Our Little Sister-Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Mystery Deepens
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It had been a couple of days since the robot attack on the old lair, and the Hamato family was finishing up furnishing their new home. Well…except for Athena. After the unusual "air' movements from the other day, the youngest of the Hamato clan was so exhausted that Splinter excused her from training and moving everything in so that his daughter could get some rest.

On the second day of their new life in their new home, Athena opened her eyes and scanned her new room. Her stuff was still packed in boxes and her bed was assembled, but it was bare of sheets and she was lying in a sleeping bag and a pillow.

Sitting up, Athena stretched out her arms and arched her back.

"Oh, what a day."

She then heard her stomach growl.

"Oh. Guess it's time to eat."

Flipping off her sleeping bag, Athena turned on her bed and placed her feet into her green fuzzy slippers. She then looked at the small hanging mirror and gave her long, thick silver hair a quick brushing.

Hey, she lived with four brothers. She didn't want to give them something to laugh at.

After her hair was straightened out, Athena grabbed a white robe and placed it over her body, which was in a pair of grey pajamas. As she headed out of her new room, Athena overheard Donny and Mikey talking to each other.

"What's the matter, Mikey? Can't decide what to watch?" Donny asked as he finished welding off an old pipe.

"I need more power~r, captain. The Turtle Cave must be set for maximum entertainment potential."

Athena sat down watched from the edge of the second story walkway as Mikey was hooking up over a dozen TVs so that took the place of one large screen. Knowing Michelangelo, things don't always go on the first time. That fact was proven when he turned on the TVs and after a brief light show, nothing was happening.

"Aw~." Mikey groaned.

After the TV experiment failed, Donny approached the youngest of the brothers.

"The Turtle Cave? That is so lame."

Mikey then pointed to Donny.

"What will you call our new digs? The Shell-ter?"

Donny gave it some thought before he came up with a name.

"Uh…How about 'The Sewer of Solitude?'"

Athena gave mental commentary while she was watching this.

"Not really a place of solitude if a family of mutants plus one human lives here."

"Terrapin Station?" Mikey asked.

"Not a chance."

"The School for Gifted Reptiles?"

"Two out of six residents are in the mammal category, Donny."

"The Hall of Nin-Justice."

"Ok. That is a lame name even for you, Mikey."

Splinter then cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his three children.

"We will call this place…Home."

From her spot, Athena grinned.

"Ten out of ten, Sensei."

The boys gave it some thought before Donny nodded and Mikey spoke.

"Mmm…Catchy."

"Good." Splinter spoke. "What do you think; my daughter?"

Athena nearly fell from her spot when she heard her father address her without looking at her. The two brothers looked up to see their startled sister. Chuckling nervously, Athena answered her father.

"It's perfect, Sensei."

"I have got to figure out how he does that."

Donny then used his Ninjitsu to jump up to the walkway and approach his sister.

"How are you feeling, Sis? What are you doing out of bed?"

"Better than yesterday and my stomach woke me. I came out to get some breakfast and sneak back into bed without any of you noticing. But I guess I still need to work on my stealth." Athena answered.

Mikey, who had joined his siblings later on, spoke up.

"You had me and Donny fooled, Sis. You know that none of us had been able to sneak pass Master Splinter. You're getting better."

"Thanks, Mike."

As the three made their way down to the first floor, Splinter spoke.

"Now. What is keeping Leonardo and Raphael?"

Mikey answered as he was moving a rolled-up rug.

"They just went to get the last of our stuff from the old lair."

Donny then spoke up as he went to examine the robot remains he gathered from the other day.

"And the way the Sewer Slider is performing, they should be back any minute now."

But then he stopped talking as the part he was working on sparked.

Athena shook her head has she went into the new kitchen in another chamber and prepared a bowl of strawberry oatmeal.

"Those clowns."

But as she was making her meal, her thoughts went on about what had happened the other night. What the heck had happened to her and how did she do those "techniques"? It wasn't much help when she went to sleep for the night and had the weirdest dream of her life.

