed and ready to cause damage if need be... Was he going to kill me?

     "It's about time you've said something, girl." He took slow steps down towards me and I couldn't move.

     I started hyperventilating again. I tried! I tried so hard to say something. I could feel my mouth moving. I could hear the creaking of armor and Dogpound breathing heavily. I could smell all the blood from the past and present and it all got to be too much. The moment those blades got too close, I screamed as loud as I could. Head ducked, covering my ears, sniveling and sobbing. I couldn't look the danger in the face. I was scared. I was in pain. I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom. I wanted our farm. I wanted to be in my room in my bed watching a cartoon that wouldn't hurt me.

     I was so absorbed in staying in my little bubble, I panicked when someone pulled my tail. Without a second thought, I turned and bit whoever had grabbed me. I was met with a fist to the face and blacked out again.

     As I later found out from Baxter Stockman, I bit Dogpound hard enough to draw blood. Because I could no longer speak, arrangements were being made to return me to the Kraang. It's not like I could complain, so I sat in the corner of my cell, waiting for my fate.

     I think maybe two or three days later, it was Fishface who came to retrieve me. I could hear his mechanical legs a mile away. Nothing was as loud as the first day I got mutated, but it was still decently loud. I simply got up and followed him out. My hands were forced behind my back and tied with a rope.

     First, I was thrown into a van and driven to an unknown location. When the back doors were opened, I could only guess we were nearing the harbor as the heavy scent of the sea hit me. Dogpound grabbed my tail and threw me away from the van, I grunted as I skipped the ground like a pebble getting skipped on water. Within seconds, I could only guess some of the stitches opened up again as the lovely scent of iron filled my nose and the substance started dripping down my arm.

     Fishface, surprisingly, helped me up, "You better stop before you actually tear her to shreds. The Master will kill us if we are responsible for breaking the deal."

     "She bit me!" Bradford grabbed me by the waist, squeezing me tightly enough to make me gasp for air. "I won't let her get away with it."

     To an outsider looking in on my dilemma, I could only imagine someone would laugh at the face I made. Outnumbered and out matched, here I was with the audacity to glare at the mutant dog. I couldn't believe he was still hung up on the fact that I bit him! The anger was short lived as I got tossed over the rooftops and hit many different structures and nearly fell to my death two times. After the next rescue, Dogpound threw me over his shoulder and I chose to bite into the muscle of his back as hard as I could.

     I got him to yelp, but it was no victory as I was thrown to the ground. His giant paw picked me up by the neck and held me over the alley. I knew I had crossed a line, but I just wanted this all to stop! I lost my voice! I lost my home! I had undergone nothing but beatings for what felt like years. I just wanted it to all end so I could escape. Knowing what happened to Leatherhead later on, I knew the Kraang could only make it worse.

     He held me over the alley by my neck and threatened me by slowly removing one finger at a time from his hold. Soon, I was only suspended in the air by what should have been his thumb and index finger. I was swinging, scratching, wildly trying to find some kind of hold. I wasn't ready to meet the end.

     "Maybe you can show us where the turtles are and we can forget about this," Dogpound growled, "Or I will drop you this time."

     I struggled violently as his grip tightened around me. Fishface was trying to reason with Dogpound, but it was getting hard to hear and breathe. I was beginning to think I was going to fall to my death when a voice cut through the air.

     "Let the girl go, Dogpound!"

     I stopped and looked up. I could clearly see the turtles thanks to my night vision. However, the excitement was short lived when Dogpound's grip loosened dramatically.

     "It would be my pleasure."

     I screamed when he let go, however, it got cut short. I stopped falling abruptly and found myself behind a chimney. I watched as the turtles fought against Fishface and Dogpound. I took my chance and I ran to the fire escape and climbed down. As soon as I reached the bottom, I ran into an alley across the street and hid. I could still see the fight from down below.

     "Well, well, well. Look what we have here boys."

     I whipped around in surprise to see my new delima. I wanted to shout my frustration the moment my eyes landed on the Purple Dragons. I would have tried to scream if Hun had been with them, but thankfully he wasn't.

