Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Perhaps it wasn't wise for the head of one of the largest upcoming criminal enterprises to be running the rooftops of New York by herself at 3am. 

But fuck it, Karai needed this. No Shini, no turtles, no bodyguards. Just herself and the wind, and the witching hour feeling as the city got as quiet as it ever got. 

Somewhere in the distance, police sirens wailed and a child cried. But that wasn't really any of her business. Perhaps if she were one of the turtles, she'd go and investigate, see what good she could do and be. But she wasn't them. 

The city that never sleeps, indeed. 

As a child, Karai had heard stories about New York. What child hadn't? The man she'd then thought of as her father had told her of the lights and her tutors had told her of the constantle busy-ness and the struggles, and she'd begged stories of the streets off of the soldiers who had traveled between the continents. She'd dreamed of herself here. 

The reality was nothing like her dreams. 

The lights were just as bright, but less of the enchanting reflections like she'd imagined them to be, and much more of a telling spotlight. The busy-ness, which she had imagined to feel so much like Tokyo's, was somehow still so foreign and unfriendly. The streets here were crueler than she had thought they would be, and half the time it seemed that it was her inflicting the danger upon them. 

Her legs ached as she pumped them, running and jumping between roofs. Not going any particular place, but going for the sake of feeling them. Something about the reminder that she was here and alive and this wasn't some sort of twisted dream or fairytale. 

Somewhere in the distance, she thought she heard the roar of a giant mutant alligator or snapping turtle. Always was hard to tell. 

By this time of night her... turtles... would have retired. Instead, the late night or extreme early morning shift was taken by the Mighty Mutanimals. Perhaps what you referred to the time as made you a glass half full or glass half empty person? 

She mused on this absently, nearly missing the bright pink explosion of light below her. Nearly. 

Instead, she paused for a moment, the hue itself registering in her mind as something frighteningly familiar. Kraang? Now? Again? 

Quickly, she ducked down onto a fire escape, pulling out her phone and pulling up Leonardo's contact. Thankfully? Donatello had figured their shell phones to be compatible with the network her phone was on, as well as O'Neil's and Jones'. Just made it easier instead of having to carry around both a cell and a bulky shell phone. 

There was a clattering in the alley. 

"Ah, what the hell?" A small figure popped out from some trashbags, looking like they'd just been thrown there. Karai bit her tongue to hold back a sharp reprimand that instinctually came from her. No one had ever accused her of being particularly maternal, but the kid looked like they couldn't have been any older than fifteen at most. She was closer to thirty now than she'd like to admit, so that made her the 'Responsible Adult' here, right? 

They were dressed somewhat garishly, if she were being honest. Like they were on their way home from an 80s themed party. Ripped black jeans were the only normal part of the outfit. If she squinted, she could make out what appeared to be a body suit of fishnet, covered by the jeans and a cropped white top. The worst offenders were the bright electric blue boots and matching jacket--completed with shoulder pads. Long blonde hair giving away to dark black roots was tied up in a ponytail, fastened in place by a blue wrapping and a metalic pin. 

"Hey, guys?" The kid looked around, tone melting into audible distress. "Hello? Fuck, where's my odachi...?" 

Karai's eyes narrowed and she silently lept down another two flights, putting her as low down as she could possible go. She watched as the kid turned back to where they'd come from, nudging at the trash with a blue boot before leaning down with a triumphant little aha and pulling out a (frankly ridiculously long) blade. 

There was groan from somewhere else in the trash pile. Karai winced and felt something smolder in her chest as she watched the kid plonk the blade into the ground and lean forward on it to peer into the trash and the dark. "Dee?"

A bag was lanched from a couple feet from where the kid had been looking, revealing an equally disheveled kid. This one was dressed much more normally. Black jeans matching the first, but with a much more toned down dark purple pair of tennis shoes and a dark purple hoodie. Big glasses laid askew on their face and a purple bandana held back most of the kid's long curls. 

Karai watched with interest as the kid leaned back and closed their eyes, before letting out a rather emphatic "Fuck."

What was up with that? She hadn't cursed so much at that age, had she? 

Purple (because calling them by colors felt so much easier than just 'kid' and 'other kid' in her head) seemed to still a bit after that. She couldn't tell if they'd passed out or if they were just thinking. But apparently neither could Blue, as they looked around in a panic. Finally, she got a good enough look at Blue's face to register the bright red eye makeup and panicked look to their gaze. 

For some reason she felt compelled to jump down.

The kid startled at the sound of her, even though she'd been quieter than most people knew to listen for. Karai raised her hands to show that she wasn't looking to cause problems before asking a quiet, "You ok kid?"

Blue squinted at her before nodding slowly. "Uhm. Yeah, maybe. I think so? So long as we're not in Jersey, anyways. Are we in Jersey?"

She snorted, "God, no. New York."

The kid's shoulder slumped in apparent relief as they nodded. "Huh. Ok. My twin and I, we uhm. I think we got separated from our family somehow? I don't really... I'm not really sure how."

That sounded believable. But... "You always carry that with you?"

She nodded at the odachi, backing up when the kid quickly yanked out of the ground and waved it around a bit. 

"Ah, yeah. Never go anywhere without her," he grinned, large and toothy. "I'm Lee, by the way." 

"Karai," she wasn't sure why she gave him her name. She shouldn't have, all things considered. And yet, there was something about him that struck a chord within her. 

The boy looked at her, and for a moment the lights were reflected in eyes so blue they made her chest hurt. At one point, she'd known a pair of eyes like that, blue and wide with youth.

There was another groan, and the boy looked away to the other on the ground. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," The kid groaned, reaching up to briefly touch on the purple headband and then on the pair of glasses like they were checking they were still on.

Karai shook her head, ridding it of ghosts. "Well. Now that we've established that, mind telling me where the two of you came from?"

Purple-twin shook their head, frowning up at her as they lifted themselves out of the trash. "We're just... a long way from home. I don't know how far, exactly." 

Lee looked concerned, circling his twin and brushing things off the kid. "Dee." 

Interesting. Dee, assuming that was their name, fidgeted awkwardly before staring at Lee. They just stared for a moment, long enough to make Karai feel fidgety when Dee sighed and stepped back to fall into Lee's left flank. It was like the two had had a conversation beyond what she could hear or understand. 

The twin in blue took the lead. "So. Karai, right? You haven't seen three other kids, right? One's huge n red n a little bit older than us. One's tiny and orange and doesn't shut up. And one's a girl dressed in a yellow jacket."

She thought briefly of O'Neil, dressed in that eyesore jacket that always managed to make her skin look sallow. 

"Can't say that I have." 

The kids looked deflated. 

And that shouldn't have bothered her. Two kids alone in NYC. It happened. All the time. She remembered from her time as the snake-outside-her-control, slithering through the darkened corners of the city, seeing the encampments. Some mixed bags, but some comprised entirely of youths. They would be fine on their own, or if they made their way to a shelter. 

Instead, what came out of her mouth was "So, you're far from home, right? Need a place to stay for the night?"

They looked at her with narrowed eyes. And that was fair. What normal adult just offered to take in strange teens? Not many with good intentions, that was for sure. But even as Dee began to bite at their bottom lip and worry it between their teeth, Lee nodded up at her. "I'm gonna trust you. Because slider-stripe solidarity."

Here, he pointed to the red stripes that mirrored her own. And wasn't that an odd thing to call them? Slider stripes. What did that even mean?

"But! If you try to take advantage of us, Dee will probably hunt you down for sport. And I won't stop them." Lee puffed his chest out as he motioned to the twin quiet behind him. 

The purple teen was all lanky limbs, and he'd maybe said five words total. But the whole time, he'd been fixedly staring at Karai with an intense gaze. And so, for not a single moment did she doubt Lee. "Yeah, that's fair. C'mon, I'm a few blocks away." 

Her... business'... headquarters were the remains of some of the Foot Clan's former enterprises. Her own group was differentiated from Saki's, but she'd be a fool not to take advantage of what the man had left behind. They owned the whole building. Some of which she used to house offices for various purposes, some offices she rented to other businesses (of the more legitimate variety) and the upper floors of which had been converted into specialty lofts. 

Of these, she had given some to especially important or endearing friends or employees, like Shini. 

Two were split amongst the turtles and their friends, although they never occupied more than one at a time. She suspected that they'd elected to use them as defusion-zones, a safe space for any one brother to escape to when the others became too much. Point in case, their most frequent occupant was Raphael. 

Her own was the largest, spanning the two top floors of the high rise building, equipped with a generous kitchen and two guest rooms, as well as other lovely ammenities. 

Both boys seemed transfixed by the windows more than anything, almost holding their breath as the sun began to make an appearance over the horizon. 

The additional light didn't do either of them any favors. Karai frowned as she noticed bruises that the dark had hidden previously, and hideously dark eyebags sported by both teens. 

They elected to share a room, but took her up on the offer to use both room's showers simultaneously to freshen up. This had been more of a demand than a request, admittedly, as they'd both reeked of garbage and her sense of smell was many times more delicate than a regular human's. Not that she would be telling them that. 

While they did that, she ran down to Shini's to grab some spare clothes that she knew would likely fit both kids. Her second in command fussed at her, annoyed both at the request and at the early time before following her upstairs to start some coffee, resigned to the fact that the whims of her best friend would keep her from going back to sleep. 

Both boys changed into the new clothes without fuss. 

Now, Karai could see that the makeup on previously had been hiding (or perhaps, accentuating?) twin scars down Lee's face, and she could see areas where cosmetics had been playing a similar (if not much more subtle) role on Dee. It made her stomach clench unhappily. Lee's eyes were so similar to how Leonardo's had been, all those years ago when they'd first met. They were almost identicle in hue, and had the same little tilt to them. The same shape. And the turtle had been so young back then. So had she. They'd both just been kids, really. 

Shini helped her whip up some quick snacks before both teens were shoved back into their guest bedroom to get some rest. 

"This is unlike you," her second in command lifted a brow as she fixed her with a Look over a steaming mug of coffee. 

"Yeah," Karai admitted lowly. "I couldn't leave them, but I don't know why." 

A smile flitted across her best friend's face. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone that you're going soft. So, what's their deal?"

