TMNT - A Cry For Help

Leo stood in the entry to the dojo. His hand firmly griped to the doorway, as if to hold him back from running in. He meant to stay out of sight, just to watch his father mourn the loss of his only daughter. Finally, after sixteen long years, he had been reunited with her. And now she is lost again.

Splinter held on to the only photograph in existence of his once happy family. His long claws ran along the side of Miwa's face. For less than a day was he able to hold her in his arms again. And her touch would not soon be forgotten.

Leo watched, his heart beating faster and faster. Realizing that he and his brothers will never be as important to Splinter as Miwa is. He had her in his arms, and he dropped her. Into the mutagen of all places. Nothing Splinter could say to him about that would be harsher than what he told himself. He would have rather himself fallen into the container. That way, at least Splinter could still be with Miwa and he would be the hero, no matter what his consequences would be. Splinter's happiness is all that mattered. He replayed the event over and over in his head, thinking about all the things he could have done to prevent what happened. He came to the conclusion that he reacted the wrong way. He could have done so much more. He could have saved her.

"Leonardo, enter." Splinter's calm voice filled the silent air.

Leo jumped at first, startled by the disturbance, but quickly catered to Splinter's command. "Yes, sensei," he responded, kneeling behind his father.

Splinter set the photograph back down on the shelf. He sighed and turned around to face his son. Immediately, Leo could detect the grief in his eyes. "My son, do you know why I named my daughter Miwa?" He asked.

Leo shook his head, understanding that Splinter wasn't expecting him to answer.

Splinter looked back at the photograph another time. "Because, Leonardo, the day she was born I looked into her young innocent eyes and saw for her a future of success and strength. I could tell that she would be strong. I knew Miwa was the perfect name for such a beautiful bright woman." He reflected, the nostalgia obvious in his eyes.

For days he had been preparing to confront Splinter. He had finally worked up the courage to approach him about the incident. Finally he was ready to talk discuss what happened, and yet Leo had no response. What could he possibly say to make up for the grief he had caused. It was clear to him that Splinter would not soon recover from this loss. He sat, sweat beading down his forehead and tears welled up in his eyes. He had nothing to say. Not a word.

Splinter shook his head slightly, "Go Leonardo, please. And leave me to my meditation." He said softly before retreating to his own room. Leo understanding that he was not spending all this time meditating.

Leo stood up. He slowly exited the dojo, listening to the muffled sobs of his father. He passed his brothers on his way to his own bedroom, giving them a small smile in passing. Raph and Mikey sulked on the couch cushions, some cartoon they were clearly not interested in watching playing behind them to avoid the silence. Donnie was hard at work on a retro-mutagen. He had done it once before, for Kirby. Surely he could do it again. And for certain he would not stop until he could return Miwa to her former self. He wouldn't be able to face his father until he could do just that.

Leo envied Donnie. Donnie could help. Donnie was useful. He could undo all of Leo's mistakes. What good was he. He had no useful quality. Donnie could use science to save the day. Mikey brought small bits of joy into their broken hearts. And Raph's anger fueled everyone's motivation. What could keep do to help, slice the mutagen out of Miwa. Preposterous. Leo's particular skill set proved useless in this situation. Collapsing onto his sewer mattress, he lost his emotions for the eighth time today. How could he have been so stupid. How did he not notice Shredder behind him. He believed everything was his fault, because he didn't act quick enough.

Raph groaned, jumping up from the couch and tossing a throwing star straight through the TV screen, "Why are we just sitting here!" He said to no one in particular.

"And what would you rather we do, Raph?" Mikey humored Raph's outburst.

"Anything but this. What good are we just sitting here staring off into space, Mikey. Wouldn't you rather be up there, trying to find her. Trying to help her." Raph explained.

"Help her what, Raph. She doesn't remember-" Mikey was interrupted.

"You're wrong. She does remember. She had the opportunity to crush Splinter, to eat him for dinner, but she didn't. Because she knows. We just have to help her remember." Raph suggested.

Mikey shrugged, not seeing any flaw in Raph suggestion. "Alright then, let's go." He hopped off the sofa himself and ran towards the turnstiles. They clicked twice, signifying two turtle exits. And before anyone could even register their escape, the two were chasing the horizon from the rooftops of New York City.

Mikey smelled the fresh Spring evening air, "Feels good to leave the lair!" He shouted to Raph, several paces in front of him. No one had thought about leaving the lair for weeks.

"Hush Mikey, we're on a mission, we can't draw attention to ourselves." Raph scolded, feeling a sickening sensation at how much he sounded like Leo.

"Michelangelo," a familiar voice called from a distance.

The two turtles stopped dead in their tracks and faced one another. They recognized the voice, and immediately knew who called for the youngest, the loudest. Raph was skeptical. It could be a trap. A trick set up by one of the Shredders incompetent henchmen. Or a trap by Miwa herself, her new species reviving her cunning and decisive nature to snag a meal.