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Flashback-Dream Mode

From the comfort of sleep, Athena began to feel that something was…odd. It wasn't wrong, but it was not normal. Her body glowed with a dimmed light, illuminating her body. While the rest of the environment was pitch black. She would have considered it a blank dream were it not for the sudden appearance of four doors, bathed in light. Each door was a solid oak and had a circular symbol engraved on the upper part of the door.

The first door had a yellow-ish seal with three spirals in the form of a triangle. As she could approach the door, she felt a wind gently caressing her body. It also kinda reminded her of Mikey.

The second door's seal was a light blue with a wave-like design. When she approached the door, she felt a cool fluid-like aura radiating from it. It reminded her of Leo.

As she approached the next door, which was green with a symbol that reminded her of a Japanese coin in a lighter green color. She felt the ground beneath her feet slightly shift but remained sturdy as she smelt various plant smells. She thought of Donny when she left the door as she approached the last one.

This door she could clearly remember Raph as she felt a wave of heat rush at her from the door. It felt like she was standing in front of an entrance to a volcano, ready to erupt any minute.

Then, her body began to move involuntary to the center of the circle of doors. As if she were a marionette, she began to move in an unusual pattern. Her arms moved in a circular motion until a strong wind left her in the direction of the yellow door. Her body then began to feel like she had turned into water and perform a Tai-Chi-type move that cause a stream of water that flowed from the blue door to freeze into ice.

She then stomped her feet in a Hung Gar style to cause a boulder of earth to lift from the ground as she jumped kicked it to the green door. And at the red door, she performed a move in Northern Shaolin style. This caused flames to leave her fist and hit the door.

Athena then walked back into the center of the circle of doors and before she could do anything, she was enveloped in a cocoon of the four elements.

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The dream still echoed in her memory. Almost like a scar. What bothered Athena was that it seemed so real. It felt more like a premonition than a dream. In the end, she shrugged her shoulders as she finished her oatmeal, put the bowl in the sink, and headed back to her room. Along the way, she spotted her family, including the recently returned Raph and Leo, watching something on the news. Being the kid that she was, she just shrugged and headed off to bed.

Later that day, Athena woke with a fright at the sound of a woman and Mikey screaming. She frowned as she thought of what it was.

"Guys. How many times must I tell them to keep it down when other people are asleep."

Groaning, Athena got up from her bed and put her slippers back on her feet. She then got her robe and left the room.

"Hey guys. Can you…What they hey?"

What she thought was one of Mikey's horror movies was really a woman, who seemed to have passed out. She then found her brothers and sensei talking about what to do next.

"What the heck happened?" Athena nearly cried out, jumping down from the second story to join her family.

The four turtles and the rat looked at her.

"My daughter. I thought you were still asleep."

"I was. But then I heard a pair of screams. I thought it was one of Michelangelo's horror movies and he screamed with it, so I came to tell him to turn the TV down. I just never expected this. What happened?"

They boys explained to their sister on how they came across the woman and that they saved her from the Mousers, which they learned from the news what it was.

"She woke up a few minutes ago, probably about three seconds before she screamed, and passed out just now after seeing Master Splinter." Leo finished.

Athena looked at the woman and sighed. She then looked to her adoptive father.

"Master Splinter. I know that you tell me to hide from humans. But it seems that talking to you or the others isn't going to get us anywhere if she keeps passing out. Since I am the only one closest to being human, I think it's best if I talked to her when she comes to. Don't you think?"

Splinter had to give it some thought before realizing his daughter's logic.

"Hmm. You do have a point, Athena. When she wakes, it would be best if you were the first thing she sees."

Athena then bowed.

"Thank you, Master Splinter."

They boys were about to protest when Splinter told them that that was his final word on the subject. Knowing that there was no other way, the turtles respected the rat's wishes.

Athena quickly went back into her room and got her shinobi outfit on, leaving the mask off and tying her hair back in a simple low ponytail before she went to make some tea for Splinter and their guest. Once that was done, Athena took a seat next to the couch and began to ponder about the dream she had been having.