"Soft my ass, I'll take you any time, any day," she sniped quickly back. "Just, found them last night. There was a weird light, reminded me of the Kraang. And then them. Don't think they knew where they were at first, and certainly didn't remember how they got there or seemed to know how to get home. I'll send them on their way when they're up again. And don't let me forget to tell Leo know about the light, he'll probably have Donatello check out the alley or something to be safe." 

"You got it boss," Shini chirped with an easy smile. "You gonna get some rest too? Still a few hours before your first meeting of the day."

Karai nodded. "You'll stay up here to make sure they don't need anything?"

She barely waited for a nod before letting herself shift. 

Feeling herself become the serpent was like stretching a muscle in all the best ways. Often, the only safe place she had to shift forms was here, or down in the sewers with the turtles. With Shini here to play interference if the twins wandered out, she would be able to at least get some rest and time to stretch out before she needed to tackle the day as her human self. 

The master bedroom took up most of the second floor of her loft, and featured some absolutely perfect heat lamps for basking, which she didn't hesitate to flick on before pulling herself onto the bed for a well-needed nap. 

Chapter Text

When she woke again, it was to Shini's laughter. 

A quick glance at the clock told her that she couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple hours. Which meant the kids couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple hours. 

But as she shifted back to herself and made her way downstairs again, she caught the flailing of Lee's arms as he apparently recounted some epic story to Shini. For her part, she was perched on the end of the couch looking both amused and genuinely interested in the story. 

It took another moment to catch sight of Dee. The other twin had wedged themselves into the corner of the couch as far from Shini as possible, but was curled around what seemed to be her laptop, typing away at it frantically. On their feet were some fuzzy purple socks with grippies on the bottom that Karai vaguely remembered giving her friend a few years ago, but she was absolutely certain had not been one of the items she brought up earlier. 

"Oh!" Shini grinned brightly as she caught sight of her. "Hey! Didn't think you'd be awake yet."

"Hi, Karai!" Lee waved emphatically at her before bounding over, leaping over the back of her loveseat to meet her at the bottom of the stairs. 

"How the--fu--I mean, how do you have so much energy?" She squinted at him, managing to stumble her way over to the coffee pot that was conveniently finishing it's brew cycle. A voice in her brain that sounded suspiciously like Leonardo was telling her not to curse around children. 

There was a low chuckle from the couch, which she could only assume was Dee. "He's like the energizer bunny from hell." 

Lee blew a raspberry over at his twin's direction. 

He then turned back to her, looking almost bashful. "So, we--"

There was a loud cough from the couch. 

"--and by we, I do mean I," Lee continued, completely unphased. "I was looking around, and saw that you have some super cool katana. And like a bunch of books written in Japanese. And your name is Karai. Are you Japanese too?" 

Little shit. But there was fondness curling in her chest all the same, amused by the teen's brazenness. "Yeah. Was raised in Tokyo and everything." 

Lee's eyes widened. "Dude. That's so cool. Our dad lived in Tokyo for a bit, but they came over stateside when he was still young. He keeps up an accent, but I think it's more for show than anything else." 

He'd leaned in for he last part, whispering to her like it was a secret. 

Her lips twitched as she tried to hold back her amusement. "You ever been?"

"To Japan?" He frowned, and reached towards his back. She hadn't even realized he'd managed to strap his odachi to himself until he swung it around and began to fidet with some loose piece of leather. "Nah, we don't really travel."

"That's a shame, you should go sometime. Experience your heritage." As she said it, something clung sticky to the edges of her mind. How long had it been since she'd last gone to visit? There wasn't much tying her there. But. There was something. 

Tang Shen had been laid to rest in Japan. Her ashes rested there. Yoshi's too. After everything, she'd managed to get the man cremated, bribes in the right place of course, and his ashes sent off to rest beside his beloved wife. She should visit. It was her duty as a daughter. 

But she hadn't been an only child. And her turtles would never be able to properly visit. Funny, how she'd never even thought of it until now. 

Raphael and Michelangelo might not adjust well to travel, but Leonardo and Donatello would love it. The thought hurt, just a little. 

Lee just shrugged at her suggestion, looking over his shoulder towards the couch. He then moved towards her coffee maker, somehow figuring out where the mugs were (probably from watching her) and pouring two cups. One of which he promptly delivered to the couch. 

Dee made a happy-sounding grunt when the warm mug hit their hand. They'd stuck their arm up from their little curled up spot, pausing in their typing momentarily as they somehow knew what their twin was doing even without looking. 

Cautiously, and with Lee still following and chattering at her, she went to go check on the quieter twin. "Whatcha working on?"

"You remember that tech issue I was having?" Shinigami answered for him on the other edge of the couch. "The one I wanted to consult your tech specialist for? Turns out our friend here is a bit of a tech specialist themselves. Had my problem solved in hardly any time at all, and then decided my computer security was, and I do quote, 'woefully negligent' and then set to work on updating that, apparently." 

Dee's toes wiggled, from what Karai could see of them where they were wedged into the couch. But they didn't correct Shini. So, that must've been an accurate enough description. 

"Dee's the best at anything and everything technical," Lee said, pride evident in his voice. 

Karai hummed. She was a bit surprised the teen thought their firewalls were so 'negligent', considering who she'd set in charge of them. 

In her pocket, a familiar little jingle started as her phone rang. She must've thought of him too many times, summoned him like Beetlejuice. 

Glancing quickly at the ID just to ensure it wasn't one of the others, she answered. "Moshi moshi."

"Karai," Donatello's voice on the other end of the line sounded tired and annoyed. "What is happening right now? I got a notification that someone was messing with my firewall, only to trace it back to your own apartment?" 

She sighed. Out of all the turtles, her relationship with Donatello was the most estranged. What they did have existed primarily in business. Which was not great, but at least was something. 

Leonardo's companionship had come most naturally. True, they had their ups and downs, but in the decade that they'd known each other they'd become reliable confidants. Michelangelo had been the quickest to accept her as family. Out of all the turtles, he was the first and most frequent to refer to her as 'sister,' something she still had trouble in applying to herself. Raphael had been slow to warm to her, but being able to provide a safe space for him to escape and a listening ear for him to vent to had helped. But Donatello... even after all this time she'd not really figured out the gentle giant, nor how to really talk to him. Which was a shame, all things considered. 

"Hey Don," she tried to keep her tone gentle. "So, we had a bit of a situation this morning." 

The whole story was retold, modified a bit so that Lee and Dee wouldn't have to hear anything about the Kraang, because that would lead to her having to explain the Kraang and ultimately her own mutation and the turtles, and cute as the little pests were she still wasn't sure she could trust them yet.

Over the phone she heard a slow hmmm that told her that Don was intrigued, if nothing else. Over the course of her story, there had been an increase in little clicks both on his end and from the couch, and she could see what looked like the start of a maniacal little smile on Dee's face.

"I'll fill Leo in," the turtle said, sounding distracted. "And I hate to admit it, but your little find is good. Almost as good as--heyheyhey hold it--"

Dee cackled. 

"I think they might think you're playing with them," Karai observed. Lee had settled on the couch just shy of his siblig and was looking on with equal parts awe and terror, which was probably not a great sign. 

Donatello's responding laugh over the phone did not sound any less mad scientist-like. "That's because we're having fun. Can't you tell we're having fun? Gotta go, bye sis!"

There was a telling beep. Karai lowered the phone to stare at it for a moment. 'Bye sis,' she mouthed to herself quietly, because she could count on one hand the amount of times Donatello had referred to her as his sister. It made her chest ache. 

Looking up again, Lee was staring directly at her, one of his legs bouncing on the couch. He looked bored. Which was... probably not good. 

"So, you know how to use and train with that blade?" She asked. Training might tire him out if nothing else. 

The teen just groaned. "Training? I mean, yeah, I know how to use it but--" 

"C'mon then," she motioned for him to follow her to a connected room. Smaller than she would have preferred, but it worked considering she was usually the only one using it. She'd given the turtles a larger training room, lined with the same mats as her own, knowing they needed the extra space and often trained in pairs if not all four at the same time. Perhaps if her guests stayed--

No. No, after today she was sending them on their ways, so it didn't matter. 

She dragged Lee into the training room, tapping at the edge of his odachi once they were in. "Off. We'll be using training swords after we warm up." 

The teen grumbled, but did as he was told, placing the sword into a corner of the room. Considering how careless he'd been with it that morning, he was almost reverant with it now. Interesting. 

Running him through warm up katas was an exercise in patience. He lacked discipline, but it seemed to be almost intentional on his part. Like he was saying 'I'll show you just how unruly I can be' in response to her making him do the katas to begin with. 

It was the exact opposite of sparring, once they finally made it there. 

All the discipline he'd lacked in the katas, he'd gained and doubled in his use of the wooden practice sword. Nearly-flawless technique combined with a quick battle-oriented creativity made him a genuine sparring peer. 

"Not bad," Karai settled in, bending her knees to ground herself against an oncoming blow. "Who'd you say you trained under?"

Because it was odd. 

As a child she'd trained under several masters. So, it was more than fair for her to say that no actual master of ninjitsu would allow a pupil to move on to weaponry until they'd absolutely mastered their katas and forms, until the discipline for them was practically beaten into the muscle. 

Lee grinned, all teeth and a frantic look in his eyes. "I didn't. I meant say, but also train! We just picked it up, a little here a little there yknow? Our dad helped some, with things passed through his family, but mostly we're self-taught." 

That made more sense. And out of the corner of her eye she could see Dee had moved to the doorway, had settled just next to the mats with Shini to watch. Karai wondered just how much knowledge 'we' shared, and was tempted to ask, but first...

She shifted her weight as she started downwards, not too much, but enough to make Lee think she was going for a feint. And when he went to counter, she quickly swept one of her wooden trainers under him, knocking him back to win their spar. It had been harder than she'd been anticipating. Much harder, in ways that made her glad that he wasn't someone she had to go up against outside of training. 

The teen groaned, splaying his limbs out dramatically. "Are we donneeeee yet?" 

"We're done," she made sure to hide the laughter from her voice before leaning over to help pull him up. "I've got a meeting to get to, but we should talk when I get back." 

On her way out the room, Dee was staring at her again, curiosity in their eyes. She thought he would ask, but all she got was a quiet "Good luck" before she was off, Shini following in her footsteps. 

Her companion was quiet until they were in the elevator down to their offices. "That was something. What are you thinking?" 

