At four years old, the Hamato kids found themselves growing more and more curious about the world around them. Not only that, but they became more and more intrigued by their parents. Many questions started to show up in their developing brains, just begging to be asked.

Leonardo

Dean toddles over to Destiny as she reads Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, pulling himself onto the couch and standing next to her. He rests his hands on her shoulder, toying with her long brown curls. A fanged smile falls across her face as she slips a bookmark into her spot and sets it down, looking at her young son.

"Hi Dean," she says. "Having a good day?"

He nods. "Uh huh, but I have a question," he announces.

"You do?"

He bobs his little head up and down as he reaches his hand over to her face, running it along the scarred half of it.

"Why do you have these?" he wonders.

Destiny feels her heart clench, his innocent eyes meeting hers. She takes a long breath in, releasing it after a second.

"Dean...do you remember all those stories that we've told you?" she asks, lifting him into her lap and letting him sit there.

"Yeah! Like where you and dad and uncles fought aliens!" He grins.

"Well, how about I tell you another story?" She smiles at him as she ruffles his black hair. "Would you like that?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, so this story is about...a man made of metal and a leopard," she starts, choosing her words carefully. "The man of metal hated our family, more than anything. He got an idea in his head that I could...help him."

Dean frowns. "You would never help a bad man."

"That's right, but he didn't want to stop trying," she continues. "So, one day, he made sure that I came to his home. When I got there, I met a leopard. Let's just say...your mom doesn't always know when it's best to shut her mouth." She lets out a dry laugh. "The leopard didn't like me, so she gave me these."

The wolf-raven woman touches the dark scars, those markings that have marred her face for so long. Dean reaches up and touches them again, his face confused.

"So she hurt you because she didn't like you?"

"Yes."

His tail flicks. "Why didn't she just tell you she didn't like you?"

Destiny smiles weakly. "That's...not the way enemies work, Dean."

He looks up at her again. "Why can't they go away?"

"They're a reminder," she answers. "Whenever I see these in the mirror, it reminds me to be strong and protect my family. Without them, I wouldn't be the same."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, but then a smile falls across his face. "Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"You're still the prettiest person in the world. I wanna be like you and daddy one day."

She feels tears well in her eyes, but she holds them back as she hugs her little boy. "Yeah, I'm sure one day you will."

Raphael

"Mommy? I wanna know something," Copeland says.

Taylor looks up from her guitar, adjusting her shirt. "Yeah? What is it?"

She moves closer to her mom, placing a hand on her tattooed bicep. "When will my pictures show up?"

Taylor's hazel eyes widen a little as a laugh breaks through her. "Your pictures?"

"Or my special thing," Copeland adds.

"Special thing?" asks the older woman as she watches her daughter.

"Yeah, 'cause daddy has his special chip thing, and you have pictures. When will mine show up?"

Taylor laughs, realizing what her daughter means. She shakes her head, calming her laughter as she looks back at Copeland.

"Oh, honey, these things don't show up," she explains. "You get them, or you earn them."

"How do you earn them?"

"Well, I don't know how your daddy earned his chip, but I chose to get these pictures," she explains. "They remind me of my past and how I've gotten better."

Copeland touches her mom's tattoos, puckering her lips thoughtfully. "Can I get them too?"

"Only if you choose." Taylor pokes her nose teasingly, making the young turtle giggle. "Maybe you'll earn your own special thing one day, hm?"

She grins. 

Donatello

Asher and Dakota walk around the laboratory together while Sarina works nearby. The fraternal twins look up at the numerous pictures hanging on the walls, noticing a couple of young babies. Asher gazes at one in particular; there's a baby girl, obviously Dakota, and a human boy with brown hair and mismatched eyes.

"Kota, look," he says.

"What?"

"There's a human baby."

Her red eye flashes as she looks up at it. "Okay, let's ask mommy."

The twins turn and race over to their mom, one twin on each side of her as they rest their hands on her knees. She looks away from her work and down at her children, smiling at them.

"Hello darlings," she greets.

"Mommy, there's a human in those pictures," Asher says, pointing.

Sarina's eyes flash. She expected the twins to question this one day, but she can honestly say that she didn't think they'd ask so soon.

"Well, that baby is you, Asher," she explains, sliding off her chair and kneeling in front of them.

Dakota shakes her head. "No, mommy, Asher is a turtle. Not human."

"He was born human," Sarina says. She looks at Asher again, his face holding questioning. "There was an accident with some mutagen when you were very little. Since the last thing you touched was your dad, you became a turtle."

"Woah..." Asher whispers. His forehead wrinkles. "But...if I was a human, how did you and daddy have me?"

Dakota nods, eager to find out why that is. Sarina smiles, unfazed by the question.

"Well, you know how Dean and Copeland and Mitch all have their parents?" she asks. The twins nod. "Your cousins were gifts to your aunts and uncles from someone very kind and powerful. For your daddy and I, we didn't get gifts."

"What? Why would the kind person not give you a gift?" Dakota asks.

"That's the thing. I don't know," her mother answers. She pulls her twins closer, lowering her voice. "But I have a secret. You can't tell your cousins."

"Promise," both twins whisper. 

"Your daddy and I got the chance to choose you. We went to a special place where two little babies had just shown up, so we decided to bring you home as our own little miracles."

"So...we weren't gifts. We were chosen?" Asher asks.

"Exactly." Sarina's intelligent gaze flickers to her daughter. "Dakota, you were very weak, so with the help of your grandpa Bishop, we mutated you into a cyborg like me."

"That's so cool..." Dakota whispers.

"We really are special," Asher proclaims, puffing up his little plastron. "I'm glad I'm a turtle. I'm more like daddy!"

Sarina just laughs.

Michelangelo

Mitch practically bounces up to Annalise, who's currently tapping away on her computer. He hops up next to her and hugs her neck.

"Mummy, I wanna ask you something," he says.

"Yes, Mitch?"

"Why do you get freaked out sometimes?"

She arches an eyebrow. "Freaked out?"

"Yeah, like when you're sleeping. Sometimes you'll wake up and pant and look scared," he says. "Why?"

"Oh..." she murmurs. "Um, well...I went through a hard time in life when I was young, and because of it I sometimes get nightmares," she explains. 

"Hard time? Like what?" Mitch asks.

She purses her lips. "A bad woman trapped me in a scary place, and I couldn't get out until your Auntie Sarina saved me."

"Ooo! With Ker-ka?" he pipes up.

"Yes, Circa," she corrects. 

His baby blue eyes widen. "Can Ker-ka hurt you again?"

"No, not at all. She's very far away," she assures him.

He grins. "Good. If she does come back, daddy and I will kick her butt."

Annalise laughs and kisses his forehead. "That's my boy."