It was about an hour before she saw the woman waking up. Putting the dream aside, Athena placed her attention on the woman. The woman had red hair tied up in a bun, was dressed in tan cargo pants and a purple bellyless t-shirt, and dark shoes. She placed a hand on her head as she groan.

"Ugh. What happened."

Athena answered.

"You passed out after seeing our sensei. I took over in looking after you and answering most of your questions."

The woman looked at Athena with as slightly startled, more curious look.

"You-you're a kid. But what are you doing here?"

She then noticed the turtles and the rat, who were scattered around the lair doing their thing.

"Where are we? And who are you?"

Athena answered each question in the right order.

"I live here. The rat is my adoptive father and sensei while the turtles are my elder brothers. You're in our new home within the New York City sewers, and my name is Athena."

She then offered the woman a fresh cup of tea, which she gladly took.

"Now what about you. My brothers told me how they found you, but they haven't said a name."

The woman sipped her tea, then replied.

"My name's April O'Neil. I was an assistant researcher at Stocktronics. That is…until I ran into some trouble."

Athena raised her hand.

"Hold it. Before you tell me what happened, I think it's best that the whole family hears this."

The woman looked warily at the mutants before Athena spoke again.

"Don't worry about them. They may be a bit…odd. But they're nice guys."

She then looked to Splinter.

"Master Splinter? I think it's ok now."

Splinter approached the two, while Athena tried to calm down a nervous April.

"My daughter speaks the truth, Miss O'Neil. We will not harm you unless you intend to harm us."

"Okay~?" April replied, still wary of the rat.

One by one, the family gathered around the sofa. April took a few sips of her tea before Mikey asked her, "So. You ok now?"

April gave a smile, but was still wary.

"Yes. Thanks. I've decided that this is a very long dream that I keep not-waking up from, or it's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."

Splinter then spoke up.

"Young woman. We have something most important to discuss."

"What?" April asked, concerned.

Splinter than answered her.

"We have never revealed ourselves to the Upper World. You have placed us all in great danger."

Leo looked to his sensei.

"But Master Splinter. She was in trouble and we helped her."

"Y-yeah. Aren't you always trying to teach us to do the right thing?" Raph asked.

"As you grow older, you will find many way to…do the right thing. But there is no going back." Splinter spoke, a hint of worry in his voice.

He then looked to April.

"I'm afraid we find ourselves at…your mercy."

Surprised at this, April held up one hand and spoke.

"Oh! I would never tell anybody. I mean, who would believe me?"

"She's got a point." Donny spoke.

"Yeah. We're unbelievable!" Mikey joked, doing a couple of poses.

"Geez. Where's your OFF switch?" Raph spoke, annoyed.

April then placed her hand over her heart.

"Seriously. I promise."

Without another word, Splinter got up from his chair and walked over to April, looking into her eyes. It was moments before he spoke.

"I believe you."

Leo, joining Splinter, asked, "Is this another lesson, Master Splinter? How to sense the truth."

"No. This is called 'Trusting your gut.'"

Athena giggled lightly at Splinter's comment.

April then spoke again.

"So, if I'm keeping your secret, what exactly is it? I mean, who are you people- eh, turtles...whatever?"

Athena listened lightly as she went to get a fresh batch of tea while Splinter explained the origins of her family and herself. She had heard the stories a couple of years prior and it still haunted her and her brothers that someone wanted the silver-haired girl dead.

When she returned, Splinter was finishing up the tale.

"So we have remained in secret. And that is our story."

"But…how did you know martial arts?" April asked.

Splinter told her like he told Athena a few weeks back.

"That is a story for another time."

Their conversation was interrupted when Mikey called out.

"Hey guys! Look at this."

The family and April approached the TVs as a news report about an unusual bank robbery that took place in broad daylight.

Seeing the similarities to the attack the night before, Mikey then asked, "So. Anybody wanna take a guess at what did this?"

"So this is what I heard Dr. Stockman talking about. He's got the Mousers robbing banks." April spoke up in realization.