"I'm thinking," Karai mused softly "that if those other siblings are anywhere near as good as Lee is, I don't think I'd mind trying my hand at being a sensei. Any obections?" 

Shinigami grinned, just as much teeth and wildness as Lee's smile had been. "No, can't think of any."

"Good." Karai wondered if her grin was just as much teeth and ferality. She certainly hoped so. 

Chapter Text

Several hours later, Karai came home to a disaster. 

Out of respect for her late... Yoshi... she'd never owned a cat. Plus, the fur would've irritated her sensitive scales. But this seemed like the scale of mass destruction that cats were notoriously capable of. 

Lee, who for once seemed to be behaving himself, sat in front of the television and seemingly completely enraptured by some old Space Heroes reruns. Actually, he might be a little too into it, considering he was almost drooling over the captain... Jonas? Henry? 

She'd never been one for sci-fi, but this was still one of Leonardo's favorite shows after almost a decade, so maybe she could set up some sort of chat for them to nerd out over. Freaking nerds. 

More immediately concerning were the various appliance parts scattered all around the living room. 

"What the hell?" Shinigami looked equally confused, taking delicate care not to step on anything. 

"Oh," Lee finally looked over at them. "You're back! Dee got bored. It was terrifying." 

"Bored?" Karai repeated, not sure if she was angry or in awe of the sheer destruction that the twin she'd thought of as quiet had been able to get into. 

"Mhmyup," Lee wasn't really looking, entranced by the show again as the commercials ended. 

There was a suspicious noise from the kitchen, so Karai gathered herself together. Slowly making her way over, she peeked around the corner to find Dee leaning into the oven. For better or for worse they were completely oblivious to the world around them, so she sprinted over and yanked them by the waist to wrestle them over to the living room again. 

It was a bit like what she imagined wrestling a soap-covered bear would feel like. 

The teen shrieked and wiggled in her grasp until she plopped them down next to Lee, and even then Dee had the audacity to hiss at her. 

"What the hell were you thinking?!" She waggled her finger at him, feeling only slightly silly. Was this what owning a cat was like? She was pretty sure she'd seen cat owners do this. 

"You were gone all day!" Dee threw their hands out emphatically. "So we watched Space Heroes, which is fine I guess. But then I noticed that your kitchen was operating at mere sub-optimal levels, so I started making improvements. And then I upgraded the improvements! And then upgraded the upgrades!" 

Karai could feel a pressure building behind her eyes. Pinching at the bridge of her nose she sighed deeply. "Are you able to put the kitchen, and anything else you took apart, back together? Like now?"

Dee shrugged, looking only mildly guilty. "Yeah, sure, on it!" 

Shinigami had perched on the kitchen counter and was muffling a chuckle. Very poorly. Karai rolled her eyes at her best friend before moving to the couch next to Lee. "So, you've been watching that all day?"

"Mmm, most of the afternoon," Lee turned to grin at her. "Man, this show is great! Captain Ryan is almost as good as Jupiter Jim! Almost. No one is quite as cool as Jupiter Jim!"

"Really," Karai drawled out, doing her best to ignore her own intrusive thoughts. "Never heard of him." 

Challange failed. Intrusive thoughts one, Karai zero. 

Lee gasped, dramatic and drawn out, and immediately launched into a very vibrant and scattered retelling of the apparent sci-fi franchise while Karai tuned out and nodded every so often. Maybe he could tell, maybe not, but he seemed pleased that she was humoring her. 

It made her heart ache a bit in that same way it had the previous night. The kid reminded her so much of how Leo had been all that time ago, back before he'd had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Hadn't he given her that same excited look? Sure, they hadn't known they were family back then, but...

What if they had? Would he have gone on funny little info dumps about his favorite stupid cartoons? Could she have called him a nerd and then rolled around wrestling with Raph? 

What did it say about the nature of the universe that she would never know? 

Thankfully, by the time Lee was done, Dee had finished up in the kitchen. They really had managed to put everything previously on the floor back in a place, although she honestly had no way of knowing if it was the correct place. Shini had overlooked the work, but looked no less confused. At some point the other girl had managed to procure a glass of wine that she was swirling thoughtlessly as the watch the twin ramble to themselves while bustling about. 

"There! Satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back!" Dee cheered for themselves, settling their hands on their hips. 

"What money, I'm not paying you shit," Karai snorted, unable to keep her filter. "You took my house apart unprompted, remember?" 

She got a raspberry blown at her in return, along with a sassy little roll of the eyes. 

"I'll beat you," she threatened in a very non-threatening manner. Clearly the little goblin knew that she didn't mean it too, since they just giggled and ran to join Lee in another Space Heroes episode. 

Rolling her eyes and ignoring Shini's laughter (the traitor) she pulled out her phone to text Leo for some backup. 

"What do you do," she muttered to herself as she typed, "when Donnie gets bored?"

"Oh my gawd," Shini crowed. "You text like an old lady! You say your texts out loud! That's what old ladies do!" 

"Shut up I do not!" Karai took her cat-slash-Dee-shaking finger and shook it at Shini. 

The other girl just doubled over, skillfully managing not to spill any wine. "Yeah, whatever you say obachan!" 

Thankfully, Karai was spared from having to kill her best friend as her phone started to chime. Pulling it out and putting it to her ear without checking the ID she answered. "Moshi moshi."

"Karai!" There was a very panicked-sounding Leonardo on the other end. "What's going on, when exactly did Donnie say he was bored? Was it when you called him this morning!? You should've said something sooner, what--"

"Woah, hey!" Karai frowned, and made motions like she was placating the turtle although the only person there was Shini (still laughing). "Calm down, Donnie didn't say anything about being bored."

"He didn't?" Now she could hear the rustling in the background behind Leo. "Oh, but your text?"

"Is about someone very similar to Donnie," Karai rolled her eyes (again) fondly. 

"Oh! You should've said. Hey guys, the Purple Alert was a false alarm!" 

Karai laughed as she heard Raph complain loudly in the background, somewhat muffled by the sound of Mikey cheering. Presumably she was on speaker then, as she could hear the clattering of Leo messing around with something in the lair. 

"I'm sorry, what is a Purple Alert?" She asked. 

"It's high alert, brah!" Mikey said from somewhere near the phone. 

"Yeah," Leo drawled, sounding much more clear. "Master Splinter learned early on that letting Donnie get bored is a real big no-no. It doesn't happen as much these days, since it seems like we've had one thing after another happen, but when it does usually either Raph or I will take one for the team and just completely ruin something around the lair that's important-looking. Sometimes something with the heating, or the electric. Whatever. Gives him something to focus on until the next big invention or emergency. The last time we didn't, he took apart our kitchen!"

"Our whole kitchen, brah!" Mikey echoed sadly from the back. "It was a nightmare! It took me two months to make pizza again because I couldn't figure out the oven upgrades! Although, we don't ever have issues with things not cooking all the way in the middle now? Like you know, when things bake around the edges and not the middles? Man, I hate that shiz--"

"Enough Mikey!" 

There was a bang and some squealing and clattering, and Karai snorted a bit in amusement. "Yeah, I can understand the predicament. I've got something like that going on here. Took apart my oven and only spirits-know what else."

"Hm," Leo hummed thoughtfully. "I can have April and Casey bring up some odds and ends for your person to distract themselves with. Does this have to do with the kids you told Donnie about this morning? The one that made him yeet his laptop across the lair? I haven't seen him that worked up in ages. It was brilliant. I'll send you the vids and memes later." 

"Please do," she smiled at the thought. Dork. "And yeah, it's the same kid. The help would be appreciated." 

"Cool! Gotta go, we're gonna try to duct tape the thing Raph broke back together before Donnie finds it," she could hear Leo's smug little smile over the line. 

"Sounds terrifying. Hope he catches you," she said before hanging up. 

Shini handed her a second glass of wine. "Such a handful."

"The turtles or the twins?"

"Yes," she laughed. "They'll all be giving you grey hairs before you know it. The curse of being an oldest sibling, ey?"

"I don't know," she hummed. "Not like I've done much in that area really."

"You've been doing your best. Not your fault things are weird." Shinigami pulled a face like she'd bit onto something bitter. "Ugh. If I'm getting all philosophical, does that mean I've had too much wine?"

"Probably," Karai shrugged. 

She pushed herself off the counter and back to the living room, hearing the familiar sounds of commercials. 

"Alrighty boys! Time to make a plan," she took a spot on the couch. Lee was in the middle, Dee on his right, so she sat on the left and turned to face them both. "Do you remember how you got in that alley yet? Or where your family might be?" 

Dee's legs curled up and tucked under their chin, making them look small on the couch as they contemplated it. Lee's tongue stuck out a bit as he thought about the question too before he ultimately shook his head and adopted an exasperated expression. "I can tell you what I do remember, but... Hrn."

"That's fine, we'll work from what you've got." 

Lee nodded his head before closing his eyes and starting. "So, I think it started with Big Mama. She's this lady who owns this big hotel where we live. And like, she's a legit business lady, but also like. A not-legit business lady. Y'feel? Anyways, we were, we... We broke in, all five of us for... something. For some reason? 

"I remember us breaking in. And then we got chased around a bit, because she doesn't like us much. But that's really more of a her thing than an us thing, and I mean! If she didn't want people to steal from her maybe try being a better person? Anyways. We took what we needed and then... something else I think?" 

Here he paused, reaching up to fidget with the shiny charm attached to the blue ribbon in his hair, like he was nervous or thinking hard about something. Karai noticed the way that the gem in the middle of it was a glowing sort of greenish-blue hue, like those toys you set out in the sunlight to make them glow in the dark. 

"Anywho! We got stuff! But things got complicated, because she hates us, like I said. So we were, we were escaping and then... And then there was someone we didn't know, with like? A suit maybe? Some white dude. And then BAM! And then black, and I woke up in the alley with a killer headache." He fidgeted for a moment, moving his hands down and then staring at them. "I don't know-- I didn't know him. Do you think he has my family? We snuck out, just left our dads with the new kid. But only because we thought we'd be right back!" 

It felt like maybe he was holding back a bit, but... it was something. "I don't know. But if he does we'll find him, and we'll get them back." 

Karai waited until he looked up again to look him in the eyes. "I promise. We're going to figure things out. We're going to make sure we find them." 