Mikey, on the other hand, didn't wait for any kind of signal before running off in the direction of the voice. He was sure it was Miwa calling him for some kind of help.

"Mikey, wait," Raph whispered to no one, as Mikey was already out of earshot. He quickly traveled  behind, his skepticism encouraging him to beat Mikey. Lost in a sea of doubt, Raph didn't notice Mikey stopped in front of him. He fell over, and jumping up quickly to clobber his younger brother, he noticed the reason for Mikey's sudden halt: Miwa.

“Help me.” She whispered. Her human form restored, like she had never been mutated. No serpentine tail or venomous fangs. She looked as she did suspended in the cage, like nothing after ever happened. Like Leo never dropped her. She looked human. Raph pressed his hand against his left eye, remembering the pain from the venom she supposedly spat at him. Perhaps they all shared a nightmare. Perhaps none of that ever happened.

Mikey rushed to Miwa's side, pulling apart her bindings and aiding her to her feet, throwing one of her arms around his neck. Her head hung down, bangs covering her face, obviously exhausted from something, and she muttered a slight phrase of gratitude. Mikey looked up at Raph, "Come on, bro. We have to get her back to the lair, before Shredder finds her or something."

Raph still felt skeptical, something in his gut told him she couldn't be trusted. But despite his gut feeling, he ran over to support her other side. The two of them took her back underground where she would be safe from Shredder and his goons. Her head hung the entire trip, and she remained silent. When they sat her down on their couch, she kept her head low, hiding her face.

Donnie heard three clicks of the turnstiles and rushed out to see who or what returned with the two that left earlier. He dropped his test tube, shattering it and spilling it's contents, when he saw a human Miwa sitting on the couch in front of him. "But...how is this possible? We all saw her get mutated." He asked, dumbfounded turning his head to look at Raph and Mikey.

"Dunno, dude. We found her tied up on a rooftop. She asked for our help. And we brought her back home." Mikey explained.

Leo heard the commotion going on outside his room and decided to investigate what was suddenly so interesting. The lair was silent for weeks, and now there is some kind of uproar. As soon as he saw the back of Miwa's head, a red flag went up. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Raph and I found her beaten down on the rooftops. We had to bring her back...before someone or something else found her." Mikey told Leo, sensing his doubt.

"It's some kind of illusion. One of Shredders tricks. She could explode at any second. Foot bots could be on their way here as we speak." He hesitated to step closer.

"No, Leo, I'm really me." Miwa spoke, turning her head slightly to face him while still remaining veiled by her hair. She stood up and walked over to the leader in blue, "tru- believe me." She set her hands on Leo's upper arm.

Her fingers were cold as ice and Leo retracted from their touch. "How can we be sure?" He asked.

She paused, lifting her head for a moment. "Interrogate me, I'll gladly comply" her tone was playful, but Leo only heard sinister.

Leo looked closely at her. His eyes widened when he saw the serpentine slits cutting through glowing yellow orbs. He was about to expose her when Splinter entered the living room, having heard his daughter's voice. "Can it be true?" He asked.

Miwa smiled, turned and walked over to Splinter, returning her eyes to the floor. “Father,” She quickly wrapped her arms around him and he did the same to her.

Leo jumped over the couch, pulling Miwa off of Splinter. He did not believe this was Miwa at all. There was no way she could be human, they all saw her fall into the container of mutagen and climb out a vicious serpent. He stepped in front of Splinter and pulled out katanas.

“Leonardo, what has gotten into you.” Splinter scolded, greatly offended by his intervention.

“Trust me, sensei. She's not what she appears to be.” Leo remained at the ready, staring down Miwa as she laid on the floor.

Donnie, Raph and Mikey stayed on the sidelines, confused and equally embarrassed. Leo hadn't been right since the incident. They feared he would never truly recover. Knowing that Leo would suffer serious consequences from Splinter for throwing down his daughter.

Miwa stood up, angered. She let her fangs show, then her eyes. And in seconds she was the serpent that they all watched emerge from the mutagen. She darted past Leo and moved for Splinter.

Overcoming their awe, the brothers moved to protect Splinter. They manged to restrain her and transport her to Donnie's lab. They locked her into one of Donnie's containment units and all watched her from behind the glass. Splinter looked deep into her serpentine eyes and excused himself back to his room.

Donnie quickly ran some tests as the rest watched as she morphed from girl to snake back to girl again. Like a cartoon character having the ability to change its form, she can control her mutation. Donnie was puzzled, he didn't even know that could happen. Shape shifting was all just a myth. Science had proven that people don't have the mental capacity to just change their cells at will. But that's exactly what was happening right before his eyes. He looked at her and smirked. Now that he possessed her DNA, making a retro-mutagen would be easier.

Leo looked at her. He placed his hand on the glass, "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I did this to you." He told her apologetically. Miwa gazed back at him, holding her human form for the time being. She placed her hand on his. And even with her venomous fangs exposed in her hungry smile, he could tell he was forgiven. The real Miwa was still in there somewhere.