Raph then asked an interesting question.

"Whadda you know about this Stockman guy?"

"He's a genius. And he also nuts. I used to work for him. But when I got suspicious, he turned the Mousers on me. Luckily I ran into you guys." April explained.

Leo then spoke up.

"He destroyed our old lair."

"Must've been one of his Mouser test runs." April added in.

"But…that was our home." Mikey spoke in shock.

"Now he's graduated to banks!" Donny realized.

It was then that Raph stood up, crossing his Sais in front of his face.

"Then what are we waitin' for? I say we shut down Mouser Central…permanently."

Mikey chuckled at the sentence.

"Ha. I just love those action movie lines. You write those yourself?"

Athena then walked over to April.

"Ignore him."

"I was told that already." April told the girl with a grin.

It was plain as day that these two girls were going to like each other.

April then returned to the thought she had before Athena spoke to her.

"It won't be easy. Stocktronics is rigged with the latest up-to-the-minute security tech."

Mikey chuckled as he approached the purple masked turtle.

"Bring it on. Allow me to introduce our very own secret weapon. The techno turtle himself: Donatello! Take a bow, Don!"

Donny laughed as he spoke to his youngest brother.

"Heh. Aw~ Cut it out."

Raph then growled to his brothers.

"Can. We. Go. Please!"

Athena sighed at her brother. She sometimes wondered if he knew patience is a virtue. As they were getting ready for the break-in at Stocktronics, Athena got her mask and Tessen before coming back out. But Leo stopped her.

"No, Athena. It's too dangerous. Stay here with Master Splinter."

"Leo! You're not the boss of me!" The youngest of the Hamato family complained.

"No. But I am your older brother."

"So are Raph and the rest of the guys!"

"Well I'm the eldest. And I'm telling you to stay put."

Athena was about to say something back when Splinter intervened.

"What is the matter, my children?"

Athena then told Splinter.

"Leo says that I have to stay here when I can help too. I know I'm young. But I recovered from what happened the other day and I'm ready to go."

"Master Splinter. You and I both know that this is too dangerous for Athena to join us. But she refuses to listen to me."

Splinter gave it little thought before speaking again.

"Your sister goes with you, Leonardo. While it is true that she is young and we do not know of the effects the events of yesterday had done to her. But she is strong as any of you. And I have a feeling we'll know more about her if she goes with you."

"But-!"

"Take your sister with you."

Athena was feeling very victorious when Splinter turned to her.

"And you, my daughter. Should something like that happen again, ask your brothers to help you. I know that you are trying to prove that you are growing up, but even the most beautiful of blossoms can come to be if they take their time. So do not be afraid to call upon your brothers if you need help."

Athena nodded as her father's request. But a victory is a victory and she headed to Mikey and Raph. Leo looked on, frustrated at how rebellious his little sister was becoming. Donny, seeing this, went over to his brother's side.

"I know it's exasperating, but you and I both knew that a day like this would come. Soon, you won't be needed as much as it used to."

"I know. And that's what I'm afraid of."

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The turtles and the two humans made their way through the labyrinthine sewers of New York City. They had to take their time as April and Donny took out the motion alarms along the way. But it was worth it once they were inside Stocktronics.

Crawling out of the ventilation, Raph asked April, "Is this the place?"

April then pointed out to a set of double doors in front of the vent.

"There's a computer terminal in that lab. Get me in and I can create blank spots in the security system to get you through to Stockman's lab."

Raph then decided to use that as a joke, gesturing to Mikey and Athena.

"Don't look now. We already got a couple of blank spots right here."

"Hey!" The youngest two of the family complained at the insult.

Raph then leaped out of the vent, looked to see if the coast was clear, and then helped April out. He then shook the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge. He then took out one of his Sais and picked the lock, allowing the siblings and April access to the lab.

April then raced to the terminal and hacked into the security system.

"Ok. I'm in. I'm blanking the cameras along that corridor at ten second intervals. So you've got to keep moving."

"We'll be right back." Leo spoke.