Lee smiled, and she ignored the way his eyes looked like they were hiding tears. "I believe you." 

Chapter Text

Karai chose to veto going out to search in favor of getting more than two hours of sleep. 

Unsuprisingly, the twins vetoed her veto. 

So, like any good older sister, she restrained them. There was no way they'd gotten more than 90 minutes of actual sleep this morning, if they'd slept at all. And somehow she doubted that whatever blackout had happened after their supposed heist had been restful. 

Lee whined and Dee huffed as she watched them spin from where they'd been suspended on her (reinforced) ceiling fan. 

"Don't give me that," she shook her finger at them again (and oh spirits, was she turning into a granny?!). "You've both gotten out of the last three, I know you're not actually suffering." 

Dee's feet wiggled in lieu of an actual response. Drama queens, the both of them. 

Karai sighed and settled into her spot on the couch, hands tightly gripping a still-warm mug of chai that was actually mostly cream and honey. She'd rather die than admit it to anyone, but she really didn't like tea at all, coffee was much more her thing. 

But this was nice sometimes. 

The twins were making another rotation on the ceiling, Lee coming to face her again, when there was the familiar ping of the elevator. 

"Karai!" O'Neil's shriek broke through the quiet. "Please tell me I'm not seeing children tied to your ceiling? Did you tie them up?!" 

"I'm pretty sure I tied baby demons to my ceiling, actually," she deadpanned, not taking her eyes off the said gremlins. 

"Wh-- Karai no, you can't tie kids up period!" April rounded the corner into her line of sight. Under one arm was tucked a bright purple duffle bag, making a metalic clanking noise. Over her back was a large black backpack. 

"Aren't you worried the fan will break?" Casey Jones was just behind her, but looked less concerned over the ethics of the situation. 

"Reinforced," she grunted.

"Oh. Word!" Jones threw two similar duffle bags onto the floor before flopping onto the couch next to her. The lanky teen had rather frustratingly filled out into a rather fit young adult, with a set of wide shoulders befitting an athlete. O'Neil and Donatello had launched a strong bullying campaign of well-timed memes to strong arm him into dental implants and everything.

"No, not word!" O'Neil glared at her now-husband before glaring at Karai again. "I know you said that they were a handful, but tying them up was absolutely not the solution here. Would it help if--" 

Karai tuned out as she rambled on, watching as a suddenly-free Dee took the dufflebag from under her arm and settled on the floor the dive into it and it's partners. April hardly even seemed to notice as Lee climbed onto the couch to sit on the side of Karai farthest from Casey, casting a suspicious look over at Jones. The teen leaned into her, closing his eyes happily as one of her hands absently moved to run through some lose strands of blonde hair. 

"--and I mean, I guess that if... oh. How long...?"

"Almost as soon as you started, Red." Jones grinned up at her, yelping when she grabbed a throw pillow to swat him with it.

Standing up again, Karai watched as she straightened that (awful, horrible, poorly-colored) yellow jacket of hers before holding out hands to the twins. "Lee and Dee! It is nice to meet you. I'm April!" 

Lee shook the offered hand, but Dee squinted up with her, expression looking somewhere between confused and horrified. "April O'Neil? But... why do you look like that?"

"Dee!" Lee scrambled off the couch to barrel into his twin. "You can't just ask people that!" 

"But look at her!" Dee motioned emphatically. "Why is she dressed like that?! Totally wrong shade of yellow! Who let her out of the house? If I looked that bad I'd want to know!"

"Well yeah," Lee nodded, "but you have to say it nicer than that! We've talked about this!" 

For her part, April didn't seem to be offended, but was making a face like she wasn't sure if she was supposed to laugh or not. Jones had no such reservations, chuckling loudly at his wife's demise at the hands of two teenagers. He was thanked for it with more pillow to the face. 

"Hey, gremlins," Karai finally decided to take pity on the redhead. "They brought you stuff. Maybe think about saying thanks instead of reading her to filth?" 

"Thanks April!" both twins promptly chimed. Lee seemed a bit more genuine in his thanks than Dee, but that was fine. 

April grinned before slinging the backpack off her shoulders. "No problem! Dee, the parts in the purple bags are for you to mess with instead of Karai's appliances. Lee, we weren't sure what you would like to do to pass the time, and all Shini gave us was 'Space Heroes' and 'Odachi' when we texted her so... let us know if there's anything else we can find for you?" 

Dee made a happy little grumble from where they were scattering parts over the floor. For his part, Lee gave a happy shriek when he started pulling out cartoons on DVD (what the hell was 'Crognard the Barbarian' and why did Karai get the feeling it was going to give her migraines?) and some Space Heroes comics. There were also some sharpening stones and a polish for his blade at the bottom of the bag, but considering how little mind he paid the sword in favor of letting it bang against every corner in existence, Karai had the distinct feeling that they'd not see much use. She'd thank Leo regardless. 

"Please," she nearly begged. "You cannot use all of those things tonight. I promise it'll all be here tomorrow." 

Dee only made a humming noise at her in response, and she got the distinct feeling that Jones was laughing at her obvious despair. 

It took a couple hours, but April was somehow able to corral both twins into their room. Karai wasn't sure they were actually asleep, but it was progress and enough to almost make her beg the other female to stay. 

Settling in the kitchen around the island, Karai provided April with a mug of her preferred tea. Casey had somehow managed to procure a juice box (how? Karai was sure she didn't have any, meaning that O'Neil was likely carrying them around to distract him like one would a toddler). Karai fixed herself another mug of 'tea' to match the group before grabbing a seat. 

"They're certainly lively," April admitted, sounding fond. "Reminds me of when Mikey was younger." 

"Teens," Karai snorted. "I don't know how we made it out alive." 

April huffed in amusement. "Energy. Pure chaos energy. Where did it go?"

"Speak for yourself, Red!" Casey crowed, grinning at them. "I'm still at the top of my game! No slowing down Casey Jones!" 

"So that twenty minute break you begged Raph for yesterday was just a fluke?" One of April's eyebrows lifted as she gave him a dry look. Karai snorted behind her palm. 

"Hey, you try keeping up with Raph all night. He's a beast," Casey huffed. "And he's been pushing harder than normal lately." 

"I think he's been talking with Mona again," April sighed. 

"Again?" Karai groaned in unison with Casey. Since their teens, the red-clad turtle had been in a turbulant on-again-off-again romance with the alien salamander. Karai didn't dislike Mona Lisa necessarily but.... it was undeniable that whatever he undertook, Raphael put his whole heart into. Including Mona. Especially Mona. 

Sometimes Karai worried that whenever she left, she took more and more of Raph with her. 

"How long?" 

"Dunno," April shrugged. "After last time I don't think he wants to let Leo find out about it."

Karai sighed. The last time that Raph's partner had left, he'd gotten into a fight with Leo. She still wasn't sure what exactly was said, but Raph had spent the next four weeks in the apartment below her. She hadn't minded, glad for the occassional late night spars and for the time she could spend in snake form curled up around a sleepy Chompy Picasso, who was suprisingly warm. 

Raphael was even more heart than he was muscle, once you broke through the rough exterior. It was hard, watching him hurt. 

"I can't blame him," she sighed, shaking her head. "But I can't fault Leo either."

"I know," April's expression mirrored her own. "We'll just have to wait it out, I suppose." 

Casey made a harumph noise, leaning his head back. "You can't do this around him, it'll just made him mad."

"We know, we know," O'Neil placated, rubbing a hand on his shoulder. "And we won't. But let us know if he says anything." 

Jones gave them both a side eye before sighing and nodding.

It was later than Karai had been anticipating when the couple finally made their way back home. They'd chatted some more about the turtles before the topics had changed to other endeavors in Karai's "business" and O'Neil's blossoming career as an investigative reporter. "A real-life Lois Lane," Jones had crowed proudly as April had regaled them with the story of a corrupt lab she had uncovered. 

Carefully setting alarms to go off if the twins came up the stairs, she finally made her escape to her room, letting herself stretch out into the snake again and flicking on her lamps before slithering into bed. 

Sleep came quickly, filled with warmth and tinged with concern for a heart too large. 

Chapter Text

In the morning, Karai rose before the sun. This was normal, a routine well-engrained into her bodies and brain. 

Slipping back into her more human form, she crept down the stairs, almost nervous about what havoc may have been wrecked in her house overnight. 

But, to her surprise (and equal parts dread and relief) she didn't see any evidence that the twins had actually left their room during the night. It seemed suspicious, so despite the voice in her head (that sounded suspiciously like April) that warned her she should respect their privacy, she opened the door just a slight amount and peered in. 

Lee was all flung out on the bed, limbs stretched out like a starfish as he laid face down into the pillows. The blankets had all been flung off of him, and instead formed a big mound over Dee, who had apparently tucked themselves into as small a ball as possible and tucked themselves into their twin's side, using his arm as a pillow. Pressing down an urge to coo over them, Karai quickly and silently grabbed her phone and snapped some pictures. 

A whole lifetime of ninja training for blackmail photos? Yes. Absolutely. This was definitely what she had trained for. Shut up, Ancestors. No one asked you.

Assured that the twin tornadoes were out like a pair of overly energetic neon lights and probably had been for enough of the night not to have caused any major disasters, she closed the door silently and moved to the kitchen to start some coffee and go over the day's schedule. 

The first task was more tolerable than the second. She groaned as she realized she had been scheduled to meet with the board that was in charge of the legitimate side of her business. Unfortunately, that was one of the things her false-father had done well, and had taught her in a way that made it too useful to ignore. While much of her enterprise was bathed in the dark shadows of the city, lots of it was entangled in things that needed accomplished in a legitimate way, thus necessitating an actual business. Saki had leaned into a medical technologies firm, developing everything from hardware to software to pharmecuticals. It was annoyingly helpful at camoflauging the other aspects of their lives, so Karai had chosen to maintain the cover and advance the business.

It always left a bittersweet feeling in her throat. 

Although, as a middle finger to the man, she'd made sure to actually do some good where she could, drastically reducing prices on essential products like insulin and epi-pens. Her board had complained and nearly rioted, but it had endeared the company to the public, making them a household name akin to Johnson & Johnson. Which had ultimately ended up being good for business. So the board could suck it. 

She brooded over her impending doom as the coffee brewed. 