     "Looks like a little girl playing dress up," the shorter of them was punching a fist into his hand.

     I hissed and backed away from them only to bump into the third and lead Dragon. He grabbed my arm so I couldn't escape. Next thing I know, he had his pocket knife in hand.

     "Hold still and we won't hurt you," he threatened as he pressed the blade against my neck.

     In a last ditch effort, I opened wide and bit his arm, tasting blood in my mouth. When he let go, I bolted away and jumped on top of the dumpster. I hissed like I was a feral cat, wishing this night would end. I just wanted to get away! I wanted to be left alone. I wanted these people to stop HURTING me!

     My ears started twitching as I started picking up conversation from overhead.

     "This girl is a magnet for trouble," a gruff voice said and I could almost hear the eye roll behind it.

     "At least she's got some skill," another one added.

     "Who cares? We gotta help her," A third voice yelled.

     Seconds after, the ninja turtles themselves jumped from the top of the building and in front of me. I watched as they took out the Dragons like flies from the shadows. Once the Dragons ran away, I jumped down from the dumpster top.

     "Are you alright, miss?"

     Startled, I tucked myself into the corner between the dumpster and the alley wall. I was scared. I just wanted to go home.

     I looked to the shadows and saw the four of my heroes. Also, the indirect cause of my mess. I blinked, staring at each individual turtle.

     One of them started to approach me. I tried pressing my back closer against the wall. I wasn't sure how to feel. I wasn't sure how to act. In the moment, I couldn't process everything that happened. While they did save me, I still hadn't wrapped my head around what was going on. My next concern was them perceiving me as some kind of threat. I just didn't want to be hurt anymore and I was well aware I would be dead meat if they felt threatened.

     The turtle that stepped into the light of the alley was none other than Donatello. I stared at him with wide eyes. Was he calculating me? Was he going to talk to me? Try to fight me?

     Donnie, seeing my distress, stopped at my reaction, seemingly surprised himself. He slowly crouched to the ground and kneeled a few feet away from me. What was he doing? I eyed him and his weapon nervously. The logical part of my brain was trying so hard to tell me everything was going to be okay now. The heroes were here and it would all be okay. Instead, the adrenaline wouldn't allow me to feel safe. My mind was flying down a rabbit hole of internal self-debate. These were the teenage mutant ninja turtles! Somehow, after everything, I couldn't trust that I was safe.

     Donnie slowly raised his hand to touch his staff and I tensed. Was he going to hurt me? Would I have to fight? Would I have to run? Where would I run to?

     I flinched when the bo staff was unsheathed and tossed aside. The tallest of the brothers reached his hand out to me.

     The gruff voice from before that I now recognized as Raphael's growled, "Donnie... that's not a good idea."

     "Raph, something's wrong," Donnie responded, never taking his eyes off of me. "Can you tell me what happened?"

     I shook my head and wearily looked up and across the street where the last fight had been.

     "Alright, she's fine. Let's go," Raph grumbled.

     "Aww~! But she's so cute," a new voice I realized belonged to Mikey, cooed.

     Raph whacked him upside the head. My ear twitched when I heard heavy breathing from above. I rushed to push Donnie out the way, just narrowly avoiding Dogpound's landing. Fishface soon followed after. I couldn't get away. Dogpound grabbed me again. This time, squeezing me to the point I cried at the pain it was causing.

     "She's not going to answer you, turtles. She lost her voice. Can't speak, can't say anything," Dogpound started crushing me even more.

     "It was you who made her lose it," Fishface stated reading his switchblades, "You're just mad a mutt bit you."

     I gasped, Bradford, at this point, had tightened his hold so much I felt something pop. I couldn't breathe and my vision was getting cloudy. Sharp pain erupted from my shoulder and the world was dimming around me.

     "Paws off of her, Dogpound," someone shouted.

     I blacked out before I could even see the fight.

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A/N: If you guys could see the original way this chapter was written, we would all be cringing!

But anyway, this is a quick little note to say Alexis is entering the tv series after The Alien Agenda if anyone wants to know the timeline of events. 

Until next time,

Muse