"Good luck…"

But when April turned her head, the turtles and the silver-haired girl were gone.

"Hey. Those guys are good."

The siblings made their way down the corridor quickly before the ten seconds were up. When they entered the dark lab, Leo whispered.

"This is too quiet."

It was then that Mikey felt that something was wrong.

"Uh…guys? My turtle-sense is tingling."

It was at that moment that the doors to the lab closed on their own and the lights went on.

"Intruders? Here to steal my secrets? You will leave here with nothing. Not even your lives."

A voice over the intercom spoke. The Hamatos figured that it was Stockman.

Stockman, an African American man with glasses and a flat-top cut, looked at the thermal image on his computer screen.

"What ARE you?"

He then pressed a button.

"No matter. I suppose I'll have to dissect you to find out."

It was then that the mechanical arms of the lab came to life and positioned themselves around the siblings.

A laser fired out of the first arm, but the siblings dodged it in time. Each of the Hamatos dodge the lasers until Donny used one to blow up the other arms before ripping out the wires to destroy the arm he was on.

Athena watched from a distance as Raph and Mikey performed a move they called "Slingshot" to hoist Mikey up to the observation deck, where Stockman was. Mikey broke the window, causing Stockman to fall back. Leo, who had made it up to the deck, spoke.

"Your reign of terror is over, Stockman."

Mikey grinned as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"You've been practicing that?"

Leo grinned.

"You like it?"

"What are you?" Stockman asked as Athena, Donny, and Raph joined their brothers, followed by April at the only other exit on the deck.

"They're with me."

Stockman turned to find that April was, surprisingly, alive.

"April! You're alive!"

April then walked over, her eyes narrowed at the scientist.

"And kicking. I've got enough evidence to put you away for years, Dr. Stockman."

Stockman then pressed a button, but Raph grabbed him by the collar of his lab coat before he could do anything else.

"That's enough!"

But Stockman laughed.

"Too late. I've recalled the Mouser horde from their latest mission. They'll be here any second! They'll tear you to pieces."

April ran over to the console as Leo asked, "April?"

"I'll have to shut the whole system down!"

Donny ran over to another part of the console.

"I'll help!"

"You're doomed. Listen." Stockman spoke.

Sure enough, through another door came the Mouser horde that Stockman called. And there were more than what attacked the old lair.

"April. Now's the time." Leo spoke warily as he and Mikey saw the Mousers climbing up the ladder to the observation deck.

"Ugh. The system isn't responding!" April spoke as she worked furiously to shut the Mousers down.

Stockman managed to slip out of the room and into the elevator.

"You shouldn't have matched wits with me." He spoke as the elevator doors close.

"He's getting away!" Mikey called out.

"Let him go. We've got bigger problems." Raph responded as the Mouser horde surrounded them.

Athena's heart raced. There was no way that they could get out of this alive. She could see it. Unless a miracle happens, they we're done for. Then, as if her prayers have answered, the mysterious man's voice, who had told her to trust him the other night when they had the mysterious ninjas on the truck the other day, spoke to her again.

"Tell me, child. What is the opposite of Air?"

Athena was thinking at what in the world was she thinking up riddles when she and her family were about to die. But the voice helped her before, so she'll trust him. For now.

"Earth?"

"That is correct. Watch. This is the power you possess." The voice told her.

It was then that her mind went blank again, her eyes closing as she collapsed. They brothers and April turned their attention from the Mousers to the fallen girl.

"Athena?" April asked.

"Are you ok, Sis?" Leo asked.

His question was answered as "Athena" opened her eyes, which had become the glowing, fiery white eyes once again.

Leo stood back as Athena stood up, her eyes giving the room a bluish glow.

"What the shell is going on?" Raph called out in surprise.

"It's Athena. She's possessed again." Leo told him and the others.

"Possessed?" April and Donny asked, unsure of what is going on.