As if she had completed some sort of ancient summoning ritual, both twins stumbled out of their room shortly after, noses in the air sniffing at the smell of her fresh caffeine. She snorted as Dee stumbled straight into Lee's back. 

Sighing, she scrolled lazily through her agenda for the board meeting. Mostly boring stuff, going over the quarterly reports (which had already been prepared by a man in his 30s who was already balding who's name Karai could never remember, but Shini referred to exclusively as "Mr. Clean, but finance"), probably trying to re-negotiate the budget (which was fine so she was going to have to try to defend it which wasn't hard but was exhausting), maybe try to sell them on the idea of a new branch, in order for her to get some much-needed dock permits from the city... 

"Whassat?" Lee leaned over her shoulder and pointed at the screen of her tablet. 

"Gotta go to a board meeting," Karai groaned. "These are the notes." 

"Ew, sounds boring," Lee grimaced. 

Dee's head was tilted slightly, like they were thinking about something. "What if we pretended we were a family emergency, could you get out of it?" 

"Probably not," Karai sighed. 

"Is it like, super essential?" Dee had successfully acquired some bean juice and was now leaning awkwardly next to her, the counter top poking into their side. It would probably be more comfortable if they just leaned against the counter with their back, but whatever. 

"Not really. Please tell me you're adding cream to that. Black coffee is for psycopaths." 

Dee stared her in the eyes as they swung the mug up to their mouths and chugged it before simply saying, "Yup." 

Lee shuddered, which mirrored her sentiments exactly, and then proceeded to dump an unholy amount of sugar into his mug, which was honestly just. Gross. That much sugar probably couldn't even disolve, right? She'd text Mikey and ask if coffee-syrup made by dumping sugar into coffee was a thing. He'd probably know. Or maybe all the undisolved sugar would crunch? Extra gross. 

"...anyways. What are your plans for today?" She motioned at both the twins. 

"Gonna hack into your security cams probably," Dee hummed. "Maybe mess with your tech again." 

"I'm gonna ignore that first part, and please don't break him," Karai closed her eyes and groaned. "He's not even my tech, technically." 

Lee just shrugged. "I'm gonna see what Crognard is. And maybe watch Dee make your not-tech cry." 

"Ok, that's fair," Karai gave up. "I'll try to send Shini up at some point. Or maybe I can call O'Neil and see if she'll send her boytoy over to take you out for a walk or something." 

"We don't need babysitters!" Lee's nose scrunched indignently. 

"You're in a city you don't know, and are like. Twelve. You're getting a babysitter." She responded dryly. 

"We're sixteen!" Dee piped up. 

"Really? I thought you were younger," Karai hummed. 

"Ah, our youthful mixed features have confused you!" Lee smirked at the same time Dee yelled "Childhood malnutririon, babay!" 

Karai closed her eyes and resisted the urge to tap her tablet against her forehead. 

This board meeting was killing her. Karai could swear she could feel the years leaving her body as she sat there, listening to the old bags drone on and on about things. 

They'd been going on like this for three hours already, and were showing no signs of slowing. Maybe they'd be able to break for lunch in a bit, at least. But Old Woman Genevive had gotten upset at something and then old man Stevens had taken offense to that and then

"--ku? Miss Oroku!" Vincent Petray glared at her from over his glasses. 

"Hm? Oh, right, sorry," Karai attempted to recall the latest question, not feeling sorry at all. "Well, I think Mr. Stevens has a point, however the latest reports indicate that--" 

There was a phone chime. One of the ladies around the table who's name Karai couldn't be bothered to memorized blushed violently and pulled out her device only to gasp. "Oh dear! I'm afraid I must leave." 

"Leave?" Petray managed to look both furious and flabbergasted at the same time. "My dear you can't just--"

"Someone fill me in!" the woman was already out the door. 

Karai stared for a moment before shaking her head to clear it. "As I was saying--"

Another phone. Old Woman Genevive pulled out hers before also abrupting standing. She didn't bother to say anything as she left. 

"My goodness," Petray shook his head at the group. "Please people, silence your phones until the end of the meeting and--"

There was a knock on the door and a woman that Karai recognized as Petray's secretary poked her head in. "Sorry, sir? We just got word that your daughter has gone to the hospital. Her husband wanted me to let you know that they think the baby is on it's way." 

The man blanched and looked at the group before scrambling up. "Yes! Well, I rather think there's no real point in carrying on today. We'll have to reschedule this for another time, I'll be in contact with you, Miss Oroku." 

Karai blinked and watched as the remaining members gathered their item up and left with a few polite goodbyes. When she was alone, she slumped back in her chair, almost failing to hear the door open. 

"How'd you do it?" She asked without looking back. 

"Oh, you know," Dee sounded like they were shrugging. "A little hacking here, a little blackmail there. The baby thing was real though, so. That was weirdly great timing."

"They just wouldn't stop," Lee whined, moving to sit on the table in front of her. "And you looked bored."  

"I should probably be mad," Karai sighed. "But fuck it. Dealing with them over email won't give me nearly as bad a headache." 

Both twins hummed. Before Lee asked "So, your last name is Oroku?" 

"Hamato," Karai corrected. "Had it changed, the old farts just like using it because it was the name of the previous CEO, who happened to be the man who raised me. I think it's their version of attempting a power trip." 

The twins hummed and nodded. "Our last name is Hamato too. Our Gran-Gran was Hamato Karai." 

"Seriously?" Karai spun her chair in a circle as she processed that. "Huh. Did I forget to ask your last name? Weird. Maybe we're like, distant cousins or something. I don't actually know much about the family tree. Leo might though. I'll ask him later."

"Who's that?" Dee sat next to Lee on the table. Karai was pretty sure it was strong enough for people to sit on. Probably was. Also, the twins were built like sticks so.

"My brother. Half brother? Step-brother? Mm. Complicated. Pretty sure he's the one who put that backpack together for you though, Lee." She pointed at the blonde. "I've got four brothers, actually. All a year younger than me."

"All of them?" Dee asked, curiosity evident in their tone. 

"Yeah, they're quads. More or less." Karai shrugged. 

"Huh," the twins exchaned a glance, looking like they were having another of their silent conversation. "Can we meet them?" 

Karai hummed non-commitally before finally getting off the chair and walking over to the door. "C'mon. Might as well use my newly-free afternoon to see if we can't find clues as to where your people went." 

There was a small cheer before the sound of feet followed her out. 

It wasn't that she didn't want the twins to meet the turtles. If anything, her brothers had a better way of networking through the alleys of the city and finding the information that she needed. But, there was still so little that she knew about these two. And something that prickled up the back of her neck told her that she definitely needed to fill in those gaps before she could even consider them anything close to trustworty. 

Chapter Text

No success.

Karai could feel the disappointment in the air after night finally fell over the city. They'd started in the alley where she'd found the twins. Some of the trash had been cleared away, but there were no unusual signs that would indicate a scuffle had taken place or that any weapons had been discharged recently. Or, more subtly, there weren't any signs that anyone had been searching for something in the area. 

Granted, there was no reason to assume that the other siblings had been in any sort of altercation. But her own life experience, when combined with the air of chaos that generally followed the twins, it felt like something to look for all the same. 

From their starting place, the trio had carefully and methodically searched through in a spiraling motion, careful to hit all other alleyways and hidden spaces. But after almost eight hours of searching--which was exhausting and longer than she'd originally planned on being out--she'd decided to call it a night. 

It was impossible to miss the way their faces fell, or how Dee leaned heavily into Lee's side. Lee placed his head against his twin's, and Karai pretended not to noticed the distressed expression on his face. 

"Ok, so!" Karai hummed, drumming her fingers against the closest wall. Looking around, she took stock of the familiar surroundings. "We're probably not going to find them tonight, and you two should rest. You're growing, and all that jazz, and I've been told sleep is important for teenagers. But first, how about we grab some food. Do you guys like pizza?"

They immediately perked up. 

Bingo. 

"Do birds fly? Do fish swim? Is the sky up?" Lee asked, a manic glint in his eyes. "Can we get Hawaiian?"

"Ew no!" Dee immediately protested. "Not Hawaiian!" 

Karai laughed. She'd never tried Hawaiian, purely because of the chaos it tended to cause amongst the turtles. "I'm not sure that's an option with what I have in mind. Although we can always ask. C'mon." 

She led them carefully through the streets until they stood in front of her family's favorite. 

"Uh Karai," Lee peered carefully around her. "This doesn't look like a pizzaria." 

"I never said we were going to a pizzaria," she chirped back. 

"Awe, we were bamboozled!" Dee groaned. 

"Hush you," Karai scolded halfheartedly. "This is Murakami's. Trust me, yeah. You'll like it here." 

She led them over to the display at the building's side. "They use a vending machine ordering system, they're in style in Tokyo. Here, press this and then we'll go inside." 

Karai motioned to the correct button and then pressed it herself once both twins had collected their token. Then she ushered both inside. 

"Konbanwa!" She greeted the man behind the counter. 

"Ah, Karai," Murakami hummed. "Konbanwa. You've brought guests with you today?" 

He sounded a bit confused, which was unusual. Typically, even when she brought associates or Shini, he picked up on it right away. 

"Ah, yeah. Lee and Dee, meet Murakami-san. And Murakami, meet Lee and Dee. They're twins staying with me for a bit." 

The twins took spots up at the counter, and each made a small noise of greeting when she called their name. The older man turned to face them, expression curious before he hummed thoughtfully and held out his hands. Karai gently placed her token in one of his hands and watched as the twins cautiously mimicked her. Murakami's expression changed as he laughed and nodded. "Ah, what is the expression, the more things change...?" 

They all watched as the man moved swiftly, moving around his open cooking space with the grace of a ballerina. Before too long, he set a plate in front of each of them, piled high with-- 

"Pizza gyoza!" He smiled happily, settling his hands on his hips. "You all enjoy!"

"Itadakimasu!" Karai clapped her hands together once before starting her meal. The twins looked at each other with wide eyes before Lee finally was brave enough to pick up one of the dumplings with some very clumsy chop stick work. He fumbled once, and had to work to pick up everything again, but eventually managed to take a bite. 

Lee's eyes widened. "Ohmigosh!" 

He quickly scrambled for his twin's plate and started pulling it over his way. "Oh man, you're gonna hate this Dee. Better just let me--"

"Hey!" Dee gave an affronted shout, quickly grabbing the plate and pulling it back. They too stumbled with the chopsticks before managing to stuff food in their mouth. "No! I's m'ne!" 

Karai chuckled and she heard the sentiments echoed by Murakami's deep laugh. 

They were on their way home when something felt... off. 

"Do you remember the way we came?" Karai asked, refusing to look over her shoulder. 

"Yeah?" Dee looked at her, confused. 

"Good. Run ahead, ok? There's something I have to take care of." She gently made shoo-ing motions with her hands. 

"Is everything alright?" Lee sounded worried. 

No. Maybe? It better be, or she was going to make it alright. But she didn't say that. Instead, "Everything's fine. Just something I have to do, ok? Keep close to Dee and I'll see you when I get back." 

She waited for them to walk away, watching until they were out of sight before she ducked into an alleyway. It didn't take long after that. 

A low growling echoed off the walls. "Odd. Last I heard, you'd gone back to Japan." 

"Well, you know how it is. I'm an assassin for hire. I go where the money is," a low timbre rumbled through the alley. A familiar yellow eye sliced through the darkness. "But I have no quarrel with you, nor with the turtles. This is just a professional courtesy."

"Why are you here, Tigerclaw?" Karai asked. True, the assassin had supposedly made his peace with herself and the others. But personal grudges were personal, and business was business. She had no doubt that with the right incentives the older mutant would be willing to strike at her empire and her family again. 

"There's a new player in the city," he rumbled. "Supposedly they've been moving on Xever's turf, and I've not heard from the fish himself since my arrival. I've not met the head myself, but I've heard rumors that they've a special interest in mutants. My current contract is to bring them some specific human individuals. Government, apparently. But after that, I'll be headed out of town." 

He stopped, looking towards the street, ears pricking forward. "Your hatchlings look for you. I need to go, but you should let your turtles know to be on the lookout. The omens read poorly for times ahead." 

"Karai!" The twins skidded into the alleyway. Lee had drawn his odachi, and Dee was brandishing what looked like a long silver pole. A metalic bo? 

Tigerclaw took off, launching himself up onto the closest fire escape and then up to the rooftops. Karai watched, letting the twins run over. "I thought I told you to go home." 

Dee shook their head. Lee pressed against her side, and she could feel him shake. "No. No. We don't--we don't leave anyone behind. Never again." 

She carefully put an arm around the teen and squeezed tight. The distress in his tone made her chest ache, and clearly Dee wasn't doing any better, the rattling of their weapon giving away how shaken they were as well. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry. It'll be alright. Let's go home, yeah?" 

They made their way out of the alley, carefully picking through the streets. A wary part of Karai insisted that they stick to the shadows. 

"Karai?" Dee finally whispered when they were in the elevator of her building. "Who was that?" 

"Someone I knew a long time ago," Karai hummed. "They wanted to give me a warning."

"About what?" 

"I don't really know yet," Karai shook her head, squeezing the arm around Lee's shoulders yet again. 

Dee just nodded before slowly inching towards her. When the doors opened into her loft, they tucked themselves under her free arm, pressing tightly into her side. The staff had collapsed into a form small enough to be mistaken for a pen, which had been slipped into a pocket. So, she guided them both to the couch where the trio put on Space Heroes and let themselves sit with the noise until they were comfortable enough to be alone again. 

It didn't occur to her until much later in the night. 

After the twins had calmed, she'd made some hot chocolate and then ushered them to bed, since they looked exhausted emotionally. And if she'd put a little extra melatonin in there for them, then that was her business. 

Then, she'd called Leo, letting him know about her little encounter and Tigerclaw's warning. 

"Now that you mention it," the blue-eyed turtled hummed, "We haven't encountered Fishface in a while."

After everything, Xever had left her employ to start his own crew. They were small, but guarded some of the areas around the docks fiercely. Occassionally, when she needed, Karai took advantage of their shared history to make deals with the mutant, which were generally beneficial to them both. 

"I'll see if I can't get in contact," she sighed. There were many reasons why it would be concerning for someone to take out Xever's gang. Although the fish himself wasn't particularly savy in the way of finances or subtlety in the way needed to make an empire like Karai's, they had their uses and she'd not objected to helping with the group's establishment in the past. 

"We'll keep our ears to the ground," Leo confirmed. "And I'll keep you updated on what we find. I do think Tigerclaw's right about something though, don't you? Almost feels like something's just waiting to start. I don't like it." 

"Me neither. You guys be careful." Karai hummed, waiting for Leo to respond in kind before hanging up her phone. 

Uneasily, she'd made her way to bed, careful with her shift as always. 

Sleep had come eventually, but was hard won. So she was annoyed when she found herself suddenly awake and bolting up, heart racing. 

It took a moment for her brain to pick up again on what was so important. But she found herself relaying the night. 

"Motherfucker," she hissed. Another mystery. The twins had been alarmed at the stranger, but not for the reasons they should have been. They'd hardly taken notice of Tigerclaw's mutant status. 

Falling back into her pillows again, Karai tucked this new piece of oddity into what little she knew about the twins. This? This was a morning problem. 

Chapter Text

Karai was not as prepared to ambush the twins the next morning as she would have liked (a true insult to her mutated nature). 

Instead, she found herself lured out of bed by the smell of fresh coffee. When she made it to the kitchen, she found Dee staring intently at the coffee maker while Lee flipped through the pages of one of the comics he'd been gifted. There was evidence that at least one of them had been up throughout parts of the night, mechanical odds and ends strewn around the room. 

Her eyes fell upon what looked like some small mechanical cat-like creature (with tusks). It had been fashioned into a wind-up toy. Carefully, she turned the knob, then released the toy upon the counter, watching as it made a chipring noise before its tail flaired and its eyes lit up. Then, it "relaxed" curling up like a pet on its owner's lap. 

"That's Mayhem," Lee hummed, gently scooping up the toy. The teen let it cycle through a few more times in his palm until it stopped and stilled. 

His fingers ran over Mayhem's head (like someone would do for a real cat--and a wisfull expression that hurt Karai as her inner April asked what life these kids were being kept from) before he set it down next to another piece that was clearly half-finished. Karai could just make out some small gears and red wiring. 

"So.." Karai began awkwardly. There was really no good way to approach the subject ('we need to talk' specifically brought back vivid memories of youthful ill-advised affairs) so she decided not to be gentle. "You both know about mutants."

"Are we... not supposed to know about mutants?" Dee asked, voice clearly guilty. "Because if not... uhm... w-what's a mutant?"

Lee facepalmed. 

"It's not that you aren't allowed," Karai chose her words carefully. "It's not common knowledge though. Your lack of surprise over Tigerclaw was... unexpected."

"Tigerclaw?" Lee mused. "That the guys from last night? Name's a bit too on the nose there isn't it?" 

"Not the point," Karai tapped the counter. "What's the story kids?"

"No story," Lee shrugged. "We've been places. Met people. That's all." 

That was a little too convenient. Karai narrowed her eyes and did her best to stare into the twerp's soul, but he (rather frustratingly) had a smug little smile that proved to be an effective counterattack.

"Lee," she wasn't sure if she sounded angry or like she was begging. "This isn't something you can just joke away. Its weird enough that you two don't find all this weird. I can't trust you blindly on this one."

Karai know that there could always be mutants unknown to her. But even in New York, they were still rare. And while some, like Xever, had grown comfortable with or taken advantage of the "creep factor" being a mutant had equipped them with, most were recluses. And almost all of them were some level of dangerous. 

Including herself. Especially herself. And especially the turtles, just as two examples off the top of her head. 

Even knowing they were capable though--more than capable really--the threat of a possible new unknown mutant showing up to harm them was too threatening to ignore. 

Lee had stopped smiling. 

He eyed her warily, an expression similar to the one he'd had the first night they'd met. Subtly, Lee moved in a way that Dee--watching them both with wide eyes and a nervous expression--was shielded behind him. 

"Fine. One of our dads is a goat-man," Lee spit, eyes narrowed. "We didn't tell you because you're right. We don't know each other well enough for blind trust. And maybe Barry wasn't always that great and maybe I am still bitter about the roof thing but he is still family. And I can't trust you with my family yet!" 

Karai had realized at some point, even if the thought hadn't been a fully conscious one, that Lee's ever present cheer and lighthearted personality was more likely than not a type of defensive system. She hadn't quite realized the ferocity she'd receive when that mechanism was triggered and tested. 

Dee was (nearly) entirely dwarfed behind their twin. Karai couldn't see them so much as she could see the way Lee's shirt was bunching up in a way that indicated his twin had shifted to stand behind him and was now grabbing at his clothing. It seemed like their hands may be trembling. 

Guilt ate at her, but she knew she couldn't just give in on this. 

"Look, it's been what, three days? And two days ago you told me that your family doesn't get out much. Or travel much. Whatever, one and the same. Mutants are rare, and typically dangerous, so it isn't like 'oh their family hides because one of them is a mutant' was one of my first guesses, or any of my guesses," Karai closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry. This whole situation is new to me and I don't even know why I stopped in that alleyway or why I didn't just take you to the police but..." 

"Its ok," Dee's voice said quietly as (surprisingly cold) fingers wrapped carefully around her wrist. 

Karai's eyes flew open. The whole time she'd known them, Dee had avoided any and all touch from her, Shini, April... anyone that wasn't Lee, and even that seemed to be something that he was only receptive to about half the time. Their eyes bored into her's, dark and steady where their twin's were bright and emotive. 

Their grip was loose, and shakey still. Almost as quick as the touch had come, they let go again before turning to their twin, reaching up to pat him gently on the head in what seemed to be a well-practiced movement. Lee's eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he leaned into the contact. His chest slowly rose and then fell again, causing the deep breathing technique that Leo used for centering himself after arguing with Raph to come to mind. 

"Right, ok," Lee muttered to himself, or maybe to Dee. Karai wasn't entirely sure. Then he opened his eyes to look at her. "Ok. Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. We really appreciate the help, a lot. It was just... You just remind us of home, of our family, even though you're right, we barely know you really. So it was just discombobulating, having you turn around and snap at us like that. But we get it. Family is everything, right? So, yeah. We've met mutants. They're our friends, our family, so if that's something you're not comfortable with let us know and we can go--."