But before anyone could say anything, Athena moved her arms in a circular motion, causing a huge gust of wind to knock the Mousers off the observation deck. She then jumped out of the broken window of the deck and used the air to give her a gentle landing. The Mousers, who turned their attention to her, began to charge at Athena. But Athena performed some Hung Gar-style movements and immediately caused a boulder of earth to come up from the steel-covered ground and high-kicked it at the Mousers.

With the boulder taking care of a number of the Mousers, Athena then performed a unique style of Northern Shaolin martial arts at the Mousers. This action caused flames to appear from her fist, melting the Mousers closest to her. Then, using the Hung Gar-style again, Athena used the earth to break a water main, causing the water to burst out. She then used form of Tai Chi-like moves to control the water until she had a good amount around her body. Then, with swift movement, she released the water onto the Mousers and, with more unusual movements, froze the Mousers in place, causing the water on their bodies to short out the robots.

The brothers and April watched in amazement as Athena used the elements around her to attack the robot menace.

"Whoa~! She's defiantly gotta teach me all of that!" Mikey spoke.

"Who knew our little sister can hand fire so well?" Raph spoke in admiration of his sister's current use of fire as a weapon.

"I don't think that this is her doing." Leo spoke.

"I agree. There's no way Athena could do all of that. It's physically impossible." Donny spoke.

"No. It's as if something is amplifying her new abilities." Leo answered.

"Wait. This happened before?" April asked.

As Athena fought and Raph and Mikey watch, entertained, Leo explained to Donny and April of what had happened the night before. When he was finished, the Mousers were smashed, melted, or short-circuited. It was then that the entire building began to shake violently.

"Uhh…guys. I think is time to get out of here." Mikey spoke.

As if she was hearing her brother, Athena moved the earth again, causing a large hole to appear.

She motion to her brothers and April to follow her as she jumped in.

"You think we should follow her?" Mikey asked.

"No time to discuss this. The entire building is about to collapse!" Leo called.

He then headed to the hole, where his sister was waiting at the bottom. Raph and the others joined up with him. Once the four brothers and April were on the same level as her, Athena then controlled the earth again, closing the hole before she collapsed from exhaustion.

"Athena!" Leo called out.

Looking above, Donny motioned that even though Athena closed the hole, there was still the threat of rubble crushing them. So, with Athena in Leo's arms, the group headed back to the lair.

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When they returned to the lair, Splinter immediately saw his unconscious daughter and practically demanded an explanation on what had happened to the youngest of his children. Everyone but April, who had volunteered to put Athena to bed, explained to Splinter of Athena's unusual fighting skills and what had happened.

When April came back, Splinter, after a few minutes of rest and seeing the reported destruction of Stocktronics on the news, decided to see to his ailing daughter. When he arrived, Athena was in her bed, pajamas and all, sleeping far more heavily than ever before. He placed a fatherly hand on his daughter's head as he whispered.

"It seems that your destiny has decided not to wait any longer, my daughter. When you wake, I will tell you what you are."

He then moved back a strand of hair, hating that it was soon time to tell his daughter of why she was nearly murdered.

"My little Sakura."

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Meanwhile, in a business building on the surface, Stockman was facing his employer, a Japanese man dressed in a white and grey warrior kimono with two red flame-like symbols on each side of his collarbone.

"So as any fool could see. The whole thing was simply a minor setback. With your continued funding, the research can continue immediately. I'll be back at work, oh…Monday morning."

The employer, who had placed on a bladed gauntlet moments earlier, stood up and spoke, pointing the blades of the gauntlet at Stockman.

"Or…you must pay the price for failure, Dr. Stockman."

It was then a large, muscular man with tied back gold hair with a flame tattoo on one arm and a purple dragon on the other, came up to Stockman and dragged him away, kicking and screaming.

It was then that a man with some sort of tech on his head entered the room.

"We have the images you required, Master."

It was then that the man used the last of the Mousers to show the thermal imaging of the turtles and the whole video of Athena's attack. Seeing the girl, the man raised his hand at the other man.

"That will be all. You have done well."

The second man bow before leaving the man alone.

Looking at the image, he snarled angrily.

"So. It seems the Avatar is alive, after all. I must find her. And end her."