"It's fine," Karai cut him off. "I mean. It's not-- It's weird. I'm not going to just kick you out though. You just surprised me, and you're right. I got comfortable and then I got uncomfortable with that but it isn't you guys."

She inhaled, feeling like she was on unstable ground. "Look, we can talk about this more in the evening. I'm-- We'll figure it out, ok?"

Lee looked a bit like he didn't believe her but nodded regardless. 

She nodded back, then spun on her heals to head to the elevator. It wasn't that she was running away, she tried to reason with herself. They just needed some time to cool off. So if getting through the work day, and maybe looking into her 'professional' relations and connections to see if she could try to find any leads on Xever provided a convenient distraction (escape?) then... fine (except there was a voice in her head that sounded a little bit like April and maybe a little bit of what she thought Shen would have sounded like if she'd ever had a chance to be a mother that chided her daughter, and that voice was the definition of nagging). 

Chapter Text

How one giant fish-man-mech could just vanish was a mystery to karai. Granted, if one wanted to disappear, New York was a great place for it, but last Karai had heard, Xever had been receiving good business and had no reason to want to disappear. 

The question plagued her into the night. 

When she finally made it upstairs, the twins were quiet. Not suspicious-quiet, not the kind of quiet that would have made her suspicious. Instead, this felt more like a cowed sort of quiet, a lingering after-effect from the morning's argument. 

There was enough rustling from the spare bedroom for Karai to feel comfortable about the twin's whereabouts, at least. 

Out on the kitchen island sat the Mayhem toy. Sat next to it was a now-finished hippo, dressed in a turban and silly little jacket. When Karai carefully picked it up and turned the key in its back its arms raised up to display a series of interlocked rings as its eyes glowed and shifted between the colors blue and green. It then put down its arms and stopped glowing for a few moments before starting again. 

With a sigh, she put the toy back down. Moving closer to the bedroom she knocked at the door. 

"Shoot!" the door was thick enough to muffle most of the conversation, but she could still make out Dee's shoults. "--told you--dea!"

Lee was laughing. "--don't have--just becau--at flu again!" 

A disgruntled looking face popped into view as the door was pulled open slightly. "Yes?" 

"Hey, Karai said softly, resisting the urge to push a stray curl out of Dee's face. "I need to go out tonight. Alone. I know there's not much in the fridge, do you want me to order delivery before I go, or bring back somethin later?" 

"Where're you going?" Lee's face popped up above Dee's giving Karai the distinct impression that the two were stacked on top of each other. 

"Trying to visit an old work associate," Karai kept her answer vague in hopes the two would find it boring enough to not feel the need to sneak out and follow her. Again. 

Lee seemed to buy it, although Dee seemed suspicious. Then again… Lee was almost never actually compliant…

”You aren’t allowed out without April and Casey,” she added hastily. And oh, there was that Finger of Chastisement again.

She got a raspberry blown at her for her trouble. 

Dee just sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose. "We're good to wait, thanks Karai."

The snake slid through the night, swift and silent. Her extra eyes allowed her an advanced view of Xever's territory as she methodically made her way through it. 

When she came across areas the fish was known to favor, or any spots that seemed suspicious, she would descend from the shadowed rooftops to scout the area.

Around her the city buzzed with life. Kara couldn't hear it exactly--not the way she could as a human--but the vibrations resonated within her jaws, making a type of music only she and the snakes could decipher. All of the noise and movement limited her options. Out somewhere wild she'd be able to track by heat and by movement. But here all the heat and the lights of the city and the electricity flowing into every corner all blurred and blended together. 

She still had an upper hand though. Her tongue flicked out, and she focused on the sensory input she received from the action, sorting through human hormones and mechanical stink, past the smog of the city. 

Mutagen left a very distinct feeling in her mouth and nose. Donatello had once said it was akin to shoving a battery in your mouth. The analogy had gone over her own head, as well as O'Neil's. Jones had nodded enthusiastically though, and made a satisfied little 'aha' noise. 

But now she could only sense it faintly. Echoes of what it should have been if the mutant had been around recently. 

It had been that way everywhere, only confimring what Tigerclaw had said and her previous indirect searches had indicated. 

Using a hearby fire escape to quickly get back to the rooftops, Karai hissed in annoyance. 

Then she stopped. 

Flicking her tongue out she reconfirmed the odd feel of the air. It wasn't mutagen, although it was similar. Her nouth, nose, and throat felt like she'd eaten popping candies, which was similar to mutagen's buzzing shock, but where mutagen stayed strong and unpleasant (making her mouth feel like chemical static) this sensation mellowed out and soothed like eucalyptus in a very strong cough drop. Maybe not everyone's favorite sensation, but she personally didn't find it unpleasant. Not mutagen, something new. 

She was off!

Karai moved quickly, following the trail. Occasionally, she would pause to sample the air before making a turn. Whatever it was, it was maddeningly close. Sometimes one of Karai's heads would pick up movement in the shadows ahead. But whatever it was, it was quick and managed to stay just out of reach. 

They led her across the city, going from rooftop to rooftop. Fast, fast, faster. And then, it stopped. 

Karai hissed, preparing to rear back and strike when--

Boom. 

Boom. 

Crash. 

And a familiar yell. 

Karai sighed and eyed the shadows where the thing had to be hiding before quickly making her way to the edge of the roof. 

Down in the streets below and angry rhino man charged at a parked van. He bellowed after making contact and looking around searchingly. Karai narrowed her eyes at the scene. It was unusual that Steranko would be here alone causing wanton damage for no reason. She waited for the familiar zip-whistle of Zeck and his suit, but as the moments stretched on, she had a feeling she knew what was happening. 

Slipping down the side of the building she shifted just enough. Her face still held the impression of her scales, and there would be no hiding the wild of her eyes. This half-form wasn't nearly as battle-equipped as the snake, but granted her invaluable quickness and flexibility. 

"Rocksteady!" She called from the mouth of the alleyway. 

He bellowed as he turned to face her. Karai watched as he stopped, registering who it was before bellowing again. "You! Snake woman Karai!" 

She managed to dodge as he charged at her. "You did this! I know you did this!" 

"Did what?!" She huffed before being forced to dodge again. It had been a long time since she'd seen this mutant so angry. 

"The comrade Bebop, it is you who is the reason he has disappeared! I know it is!" he snarled angrily, eyes wild. 

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Karai called back, feeling a sinking in the pit of her stomach. Two mutants gone. 

This was not the answer the rhino wanted, and Karai crouched as he began to charge again. As she lept, she misjudged some of the rubble, giving a yelp as her feet came out from under her. Steranko paid no mind, already on the charge again as she raced to her feet. 

"Karai!" there was a panicked scream. Something bright and purple blurred past her, and Karai watched as said bright purple slammed into the charging mutant, sending him flying back. A zwipping noise cut through the air, and Karai watched in delayed fear as a blonde-haired teen practically flew at the mutant, twin blades glinting in the street lights. 

Dee, for their part, was charging forward as well, something around them shining and shifting and glinting in the same lights, never still enough for her to exactly make out what it was. Despite practicing with Lee, she'd never seen the other twin attempt combat before. Where their brother was all movement and energy--something he demonstrated now as he danced around Steranko with ease, managing to distract and aggravate the much larger mutant--Dee was still and almost off-puttingly observant until they chose to strike, landing heavy and well-calculated blows with whatever instrument it was they were spinning around them. 

Shaking off her initial shock, Karai charged back into the battle as well, deftly going around Dee (who wove in and out of the forray) and instead taking up a closer position with Lee. 

Rocksteady yelled again, this time more of a desperate sound than his previous bellows. The twins fell back, watching as the rhino-man backtracked, panic displayed in his eyes. Specifically, as his eyes fell on her he seemed afraid. "I have heard! I have heard how the devil-mutant woman gathers us up. I will not go!" 

And then he was off, bounding down the alleyways and (if the sound was any indication) likely straight through some walls. 

Karai turned to the twins watching as they seemed to register that the threat was down and begin to relax themselves. Dee's weapon slowed until it was still. Now, Karai could make out the sleek silver-colored staff, purple glow coming from what looked like some sort of panel in the middle. Without looking, Dee pressed down on something that caused the staff to collapse on itself, smaller and smaller, until it was the size and shape of a hairpin that they tucked up beneath their curls, hiding it perfectly. 

Her eyes fell upon Lee's twin katana, narrowing in on the hilts. She wasn't sure where the odachi had gone, and her first instinct was that Lee had stolen some of her spare blades. But these didn't match any of her own, on the longer side for katanna, and hilt wrapped similarly to the odachi. And the way that Lee was able to swing them into the sheaths strapped upon his back with ease spoke of familiarity with the weapons. 

Both twins looked at her, gaze sharp. 

She frowned at them, tongue flicking out in annoyance. It wasn't like there was any point in holding back, her face was clearly inhuman enough. 

The strange non-mutagen feeling from before was overwhelming, and she now had a pretty good feeling she knew the cause. It was still odd though. They had said their father was a mutant, so maybe it was from being around one constantly? Karai was pretty sure that was not how that worked, but she didn't have any better ideas in the moment. 

"How long were you two following me?" 

"Oh uhm," Dee seemed even more avoidant with their gaze than usual. "Follo-- we didn-- uhm." 

"You're such a shit liar," Lee snorted at his twin, even as he made direct eye contact with Karai, clearly unashamed about sneaking out. 

"Hey," Dee protested, clearly offended even though they were clearly a terrible liar. Karai felt fondness bloom in her chest despite the irritation. 

She sighed, "Right. Ok. So, here's what's going to happen." 

Both twins perked up, watching her intently. 

"First, we're going to pick up enough pizza to feed a small army. Then, we're hitting the sewers, so I really hope you can handle smells Dee. But I have to discuss something with my brothers and clearly even if I tell you to go home, you won't. So let's get this over with, shall we?" 

She grinned at them, making sure to display her fangs dramatically. Ok. Perhaps it was more of a snarl. 

Not that it deterred either twin, both of whom just smiled back at her, teeth and all. 

Chapter Text

Karai made Leo call in the order as she led the twins through the winding New York backstreets. She tried to keep her eyes peeled when they went through known mutant-occupied areas. 

Spider-bytez was (unfortunately) home, his screeching caushing Dee to flinch and mutter something about looking spiders in the mouth. Pidgeon Pete could be heard cawing and happy-hollering about breadcrumbs amongst the rooftops. 

Snakeweed wasn't one they often saw evidence of, but was a creature of habit all the same. Karai could almost always sense him the mute she got near his preferred haunts. So only finding stale, lingering mutagen traces now made her frown. Not a good sign. 

The twins seemed to sense that something was off, sticking close to here even as Lee babbled on about something Karai wasn't really listening to (she'd ask Dee later for a recap though). 

They only made one detour after grabbing the food (wine for herself and April that she would not be sharing with twins or overgrown man-children no matter how much they brought up the French) and then Karai was leading them into the sewers. 

Typically, when Shini came down to to the sewers it was with a barrage of complaints and prancing around to avoid pests. The twins, on the other hand, both seemed perfectly at ease, if not a little lost, as they followed her down the twists and turns of the tunnels. 

They both perked up when the sounds of conversations started bouncing around a bend in the road. Karai felt them fall in behind her like ducklings, wary as the lair's turnstyes came into view. An image of tiny little fluffy twins bouncing around her apartment had her struggling to keep a straight face, so instead she decided to divert her attention in the one way she excelled at being a big sister. 

"'Sup losers!" Karai called as she led them through. 

"Pizza!" Came an enthusiastic cheer, completely ignoring the insult. Michelangelo quickly snatched all the boxes to whisk them off towards the kitchen. "Oh, and Karai's here too I guess." 

She rolled her eyes as Raph huffed amusedly somewhere nearby. 

"Karai!" Leo's greating was much warmer as he made his way over from the Dojo. It was a shame that his knee seemed to be bothering him. As he had aged Leonardo's movements had just gotten more graceful with time. On good days, the trutle seemed to glide over concrete and rooftops more than run. Today though it was more of a stride. "And these are?"

"Lee," Karai reached back without looking to shove the correct twin foreward. "And Dee. The kids I told you about."

"Awe! Little dudes!" Mikey skidded back into the room, interrupting whatever it was Leo was opening his mouth to try to say. "Which one of you pissed Donnie off? You're like, one of my heroes!"

"Mikey!" A familiar purple-tinted shout came from the direction of the lab.

Leo took advantage to shove his orange-banded sibling away with a loud ahem. "Lee and Dee! A pleasure to meet you. I am Leonardo, and these are my brothers Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello." 

Each appeared at their name, somehow. Each gave a little wave, apparently sensing that the twins weren't really going to go for a handshake. 

"We've met already, albeit indirectly," Donnie managed to locate the correct twin (probably because he had the whole lair bugged and under surveilance, Karai tried not to think about it too much after finding one of his cameras in her kitchen oven) and nodded at them, none of the frustration he'd supposedly had evident in his voice or expression. Which was good, since it could possibly make Dee bolt. 

Both twins looked uneasily at each other and then glanced shyly at Karai before Dee straightened themselves out. The eyed Donnie carefully before nodding. "Your encryptions weren't horrible." 

Donnie nodded slowly, and Karai watched in morbid fascination as the two made and maintained eye contact. Although in her experience Dee typically avoided looking anyone in the eyes, now he and Donatello were staring unblinkingly into each other's souls. Lee seemed just as baffled as Karai, ponytail swishing and whippin as he turned his head to look between turtle and twin. 

Finally, both Donnie and Dee nodded (simultaneously?!) lookin much more pleased with each other. 

"Shell yeah. Wanna see my lab?" Donnie offered, already turning to lead the way. 

"Absolutely," Dee made a little cackling noise that had Karai repressing a shudder as they followed along. 

"That was so weird," Lee looked a little horrified as he watched his twin leave. "I love them, but if we weren't siblings, I would maybe punt them. What the fuck, Dee?" 

Personally, Karai thought that was fair. But Lee was promptly admonished by two strong shouts of "language!" 

"English," Lee snarked absentmindedly, before registering the interaction and giving Leo and Raph equally dirty looks. 

Leo looked a bit dumbfounded even as Raph let out a bark of laughter. Meanwhile, Mikey was looking like someone had just revealed the cosmos to him. Karai decided that she didn't want to deal with that. Her orange-banded turtle was sassy enough already. 

"C'mon," Karai put her hand between Lee's shoulders and tried not to shove too hard. "Pizza first, then you can give Fearless an anyeurism." 

"Shell yeah!" Mikey whooped, running ahead of them slightly. 

For better or for worse, Mikey's energey seemed to bleed into Lee, and Karai watched the teen ease consideraby. It would probably cause trouble later on, but Karai would simply bully (with love) Leo into dealing with it. 

As though summoned by her thoughts, Leo cauht up to her and matched her stride. 

"As much as we love the company," he murmured in a tone low enough to not be audible to anyone not paying attention. "II take it this wasn't a social visit? Any sign of Xever?"

"No," Karai sighed. "Snake weed is MIA as well. Plus, we had a little... spat with our friend Rocksteady on the way here. Bebop's missing and the Russian is damn terrified Leo. He thought I had him!" 

Leo made a hissingly-like noise that Karai was pretty sure was the turtle version of a sigh. "That's not good. I'll have Raph check in with the Mutanimals, make sure they're all accounted for and see if they've heard anything we haven't." 

Karai nodded. "I'm sure I saw Spider-bytez and Pete. Spotted what looked like some of Mondo's scales, but didn't have time to try to confirm his status. Whatever it is that's happening, it's selective." 

"You'll need to watch your six then," Leo hummed. "Do you want me to see if Casey or April can--" 

"I'll be fine," Karai cut him off with an amused glance. "Even if they could take me and Shini, for the time being I've got two Tasmanian Devils on hand that wouldn't be adverse to a good fight." 

"Yea, about that, could've sworn you said Lee used an odachi," Leo pouted at her. 

"That's because he did," Karai frouned. "Those are are not the blades he showed up with. And I can't figure out where he grabbed them from or where the other blade went. Plus, Dee has a modified bo I didn't know about hidden in his hair." 

"But they can both wield their weapons, even with no formal training?" Karai could practically see the wheels turning in Leo's mind past the frowning expression on his face. "And you've seen Lee use both blade types."

"Proficiently," Karak shook her head. "It's weird. Was hoping you'd have some insight on that." 

The turtle shook his head, aze absent as he chewed on his bottom lip. "Not right now. I've not heard of many who use both. And no one who would be teaching those in New York, but considering they've admitted to a lack of formal training.... anything is possible I guess. I'll think it over, maybe meditate on it a bit." 

"It's fine if you don't have time. You're just confirming what I was thinking," She reached over to rub is head fondly, ignoring his indignant squawck. 

After everyone had finally been fed (Dee and Donnie both had to be essentially dragged out of the lab, much to Karai's amusement and no one else's) they'd all spread out over the couches arround the TV. At some point, April and Casey had come down as well, and Raph had brought Chompy out (an instant hit with both twins, to the surprise of absolutely no one). 

Space Heroes droned on in the background, only reaslly distracting Lee or Leo when conversation lulled. 

Dee and Donnie were hunched over the purple turtle's laptop, cackling over something as April kept an eye on them to ensure the safety of the current world order. 

Eventually, Raph seemed to grown annoyed by them and stomped his way over to the duo. Karai leaned forward to warn that Dee could be prone to biting (feral gremlin, affectionate) but was stunned into silence when the teen simply went limp as Raph picked them up and tucked them under his arm. 

Lee's head popped up from where he was playing with Mikey and Chompy.

Karai watched him gasp in what she was hoping wasn't actually delight before he was scrambling to his feet to rush over to turtle and twin. 

Without seeming to think about it, Raph managed to grab the other twin and flip him around so that he too was hanging limply. April seemed amused, and Karai didn't miss the flash of the lights reflecting off her phone case. 

Raph had his gaze narrowed in on one twin, then he turned to look at the other. "Don't be naughty." 

It was the silliest admonishment Karai had ever heard. But the turtle sounded more exasperated than outright annoyed, so that was something. He promptly put both twins down and went back to sitting on the couch, watching over Chompy and Mikey (the former had been snacking on fruit, but when everyone was distracted somehow the fruit had ended up as a little crown on Mikey's head with stray pieces spiked onto the spine-ier parts of Chompy's carapace). Karai watched as both twins followed, plopping onto the couch next to Raph and then curling up into his sides. 

It brought back her earlier thoughts of the twins being like duckings. Or maybe more like kittens again. 

April looked fond, even as Jones snickered. 

Raph shot his friend and hard look at the sound, giant turtle apparently forced to keep himself still as the twins got comfortable. Karai wondered if cat rules applied to rambunctious humans. Apparently so? 

"I suppose it is getting late," April hummed as she sipped at some of the wine Karai had poured for her earlier, ignoring the grabby hands Casey made at her. "Curious though, they both seem more comfortable with Raph than anyone else, did you notice?" 

"Did they?" Karai had not noticed, actually. 

"Mhm," April nodded slowly. "Donnie and Dee are good together, but they were still tense. Not with Raph though, even though he's been too uncomfortable to talk with them and is... well. Raph." 

"Rough around the outside," Karai hummed in agreement. She could see it better now that it had been pointed out to her. 

There was a rustling noise as April repositioned herself on the couch, leaning into Karai's shoulder to whisper softly. "You know I dont... Well. You know. I'm careful about privacy." 

"But?" 

"Doesn't take much of a psycic to know that they're lonely, and sad. I think Raph must remind them of someone," April's eyes were trained on the others as she talked. "It's ok for now, but it may be like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound if we aren't careful. ... It's good for Raph though, I think he's planning to let Leo know that he's on again with Mona soon." 

"Oof," Karai sighed, already dreading the fall out. 

Somewhere on the floor there was the sound of a yawn, and when she looked down, it was to see Mikey and Chompy both curled up and beginning to doze off. Michelangelo, for all that he'd gained as he'd grown up, had never been much for staying up too late (unless of course, it was for the express cause of annoying one of his siblings).

When she looked up again, Leo caught her eye. "It's late. If you're not going to be busy tomorrow you three are welcome to stay the night. We can discuss the... missing persons issue in the morning, regroup and make a plan." 

She nodded. "Sounds good. I'll let Shini know I'll be in late." 

When she looked over at the twins again, she wasn't surprised at all to see that they'd falled asleep like that, tucked into Raphael's side even as he struggled to keep his eyes open.